Improvements in Water Meters.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Oct.,, 1894-Accepted, 17th Nov., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Water Meters.
1, LEWIS HALLOCK NASH, Engineer, a citizen of the United States of
America, residing in South Norwalk, in the County of Fairfield and State of
Connecticut do hereby declare the nature of my said invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly ascertained in and by the following
statement:--
In the accompanying drawings,
Figs. 1 and 2 are vertical sections through water meters and Fig. 3 is a horizontal
section through the same.
Fig. 4 is a vertical section through a meter of modified form.
Fig. 5 is a plan view of the piston shown in Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 is a cross section
of a part of the said piston, on enlarged scale.
Fig. 7 is a cross section of a modified form of piston.
Similar letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in all the
figures of drawings.
My invention relates to water meters and it consists of various parts and
combinations of parts hereinafter claimed.
The following is a description of the devices shown in the annexed drawings.
The meter case is made of any suitable metal or material, such as iron or brass,
or a combination of metals or materials. 52 is the lower section or base of the case
and is provided (as shown in Fig. 3) with an inlet spud 3 and an outlet spud 4.
Upon this base is set a conical case 5 and over it an enclosing, or partially enclosing,
cover 6, upon which the dial mechanism, is mounted. I have not shown herein a
dial mechanism, as such mechanisms for water meters are well known and constitute
no part of my invention. 9 is a disc piston, which piston has a rolling or nutating
motion, now well known in this art. It is provided with a ball-bearing working
in concave bearings in the upper and lower sections of the measuring chamber.
The piston is provided with a pin 103 which extends upward and bears upon a
projection attached to the spindle 104, connected with the train of gears of the
registering mechanism, in the well-known manner. The pistons are shown as
uncontrolled, although they might be controlled in any suitable way. 13 is the
radial partition or abutment dividing the measuring chamber between the inlet and
outlet ports. 15 (see Fig. 3) is the inlet port. 16 is a passage communicating with
the outlet port (not shown).
The water, or other fluid, enters by the inlet spud 3, passes through the inlet
port 15, into the measuring chamber and moving the piston around finally escapes
through the outlet port, thence through the passages 16 to the outlet spud 4.
do not deem it necessary to describe more in detail the operation of the meter
shown in the drawings, as water meters having pistons operating with a motion of
nutation on this plan are not new.
I bave shown in the drawings several different forms of pistons, all adapted to
work in the cases shown, or in other suitable cases. The piston shown in Figs. 1
and 2 may, or may not, contain the ports 47 and 48, shown in Figs. 3 and 5, or the
cutaway part 31, shown in Fig. 3. Referring to the pistons shown in Figs. 3
and 5, 47 and 48 are ports in the piston on opposite sides of the abutment. The
object of ports in a piston is to establish communication between chambers on
opposite sides thereof and it is obvious that this communication might be
established in any other suitable way, as by modifying the form of the case. The
port 48 (Fig. 3) is larger than port 47, as I prefer to make it. By cutting the
ports 47 and 48 to the rim of the piston I limit friction contact with the abutment

page_text: to that part of the piston nearest the ball where leverage is least and by making
them on a radial line (as in Fig. 3) the minimum width of port for a given capacity
is obtained.
The rim of the piston in Fig. 3 is cut away at 31 on the outlet side. Experience
has demonstrated, that the passage of water through meters of this type tends to
shift the piston laterally, generally towards the outlet port, when, as the result of
wear, the rim of the piston touches the spherical side walls of the case. By cutting
away the rim at that point which in practical operation would first come in frictional
contact with the walls of the case the life of the meter and its period of usefulness
are increased. It is obvious that this improvement may be applied to nutating
pistons of any form, and to those which do not have ports and that it is independent
not only of these features but of various other features which may or may not be
present. I prefer to employ the ports 47 and 48 in addition as they diminish the
resistance which the piston has to overcome and so make greater freedom of fit
permissible.
In Fig. 1 the exterior 33 of the ball of the piston is made of non-metallic
material, such, for example, as hard rubber, while the interior 34 is made of metal
preferably in one piece with the metal disc. The piston 9, Fig. 2 is made entirely
of metal. 38 and 39, are removable seats for the ball of the piston made of non-
metallic material, as hard rubber, lignum vitæ, vulcanized fibre etc. Fig. 7 shows
still another form of piston. It is composed of a non-metallic ball-bearing 40, 41
made in two parts, interlocked and held together by a pin 43, screw-threaded on
its lower end to receive a nut 42 and having a shoulder 44 toward its other end.
The parts 40, 41 embrace the inner rim of the metal disc 45, which abuts against
the shoulder 46 in the ball, by which it.is accurately centered.
The discs of mutating meter pistons in common use have been comparatively
fragile. By making the disc of metal, as in Figs. 1, 2, and 7, I altogether avoid
this difficulty, although if both piston and case were made entirely of metal the
friction and wear occurring would make the structure of little or no value as a
water meter for ordinary use. As the principal friction surfaces are at the ball of
the piston and its seats in the case by making these parts of different materials-for
instance, one of metal and the other of non-metallic material-the friction and
wear become very slight. If the piston have a non-metallic ball it may be used in
a case composed of any material or materials, for but little friction and wear will be
developed in the ball bearing even if the seat be of the same material, as, for
example, if both be made of hard rubber. When the walls of the case and the discs
of the piston are both made of metal, while the seat and ball are either both of
non-metallic material or one is of non-metallic material and' the other is of metal,
the wear on the opposing metallic surfaces, particularly between the spherical walls
of the case and the rim of the piston, will, other things being equal, be faster than
at the other parts (because the co-efficient of abrasion is greater) and hence the
weight of the piston will always be supported on the ball-bearing where friction is
least and continued friction contact between the edge of the piston and the spherical
walls of the case avoided. Besides, by making the ball of the piston removable, as
in Fig. 7, or the seat or seats in the case removable, as in Fig. 2, these parts can
be easily replaced when worn out and this irrespective of the materials of which
they are made and irrespective of the materials against which they hear.
I have described several features of my invention in connection with the conical
piston but it will be understood that they are applicable to meters having pistons
formed of a flat disc, as shown in Fig. 4.
In Figs. 4, 5 and 6, I have shown a piston provided at its periphery with a knife
edge projection 73. I have ascertained by experiment that if the rim of the piston
present a comparatively sharp edge to the opposing walls it will free itself after it
has been by wear brought in contact therewith. It is immaterial how such section
be formed or disposed with relation to the edge of the piston. The form at present
preferred by me is that shown in the drawings, but more than one knife edge pro-
jection may be employed, or the projection might be placed in other positions than

page_text: the central one, or the piston might be tapered to a knife edge. Such a projection
is applicable not only to a flat disc but may also be applied to pistons of various
other shapes.
It will be understood that my invention is not limited to the precise devices and
combination of devices shown, as various modifications and changes may be made
without departing from the spirit of my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :
1. In a water meter, the combination with a suitable case of a piston having a
motion of nutation and a port extending to the rim of the piston.
2. In a water meter, the combination of a case and a nutating piston, the rim of
which approaches nearer to the side walls of the case at some places than at others,
in all positions of the piston.
3. In a nutating piston water meter, a piston provided with a knife-edge
periphery.
4. In a water meter, the combination with a suitable casing, of a piston having a
motion of nutation and a port or ports on each side of the abutment, the port area
between the inlet chambers being smaller than between the outlet chambers.
5. In a water meter, the combination of a nutating piston composed of ball and
disc both made of metal, the friction surfaces of the ball being coated with non-
metallic material and a case, that portion of which is in friction contact with the
ball of the piston being made of metal.
6. In a water meter, the combination of a piston composed of ball and disc both
made of metal with a case made of metal and a seat for the ball made of non-metallic
inaterial.
7. In a water meter, a nutating piston composed of ball and disc combined with
a case provided with seats for the piston ball, the disc of the piston and the
spherical walls of the case being composed of substances having a larger co-efficient
of abrasion than the substance composing the ball of the piston and its seats in
the case.
8. In a water meter, the disc of a nutating piston and the opposing case walls
made of similar material combined with the ball of said piston and the ball bearing
in the case made of dissimilar materials.
9. In a piston of a nutating water meter, the combination of a disc composed of
metal and a ball composed of non-metallic material.
Deted this 15th day of October 1894
CHEESBROUGH & ROYSTON, Fels. Chart. Inst. P.A.,
15, Water Street, Liverpool, Applicant's Patent Agents.