Improvements in Prepayment Gas-meters.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 10th May, 1899-Accepted, 17th June, 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Prepayment Gas-meters.
I, HELMUTH ANTON JULIUS HALLENGREEN, of Stubbekoebing, in the Kingdom
of Denmark, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to that kind of gas-meter which will allow a person after
having placed a coin inside the same to consume a volume of gas corresponding
to the value of the said coin. When the volume of gas paid for has been con-
sumed the meter is automatically put out of work and remains so until another
coin placed therein.
In the accompanying drawing the invention is shown applied to a wet gas-meter
in which the price of the gas is calculated at 3 kroner per 1000 cubic feet.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the mechanism, the protecting case being
removed:
Figure 2 is a plan of the mechanism:
Figure 3 is a front elevation of the counter:
Figure 4 is a cross section on line a-b of Figure 1; and
Figure 5 is a view of a detail.
In the case of the apparatus is arranged a funnel shaped chute 1 through which
the different coins are introduced. Below the chute is placed a plate 2, attached
to a movable arm 3 actuated by a spring 4. A slide 5, carrying a chute 6 adapted
to be brought below the chute 1 in such a manner that it forms a prolongation
of the latter, can be pushed in and out by being slid for instance upon two
rails 9.
Below the slide are placed two rails 10 upon whose upper edges the coins
falling through the chute 6 will remain standing, as shown in Figure 4. The
slide 5 is provided with a rod 7 terminating in a knob 8, the said rod projecting
through the front side of the case. In the middle of the chute 6 is a slot 13
into which projects a flat movable plate 12, as shewn in Figures 1 and 5; the
lower edge of the plate 12 is cut out into steps having one side parallel with
the upper edges of the rails 10, while the other side is at right angles with these.
On one side of the plate 12 is fixed a dovetailed rail 22 capable of sliding in a
corresponding groove 23 in a plate 16 fixed to the case of the meter.
At the end of the rails 10 is an opening 17 through which the coins can fall
down into a till 18.
The above described mechanism works in the following manner:
When the consumer has placed a coin in the chute 1 it will remain standing
upon the plate 2 until the knob 8, and with it the chute 6, is pulled out. By.
this moveinent the edge of the slide 5 strikes against the extremity of the arm 3
and moves the latter along with it while the spring 4 is simultaneously put in
tension. The plate 2 moves away from the chute 1, and the parts are so adjusted
that the plate 2 is clear of this chute the very moment that the chute G is exactly
below the chute 1. The coin will then fall down into the chute 6 and remain
standing upon the edges of the rails 10, resting upon these and supported by
Price 77

page_text: the front and back of the chute 6. In order to get coins of different size, to
assume the same position as regards the diametrical plan of the apparatus, the
upper edges of the rails are made to slope inwardly, as shown in Figure 4.
When the knob is pushed in, the coin will be carried along, sliding with its
edge upon the rails, and being kept in the upright position by leaning against
the chute 6. When the slide 5 moves away from the arm 3 the plate 2, acted upon
by the spring 4, will again close the chute 1. Sooner or later the coin upon the
rails 10 will with its upper edge strike against one of the offsets upon the
plate 12, and move the latter along until the coin, when the chute 6 reaches the end
of the rails 10, slips out of the chute and drops down into the till 18. When the
knob 8 is again pulled out, a head 11 upon rod 14 fixed upon the slide 5, will
strike against the plate 12 or against a lug 15 thereon and thereby carry the
plate back to the starting point.
The size of the offsets of the plate 12 depends upon the coins which the apparatus
is designed to receive; if, for instance, 10, 25, 50 oere-pieces or crown-pieces are
to be used the plate 12, as will easily be seen by reference to Figure 5, will only
begin to move when the 10 oere-piece standing in the chute 6 reaches the line a b,
and the distance between the point a and the rails 10 must therefore be so adjusted
that a 10 oere-piece resting upon the rails may reach above the point a without,
however, reaching the point In the same way the length of the side c d must
be about equal to the difference between the diameter of a 25 oere-piece and a
10 oere-piece; the line e f must be about equal to the difference between the
diameters of a 50 oere-piece and a 25 oere-piece, and so on.
C.
The extent of movement given to the plate 12 by the introduction into the meter
of a 10 oere-piece, will be measured-when the thickness of the coin is not taken
into account by the level distance between the points a and ; the level dis-
tances ic, ie, and ig, which indicate the extent of movement given to the plate 12
by a 25, a 50 oere-piece or a crown-piece respectively must consequently be 2, 5,
5 and 10 times as large as the distance a i.
In order to prevent the consumer from illegally using the same coin several
times by omitting to push the chute 6 in far enough to cause the coin to slip over
the edge of the rails 10, an arm 25 arranged to turn upon a pivot 24 is placed
alongside the plate 12. The lower edge of the plate 25 is formed like a rack 26
the edges of the teeth turned away from the chute being vertical.
When at rest, the arm 25 on account of its own weight assumes the position
shown in Figure 1, resting with a small projection 27 against the chute 1 and
protruding into the slot 13 alongside the plate 12. The rack 26 then almost
follows a line through the points a, c, e, and g. When a coin in the chute 6 is
inserted in the apparatus, it will, a little before it strikes against the vertical
edge ab, ed, ef, or g h on the plate 12 corresponding to its value, touch one of
the teeth of the rack 26 and lift the arm 25. On account of the vertical edges
of the teeth the chute 6 cannot be pulled back before the coin has fallen out of
it, and the same coin cannot consequently be used more than once for moving
the plate 12.
If the consumer after having put a coin into the chute 1 and moved the chute 6
a certain distance should forget that a coin has already been placed in position
and therefore wish to pull the chute back in order to place a coin therein (which
would occasion a loss to the consumer as the plate 12 will only be moved a distance
corresponding to the value of the coin first placed in position) a small tooth 28,
upon one of the rails 10, will prevent the plate 2 from being released. The
second coin cannot therefore fall down into chute 6 before the first coin has been
used for moving the plate 12. The tooth 28 is so placed that a coin in the
chute 6, when the latter is pulled outward, strikes against the vertical flange of
the tooth, before the slide 5 touches the arm 3.
The parts marked A, B, C, D, and E are the clockwork generally used in an
ordinary wet meter to register the consumption.

page_text: E is the shaft upon the lower end of which is placed the drum which rotates
whenever the gas passes through the meter.
The rotation of the shaft E is, by means of a worm and wheel, as well as by
cog wheels, transmitted to the other parts of the registering mechanism.
The disc E on the upper end of the shaft indicates single cubic feet (up to
tenths of a cubic feet) or parts of a cubic meter (up to a litre) while the hands
upon the arbors of the wheels B, C, and D indicate hundreds, thousands, and
ten thousands of cubic feet respectively, or units, tens and hundreds of cubic
meters. Behind the wheel B is another wheel B independent of the wheel B,
but placed so that the arbors of the two wheels are in a line with each other.
The side of the wheel B facing the wheel B is provided with a projecting
annular flange F (Figures 2 and 4) having a notch Q, one side of which is sloping,
and a stop G. The arbor of the wheel B has a cross arm R (Figures 1 and 2) one
end of which is adapted to slide upon the edge of the flange F when either of
the wheels B or B' moves. The cross arm R can move a certain distance along
the arbor of the wheel B but is forced to partake of the rotation of this wheel;
it is pressed against the wheel B' by one arm of a double armed lever S turning
round a point W and the other end of which is actuated by a spring T which, in
turn, acts upon an arm U upon a rock shaft H, the free end of the arm U being
passed through a hole in the lever S. The other end of the shaft H has a forked
arm I the two branches of which embrace the valve rod of a valve V placed in
the gas pipe leading from the meter to the place of consumption.
When the valve is shut or opened as the arm I is raised or lowered the supply
of gas to the place of consumption is stopped or started, and the meter will
consequently be put in or out of action. The valve V is placed so that it is
inaccessible to the consumer.
As already explained the plate 12 belonging to the stopping mechanism can
be pushed along the groove 23 in the plate 16 and has on its top edge a rack 19
which gears with a ratchet-wheel N arranged to turn upon the arbor that carries
the toothed wheel B. The ratchet-wheel N which has, at least, as many teeth-
as the rack 19, is provided with a pawl O which takes into the teeth of the wheel B₁
and which is acted upon by a spring P in such a way that the wheel B' turns
together with the ratchet-wheel N when the latter turns in the direction indicated
by the arrow 20.
If, however, the ratchet-wheel be turned a little in the other direction the
pawl slides upon the teeth of the wheel B1 while another pawl X prevents this
wheel from turning.
The arbor of the wheel B is carried through and beyond the arbor of the
wheel B and has on its extremity outside the case a hand 21 (Figure 2) which
points upon the scale shown in Figure 3 arranged around the scale indicating the
consumption of gas by hundreds of cubic feet.
The apparatus works in the following manner:
When a coin has been placed in the chute 6 the plate 12 is moved by pressing
on the knob 8. The rack 19 will thereby turn the ratchet-wheel N through a
distance corresponding to the value of the coin. The pawl will act upon the teeth
of the wheel B and move this wheel along whereby the hand 21 will move upon
the scale and, everything being correctly adjusted, state the amount paid in.
As the wheel B turns round, the flange F, against which the cross-arm Ris
pressed by the spring T acting through the lever S, will slide upon the said arni R.
As long as the lever S maintains the position shown in Figure 2 the valve V
will be kept open, and the gas will flow to the place of consumption, the gas
clockwork all the time working in the usual manner. Under the action of the.
shaft E the wheels A, B, C, and D will turn, and the cross-arm R will also turn
with the wheel B, (the movement taking place in the direction shown by the
arrow 20).
When the cross-arm R reaches the notch Q it will, under the action of the
spring T, be forced down into the notch Q.
:

page_text: The lever S is thereby rocked and with it the shaft H, whereby the arm I
is lowered and the valve V is closed... The supply of gas is thus stopped and will
only start again when the plate. 12 is again pushed inward by means of a con
placed in the chute 6.
In consequence of one side of the notch.Q sloping downwards the cross-arm R
will during the rotation only slide down slowly into the notch and the supply of
gas decrease gradually. The consumer will thereby be warned that a volume of
gas corresponding to the amount paid will soon be consumed and that a new
payment must be effected if more gas be wanted.
When several payments are made immediately one after the other, the wheel B¹
will gradually turn more and more in the direction shown by the arrow 20.
The rotation may be continued until the wheel has made about one revolution;
when this has taken place the stop G strikes against the cross-arm R which is
held by the arbor of the wheel B, whereby a further turning is prevented before
the consumption of gas has commenced.
This arrangement is necessary as the cross-arm R will sink down into the
notch Q (whereby the valve V is closed) the first time the cross-arm passes the
notch and the consumer would thereby lose the amount of money by means of
which the first revolution has been communicated to the wheel B1.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. An automatic prepayment gasuneter characterized by a step shaped body 12
operated by the consumer, in combination with a loose wheel B that carries a
projecting annular flange F' having a notch Q, the said wheel being by suitable
means connected with the body 12 in such a manner that the latter by its forward
movement turns the wheel Bi while the said wheel, when the body 12 is moved
in the opposite direction, remains stationary, an adjustable arm R sliding, as
long as the consumption of gas lasts, upon that arbor of the counting mechanism
which for cubic feet indicates 1000 cubic feet per revolution or which for cubic
meters indicates 10 cubic meters per revolution; the said arm R being pressed
against the flange F by means of one arm of a double lever S the other arm of
which, acted upon by a spring T, is in connection with the supply valve and shuts
the same when the arm R slides down into the notch Q in the flange F, sub-
stantially as set forth.
2. A form of construction of the body 12 with appertaining parts mentioned
in Claim 1, characterized by a flat chute 6 placed upon a rod 7 movable length-
ways, the chute being provided, in the direction of the movement of the rod,
with a slot 13, in combination with a movable plate 12 placed above the chute
and connected with the delivery mechanism, the lower edge of the plate 12
being cut in steps and projecting into the slot 13, whereby a coin dropped into
the chute 6 and lying across the slot 13 will, by a forward movement of the
rod 7, according to its diameter, strike against one or other of the offsets on the
plate 12 and cause the said plate to be carried along when the rod 7 is pushed
further forward, substantially as set forth.
3. In combination with the mechanism described in Claims 1 and 2 the
arrangement of movable arm 25 the lower edge of which is formed like a rack,
the said arm being placed so close to the side of the plate 12 that it is moved
upward by a coin placed in the chute 6 when the latter is pushed in, substantially
as set forth.
4. In the mechanism described in Claims 1, 2 and 3 the arrangement of the
tooth 28. placed upon one of the rails 10, and at a distance from the lower end
of the arm 3, greater than the distance between the inner rear side of the
chute 6 and the point upon the slide, 5 that touches the arm 3 as the slide is
pulled outward, substantially as set forth.

page_text: 5. A form of construction of the connection between the body 12 and the
loose wheel B' described in Claim 1, characterized by a rack 19 upon the
body 12, the said rack 19 gearing into a ratchet-wheel N provided with a pawl U
taking into teeth upon the edge of the wheel B', substantially as set forth.
6. A form of construction of the lever S with appertaining details, described
in Claim 1, characterized by a double armed lever S one arm of which is fork-
shaped and embraces the sleeve or boss of an adjustable arm R placed upon one
of the arbors of the gas-meter, while the other arm of the lever is connected
with an arm U upon a shaft H carrying an arm I that embraces the valve rod
of the supply valve and is so acted upon by a spring T that the arm R is
pressed against the flange F, substantially as set forth.
7. Making the notch Q described in Claim 1, with one side sloping downward
for the purpose of causing the decrease in the supply of gas by the closing of
the valve to be gradual, substantially as set forth.
8. Providing the wheel 131 described in Claim 1 with an arbor prolonged axially
through the axle of the wheel B and extending outside the case where it is
provided with a hand 21 which points upon a scale that indicates the value of
the coins paid in, substantially as set forth.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4 South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicant.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4 South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicant.