American Steam Gauge Co. - Assigned Patents

Manufacturers Index - American Steam Gauge Co.

American Steam Gauge Co.
Boston, MA, U.S.A.
Manufacturer Class: Steam and Gas Engines

Patents

This page contains information on patents issued to this manufacturer.

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Patent Number	Date	Title	Name	City	Description
9,163	Aug. 03, 1852	Pressure-gage	Eugene Bourdon	, France	Patented in France on 1849-06-18. "I have discovered that if a thin metallic tube be flattened and then bent or distorted from a straight line, it has the property of changing its form considerably when exposed to variations of internal or external pressure. An increase of internal pressure tends to bring the tube to a straight cylindrical form and the degree of pressure is indicated by the amount of alteration in the form of the tube."
16,428	Jan. 20, 1857	Steam-pressure gage	Enos G. Allen	Boston, MA	This gauge uses an expansible pressure diaphrahm, made of metal and in the form of a vertical cylinder with a dome-shaped top. The walls of the diaphragm have a deep helical indentation circling around it, which allows it to expand when pressurized. The actuating arm for the indicator mechanism is attached vertically to the top of the dome. Previous attempts to make a diaphragm had used rubber or other pliable materials, but Allen's corrugated metal was new.
18,526	Oct. 27, 1857	Steam-pressure gage	Enos G. Allen	Boston, MA	First in a trio of interesting steam-gauge patents granted to Enos G. Allen, who was superintendent of the National Steam Gauge Co. This patent was subject to litigation from one Henry W. Farley (see patent 26,900), whose patent application was denied due to this Enos G. Allen patent. Farley won in the circuit court but the decision was appealed: "Farley v. National Steam-Gauge Co." in the DC Circuit Court. The brief describes this invention as "an improvement upon steam-gauges, consisting of the application of a volute spring, as set forth, which increases both in width and thickness from its centre to its circumference, in combination with a disc of rubber or other elastic material". Farley later applied for a virtually identical patent but was turned down. "...it is incontestable that Farley was the first to make a completed machine including double-tapered spring, elastic diaphragm, coupling box, and indicator, and that this was effected about the 4th of March 1857... Although the testimony on the part of Allen is in many parts obscure, and its weight greatly impaired by his declarations and conduct subsequent to Farley's invention, yet the credibility of his witnesses must not be overthrown by his mysterious declarations and conduct, however unenviable a light these may reflect upon himself. From the testimony of these witnesses, I have become satisfied that Allen had in 1855 and 1856 prepared double-tapered coiled springs, elastic diaphragms, and coupling boxes... for the purpose of applying them to steam-gauges, and had so declared his intention and explained his purpose to these witnesses." The judge pointed out, however, that it is not necessary for an inventor to produce a complete realization of his invention, but rather if he has "manifested it before the world in any form which evidences the completeness of the idea, and which is sufficient, when communicated to others, to enable those skilled in the particular art to reproduce his invention, he has done enough to entitle himself to a patent". The 1860-02-02 Scientific American carried an announcement that the National and American Steam Gage (sic.) Companies were consolidating, and that henceforth the National gauges made under the patents of E. G. Allen would be made by American Steam Gage Company.
23,032	Feb. 22, 1859	Steam-pressure gage	Thomas W. Lane	Meredith, NH	This is an improvement to the Bourdon steam gauge of patent 9,163. We know that this patent was used by American Steam Gauge Co. of Boston because "T. W. Lane's improvement" to the Bourdon gauge in mentioned in an 1860 announcement that American Steam Gauge Co. was merging with National Steam Gauge Co. (in fact, American was buying out National). An 1877 ad for American Steam Gauge Co. features a gauge that says on the face, "American Steam Guage Co. / Boston. / Sole Proprietors & manufs. / of the / Bourdon / Steam Gauge. / T. W. Lane's Improvement. / Patented Feb 22d 1859."
26,152	Nov. 22, 1859	Combination steam-gage	Enos G. Allen	Boston, MA	"In the use of large steam engines especially marine engines, have heretofore been employed pressure gages, for indicating the pressure of steam in the boiler, vacuum gages by which the amount of condensing power applied to the cylinder is regulated, a counter for registering the number of revolutions of the propelling wheel or wheels and a clock for indicating the exact time, these all being inserted in separate cases independent of each other, supported by separate standards and each furnished its its own set of cocks, couplings, pipe, &c. ... The present invention consists in combining in one instrument, having but one case and one dial plate, so as to constitute a new article of manufacture, a pressure gage, one or more vacuum gages, a counter for registering the number of revolutions of the propelling wheel and a clock for indicating the exact time. By this arrangement but one case and one set of couplings, standards &c. are required, thereby diminishing the cost of manufacture nearly fifty per cent..." See the inventor's subsequent patent 26,871 for a discussion of the shortcomings of this design.
26,871	Jan. 17, 1860	Steam-gage	Enos G. Allen	Boston, MA	Last in a trio of interesting steam-gauge patents by Enos G. Allen. "In the construction of steam gages, the spacing or graduating of the dial plate constitutes a very expensive part of the manufacture, as each dial has to be marked differently from the others. This difficulty arises from the fact, that it has been found impossible to manufacture any number of the springs which communicate the pressure of the steam to the index hand exactly alike, and so that they shall all possess the same amount of tensile power. The nearest approach to accuracy has heretofore been attained by the use of a volute spring tapering both in width and thickness as described in the schedule of Letters Patent of the United States, granted to me (patent 26,152). But I have found in practice, that it is impossible to so make these springs that they shall be all exactly alike, owing partly to their form, they being too thin to permit their being planed down from the bar of steel of which they are made, to the required shape or so as to taper two ways and consequently are constructed entirely by forging, which is not only an expensive operation but one which precludes the possibility of obtaining perfect accuracy in the spring, as the steel so forged cannot be uniform throughout... The present invention consists in constructing the volute spring of a bar of steel of uniform thickness throughout and tapering in width on one side only, which form of spring I have found by repeated tests to produce the most accurate results, as the bar of steel, which when coiled, constitutes the spring, can as it is of uniform thickness, be reduced the to the required shape by planing, thereby avoiding the imperfections and great expense of forging. Moreover this form of spring enables me, without difficulty or great cost, to manufacture all the springs so exactly alike that instead of being obliged to mark each dial plate by accurate and actual experiments, so as to correspond with its spring, as has heretofore been necessary, I am enabled to prepare the dial plate by electrotyping, as any spring will answer for any dial..."
26,900	Jan. 24, 1860	Pressure-gage	Henry W. Farley	Hannibal, MO	Improvement on the well-known Bourdon pressure gage, patented in France by Eugene Bourdon on 1849-06-18 and in the US in 1852 as patent 9,163. "There is an imperfection in the action of the Bourdon gage caused by the vibration of the tube or spring S, when the gage is in motion by being carried upon a locomotive or otherwise, thereby producing a like vibration or unsteadiness in the indicator of the gage. The purpose of my invention is to remedy this imperfection." The improvement was to add a lever and weight that counterbalance the action of the spring under vibration. The inventor had, three years earlier, attempted to patent the use of a doubly-tapered volute spring but this idea had already been patented by Enos G. Allen, patent 18,526. Farley sued to invalidate Allen's patent, won in the circuit court but lost on appeal. In July of 1860, it was announced that National Steam Gauge Co. was being merged into American Steam Gage Co., and that American's Bourdon gages would continue in production. We therefore suspect that this patent was used by American.
186,000,306	Feb. 04, 1860	An improved construction of combination steam gauge	Alfred Vincent Newton	, England	This seems to be the British equivalent of US patent 26,152.
		An improved construction of combination steam gauge	Enos G. Allen	Boston, MA
RE5,320	Mar. 11, 1873	Improvement in steam-gages	Thomas Wilson Lane	Meredith, NH
167,364	Aug. 31, 1875	Indicator for Steam Engines	Joseph W. Thompson	Salem, Columbiana County, OH
244,094	Jul. 12, 1881	Cylinder for steam-engine indicators	Joseph W. Thompson	Salem, OH
280,256	Jun. 26, 1883	Steam-engine indicator	Ladislav StanÄ•k	, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary	This patent uses a swivel pulley to allow the cord to enter the indicator from almost any angle, which simplified the setting up of an engine and allowed greater adjustability of the engine without having to also adjust the indicator. According to a catalog of the American Steam Gauge Co., "We are the sole owners of the swivel pully, having purchased the United States patent from the patentee..."
471,383	Mar. 22, 1892	Duplex Pressure Gage	Frank H. Haskell	Revere, Suffolk County, MA
494,244	Mar. 28, 1893	Pyrometer	Edward Brown	Philadelphia, PA	"Brown's Quick-acing Pyrometer" is featured in a 1908 catalog from the American Steam Gauge & Valve Mfg. Co. "This pyrometer is is designed to indicate a temperature over red heat such as is used in annealing ovens for malleable iron, or ovens for glass bending, where our hot-blast or stationary pyrometers would not be durable many weeks. This new pyrometer is inserted through the wall into the oven and will indicate the temperature up to white heat in fifteen or twenty seconds. It is then immediately withdrawn, and as soon as cold, which will take about twenty minutes, it may be used again." It cost $70 for a version measuring to 2000 degrees, or $75 for a version measuring to 3000 degrees.
515,175	Feb. 20, 1894	Reducing Mechanism for Steam Engine Indicator	Levit T. Snow	Hartford, Hartford County, CT
		Reducing Mechanism for Steam Engine Indicator	Frank H. Pierpont	Hartford, Hartford County, CT
677,674	Jul. 02, 1901	Recording Gage of Steam Pressure on Boilers	Coleman J. Manning	Medford, Middlesex County, MA
768,473	Aug. 23, 1904	Recording Pen	Coleman J. Manning	Medford, Middlesex County, MA
785,677	Mar. 21, 1905	Recording Gage	Coleman J. Manning	Medford, Middlesex County, MA
821,988	May. 29, 1906	Gage Testing Apparatus	Charles H. Craig	Wrentham, Norfolk County, MA
857,984	Jun. 25, 1907	Steam Calorimeter	Lewis M. Ellison	Chicago, Cook County, IL
877,198	Jan. 21, 1908	Automatic Recording Gage	William E. Jerauld	Boston, Suffolk County, MA
900,371	Oct. 06, 1908	Differential Pressure Gage	Frank H. Hopkins	Somerville, Middlesex County, MA
908,206	Dec. 29, 1908	Differential Pressure Gage	Charles H. Craig Jr.	Boston, Suffolk County, MA
908,867	Jan. 05, 1909	Indicator for Engines	William E. Jerauld	Boston, Suffolk County, MA
917,077	Apr. 06, 1909	Safety Valve	Christian H. Kaplinger	Roslindale, Suffolk County, MA
920,472	May. 04, 1909	Testing Attachment for Spring Loaded Valves	William E. Jerauld	Boston, Suffolk County, MA
951,131	Mar. 08, 1910	Continuous Card Indicator	Amos P. Kinney	Quincy, Norfolk County, MA
957,471	May. 10, 1910	Pressure Gage	Coleman J. Manning	Medford, Middlesex County, MA
1,032,482	Jul. 16, 1912	Safety Valve	William E. Jerauld	Boston, Suffolk County, MA
1,043,618	Nov. 05, 1912	Pressure Gage	Coleman J. Manning	Medford, Middlesex County, MA
1,044,678	Nov. 19, 1912	Recording Low Pressure Gage	Coleman J. Manning	Medford, Middlesex County, MA
1,100,756	Jun. 23, 1914	Double Spring Gage	Coleman J. Manning	Medford, Middlesex County, MA
1,134,316	Apr. 06, 1915	Testing Apparatus	Austin B. Collette	Everett, Middlesex County, MA
1,154,018	Sep. 21, 1915	Dead Weight Gage Tester	Frank H. Hopkins	Somerville, Middlesex County, MA
1,160,426	Nov. 16, 1915	Altitude Gage	Coleman J. Manning	Medford, Middlesex County, MA
1,166,070	Dec. 28, 1915	Gage for Indicating Fluid Pressures	Coleman J. Manning	Medford, Middlesex County, MA
1,169,982	Feb. 01, 1916	Pressure Gage	Coleman J. Manning	Medford, Middlesex County, MA
1,172,709	Feb. 22, 1916	Thermostatic Arch Flow Regulator	Frank H. Hopkins	Somerville, Middlesex County, MA
1,192,443	Jul. 25, 1916	Double Spring Gage	Coleman J. Manning	Medford, Middlesex County, MA
1,203,982	Nov. 07, 1916	Method of Forming Springs for Pressure or the Like Gages	Austin B. Collette	Everett, Middlesex County, MA
D50,212	Jan. 16, 1917	Indicating Hand or Pointer	Frank B. Woodman	Boston, Suffolk County, MA
1,222,315	Apr. 10, 1917	Pressure Gage	Coleman J. Manning	Medford, Middlesex County, MA
1,238,109	Aug. 28, 1917	Gage Spring	Austin B. Collette	Everett, Middlesex County, MA
1,265,156	May. 07, 1918	Pressure Recorder	Charles D. Young	Columbus, Franklin County, OH
1,274,921	Aug. 06, 1918	Pressure Gage	Francis J. Manning	Medford, Middlesex County, MA
1,349,884	Aug. 17, 1920	Diaphragm Gage	Frank H. Hopkins	Somerville, Middlesex County, MA
1,363,415	Dec. 28, 1920	Differential Pressure Gage	Frank H. Hopkins	Somerville, Middlesex County, MA
1,404,770	Jan. 31, 1922	Air Brake Recording Apparatus	Frank H. Hopkins	Somerville, Middlesex County, MA
1,404,771	Jan. 31, 1922	Compensating Thermometer	Frank H. Hopkins	Somerville, Middlesex County, MA