IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-REGISTERING WATER OR LIQUID GAUGES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Jordan Firmin, of No. 19, Lorn Road,
North Brixton, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-REGISTERING WATER OR LIQUID GAUGES.”
Scaled the 21st June 1870, and dated the 5th April 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Jordan Firmin
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 25th April 1870.
I, GEORGE JORDAN FIRMIN, of No. 19, Lorn Road, North Brixton, in
the County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN SELF-REGISTERING WATER OR LIQUID GAUGES," to be
as follows:
This Invention has for its object improvements in self-registering water
or liquid gauges.
In order to indicate the lowest and the highest levels at which
water has stood in a steam boiler or other vessel I employ two glass
tubes, each similar to an ordinary glass water gauge, but provided at

page_text: the foot with a valve. The valve of the maximum or highest level
gauge opens to allow water or liquid to enter it, but closes against its
return. The valve of the minimum or lowest level gauge opens in the
contrary direction to allow the water or liquid to pass out from it, but
not to enter. I employ by preference ball valves, and I fit screws or
studs beneath the valves for the purpose of lifting the valves to set the
instrument with the liquid in both tubes at the level at which it stands
in the boiler or vessel at the time of setting. The height the liquid
stands in the tubes shewing at any time the highest and the lowest
levels to which the water or liquid has been in the boiler or vessel to
which the instrument is attached since the last setting. It is not
necessary in every case that both the maximum and minimum arrange-
ments should be used, they may be employed separately. Taps are
provided for running water or liquid through the tubes from time to
time to cleanse them. The setting screws or studs of the apparatus are
encased or locked so that the instrument may not be tampered with
between the times of setting. In place of lifting the valves to set the
instrument setting cocks may be provided.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Jordan Firmin in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 24th October 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
JORDAN FIRMIN, of No. 19, Lorn Road, North Brixton, in the County of
Surrey, send grecting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said George Jordan Firmin, Her special licence that
I, the said George Jordan Firmin, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said George Jordan Firmin, my exe-
cutors, 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

page_text: Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SELF-REGISTERING WATER OR LIQUID GAUGES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said George Jordan Firmin, my executors or admi-
nistrators, 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 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 George Jordan Firmin, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
-
This Invention has for its object improvements in self-registering
water or liquid gauges.
In order to indicate the highest and lowest levels at which water
has stood in a steam boiler or other vessel I employ two glass tubes,
each similar to an ordinary glass water gauge, but provided at the foot
with a valve. The valve of the maximum or highest level gauge opens
to allow water or liquid to enter it, but closes against its return, the
valve of the minimum or lowest level gauge opens in the contrary
direction to allow the water or liquid to pass out from it, but not to
enter. I fit screws or studs beneath the valves for the purpose of lifting
the valves to set the instrument with the liquid in both tubes at the
level at which it stands in the boiler or vessel at the time of setting.
The height the liquid stands in the tubes shows at any time the height
and the lowest levels to which the water or liquid has been in the
boiler or vessel to which the instrument is attached since the last
setting. It is not necessary in every case that both the maximum and
minimum arrangemements should be used, or they may be separately
employed. Taps or plugs are provided for running water or liquid
through the tubes from time to time to cleanse them. The setting screws
or studs of the apparatus are encased or locked so that the instrument
may not be tampered with between the times of setting. In place of
lifting the valves to set the instrument setting cocks may be provided.
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect I will proceed to describe the Drawings
hereunto annexed.

page_text: Figure 1 is a side view, partly in section, of apparatus constructed
according to my Invention; Figure 2 is a plan of the lower part of the
same.
a is a metal casting fixed to the front of the boiler, it is hollow and
the space within it communicating with the interior of the boiler by the
cock b. There are two sockets a¹ and a³ upon the casting a, into which
glass tubes c, c, are upon fixed in the usual way by means of screw rings
and packing; d is another casting also fixed to the front of the boiler; it
carries two sockets d¹ and d³, which receive the upper ends of the glass
tube c, c; the tubes are fixed by means of screw rings similar to those
at their lower ends; e, e, are pipes passing from these sockets and
putting them in communication with the upper part of the boiler. The
pipes e rising sufficiently to prevent water being drawn from one tube c
into the other by means of them. a*, a*, are partitions dividing the
cavity in the piece a into several parts; one of these the cock b
opens, its mouth is covered with a cap of wire gauze to prevent the
passage of grit or sediment. f is a valve in the partition a*, and
which opens to let water pass up into the right-hand tube c, and it
will rise in this tube until it attains an elevation less than that in the
boiler by a certain fixed amount (dependant on the weight of the valve f
which is known and allowed for. The valve f prevents the return of
the water from this tube, so that its level will always correspond with
the highest level at which the water in the boiler has stood. The
valve fis covered by a screw plug g, by by removing which access may be
had to the valve; the stem of the valve projects upwards into a guiding
hole formed for it in the plug. h is another similar valve which shuts
to prevent water passing from the left-hand tube c to the boiler, but opens
to allow water to pass in the contrary direction, hence the level of the
water in this tube will always correspond with the lowest level to which
the water has fallen in the boiler, and will by a certain fixed amount
exceed the boiler level which it represents in consequence of the height
of the valve h. i is a screw plug covering and guiding the valve h;
k and are two screws studs passing through tapped holes into the water
spaces of the piece a, they terminate immediately beneath the valves ƒ
and h. A suitable packing is applied around the stems of the screw
studs and to prevent leakage, and by turning them the valves may

page_text: be lifted from their seats; the water then runs to the boiler level in cach
of the tubes c. The screw plugs over the valves may be removed in
order to admit of a clear flow of water through the apparatus to clean
it. The apparatus when in use is suitably cased to prevent the
workman tampering with the setting screws k and l.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I would have it understood that what
I claim is, the construction of self-registering water and liquid gauges,
substantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Jordan Firmin, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of May, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
GEORGE JORDAN FIRMIN. (L.S.)