IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING GAS, WATER, AND OTHER FLUIDS
Year: 1851

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
ROPER MEAD, of Charlotte Cottages, Old Kent Road, in the County of Surrey,
Mechanical 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 Twenty-first day of January, in the fourteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Charles Roper Mead, Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Charles Roper Mead, our exors, adiñors, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said Charles Roper Mead, my exors, adññiors, 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 night
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING GAS,
WATER, AND OTHER FLUIDS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso,
obliging me, the said Charles Roper Mead, 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 Charles
Roper Mead, 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, reference being had
to the the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say):-
My Invention of "Improvements in Apparatus for Measuring Gas, Water,
and other Fluids" relates, first, to an improved arrangement or construction of
the parts of a wet gas meter, whereby I am enabled to measure with one gas
vessel, the construction of gas meters being by the adoption of my improve-
ments much simplified.
My second improvement is a modification of the first, but I have in this
instance employed two measuring vessels; with this exception, however, the
principle upon which the meter is constructed is very similar to that of the
meter with a single measuring vessel. In meters constructed according to
these improvements, the measurement of the gas is not affected by any variation
in the height or quantity of the water in the meter.
My third improvement relates to an improved construction of counter or
indicator, to be applied to a meter for measuring either gas, water, or other
liquids.
The last part of my Invention relates to improvements in the construction
of meters for measuring water or other liquids.
Fig. 1, Sheet I., is a front elevation of a meter constructed according to the
first part of my Invention. In the Figure the front plate of the meter is
removed in order that the internal working parts may be more clearly seen.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation; Fig. 3 is a plan; Fig. 4 is a front view of the gas
vessel; Fig. 5 is a view of the under side of the same; Fig. 6 is a side elevation
of the valve seat and gas pipes; Fig. 7 is a plan thereof. a, is a vibrating metal
chamber divided into two compartments into which the gas pipes b, b, respec-
tively project; the other ends of these pipes are connected to the horizontal pipes
c, c, the latter being firmly fixed to the valve seat d. In the valve seat there.
are three openings, the centre one of which is in connection with the gas pas-
sage e, and the side ones with the pipes c and b. The gas enters the meter at the
pipe f, thence it passes down the pipe e, and according to the situation of the
valve 9 it is directed into one end or compartment of the measuring vessel a.
The gas will raise that end of the measuring vessel into which it is admitted,
and thereby cause one of the projecting pieces n to act on the roller o; and
throw it and the lever i to which it is attached forward; the tail of the lever i
will at the same time act upon the valve g and shift its position, whereby the

page_text: supply of gas will be cut off from the pipe down which it was proceeding
into one compartment of the measuring vessel, and the pipe which was conduct-
ing the gas from the opposite compartment of the measuring vessel will
become the feed pipe for the gas to its compartment; h, h, are weighted levers
so adjusted as to support the tumbling lever i when it has fallen into such a
position as to have shifted the valve g to its required situation, and these
weighted levers by reason of their tendency to return to a vertical position also
assist the gas vessel in lifting the tumbling lever from such positions as require
the most power to move it.
I do not confine myself to the use of weighted levers for this purpose, as
springs may be made to answer the same end; but what I claim as of my
Invention is the supporting or counterbalancing the tumbling lever by a
mechanical arrangement which assists in lifting it to a vertical position,
whereby the resistance offered to the gas in working the meter is greatly
reduced. In order to register the amount of gas passed through the meter,
a rod jis jointed to a piece of metal which projects from the top of the gas
vessel; this rod is attached to a lever k, the opposite end of which is connected
by a wire with another wire that works in a tube m. The upper end of the
tube enters the index box, and the lower end is carried below the water line in
order to prevent an escape of gas into the index box. The upper end of the
wire that works in the tube m is connected to a short lever that carries a
click which acts upon the teeth of a ratchet wheel belonging to the train of
registering or counting wheels, so that every time the wire is caused to ascend
in the tube by the movement of the vibrating chamber a, it will give motion
to the registering or counting wheels.
Fig. 1, Sheet II., is a front elevation of a meter with two gas or measuring
vessels, the front plate being removed to shew the valves and internal parts;
Fig. 2 is a side view of the same; Fig. 3 is a plan view; Fig. 4 is a front view
of one of the gas vessels; Fig. 5 is a view of the under side thereof; Fig. 6 is
a side view of the valve seat and gas pipes; Fig. 7 is an end view; Fig. 8 is
a
plan or. horizontal view; and Fig. 9 is a section of the same; Figures
10, 11, 12, and 13, are views of the index or counter. The arrangement
shewn in the above-mentioned Figures is a modification of that just described,
the principal difference being that two gas vessels are employed instead of one
only; a, a, are the two vibrating measuring vessels, each divided into two
compartments as before, into which the ends of the gas pipes b, b, b, b, respec-
tively project; the other ends of these pipes are connected to the horizontal
pipes c, c, c, c, by which a communication is formed with the valve seat d.
The valve seat has six openings, the two centre ones being in communication

page_text: with the gas passages e and f, and the side ones with the pipes c, c, c, c; the
gas enters the meter at the pipe f, thence passes down the pipe c, and
according to the situation of the valves g, g, enters two of the pipes c, from
whence it passes to the pipes b, b, and finds its way into one of the compart-
ments of each measuring vessel. The gas will raise the ends of the measuring
vessels into which it is admitted, and thereby cause the connecting rods h, h,
to operate upon the crank i, Fig. 2, and cause it and its shaft j to revolve.
On the front end of the shaft j is a worm k (Figures 1 and 2) having a small
crank pin in the face thereof which communicates with the valves g, g, by
means of the connecting rods 1, 1, and the levers m, m. This crank pin is so
arranged that it will shift the position of the valves as soon as the compart-
ments of the measuring vessels become filled with gas; by this means a certain
quantity will be measured and a uniform supply kept to the burners.
I do not confine myself to the particular arrangement of levers and cranks
whereby the various motions are effected, as various other mechanical means
may be employed for effecting the same purpose; but what I claim as my Inven-
tion is the application to that description of gas meter which requires water or
other fluid as a measuring medium, of two or more vibrating measuring vessels
communicating motion through one or more revolving shafts to two or more
slide valves, as above shewn and described.
In order to register the amount of gas passed through the meter, the
worm k, Fig. 1, works into the worm wheel n on a spindler that passes
through the stuffing box o. The opposite end of this spindle is furnished with
a small endless screw or worm p, for giving motion to the registering or
counting wheels.
My improved counter or index is shewn detached at Fig. 10; it consists prin-
cipally of a row of drums on wheels, with figures on their periphery. The drums
or wheels are arranged side by side so that the figures will stand in a line,
by which means the difficulty usually experienced in ascertaining the quantity
of gas consumed is entirely removed. The drums or wheels are mounted upon
one common shaft, and are actuated in such a manner that they only move
when the figures are to be changed. In the Drawing, Fig. 10 is a front
view of the index, shewing a range of cyphers as it will appear previous to
putting the meter to work. Fig. 11 is an end view, showing the worm or
driving wheel (affixed to the first drum) and the endless screw or worm p
by which motion is given to it. Fig. 12 is a side view of one of the drums,
showing the ratchet wheel s by which it is made to advance the spring t, for
holding it in position until a change is required, and the catch u (in dotted
lines) for acting on the ratchet wheel of the next drum. Fig. 13 is a plan
9

page_text: or horizontal view of the index, shewing the arrangement of the drums. The
first drum A (Fig. 13) is considerably wider than the others, and carries two
rows of figures upon its periphery. The first row consists simply of ten O's
and ten 5's, arranged alternately around it, and the second row consists of a
duplicate series of numerals extending from 0 to 9 and arranged thus:-
1.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4, and so on. Therefore at starting the figures presented by the
two rows at the openings in the index plate will be 0.0, next 0.5, then 10,
next 15, then 20, and so on. The second and third drums (B and C) have
each a single series of figures, from 0 to 9, extending around them. Every
drum except the first has a ratchet wheels, and every drum but the last is
provided with a catch u. The catches u are so arranged that when the
respective drums to which they are attached have made nine-tenths of a
revolution they pass under the springs shown at t, Fig. 12, and as the spring.
on each catch u is much weaker than the springs t, it gives way and allows
the catch to be pressed behind one of the teeth on the wheels of the next
drum, so as to cause it to advance one tooth during the last tenth of a
revolution of the drum that carries the catch. When the catch u has passed
the spring t, it will be caused by its own spring to take up such a position as to.
clear the teeth during nine-tenths of the next revolution. By this arrangement
each drum becomes the driver for the next, and when the drum to the right
has made ten revolutions the second will have made one, and the third one-
tenth of a revolution.
What I claim as my Invention is the method herein shewn and described
of arranging and actuating a series of drums or wheels having figures on the
circumference, such wheels or drums being placed side by side in such a
manner that the quantity of gas, water, or other fluids passed through the
machine or meter may be thereby ascertained with facility.
In Sheet I., Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the meter for measuring water
or other liquids; Fig. 9 is a side elevation; Fig. 10 is a section of the
measuring vessel; Fig. 11 is an end view; and Fig. 12 is a plan view of the
same. A is a vibrating measuring vessel divided into two compartments by
the partition C, and furnished with two buckets g, g, firmly fixed to it; B is a
receiver having a long opening in the bottom for changing the cylindrical
stream which issues from the supply pipe D into a flat stream; E is the dis-
charge pipe. The water or fluid to be measured is conducted by the pipe D
into the receiver B, whence it falls into one end of the measuring vessel until
a sufficient quantity has collected to overbalance or tip over that end, when
the relative positions of the two ends will be changed, the water or fluid
being discharged, and the opposite end of the measuring vessel brought into

page_text: position to receive the entering fluid, which is directed into either end of the
measuring vessel by the partition C, which falls with the measuring vessel into
such a position as to direct the fluid into the highest side of it. The quantity
of fluid discharged at each vibration of the measuring vessel is regulated by
the small stops f, f, Fig. 8, which determine the angle at which it shall stand,
and the contents previous to tipping over. To ensure greater certainty in the
tipping over of the vessel with the required quantity of fluid, two small
buckets g, g, are attached to the measuring vessel in such a manner that the
last portion of the fluid that flows into the vessel to be measured previous to
tipping over runs into them, by which its weight is brought to bear with the
greatest effect upon the measuring vessel. To register the quantity of fluid
passed through the meter, an index is attached, which is operated upon at
every vibration of the measuring vessel. What I claim as my Invention is
the use of a vibrating vessel having buckets at each end to assist in tipping
over the same, and a partition in the centre for changing the direction of the
liquid from one side to the other of the vibrating vessel, whereby the use of
valves to admit the liquid into the measuring vessel and discharge it from the
same is rendered unnecessary.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Roper Mead, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.