IMPROVEMENTS IN FLUID METERS, WHICH ARE
Year: 1885

page_text: I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, and Co, Patent
Agents; Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare
the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN FLUID METERS, WHICH ARE
to be as follows:-
APPLICABLE FOR USE AS MOTORS
"
68
This invention relates to apparatus for measuring water, gas, or other fluids,
which apparatus can also be used as a motor.
The apparatus constructed according to the said invention comprises a rotary
slide-valve for controlling the ingress and egress of water or other fluid to and
from the meter.
The said slide-valve is capable of controlling the supply and discharge for one or
two cylinders, and receives a continuous rotary motion. By reason of its particular
form the valve effects the distribution of the water, gas or other fluid to the
aforesaid cylinder or cylinders.
When two cylinders are employed the cranks to which the pistons are connected
are placed at an angle of 90 degrees apart, and ports in connection with the upper
and lower portions of these two cylinders are respectively arranged at angles of
90 degrees to each other in the face of the distributing chamber.
The rotary slide-valve making exactly one complete revolution in the same time
as the driving shaft of the apparatus, it follows that for one of the two cylinders
the admission and discharge of the water, gas or other fluid takes place one-quarter
of a revolution later than in the other cylinder.
The said rotary slide is balanced or equilibrated by enclosing it in a casing in
order to separate a chamber formed above the valve from the action of the fluid.
This casing has at its upper interior surface a smooth portion upon which the
upper part of the slide-valve moves, a disc or washer of caoutchouc or leather
being interposed if necessary. The above named chamber is bored out and has a
small cylinder fitting into it, the latter being formed upon the upper part of the
slide-valve and turning with little friction in the interior of the chamber so as to

page_text: compensate for the wear of the slide-valve and to ensure constant tightness during
the operation of the apparatus.
In order to ensure that liquids, by reason of their incompressibility, shall not
cause any shocks at the moment when one of the pistons has arrived at the dead
point and when the distribution ports are closed, a slight advance is given to one
edge of the slide-valve relatively to the other, so as to prevent the ports being
completely closed. In this manner, when one of the pistons arrives at the end of
the stroke, the two cylinders are for an instant in communication through the
distributing chest.
The same form of rotary slide-valve can also be employed for apparatus having
one cylinder.
For equilibrating the slide-valve, instead of excluding the cylindrical chamber
which encircles its upper portion, from contact with the water, gas or other fluid
arriving under pressure in the apparatus, it can be hollowed in such a manner that
the said cylindrical chamber is constantly in communication with the discharge
passage for the fluid, that is to say, with the interior of the rotary circular
slide-valve.
In order to enable the slide to cover the ports quickly with a relatively slight
angular movement I sometimes employ a circular slide having a number of orifices.
The slide-valve is driven by a worm arranged upon the driving shaft and
engaging with a pinion keyed upon the vertical valve-rod situated above the
rotary slide and in a line with the axis of the latter. This valve-rod is guided in
a stuffing-box upon the distributing box or chest.
The said vertical valve-rod has a prolongation passing through a stuffing-box
in the upper wall of the external casing and serving to actuate the registering
mechanism.
When an apparatus having a single cylinder is used, the slide-valve can be
arranged so as to cover and to uncover alternately each of the two distributing
ports in the casing by an oscillating motion. It is actuated by means of a drum
which is fixed upon the driving shaft and provided with a helicoidal groove. This
cam operates a small horizontal arm carrying at its end a spherical pin or a roller
which runs in the said groove. By this arm the vertical valve-rod is continually
kept in oscillating motion; the amplitude of the oscillations varying with the
length of the said arm.
'
This arrangement can also be employed for an apparatus having two cylinders,
but in this case it is necessary to use two drums and two slide-valves which are
placed beside each other and operated by bent levers having arms of unequal
length in order to uncover the ports with rapidity.
The slide-valves described above may be replaced by a system of two, three, or
four-way cocks.
I adopt for the driving mechanism of the pistons an arrangement according to
which the piston-rods are connected with the driving shaft by means of Lahire
gear-wheels which, whilst causing the rotation of the said driving shaft, maintain
the piston-rod in an absolutely vertical position. This mode of effecting the
motion moreover presents the advantage of obviating the inconvenience of dead
points.
I have provided this apparatus with a device for detecting any escape of fluid
which may take place through the packings of the pistons. This device simply
consists of a key passing, by means of a stuffing-box, above one of the piston-rods
through the upper wall of the apparatus.
This key enables the motion of the pistons to be stopped when the admission
cocks are open. Any loss of fluid is determined by the flow of the same through
the meter when at rest.
Having described the device for detecting the escape of fluid from the apparatus,
I will proceed to explain the means for preventing such 'escape.
For this purpose I use a piston having a caoutchouc ring placed in a circular
groove formed in its circumference. Against the sides of this ring bear the rims

page_text: '
of two cup-shaped plates which are placed opposite each other, and maintained.
upon the piston-rod by means of small stuffing-boxes and pressing screws. The
pressure of the fluid upon these plates tends to bring them nearer together, thereby
compressing the caoutchouc ring laterally against the sides of the cylinder and thus
forming a perfectly tight joint.
When only a single cylinder is used. the general arrangement does not differ from
that of an apparatus having two cylinders, except that one of these cylinders is
dispensed with, and use is made of a fly-wheel, counter weight, and special driving
mechanism.
This fly-wheel carries a counter weight which must in each revolution of the
shaft return twice to the upper part of the fly-wheel, in order to overcome by its
momentum the two dead points of the crank.
For this purpose the said fly-wheel, and an elliptic gear wheel which is integral
with the same, run loose upon the driving shaft. A toothed wheel is keyed upon
this driving shaft and engages with a pinion the diameter of which is equal to the
radius of the said wheel and which is keyed upon an intermediate shaft. Upon
the latter is also fastened a second elliptic gear wheel engaging with the one first
mentioned which forms part of the fly-wheel. Owing to the difference in the
diameters of the toothed wheel on the driving shaft and the pinion on the inter-
mediate shaft the latter shaft and also the fly wheel revolve twice as rapidly as
the former. When the counter-weight of the fly-wheel is at the upper part and
when it is on the point of acting by its momentum to assist in the passage of the
crank over the dead point, the short diameter of the elliptic wheel on the driving
shaft is in line with the long diameter of the elliptic wheel on the intermediate
shaft so that the proper power is brought to bear and the velocity increased at
the moment when it is necessary to pass the dead point and to uncover the
distributing ports by the slide-valve.
When the counter-weight of the fly-wheel is to ascend to the highest position,
the longest diameter of the elliptic wheel upon the driving shaft is in line with the
short diameter of the intermediate wheel which receives its impulsion from
the crank shaft, thus diminishing considerably the power necessary for causing
the counter weight to ascend.
It will be easily understood that instead of making use of elliptical wheels for
driving the fly-wheel the same result may be attained by the employment of
scroll-gear wheels..
The apparatus as above described can advantageously be used as motors.
For the registering apparatus I use driving mechanism by which the numbers
presented before the apertures in the dial-plate are caused to move forward
intermittently.
A large wheel has its pinion fixed upon its shaft, which pinion drives the wheel
indicating the hectolitres. Another toothed wheel which engages with the one
last mentioned actuates the wheels of the dials for indicating the cubic meters.
A train of wheels is placed at the bottom of the case enclosing the registering
mechanism, but it does not present any special features, excepting perhaps that it
causes the hands to turn always from left to right upon the dials, owing to the
interposition of intermediate pinions:
The shaft of one of the toothed wheels by means of which the cubic meters are
indicated carries a spiral cam against which bears a rod sliding in a guide and
moved by a spring and carrying a pawl. This pawl advances a ratchet-wheel one
tooth at every revolution of the said wheel of the dial for the cubic meters, and of
the cam.
After every complete revolution of the cam-wheel, the spring-rod is
moved back by the spiral spring, thereby causing the ratchet wheel to advance one
tooth, thus enabling the numbers on this ratchet-wheel to be presented successively
before the small aperture above the dials on the cover. In order to prevent back
motion, a small pawl is placed to engage with the upper part of the ratchet-wheel..
The ratchet-wheel carries upon its shaft a wheel having one tooth which moves
the next dial forward one figure at each revolution. This wheel having a single

page_text: tooth engages with notches in the circumference of the adjacent wheel and at each
of its revolutions causes the latter to turn through the distance of one tooth at
each revolution.
This arrangement can be employed alone as registering apparatus, without the
ordinary gear wheels moving the hands on the dials.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
For the Applicant.
Improvements in Fluid Meters, which are Applicable for Use
as Motors.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT. LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to apparatus for measuring water, gas or other fluids,
which apparatus can also be used as a motor.
The construction and operation of the said apparatus will be readily understood
from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing
in which
Figures 1 and 2 are two vertical sections at right angles to each other of
apparatus having a single cylinder.
Figure 3 is a view of the "Lahire" gearing for use in connection with the
piston.
Figure 4 shows in elevation the fly-wheel having counter weights designed to
facilitate the movement over the dead points.
Figure 5. represents a pair of scroll gear-wheels designed to drive the said fly-
wheel.
Figures 6 and 7 show different arrangements of rotary distribution valves for
meters having a single cylinder.
Figures 8 and 9 represent mechanism suitable for driving the rotary valve of a
meter having a single cylinder.
Figures 10 and 11 are an elevation and a section respectively of the registering
apparatus used with the improved meter.
Figures 12 and 13 represent in vertical and horizontal sections respectively a
meter having two cylinders.
Figure 14 is a view of a distributing valve having a number of orifices.

page_text: Figure 15 illustrates a mode of driving two valves simultaneously in a meter
having two cylinders with separate valves.
Figure 16 is a view of a piston showing the arrangement of the packing.
The improved apparatus comprises an improved valve represented in Figures 12,
6, 7, 12, 13 and 14 for controlling the ingress and egress of water or other fluid to
and from the meter.
The said valve is capable of controlling the supply and discharge for one or two
cylinders and receives a continuous rotary motion.
When two cylinders are employed the cranks to which the pistons are connected
are placed at an angle of 90 degrees apart.
In Figure 13 C and C¹ represent the ports of one cylinder and D D¹ the ports
of the other cylinder which ports are in connection with the upper and lower
portions of the two cylinders respectively, and are arranged at angles of 90 degrees
from each other in the face of the distributing chamber.
The rotary slide valve makes one complete revolution in the same time as the
driving shaft of the apparatus, it therefore follows that for one of the two cylinders
the admission and discharge of the water, gas or other fluid takes place one quarter
of a revolution later than for the other cylinder.
The said rotary valve is balanced or equilibrated as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 12
and is enclosed in a casing F in such a manner as to separate a chamber G from
the action of the fluid. This casing has at its upper interior surface a smooth
portion upon which the upper part of the valve moves, a disc or washer of
caoutchouc or leather being interposed if necessary. The said chamber G is bored
out to receive a small cylinder of equal diameter therewith formed upon the upper
part of the slide and turning with little friction in the interior of the chamber G
so as to compensate for the wear of the slide and to ensure constant tightness
during the operation of the apparatus.
In order to ensure that liquids by reason of their incompressibility do not cause
any shocks at the moment when one of the pistons has arrived at the dead point
and when the distribution ports are closed, a slight advance or lead is given to one
edge of the slide valve relatively to the other so as to prevent the ports being
completely closed. In this manner when one of the pistons arrives at the end of
the stroke, the two cylinders are for an instant in communication through the
distributing chamber.
The rotary valve described can also be employed for apparatus baving one
cylinder.
.
For equilibrating the slide valve, instead of excluding the chamber G which
encloses its upper portion from contact with the water gas or other fluid entering
from the conduit under pressure into the meter, it can be hollowed out in such a
manner that the chamber G is constantly in communication with the discharge
passage for the fluid, that is to say, with the interior of the rotary circular slide.
In order to enable the slide to cover the ports quickly with a relatively slight
angular movement I sometimes employ a circular slide having a number of orifices
as indicated in Figure 14.
The slide valve is driven by a worm I arranged upon the driving shaft of the
apparatus and engaging with a pinion J keyed upon the vertical valve. rod K
situated above the rotary valve and in a line with the axis of the latter. This
valve rod is guided in a stuffing-box L upon the distributing box or chamber.
The said vertical valve rod has a prolongation M passing through a stuffing-box
in the upper wall of the external casing and serving to actuate the registering
mechanism.
When the apparatus has only a single cylinder the slide valve shown in Figure 7
can be employed instead of that shown in Figures 1, 2 and 6, which valve
alternately covers and uncovers each of the two distributing ports in the casing
by an alternate oscillating motion. This oscillating valve is actuated by means
of a drum N which is fixed upon the driving shaft B and provided with a
cam groove N¹. This cam operates a small horizontal arm O carrying at its end a
.

page_text: spherical pin or roller O' which runs in the said groove N'. By this arm the
vertical rod K of the valve is continually oscillated, the amplitude of the oscillations
varying, with the length of the said arm.
This arrangement for operating the valve can also be employed for an apparatus
having two cylinders but in this case it is necessary to use two drums and two
slide valves which are placed beside each other. This arrangement is represented
in Figure 15 and consists in the combination of a series of bent levers having arms
of unequal lengths in order to uncover the ports with rapidity.
It is to be understood that the slide valves described above may be replaced by
a system of two, three or four-way cocks.
The piston rods are connected with the driving shaft by means of "Lahire
gear-wheels which whilst causing the rotation of the said driving shaft, maintain
the piston rod in an absolutely vertical position. This mode of effecting the
motion moreover presents the advantage of obviating the inconvenience of the
dead points.
I may provide this apparatus with a device for detecting any escape of fluid
which may take place through the packing of the pistons. This device simply
consists of a pin or key passing through a stuffing box in the upper wall of the
apparatus and arranged above one of the piston rods. This pin or key enables the
motion of the pistons to be stopped when the admission cocks are open. Any loss
of fluid is determined by the flow of the same through the meter when the
mechanism is at rest.
Having described the device for detecting the escape of fluid from the apparatus,
I will proceed to explain the means for preventing such escape.
For this purpose I use a piston having a caoutchouc ring placed in a circular
groove formed in its circumference as shown in Figure 16. Against the sides of
this ring bear the rims of two cup-shaped plates which are placed opposite each
other and maintained upon the piston-rod by means of small stuffing boxes and
adjusting screws. The pressure of the fluid upon these cup-shaped plates tends to
bring them nearer together thereby compressing the caoutchouc ring laterally
against the sides of the cylinder and thus forming a perfectly tight joint.
When only a single cylinder is used the general arrangement is the same as
that of the meter having two cylinders except that one of these cylinders is
dispensed with and use is made of a fly wheel having counter weights and special
driving mechanism.
The fly wheel R Figures 1 and 4 carries a counter weight Q which must in each
revolution of the shaft return twice to the upper part of the fly-wheel, in order to
overcome by its momentum the two dead points of the crank.
For this purpose the said fly-wheel, and an elliptical gear wheel b which is
integral with the same run loosely upon the shaft B of the meter. A toothed
wheel d is keyed upon the shaft B, and engages with a pinion e the diameter of
which is equal to the radius of the said wheel and which is keyed upon an
intermediate shaft f; Upon the shaft f is also fastened a second elliptical gear
wheel g engaging with the wheel b.
Owing to the difference in the diameters of the toothed wheels d and e, the
shaft f rotates with twice the velocity of the shaft B, and consequently the fly-
wheel R rotates at the same speed.
By reference to figure 4 it will be seen that when the counterweight of the
fly-wheel is at the upper part of the wheel and on the point of acting by its
momentum to assist in the passage of the crank over the dead points, the short
diameter of the elliptical wheel b is in line with the long diameter of the elliptical
wheel g so that the proper power is brought to bear and the velocity increased at
the moment when it is necessary to pass the dead point and to uncover the
distributing ports by the slide-valve.
When the counter-weight of the fly-wheel is to ascend to the highest position,
the longest diameter of the elliptical wheel b is in line with the short diameter
of the intermediate wheel g, which receives its motion from the crank shaft, thus

page_text: WORDING
ascend.
It will be easily understood that instead of making use of elliptical wheels for
driving the fly-wheel, the same result may be attained by the employment of
scroll-gear wheels.
Figures 10 and 11 show the arrangement of the registering dials.
Figure 11 shows a new arrangement of actuating mechanism by which number
discs are caused to move forward intermittently so as to present the numbers'
before the apertures in the dial-plate shown in Figure 10.
A large wheel h has a pinion i fixed upon its shaft, which pinion drives the
wheel for indicating say hectolitres. The wheel which engages with the
wheel actuates the wheels and m on the shafts of the dials for indicating
the cubic meters. The train of wheels at the bottom of the casing of the
registering mechanism does not present any special features, excepting perhaps
that it causes the hands to turn always from the left to the right upon the dials,
owing to the interposition of intermediate pinions q and n.
The shaft of the toothed wheel by means of which the cubic meters are
indicated carries a spiral cam-wheel against which bears a rod sliding in a guide
and moved by a spring and carrying a pawl t. This pawl advances a ratchet-
wheel T one tooth at every revolution of the wheels and .
After every
complete revolution of the wheel 1, the said rod is moved back by a spiral spring,
thereby causing the ratchet wheel T to advance one tooth, thus enabling the
numbers which it carries to be presented successively before the small aperture
above the dials on the cover. In order to prevent back motion, a small pawl S
is placed to engage with the upper part of the ratchet-wheel.
The ratchet wheel T carries fixed upon its shaft a wheel having one tooth.
This wheel having a single tooth engages with notches in the circumference of the
adjacent wheel, and at each of its revolutions causes the latter to turn through the
distance of one tooth at each revolution.
It is to be understood that this registering apparatus can be employed alone
without the ordinary gear-wheels placed below, and moving the hands on the
dials.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign Correspondent, I declare that what I claim is:-
First. The improved meter hereinbefore described for measuring water, gas or
other fluids, which meter can also be employed as a motor.
Second. The balanced distributing valve having a continuous rotary motion
upon a face having four orifices and arranged so as to cause the motion of the
pistons with their cranks keyed at an angle of 90 degrees apart, the apertures in
the said valve being so arranged that one set of ports is closed before the other set
is opened in order to obviate shocks; the driving of the valve being effected by
means of a worm placed upon the driving shaft and engaging with a pinion fixed
upon the vertical driving rod of the valve:
Third. The modification of the balanced rotary valve to adapt it to meters
having a single cylinder, the said valve being driven by means of a drum, having
a cam groove, in combination with a crank placed at the extremity of the vertical
valve rod and provided with a spherical knob or with a roller running in the said
cam groove; this driving mechanism imparting to the valve a circular oscillating
motion.
Fourth. The arrangement of the drum having the cam groove, in combination
with bent levers having arms of unequal length for the purpose of effecting the
reversal of the distribution in a meter having two cylinders with great rapidity.
Fifth. The rotary circular slide valve having a number of orifices as described,
for the purpose of obtaining the rapid reversal of the distribution.

page_text: Sixth. The connection of the pistons with the driving shaft by means of
"Lahire" gearing as represented in the drawing.
Seventh. The construction of the piston with a packing ring formed of
caoutchouc against each side of which discs of flexible sheet iron or the like
press with the object of flattening the said ring in proportion as the pressure of
the liquid is greater or less.
Eighth. The pin or key placed above one of the pistons and traversing a
stuffing box, with the object of stopping the apparatus for indicating leakage
through the same.
Ninth. The employment of elliptical or scroll gear wheels, in combination with
a fly-wheel having a counter weight, for the purpose of facilitating the passage
of the crank over the dead points, as above described and represented in the
drawing.