Improvements in or connected with Water-meters.
Year: 1898

page_text: Improvements in or connected with Water-meters.
A communication from abroad by the
"
"KÖLNER WASSERMESSERWERKE,"
GESELLSCHAFT MIT BESCHRÄNKTER HAFTUNG,. of Cologne on the Rhine,
Germany.
I, WILLIAM LLOYD WISE, of No. 46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
London, Consulting Engineer and Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
It has hitherto been impracticable to construct in a satisfactory manner water-
meters that will register accurately, under all conditions, the quantity of water pass-
ing therethrough. The best water-meters hitherto known have all had one or
other important defect, so that the accuracy of their action is often considerably
interfered with by accidents.
Starting with the hitherto known construction of water-meters provided with
double turbines, which, under normal conditions, register in a reliable manner,
the communicators have improved this construction to such an extent that such
water-meters constructed according to this invention will always register with
constant accuracy and sensitiveness under all conditions of working. This result is
attained by a new arrangement of the measuring device actuating the registering
mechanism and by the arrangement of a regulating device.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying illustrative drawings is a longitudinal section of
a water-meter constructed according to this invention. The water, the entrance
of which may be separately regulated, passes from the inlet socket or branch into
a distributing chamber located between and partly formed by the two rotary
bodies, which are mounted on a common spindle and have their guide-channels
opposite to one another; into this chamber open the guide-channels of the rotary
bodies which have the form of turbines. The water passing through these
channels effects in the known way the rotation of the turbines and consequently
also that of the registering mechanism, and after issuing from the said channels
it flows off through a common discharge-channel. With the construction shown,
the rotary bodies are floated by the pressure of the water and therefore work
almost without friction, whilst when the water is stopped the spindle of the rotary
bodies sinks down upon a hardened shaft-step, so that the spindle can easily be
lifted again.
In order to render the working of the meter independent of the local variations
of pressure, there is provided in the inlet channel or branch a regulating device
illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3.
As illustrated in the latter a valve is arranged in the entrance socket or
branch and behind this valve the regulator proper, which comprises two per-
forated discs A¹ and A2 placed one behind the other and represented in elevation

page_text: the communicators have improved this construction to such an extent that such
water-meters constructed according to this invention will always register with.
constant accuracy and sensitiveness under all conditions of working. This result is
attained by a new arrangement of the measuring device actuating the counting
mechanism and by the arrangement of a regulating device.
one,
Fig. 1 of the illustrative drawings filed with my Provisional Specification is a
longitudinal section of a water-meter constructed according to this invention.
The water, the entrance of which may be separately regulated, as by the device
hereinafter described, passes from the inlet-branch into a distributing chamber
located between, and partly formed by the two rotary bodies, which are mounted
on a common spindle and have their guide-channels opposite to
another; into this chamber open the guide-channels of the rotary bodies, which
have the form of turbines. The water passing through these channels effects in
the well known way the rotation of the turbines and consequently, through their
common spindle, also that of the counting mechanism, and after issuing from the
said channels it flows off through a common discharge channel. With the con-
struction shown, the rotary bodies are floated by the pressure of the water and
therefore work almost without friction, whilst when the water is stopped the spindle
of the rotary bodies sinks down upon a hardened shaft-step, so that the spindle
can easily be lifted again.
In order to render the working of the meter independent of the local variations
of pressure, there is provided in the inlet-branch à regulating device, which is
illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. As shown, there is arranged in the inlet-branch
a valve e, and behind this valve the regulator proper, which comprises two per-
forated discs A, and A, placed one behind the other and represented in elevation
in Fig. 2. One of these discs can be rotated from outside by means of a worm S₁,
as shown in the drawings, so that the relative positions of the holes in the two
discs can be easily regulated. A hollow or tubular body, connected with the
valve and serving at the same time as an axle for these discs, extends through
the discs and is provided on the inner side of them with a small nozzle-opening D
the direction of which can be changed by turning the hollow body from outside
by means of a second worm S,, whereby the action of the nozzle-opening can in
this way be controlled.
The action of the above described water-meter is as follows:-
Before the water arrives at the turbines of the water-meter, it opens the valve v
and then passes through the two discs A, and A..
If the counter-pressure of the water in the apparatus increases, owing to the
throttling action of a discharge-cock, to such an extent that its velocity becomes
too low to continue to actuate the turbines, the valve v closes and the water enters
the chamber between the turbines, only through the nozzle-opening D. The
small jet increases the velocity of the water and effects the rotation of the tur-
bines, and consequently also actuates the counting-apparatus, even when the
discharge of water is very small. The action of the jet of water escaping through
the nozzle-opening 1) may be regulated, if required, from without, by means of
the worm S, even when the apparatus is working.
It will be obvious that instead of placing the perforated discs in the inlet-
branch, as shown, they may be arranged in any other convenient part of the
inlet-passage, and also that the regulating-device may be employed in any water-
meter having registering-mechanism of suitable construction.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1. A water-meter having two rotary bodies mounted on the spindle of the
counting-mechanism and so arranged that the water will enter a distributing
chamber between the said rotary bodies, which have their guide-channels opposite

page_text: to each other and opening into the distributing chamber so that the water will
flow therefrom through the rotary bodies, substantially as described and shown.
2. In or in connexion with a water-meter, a regulating device comprising (a)
two perforated discs placed one behind the other and provided with means
whereby they can be rotated from outside so that the cross section of the passage
through the apparatus can be altered during working, and (b) a valve provided
with a nozzle, which is adjustable from outside and is adapted to discharge a
small jet of water into the casing of the meter so as to effect the rotation of the
registering-mechanism when the main passage to the registering-mechanism is
closed by the valve owing to counterpressure, substantially as described and
shown.
3. The improved water-meter constructed, arranged, and operating as herein.
before described with reference to and shown in the drawings referred to.
Dated this 7th day of December 1898
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Chartered Patent Agent.