IMPROVEMENTS IN WATER METERS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Dicks, of Floore, in the County of Nor-
thampton, Smith, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WATER METERS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Dicks at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his. Petition, on the 24th
October 1861.
I, WILLIAM DICKS, of Floore, in the County of Northampton, Smith, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WATER
METERS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of low-
pressure water meter, whereby greater economy, simplicity of construction,
and increased accuracy of measurement are obtained. According to this
Invention it is proposed to employ syphons in combination with suitable
floats, and oscillating conducting spouts. The syphons, of which there may be
two or more, are contained in two separate water chambers, these chambers
being placed side by side over a larger water chamber or tank, from which the
supply is drawn off when required for use. An oscillating conducting spout
is placed on the partition which separates the two syphon chambers, and is so
arranged as to turn over and direct the supply from the service pipe into each
chamber alternately, such oscillating motion of the conducting spout being

page_text: made to transmit movement to any suitable registering or counting apparatus.
Supposing one of the syphon chambers to be filled with water at a level coin-
ciding with the top bend of the syphon, the syphon which has its short leg in
the upper vessel, whilst its longer limb opens into the lower tank, immediately
discharges the water from the upper vessel into the tank below the length of
the short leg, being capable of adjustment so as to ensure a certain determined
quantity of water being discharged into the lower vessel. The rapid sinking
of the water level in the upper vessel or syphon chamber, occasioned by the
discharge through the syphon, causes a float in that chamber to operate upon
the oscillating conducting spout, and turn it over towards the adjoining syphon
vessel or chamber, which then receives a supply of water as described in
reference to the first vessel or chamber. On the water in the second vessel
and chamber rising to the proper height the second syphon comes into action
as before and discharges the determined quantity of water into the lower or
supply tank. The float in this second syphon vessel or chamber acts upon
the oscillating conducting spout, when the water level falls, and again turns it
over to the first syphon chamber, and so on. The supply from the service
pipe is thus diverted into the two syphon chambers alternately, and each
chamber by means of its syphon or syphons discharges a certain regulated
quantity of water into the tank below at each oscillation of the conducting
spout. The lower tank is provided with a ball float, which is in connection
with a stop valve on the service pipe, so that when the tank is full the supply
is shut off. It is proposed to apply an arrangement for reducing the pressure
of the water to a minimum previous to its entering the oscillating spout. In
order to ensure the entrance of air into the syphon after it has operated, and
prevent uncertainty of action, a number of slits or perforations may be made
in the bottom of the short adjustable leg of the syphons so as to allow the air
to enter freely when the desired regulated quantity of water has been dis-
charged through it.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed 30
by the said William Dicks in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
24th April 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
DICKS, of Floore, in the County of Northampton, Smith, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters 35
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Dicks, Her special license that I, the said William Dicks, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as J, the said William
Dicks, executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter 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 Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
WATER METERS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Dicks, my executors.or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of them, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same was to be performed, 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 William Dicks, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
low-pressure water meter, whereby greater economy, simplicity of construc-
tion, and increased accuracy of measurement are obtained. According to this
Invention it is proposed to employ syphons in combination with suitable floats
and oscillating conducting spouts. The syphons of which there may be two
or more, are contained in two separate water chambers, these chambers being
placed side by side over a larger water chamber or tank from which the supply
is drawn off when required for use. An oscillating conducting spout is placed
on the partition which separates the two syphon chambers, and is so arranged
as to turn over and direct the supply from the service pipe into each chamber
alternately, such oscillating motion of the conducting spout being made to
transmit movement to any suitable registering or counting apparatus. Supposing
one of the syphon chambers to be filled with water at a level coinciding with
the top bend of the syphon, the syphon which has its short leg in the upper
vessel, whilst its longer limb communicates with the lower tank immediately
discharges the water from the upper vessel into the tank below the length of
the short leg, being capable of adjustment so as to ensure a certain determined
quantity of water being discharged into the lower vessel. The rapid sinking

page_text: of the water level in the upper vessel or syphon chamber occasioned by the
discharge through the syphon, causes a float in that chamber to operate
upon the oscillating conducting spout, and turn it over towards the adjoining
syphon vessel or chamber, which then receives a supply of water as described in.
reference to the first vessel or chamber. On the water in the second vessel or
chamber rising to the proper height the second syphon comes into action as
before and discharges the determined quantity of water into the lower or
supply tank. The float in this second syphon vessel or chamber acts upon
the oscillating conducting spout as before, when the water level falls, and again
turns it over to the first syphon chamber, and so on. The supply from the
service pipe is thus directed into the two syphon chambers alternately, and
each chamber by means of its syphon or syphons, discharges a certain regulated
quantity of water into the tank below at each oscillation of the conducting
spout, such oscillations being made to actuate any suitable arrangement of
counting or registering mechanism. The lower tank is provided with a. ball
float, which is in connection with a stop valve on the service pipe, so that
when the tank is full the supply is shut off. It is proposed to apply an
arrangement for reducing the pressure of the water to a minimum previous to
its entering the oscillating spout. In order to ensure the entrance of air into
the syphon after it has operated, and prevent uncertainty of action, a number
of slits or perforations may be made in the bottom of the short leg of the
syphon, so as to allow the air to enter freely when the desired regulated
quantity of water has been discharged through it.
t
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of my Drawings represents a sectional elevation of my improved
low-pressure water meter, the front plate being removed to shew the internal
working parts; Figure 2 represents a similar view at right angles, and corre-
sponding to Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan of the meter with the top plate
removed; and Figures 4 and 5 are an enlarged detail of the mechanism for
actuating the conducting spout, which is shewn detached in vertical section at
Figure 6.
.. O
The apparatus is divided into two main portions; the upper one A contains
the measuring or syphon chambers a, a', and the principal part of the mecha-
nism, whilst the lower part B forms the supply or service tank into which the
measured fluid is discharged, and from which it is drawn off as required for use.

page_text: This tank B may however be detached or separate from the measuring appa-
ratus, if preferred. C, C¹, are the two syphons fitted respectively into the two
measuring chambers a, a¹; the longer leg of each syphon passes through the
bottom of the measuring chamber, and communicates at c, c', with the supply
tauk B, whilst the short leg extends to within a short distance only of the
bottom of the measuring chamber. In each measuring chamber a, a', there is
a float D, D', attached to rods d, d¹, which are suspended from the free ends
of two levers E, E¹, (Figures 4 and 5,) working on one common centre e in
the fixed bracket or support F on the top of the partition A', separating the
two measuring chambers. These floats are adjustable vertically, so as to come
into action at the proper time by means of the adjusting nuts b, b. In each
lever is jointed a spring catch or pall G, acted upon by a blade spring g, and
taking into a notch or projection h, formed on each side of the lower portion
or boss of the vertical tipping lever H, which oscillates eccentrically to the
working centre e of the levers, an eccentric boss e¹ serving as the working
centre round which the lever H oscillates. A weight f on the upper end of
this lever facilitates its tipping action when brought beyond its central vertical
position, by the action of the pall and lever E on the notch or projection h;
the oscillating motion of this lever I is transmitted to the conducting spout I
through the pin i in the side of the lever, such pin working in a slot in the
end of the spout, so that as the lever falls over the one side or the other it will
carry with it the conducting spout over to the same side. This spout oscil-
lates on centres k, k, in the fixed bracket or support F, situate immediately
over the central division line between the two chambers a, a¹. It may contain
one or more channels or ducts 7 (I have represented two in my Drawing),
and directly over each channel or duct is situate a supply nozzle m, which
directs a supply of water from the main or service pipe K into each channel.
In all cases the spout is duplex, that is to say, it is divided vertically down the
centre by a central diaphragm or partition n (Figure 6), which serves as the
back of the spout in whatever direction it may be inclined. The lower portion
of the spout extends some distance below the centres k, k, and is inclined out-
wards on the opposite sides of the spout, so as to direct the water which enters
from the nozzles m, m, into one or other of the chambers a, a', according to
the position of the spout. In the lower tank B there is a ball float lever L
working on a fulcrum M, and connected at N with a vertical rod O, which
rises up through a tube in the measuring chamber a, and is connected at its
upper end by adjusting nuts o, o, to the end of a lever P.
This lever
works on a centre p in the fixed bracket 2, and is connected at its oppo-
site end to the lower end of a valve spindle, the valve of which is contained

page_text: within the valve box Q, fitted to the top plate of the meter. The object
of this valve is to shut off the supply of water to the meter so soon as the
tank B is full, the consequent rising of the float lever in such tank effecting
the closing of the stop valve through the intervention of the rod O and lever P;
as the water level in the tank B falls the float lever will fall with it, and will
consequently open the stop valve again, and so allow of a further supply of
water to the measuring chambers. In order that the falling of the float lever
may take place suddenly, and so open the valve quickly, I propose to form a
slight swelling on the inner surface of the guide bars R, between which the
lever L works, so as to grip it slightly when elevated, and still allow it to fall
suddenly when no longer supported by the water beneath. Previous to the
water entering the meter it passes through any suitable arrangement of pres-
sure diminisher or regulator, so that the water will be delivered to the meter
at a uniform pressure. Each to-and-fro movement of the spout is transmitted
to the registering indicators at S through the palls jointed to the tipping
lever H, which pall takes into the teeth of a ratchet wheel T on the end of the
arbour of the first of the series of counters. The action of this meter is as
follows: Supposing the meter to be entirely empty, and the spout I turned
over into the position shewn in Figure 1, the supply of water from the nozzles
m, m, will be directed entirely into the measuring chamber a, and the rising
of the level of the meter in that chamber will elevate the float D and lever E
sufficiently to bring the end of the pall or catch G into or over the notch or
projection in the boss of the tipping lever H. So soon as the water rises to
the top of the syphon, the latter immediately comes into action, and will dis-
charge the contents of the chamber a into the tank B below, down to the level
of the bottom of the short leg of the syphon. The rapid sinking of the water
level leaves the float D unsupported, when its weight will draw down the lever
E, which will in its descent act upon the tipping lever H through the catch G
and projection h, and will turn it over to the opposite position, at the same
time reversing the spout I, so as to direct the stream or supply of water into
the opposite chamber a¹, which is filled and emptied down to the level of the
bottom of the short leg of the syphon, as shewn in Figure 1, precisely in the
same manner as I have described with reference to the chamber a, the working
parts being alike in both chambers. When the tank B is full, the float lever
therein rises and shuts off the supply as I have herein-before described, until
by the drawing off of the water for use through the service pipe U, the level
has been lowered sufficiently to allow of the descent of the float lever, when
the stop valve being again opened, the supply is admitted as before. The
tipping of the lever H from the position shown in Figure 1 to the opposite

page_text: side carries back the pall s one tooth over the ratchet wheel T, and when the
lever H returns to its former position, the pall will move forward with it and
turn the ratchet wheel and first dial spindle one tooth; such motion being
effected so soon as the two chambers have discharged their contents into the
tank B. It is therefore obvious that by regulating the meter so that a certain
definite and fixed quantity of fluid will be discharged through each syphon
in turn into the lower tank B, the counter will indicate the aggregate
quantity of water discharged into the tank B.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion, that what I consider to be noval and
original and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the .herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1st, the general construction and arrangement of water meters, as herein-
before described.
2nd, the combination of syphons and measuring chambers with a self-acting
oscillating conducting spout for the purpose of measuring water, as herein-before
described.
3rd, the system or mode of measuring water by the aid of one or more
syphons, so adjusted as to discharge a certain determined amount of water
during the period of their action, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Dicks, have to this my Specifi-
cation hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of
April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-two.
W. DICKS. (L.S.)