Improvements in or relating to Electricity Meters.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 21st July, 1898--Accepted, 1st July, 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Electricity Meters.
I, JEAN VILLY, of Amplepuis (Rhone), in the Republic of France, Manufac
turer, 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:-
The meter forming the subject of this application has for its object to record
the time during which one or more electrical apparatus such as lamps, motor,
furnaces, etc. either singly or arranged in groups, have been working.
When there are several apparatus, the meter records separately the time of
working of each of them.
The meter according to this invention consists of a single clock movement,
working in a continuous manner and of as many registering apparatus as there
are apparatus or groups of apparatus to be controlled.
The accompanying drawing illustrates a meter with six apparatus, Fig. 1 is
a front view of the whole, Figs. 2 and 3 show a front view and vertical section
of one of the registering apparatus shown in Fig. 1. Figs. 4, 5 and 6 show
modifications of registering devices differing from that in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 and
Figs. 7-10 show two other devices for controlling the registering apparatus.
The clock-work mechanism being of ordinary well known description is not
shown on the drawings, only two dials of said clock-work being shown (Fig. 1).
The first of these dials, provided with two hands, marks the hours and minutes.
The second which has only one hand and is provided with 31 divisions I
to XXXI marks the dates or days of the month. The parts operating this hand
are arranged so that said hand may be brought to any division whenever desired,
without stopping the clock-work.
The 6 registering apparatus numbered 1 to (Fig. 1) are identical, each com-
prising (Figs. 1, 2 and 3)
1. 3 spindles, 2, 21, and 22, the spindle 2 carrying a toothed wheel 3 to which
is secured a wheel 4 with lateral teeth, a pinion 5 sleeve 6 with two bent paddles
or vanes the hub of said sleeve being loose on the spindle 2 and provided with a
helical groove with which engages a pin secured to said spindle. The wheels 3
and 4 are loose, while the pinion 5 is keyed to the spindle 2.
The spindle 21 carries a toothed wheel 31 engaging with the pinion 5, and a
pinion 51, both keyed on said spindle. "
The spindle 2 has keyed to it a toothed wheel 32 engaging with the pinion 5¹.
Each of these three spindles is besides provided at one end with a pointer or
hand moving over a corresponding dial.
2. A fixed wheel 7 similar to the wheel 4 and secured to one of the walls or
parts supporting the clock-work.
3. Two electromagnets 8.
4. A lever 9 one end of which is secured to a bracket 10 the other end carrying
a disc 11 the lever having an arm provided with two contacts 12 of soft iron
corresponding to the axes of the electro-magnets.
The bracket 10 is mounted, as may be seen in Fig. 3 so as to be capable of

page_text: lateral motion for the purpose of facilitating the adjustment of the position of
the lever 9, which is provided with a spring 13, for the purpose of moving the
contacts 12, away from the electro-magnets as soon as the registering apparatus
ceases to work.
Beside the clock work and six registering apparatus the meter is also provided
with a terminal or binding screw 14 (Fig. 1) connected on one hand with one
of the poles of the electric current to be measured and on the other hand with
the electro-magnets of the six registering apparatus. This latter connection is
effected through the plates supporting the mechanism, but it can be also effected
in any other way.
Six binding screws 15, i.e., as many as there are registering apparatus, said
screws 15, connecting separately the electromagnets of the six registering
apparatus with the other pole of the current.
Finally toothed wheels 16, 161, 162, 163 by means of which the clock-work
operates the wheels 3 of the registering apparatus.
The driving of these last wheels and of the spindles 21 and 22 is arranged so
that the registration is effected in hours and that of the three dials corresponding
to the spindles 2, 21, 22 the first one marks units, the second tens, and the third
hundreds.
All the parts are mounted on parts forming a frame and in such manner as
to enable them to be easily detached. This frame is in its turn secured to the
bottom of a box or casing which can be opened for inspection and which is closed
preferably by means of a rod soldered with lead. The front face of the box is
provided with glazed openings corresponding to the dials.
WORKING.
When one of the apparatus whose consumption of electricity is to be measured,
is started by closing its circuit, the current passes through the binding screw 14
through the electro-magnets of the registering apparatus corresponding to the
apparatus in question and through the corresponding binding screw 15. These
electro-magnets attract the contacts 12 and consequently move the lever 9 which
by means of the disc 11 causes the sleeve 6 to slide on the spindle 2 and the
blade 17 to engage between two teeth of the wheel 4. This wheel which is con-
tinuously rotated by the, clock-work causes the sleeve 6 consequently the spindle 2
to participate in its rotation, the latter spindle in its turn transmitting rotation
to the spindles 21 and 22. These three spindles by the rotation register the time
of working of the apparatus in question.
When on the contrary the circuit of the apparatus is interrupted, the electro-
magnets of the corresponding registering device cease to attract the contacts 12,
and the lever 9 is moved away by the spring 13, the sleeve 6 participating in
the movement. The blade 17 is thus disengaged while the blade 171 is caused
to engage between two teeth of the fixed wheel 7 which constitutes a stop for
the spindle 2, preventing any movement of it until the circuit has been closed
again.
The construction of the registering device shown in Figs. 4 to 6 differs from
the one just described only as regards the toothed wheels which successively
transmit the motion of the spindle 2 to the spindles 21 and 22 and as regards the
manner of indicating and reading the time.
The above wheels instead of acting continuously act intermittently and are of
the shape shown in Fig. 6, that is to say the pinions 5 and 51 of the construction
described are replaced by cylindrical wheels 18 and 181 having each a single
tooth, and the wheels 31 and 32 by wheels 191 and 192 with ten concave teeth, the
exterior surface of which is an arc of a circle with the same centre as that of the
wheels 18, 18¹.
Owing to the shape of these wheels, it will be seen that the wheels 191 and 19
can advance only to the extent of one tooth for each revolution of the corre-
sponding wheel and that they cannot, moreover turn in the opposite or backward
direction.

page_text: The indicating and reading off of the time is effected by means of dials secured
to each of the spindles 2, 21 and 22. These dials are divided into 10 equal parts
numbered I to X and these figures successively come in front of small apertures
in the front plate of the frame according to the rotation of the spindles.
As in the case of the previously described registering device, the dial of the
spindle 2 marks units of time or hours, that of the spindle 21 tens and that of
the spindle 22 hundreds.
Finally, Figs. 7 to 10 show two modifications of the driving devices for the
spindle 2 of the registering apparatus, said devices being equally well applicable
to both constructions of registering apparatus herein before described.
First modification. A similar driving device is employed as that described for
the first construction of the registering apparatus, modified in the following
manner (Fig. 7).
The helical groove in the sleeve 6 and the fixed pin on the spindle 2 are re-
placed by two toothed wheels 4¹ and 71 keyed to the spindle 2. These two wheels
are concentric with the wheels 4 and 7 respectively and arranged within them.
When the circuit is closed the electro-magnets 8 attract the contacts 12 and
the lever 9 which by means of the disc 11 causes the sleeve 6 to slide on the
spindle 2 as before. The blade 17 then engages between two teeth of the con-
centric wheels 4 and 4¹
As the wheel 4 is continuously rotated by the clock-work it causes the wheel +¹
coupled to it by the blade 17 to participate in its rotation, and consequently also
the spindle 2 which in its turn rotate the other spindles of the registering
apparatus.
When the circuit is open, the spring 13 moves the lever 9 away-the electro-
magnets no longer attracting the contacts 12-and consequently the sleeve 6.
The blade 17 becomes disengaged while the other blade 171 engages between two
teeth of the other concentric wheels 7 and 71.
The wheel being fixed and 71 keyed to the spindle, this latter is thereby
stopped.
Second modification. In the second modified construction of the driving device
(Figs. 8 to 10) the lever 9 is secured to a pin 20 arranged so as to be capable of
oscillating in its bearings.
The lever 9 is of angular shape. One of its branches has a soft iron arm 12
the rounded off ends of which serve as contacts for the electro-magnets 8 the
other branches being arranged so as to form a balance-weight in order to remove
by its weight the contacts 12 from the electro-magnets as soon as the attraction
of these latter ceases.
To the same spindle or pin 20 is secured another bent lever 21 having two arms
one of which carries at its end a pinion 22 loose on its spindle and the other a
small arm 23. provided with a projection or tooth 24.
On the spindle 2 there is loosely mounted a toothed wheel 3 operated by the
clock work mechanism and a second toothed wheel 25 of the same diameter is
keyed to said spindle.
When the circuit is closed the contacts 12 come in contact with the electro-
magnets and communicate a slight rotation to the pin 20 and to the lever 21.
The pinion 22 thereby comes into engagement with the wheels 3 and 25 the
wheel which rotates continually thus drives the pinion 22 which drives the
wheel 25 and consequently the spindle 2. The latter then operates the other
spindle of the registering apparatus. When the circuit is open the arm of the
lever 9 which forms the balance weight effects the interruption of the contact
between the contacts 12 and the electro magnets 8.
The pinion 20 and lever 21 then turn slightly backward to the former position
the pinion 22 becomes disengaged from the wheels 3 and 25 while the tooth 24
on the other arm of the lever 21 engages between two teeth of the wheel 25 and
stops the registering apparatus.

page_text: The meters being generally read every month, the clock work is preferably
arranged so as to work uninterruptedly for 40 days, i.e. few days more than a
month to allow for cases of delays or oversight.
The dial indicating the days serves to show in case the instrument stops before
the controlling visit or inspection takes place how many days it worked so as to
enable an approximate computation of the consumption of electricity to be made.
The meters according to this invention can be made for as many apparatus or
groups of apparatus as desired, or capable of being worked by the clock work
employed all the registering devices being arranged about it.
The registering devices may be also provided with supplementary dials for
thousands, tens of thousands etc.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:-
1. An electricity meter comprising clock work mechanism with dials indicating
hours and days or dates and one or more registering device which register
separately and indicate the total time of working of the apparatus corresponding
to them substantially as described.
2. The complete electricity meter substantially as described or illustrated in
Figures 12 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.
3. In an electricity meter of the character described the modified arrangement
of gearing substantially as described and illustrated in Figures 4, 5 and 6 or in
Figure 7 or in Figures 8, 9 and 10 of the accompanying drawings. :
Dated this 11th day of July 1898.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.