Improvements in and relating to Disk Water Meters.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Sept., 1896-Accepted, 5th Dec., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Disk Water Meters.
I, JOHN THOMSON, of No. 190 Carlton Avenue, in the City of Brooklyn,
County of Kings, and State of New York, United States of America, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to disk water meters, and more particularly to the
arrangement of the disk, ball and disk-casing, and the means for controlling the
disk-thrust, as well as the construction of the bearing for the disk, all as more
particularly hereinafter pointed out.
In the accompanying drawings:
Figure 1, is a part elevation and part section showing the general relation of a
complete disk water meter embodying the invention;
Figure 2, is a vertical transverse center section through the disk-casing on the
line A, Fig. 4;
Figure 3, is a vertical transverse center section of the disk-casing on the line B,
Fig. 2, showing the socket in full lines;
Figure 4, is a top plan view of the lower section of the disk-casing on the line C,
Fig. 2;
Figure 5, is an enlarged detail view showing the manner of securing the disk-
thrust controlling bearing for the disk ;
Figure 6, is a transverse section on the line D, Fig. 5;
Figures 7 and 8 are enlarged side and end detail views of the disk-thrust
controlling bearings when two such bearings are employed; and
Figure 9, is an enlarged central section of the socket bearing for the ball and
the disk.
The invention is shown as applied to a well-known form of disk meter, and it
will be understood, of course, that it can be adapted to other forms, and it is
deemed unnecessary to describe the meter further than to state that the maiu or
outer casing consists essentially of two parts, a base 1 and upper casing 2, held
together by bolts 3, and provided with an indicator or register 4, secured on the
upper portion thereof, which register is operated through any suitable mechanism,
as the bar 5, mounted on the shaft 6. The disk case in the present instance is
made of two parts 7, 8, joined together by a diaphragm 9, forming ports 10, there
being a water passage 11, between the outside of the disk-casing and the inside of
the main casing.
So far, the features of construction are old as far as this invention is concerned,
and are shown as typical only, and can be varied to suit the requirements of any
particular case, and the various features of the present invention will now be set
forth.
One of the features of the invention relates to the arrangement and disposal of
the disk 12, with relation to the ball 13, it being arranged so that its intersection
therewith shall be in a zone of the ball or sphere of materially less diameter than
that of the ball or sphere itself. In other words, the horizontal plane of the disk
is above or below, as the case may be, the center of the ball, and one section of the
ball, as the lower section in the present instance, will extend both above and below
that of the center plane E (Fig. 3) of the ball. The object of this is to obtain
with a flat disk 12, the greatest possible extent of bearing surface for the ball 13

page_text: in the lower socket bearing 14. Thus as shown in the drawing, it will be seen
that this socket is approximately hemispherical, while that portion of the ball which
acts in its socket is, as above described, greater than a hemisphere. The advantage
of this is that the oscillating action of the disk is more perfectly guided and
controlled, and also in consequence of the greater bearing surface provided, the
disk will be longer maintained concentric with the outer walls of the disk-casing.
This disposal of the disk does not require that the angle of the frustum of the
upper portion 7, of the disk-casing shall be different from that of the lower
section 8, with respect to the medium plane C, of the case sections, as is indicated
by the dimensions expressed in degrees, Fig. 2, and this notwithstanding the
fact that the center of vibration of the disk is at one side, and in the present
instance above, the medium plane of the disk-casing, as indicated by the line F,
Fig. 3.
The disk 12, whatever its relations to the center of the ball 13, is shown as
being attached thereto by forming two transverse slits 15, on opposite sides of the
ball, which are adapted to receive the disk, in the manner shown; that is, the
usual slot 16 (Fig. 4) which straddles the diaphragm 9, is simply extended further
through the disk, as to 17 (Fig. 4) so as to straddle the connecting sections 18, of
the ball between the slits 15. To secure the disk against slipping out backwardly,
it may be pinned or soldered in its position. In this manner, hollow or solid balls
of the greatest accuracy and of the least cost to manufacture may be used, while
there is a contingent advantage in that no fitting is required where the face of the
ball meets the concaved edge of the diaphragm adjacent the ball.
The disk is provided with a thrust-roller 19, mounted on a journal 20, attached
to the disk 12, and there is a thrust bearing for the roller shown in the form of a
plate 21, which is suitably mounted in the casing, in the present instance being
inserted in the slot crosswise of the casing. This thrust-roller 19, is connected
to the disk at or near the edge of the disk slot, and is shown in the drawings
as applied to that side which operates in or is adjacent to the inlet-port 10,
and the side hearing-plate is also here shown located in said inlet-port. The
thrust of the disk, that is, its tendency to revolve with the flow, as indicated
by the arrow 22, Fig. 4, is thus resisted by the thrust-roller acting upon this
bearing-plate, the diaphragm acting only to incidentally control the back-thrust.
But by assuming the inlet-port, (here marked 10) to be the outlet, then this
would simply reverse the conditions, when the thrust roller would chiefly act
against the diaphragm and incidentally against the bearing plate. And yet
in either instance the main object of the device would be attained, namely; to
prevent the edge of the disk slot 16, from impinging against the diaphragm; thus
providing free displacement for the water at the outlet-port without tending to
cramp or strain the disk; or to in any wise interfere with its proper action upon
the conical frustums of the disk-chamber. To insure adequate bearing surface,
the thrust-roller and its journal may be extended beyond and within the outer edge
of the disk by partially slotting the journal and attaching it to a portion of the
disk, as shown in Fig. 5, thereby securing an exceedingly rigid and durable
construction, especially valuable and desirable when disks of thin metal are
employed.
When two thrust-rollers are employed on the disk 12, the bearings for said
rollers are arranged as indicated in Figures 7 and 8, and in view of the angular
movement of the disk, indicated by the dotted lines 23, Fig. 8, when the disk is set
at one side of the center of the ball, as herein shown, the axes of said rollers
cannot be in the medium plane of the disk, but must lie in the medium plane of
the ball 13.
This construction may be effectively made by having the bearings 20, connected
to or formed as a part of the offset 25, of the plate 26, secured to the disk 12.
Obviously, when two such bearings are employed; this involves two bearing plates,
or slots, or a bearing plate, as shown, with a slot formed in the main wall of the
disk casing, diametrically opposite from the said bearing plate.

page_text: The socket bearing 14, for supporting the ball and the disk (shown enlarge 1 in
Figure 9) is made so as to have a low coefficient of friction, and hence great
durability. There are numerous materials having this general characteristic, such
for instance, as compounds of graphite and similar substances, and these materials
are furnished to the trade in certain well-known forms, such for instance as tubes
or cylinders of various sizes, and it is with special reference to adapting my
invention to the utilization of such tubes that the present construction of the
socket bearing is made, having in view economy as well as efficiency. This socket
bearing 14, is made as a separate and independent structure, adapted to fit a recess
in the lower section 8, of the disk-casing, and while it may be variously formed, it
preferably has an outer shell 27, of metal, and an enclosing head 28, which latter
supports the metallic portion of the socket as well as the anti-friction compound,
and this latter is preferably arranged in the form of concentric rings 29, of
solidified graphite compounds. These rings fit in recesses or grooves in the enclosing
head, and are also supported in position by the outer metallic shell 27, which is
preferably formed with its upper edge 30, arranged at an angle similar to that of
the frustum of the lower portion 8, of the disk-casing, and the interior flange 39,
preferably corresponds thereto, thus providing an efficient means of supporting the
outer ring or portion of the anti-friction material. In making this form of socket
bearing, the cylindrical bushings are first pressed into the recesses in the head 28,
when the latter, with the attached bushings, is inserted into the shell 27, and forced
up snugly against the seat or flange 39, the head being then firmly secured in the
shell. The interior of the socket bearing then presents the sharp edges of the
inner portions of the bushings, as indicated in dotted lines 40, and the final
operation is to reduce these sharp edges to the proper form. Thus, the socket
bearing will present alternate faces of metal and anti-friction material, although the
metallic portion of the bearing may be slightly recessed, as indicated at 41.
From the above description it will be seen that by providing a disk meter with
a flat disk and ball, the said flat disk being at one side of the center of the ball,
the disk-casing may be formed in two sections with the angles of the frustums equal,
but the socket bearings and the spherical contour are of unequal extent aud are,
and further that the bearing faces of the frustums for the opposite faces of the
disk form equal angles with relation to the medium line or faces of the two sections
of the disk-casing. Furthermore, the manner of mounting the disk on the ball is
simple and effective; the disk is provided with practical means for taking up the
thrust; and the ball moves with the least friction in its socket.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-1
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1st. A disk meter provided with a flat disk and ball, the said flat disk being at
one side of the center of the ball and having a disk-casing, formed of two sections,
in which the angles of the frustums are equal but the socket bearings and spherical
contour are of unequal extent and area.
2nd. The combination in a meter, of a ball, a disk secured to the ball at one side
of the center thereof, and a disk-casing formed of two sections, the spherical
contour being of unequal extent, and having frustums with bearing faces for the
opposite faces of the disk whose angles from the faces of the two sections are equal,
substantially as described.
3rd. The combination in a meter, of a ball, a flat disk secured to the ball at one
side of the center thereof, a casing formed of two sections each having an unequal
portion of the spherical contour, frustums with bearing faces of equal angles for
the opposite faces of the disk, and with a socket bearing adapted to the said Hat
disk and the ball, substantially as described.
4th. The combination in a disk water meter, of the ball having side grooves and
a flat slotted disk extending into said grooves, substantially as described.
5th. The combination in a meter, of a ball having side grooves, and a slotted

page_text: disk having portions at the center on opposite sides of the slot extending into the
said grooves, substantially as described.
6th. In a disk water meter, the combination with the casing, diaphragm and
disk, of a separate thrust plate inserted in a port of the casing, substantially as
described.
7th. In a disk water meter, the combination with the casing, diaphragm, disk
and separate thrust plate, of a thrust roller extending into a port of the casing,
substantially as described.
8th. In a disk water meter, the combination with the casing, diaphragm and
disk, of a thrust-roller, and a thrust plate arranged in a port of the casing,
substantially as described.
9th. In a disk water meter, the combination with the casing, diaphragm and
disk, of a thrust-roller, and a thrust plate, both of which are in the inlet port of
the casing, substantially as described.
10th. In a disk water meter, the combination with the casing, diaphragm and
disk, of a thrust-roller connected to the disk at or near the edge of the disk slot,
and a thrust plate, substantially as described.
11th. The combination with the ball and the disk, of the thrust-roller mounted
upon bearings whose axis is at one side of the medium plaue of the disk, substantially
as specified.
12th. The combination with the disk-casing, the ball and the disk, the medium
plane of the disk being at one side of the plane of the ball, of the thrust-rollers
having their axis in the medium plane of the ball, substantially as specified.
13th. In a disk water meter, a socket bearing for the ball comprising a shell, a
head, and a plurality of concentric bushings of anti-friction compound, substantially
as described.
14th. In a disk water meter, the combination with the disk-casing, the disk and
the ball, of the shell, the head, and the concentric rings of graphite compound,
substantially as described.
15th. In a disk water meter, the combination with the disk-casing, the disk and
the ball, of a socket bearing comprising a shell having an internal flange, a head
provided with recesses, and concentric blocks of graphite compound mounted in
said recesses, substantially as described.
16th. In a disk water meter, the combination with the disk-casing, the disk and
the ball, of a detachable socket bearing comprising a shell, and a head with a
plurality of concentric recesses and with rings of graphite compound mounted
therein, substantially as described.
1000
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
Chartered Patent Agent, London,
For the Applicant.