IMPROVEMENTS IN SPEED INDICATORS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Stewart Barry Wier, of Shepherd's Bush, in
the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SPEED INDICATORS"
Sealed the 7th April 1876, and dated the 12th October 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Stewart Barry Wier
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 12th October 1875.
I, STEWART BARRY WIER, of Shepherd's Bush, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SPEED INDICATORS," to be as follows:-
The object of the Invention is to effect the automatic indication and
registration of the speed of steam and other engines, and other prime
movers, machinery, or other moving objects in a more certain and
effective manner than heretofore. It relates more especially to that
kind of apparatus in which the speed of the moving object to which it

page_text: is applied is rendered apparent by means of a pointer or other indicating
medium moving over a dial face or scale, so as to indicate the speed by
simple inspection and without the aid of a timepiece.
In some arrangements of this kind of apparatus the indications are
obtained through the intervention of compressed air obtained by means
of a pump or bellows driven by the object of which the speed is to be
indicated, such compressed air being caused to impart motion to the
pointer or other indicating instrument by means of expanding bellows
or air chambers. In this arrangement of apparatus as heretofore
constructed, there has been found to be considerable wear and tear, and
the action of the pump or bellows being continuous the compressed air
accumulates and incorrect indications are given.
The special object of one part of the Invention is to obviate these
defects, and in order to do so I employ a pump set in motion by the
object of which the speed is to be ascertained, but the piston of which
pump does not touch the sides of the pump barrel, nor do the inlet and
outlet valves of such pump close air-tight. By these means, although
sufficient pressure of air can be obtained to give the required indication,
any excess of air either escapes at the leaky valves or passes to the
reverse side of the piston, and the piston not touching the sides of the
pump barrel, the wear and tear and friction of a tightly fitting piston
is wholly avoided.
In the tube leading from the above mentioned pump to the indicating
instrument, I prefer to place what I call a regulator or accumulator in
order to neutralize or absorb the pulsations in the flow of the air which
would otherwise result from the reciprocating motion of the pump
piston. It also regulates the pressure of the air so that a definite
pressure per square inch in such regulator shall always produce the
same indication by the pointer. This regulator or accumulator may be
composed of a flexible bag or bellows, or of a closed rigid chamber, the
inlet and outlet of which are capable of being contracted or enlarged
more or less in relation to each other as may be required, so as to adjust
the indicator from time to time to the actual speed of the moving
object.
I prefer to operate the indicating pointer or other instrument by
means of flexible bellows expanded more or less by the compressed air
from the pump above described, and acting upon such pointer or other

page_text: instrument by means of links, rods, levers, toothed wheels, or other
suitable mechanical appliances.
If it is required to indicate in what direction an object is revolving,
I use two bellows, one operated to move the pointer to one side when
the object moves in one direction, the other operated to move the
pointer to the opposite side when the object moves in the reverse
direction; the appropriate bellows corresponding to the direction of
motion of the object being put into action, and the other thrown out of
action by means of a reversing apparatus operated by the object itself.
When, as for example, on railway locomotives, the speed at times
becomes very great, the indicating bellows or air chamber may be
constructed with a valve or tap which is opened gradually as and in
proportion as the speed increases so as to allow a part of the excess of
air to escape, and thus to prevent the bursting of the said bellows or air
chamber.
If desired the indications may be registered graphically on a sheet of
paper or card by means of a pencil or other marking instrument in the
manner usually employed for such purpose; but in some cases, as for
example, for registering the speeds of a railway train, I prefer to employ
a disc of cardboard or other suitable material moved by clockwork, in
such manner as to make one revolution or part of a revolution during
a journey or part of a journey. By this means the various speeds and
number and times of stoppages throughout the journey or part thereof
are clearly shewn.
When several indicator instruments are used in connection with one
air pump, and are situated at various distances therefrom, I employ taps
or valves in the air tubes leading from the pump to the several
indicators for the purpose of regulating the sizes of the passages leading
from the pump to such indicators, so as that all of the indicators shall
give similar indications notwithstanding their different distances from
the pump.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Stewart Barry Wier in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 12th April 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, STEWART
BARRY WIER, of Shepherd's Bush, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Stewart Barry Wier, Her
special licence that I, the said Stewart Barry Wier, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Stewart Barry
Wier, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SPEED INDICATORS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Stewart Barry Wier, my executors or admini-
strators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Stewart Barry Wier, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheets of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that
is to say:
-
The object of the Invention is to effect the automatic indication and
registration of the speed of steam and other engines, and other prime
movers, machinery, or other moving objects in a more certain and
effective manner than heretofore. It relates more especially to that

page_text: kind of apparatus in which the speed of the moving object to which it
is applied is rendered apparent by means of a pointer or other indicating
medium moving over a dial face or scale, so as to indicate the speed by
simple inspection and without the aid of a timepiece.
In some arrangements of this kind of apparatus the indications are
obtained through the intervention of compressed air obtained by means
of a pump or bellows driven by the object of which the speed is to be
indicated, such compressed air being caused to impart motion to the
pointer or other indicating instrument by means of expanding bellows
or air chambers. In this arrangement of apparatus as heretofore
constructed, there has been found to be considerable wear and tear, and
the action of the pump or bellows being continuous the compressed air
accumulates and incorrect indications are given.
The special object of one part of the Invention is to obviate these
defects, and in order to do so I employ a pump set in motion by the
object of which the speed is to be ascertained, but the piston of which
pump does not touch the sides of the pump barrel, nor do the inlet and
outlet valves of such pump close air-tight. By these means, although
sufficient pressure of air can be obtained to give the required indications,
any excess of air either escapes at the leaky valves or passes to the
reverse side of the piston, and the piston not touching the sides of the
pump barrel, the wear and tear and friction of a tightly fitting piston is
wholly avoided.
In the tube leading from the above mentioned pump to the indicating
instrument, I prefer to place what I call a regulator or accumulator, in
order to neutralize or absorb the pulsations in the flow of the air, which
would otherwise result from the reciprocating motion of the pump
piston. It also regulates the pressure of the air so that a definite
pressure per square inch in such regulator shall always produce the
same indication by the pointer. This regulator or accumulator may be
composed of a flexible bag or bellows, or of a closed rigid chamber,
the inlet and outlet of which are capable of being contracted or enlarged
more or less in relation to each other as may be required, so as to
adjust the indicator from time to time to the actual speed of the moving
object.
I prefer to operate the indicating pointer or other instrument by
means of flexible bellows expanded more or less by the compressed air

page_text: from the pump above described, and acting upon such pointer or other
instrument by means of links, rods, levers, toothed wheels, or other
suitable mechanical appliances.
If it is required to indicate in what direction an object is revolving,
I use two bellows, one operated to move the pointer to one side when
the object moves in one direction, the other operated to move the
pointer to the opposite side when the object moves in the reverse
direction; the appropriate bellows corresponding to the direction of
motion of the object being put into action, and the other thrown out of
action by means of a reversing apparatus operated by the object itself.
When, as for example, on railway locomotives, the speed at times
becomes very great, the indicating bellows or air chamber may be
constructed with a valve or tap which is opened gradually as and in
proportion as the speed increases so as to allow a part of the excess of
air to escape, and thus to prevent tho bursting of the said bellows or air
chamber.
If desired the indications may be registered graphically on a sheet of
paper or card by means of a pencil or other marking instrument in the
manner usually employed for such purpose, but in some cases, as for
example, for registering the speeds of a railway train I prefer to employ
a disc of cardboard or other suitable material moved by clockwork, in
such manner as to make one revolution or part of a revolution during
a journey or part of a journey. By this means the various speeds, and
number, and times of stoppages throughout the journey or part thereof
are clearly shewn.
When several indicator instruments are used in connection with one
air pump, and are situated at various distances therefrom, I employ taps
or valves in the air tubes leading from the pump to the several
indicators for the purpose of regulating the sizes of the passages leading
from the pump to such indicators, so as that all of the indicators shall a
give similar indications, notwithstanding their different distances from
the pump.
In Sheet 1 of the Drawings, Fig. 1 represents an air compressing
pump constructed in accordance with my Invention, the piston A being
purposely made somewhat smaller than the working cylinder or barrel
for the purpose herein-before described, the piston rod working through
stuffing boxes in both top and bottom covers, in order to guide and

page_text: maintain the piston in the centre of the working barrel so as to prevent
it from touching the sides thereof; B is the inlet valve for the upper
part of pump, being by preference held against its seat by a slight spring
as shewn; B', the inlet valve for the lower part of the pump; C and C',
the outlet valves from the upper and lower parts of the pump respectively;
they both communicate with the air pipe D leading to the indicating
apparatus, an example of which will be hereafter described. I prefer
to make the above-mentioned valves of wood or other light material,
and so that they shall not be quite air-tight, in order that when the
pressure of air in the pump rises beyond a certain degree, the surplus
air may escape between the valves and their seats.
Fig. 2, Sheet 1, represents the regulator or accumulator placed in any
convenient part of the length of the pipe extending between the pump
and the indicating instrument or instruments. The example shewn is
a closed rigid chamber with an inlet and outlet pipe, in each of which is
placed a stop-cock provided by preference with an index and graduated
scale as shewn, whereby the relative areas of the inlet and outlet pipes
may be adjusted with facility for the purposes hercin-before described.
Fig. 3, Sheet 1, represents an arrangement of apparatus adapted to
indicate both the speed and direction of rotation; A and B are flexible
bellows communicating by the tubes C and D respectively with a three-
way tap shewn to larger scale in Fig. 4, into which a pipe F is led from
the pump or other air compressing apparatus. It will be seen that the
plug E of the said three-way tap is formed with a passage G, so arranged
that by reversing the position of the said plug the pipe F may be made
to communicate cither with the tube C or D, so as to allow the com-
ressed air from the pump to act either upon the bellows A or B at will.
A passage H in the said plug of the tap is also arranged to open
communication with the bellows not in action and the atmosphere
through the passage I or J in the shell of the tap, whereby the said
bellows not in action is allowed to collapse.
In order to change the position of the plug E when the machinery
is reversed, the tumbling weight K (Fig. 5) is fixed on the plug E,
and a pin or other convenient instrument L moved by the reversing
apparatus of the engine or other machinery is arranged to act upon the
said tumbling weight so as to reverse its position whenever the engine
or other machinery is reversed, suitable fixed stops M and N being

page_text: provided to limit the motion of the plug. Referring again to Fig. 3, it
will be seen that the flexible bellows A and B are adapted to act upon
the arms O and P, respectively connected to the segmental rack Q
gearing into the pinion R on the arbor of the index S. It will now be
understood that in the position of the parts as shewn with the flexible
bellows A and B collapsed, and the index standing at zero, if air be
driven by the pump into either of the flexible bellows, the corresponding
arm O or P will be raised by the stem T or U respectively extending
from such bellows, and the index will be moved to the right or the left
over the graduated scale, according to the position in which the plug E
of the three-way tap may happen to be; and as this is governed by the
reversing gear of the engine or other machinery, such direction of the
index will correspond with the direction of motion of the engine or
machinery, whilst the amount of deflection to either side will indicate
on the scale the number of revolutions being made at any particular
time in the manner now well understood.
Figs. 5, 6, and 7, of Sheet 2 represent respectively a front elevation
with the glass cover and diagram plate removed, a vertical section partly
in elevation, and a front elevation of the glass cover and pencil carrier
of an apparatus specially adapted for indicating and registering the
speeds of a locomotive engine, such apparatus being however applicable
to other purposes where it is desired to indicate and register the speed,
duration of stoppages, et cetera, of any moving vehicle, engine, or other
machinery.
Similar letters of reference refer to like parts in each of the threc
Figures; A is the case in which the apparatus is placed; B, the glass
cover hinged to the case at C; D, an ordinary clockwork arrangement
adapted to cause the wheel E to revolve once in any given period of
time. To the wheel E is fixed the plate or disc F, and on the latter is
secured the diagram card G (seen reduced to half size at Fig. 8) by
means of the spring cap II, which is fixed by a bayonet joint I to the
boss J. The pressure rollers II' attached to the besil of the glass cover
assisting to hold the diagram card G against the plate or disc F when
the said glass cover is closed; K is a flexible bellows communicating
with the pump by the tube L, and carrying at its upper side a rod or
stem M which is connected by a chain, cord, or band N to the boss O of
the pulley P (or if preferred a rack and pinion may be employed),
in such manner that when the flexible bellows are distended, the said

page_text: •
pulley P is rotated in the direction of the arrow. A cord or chain Q is
attached to the said pulley P, and is conducted over guide pullies R, R',
R², to a pencil holder S sliding in the tubular pencil carrier T, which is
connected by preference to the frame or besil of the glass cover B.
This pencil carrier T is as above stated of a tubular form, being slotted
at U to enable the pencil S¹ to project through and to press against the
diagram card G on the disc F. The pencil holder being connected to
the pulley P by means of the cord or chain Q, is drawn along the slot
in the tubular pencil carrier T towards the centre of the diagram
card G whenever the pulley P is caused to rotate by the action of the
flexible bellows K. Whenever the flexible bellows K collapse more or
less by the reduction of speed of the engine or machinery, the spring V
in the tube T acts upon the pencil holder S to return it towards the
periphery of the diagram card.
It will now be readily understood that if the clockwork, and con-
sequently the diagram card G driven by it be set in motion at the
commencement of a journey of a locomotive, and the pump described in
reference to Fig. 1 be driven by any convenient means from one of the
axles when the engine is set in motion, the pencil will begin to trace a
line on the diagram card which approaches the centre as the speed
increases, and recedes from it as the speed decreases, tracing a segmental
line concentric with the centre of the diagram card so long as the speed
remains constant as illustrated in the diagram Fig. 8. By these means
the speeds, number of stoppages, their duration, and the duration of the
whole journey are indicated graphically and automatically.
In order to avoid the danger of bursting the flexible bellows when the
speed becomes excessive, it is sometimes found desirable to apply a
relief valve or tap adapted to open gradually as the speed increases,
and so as to let off a part of the superfluous air from the flexible
bellows.
One method I employ to effect this is illustrated in Fig. 6, wherein W
is a conical plug formed on the axis of the pulley P, and working in the
conical shell of the tap Z, and having a passage X so formed and
disposed thereon, that when the distension of the bellows becomes
excessive the consequent extreme rotation of the pulley P brings the
said passage X more or less opposite to that end of the pipe Y leading
from the bellows which opens into the shell Z of the said tap, thus

page_text: opening a communication more or less freely between the said pipe Y
and the opening X in the shell leading to the atmosphere.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention and the
manner in which the same is to or may be performed I would have it
understood that what I claim as my Invention is,―
E
First. The application and use of a pump so constructed that any
excess of air can pass to the reverse side of the piston or escape at the
valves, substantially as herein-before described and illustrated and for
the purpose set forth.
Second. The arrangement of apparatus for indicating both the speed 1
and direction of motion combined and applied, substantially as illustrated
in Figs. 3, 4, and 5.
Third. The use of a regulator or accumulator in the tube leading from
the air compressing apparatus to the indicating instrument, constructed.
with an adjustable inlet and outlet as described and illustrated.
Fourth. The general arrangement and combination of apparatus for
indicating and registering the speed of railway trains or other moving
bodies or machinery as described and illustrated in Figs. 5, 6, 7,
and 8.
In witness whereof, I, the said Stewart Barry Wier, have here- 2
unto set my hand and scal, this Eleventh day of April, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
six.
STEWART BARRY WIER. (L.S.)
Patentec.