IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING AND REGU- LATING THE PRESSURE OF GAS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Smith, of 21, King Street, West Smith-
field, in the County of Middlesex, Gas Meter Manufacturer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING AND REGU-
LATING THE PRESSURE OF GAS."
Sealed the 4th April 1862, and dated the 9th October. 1861.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Smith at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 9th
October 1861.
I, WILLIAM SMITH, of 21, King Street, West Smithfield, in the County of
Middlesex, Gas Meter Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING AND REGU-
LATING THE PRESSURE OF GAS," to be as follows:-
These improvements relate, firstly, to that kind of meter termed a con
sumer's compensating gas meter, and consist in the mode of constructing the
level pipe, which is so arranged that it can be adjusted to the proper level by
means of a stud or bottom at the exterior of the meter, the said level pipe
being made of a flexible material, such as vulcanized india-rubber, or, if pre-
ferred, of lead. At the outlet of the meter I place a float placed in the water,
on which is the pressure of the outlet gas, & to which is connected a cone
working in a valve for the purpose of regulating the pressure of the
outlet gas.

page_text: To prevent the obtaining of gas when the meter is tilted and so made to
measure. incorrectly, a rod swinging on a pivot or pivots is hung to the
back plate of the meter, which when the meter is tilted swings forward
and comes in contact with a projection on the measuring wheel, and so
<prevents its rotation; the supply of gas is consequently stopped. This improve.
ment is also applicable to ordinary consumers' meters.
-
Also the general arrangement and combination of parts of an ordinary
⚫consumers' gas meter constructed in the following manner, with the inlet gas
brought directly to the syphon pipe without communicating to the other part
of the meter; consequently the outlet pressure of the gas is on nearly the
whole of the water contained in the meter, the float being placed at the
outlet of the meter, and the lower extremities of the syphon pipe and water-
level pipe dipping into the waste-water box. In order to make the hands on
the dial of the index turn in the same direction, and thus avoid confusion in
reading off the consumptions, I place a pinion between the ordinary wheels
and pinions by which this desideratum is effected. This is also applicable to
ordinary consumers' meters.
Secondly, my Invention relates to consumers' dry gas meters, and consists
in constructing them with the inlet and outlet pipes, and the provision for
condensations within the exterior casing of 'the 'meter, which arrangement
renders them much more convenient for packing.
To regulate the throw of the diaphragm in dry gas meters, I place a crank
on the valve shaft, and insert a small lever in a socket made in the extremity
of the said crank to which the connecting rods of the diaphragms are attached.
The small lever is fixed by means of a set screw, therefore when it is required
to change the throw of the diaphragm it is only necessary to loosen the set
screw and adjust the small lever.
Thirdly, my Invention relates to single light governors, but it: may also be
applied to more lights. It is constructed in the following manner: A cone,
which can be adjusted by a regulating screw cut 'thereon, is fastened in the
outlet pipe of the regulator, and beneath it is placed a diaphragm made of a
flexible material, such as india-rubber, which has a hole pierced in the centre
serving for a valve, in which hole the cone passes, any variation of the
pressure of the gas raises or lowers the flexible diaphragm, and enlarges or
lessens the hole in the diaphragm through which the gas passes; thus, when
the pressure increases the passage for the gas is lessened or contracted, and
vice versa.
..:)
Fourthly, to the metal plates used on the diaphragm of dry gas meters,
instead of covering the edges and face of the same with leather, I make a

page_text: smooth edge by a piece of tin turned over the edges, and so dispense with ther
leather facings.
i
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th April 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SMITH, of 21, King Street, West Smithfield, in the County of Middlesex,
Gas Meter Manufacturer, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Smith, Her special licence that I, the said William Smith, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Smith, executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend,. within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR MEASURING AND REGULATING THE PRESSURE OF GAS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Smith, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Smith, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
These improvements relate, 1stly, to that kind of meter termed a con-
sumer's compensating gas meter, and consist in the mode of constructing the
level pipe, which is so arranged that it can be adjusted to the proper level by
means of a stud or button at the exterior of the meter, the said level pipe
being, made of a flexible material, such as vulcanized india-rubber, or, if
preferred, of lead. At the outlet of the meter I place a float in water, on

page_text: which the outlet pressure acts, and to the float is connected a cone working in
a valve for the purpose of regulating the pressure of the outlet gas.
2ndly, to prevent the obtaining of gas when the meter is tilted, and so made
to measure incorrectly, a rod swinging on a pivot or pivots is hung to the
back plate of the meter, which, when the meter is tilted, swings forward and
comes in contact with a projection on the measuring wheel; as its rotation is
thus arrested the supply of gas is stopped. This is only applicable when the
meter is not sufficiently tilted to expose the centre opening.
3rdly, to regulate the throw of the diaphragm in dry gas meter, I place a
crank on the valve shaft, and insert a small lever in a socket made in the
extremity of the said crank, to which the connecting rods of the diaphragms
are attached. The small lever is fixed by means of a set screw, therefore
when it is required to change the throw of the diaphragm it is only necessary
to loosen the set screw and adjust the small lever.
4thly, to the metal plates used on the diaphragms of dry gas meters, instead
of covering the edges and face of the same with leather, I make a smooth
edge by a piece of metal turned over the edges, and so dispense with the
leather facing; also in dry meters I arrange the inlet and outlet pipes within
the outer casing for convenience of packing.
5thly, my Invention relates to single light governors, but it may also be
applied to more lights; it is constructed in the following manner :-A cone,
which can be adjusted by a screw cut on the stem of the sanie, is fastened in
the outlet pipe of the regulator, and beneath it is placed a diaphragm (made
of a flexible material, such as india-rubber), and has a hole pierced in the
centre serving for a valve; any variation of the pressure of the gas raises or
lowers the flexible diaphragm, and enlarges or lessens the aperture in the
diaphragm through which the gas passes; thus, when the pressure increases
the passage is lessened, and vice versa.
6thly, to indexes of all kinds of meters to make all the hands on the dials
turn in the same direction, I use an intermediate pinion between the usual
wheels and pinions.
And that the Invention may be fully understood I will proceed to describe
the mode of carrying the same into practical effect, referring to the accom-
panying Drawings, which form part of this Specification.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 represents a compensating gas meter constructed according to my
Invention; Fig. 2 represents a plan of the same shewn partly in section;
Fig. 3 represents a side elevation, with part of the casing broken away,

page_text: shewing the apparatus for stopping the wheel when the meter is tilted; Fig. 4
represents a sectional elevation of the front box of an ordinary wet gas meter
constructed according to my Invention; Fig. 5 represents part of the front
box according to another arrangement of float; Fig. 6 represents a sectional
elevation of the regulator of pressure. In each of these Figures the same
letters of reference indicate like parts.
.
The gas enters the inlet pipe and passes through the valve E in the ordinary
manner, but the valve is controlled by the submerged float G, which is in the
supply reservoir. From the inlet pipe the gas enters in the front chamber P;
and thence through the pipe F into the waste-water chamber, and it is then
conducted into the measuring drum by the pipe I. From the round casing
the measured gas enters the chamber R, which is boxed off from the other
part of the meter, whence its exit is controlled by the valve M, which is
worked by the float K. This valve serves as a regulator, and. also to prevent
fraud. Thus, should the inlet and outlet pipes be reversed, the valve M closes
as it is raised only sufficiently to permit a proper amount of gas to pass through
with the outlet pressure on the water containing the float; and if the inlet
pressure were thereon the valve would immediately shut. The water level in
the meter is adjusted by a flexible pipe A; the upper surface B being fixed to
the true water line by means of the button C, it can thus be adjusted, when
the meter is entirely completed, when the button is soldered firmly to the
case. The water from the supply reservoir is raised to the level of the water
containing the measuring wheel by means of the ordinary spoon T, and the
overplus flows over the top of the pipe A at B, back again into the supply
reservoir; when the level of the water in the reservoir D is too low, the sub-
merged float Gimmediately falls and shuts the inlet valve. To prevent fraud
by tilting the wheel is stopped immediately the meter is out of level, in the
following manner :-On the edge of the wheel, as at V, a slight projection is
made, so that when the meter is tilted the projection strikes against the
swinging rod U, which hangs from the pivot Q, and the motion of the wheel is
arrested. This is only applicable when the meter is not sufficiently tilted to
expose the centre openings.
Fig. 6 represents a sectional elevation of a single light governor. The gas
enters by the pipe a into the chamber e, thence by the valve n to the outlet or
burner. The flexible diaphragm c is made of thin india-rubber or other like
material, and I prefer the shape shewn in the Drawing, the variations of pressure
of the gas make the diaphragm rise and fall; and as the fixed inverted cone d
passes through the orifice in the diaphragm c, when the same is lifted, and thus
diminishes the said orifice, and enlarged when it is lowered, therefore, when

page_text: the pressure of the gas increases the diaphragm rises and diminishes the
outlet, and vice versa. In order to adjust the cone it has a screwed stem, by
which means its position can be altered. The burner is screwed on the
tube m.
Figs. 4 and 5 represent two arrangements of the float controlling the inlet
gas, and also the mode of adapting the water-level pipe A in ordinary gas
The gas enters the inlet pipe and passes through the valve in the
ordinary, manner, but the float is boxed off from the front chamber of the
meter, and the float wire attached to the valve passes through a stuffing box P
in the roof or top of the chamber; the box containing the float is in commu-
nication with the chamber containing the measuring wheel. The arrows shewn
in these Figures 4 and 5 shew the direction of the inlet gas.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Smith, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
Witness,
Jos. WILLCOCK,
89, Chancery Lane, London.
WILLIAM SMITH. (L.S.)