IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM AND OTHER GAUGES
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, 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 Eleventh day of October, in the sixteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Edward Newton, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege
and authority, that I, the said William Edward Newton, my exors, admors,
and assigns, and such others as I, the said William Edward Newton, my."
exors, adiňors, 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 that part of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion
of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's
Colonies and Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey,
Alderney, Sark, and Man, an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM AND
OTHER GAUGES;" being a communication from a Foreigner residing abroad; in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said William
Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing, under my hand and seal,

page_text: particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
enrolled 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 description thereof, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
This Invention of Improvements in Steam and other Gauges consists prin-
cipally in adapting to a hollow chamber a corrugated metal spring plate, on
one surface of which the steam or other fluid (the pressure of which it is
required to ascertain) is made to act, and by the expansive force or pressure
of the said fluid the central part of the metal plate is deflected or pushed back,
and by means of suitable contrivances is made to act on an index, which being
mounted on a centre or spindle in front of a dial will (as the pressure on the
metal plate varies) indicate correctly the amount of pressure exerted against
the plate.
Fig. 1 in the accompanying Drawing is a longitudinal vertical section,; and
Fig. 2 a transverse vertical section of a steam gauge constructed upon; t the
improved plan; and Fig. 3 is a front view thereof. In order that the several
parts may be clearly seen and their operation be distinctly understood..the
instrument is shewn in the Figures as drawn full size. a, a, is a plate; with, a
flange all round, and a dish-shaped recess made therein, and provided, at its
lower end with a screw or other contrivance, whereby it may be attached to, a
steam pipe, or screwed on to a boiler. a, a, is a similarly shaped flanged
plate, which when inverted over the plate a, and: connected therewith by
screws or otherwise, as shewn in the Figures, forms a chamber c, c*, which is
divided by the horizontal corrugated circular plate d, d, into two.compart-
inents. This plate d is secured between the two plates. a and a* by screw.
nuts b, b, or otherwise; and in order to protect the plate.d from corrosion, I
coat or cover the under surface thereof with tin, zinc, or some other metal or
composition which is not liable to be injuriously acted on by water or steam;
or in place of coating the spring plate itself an elastic sheet of. india rubber or
some other suitable material or composition may be placed between the spring
plate and the steam, so as to prevent the latter from acting directly on the
spring plate. On the upper side of this plate D, and at or near the centre,

page_text: is fixed a short standard e, which receives at its upper end a ball attached to
the lower extremity of a connecting rod f. This rod f is divided at g so that
its length may be regulated by just loosening the screw in the socket 9, when
the instrument is to be adjusted. This rod f is jointed at its upper end to a
sector rack h, which turns on a fixed pivot i, and gears into and drives a
pinion j on the shaft k, the end of which passes through the dial plate l, and
carries the index needle or pointer m. A light convolute spring n is adapted
to the shaft or spindle k, for the purpose of keeping the spindle and the index
needle m steady, and to prevent the teeth of the sector rack and pinion from
sbaking.
.
The several parts act as follows:-Supposing the instrument to be a gauge
to ascertain the expansive force or pressure of steam or other elastic fluid, it
may be adapted to a pipe or any convenient part of the boiler or generator,
and steam or other fluid being admitted through the lower end of the
dished plate a to the underside of the corrugated metal plate d, it will act
thereon and force up the central part of the plate d, and by so doing will raise
the rod, f, and consequently act on the sector rack h, pinion j,. shaft., and
index needle m, which will point out on the dial the amount of pressure that
is being exerted against the under side of the corrugated spring plate d.
I would here observe, that, instead of admitting the steam through a straight
and direct passage to the chamber c, the steamway is made tortuous, as
shewn in Fig. 1; so as to provide or create a recess or space, into which tho
condensed, steam or water may run; by so doing the steam itself will be cooled
down and prevented from acting directly on the plate, but will force the water
against the same.
A vacuum gauge or instrument for ascertaining the amount of vacuum that
has been obtained, in any vessel may also be constructed on the same principle,
the only difference between the two instruments is that in the one just
described the pressure is made to act on the under side of the plate, d, whereas
in a vacuum gauge the external pressure of the atmosphere must be made to
act on the upper surface or opposite side of the spring plate. The amount of
vacuum obtained in any vessel will determine the amount of pressure of the
atmosphere on the upper.surface of the spring plate d, and this pressure will
be indicated on the dial, by the index needle m.
Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical section of an instruinent constructed and
arranged for an hydraulic gauge to indicate the pressure of water. In this
case, instead of allowing the water to act directly against the under side of the
metal spring plate d, it is made to act against a piston p, which is accurately

page_text: fitted to the bore of the block, and is attached to the lower end of a rod r
which is made to bear against the under side of the plate d. When the
water acts against the piston p it will push it up, and consequently will raise
the spring plate d, and act on the sector rack and pinion ; as in the former
instance.
It will be understood that when the pressure of the steam, water, or
other fluid or liquid is removed from the spring plate d, this latter, being
made of steel, will immediately resume its normal state, and bring
down the rod and the other parts connected therewith, thus allowing
the needle to come back to zero on the dial plate, in which operation
it will be in some measure assisted by the convolute spring n before re-
ferred to.
Having now described the Invention that has been communicated to me as
aforesaid, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not mean or intend to claim
the use of a box or chamber constructed of thin metal, either plain or corru-
gated, in combination with which coiled or spiral springs are employed for
sustaining the said metal box or chamber against the pressure either of the
atmosphere or other fluids; nor do I intend to limit myself to the precise ar-
rangement or construction of parts herein shewn and described, as they may
perhaps be varied without departing from the nature of the present improve-
ments. 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 general arrangement of parts, consisting principally of the corrugated
metal spring plate d in combination with the parts a and a*, these several
parts being so constructed and arranged that when pressure is exerted against
one of the surfaces of the corrugated metal spring plate, the deflexions occa-
sioned thereby shall be communicated to a rod or other equivalent contrivance,
which will act on an index needle or pointer, and thereby indicate the amount
of pressure that is being exerted against the said corrugated metal spring
plate, and when the pressure is removed from the said spring plate d, it shall,
from its own elasticity, be made to resume its original position without the aid
of additional springs.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
W. E. (L.S.) NEWTON.

page_text: AND BE IT. REMEMBERED, that on the Eleventh day of April, in
the year of our Lord 1853, the aforesaid William Edward Newton came
before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Eleventh day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
Enrolled the Eleventh day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.