Improvements in Coin-freed Gas Meters.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Jan., 1891
Complete Specification Left. 10th Feb., 1891-Accepted, 21st Mar., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Coin-freed Gas Meters.
We, SAMUEL GLOVER and THOMAS GLOVER, Gas Engineers, and JAMES
CRITCHLEY, Mechanical Engineer, all of St. Helens, in the County of Lancaster,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
This invention has reference to a gas meter in which the passage of a determined
amount of gas can be automatically controlled by coin-freed mechanism.
According to these improvements the coin is passed through a slot and enters
an opening formed in a drum. This opening is not deep enough to permit the
coin to be contained altogether within the drum, so that one edge projects and
forms a temporary tooth, which, upon rotation of the drum, engages with a scallop
or similar wheel and imparts a partial revolution thereto, and afterwards, by the
continued rotation of the drum, falls into a till or receiver. Upon the scallop
wheel shaft is mounted a wide spur wheel with which there gears a pinion with a
screwed eye mounted on a screwed spindle. The rotation of the scallop wheel
causes the rotation of the spur wheel and of the pinion around the screwed
spindle and consequently also a simultaneous lateral movement of the pinion
along its spindle. The other end of the screwed spindle gears with the ordinary
or counting mechanism of the meter, and the screwed part of the spindle is
provided with a fast or adjustable collar or stop.
When, therefore, a coin has been inserted through the slot into the drum and the
scallop wheel, spur wheel, and pinion are rotated, and the pinion has been moved
laterally along its spindle, the screwed spindle is rotated by the operation of the
meter, and the pinion being prevented from rotating by gearing with the stationary
spur wheel is moved back along its spindle until it comes into contact with the
collar or stop; when, the predetermined quantity of gas having passed, the meter
ceases working and the supply is cut off.
There may be connected with the pinion one end of a two armed lever the other
end of which operates a sliding index so as to indicate the quantity of gas paid
for or unconsumed, or any other equivalent device may be employed for the like
purpose.
For the purpose of preventing the same coin being used to operate the scallop
wheel more than once a suitable fixed lip or projection is provided in such a position
that the coin, if it has not fallen from the drum, will come into contact with the lin
or projection and thus stop the further rotation of the drum.
Dated this 9th day of January A.D. 1891.
WILLIAM E. HEYS,
Agent for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Coin-freed Gas Meters.
We, SAMUEL GLOVER and THOMAS GLOVER, Gas Engineers, and JAMES
CRITCHLEY, Mechanical Engineer, all of St. Helens, in the County of Lancaster,
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 has reference to gas meters in which the passage of a determined
5 amount of gas can be automatically controlled by coin-freed or coin operated

page_text: According to these improvements the coin is passed through a slot and enters
an opening formed in a drum. This opening is not sufficiently deep to permit
the coin to be contained altogether within the drum, so that one edge projects
and forms a temporary tooth which upon rotation of the drum, engages with a
scallop or similar wheel and imparts a partial rotation thereto, and afterwards,
by the continued rotation of the drum, falls into a till or receiver. Upon the
scallop wheel spindle is mounted a wide spur wheel engaging with a spur pinion
which has a screwed eye and is mounted on a screwed spindle parallel with the spur
wheel spindle.
The rotation of the drum with the coin therein, causes the rotation of the scallop
wheel of the spur wheel and of the spur pinion. The spur pinion having a screwed
eye and being mounted upon a screwed spindle, moves helically thereon through a
distance determined by the number of teeth in the scallop wheel, by the ratio of
the number of teeth in the pinion to the number of teeth in the wide spur wheel,
and by the pitch of the screw. The other end of the screwed spindle carries a
wheel which engages with the ordinary counting mechanism of the meter.
We will more particularly describe our said invention with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a gas meter, provided with our improvements.
Figure 2 is a vertical section, and Figure 3 a plan of the apparatus.
In each of the figures similar letters are employed to denote similar parts.
We assume that the coin to be employed is a penny, which is inserted through
the slot A, formed in the front side or top of the casing B. As represented in the
drawings the slot is formed in the front of the casing whence it falls by gravity
through the channel C into a longitudinal slot formed in the periphery of the
drum E. The slot is of such a depth that the edge of the coin projects therefrom
as shewn in Figure 2 so that it may engage with the spaces in the scallop wheel D
and effect its partial rotation when the drum is turned. The axis of the drum is
produced through the front of the casing where it is fitted with a handle F by
means of which the drum may be turned. Alongside of the drum there may be
fixed a stop G with which, if the drum as represented in Figure 2 is turned in the
wrong direction, that is to say "clock-wise," the edge of the penny would come into
contact and so prevent the rotation of the drum. In case the coin, after having
operated the scallop wheel, should not fall out of the drum into the till or
receiver H, this stop also prevents the further rotation of the coin drum and thus
renders it impossible that the scallop wheel be twice moved by the same coin.
The teeth of the scallop wheel or the parts between the spaces in which the coin
engages, are formed concave to fit upon the periphery of the drum with which it is
in contact, as shewn in Figure 2. Consequently, the wide spur wheel I and the
pinion engaging therewith cannot possibly be rotated except by the rotation of
the handle when a penny is contained in the drum slot, since the spur wheel I
and the scallop wheel are both fixed upon the same spindle. Also, as the screwed
spindle K upon which the pinion J is mounted can only be rotated by the counting
mechanism of the meter, it follows that when a coin is inserted and the drum is
rotated by the handle, the pinion J being thereby rotated upon its screwed axis
will move laterally, through a distance determined by the number of teeth in the
scallop wheel spur wheel and pinion, and by the pitch of the screwed spindle respec-
tively. These numbers and dimension will in all cases be determined by the price
at which the gas is sold, but in practice it is preferred to have the scallop wheel
and the screwed spindle constant and to provide for differences in the price of the
gas by altering the ratio between the wide spur wheel I and its pinion J.
enable this to be readily effected we prefer to secure the spur wheel to a flange
fixed upon its spindle.
To
The pinion at the end of its travel upon its screwed spindle comes into contact
with the collar or stop L Figure 3, and because this pinion cannot be rotated
except through the handle as already described, the further rotation of its screwed
spindle is stopped, and because also this screwed spindle is geared directly with the

page_text: counting mechanism and to the drum of the meter, the action of the meter will be
stopped and no more gas can pass through it until the pinion has again been moved
out of contact with the stop L.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-A penny having been dropped into
the coin drum, the handle is moved through one revolution. This motion is
translated through the scallop wheel and wide spur wheel into a helical motion of
the pinion along its spindle through a certain distance, and the total motion of the
pinion along its shaft will be directly proportionate to the number of pence pre-
paid, the handle and coin drum having had one turn given to them for every penny
inserted. The gas being now turned on, the drum of the meter by its motion, will
rotate the screwed spindle of the pinion J, until the pinion travelling thereon as
a nut, has returned into contact with the stop L and further motion of the meter
drum is thereby arrested, the amount of gas paid for having been supplied.
It is obvious that any number of pence within the limits of the apparatus, can
be successfully inserted, or that a single penny or a number of pence can be inserted
at any time without waiting for the supply previously paid for to be exhausted,
and that the actual amount paid for will be delivered. Further, by providing a
stop or collar on the screwed spindle at M so as to limit the motion of the screwed
pinion in the opposite direction to the stop L, it will be evident that when a penny
is inserted beyond the full number of pence for which the apparatus will receive
pre-payment, the additional penny cannot rotate the apparatus until a portion of
the gas already paid for has been consumed.
A device may be added to the apparatus for the purpose of indicating what
quantity of gas has been paid for and what quantity remains unconsumed. This
consists of the bell crank lever one end of which engages with a groove turned
around the pinion J and the other end of which is provided with a pointer P which
moves over the index Q in front of the casing.
We have represented our apparatus as applied to an ordinary wet meter, but it
may with equal facility be applied to a dry meter, the screwed spindle K being
geared with the worm which actuates the counting mechanism in each case or with
the counting mechanism itself, so that the action of the meter is stopped when the
pinion J comes into contact with the stop L.
Instead of operating the apparatus by means of a penny it may be constructed
and arranged in a similar manner to be operated by any other coin or by a token.
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. An apparatus for controlling or determining the delivery of a quantity of gas
for which pre-payment has been made through a coin operated device; constructed
and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated by the
accompanying drawings.
2. In an apparatus for controlling or determining the delivery of a quantity of
gas for which prepayment has been made, the combination and arrangement of a
coin drum, a scallop wheel, a wide spur wheel, a pinion with a screwed eye mounted
on a screwed spindle, a stop on the screwed spindle, and, a wheel gearing the
screwed spindle with the counting mechanism of the meter; substantially as herein-
before described and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 7th day of February A D 1891
WILLIAM E. HEYS,
Agent for the Applicants.