Improvements in Gas Meters.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 7th June, 1893
Complete Specification Left, 7th Mar., 1894-Accepted, 7th Apr., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Gas Meters.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD PRICE, of Bushey View, Hampton Wick, in the County
of Middlesex, Gas Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
This invention relates to the cash-receiving mechanism in gas meters such as
are described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me and dated
January 4th 1889 No. 164 and consists in an arrangement by which pennies may be
used to pay for the gas (instead of shillings as described in my said Specification)
and so that a number of pennies may be inserted immediately one after the other
and will be fed by the mechanism one by one as they are wanted, on to the lower
arm of the coin lever, so as to keep the supply of gas on until the whole quantity
paid for by the pennies inserted has been consumed.
The mechanism of the disc and levers and pins does not differ, except in some
matters of detail, from that described in my before recited Specification but the
coin-receiving apparatus is different, I provide a vertical receptacle, or coin shoot,
of proper dimensions to hold a number of pennies edgewise, one over the other,
with a slot near the top for the insertion of the coins.
On the shaft, or spindle, carrying the arms by means of which the motion of
the various parts are operated or controlled is a two armed piece, or coin lever,
corresponding with the before named coin receptacle, and so arranged that when
a penny is inserted, if there is no other penny before to stop it, it falls on to one
or other of the arms according to the condition of things at the time.
If there is no other coin present, the inserted penny falls at once on to the
lower lever and with the assistance of a contrivance hereinafter described depresses
the lever and holds it down and releases the controlling disc and allows the gas
to pass. If however several coins are inserted one immediately after the other,
or if there are already one or more coins in the mechanism the foremost coin
rests on the lower arm and the upper arm stops the coins above and prevents
their descent until the lower arm having released the lowest coin, and let it
drop, has returned to the proper position to receive the next coin which is
by that time released by the upper arm and allowed to descend on to the
lower arm.
These movements of the arms are effected and controlled by the disc with
its appendages similar in character to those described in my before recited
Specification and so arranged that so long as there are pennies in the coin-shoot
the pin is held back from the surface of the disc, and so that when the last
penny has passed, the pin advances to the disc and ultimately passes into the
hole in it and thus brings the stop-piece into action.
I provide a short lever actuated by a turn-button on the face of the meter to be
used when starting the meter after it has shut off the supply of gas, and this lever
is arranged, when the button is turned, to depress the coin and with it the coin
lever, which is thereafter prevented from completely returning until after the last
penny in the shoot has passed I may also provide a slide, actuated by a connection
with the spindle, which displays behind a glazed opening made for the purpose a
notice that the gas is " on or "off" or to the like effect.
Dated the 7th day of June 1893
NEWNHAM BROWNE,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in Gas Meters.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD PRICE, of Bushey View, Hampton Wick, in the County
of Middlesex, Gas Engineer, 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 the cash receiving mechanism in gas meters such as
are described in the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me and dated
January 4th 1889, No. 164 and consists in an arrangement by which pennies may
be used to pay for the gas (instead of shillings as described in my said Specifi-
cation) and so that a number of pennies may be inserted immediately one after
the other and will be fed by the mechanism one by one as they are wanted, on to
the lower arm of the coin lever, so as to keep the supply of gas on until the whole
quantity paid for by the pennies inserted has been consumed.
The mechanism of the disc and levers and pin does not differ except in some
matters of detail from that described in my before recited Specification, but the
coin-receiving apparatus is different, that is to say, I provide a vertical receptacle
or coin shoot of proper dimensions to hold a number of pennies edgewise one over
the other, with a slot near the top for the insertion of the coins. On the shaft or
spindle carrying the arms by means of which the motion of the various parts is
operated or controlled is a two-armed piece or coin lever corresponding with the
before named coin receptacle and so arranged that when a penny is inserted, if
there is no other penny before to stop it, it falls on to one or other of the arms
according to the condition of things at the time.
If there is no other coin present and the lever has returned to its normal position
the inserted penny falls at once on to the lower lever and with the assistance of a
contrivance hereinafter described depresses the lever and holds it down and releases
the controlling mechanism and allows the gas to pass. If however several coins
are inserted one immediately after the other, or if there are already one or more
coins in the mechanism, the foremost coin rests on the lower arm, and the upper
arm at the proper moment stops the coins above and prevents their descent until
the lower arm, having released the lowest coin and let it drop, has returned to the
proper position to receive the next coin, which is by that time released by the upper
arm and allowed to descend on to the lower arm.
These movements of the arms are effected and controlled by the disc with its
appendages, similar in character to those described in my before recited Specification,
and so arranged that so long as there are pennies in the coin shoot the pin is held
back, and so that when the last penny has passed, the pin advances to the disc, and
ultimately passes into the hole in it, and thus brings the stop piece into action.
I provide a short lever actuated by a knob, or button, on the face of the meter
to be used when starting the meter after it has shut off the supply of gas, and this
lever is so arranged, that, when the button is turned, it depresses the coin and with
it the coin lever, which is thereafter prevented from completely returning until
after the last penny in the shoot has passed.
In the accompanying sheets of drawings
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the upper part of a meter fitted with my
apparatus.
Fig. 2 is a plan view of the mechanism.
Figs. 3, 4 and 5 show the positions of the coin-lever and coins at various stages.

page_text: Figs. 6, 7 and 8 show the corresponding positions of the disc and the controlling
levers.
Figs. 9 and 10 are respectively a side and front elevation of the disc.
It will be seen that the general construction and arrangement is the same as that
described in my before recited Specification No. 164 of 1889 with the exception of
those parts more iminediately relating to the reception and operation of the coin.
In the drawings, A is a horizontal shaft, or spindle, carrying the pointer e of the
upper dial, and the wheel d, and the disc B which carries a projection, or cam c
and is perforated by the opening b, just in front of which the surface of the disc
is inclined towards the perforation as described in my said former Specification.
S is an arm which is mounted on and revolves with the vertical spindle carrying
the tangent screw r and which is connected with and driven by the bellows of the
Fis the coin shoot
meter by the arms and links s' and s, in the usual manner.
having an opening f through which the coins G, G¹ are inserted. E is a spindle
carrying the various arms o, p, q, t, 2, of which t', are two arms of a lever
which is operated, and with it the shaft E and the other arms, by the coins, the
movements of which coins are controlled and regulated by the said lever; q is an
arm carrying a weight q'; p an arm carrying a pin p' which is operated by the
disc B with its opening and cam c; and o is an arm which, when the flow of
gas is to be arrested, moves into the path of the arm S and stops it. G, G', are
pennies and H is a knob, or button, carrying the lever h.
The counting wheels of the meter are connected to and driven by the ordinary
moving parts in the usual inanner and are connected with the wheel d by any train
of wheels by which the rate of rotation of the shaft A and consequently the table B
is made to correspond with the passage of one unit quantity of gas say for example
twenty five cubic feet i.e. at the rate of three shillings and four pence per thousand
or such other quantity as is to be supplied for one penny.
When a penny is inserted in the slot f and supposing the meter to be at rest and
the gas "off" the coin G falls on the arm t¹ as shown in Fig. 3 but does not by
its weight depress or operate the arın. If now the knob, or button, H is turned
in the direction indicated by the arrow on the face of the meter i.e. from right to
left the arm comes in contact with the coin and presses it downwards thereby
depressing the coin and the arm t' until they assume the position shown in Fig. 4.
beyond which the lever h can not reach the coin and in this position the coin is
held between the arm t¹ and the side of the coin shoot until it is released as
hereinafter described.
1
Fig. 6 represents the disc B and the arms p and o in the position they occupy
before a coin is inserted but when this is done the depression of the lever t¹ as
above described will have slightly rotated the shaft E and carried the lever p
away from the disc B and withdrawn the pin from the hole b, and also have
carried the arm o out of the path of the arm S, the various parts being then in
the position shown in Fig. 7. The meter being thus set free to rotate, will, under
the influence of the pressure of the gas, come into action, gas will commence to
flow, and the disc B will rotate bringing the projection or came against the pin p
and force back the lever p still farther as shown in Fig. 8, thereby further rotating
the shaft E and carrying the arm t' backwards, far enough to allow the coin to pass,
as is shown in Fig. 5, in which the position is represented at the moment of the
release of the coin from the arm t, and thereupon the coin drops into the coin
receptacle below, and, as the disc continues to rotate the pin passes down the
opposite incline of the cam and if there is no other penny following it rests on
the surface of the disc until that part of it e, immediately in advance of the
opening, which is inclined towards the opening, passes in front of the pin p. so
that as this part of the disc passes the pin is allowed to advance slowly a distance
equal to about two thirds of the thickness of the disc thereby advancing the stop
to a corresponding extent. This advance of the stop o is just sufficient to allow the
arm S to come in contact with its surface of which is presented somewhat obliquely
in reference to the direction of motion of the arm S, so that the end of the arm S
"

page_text: rubs against the surface o¹ of the stop o and pushes it back far enough to enable
the arm S to pass, but in doing this the motion of the arm S is retarded so much
that the flow of gas is lessened and the flames at the burners sink slightly on the
first occasion, but more with each succeeding revolution of the arm until the pin
passes into the opening b and the stop o passes so far forward that the arm S on its
next revolution strikes the side of the stop o fully and is stopped, and with it
the supply of gas.
In order to prevent the supply of gas being absolutely stopped after each penny-
worth is consumed means are provided by which several pennies may be inserted at
once, or before the gas purchased by the first penny has all been used, and a
constant flow of gas thereby maintained. To this end the arm is provided, and
so arranged that when a coin rests on the arm t¹ as in Fig. 3, or is engaged between
it and the shoot as in Fig. 4, another coin descending the shoot rests on the first
one and is thus supported together with any others which may be passed in on to
it. As soon however as the cam comes in contact with the pin p' and begins
to force back the arm p, the arm 2 is thereby made to advance from the position
shown in Fig. 4 to that shown in Fig. 5 thereby engaging the second coin G', and
preventing its descent when the first coin G descends to the coin receptacle, which
takes place when the parts represented in Fig. 8 have assumed the positions there
shown.
As soon however as the apex of the cam has passed under the pin p' and the
pin begins to descend the opposite incline of the cam, the shaft E is rotated in the
opposite direction, urged thereto by the weight g', which sinks, and the arm t* is
gradually withdrawn from the position shown in Fig. 5 until the coin G' drops on
to the arm t', and the cycle recommences.
It will be noticed that the second (and each, subsequent) coin drops on to the
arm t, when it is in the position shown in Fig. 4, so that the arm does not, so long
as the supply of pennies lasts, return to the position shown in Fig. 3, and hence,
until the supply of pennies in the shoot has been exhausted it is not necessary to
use the knob or button H and the operation of the meter is continuous and
independent of any attention.
The meter shown in the drawings is a dry meter but the changes necessary to
apply the invention to a wet meter will be readily understood on reference being
had to my said former Patent in which the necessary modifications are fully shown
and described and which modifications do not materially affect the parts which
form the principal features of novelty in this invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I wish it to be understood
that although I have above described some of the mechanism or parts already
described in the Specification of my said earlier Patent I do not claim as part of
my present invention anything described or claimed in the said earlier Patent but
I declare that what I claim is:
1. The improvements in cash-receiving gas-meters hereinbefore described and
set forth.
2. In coin-freed gas-meters the mechanism for receiving a number of coins of
some specific denomination and passing them one by one as they are required so as
to keep up a constant flow of gas until that purchased by the last coin has been
consumed, substantially as described.
3. In coin-freed gas meters the combination of a coin-shoot adapted to hold
certain coins one over the other edge to edge, the lever t', t2 and the lever h with
the previously known arm p, pin p¹ and disc B with cam c and opening b, and the
arm o arranged to move into and from the path of a moving arm or part connected
with the gas measuring apparatus substantially as and for the purpose described.
4. In coin-freed gas-meters the lever t', t, so arranged in connection with the
shaft E and the disc D and arm p with their appurtenances that the arm t allows
the coins to pass one by one on to the arm 2 so as to fall between the end of the

page_text: arm and the side of the shoot and thus prevent the arm (2 returning to the position
shown in Fig. 3, and stopping the flow of gas until the last coin on the shoot has
passed.
Dated the Seventh day of March 1894
NEWNHAM BROWNE,
Agent for the Applicant.