IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE FLOW OF GAS, STEAM, OR AIR
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE
FLOW OF GAS, STEAM, OR AIR." -A communication from abroad by
Henry Wardwell Shepard, of Brooklyn, and Robert Seaman, of
New York, both in the State of New York, United States of
America
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 2nd March 1875.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
REGULATING THE FLOW OF GAS, STEAM, OR AIR," a communication, to be as
Sallam

page_text: nection with barrels or kegs containing ale, beer, or cider, and in
connection with which it is desirable as rapidly as any portion of their
contents are drawn off to supply carbonic acid gas in such quantities as
to thoroughly charge the liquid that remains, the gas causing the space
left vacant by the displacement of the liquid to be instantly reoccupied
or filled, and thus the ale, beer, or cider, never becomes dead or flat,
but is kept in a lively and sparkling condition until the last contents of
the vessel are drawn off.
For a gas regulator to be applicable for the purposes for which these
improvements are chiefly designed it is essential that it should be
automatic in its operation and capable of being adjusted to resist a given
degree of pressure before its valve shall be automatically closed to shut
off the further supply of gas from the feeding vessel through the
chamber of the regulator to the vessel containing the liquid. And it is
also requisite that the valve of the regulator should be so arranged that
while it will readily open to admit the desired quantity of gas it is
adjusted to supply, it shall at the same time remain practically un-
affected by the degree of pressure with which the supply vessel may
be charged, and thus permit the chamber within the regulator always
to be charged with the desired quantity or pressure of gas regularly fed
from a supply vessel whose degree of pressure is constantly varying. All
these essential prerequisites are possessed by the regulators, which are
or may be constructed in accordance with these improvements, as
herein-after fully described.
I have alluded to the said improvements as chiefly designed for use
in supplying carbonic acid gas to vessels containing ale, beer, or cider,
and to which practical experience has fully attested the fact they are
most admirably adapted. But it will be understood that these improve-
ments in regulators are not limited to such a use, as they are equally
applicable to be used in connection with a gas meter and burner, or
for any other object for which such devices are now applicable. And
also if desired to control the feeding or supply of steam or air as well
as that of gas.
According to the said Invention I secure in a suitable shell-or casing
provided with openings for the ingress and egress of the gas or other
medium, an elastic diaphragm, or elastic chamber, or a plunger, so finished
in connection with its bearings as to provide a ground joint, or the

page_text: plunger may be arranged to operate in connection with an elastic joint,
and I secure to the said elastic diaphragm plunger or elastic chamber by
suitable gearing a valve which is automatically arranged to open and
close an orifice or opening in or which shall lead to the supply pipe.
This valve must be so arranged in connection with its seat as to act
directly through the adverse pressure on the opposite surfaces of the
diaphragm, plunger, or elastic chamber as these respective degress of
opposite pressure alternately predominate and entirely irrespective of
the degree of pressure in the gas containing vessel. To accomplish this
purpose the opening in the valve seat or discharge orifice in the supply
pipe must be so small that while it will readily supply the desired quantity
of gas when the valve through pressure is opened, and continues so to
do until the adverse pressure of the gas is sufficient to close the same, yet
when the valve is closed, owing to the diminutive size of the opening in
the valve seat, it shall remain practically unaffected by the pressure of
the gas in the supply vessel.
In applying this Invention to a regulator for breweries and other
localities where large vessels are used, and a correspondingly large
quantity of liquid is required to be supplied with the gas, the principle
of the small orifice in the valve seat is departed from and the valve is
reversed, and instead of being so arranged that the tendency of the
pressure of the gas in the supply vessel is to open the valve (which
the diminutive size of the opening in the valve seat practically prevents
its doing), the pressure of the gas acts directly on the broad surface of the
valve, and with a constant tendency to close the valve and keep it closed.
Now it will readily be seen that unless some means are provided to
neutralize this pressure on the valve its purely automatic opening
operation through the force of adverse pressure within the chamber of
the regulator is rendered practically impossible. Therefore in this
instance the pressure of the gas in the supply vessel as it cannot be
rendered inoperative must be neutralized, and this I accomplish by
securing at the lower end of the valve stem a plunger, on which the
pressure of the gas in the supply vessel acts to drive the same in an
opposite direction from that in which unresisted it would drive the
valve, by this means the effect of said pressure is neutralized, the valve
and plunger acting together as it were like a balance valve.
The body of the said shell or case is constructed of a cylindrical or
and f on suitable material Tight joints are
than
desived
The body of the said shell or case is constructed of a cylindrical or
other desired shape, and of any suitable material
Tight joints are
A 2

page_text: provided between the screw threads of the body and end pieces. The
body of the shell is formed with lateral openings through its wall, and
to which are connected the supply pipe and the discharge pipe.
Through the wall of the supply pipe is a vertical opening whose wall
constitutes the valve seat, or the valve seat may be screwed into said
opening or otherwise connected therewith.
In some instances the valve is provided with a stem around which is
coiled a spring, and the stem of the valve is seated in a cup bearing at
the lower section of the interior surface of the end piece. The tension
of the spring in this arrangement of regulator is constantly exerted in a
direction to close the valve, and would do so were it not for the greater
pressure which is exerted on the opposite surface of the diaphragm and
plunger; or the valve is fitted with an elastic or yielding washer or
cushion, which in connection with the cone shaped valve seat provides
an exceedingly effective valve.
To so arrange the valve as to secure its automatic operation through
adverse pressure on the opposite surfaces of the diaphragm plunger or
elastic chamber, and yet have the valve remain entirely unaffected by
the pressure of the gas in the supply vessel it is necessary that the
orifice in the valve seat should be exceedingly diminutive, and con-
sequently the surface of the valve on which the pressure is exerted is
also exceedingly small. Where an inverted pressure valve is used it so
operates in connection with its scat that the pressure from the supply
vessel fed through the channel of the pipe is exerted directly on the
broad surface of the valve head, and with a constant tendency to close
the valve.
In order to maintain the principle of this Invention, that is, the
operation of the valve purely automatically, and the feeding of a varying
quantity of gas from a source whose pressure is constantly varying and
remain always practically unaffected by the pressure in the supply
vessel, it is indispensably necessary that the direct pressure which the
gas would inevitably exert on the valve as it passes from the supply
vessel should be neutralized, or measurably so. This object I accomplish
by providing a vertical chamber at the elbow section of the supply pipe
and in connection with a screw cap, and in securing at the lower section
of the rod or spindle, to which the valve is attached a plunger; the pres-
sure from the supply vessel is exerted to drive the valve and plunger in

page_text: opposite directions, and, as they are connected to the rod in such manner
as to ensure their simultaneous movements, the effect is that through
this adverse pressure the pressure on the valve becomes neutralized,
and the valve is left free to be operated through the action of the
plunger.
The outer surface of the plunger, and the interior surface of the
screw cap are so finished through the application of flour of emony and
oil or other suitable substances as to form a ground joint, or the plunger
may be arranged to act in connection with an elastic joint which can
readily be provided by securing an elastic diaphragm between the screw
threads of the cap and those formed at the lower surface of the elbow
sections of the supply pipe. The automatic action of the valves is
secured through adverse pressure on the elastic diaphragm chamber or
on the plunger.
This elastic chamber
expansion and con-
The plunger may
The diaphragm may be made of rubber, leather, animal bladder, or
any other suitable material, and may be flat, balloon shaped, or of any
other desired form, and the elastic gas chamber may be made of the same
material, and the lower section of its continuous wall is secured by
suitable means to the inner face of the end piece.
is enclosed within the outer shell or casing, and its
traction are effected entirely irrespective of the same.
be arranged in connection with the elastic diaphragm, or it may be of
such dimensions as to fill the entire interior of the surface of the
chamber within the shell, its outer surface and the bearing surface in
connection with which it acts may be finished by the application of the
flour of emony and oil. The elastic diaphragm may be used in con-
nection with the plunger, in which case its function would simply be to
provide a close tight elastic joint to secure the proper action of the
plunger. The rod or spindle to which the valve gearing is attached is
screwed into the plunger or into suitable bearings on the diaphragm or
at the upper section of the elastic chamber. The upper section of this
rod passes through a central opening in the screw cap. On the end of
the said rod may be secured a ring, button, or other suitable bearing,
which prevents the detachment of the screw cap from its bearing, and
causes the cap when screwed up so as to press against the bearing to lift
the rod, and cause it permanently to close the valve if for any reason the
same should be desirable;

page_text: The degree of pressure can be regulated at pleasure by means of a
spring secured around the rod, or through weights applied to the rod,
and in connection with the weights or independently thereof atmospheric
pressure may be utilized; or a weighted lever may be used, or other
mechanical expedient suitable for the purpose.
In connection with the elastic diaphragm and chamber a metallic cap
or diaphragm may be used of such form as to allow of the free expansion
of the diaphragm or chamber, and which will serve to strengthen the
same and prevent its liability to injury in consequence of its sudden ex-
pansion under the pressure of the gas.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 1st September 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special licence
that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake, my
executors, administrators, and 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 APPARATUS FOR REGULATING THE FLOW OF GAS, STEAM, OR
AIR" a communication to me from abroad by Henry Wardwell Shepard,
of Brooklyn, and Robert Seaman, of New York, both in the State of
New York, United States of America, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of

page_text: their hands and seals, 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 Robert Lake, 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
Drawings forming a part of this Specification:-
One object of these improvements in gas regulators or governors is to
so construct the same as to render them applicable for use in connection
with barrels or kegs containing ale, beer, or cider, and in connection
with which it is desirable as rapidly as any portion of their contents are
drawn off to supply carbonic acid gas in such quantities as to thoroughly
charge the liquid that remains, the gas causing the space left vacant by
the displacement of the liquid to be instantly reoccupied or filled, and
thus the ale, beer, or cider never becomes dead or flat, but is kept in a
lively and sparkling condition until the last contents of the vessel are
drawn off.
For a gas regulator to be applicable for the purposes for which these
improvements are chiefly designed, it is essential that it should be
automatic in its operation and capable of being adjusted to resist a given
degree of pressure before its valve shall be automatically closed to shut
off the further supply of gas from the feeding vessel through the
chamber of the regulator to the vessel containing the liquid. And it is
also requisite that the valve of the regulator should be so arranged that
while it will readily open to admit the desired quantity of gas it is
adjusted to supply it shall at the same time remain practically unaffected.
by the degree of pressure with which the supply vessel may be charged,
and thus permit the chamber within the regulator always to be charged
with the desired quantity or pressure of gas regularly fed from a supply
vessel whose degree of pressure is constantly varying. All these essential
prerequisites are possessed by the regulators which are or may be con-
structed in accordance with these improvements, as herein-after fully
described.
I have alluded to the said improvements as chiefly designed for use in
supplying carbonic acid gas to vessels containing ale, beer, or cider, and

page_text: to which practical experience has fully attested the fact they are most
admirably adapted. But it will be understood that these improvements
in regulators are not limited to such a use, as they are equally applicable
to be used in connection with a gas meter and burner, or for any other
object for which such devices are now applicable, and also if desired to
control the feeding or supply of steam or air as well as that of gas.
According to the said Invention I secure in a suitable shell or casing
provided with openings for the ingress and egress of the gas or other
medium an elastic diaphragm, or elastic chamber, or a plunger, so finished
in connection with its bearings as to provide a ground joint, or the
plunger may be arranged to operate in connection with an elastic joint,
and I secure to the said elastic diaphragm plunger or elastic chamber by
suitable gearing a valve which is automatically arranged to open and
close an orifice or opening in or which shall lead to the supply pipe.
This valve must be so arranged in connection with its seat as to act
directly through the adverse pressure on the opposite surfaces of the
diaphragm plunger or elastic chamber, as these respective degrees of
opposite pressure alternately predominate, and entirely irrespective of
the degree of pressure in the gas containing vessel. To accomplish this
purpose the opening in the valve seat or discharge orifice in the supply
pipe must be so small that while it will readily supply the desired
quantity of gas when the valve through pressure is opened and continue
so to do until the adverse pressure of the gas is sufficient to close the
same; yet when the valve is closed owing to the diminutive size of the
opening in the valve seat it shall remain practically uneffected by the
pressure of the gas in the supply vessel.
In applying this Invention to a regulator for breweries and other
localities where large vessels are used, and a correspondingly large
quantity of liquid is required to be supplied with the gas, the principle
of the small orifice in the valve seat is departed from and the valve is
reversed, and instead of being so arranged that the tendency of the
pressure of the gas in the supply vessel is to open the valve (which
the diminutive size of the opening in the valve seat practically prevents
its doing) the pressure of the gas acts directly on the broad surface of
the valve and with a constant tendency to close the valve and keep it
closed. Now it will readily be seen that unless some means are provided
to neutralize this pressure on the valve its purely automatic operation
through the force of adverse pressure within the chamber of the regu-

page_text: lator is rendered practically impossible. Therefore in this instance the
pressure of the gas in the supply vessel as it cannot be rendered in-
operative must be neutralized, and this object I accomplish by securing at
the lower end of the valve stem a plunger on which the pressure of the
gas in the supply vessel acts to drive the same in an opposite direction
from that in which unresisted it would drive the valve, by these means
the effect of said pressure is neutralized, the valve and plunger acting
together as it were like a balance valve.
attached to a barrel and reservoir or supply vessel.
Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of another form of regulator to be
attached to the barrel and reservoir or supply vessel.
Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of another form of regulator.
Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view of the regulator illustrated in
Figure 2 reversed.
Figures 5, 6, and 8, are vertical sectional views of other forms of
regulators.
Figure 7 is a horizontal section on the line x, x, of Figure 8.
A is the body of the shell or case, and though in each of the Figures
of the Drawings it is represented as being constructed of a cylindrical
form yet it may be of any desired shape and constructed out of any
suitable material; B, B', are the upper and lower end pieces of the shell,
and are screwed on the body A; tight joints are provided between the
screw threads of the body and end pieces by means of the vertical
bearings or sections of the elastic diaphragm O, or when the diaphragm C
is dispensed with as it may be in connection with the regulator
illustrated in Figure 5, provided the plunger is formed with a ground
joint, a tight joint may be secured between the body and end pieces
through the insertion of an elastic washer or any other suitable packing.
The body of the shell A is formed with lateral openings a, a, through its
wall, and to which are connected or through which lead respectively the
supply pipe A' and the discharge pipe A². Through the wall of the
supply pipe A' is a vertical opening d, whose wall constitutes the valve

page_text: seat D, as clearly shown in Figures 1, 5, and 6, or the valve seat D may
be screwed into said opening d or otherwise connected therewith as
shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4, or connected through a stem D¹, as shown
in Figure 8. In each case the channel d' of the valve seat shall
through the opening d or an intermediate channel d³, as in Figure 8,
lead into the channel of the supply pipe A¹; E is the valve and through
a suitable gearing F is connected with the elastic diaphragm C, as
shewn in Figures 2, 3, and 4, or to the plunger G, as shown in Figures 1,
5, and 6, or to the upper surface of the elastic chamber H, as shown in
Figure 8. In Figure 1 the valve E is provided with a stem E¹, around
which is coiled a spring E³, and the stem of the valve is seated in a cup
bearing E³ at the lower section of the interior surface of the end piece B'.
The tension of the spring E* in this arrangement of regulator is
constantly exerted in a direction to close the valve, and would do so
were it not for the greater pressure which is exerted on the opposite
surface of the diaphragm C and plunger G. In Figures 1 and 8 the
same style of valve is used, that is, its upper face is recessed, and in said
recess there is inserted an elastic or yielding washer or cushion e,
which in connection with the cone-shaped valve seat D, provides an
exceedingly effective valve, and one most admirably adapted for the
purpose for which my improvements are chiefly designed. The form of
valve in Figures 2, 3, and 4, is simply that of a stem with a taper or
cone-shaped head. In all these Figures, numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8, the
principle and arrangement of the valves E in connection with their seats
are precisely similar and they all operate in the same manner, that is,
they are automatically closed through the elevation of the diaphragm C
or plunger G, or the expansion of the elastic chamber H, by being so
drawn against their seats as to close the valve and leave their upper
surfaces in such position as to be in immediate contact with the gas,
which constantly fills the channel a¹ of the inlet pipe A', after the gas in
the supply vessel has once been turned on.
To so arrange the valve as to secure its automatic operation through
adverse pressure on the opposite surfaces of the diaphragm plunger or
elastic chamber, and yet have the valve remain entirely uneffected by
the pressure of the gas in the supply vessel, it is essentially necessary 3
with a valve operating as does valve E in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8, that
the orifice in the valve seat should be exceedingly diminutive, and
consequently the surface of the valve on which the pressure is exerted is

page_text: also exceedingly small, so small indeed as to render any pressure which
the gas in the supply vessel would otherwise exert practically inoperative
in opening the valve. In Figures 5 and 6 the arrangement of the
valve E, which in this instance is an inverted pressure valve, is
entirely different and so operates in connection with its seat D, that the
pressure from the supply vessel through the channel a' of the pipe A¹,
is exerted directly on the broad surface of the valve head, and with a
constant tendency to close the valve.
In order to maintain the principle of this Invention, and that is that
the valve shall operate purely automatically and feed a varying quantity
of gas from a source whose pressure is constantly varying, and remain
always practically uneffected by the pressure in the supply vessel, it is
indispensably necessary that the direct pressure which the gas would
inevitably exert on the valve E, Figures 5 and 6, as it passes from the
supply vessel should be neutralized, or at least in a great degree
measurably so; and this I accomplish by providing a vertical chamber
at the elbow section a³ of the supply pipe A', and in connection with a
screw cap G³, and in securing at the lower section of the rod or spindle N
to which the valve is attached a plunger G¹. By reference to Figure 5
it will be seen how the pressure from the supply vessel is exerted to
drive the valve E and plunger G¹ in opposite directions, and as they are
connected to the rod N in such manner as to ensure their simultaneous
movements, the effect is that through this adverse pressure the pressure
on the valve becomes neutralized and the valve E is left free to be operated
through the action of the plunger G, and works precisely in the same
automatic manner as do the valves E, illustrated in the other Figures.
In manufacturing, the outer surface of the plunger G₁ and the interior
surface of the screw cap G³ are so finished through the application of flour
of emery and oil or other suitable substances, as to form a ground joint,
or the plunger G₁ may be arranged to act in connection with an
elastic joint, and which can readily be provided by securing an elastic
diaphragm O¹ between the screw threads of the cap G³ and those formed
at the lower surface of the elbow sections a³ of the supply pipe A¹.
Having now fully described the arrangement of the valves and fully
explained how entirely irrespective of the varying degree of pressure in
the supply vessel they are left free to operate, I will proceed to describe
how their automatic action is secured, and how they can be adjusted

page_text: to feed any given quantity or a varying quantity of gas as occasion
requires. This automatic action is secured through adverse pressure_on
the elastic diaphragm C or chamber H,Figure 8, or on the plunger G.
The diaphragm C may be made of rubber, leather, animal bladder, or
any other suitable material that possesses the requisite degree of
elasticity and may be flat, balloon shaped, or of any other desired form,
and the elastic gas chamber H, Figure 8, may be made of the same
material, and the lower section of its continuous wall is secured by
suitable means to the inner face of the end piece B¹. This elastic
chamber H is enclosed within the outer shell or casing A, and its
expansion or contraction is effected entirely irrespective of the same.
The plunger G may be arranged in connection with the elastic
diaphragm, as shown in Figure 1, or it may be of such dimensions as to
fill the entire interior surface of the chamber within the shell A, as in
Figure 5, and in manufacturing its outer surface and the bearing
surfaces g, g, in connection with which it acts may be so finished by the
application of the flour of emery and oil, or other suitable material, as
to form, as in the case of the plunger G', a ground joint, or the elastic
diaphragm C may be used in connection with the plunger G, Figure 5;
in which case its function would simply be to provide a close tight
elastic joint to secure the proper action of the plunger. The rod or
spindle N to which the valve gearing is attached is screwed into the
plunger G', or into suitable bearings on the diaphragm C or at the upper
section of the elastic chamber H, as clearly shown in the Drawings. The
upper section of this rod N passes through a central opening in the
screw cap G³, and which is secured and works so as to be adjustable in
a vertical tubular bearing B³ projecting from the upper section of the end
piece B. On the end of the rod N may be secured a ring, button, or
other suitable bearing N¹ which prevents the screw cap G³ from
being detached from its bearings B³, and which causes the cap G³, when
screwed up so as to press against the bearing N¹ to lift the rod N to
such a position as to cause it permanently to close the valve if for any
reason the same should be desirable.-

page_text: pleasure by means of a spring L secured around the rod N, as shown in
Figures 1, 5, 6, and 8, and which in connection with the screw cap G*
permits of the operator readily to so adjust the spring as to cause its
tension to exert any desired degree of pressure which may be required or
of which the spring is capable. Or instead, the desired degree of pressure
may be regulated through weights M applied to the rod N, which
can be readily also adjusted, and in connection with the weights or
independently thereof atmospheric pressure may be utilized, either
supplied through air openings b, b, in the end piece or cap B, or if
desired from a vessel charged with compressed air. Or a weighted lever
may be used, or indeed any other mechanical expedient which is suitable
for the purpose.
In connection with the elastic diaphragm C and chamber H a metallic
cap or diaphragm O may be used of such form as to allow of the
free expansion of the diaphragm or chamber, and which will serve to
strengthen the same and prevent their liability to being injured in
consequence of their sudden expansion under the pressure of the gas.
Having stated how the degree of pressure which the diaphragm
plunger or chamber shall resist without operating so as to close the valve
by means of either a spring, weights, the atmosphere, or a weighted
lever I will now proceed to describe briefly the operation of my improved
regulators, especially in connection with a spring pressure, and as
illustrated in Figures 1, 5, 6, and more particularly in connection with
the regulator shown in Figure 1. I will describe the regulator as used
in connection with a barrel of ale or cider, or a keg of lager beer, shown
at X. The regulator by means of the pipe A' through a suitable con-
nection is attached to said barrel or keg, and through a connection y
the pipe A¹ is connected with the supply vessel y. I will now imagine
that the vessel y is charged with carbonic acid gas to a high degree of
pressure, say 200 pounds to the square inch, and I will also imagine
that the degree of pressure at which it is determined the valve shall
close shall be 5 pounds to the square inch. The regulator having been
properly connected the cap G² is screwed down so as to press on the
spring L and to such a point as to cause the spring L, aided by the
weight of the plunger G and the valve gearing F, to exert such a
pressure as will overcome that of the spring E³, and will cause the
valve E to be instantly opened, and the spring L is set. to a pressure
on the upper surface of the diaphragm C and plunger G equal to or

page_text: a fraction less than 5 pounds to the square inch. The gas is now
turned on and rushes in through the channel a¹ and out through the
channel d of the valve seat. If the barrel or keg × is not filled it will
pass instantly through the channel a³ and out through the channel a* to
the connecting pipe x¹, and thence to the barrel or keg. So soon as the
latter is fully charged, there being no further escape for the gas it begins
to accumulate in the chamber of the shell or case A. The instant
however its degree of pressure reaches 5 pounds to the square inch the
same will raise the diaphragm C and plunger G, and through it of
course the valve gearing F and the valve E, and which will remain
closed until some of the liquid is drawn from the barrel or keg ×, and
it matters not whether the same be a single glass or a large quantity the
gas instantly passes out and through the pipe A2 and continues so to do
until the space left vacant by the displaced liquid is entirely reoccupied
and the barrel or keg again fully charged. But of course this discharge
of gas reduces the pressure of that which remains in the chamber 6¹
of the shell, and as a consequence the pressure of the spring L pre-
dominates over that of the gas, and the diaphragm C and plunger G are
again forced down, and the valve E is again opened until the inflow of
gas in the chamber again reaches a density whose pressure is equaled
to 5 pounds on the square inch, when the diaphragm and plunger
are elevated and the valve again closed, and so on until the last
portion of the liquid in the barrel or keg is drawn off or the gas in the
supply vessel is exhausted or shut off. Thus it will be seen that the
regulator can be set to resist any desired pressure, and will so auto-
matically operate as to supply a varying and any desired quantity, and
from a supply whose degree of pressure is constantly varying. Of course
it will be understood the 5 pounds to the square inch mentioned is
merely used as a representative figure. Now such a result could not be
effected if the pressure of the gas in the supply vessel exerted practically
any control over the action of the valve, and this I avoid by having
the opening in the valve seat so diminutive and the valve so formed and
arranged that the smallest possible portion of its surface is presented for
the pressure from the supply vessel to be exerted against; or when this
arrangement is departed from, as in the modification in Figure 5, and 3
where the pressure from the supply vessel owing to the arrangement of
the valve necessarily would unresisted close the valve I neutralize
the same, as herein-before fully explained. The operation herein
described is identically the same in the device illustrated in Figure 8,

page_text: only there the adjusted and regulated pressure of the spring and adverse
pressure of the gas as they alternately predominate instead of raising
and lowering the diaphragm and plunger, as in Figure 1, expand
and contract the elastic chamber H, through which the valve is auto-
matically opened and closed, and the springs in the regulators, illustrated
in Figures 5 and 6, are the same. In Figure 5 the diaphragm C may be
dispensed with, and the plunger G finished with a ground joint, and if
the diaphragm is employed its use is simply to provide an elastic joint.
In Figure 6 the plunger G is dispensed with and the plunger G¹ and the
chamber in the screw cap G³ are so enlarged, as is also the opening g¹
leading into said chamber, that the pressure of gas on the under surface
of the plunger G' will close the valve.
It will be observed in Figure 6, owing to the form of the valve and
the character of the chamber in which it operates, that there is no
occasion to neutralize the pressure of the gas from the supply vessel or.
the valve, as is the case with the device illustrated in Figure 5. In
the device illustrated in Figures 2, 3, 4, instead of the adjustable
regulated pressure being furnished through the agency of a spring, it is
supplied by means of weights and the atmosphere. The device as
illustrated in Figure 4 is shown in a reversed position in Figures 2 and
3, and each of the devices illustrated in the Drawings are susceptible of
being used in a reversed position, without in any manner impairing the
effectiveness of their operation.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondents, and the manner of performing the
same, I wish it understood that I claim,-
First. A gas regulator consisting of a suitable shell or case having
inlet and discharge openings, an elastic diaphragm C having on its upper
surface supplied by either springs, weights, a weighted lever, or the
atmosphere, a pressure susceptible of being so regulated as to be adjusted
to any desired degree, a valve E connected to the diaphragm by suitable
gearing, a valve seat D connected with the inlet pipe, the different
features of the mechanism being constructed and arranged as shown,
whereby the valve is automatically opened and closed through the
adverse force of the adjusted pressure and the gas as they alternately
predominate, and each acting directly on the diaphragm and entirely
irrespective of the varying degree of pressure which the supply vessel
may contain, as and for the purpose herein specified.

page_text: Second. A gas regulator consisting of a suitable shell or case having
inlet and discharge openings, the elastic diaphragm C and plunger G
arranged as shown in Figure 1, having on their upper surfaces supplied
by either springs, weights, a weighted lever, or the atmosphere, a pressure
susceptible of being so regulated as to be adjusted to any desired degree,
a valve E connected to the diaphragm and plunger by suitable gearing,
and the valve seat D connected with the inlet pipe, the different features
of the mechanism being constructed and arranged in such manner that
the valve shall be automatically opened and closed through the adverse
force of the adjusted pressure, and the gas as the same alternately
predominate each acting directly on the combined plunger and
diaphragm, and entirely irrespective of the varying degree of pressure
which the supply vessel may contain, as and for the purpose herein
specified.
Third. A gas regulator consisting of a suitable shell or case having
inlet and discharge openings, and a plunger G arranged as shown in
Figure 5, so as to provide a ground joint and having on its upper surface
supplied by either a spring, weights, a weighted lever, or the atmosphere,
a pressure susceptible of being so regulated as to be adjusted to any
desired degree, a valve E connected to the plunger by suitable gearing,
and the valve seat D connected with the inlet pipe, the different features
of the mechanism being constructed and arranged in such manner that
the valve shall be automatically opened and closed through the adverse
force of the adjusted pressure and the gas as the same alternately
predominate, each acting directly on the plunger, and entirely irre-
spective of the varying degree of pressure which the supply vessel may
contain, as and for the purpose herein specified.
Fourth. A gas regulator consisting of a suitable shell or case having
inlet and discharge openings, and an elastic chamber H arranged as
shown in Figure 8, and having on its upper surface supplied by either
springs, weights, a weighted lever, or the atmosphere, a pressure sus-
ceptible of being so regulated as to be adjusted to any desired degree,
and the valve E connected by suitable gearing to the upper surface of
the chamber, and the valve seat D connected with the inlet pipe, the
different features of the mechanism being constructed and arranged in
such manner, that the valve shall be automatically open and closed
through the adverse force of the adjusted pressure, and the gas as they
alternately predominate so as to expand and contract the chamber, and

page_text: entirely irrespective of the varying degree of pressure which the supply
vessel may contain, as and for the purpose herein specified.
Fifth. In combination with a suitable shell or case the valve E and
plunger G¹, the same being so arranged in connection with the inlet pipe,
that while the pressure of the gas in the supply vessel acts with a
tendency to close said valve, the same shall in a great degree be
neutralized, as above described.
In witness whereof I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this First day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.
Witness,
JA. EDWARDS,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.
WM. ROBT. LAKE. (L.s.)