Improvements in the Parts of Electric Meters Connecting the Movements of the Solenoid with the Calculating Train.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Oct., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 2nd June, 1891-Accepted, 29th Aug., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Parts of Electric Meters Connecting the
Movements of the Solenoid with the Calculating Train.
HENRY BURROW, of No. 30 Bridge Street, Saint Andrew's, Norwich, in the
County of Norfolk, Watchmaker, &c., do hereby declare the nature of this
invention.to be as follows:-
-
My invention relates to the parts of electric meters which connect the movement
of the solenoid with the calculating train.
For the complicated mechanism of these parts of electric meters I substitute a
metal stud firmly attached to the solenoid, and at the top of the stud 1 fix by a
hinge, pivot, or spring joint, one, or more metal traversing rods, to the under edge
of which attach a strip of leather, india-rubber, or any other suitable material.
This end of the traversing rod falls by gravitation, or, is pressed by a spring,
directly on to a ratchet wheel, or wheels, made of steel, iron, brass, or any other
suitable metal, which wheel, or wheels, is, or are, placed on a spindle of the
calculating train.
The traversing rod, or rods, is, or are, lifted at given intervals, by a tumbling
switch,, an electro-magnet, or clockwork, connected thereto by a chain, rod, or cord,
so as to free the ratchet wheel, or wheels. As before stated, I use metal for the
construction of the ratchet wheels, and I attach a strip of leather, india-rubber, or
any other suitable material, to the under edge of the traversing rods, being that
part which comes in contact with the teeth of the ratchet wheel; or, I substitute
for the metal ratchet wheel, a disc of leather, india-rubber, or any other suitable
material, and I make finely cut ratchet teeth on the under edge of the traversing
rod, being the part which comes in contact with the rim of the disc. And
further, I use either, or both, of these plans, in the construction of this mechanism.
Dated this Tenth day of October 1890.
•
1"
HENRY BURROW.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Parts of Electric Meters Connecting the
'Movements of the Solenoid with the Calculating Train.
I, HENRY BURROW of 30 Bridge Street, St. Andrew's Norwich in the County
of Norfolk, Watch Maker and Electrical Instrument Maker 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 is applicable to electric meters such as those described in the
Specifications of Letters Patents Nos. 16623 of 1888 and 19,525 of 1889, and in
which motion is produced by the mutual action of an intermittent shunt current
and a series current which motion causes a train of wheels to move and thus
integrates the amount of the deflections. It is necessary that the said motion
should operate the integrating train only in one direction and that only motion due
to the deflecting power of the currents should be integrated and not motion due to
the momentum of the moving parts.
motion
And in order that my said invention may be fully understood. I shall now proceed
more particularly, to describe the, same and, for that purpose shall refer to the
The object of my invention is to provide simple mechanism by which such mot
is efficiently.transmitted. with less friction than heretofore.

page_text: several figures on the annexed sheet of drawings the same letters of reference
indicating corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation an arrangement of mechanism according to
my invention and
Figures 2 and 3 are modifications of the same as hereinafter described.
"
Referring to Figure 1, A is a solenoid or coil wound with fine wire and
suspended on knife edges through which wire a shunt current from the main is
caused to intermittently flow by means of any suitable timing apparatus such for
instance as the apparatus described in the Specifications of the prior Patents
hereinbefore referred to. BB are fixed coils having the series current constantly
flowing through them and so wound as to assist each other in deflecting the shunt
coil A when it has a current passing through it. When the shunt current is broken
the coil A takes by gravity back to its normal position as shewn in the drawing.
To register and integrate the values of the deflections and periods of oscillation the
shunt coil A is connected with a train of wheels C (constituting a counter) by
means of the traversing bar D having a piece d capable of transmitting by frictional
contact motion to the wheel d² which transmits motion to the train of wheels C.
A convenient method of obtaining the necessary friction between the parts & and d²
is to roughen or serrate the surface of the piece d or make it of fine saw blades
secured together side by side the alternate blades having their teeth arranged in
opposite directions and to cover the periphery of the wheel d² with leather india
rubber or other analogous material or the wheel d² may be roughened or serrated
or built up of a number of circular saws arranged with their teeth alternately in
opposite directions and the piece d be composed of or covered with leather india
rubber or analogous material. To insure the train of wheels C being moved only
in one direction the traversing bar D with the friction picce dis caused to rise
periodically out of contact with the wheel 2 by a projection, preferably provided
with a friction wheel as at e coming into contact with the bar D at the required
periods the said wheel e being carried on a rod E and being caused to rise and fall
by a cam Facting on a projection on a rod or bar /2 the said cam being rotated
by clockwork or other suitable means so timed as to raise the friction picce deither
while the shunt current is completed or during the time it is broken according to
whether it be desired that the friction piece d shall move the train of wheels C
upon the deflection of the coil A or upon its returning to its normal position. To
insure the train of wheels C not over-running or being moved when the friction
bar dis off the wheel d² by momentum a brake G is provided to bear on the
friction wheel 2 by the pressure of a spring at the same time that the friction
piece d is lifted off the friction wheel the said brake being released by a stop or
projection on the rod E which projection is in contact with the brake arm G
when the friction piece d is in contact with the wheel 2 but which when the rod E
rises leaves the arm G and then the said arm is raised by the spring g to act as a
brake on the wheel ².
Instead of the cam F and bar f2 for lifting the traversing bar D carrying the
friction pieced and allowing the brake to act a solenoid H as shewn in Figure 2
may be employed; the core or armature of the solenoid being attached to the
rod E. This solenoid H may be excited by a shunt current separate from that of
the coil A and brought into action by clockwork or other suitable timing arrange-
ment or it may be in series with the shunt coil A in which case the coil A
would require some suitable damping arrangement to render its acting slower than
the solenoid H. such for example as a ring or plate of copper in connection with the
coil A.
Figure 3 shews the application of a rocking switch (such as is described in the
hereinbefore referred to Specifications) for periodically breaking the currents, it
being actuated by any suitable timing apparatus so as to cause the forked rod i to
bear on the tail piece of the tumbling bar j. This bar when tilted or tipped
over in one direction carries with it by means of the projection 2 another rod and
so breaks contact the circuit for the shunt current at m. This shunt circuit is

page_text: re-established when the rod i actuated by the timing apparatus causes the tumbling
bar to rock in the reverse direction and so cause the stud by acting on the rod
to again make the contact at m. The raising bar E is attached to the tail piece j³
of the tumbling bar j so that each time the timing apparatus moves the rocking
switch, the rod E is raised thereby removing the friction piece d out of contact with
the wheel d and allow the brake to be applied as described with regard to the other
arrangements.
I do not confine myself to the arrangement of the suspended coil A and fixed
series coils B as shewn in Figure 1 it being evident that any other suitable arrange-
ment thereof for giving a reciprocating motion to the bar Ď may be used.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1st. In electricity meters the means or devices for transmitting the movements
of the solenoid or coil to the calculating train or counter-substantially as herein-
before explained.
2nd. In electricity meters the arrangement of parts hereinbefore described and
shewn in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings and also the modifications herein-
before described and shewn in Figures 2 and 3 for the purposes explained.
Dated the 2nd day of June 1891
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
Agents.