IMPROVEMENTS IN WATER METERS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN WATER METERS."-A communication from abroad
by Emile Eugène Pierre Clausolles, of Barcelona, in the Kingdom
of Spain, Doctor of Medicine.
"
Sealed the 12th December 1871, and dated the 3rd October 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 3rd October 1871.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WATER METERS," a communication to
me from abroad by Emile Eugène Pierre Clausolles, of Barcelona,
in the Kingdom of Spain, Doctor of Medicine, to be as follows :-
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
reciprocating piston water meter, and consists in the employment of a

page_text: pair of open-mouthed measuring cylinders situate in the same
horizontal axial line, and having their open mouths towards each other
whilst their outer ends are closed. Within these two cylinders work
pistons (made hollow for lightness) connected together by a rod, and the
entire mechanism, cylinders included, is enclosed in a water-tight casing
of cast iron or other suitable metal. The rod which connects together
the two pistons is provided with two tappets or stops, which by the
movement of the pistons impart a vibrating motion to an upright lever,
loose on a horizontal rocking shaft which carries also a weighted,
tipping, or quadrant lever. This quadrant lever is fitted with two pins
or stops, which as the lever tips over to one side or the other alternately
strike the arm of a lever which actuates the distribution or slide valve.
The movement of the rocking shaft is obtained from the upright lever
by means of a pin therein striking against one or other of two tappets
on the rocking shaft.
The slide valve is similar to a steam engine slide, and works over
three orifices, and at each change of position the water already measured
by one of the cylinders passes to the outside, whilst the water which
enters the meter by the inlet pipe is measured by the other cylinder
which it enters by a passage for the purpose. The slide should be
rather shorter than the distance between the outer edges of the two
extreme ports, in order to prevent its stopping in the middle of its
course.
.
The movement of the pistons is transmitted to the counting
mechanism by means of a rack situate between the two pistons, the
length of the toothed portion of the rack being rather more than
equivalent say to one quart (the capacity of each cylinder). This rack
gears with a pinion on a vertical spindle which carries loosely at its
upper end a double and fine-toothed ratchet wheel actuated by double
palls. These palls are so arranged that when one is at the base of a
tooth the other is midway, whereby greater exactitude of registration is
obtained. To the double ratchet wheel there is fitted a pinion which
gives motion to the train of counting wheels.
When one cylinder is filling the palls are moving backward, and no
registration takes place of the first cylinder. So soon as the slide valve
is moved, the water which enters the other cylinder moves the pistons in

page_text: the opposite direction and with them the rack, whereby the palls turn
in the reverse direction and impart a rotatory motion to the ratchet
wheel, which transmits movement to the counting mechanism and
causes the two cylinders' full to be registered.
The motion of the indicators in the counting mechanism is inter-
mittent, the pinions for transmitting the movement from one wheel to
another in the train of gearing having one tooth only, so that they
make one revolution before engaging into a fresh notch of the next
wheel. This counting apparatus is situate in an upper cavity above the
water level so as to be beyond the reach of the water.
As the whole of the mechanism is enclosed in an outer water-tight
case the necessity for stuffing boxes is obviated, and the friction of
working is consequently reduced, whilst all loss of water and fraud
are prevented.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,.
.
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 3rd April 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
› Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special
license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson,
my executors, administrators, or 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, usc, exercise,.
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,.
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS.

page_text: IN WATER METERS," a communication to me from abroad by Emile
Eugene Pierre Clausolles, of Barcelona, in the Kingdom of Spain,
Doctor of Medicine, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John Henry Johnson, my exccutors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, 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 John Henry Johnson, 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 statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
say:-
The said Invention relates to a peculiar combination of parts con-
stituting a self-acting apparatus for measuring and indicating the flow
of fluids, which apparatus the Inventor designates the "Clausolles"
water meter, and which meets all the conditions which a good water
meter should fulfil, viz. :--
First. Reduction in the size of the apparatus, which admits of its
being fixed where required without causing any encumbrance.
Secondly. Strength and firmness of the parts and arrangements by
which shocks and friction which naturally cause wear and involve
repairs, are obviated.
Thirdly. Simplicity of the mechanism and facility of construction, so
as to reduce the cost of workmanship, and consequently the net cost of
the apparatus.
Fourthly. The parts are constructed of inoxidizable metals, which
obviates both the deterioration of the water and the destruction of the
apparatus.
Fifthly. The mechanism operates without any superintendence or
attention, such for example as lubricating and tightening of packing,
whereby its duration is only limited by the natural wear of the
parts.

page_text: Sixthly. In the case of injury to one of the parts the apparatus
stops, and consequently ceases to supply water.
Seventhly. The water meter will operate under very low pressures,
consequently water companies using it will lose as little as possible of
height in the levels, which is an important condition to those companies
which raise the water by steam power.
'
Eighthly. The apparatus registers with the utmost precision tho
water that it measures, whether the quantity be great or small or even
insignificant.
Ninthly. The water meter is wholly unaffected by and insensible to
the pressure of the water in the interior of the apparatus, that is to say,
the quantity passed through it is registered with the same precision
when it works under a pressure of six inches as under a pressure of one
hundred and fifty feet and upwards, the pressure being only limited by
the strength of the case containing the apparatus.
Tenthly. The difference in the level between the inlet and outlet
of the water is constantly the same, viz., from four and a half
to six inches, whatever may be the internal pressure in the water
meter, and this is one of the most essential conditions to be taken
into account.
.
Eleventhly. When once the apparatus is put in its place the moving
parts cannot possibly be altered, nor the hands or indicators tampered
with; consequently fraud is prevented.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I
shall now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for
that purpose shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of
Drawings, the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts
in all the Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings is a side elevation of the apparatus with
one side of the case removed. Figure 2 is a corresponding plan of the
same with the upper portion of the mechanism and counter removed.
Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section taken along the line 1-2,
(Figure 1), and Figure 4 is a longitudinal section taken along the
line 3-4, (Figure 2). Figures 5 and 6 are front views of the dials and

page_text: wheels respectively of the counting mechanism. The rest of the Figures
are details which will be herein-after more fully described.
This apparatus is composed of two cylinders A, A³, of copper, tin, or
alloy, closed at their outer extremities B, B', only, and placed
horizontally on the same axis, so that their open ends will be opposite 5
to each other. I make no claim, however, to this arrangement of the
measuring cylinders separate and apart from the rest of the combination.
The lower portions of the cylinders rest on supports C, C', which serve
to fix them on to the cast-iron plate E which forms the bed plate of the
entire apparatus. On to this plate there is also fixed the case P, which 1
hermetically encloses the whole of the mechanism. In the interior of
these cylinders slide respectively the hollow pistons F, F', which are
properly fitted by means of simple leather packing H, of a thin and
flexible description. These pistons are united by a common rod I, so
that they move simultaneously from one end to the other of their 1
cylinders in a uniform manner, one of the pistons moving forward
towards the open end of the cylinder, whilst the other is moving · back-
wards towards the closed end of its cylinder.
It has been already stated that the pistons are hollow, the object of
which is to prevent their weight constantly bearing on the bottom of the 2
cylinder, and thus wearing away that side sooner than the other. Being
hollow however and working in water they are as it were suspended, and
move with but little friction.
As I am aware that hollow pistons have already been proposed, I
make no claim to their employment separately. The rod which unites 2
the two pistons carries two stops or tappets M, M³, which strike against
a forked lever N vibrating on the horizontal shaft O at its lower end, so
that the to-and-fro motion of the pistons imparts a reciprocating
curvilinear motion to the lever. The shaft O, the ends of which turn
freely in bearings R, S, secured to the bed plate, has secured to it at its 3
opposite end a counterweight or tipping lever T. This counterweight is
provided with two pins or tappits U, U, between which works a lever V
having its centre at X, on the outlet pipe for the water. The
pins U, U³, impart a reciprocating circular motion to the lower end Y
of the lever, and the other end Z of such lever imparts a reciprocating
rectilinear motion to the slide valve a. The oscillating motion of the

page_text: counterweight T is affected by the lever N, which is provided for that
purpose with a pin. which presses against the projections c, c',
alternately until the counterweight falls, thereby changing its position
and consequently that of the slide valvo.
9
The slide ȧ, which is similar to those employed in steam engines, slides
on a plate perforated with three orifices, and cach time it changes its
position the water already measured by one cylinder (the left one for
example) passes to the outside as indicated by the arrow'd, whilst the
water that enters the meter through the tube ƒ passes through the
orifice into the right-hand cylinder to be measured, as indicated by
the other arrow. The slide should be rather shorter than the extreme
distance of the orifices, as shewn in the three diagrams, Figure 7, in
order to prevent its stopping in the middle of its course without the
.counterweight being sufficient to carry it along. In fact, if the total
length of the slide were equal to the extreme distance of the orifices, it
would on changing its position, and when at the middle of its course,
exactly close the two extreme orifices; and if the pressure of the water
in the meter were considerable it would be liable to be fixed in this
position by the pressure of the liquid on the whole external surface; but
when the slide is shorter, as shewn in the different positions in the detail
diagrams, Figure 7, the pressure of the water has no longer any influence
upon it, and it is carried along with ease by the counterweight without
any appreciable loss of water during its passage, which only occupies a
fraction of a second of time.
The transmission of motion to the counting mechanism of the meter,
the hands of which should move in exact accordance with the number
of cylinderfuls measured and to the stroke of the pistons, is effected in
the following manner:-A rack o provided with teeth on a portion of its
length is fitted between the two pistons, and follows them in their
> reciprocating rectilinear motion. The length of the toothed portion of
the rack represents in the cylinders A, A¹, any given capacity or
measure plus an excess (which the counter also indicates, however small
the quantity may be,) by which the pistons exceed the limit of the given
capacity. This rack is in gear with a spur wheel P' fast on a vertical
5 shaft Q, which shaft carries at its opposite end a double-crown ratchet
wheels, having teeth of a fine pitch on its upper and lower edges, the

page_text: said ratchet wheel being mounted loosely on the shaft Q with two palls
carried one on each end of a cross arm fixed to the shaft Q, as shown
at in Figures 1 and 4, which palls actuate the said ratchet wheel.
These palls are so arranged that when one is at the bottom of the tooth
the other takes only one-half in order to register with the greatest
possible precision the quantity passed through the cylinders. With the
ratchet wheel there is connected a pinion s which is in gear with the
wheel of the first dial of the counter.
When one of the cylinders is filling with water, the cylinder A for
example, the pistons move from left to right carrying with them in their
motion the rack, which causes the wheel P' to turn, and also moves the
two palls in the backward direction, and consequently without register-
ing this first cylinderful. Immediately the position of the valve is
changed the water which enters the right-hand cylinder A' drives the
pistons towards the left, and this time by their motion the rack, its 1
pinion, and also the ratchet wheel, are acted upon so that the counter
during the return motion registers the two cylinderfuls which have just
been passed through the meter. 8" is a spring detent for holding the
ratchet wheel stationary during the return stroke or traverse of the palls
over the teeth. Communication is formed between the valve box and 2
the cylinders by means of the two tubes m, m', cach of which extends
to the outer end of its own cylinder. Pieces of leather n, n', are secured
to the bed plate in order to deaden the shock of the counterweight,
which however is not considerable, since it works under water.
The counting mechanism is so constructed that the hands are always 2
opposite the numbers of their respective dials, and so that the passage
from one number to the other is performed intermittently and not in a
continuous manner. In order to accomplish this intermittent motion,
pinions with one tooth each are employed, such tooth gearing into one
of the ten notches of the wheel adjacent to it, the pinions being 3

page_text: capacity of this recess is about one-tenth of that comprised between the
inlet orifice for the water and the top of the case, that is to say, the
portion occupied by air, so that even should the apparatus be required
to work under a pressure equal to, say, eight or ten atmospheres,
the water would not enter the recess where the mechanism of the
counter is situate.
Figure 8 is a sectional view of an arrangement which admits of the;
counting mechanism being disposed completely outside the case P, and
of imparting motion to it without the necessity for perforating the
disc y for the passage of a spindle, which would involve the use of a
stuffing box. On the spindle Q and above the ratchet wheel there is
disposed a magnet X, which turning with it influences by attraction,
the needle x, which is mounted outside the casing P on the spindle q in
the axis of the spindle Q, as the spindle 9 carries the pinion s which is
in gear with the first wheel of the counting mechanism, it follows that
every
motion of the ratchet wheel r, and consequently of the magnet X,
is faithfully transmitted to the counter by the needle, spindle q, and¸
pinion 8.
This meter operates in the following manner, viz.:-The water
O which enters the meter through the tube or orifice ƒ partially fills the
case, and if the valve is in the position shewn in Figure 1 of the
Drawings, the water will enter through the uncovered opening g, and
pass through the tube m' so as to fill the right-hand cylinder A¹,
exerting a pressure on its piston. The interior of the left-hand cylinder
3 being in communication with the outlet cock, its internal pressure is less
(by four and three quarters or five and a half inches of water) than that
of the right-hand cylinder, by which the equilibrium is destroyed which
effects the traverse of the pistons. As the pistons are driven by the
water, the right-hand tappet M on the piston rod acts on the upright
O forked lever N and causes it to vibrate. This lever by means of the
pin b near its lower end acts simultaneously on the projection c (Figure 1)
of the shaft O, and causes the latter to move together with the counter-
weight or pendulum T which forms a part of it. A little before the
pistons arrive at the end of their stroke, the counterweight T passing
5 the vertical centre line falls to the left hand, the pin U' acts on the.
end Y of the lever V, which changes instantaneously the position of the
valve, and the water is consequently conducted so as to fill the left-.

page_text: hand cylinder, whilst that which has been measured already and which
fills the right-hand cylinder runs out through the cock e.
The apparatus continues to operate in the same manner providing
that there is a pressure of a few inches, and that its working parts are
lubricated by the water in which they work, with the exception however 5
of the counting mechanism which works in air as herein-before stated,
and which consequently is preserved from deterioration.
In order that the apparatus may operate with suitable precision, it is
requisite that its speed should have a certain limit; and for the purpose
of preventing that limit or maximum of speed being exceeded, the 1
outlet of the water is regulated by obturators designated hydrophragms,
which are disposed in the outlet cock e. These obturators are simple
metallic washers perforated with a hole of larger or smaller size in
proportion to the pressure of the water which is to pass into the meter.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of 1
the said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be
used or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion, that what I
consider 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 combination in a water meter of two measuring cylinders 2
placed on the same axis one in front of the other, and having their
open ends opposite to each other, with two hollow pistons secured on
to one common rod provided with rack teeth for actuating the
counting mechanism; the whole being arranged and operating sub-
stantially as herein-before described and illustrated by the Drawings 2
hereunto annexed.
Secondly. The method of transmitting the motion of the pistons to
the rocking shaft at the lower part of the apparatus, together with the
peculiar form and arrangement of the tipping lever or counterweight
which acts on the slide valve, as herein-before described and illustrated 3
by the Drawings hereunto annexed.
Thirdly. The application and use of an immersed slide valve, actuated
by means of a tipping lever or counterweight carrying studs or pins, for
operating upon an upright lever mounted on a rocking shaft, as herein-
before described and illustrated by the Drawings.
31

page_text: Fourthly. The peculiar arrangement of registering counter, and the
means of imparting motion thereto, so that it may register with
precision the water measured, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this
my Specification set my hand and seal, the Second day of April
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)