IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS METERS
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
EDGE, of Great Peter Street, Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, Gas
Meter Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Thirty-first day of December, in the tenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas Edge, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Thomas Edge, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and
such others as I, the said Thomas Edge, my executors, administrators, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and
the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF GAS METERS;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained
a proviso obliging me, the said Thomas Edge, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of
my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to
cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in
part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Edge, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof (that is to
say):-
It is well known to gas meter manufacturers that the metal of which
meters are usually constructed is liable to be injuriously acted upon by the
gas, or certain matters that come over with the gas that passes through the
meters. It is also known that some of these destructive agents, such, for
instance, as the ammonia contained in the gas, act more energetically in the
presence of moisture than otherwise, as water takes up the ammonia, and when
a solution of ammonia comes in contact with the metallic parts of gas meters
as usually constructed a voltaic action between the parts is induced, and the
destruction of the meter ensues. The object of my Invention is as far as possible
to prevent, or at least very materially to retard, the destruction of gas meters
from these causes; and for this purpose, I construct my meters of plate iron
which has been previously coated with suitable metals, or an alloy of metals,
which will protect from injury the plate iron so coated. The metals or alloys
of metals which I employ for this purpose are tin and zinc. Any of the known
means for coating plate iron with these or other metals or alloys of metals
may be employed; I do not, therefore, intend to confine myself to any parti-
cular process or processes, but I prefer to use plates coated in the manner
or by the process described in the Specification of a Patent granted to
Mr. Edmund Morewood on the Twenty-seventh August, One thousand eight
hundred and forty-one, or that described in the Specification of a Patent
granted to Messrs. Morewood and Rogers, on the Fourth May, One thousand
eight hundred and forty-three; or I sometimes employ plates coated
with an alloy of metals, consisting of equal parts of zinc and tin, or an
alloy of which these or either of these metals form a component part, by
the process described in the Specification of a Patent also granted to
Messrs. Morewood and Rogers, on the Seventh December, One thousand
eight hundred and forty-six. I would here observe, that I lay no claim
generally to coating or covering plates or sheets of iron with zinc and tin, or
any other metal or alloy of metals, as these processes form no part of my
Invention, and are well known and in extensive use. I do not, therefore,
consider it necessary to give any detailed explanation of the several processes
employed for coating iron with these metals or alloys of metals, as I find it
more convenient to purchase from the manufacturers the plates of iron pro-
perly coated by either of their or other analogous processes, than to perform

page_text: the operation myself under a license from the Patentees; but if any metre
manufacturer should consider it desirable to prepare or coat the plates himself,
this operation can be performed by any of the well-known processes, or by
any of those described in the Specifications of the Patents above mentioned,
which Specifications are enrolled in the Inrolment Office of the High Court
of Chancery, and will be found to contain an ample and accurate detail of the
best means of effecting the object. I would also observe, that it is important
that all the internal metallic parts of a water meter should be made of the
same kind of metal, so that no voltaic action may be induced between the
several parts. I therefore construct the internal solid parts of the meter of an
alloy of metals bearing some analogy to the coating of the plates or sheets of
iron of which the case is constructed. In order therefore to preserve all the
solid parts of the meter which are liable to be injuriously acted upon by the
gas, or that come into contact with the water that becomes impregnated with
the gas that passes through the meter, I construct them of an alloy of metals
consisting principally of zinc and tin in equal proportions. The proportions of
this alloy may be varied and other metals added, for the purpose of altering the
hardness of the alloy, as is fully explained in the Specification of Messrs.
Morewood and Rogers' Patent, of Seventh December, One thousand eight
hundred and forty-six; but as a considerable degree of hardness is required
for some of the parts, such as spindles and wheels, the proportion of zinc
ought to preponderate. For the purposes above mentioned, an alloy consisting
from fifty to seventy parts of zinc to from fifty to thirty parts of tin will be
found to answer the purpose; but I do not intend to confine myself to these
exact proportions.
•
Having now described my Invention, and the means of carrying the same
into effect, I would observe, that I do not intend to claim the exclusive right
to use for the manufacture of gas meters plates of iron coated with tin or
zine only, as plates so prepared would not answer the intended purposes. But
that which I consider to be new, and therefore wish to claim as the Invention
secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is the appli-
cation to the manufacture of gas meters of plates or sheets of iron covered with
a coating of tin and then a coating of zinc, or with an alloy consisting of zinc
and tin or other metals, as above set forth; and I claim also making the solid
internal parts of gas meters of analloy of metal having zinc and tin as the basis.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas, Edge, lave hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.
THOMAS L.S.) EDGE.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Thirtieth day of June,
in the year above mentioned, the aforesaid Thomas Edge came before our
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written. And
also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute in that case made and provided.