A NEW OR IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF WATER MOTOR, ALSO APPLICABLE AS A WATER METER
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Mac Farlane, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, for an Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF
WATER MOTOR, ALSO APPLICABLE AS A WATER METER" Partly a com-
munication from abroad by Frederick W. Tuerk, of Chicago, Illinois, in the
United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Mac Farlane at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st May 1880.
JAMES MAC FARLANE, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain.
"A NEW OR IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF WATER MOTOR, ALSO APPLICABLE AS
A WATER METER." (Partly a communication from abroad by Frederick W. Tuerk,
of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States of America.)
This Invention relates to a new or improved construction of rotary water motor
or motive power engine, also applicable as a water or liquid meter, and specially
designed to be capable of being operated with equal advantage under extremely
high, or low, or medium pressures of water without the back pressure and waste
of power which is common in water motors as hitherto constructed. The improved
motor may also be made of any size or power, and is most simple and inexpensive
in construction, whilst very durable and not liable to get out of order or
repair.
"
The improved motor consists essentially of a shallow round box or casing,
having a water admission tube and one, two, or more inlet ports or ducts and
corresponding outlet openings, which is fitted with a cover enclosing a revolving
wheel carried by a spindle passing through the centro of the casing, and made to
rotate by the action of the water on a set or series of oscillating buckets or vanes
with which the periphery of the wheel is fitted, the whole of the working
mechanism being inside the casing.
The water admission tube or chute is cast in one piece with the outer casing of
the motor, and set so that the water enters tangentially into an annular space
surrounding the rotating wheel, and this space is divided into two water ducts or
passages by a thin web or feather, the full depth of the casing commencing either

page_text: .
a short distance in front of the inlet tube or orifice or carried forward to divide
that orifice so that the water would enter on both sides of it.
This dividing
feather or partition is continued round to about one half the circumference of the
annular water passage, where after curving or diverging outwards from its course
concentric with the revolving wheel to allow room between it and the wheel for
an outlet port from the inner water duct, it terminates in close contact with the
periphery of the wheel.
The water duct or passage outside the dividing feather retains the same breadth
until it passes the end of this division, where it is contracted by gradually
increasing the thickness of the outer case or forming a rib on it concentric with the
rim of the wheel, until a channel of only the breadth of the first inner water duct
remains, and is continued round till it diverges into an outlet port the full breadth
of the space between the wheel and the outer caso at a position opposite the first
outlet port, and only separated from the inlet orifice by a transverso curved
dividing rib. The outlet ports or openings are formed in one end outside of the
casing and the water discharged through them enters a common receiver fitted at
the back, having an outlet or discharge pipe or tube attached to it by which the
discharge water is led away.
The rotating wheel is preferably made in the form of a disc with a flanged rim
of the depth of the case, in which a set of equally spaced buckets or vanes, also
the full depth of the case at that part, are inserted and fitted on pivots so as to
be capable of oscillating, and so bo opened out to an almost radial position or be
closed up flush with the periphery of the wheel; the number of these buckets
varying according to the dimensions of the wheel and motor, as from 4 or 5 to 12,
or even more.
These buckets are formed with arms projecting inwards at about right
angles to the bucket plates through the rim or Hange of the wheels, and
during the revolution of the wheel these arms come in contact with a pair of cam
surfaces formed by projecting feathers cast or fitted on the cover of the casing so
that the buckets are opened at the desired parts of the revolution. Thus when
each of the buckets reaches a position in the rotation of the wheel in which it is
directly opposite the inlet orifice where the water enters, the inner arm of the
bucket is acted on by the cam surface or flange to open the bucket, which now
being forced forward enters the contracted portion of tho inner water duct or
passage and reaches completely across it to the inner edge of dividing partition in ;
the water passage.
The water now drives the bucket and wheel forward as a
piston in the duct until it reaches the point where this duct expands into the outlet
port and there the water escapes; but just before this escape of the water the
next following bucket (which in the wider part of the duct did not block the
passage of the water) has entered the contracted portion of the duct to be acted on
in turn as a piston; and thus only the water in the length of the duct, of which the
full effective pressure has been utilized, is allowed to escape. After passing the
outlet port the buckets are closed by a curved cam surface formed by a part of
the dividing partition so as to pass the end of this partition without any water
escaping; but these buckets are almost immediately opened again by the action of
the second cam surface or flange on their inner arms to be propelled forward by
the water passing round from the inlet orifice through the outer water duct beyond
the dividing partition into the contracted part of this duct where the buckets a
second time in their revolution act as pistons and allow only of the escape of the
water, of which the effective pressuro has been utilized in driving them through
this narrow duct to the second outlet port, a similar action of closing the buckets
being repeated in passing this outlet. The closing of the buckets may also bo
aided for the purpose of avoiding friction of the cam surfaces by forming a wedge
shaped or curved cavity at the end of each discharge or outlet port into which the
water suddenly released from the contracted ducts first flows, and passing through 5
perforations or slots in the inner side of these wedge shaped recesses or cavities,
strikes the outside of the buckets at an angle normal to their surface with sufficient

page_text: force to close the buckets almost without contact with the metallic cam surfaces.
When the partition dividing the water passage is carried back to divide the inlet
orifice also as is preferred, the full pressure of the water acts on the buckets in
passing through each contracted duct, and a great saving of power is effected as
compared with the results obtained when the partition splits up the water in the
passage inside the casing. Tho end cover is fitted to the casing by means of bolts
or screws, and the central wheel spindle has a bearing formed for it in this cover
through which it need not generally pass at this side, and the bearing being close
or cup shaped it is lubricated by water which enters by a small tube passing from
the bearing and through the cover to the water passage inside the casing. The
spindle passes out preferably from the other side through the waste water receiver,
in which the water being at low pressure, a stuffing box or other equivalent
packing may not be required, though this may be fitted to prevent leakage, and a
belt pulley or other driving wheel is keyed on to the spindle at this end. The
engine or motor being extremely compact may be fitted in any position, and the
inlet tube may be connected by an ordinary screw coupling to a branch from a
main service pipe or other water under pressure.
The improved motor is obviously susceptible of modification in the details to
suit various circumstances; for example, in tho sinaller sizes only one inlet duct
and outlet port may be formed, whilst in the larger sizes of motors the water
passage may be inade very broad and be divided into three or even more ducts,
leading the water to act on the buckets of the rotating wheel as many times during
the revolution, a corresponding number of outlet ports being also provided. The
quantity of water discharged at each revolution being constant the motor can also
be made to register the amount of water passing through it by carrying the spindle
of the wheel quite through the cover of the casing, and fitting a pinion on its end
in gear with a train of wheels of the kind used for the counting gear of ordinary
fluid meters with their spindles carried through a dial plate and fitted with end
axes or pointers. And in this form the motor can be applied and used as a water
ineter alone by carrying only one end of the wheel spindle through the casing and
fitting it with the necessary train of wheels or counting gear.
The action of the improved motor is so simple, the friction so slight, and the
pressure of the water so direct and full with so little waste, that it may be
successfully used in places where the hydraulic pressure is extremely low; and the
same force as exists at the ground level may be obtained at any height to which
the water will flow by simply making a tight connection between the discharge
opening and any pipe leading to the ground, when the suction created by the fall
will counteract the loss sustained through the rise as in a siphon.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said James Mac Farlane in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 30th
October 1880).
SE
JAMES MAC FARLANE, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain.
A NEW OR IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF WATER MOTOR, ALSO APPLICABLE AS A
WATER METER." Partly a communication from abroad by Frederick W. Tuerk,
of Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
This Invention relates to a new or improved construction of rotary water motor
or motive power engine, also applicable as a water or liquid meter, and specially
designed to be capable of being operated with equal advantage under extremely
high or low or medium pressure of water, without tho back pressure and waste of
power which is common in water motors as hitherto constructed. The improved
motor may also be made of any size or power, and is most simple and inexpensive
in construction, whilst very durable and not liable to get out of order or repair.
And in order that the said Invention and the manner of performing the same
may be clearly understood, a Sheet of Drawings is hereunto appended for that
purpose representing a modification of the improved motor.
Referring to these Drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of one simple
modification of the improved water motor with the end cover removed, and
Figure 2 is a vertical section of the samo taken as through tho centro line 1---1
in Figure 1; Figures 3 and 4 are detached end and side elevations respectively of
one of the vanes or buckets of the motor.
The improved motor as shown in these Drawings consists essentially of a shallow
round box or casing A having a water admission tube A', and one, two, or moro
inlet ports or ducts a, a¹, and corresponding outlet openings b, b', which is fitted
with a cover C enclosing a revolving wheel D carried by a spindle E passing
through the centre of the casing A, and made to rotate by the action of the water
on a set or series of oscillating buckets or vanes d, d', with which the periphery of
the wheel is fitted, the whole of the working mechanism being inside the casing A.
The water admission tube or chute A¹ is cast in one piece with the outer casing A
of the motor, and is in this example formed also with a strong flange A* by which
the motor is bolted or fitted on its seat. This inlet A¹ is formed so that the water
enters tangentially into an annular space a, a', surrounding the rotating wheel;
and this space is divided into two water ducts or passages a, a', by a thin web or
feather A, the full depth of the casing A commencing either a short distanco in
front of the inlet tube or orifice B, or carried back as shown in Figure 1 to divide
that orifice, so that the water would enter in either case on both sides of the
feather A. This dividing feather or partition A² is continued round to about one
half the circumference of the annular water passage a, a, where after curving or
diverging outwards at all from its course concentric with the revolving wheel D,
to allow room between it and the wheel D for an outlet port b from the inner
water duct a, it terminates at all, in close contact with the periphery of the
wheel D.
;
The water duct or passage outside the dividing feather retains the same breadth
all round until it passes the end of this division, where it is gradually contracted by
increasing the thickness of the outer rim A¹¹ of the case A, or curving it inwards at
this point to be concentric with the rim of the wheel D, until a channel a¹ of only
the breadth of the first inner water duct a remains, and is continued round till it
diverges into an outlet port b¹, the full breadth of the space between the wheel D
and the outer case A1 at a position opposite the first outlet port b, and only
separated from the inlet orifice by a transverse curved dividing rib As. The outlet
ports or openings b, b', are formed in one end or side of the casings A, and the

page_text: water discharged through them enters a common receiver B fitted at the back,
having an outlet or discharge pipe or tube B¹ attached to it by which the dis-
charge water is led away. The rotating wheel D is preferably made in the form
of a disc with a flanged rim D' of the depth of the case in which a set of equally
spaced buckets or vanes d, d; also the full depth of the case A at that part are
inserted and fitted on pivots d", so as to be capable of oscillating, and so be opened
out to an almost radial position, as shown by the buckets d, or be closed flush with
the periphery of the wheel D as shown by the buckets at ', the number of these
buckets d, d', depending on the dimensions of the wheel and motor as from 4 or 5
to 12, or even more. These buckets d, d, are formed each with two pivots d¹¹, a",
the one end entering the bottom flange of the wheel D, and the other being secured
by cap plates D³ screwed on to the flange D, and these buckets d, d', have arms d³
projecting inwards at about right angles to the bucket plates d, d', through the rim
or Hango D' of the wheel D, and during the revolution of the wheol D these arms
d come in contact with a pair of cam surfaces formed by projecting feathers F, F¹,
cast or fitted on the cover C of the casing, so that the buckets are oponed at the
desired parts of the revolution. Thus when cach of the buckets d, d, reaches a
position in the rotation of the wheel D in which it is directly opposite the inlot
orifice A¹ where the water enters, the inner arm d² of the buckot d is acted on by tho
cain surface or flange F to open the bucket, which now being forced forward enters
the contracted portion of the inner water duct or passage a, and reaches completely
across it to the inner edge of the dividing partition A in the water passage. The
water now drives the bucket d (and wheel D) forward as a piston in the curved
duct a, until it reaches the point where the duct a expands into the outlet port b,
and there the water escapes. But just before the escape of the water the next
following bucket d (which in the wider part A¹ of the duct a did not block the
passage of the water) has entered the narrow or contracted portion a of the duct
to be acted on in turn as a piston, and thus only the water in the length of the
duct a, of which the full effective pressure has been utilized, is allowed to escapo.
After passing the outlet port b the buckets d, d, are closed by a curved cam
surface G formed by a part of the dividing partition A³, so as to pass the end of
this partition without any water escaping, but theso buckets d, d¹, are almost
immediately opened again by the action of the second cam surface or flange F" on
their inner arms d² to be propelled forward by the water passing round from the
inlet orifice A' through the outer water duct A¹, a, beyond the dividing partition A*
into the contracted part a¹ of this duct, where the buckets d, d, a second time in
their revolution act as pistons, and allow only of the escape of the water of
which the effective pressure has been utilized in driving them through this narrow
duct a to the second outlet port 6', a similar action of closing the buckets by a
curved cam surface G¹ being repeated in passing this outlet. The closing of the
buckets may also be aided for the purpose of avoiding friction of the cam surfaces
by forming a wedge shaped or curved cavity g, g¹, at the end of each discharge or
outlet port b, b, into which the water suddenly released from the contracted ducts
first flows, and passing through perforations or slots g' in the inner side G, G', of
these wedge shaped recesses or cavities g, g¹, strikes the outside of the buckets d, d
at an angle normal to their surface with sufficient force to close the buckets d, d,,
almost without contact with the metallic cam surfaces G, G¹.
When the partition A³ dividing the water passage is carried back to divide the
inlet orifice A, also as is preferred the full pressure of the water acts on the
buckets d, d, on passing through each contracted duct a, a, and a great saving
of power is effected as compared with the results obtained when the partition A³
splits up the water in the passage inside the casing A, as indicated by the dotted
termination of the partition at a*.
When the improved motor is made of extremely small size it will be found
convenient to have the water buckets & fixed or cut or formed on the periphery of
the rotating wheel D. The end cover C is fitted to the casing by means of bolts
or screws, and the central wheel spindle E has a bearing C¹ formed for it in this

page_text: cover C, through which it need not generally pass at this side. The bearing C
being close or cup-shaped, it is lubricated by water which enters by a small tube c
passing from the bearing C¹, and fitted to a nozzle c¹ inserted through the cover C
communicating with the water passage A' inside the casing A. The spindle E
passes out preferably from the other side through the waste water receiver B in
which the water being at low pressure a stuffing box or other equivalent packing
may not be required, though this may be fitted when preferred, as shown at B
to prevent leakage, and a belt pulley H or other driving wheel is keyed or fixed
on to the spindle E at this end. The engine or motor being extremely compact
may be fitted in any position, and the inlet tube A' may be connected by an
ordinary screw coupling to a branch from a main service pipe or other water under
pressure.
The improved motor is obviously susceptible of modification in the details to
suit various circumstances, for example, in the smaller sizes only one inlet duct u
and outlet port b may be formed, whilst in the larger sizes of motors the water
passage may be made very broad, and be divided into three or even more ducts a, a',
leading the water to act on the buckets d, , of the rotating wheel D as many
times during the revolution, a corresponding number of outlet ports b, b', being
also provided.
The quantity of water discharged at each revolution being constant, the motor
can also be made to register the amount of water passing through it, by carrying
the spindle E of the wheel D quite through the cover C of the casing A, and fitting
a pinion on its end in gear with a train of wheels of the kind used for the counting
gear of ordinary fluid meters with their spindles carried through a dial plate,
and fitted with indexes or pointers. And in this form the motor can be applied
and used as a water meter alone by carrying only one end of the wheel spindle
through the casing, and fitting it with the necessary train of wheels or counting
gear.
The action of the improved motor is so simple, the friction so slight, and the
pressure of the water so direct and full with so little waste that it may be
successfully used in places where the hydraulic pressure is extremely low, and the
same force as exists at the ground level may be obtained at any height to which
the water will flow by simply 'making a tight connection between the discharge
opening B' and any pipe leading to the ground when the suction created by the fall
will counteract the loss sustained through the rise as in a siphon.
Having thus particularly described the said Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I wish it to be understood that 1 do not restrict myself to
the precise details herein described or delineated, but what I believe to be novel
and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. The general arrangement and construction of a rotary water motor or
meter having a central revolving wheel D driven by the action on its buckets or
vanes d, d', of water, entering and flowing through one, two, or more ducts or
channels a, a, and escaping through corresponding outlet ports b, b', so as to
utilize both its effective pressure and subsequent fall in actuating the engine, all
substantially as herein described and shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Second. The construction of the wheel D of a rotary water motor or meter
revolving on a central spindle E, and actuated by the action of the water on a
series of buckets or vanes d, d', pivoted on the rim of the wheel, all substantially
as berein described and shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Third. The construction and arrangement of the buckets or vanes d, d³, pivoted
on the rotating wheel D of a rotary water motor or meter, together with the mode
and means or appliances F, F, G, G', for opening and closing these, all substantially
as herein described and shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Fourth. The construction and arrangement of the casing A, A, of a rotary
water motor or meter, having its water inlet A' divided by a partition or partitions
A², into separate contracted channels a, a', leading the pressure water to act on

page_text: the rotating wheel D, once, twice, or several times during its revolution, all
substantially as and for the purposes herein described in reference to the
accompanying Drawings.
Fifth. The mode and means or construction of fittings G, g, G¹, g³ for closing or
partially closing the vanes or buckets d, d', of the wheel D after each action, by
means of the discharge water of that action, substantially as herein described, and
shown in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Mac Farlane, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty.
Witness,
W. R. M. THOMSON,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
JAMES MAC FARLANE. (LS.)