Improvements in Prepayment Gas Meters.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Nov., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 7th Aug., 1900-Accepted, 24th Nov., 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Prepayment Gas Meters.
We, FRANK WRIGHT'S PRE-PAYMENT GAS METER CORPORATION LIMITED, of
62, Glengall Road, Old Kent Road, Manufacturers, and JOHN DANIEL FORSTER,
of 230B, Commercial Road, Peckham, Engineer, both in the County of London,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in prepayment gas meters of the
kind described in the Specification of former Letters Patent No. 28155 of
December 9th 1896.
In prepayment gas meters constructed as described in the said former specifi-
cation, it has been found in practice that when a bent or battered coin is in-
serted into the receiver the mechanism is liable to become blocked or to allow
gas to be supplied without ejecting the coin when its equivalent quantity of
gas has been passed.
Now, this invention has for its object to obviate this disadvantage and to this
end the guide plate upon which the slide reciprocates is recessed at the portion
immediately below the plunger. Furthermore, the coin receiver is slightly
recessed or enlarged in diameter at its lower end. With this construction of
guide plate and coin receiver a battered coin forced down the receiver by the
plunger is free when it reaches the lower end of the said receiver and a bent
or cupped coin on dropping on to the guide plate falls into the recessed portion
thereof so that the slide pushes forward the coin, the edge of which lies directly
in its path.
Dated this 24th day of November 1899.
G. F. REDFERN & o.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicants.
Improvements in Prepayment Gas Meters.
We, FRANK WRIGHT'S PRE-PAYMENT GAS METER CORPORATION LIMITED, of
62, Glengall Road, Old Kent Road, Manufacturers, and JOHN DANIEL FORSTER,
of 230B, Commercial Road, Peckham, Engineer, both in the County of London,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:―
This invention relates to improvements in prepayment gas meters of the
kind described in the Specification of former Letters Patent No. 28155 of
December 9th 1896.
In prepayment gas meters constructed as described in the said former specifi-

page_text: cation, it has been found in practice that when a bent or battered coin is in-
serted into the receiver the mechanism is liable to become.blocked or to aliow
gas to be supplied without ejecting the coin when its equivalent quantity of
gas has been passed.
Now, this invention has for its object to obviate this disadvantage and to this
end the guide plate upon which the slide reciprocates is recessed at the portion
immediately below the plunger. Furthermore, the coin receiver is slightly
recessed or enlarged in diameter at its lower end. With this construction of
guide plate and coin receiver a battered com forced down the receiver by the
plunger is free when it reaches the lower end of the said receiver and a bent
or cupped coin on dropping on to the guide plate falls into the recessed portion
thereof so that the slide pushes forward the coin, the edge of which lies directly
in its path.
In the accompanying drawing,
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a coin receiver for prepayment gas meters
of the kind described in the Specification of former Letters Patent No. 28155
of 1896 and having the improvements applied thereto.
Figure 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, and
Figure 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3, the said section being taken
through the coin receiver and slide.
a is the receiver for the coins, & is the plunger and c is the slide; all these parts
are of ordinary construction with the exception that the receiver is slightly re-
cessed or enlarged in diameter at its lower end as shewn at a¹.
d is the guide plate upon which the slide e reciprocates, the said guide plate
being recessed immediately below the plunger b as shewn at e.
With this construction of mechanism, should a battered coin be inserted into
the receiver a and forced down by the plunger the said coin, when it reaches
the lower end of the said receiver, is free in the enlarged portion thereof and
where a coin is bent or cupped it falls into the recessed portion e of the guide
plate so that when the slide is moved forward by the meter mechanism in
the usual way the forward end of the said slide e does not pass under the edge of
the coin, but owing to the said coin being located in the recessed portion e of
the guide it catches the edge of the coin and pushes it forward. We thus
overcome the difficulty which has frequently been experienced in apparatus of
this class with battered coins which become clogged in the apparatus and with
bent or cupped coins which fall upon the guide plate in such a manner that the
edge does not rest upon the guide plate so that the slide when moved forward
passes under the coin whereby gas is constantly supplied without the coins being
discharged into the coin receptacle or money box.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that
what we claim is:-
1. In prepayment gas meters of the kind described, forming the lower end
of the coin receiver of a larger diameter than the main portion thereof, substan-
tially as herein before described.
2. In prepayment gas meters of the kind described providing the guide plate.
upon which the slide reciprocates with a recessed portion immediately below
the plunger, substantially as and for the purpose herein before described.
3. Prepayment gas meters having a coin receiver and a guide plate con-
structed substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accom-
panying drawing.
T
11
1000
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicants.