US2087937A

US2087937A - Single piston gas meter

Info

Publication number: US2087937A
Application number: US71967A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kuwada Gompei
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1935-04-19
Filing date: 1936-03-31
Publication date: 1937-07-27
Anticipated expiration: 1954-07-27

Description

July .27, 1937.

G. KUWADA SINGLE PISTON GAS METER Filed March 51, 71956 2 Shee ts -sheet 1 Elma/WM @0771 p L'ffawadoo,

July 27, 1937'. UW DA (2,087,937

SINGLE Ppsfon GAS METER Filed inch 51, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 27, 1937 Application March 31 1936, Serial No; 71,967

. In Japan Aprilj19,1935 I 1 v 14 Claims. '(Cl. 73-237) This invention relates to a single piston gas meter.

The object of my invention is toprovide agas meter in which the prime mover is a single pis- 5 ton, designed to avoid'in its construction the usual diaphragm and its inherent source of error. "1

' The presently preferred embodiment of my inventionis shown in the accompanyingv drawings,

l in'which I Fig. 1 is a horizontal sectional view of a single piston gas meter embodying the 'presen't invention and showing the valve mechanism in plan view. I l Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on'line 2--2 oiFig.l. I 1

Fig. 3 is avertical sectional view through the valveoperating mechanism, the same being taken substantiallyfoniine 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlarged face view of one of the I cams for actuating the slide valves.

Fig. 5 isa detail sectional view showing the manner in which the s'lidevalve-actuating lugs are secured to the valve rods.-

1 Fig. 6 is a plan view of .theend of one of the 'valve rods which carriesthe actuating lug. 1 Fig. '7 is a side view showing thejoperative conpection between a part of the register-actuating mechanism and the bell rod.

3o Fig. 8 is averticalsectional view on line 8 -8 ofFig. 7, and. r Fig. 9 is a plan view of theparts shown in Fig. 7.

- In the drawings, a gas-receiving. hell I has 2 a rod 2 extending upwardly therefrom and guided in its vertical movement by a bracket 3. At an intermediate point the rod 2 carries'a pivoted crossheadfi which has a bore 4'. The cross- I 1 head 4 is provided with journals on its opposite sides which are received in hearings in the sides of a box formed by an enlargement "onthe bell .rod 2. .The bore 4 extends at right angles to the I journals about which the crossheadfipivots and receives one end of av pivoted lever- 5 having an extension 6 for supporting a counterweight I for the bell I. 1

The upper portion of the bell rod has a bracket 8 rigidly secured thereto. ,At opposite sides the bracket 8 carries cam,blocks Q'and l0 for actuating slide valves I l .and I2 which re- 7 spectivelycontrol the admission of. gas to and its exhaust i'romthe meter. Each cam block has a cam groove I3 for receiving lugs "ll rigidly se-, curedto rods I5'and I for actuating, the gas -the vertical corresponding tothe curve at the cams.

tends downwardly and then upwardly and has an and side ports similar to the valvebody. A gas admission and exhaust valves H and l2; ,respectively. As'shown in Fig. 4, the cam grooves I3 are generally oval in shape, as are also the'lugs I4. In order that the lugs I4 will travel upwardly 5 on one side and downwardly on the other side of the oval groove and thereby impart reciprocatory motion -to the slide valves II and I2 as the cams rise and fall; they are set at an angle to upper andlower parts of the oval grooves of the The angle at which the lugs I4 are set is toward the righto'n the admission valve side, (Fig. 4) and toward the left on the exhaust valve side.

To rigidly securethe lugs I4 in their preferred angular position, eachlug, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, is provided with a shank I! which is received within its respective valve rod, and, a I threaded stud l8 for receiving a nut. I9. The

shanks I] carry pins 20 which fit into slots 2| in. 20

one side of the valve rods and hold the lug-in proper angular position with respect to the oval grooves I3. I

The oval grooves I3 areso'dirnensioned that.

, their major axis is equal to the length of the stroke of the bell I and its rod 2,-and its minor axis is equal to the length of the stroke which the slide valves ll andl2 are to have.

Each cam blockisf providedwith upper and lower

curved slots

22 and 23 which open into the 30 oval grooves l3. Curved fiat springs 24 and 25 have one end secured in the

slots

22 and 23. The major portion of the

springs

24 and 25 extend into the oval grooves. As shown in Fig. 4, the springs are of sufficient length to extend substantially the entire length of the groove, and

their free ends are so curvedlwith respect to the'groove that whenthe lugs reach the upper or lower extremities of the groove, the curved free ends of the springs will snap them sidewise into 40 the opposite side of the groove.

Theslide valve ll cooperates with an admission valve body 26 having aseat over which the valve slides.

I The valve body 26 has a central port 21 and

side ports

28 and 29. The cen- .4 tral .port 21 communicates with a. pipe 30 which supplies gas from the" usual gas mains. The

port 28 communicates with a pipe 3| which exopen end communicating with the space inside 0 the bell I. The port 29- opens into the; space above the bell I. 'I'heslide valve [2 cooperates with an exhaust valve body 32 having a central exhaust pipe 33 leads from the center port while one side port communicates with the pipe 3| leading to the space within the bell I, and the other side port opens into the space above the bell.

The valve rods l5 and I6 are provided with threaded portions l5 and I9, respectively, which pass through lugs H' and 12', respectively, formed on the top of the slide valves II and I2. Adjustment nuts are threaded onto the threaded portions of the valve rods at opposite sides of the lugs, so that the position of the valves l I and I2 may readily be adjusted with respect' the valve bodies 26 and 32, respectively.

The bell l is mounted for vertical movement in an oil seal container 34, the top 35 of which has an opening 36, so that when the bell rises, gas within the oil container may be forced through the opening 36 into the main portion of the gastight meter casing 31. An amount of oil suff cient to keep the lower end of the bell l submerged at all times is maintained in the bottom of the container 34.

The oil seal container 34 is so shaped that its bottom is raised up in the form of an inverted cup to correspond to the inside of the bell I, and the top is drawn down, like the neck of an inverted bottle, around the central opening 35, to prevent the flow of the sealing oil to the outside of the container, in case themeter should accidentally be tilted or inverted.

Even though relatively heavy oil is used as the sealing medium, a small amount might, after an extended period of use, be carried over with the passing gas. However, such passing over of a small quantity of the oil will not afiect the measuring capacity of the meter, as the displacement is determined by the fixed length of the stroke of the bell.

The meters will of course be installed with the inlet to the gas admission valve body 26, and the outlet from the gas exhaust body 32, but should anyone unauthorizedly and for improper purposes reverse the connections, the meter will not pass gas, because when the bell is at the limit of its downward stroke, the relative position of the slide valve II to the admission valve body 26 is such that due to the position of the bell, no gas can be exhausted from below the bell through the central port 21 and the pipe 39. Thus, the possibility of running the meter in reverse after a certain amount has been registered on the register, is precluded.

The pivoted lever 5 is rigidly secured to an axle 38, mounted in a bracket 39. A crank 49 is rigidly secured to one end of, the axle and through a connecting link 4| and a pawl 42, mounted upon a pivoted lever 43, operates a ratchet wheel 44, of a counter 45, visible through a window 46 of the meter casing. The lever 43 has its fulcrum on the-axis of the ratchet wheel The operation of my invention is as follows:

Assuming the parts to be in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, that is, with the admission slide valve H movedto the extreme left so that gas from the gas inlet pipe 39 communicates, through the cen port 2? and side port 23, with the pipe 3|, and the bell is rising. As the bell continues to rise, the cam block 3 will continue alsoto rise until the lug l4 is in the lower portion of the oval groove [3. Simultaneously with the rising of the bell and the cam block 9, the

lug l4, the rod l5 and the admission slide valve H, were being moved by the cam groove, to the right, that is, to a position such that the valve II will cut off communication between the gas inlet pipe' 39 and the pipe 3| leading to the space beneath the bell, and establish communication between the gas inlet pipe 39 and the space above the bell. The movement of the valve II with respect to the

ports

21, 28, and 29 is so correlated with respect to the shape of the cam groove, that .just before the valve ll moves to the right suiliciently to out off communication between the central port and the port 28, the lug 14 reaches the lowermost part of the groove l3, and the free end of the spring 24 snaps the lug to the right sufliciently to throw it into the right-hand side of the groove l3. Simultaneously, the valve I! also was moved past its dead-center position with respect to the

side ports

28 and 29, and to that position in which communication is established between the central port 21 and the side port 29. Gas from the inlet main 39 then flows into the space above the bell I and creates a pressure sufficient to force the bell and cam downwardly until the valve-actuating lug" I4 is in the uppermost part of the groove l3, and valve H is just about to out "off communication between the cencenter position and again establish communication between the gas inlet pipe and the space beneath the bell.

The operation of the valve I2 is the same as that of the valve ll, except that they move in opposite directions; that is, while the lug for operating the slide valve rod I5 of the admission valve-is operating in the lefthand groove of the cam, the lug for the slide valve rod 18 of the exhaust valve will, be operating in the right-hand groove of the cam. Thus, when the valve ll moves to its right-hand position to admit gas into the space above the bed, valve I2 will move to the left, and the gas beneath the bell is forced back through pipe 3| and through the left-side port and central port of the valve body 32, to the gas exhaust pipe 33. In like manner, when the valve ll again moves to the position shown in Fig. 2,-and the hell i is rising under the pressure of the gas from the supply main, gas in the space above the bell is forced through the right side port and central port of the valve body 32 to the gas exhaust pipe 33. In that way, gas is admitted alternately inside and outside of the bell, thus permitting a continuous flow of gas through the meter. I

As the bell rises and falls during operation of the meter, the lever 5 and the axle on which it is mounted will be oscillated, and the pawl :42 caused to rotate the ratchet wheel 44, to register on the counter 45 the exact amount of gas passing through the meter.

, The invention has been illustrated and described in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof, but it is to be understood that the same is not limited to the embodiment shown, and that various changes within the scope of the appended claims may be made without departing from the spirit of the intention,

I claim:

1. A single-piston gas meter comprising an actuating member reciprocable by gas pressure, a cam-actuating rod movable by said member, a gas-admission valve adapted to be connected to a source of gas under pressure, a gas exhaust valve, a pair of grooved cams movable by said rod,

means for passing gas from said gas admission valve alternately to opposite sides of said actuating member to reciprocate the same, a reciprocatory valve-actuating rod for the gas exhaust valve, a reciprocatory valve-actuating rod for said gas admission valve adapted to operate said gas-admission valve to cause gas to be passed to one side or the other of said actuating member, means actuatedby one of said cams for reciprocating the gas exhaust valve actuating rod, means actuated by the other of said cams for reciproeating the gas, admission valveactuating rod, means operable when said valve rods approach either of their end positions for imparting movement to said valve rods independently of "said cams, an indicator, a crosshead carried by the cam-actuating rod, and means operated by said cross head as the cam actuating rod reciprocates' for actuating said'indicator. I l

2. A single-piston gas meter comprising an actuating member reciprocable by gas pressure, a cam-actuating rod movable-by said member, a gas-admission valve adapted to be connected to a source of gas under pressure, a gas exhaust valve, a pair of grooved cams movable by said rod, means for passing gas from said gas-admission valve alternately ,to opposite sides of said actuating member to reciprocate the same, a reciprocatory. valve-actuating rod" for the gas exhaust valve, a reciprocatory valve-actuating rod for said gas-admission valve adapted to operate said gas-admission valve to cause gas to be passed to one side or the other of said actuating member, a lug carried by the actuating rod for the gas-admission valve and positioned'in the groove of one cam for actuating said admissionvalve-actuating rod, a lug carried by the actuating rod for the gas exhaust valve and positioned in the groove of the other camfor operating said exhaust-valve-actuating rod, each of said lugs being oval inform and set at an angle tothe vertical corresponding to the curve at the ends of the cam grooves, and means operable when said valve rods approach either of their end positions for imparting movement to said valve rods independently of said cams.

3. A single-piston gas meter comprising an I actuating member reciprocable by gas pressure, a cam-actuating rod movable by said member, a gas-admission valve adapted to be connected to a source of gas under pressure, a gas exhaust valve, a pair of grooved cams movable by said rod, means for passing gas from, said gas admission valve alternately 'to opposite sides of said actuating member to reciprocate the same, a reciprocatory valve-actuating rod for the gas exhaust valve, a reciprocatory valve-actuating rod for said gas-admission valve adapted to operate said gas-admission valve to cause gas tobe passed to one sideor the other of said actuating memher, a lug carried by the actuating rod for the gas-admission valve and positioned in-the groove of one cam for actuating said admission-valveactuating rod, a lug carried by the actuating rod for the gas exhaust valve and positioned in the groove of the ,other cam for operating said exhaust-valve-actuating rod, each of said lugs being oval in formarid set at an angle to the vertical corresponding to the curve at the ends 'ofthe cam grooves and spring means operable when said valve rods approach either of their end positions for imparting movement to said valve a cam-actuating rod movable by' said member, a gas-admission valve adapted to be connected to a source of gas under pressure, a gas exhaust valve, a pair of grooved cams movableby said rod, means for passing gas from said gas-admission valve alternately to opposite sides of said actuating member-to reciprocate the same, a reciprocato'ry valve-actuating rod for the gas exhaust valve, a reciprocatory valve-actuating rod for said gas-admission valve adapted to operate said gas-admission valve to cause gas to be passed to one side or the other of said actuating member, a lug carried by the actuatingrod for the gasadmission valve and positioned in the groove of one cam for actuating said admission-valveactuating rod, a lug carried by the actuating rod for the gas exhaust valveand positioned in the groove of the other cam for operating said exhaust-valve-actuating rod, each of .said lugs being oval inform and set at an angle to the vertical corresponding to the curve at the ends of the cam grooves, and fiat leaf springs positioned in the grooves of each of said cams for imparting movement to the respective valve rods when they approach either of their end positions.

5. A single pistongas meter comprising abell,

a bell rod fixed to said bell, a bracket fixed to said i bell rod, a pair of cams carried by said bracket, a gas-admission valve body, a gas-exhaust valve body, a slide valve for controlling the passage of gasthrough each of said valve bodies, a, valve rod for each-of said slide valves, said valve rods being operable by said cams, a conduit connecting said valve bodies to the space beneath said bell, means for passing gas from said gas admission valve alternately to the space above said bell, and through said conduit to the space beneath said bell to impart a reciprocatory movement to said bell, the gas beneath said bell'being forced back through said conduit to the gasexhaust valve body when said bell descends,

spring means for imparting movement to said valve rods when they approach either of their end positions, a crosshead carried by said bell rod, a lever actuated by said crosshead as said bell reciprocates, anindicator, and means operated by said lever for actuating said indicator.

6. A single piston gas meter comprising a reciprocatory'bell, an oil seal container in which said bell reciprocates, a bell rod fixed to said 0 bell, a crosshead carriedby said bell rod, a lever operable by said crosshead as the bell recipro- ,necting said valve bodies to, the space beneath said bell, the gas from the gas-admission valve body passing alternately to the space above said bell and through said conduit to the space beneath said bell, to reciprocate the bell, the gas beneath said bell being forced back through said conduit to the gas-exhaust valve body when the bell descends, each of said valve rods having lugs secured thereto and extending into the grooves in the respective cams, said lugs being oval in form and set at an angle 'to thevertical corresponding to the curve at the upper and lower extremes of the oval grooves, and curved fiat springs in said oval grooves for imparting movement to said valve rods independently of said cams when said valve rods approach either of their end positions.

7. A single piston gas meter comprising a bell, an oil-seal container for said bell, a bell rod fixed to said bell, a lever, a counterweight connected to said lever for balancing the bell, cams having generally oval-shaped grooves carried by said bell rod, lugs and valve rods actuated by said grooved cams, a pair of slide valves connected to said valve rods, one for gas admission and the other for gas exhaust, an admission valve seat, an exhaust valve seat, a passage tube connecting the valve-seat ports to the space beneath said bell, and a crosshead consisting of a box formed by an enlargement on the bell rod and a block mounted in said box and freely journaled on opposite sides of the box, said block having a bore through which said lever freely passes.

8. A single piston gas meter comprising a bell, an oil-seal container for said bell, a bell rod fixed to said bell, a crosshead on said bell rod, a lever connected to said crosshead, a counterweight connected to said lever for balancing said bell, a bracket fixed to said bell rod, cams having gen erally oval-shaped grooves carried by said bracket, lugs positioned in said grooves and actuated by movement of said cams, means for moving said lugs into alternate sides of said grooves as they approach the ends of the grooves, valve rods connected to said lugs and actuated thereby, slide valves connected to said valve rods, one for gas admission and the other for gas exhaust, an ad mission valve seat, an exhaust valve seat, a passage tube connecting the valve seat ports to the space beneath said bell, the major axis of the grooves in said cams equalling the length of the stroke of the bell and the minor axis of said grooves equalling the length of the stroke of the slide valves.

9. A single piston gas meter comprising a bell, an oil-seal container for said bell, a bell rod fixed to said bell, a crosshead on said bell rod, a lever connected to said crosshead, a counterweight connected to said lever for balancing said bell, a bracket fixed to said bell rod, cams having generally oval-shaped grooves carried by said bracket, lugs positioned in said grooves and actuated by movement of said cams, means for moving said lugs into alternate sides of said grooves as they approach the ends of the grooves, valve rods connected to said lugs and actuated thereby, slide valves connected to said valve rods, one for gas admission and the other forges exhaust, an admission valve seat, an exhaust valve seat, a passage tube connecting the valve seat ports to the space beneath said bell, each of said valve seats being provided with three ports, a central and two side ports, one of each of the side ports of each valve seat being connected to the tube leading to the space beneath the bell, the other side port of each valve seat opening to the space above the bell and the central ports being connected to a gas admission passage and to a gas exhaust passage, the major axis of the grooves in said cams equalling the length of the stroke of the bell and the minor axis of said grooves equalling the length of the stroke of the slide.

valves.

10. A single piston gas meter comprising a bell,

an oil-seal container for said bell, a bell rod fixed to said bell, a crosshead on said bell rod, a lever connected to said cross-head, a counterweight connected to said lever for balancing said bell, a bracket fixed to said bell rod, cams having generally oval-shaped grooves carried by said bracket, lugs positioned in said grooves and actuated by movement of said cams, means for moving said lugs into alternate sides of said grooves as they approach the ends of the grooves, valve rods connected to said lugs and actuated thereby, slide valves connected to said valve rods,one for gas admission and the other for gas exhaust, an admission valve seat, an exhaust valve seat, a passage tube connecting the valve seat ports to the space beneath said bell, the major axis of the grooves in said cams equalling the length of the stroke of the bell and the minor axis of said grooves equalling the length of the stroke of the slide valves, the top of the oil-seal container being open at its middle and drawn down like a neck of an inverted bottle and the bottom being raised up in the form of an inverted cup.

11. A single piston gas meter comprising an actuating member reciprocable by gas pressure, a cam-actuating rod movable by said member, a gas-admission valve adapted to be connected to a source of gas under pressure, a gas exhaust valve, a pair of cams having generally oval-shaped grooves mounted at opposite sides of said rod and movable therewith, means for passing gas from said gas-admission valve alternately to opposite sides of said actuating member to reciprocate the same, a valve-actuating rod for the gas exhaust valve, a valve-actuating rod for said gas-admission valve adapted to operate said gas-admission valve to cause gas to be passed to one side or the other of said actuating member, the actuating rod for the gas-admission valve having a lug extending into the groove of one of said cams, the actuating rod for the gas exhaust valve having a lug extending into-the groove of the other of said cams, whereby said. valve rods are reciprocated as said cams reciprocate during movement of said actuating member, said valve rods during operation of the meter being actuated in opposite directions, and means for moving the lugs of said valve rods into alternate sides of said grooves as they approach the ends thereof.

12. A single piston gas meter comprising an actuating member reciprocable by gas pressure, a cam-actuating rod movable by said member, a gas-admission valve adapted to be connected to a source of gas under pressure, a gas exhaust valve, a pair of cams having generally'ovalshaped grooves mounted at opposite sides of said rod and movable therewith, means for passing gas from said gas-admission valve alternately to opposite sides of said actuating member to reciprocate the same, a valve-actuating rod for the gas exhaust valve, a valve-actuating rod for said gas-admission valve adapted to operate said gas-admission valve to cause gas to be passed to one side or the other of said actuating member, the actuating rod for the gas-admission valve having'a lug extending into the groove of one of said cams, the actuating rod for the gas exhaust valve having a lug extending into the groove of the other of said cams, whereby said valve rods are reciprocated as said cams reciprocate during movement of said actuating memher, said valve rods during operation of the meter being actuated in opposite directions, means for moving the lugs of said valve rods into alternate sides of said grooves as they approach the ends thereof, an indicator, and means operable by the reciprocation of said cam-actuating rod for operating said indicator.

13. A single piston gas meter comprising a bell, a bell rod fixed to said bell, a bracket fixed to said bell rod, a pair of grooved cams carried by said bracket at oppositesides thereof, a gas-admis sion valve, a gas exhaust valve, a reciprocatory rod for actuating each-of said valves, said valve 7 rods being operated respectively by said cams,

a conduit connecting said valves to the space beneath said b'ell, means for passing gas from said gas-admission valve alternately to the space above said bell and through said conduit to the space beneath said bell to impart a reciprocatory movement to said bell, the gas beneath said bell being forced back through said conduit to the gas-exhaust valveas the bell descends, the actuating rod for the gas-admission valve having a lug extending into the groove of one of said cams: the actuating rod. for the gas-exhaust valve having a lug extending into the groove of the other'of said cams, whereby said valve rods are reciprocated as said cams reciprocate during movement of said bell, said valve rods during operation of the meter being actuated in opposite directions, and means for moving the lugs and said valve'rods into alternate sides of saidgrooves as they approachthe ends thereof.

14. A single piston gas meter comprising a bell, a bell rod fixed to said bell, a bracket fixed to said bell rod, a pair of grooved cams carried by said bracket at opposite sides thereof, a gasadmission valve, a gas exhaust valve, a reciprocatory rod for actuating each of said valves, said valve rods being operated respectively by said cams, a conduit connecting said valves to the space beneath said bell, means for passing gas from said gas-admission valve alternately to the space above said bell and through said conduit to the space beneath said bell to impart a reciprocatory movement to said bell, the, gas be neath said bell being forced back through said v said grooves as they approach the ends thereof.

GO PEI KUWADA.

the lugs of said valve rods into alternate sides of