IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY. OR APPARATUS FOR MEASURING FLUIDS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis George Fleury, of Southwark, in the County
of Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY.
OR APPARATUS FOR MEASURING FLUIDS."
Sealed the 8th October 1867, and dated the 11th April 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis George Fleury
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th April 1867.
I, FRANCIS GEORGE FLEURY, of Southwark, in the County of Surrey,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MEASURING FLUIDS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery or apparatus.
for measuring fluids, and relates to that description of machinery or apparatus
for the purpose named in which two cylinders placed on the same axial line-
or otherwise are employed.
According to my Invention each cylinder is fitted with a piston provided.
with metallic or other packing, and having its rod passing freely through a
fluid-tight packing in the piston, which latter is capable of moving freely
endwise of the cylinder for a certain distance without giving motion to the..

page_text: piston rod, such distance being regulated by collars formed with or attached
to the rod at each side of the piston, so that after moving the required portion
of its travel the piston comes in contact with one or other of the collars and
carries the rod with it until its motion is reversed. The cylinders are placed
horizontally, and each piston rod passes through a stuffing box in its own
cylinder, the piston rod of the one cylinder giving motion direct or in the
same direction as its own motion to the valve for regulating the admission and
emission of fluid to and from the other cylinder, the piston rod of which latter
cylinder gives motion in turn to the valve of the first-named cylinder by means
of a lever in a direction contrary to its (the piston's) own line of travel.
The quantity of fluid passed through the apparatus may be indicated by means
of a counter, which shall register the number of strokes of the pistons in the
ordinary or any other convenient manner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Francis George Fleury in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th October 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FRANCIS
GEORGE FLEURY, of Southwark, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Francis George Fleury, Her special license that I, the said Francis
George Fleury, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Francis George Fleury, my 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR MEASURING FLUIDS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Francis George Fleury, 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,

page_text: 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 Francis George Fleury, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be. particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery or apparatus
for measuring fluids, and relates to that description of machinery or apparatus
for the purpose named in which two cylinders placed on the same axial line
or otherwise are employed.
According to my Invention each cylinder is fitted with a piston provided
with metallic or other packing, and having its rod passing freely through a
fluid-tight packing in the piston, which latter is capable of moving freely
endwise of the cylinder for a certain distance without giving motion to the
piston rod, such distance being regulated by collars formed with or attached
to the rod at each side of the piston, so that after moving the required portion
of its travel the piston comes in contact with one or other of the collars
and carries the rod with it until its motion is reversed. The cylinders are
placed horizontally, and each piston rod passes through a stuffing box in its
own cylinder, the piston rod of the one cylinder giving motion direct or in the
same direction as its own motion to the valve for regulating the admission and
emission of fluid to and from the other cylinder, the piston rod of which latter
cylinder gives motion in turn to the valve of the first-named cylinder by means
of a lever in a direction contrary to its (the piston's) own line of travel. The
quantity of fluid passed through the apparatus may be indicated by means of a
counter, which shall register the number of strokes of the pistons in the
ordinary or any other convenient manner.
And in order that my said Invention may be well understood I will now
proceed to more fully describe the same and in what manner it may be con-
veniently carried into practical effect, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon.
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section (through the line A, B, of Fig. 2) of a
machine or apparatus for measuring fluids constructed according to my
Invention, and Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same taken through the
line C, D, of the preceding Figure.
a, a', are the cylinders; b, b¹, the pistons; c, c', their metallic or other
packing; d, d, the piston rods; e, e, fluid-tight packing in the pistons b, b',

page_text: b
through which the respective piston rods d, d, freely pass as before men-
tioned; ff, collars formed on the piston rod d for regulating the distance
which the piston 6 may move freely endwise of the cylinder without giving
motion to its piston rod d; f, f³, similar collars formed on the piston rod d¹ for
regulating in like manner the distance through which the piston b¹ may freely
move endwise of the cylinder a¹; 9, 9', stuffing boxes through which the
respective piston rods pass; h, slide valve for regulating the admission and
-emission of fluid to and from the cylinder a, and which slide valve may in
some cases be conveniently faced with lignum vitæ; h³, similar valve for
regulating in like manner the admission and emission of fluid to and from the
cylinder a¹; i, forked lever through which the piston rod d¹ gives motion
direct or in the same direction as its own motion to the valve h for regulating
the admission and emission to and from the cylinder a; , fulcrum of the
lever i;, link by which the end of the lever i is connected with the slide
valve h; pins or projections formed with or attached to the forked part of
the lever i, and taking into corresponding grooves or recesses formed in the
hollow end of the piston rod d'; j, lever through which the piston rod d gives
motion (in a contrary direction to that of its own line of travel) to the slide
valve h¹ for regulating the admission and emission of fluid to and from the
cylinder a¹; j, fulcrum of the lever j; j, link by which the upper end of the
lever is connected with the slide valve h¹; ³, the lower end of the lever j,
which takes into a slot or recess formed in the end of the piston rod d, as
shewn; 1, the valve casing; m, the inlet for the admission of fluid into the
machine; n, exit for the fluid that has been measured; o, o¹, ports for the
admission and emission of fluid to and from the cylinder a; p, p, similar ports
for admission and emission to and from cylinder a¹. In the position of the
parts as shewn in the accompanying Drawing the respective cylinders a and
a' are supposed to be both filled with fluid, the positions of the respective
slide valves being such that the end a² of the cylinder a is in communication
through the port o with the inlet passage m of the apparatus, thus permitting
the entry of fluid to be measured, while the other end a³ of the same cylinder
is in communication through its port o¹ with the exit passage n of the machine.
The end a of the cylinder a¹ is in like manner in communication through its
port p with the inlet passage of the apparatus, the end a³ of the same cylinder
being open through its port p¹ to the exit passage n.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-The fluid admitted into the
end a³ of the cylinder a will move the piston 6 in the direction of the end a³ of
the cylinder a, so that the measured contents of that end of the cylinder will

page_text: be forced through the port o¹, and passing into the channel n¹ (Fig. 2) will
leave the meter by the exit passage n. The positions of the slide valves hand
h will remain as shewn until the piston 6 comes in contact with the collar f',
formed with or attached to its rod d, when the rod in question will be carried
forward by its piston, and through the lever will reverse the position of the
slide valve ', whereupon fluid will be admitted through the port pl into the
end as of the cylinder a¹, whose piston will thereby be moved towards
the end a of the cylinder, so that the measured fluid contained in that end
will be forced out through the port p and will leave the machine, as already
described with reference to cylinder a. When the piston b¹ comes in contact
with the collar f³ formed on its rod d¹, such rod will be moved towards the
end a of the cylinder, and through its lever i will reverse the position of the
slide h. is a counter for registering the number of strokes of the pistons in
the ordinary manner for indicating the quantity of fluid passed through the
apparatus, and to which counter motion may be given by means of a paul
and ratchet, or in any other convenient manner.
Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same may be conveniently carried into effect, I would
point out that I am aware that it has been previously proposed to construct
double-cylinder measuring machinery or meters so arranged that the motion
of the piston in one cylinder shall at the proper time actuate the supply and
delivery valve of the other cylinder, therefore I make no claim to the arrange-
ment in question, nor, on the other hand, do I limit or confine myself to the
precise forms or details herein-before described and shewn in the accompanying
Drawing, as the same admit of being variously modified to suit the require-
ments of particular cases without departing from the distinctive features of my
Invention, with reference to which I claim,
Firstly, the construction of machinery or apparatus for measuring fluids
with cylinders fitted with pistons capable of moving freely end wise of the
cylinders for certain distances without giving motion to the piston rods, such
distances being regulated by collars or equivalent devices formed with or
attached to the rods at each side of the pistons, so that after moving the
required portion of their travel the pistons come in contact with one or other
of the collars and carry the rods with them, substantially as described.
Secondly, causing the piston rod of one cylinder to give motion direct or in
the same direction as its own motion to the valve for regulating the admission
and emission of fluid to and from the other cylinder, while the piston rod of
the latter cylinder gives motion in turn to the valve of the first-named cylinder

page_text: in a direction contrary to its (the piston's) own line of travel, substantially as
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis George Fleury, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Tenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
FRANCIS GEORGE FLEURY. (L.S.)