Worthington and Baker’s Patent Model of Boiler Water Gauge – ca 1847
date: label: patent date
content: 1847-02-20
name: label: inventor
content: Worthington, Henry R.
label: inventor
content: Baker, William H.
notes: label: Description
content: This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 4,972 issued to Henry R. Worthington of New York, New York and William H. Baker of Williamsburgh, New York on February 20, 1847. The patent was for an improved design for a gauge to measure the level of water in a steam boiler. The inventors claimed to be the first to employ a “percussion gauge” for this purpose.
label: Description
content: The image of the model shows a brass cylinder which contains a loosely fitting piston. The piston is connected by an internal rod to a crank that operates the indicating arrow shown at the top of the model. Two flanges on the brass cylinder would be mounted to the side of the boiler so that the desired level of water would lie between the two. There are holes through each flange that extend into the cylinder, and these admitted steam at the top and water at the bottom.
label: Description
content: The term “percussion gauge” comes from the manner of operation of the gauge. The arrow pointer would be raised as high as possible and then dropped. This allowed the piston to fall until it hit the surface of the water with percussive force and stopped with the arrow indicating the level of water.
label: Description
content: The patent model is constructed of brass and iron. All of the key elements of the patent are illustrated by the model. A full description of the operation of the gauge along with complete diagrams of the patent can be found in the patent document online at the United States Patent and Trademark Office website, www.uspto.gov.
place: label: associated place
content: United States: New York, New York City
topic: label: Subject
content: Steam Engines
label: Subject
content: Gauging
label: Subject
content: Patent Models
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Mechanical and Civil Engineering
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content: Engineering, Building, and Architecture
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content: Patent Models
label: Exhibition
content: Power Machinery
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Frank A. Taylor. Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States National Museum, Bulletin 173
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MC.308652
label: catalog number
content: 308652
label: accession number
content: 89797
label: patent number
content: 4,972
objectType: label: Object Name
content: gauge, water, model
label: Object Name
content: patent model, gauge, steam boiler