Improvements in Apparatus for Supplying Gas or other Fluid on Prepayment.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 16th May, 1893
Complete Specification Left, 15th Feb., 1894-Accepted, 17th Mar., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Supplying Gas or other Fluid
on Prepayment.
We JOHN HAWKYARD of Shaws Lane Upper Mill Saddleworth in the County
of York, Manager, and JOSEPH BRADDOCK of 72 Windsor Road Oldham in the
County of Lancaster Gas Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention relates principally to improvements upon the automatic apparatus
for which Letters Patent No. 8410 were granted to us bearing date the 4th day
of May 1892, the objects of the present invention being first to simplify the means
for altering the exact amount of gas supplied for a certain payment so as to
regulate it in accordance with the fixed price of gas for the time being, and
secondly, to provide a simple and efficient means for dispensing with the stop valve
and for stopping the action of the meter and consequently the delivery of the gas
when the amount of gas which has been paid for has been supplied.
In the first place we drive the apparatus by means of a long spur pinion mounted
horizontally and in gear with a crown wheel on the top of the vertical worm shaft
of the apparatus.
This crown wheel is made with a boss which fits loosely on the upper part of
the worm shaft the boss being notched so as to engage with two pins projecting from
the shaft or it is otherwise fitted in such a way above the pinion with its teeth
downwards that it will turn the shaft but can be readily changed for a wheel of a
greater or lesser number of teeth,
The upper part of the shaft is screwed and made with a shoulder 30 that the
crown wheel can be securely fixed thereon by means of a nut, and it is so arranged
that when the crown wheel is screwed down on to the shoulder the teeth will be
accurately in gear with those of the pinion and thus no means of adjustment are
required on changing the crown wheel, and whatever diameter of crown wheel is
put on, the teeth will always be accurately in gear with the driving piuion.
Each crown wheel is marked on the back or top with a figure or figures
corresponding with the number of feet of gas supplied for each penny or other
fixed coin and a sight hole is provided on the cover so that the customer can at
any time see the number of feet of gas which his coin purchases.
The cover is fastened with a seal, and to alter the quantity of gas supplied in
accordance with the price for the time being all that the gas man has to do is to
break the seal, remove the cover, and change the crown wheel for one of a larger
or smaller size and reseal the cover and the customer can see through the sight
hole if he has put on the proper wheel.
For stopping the action of the dry meter when the proper amount of gas has
been delivered we form a circumferential groove or neck in the boss of the worm
wheel on the horizontal spindle of the apparatus, in which groove engages a pin on
one arın of a bell crank lever. The other arm carries a pivotted catch placed in
such a position that as the worm wheel slides upon the spindle as the gas is
consumed it gradually lowers the said catch until just as the gas has all been
expended the point of the catch comes in the way of the tangent arm of the meter
and thus stops the action of the same and prevents the further supply of gas until
another coin has been inserted which raises the catch above the quadrant arm and
thus sets the meter free.
The principal feature of novelty in this arrangement is that the pivotted catch
oscillates as soon as the quadrant arm comes into contact with it and in doing so

page_text: lowers its point so as to make its action on the quadrant arm absolute at the first
contact.
For adapting this arrangement to a wot gas meter we apply a similar lever and
pivotted catch to act on the teeth of a crown ratchet wheel fixed on the upright
shaft of the meter.
nis 10th day or may i
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Supplying Gas or other Fluid
on Prepayment.
We JOHN HAWKYARD of Shaws Lane Upper Mill Saddleworth in the County
of York, Foreman, and JOSEPH BRADDOCK of 72 Windsor Road Oldham in tho
County of Lancaster, Gas Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion 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 principally to improvements upon the automatic apparatus
for which Letters Patent No. 8410 were granted to us bearing date the 4th day
of May 1892 the objects of the present invention being first to simplify the means
for altering the exact amount of gas supplied for a certain payment so as to
regulate it in accordance with the fixed price of gas for the time being, and
secondly to provide a simple and efficient means for dispensing with the stop valve
and stopping the action of the meter and consequently the delivery of the gas
when the amount of gas which has been paid for has been supplied.
In order that our invention may be clearly understood we have annexed
hereunto two sheets of drawings and have marked the same with figures and letters
of reference corresponding with those of the following description.
On Sheet 1 Fig. i is a partial elevation and Fig. 2 a plan view of so much of a
dry meter as is necessary to illustrate our invention.
On Sheet 2 Fig. 3 is a front elevation and Fig. 4 a plan of so much of a wet
meter as is necessary to illustrate the application of our invention thereto.
On Figs. 2 and 4 part of the shaft carrying the arms of the bell crank lever f f ¹
is broken away in order to shew the arm f (in section) more clearly. On both
sheets the same letters are employed to indicate similar parts of the apparatus.
In the first place we drive the apparatus by means of a long spur pinion a
mounted horizontally and in gear with a crown wheel b on the top of the vertical
worm shaft c of the apparatus.
This crown wheel is made with a boss 6x which fits loosely on the upper part of
the worm shaft c, the boss bx being notched as seen on Fig. 3, so as to engage
with two pins cx projecting from the shaft, or it is otherwise fitted in such a way
above the pinion a with its teeth downwards that it will turn the shaft c, but can
be readily changed for a wheel of a greater or lesser number of teeth.
The upper part of the shaft c is screwed and made with a shoulder so that the
crown wheel can be securely fixed thereon, by means of a nut c¹ (see Figs. 2
and 4) and it is so arranged that when the crown wheel b is screwed down onto
the shoulder, the teeth will be accurately in gear with those of the pinion, and
thus no means of adjustment are required on changing the crown wheel, and
whatever diameter of crown wheel is put on, the teeth will always be accurately in
gear with the driving pinion a.
Each crown wheel b is marked on the back or top with a figure or figures
corresponding with the number of feet of gas supplied for each penny, or other
fixed coin, and a sight hole is provided on the cover (which is removed from the

page_text: drawing to shew the working parts) so that the customer can at any time see the
number of feet of gas which his coin purchases.
The cover is fastened with a seal, and to alter the quantity of gas supplied in
accordance with the price for the time being, all that the gas-man has to do is to
break the seal, remove the cover, and change the crown wheel for one of a larger
or smaller size, and reseal the cover, and the customer can see through the sight
hole if he has put on the proper wheel.
For stopping the action of the dry meter (see Sheet 1) when the proper amount
of gas has been delivered, we form a circumferential groove or neck in the boss
of the worm wheel d on the horizontal spindle e of the apparatus, in which groove
engages a pin on one arm ƒ of a bell crank lever ff. The other arm fis
jointed to a lever g which carries a pivotted catch h placed in such a position that
as the worm wheel slides upon the spindle e as the gas is consumed, it gradually
raises the said catch h until just as the gas has all been expended the point of the
catch h comes in the way of the tangent arm i of the meter, and thus stops the
action of the same, and prevents the further supply of gas until another coin has
been inserted, which moves the catch h out of the way of the quadrant arm i and
thus sets the meter free.
Or the arms of the bell crank lever ff may be so formed as to lower the catch
lever to stop the meter, and in this case the said catch lever would be mounted
directly on the said lever.
The principal feature of novelty in this arrangement is that the pivotted catch /
oscillates as soon as the quadrant arm i comes into contact with it, and in doing so
raises its point so as to make its action on the quadrant arm i absolute at the first
contact.
For adapting this arrangement to a wet gas meter (see Sheet 2) we apply a
similar lever ff and pivotted catch h to act on the teeth of a crown ratchet
wheel * fixed on the upright shaft of the meter.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is
In antomatic prepayment gas (or other fluid) meters
First. The combination with the long driving pinion of the apparatus of a
readily changeable crown wheel so as to regulate the exact amount of gas or fluid
supplied for a certain payment in accordance with the fixed price of gas (or other
fluid) for the time being, substantially as herein before described and illustrated.
Secondly. The combination with one arm of a bell crank lever which is
actuated by a pin working in a groove in the boss of the worm wheel on the
horizontal shaft of the apparatus, of a pivotted catch which comes in contact with
the tangent arm of a dry meter, or in the case of a wet meter with the teeth of a
crown ratchet wheel fixed on the upright shaft of the meter, so as to stop the
action of the same as soon as the supply of gas paid for bas been expended
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the drawings annexed.
Dated this 19th 1 £1
1004
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for the Applicants.