Patent GB-923880-A (GB)
Abstract: 923,880. Sales-service. ELECTROMETRE S.A. Dec. 23, 1959 [March 11, 1959; May 28, 1959], Nos. 8434/59 and 18255/59. Class 116. [Also in Groups XIX and XXXVIII] In a credit metering arrangement for the supply of a commodity such as electricity, gas or liqud, each consumer of the commodity has a meter the register of which is adapted to initiate the issue of a bill when a predetermined amount of the commodity has been supplied. As described, for the supply of electricity, the spindle 10 of a consumer's meter drives the meter register 11, an appropriate one of the indicator spindles of which carries an extension spindle 12, one revolution of this spindle corresponding to the unit charging block, e.g. 100 KWH, required. The spindle 12 carries a cam disc 13 having a projection 13a adapted once each revolution of the spindle 12 to rock a lever 15 to release for rotation, under the action of a manually-wound spring drive 22, a cam disc 17 fixed to a shaft 18 carrying a sprocket roller 19 to thereby feed forwardly a paper strip 24. The strip 24 may be supplied from a roll 25 and is perforated transversely into individual bills preprinted with matter identifying the consumer and the number of KWH consumed, one bill being fed forwardly for each rotation of the spindle 12. In a modification the bills may (a) be in the form of separate sheets or cards, (b) be printed and dated as they are issued, or (c) be in the form of punched cards. Each bill is in two separable parts, one of which is returned to the consumer as a receipt on payment. As the cam disc 17 rotates it closes a circuit through a contact 28 to actuate an alarm 31 such as a bell, buzzer or lamp. Access to the issued bill is by opening a hinged door 32. In an optional refinement, means are provided for terminating the consumer's supply if the issue bill is not paid before a further predetermined amount of electricity has been consumed. For this purpose, part of each successive bill is punched with a different punching, this part passing between contact blocks 34, 35 having spring-loaded contacts divided into an A group and a B group, all the contacts on the block 35 being connected to contacts on a further block 37 which cooperates with a contact block 36, the A group of contacts of which are connected to a relay 41, the B group being connected to a magnet 43. If the consumer presents the bill for payment, a receipt-forming half is punched by the supplier with a punching related to that of the next unissued bill lying between the contact blocks 34, 35 in such a manner that when the punched receipt is placed by the consumer between the contact blocks 36, 37, a path is completed through the A group of contacts, but no path is possible through the B group of contacts. A further cam disc 14 on the shaft 12 is arranged to close contacts 38, 39 after a quantity of about one half of a unit charging block of electricity has been consumed thereby completing a circuit for the relay 41 thereby changing over a contact 40 to prevent interruption of the consumer's supply by a trip switch 48. If the appropriate punched receipt has not been placed between the blocks 36, 37, the magnet 43 is energized to unlatch the tip switch 48 to discontinue the consumer's supply. Modifications.-The bill-issuing equipment may be a separate device, the cam disc 13 operating an electrical contact. The spring drive 22 may be wound by a motor or by manual opening of the door 32. The trip switch 48 may be resettable only by an officer of the supply organization. In a second embodiment (see Group XXXVIII), the consumer's meter merely initiates the preparation of the required bill at an accounting and recording centre, the meter being arranged to operate an oscillator supplying a signal over lines connected to the accounting centre when the predetermined quantity has been consumed.