US1325514A - of buffalo - Google Patents

Description

R. L. HANAU.

FLOW INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 24. m9.

1,325,514. Patented Dec. 23,1919.

ll|||IIIIlIIIIIIHA|IIIIIIIH|HII UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RUDOLPH L. HANAU, 0F BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGN OR TO HYDREX ENGINEERING CORR, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

FLOW-INDICATOR.

T0 allcohom it may concern:

13c it known that I, RUDOLPH L. HANAU, a citizen of the United States of America, re-

siding at Buffalo, county of Erie, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flow-Indicators, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a flow indicator in which the pressure of the gas shalltend to seal the joints of the indicator.

Another object is to provide a device of this nature in which the fluid, as it enters the piston tube, shall be given a whirling action causing the piston of the device to rotate.

Another object is to provide a stop for limiting the upward motion of the piston.

Furthermore, my device is simple in its construction and reliable and accurate in its operation and indication.

The above objects and advantages are ac complished by the device shown in the accompanying drawings, of which:

Figure 1 is a vertical, sectional elevation.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary elevation of the lower part of the piston tube showing the inclined fluid passages.

Fig. 3 is a sectional, plan view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, exterior view,

. showing the graduations of the device.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of the upper end of the piston tube.

My invention comprises a head 10 having a fluid .inlet 11 and a fluid outlet 12. A cen-' tral aperture 13 is provided and this aperture is connected with the outlet 12 by means of a port 14. The piston tube 15 of my device is slightly tapered and has its larger di-' ameter at the upper end. This tube is carried by the head 10 and has its upper end mounted within an enlarged aperture 16, in register preferably with the aperture 13.

17 is a casing which is screw-threaded to the head 10 and which is provided with an inwardly extending flange 18. This flange provides a support for the glass tube 19 of my device. This tube extends substantially.

the entire length of the device and is provided at its upper end with a flange 20, which engages with the flange 18 of the casing 17, having suitable interposed packing Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 23, 1919.

Application filed April 24, 1919. Serial No. 292,406.

21. A nut 22, screw-threaded into the casing 17 is arranged to hold the flange 20 of the gas tube in place. The inlet port 11 is connected with the interior of the casing 17 and glass tube 19 by means of a port 23.

At the lower end of the piston tube 15 is secured an inlet plug 24 which is provided with a central aperture 25 -for the reception of the piston rod 26 of the piston 27. Around the opening 25 is a plurality of inlet passages 28, which are inclined as shown in the drawings, so as to give the fluid awhirling action as it enters the bottom of the piston tube 15.

At the lower end of the piston rod 26 is provided an indicating disk 29. This disk will move adjacent a suitable graduated scale 30 provided on the glass tube 19. 31 is a protecting tube which may be made an integral part of the casing 17 or made a separate part secured thereto. A longitudinal opening 32 is provided near the lower end of the tube 31, whereby the portion of the glass tube 19 having the graduated scale 30 will be exposed to view.

This base is secured to the lower end of this tube and provides a means for supporting the device. The bottom of the glass tube 19 is laterally supported within the protecting tube 31 by a packing 34 of plaster-Paris or other suitable material.

At the upper end of the piston tube 15 is provided a stop plug 35. which limits the upward travel of the piston 27. This plug is provided with a central aperture 38 and a plurality of lateral slots 36 which allow the liquid to flow even though the piston is held against the stop. At'the extreme upper end of the piston tube 15 is provided a short, tapered counterbore 37. When the piston is in its maximum upper position, this counterbore enlarges the area of the orifice between the piston and the piston tube so as to permit an abnormal flow of fluid to more read ily pass by the piston. This counterbore also provides a space through which the piston may fall when the flow of fluid has been reduced to normal. 38 is a pressure gage, which isscrew-threaded into the upper end of the head 10 and indicates the static pressure of the fluid flowing through the lndicator.

When fluid under pressure is flowing through the indicator it will enter the port 11 and pass downwardly through the port 23 and into the interior of the glass tube 19. It will then pass upwardly through the inclined passages 28 in the inlet plug 24 and flow upwardly carrying with. it the piston 27. As is well known, the orifice between the outer periphery of the piston and the inner wall of the piston tube 15 slightly increases as the piston is moved upwardly. The piston will be raised by the fluid to a point where its Weight will counterbalance the differential pressure which forces the fluid through the annular orifice and the rate of flow will be indicated by the position of the disk 29.

It is obvious that some modifications of the details herein shown and described may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims; and I do not, therefore, wish to be limited to the exact embodiment herein shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a flow indicator, the combination with a piston tube and a piston, of a head provided with a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, a casing secured to the head and provided with an inwardly extending flange, a glass tube provided at its upper end with an outwardly extending flange and closed at its lower end, packing means arranged between the flanges, and means for forcing the flanges toward each other, whereby the fluid pressure tends to seal the tube joint.

2. A flow indicator, comprising a head provided with a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, a casing secured to the head, a glass tube carried by the casing, a piston tube carried by the head, open at its upper end to the fluid outlet, an inlet plug secured at the lower end of the piston tube, the plug being provided with a central aperture and a plurality of inclined apertures disposed around the central aperture, a piston rod passing through the central aperture of the plug, a piston carried at the upper end of the piston rod, and an indicating disk carried at the lower end of the rod.

3. In a flow indicator, the combination with a, piston tube and a piston, of a head provided with a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, a casing secured to the head and provided with an inwardly extending flange, a glass tube provided at its inner end with an outwardly extending flange and closed at its lower end, packing means arranged between the flanges, means for forcing the flanges toward each other, and a stop plug secured at the upper end of the tube for limiting the upward travel of the piston.

4. A flow indicator, comprising a head provided with a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, a casing secured to the head, a glass tube carried by the casing, a piston tube carried by the head, open at its upper end to the fluid outlet, a piston rod, a piston carried at the upper end of the piston rod, an indicating disk carried at the lower end of the rod, and a graduation scale associated with the indicating disk. 7

5. A flow indicator, comprising a head provided with a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, a casing secured to the head, a glass tube mounted Within the casing and supported therein at its upper and lower ends, a piston tube carried by the casing, a piston within the piston tube, a piston rod for the piston, the casing being formed near its lower end with an elongated opening, the glass tube being provided with a graduated scale, and an indicating disk secured to the lower end of the piston rod and moving adjacent the scale.

6. A flow indicator, comprising a head provided with a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, a casing secured to the head, a glass tube carried by the casing, a piston tube carried by the head, open at its upper end to the fluid outlet and provided at that end with a relief taper, a piston mounted to move within the piston tube, apiston rod for the piston, and indicating means carried at the lower end of the rod.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto sign my name.

RUDOLPH L. HANAUr

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