Improvements in and relating to Coin-freed Gas Meters.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Mar., 1893
Complete Specification Lef, 19th Dec., 1893-Accepted, 10th Mar., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Coin-freed Gas Meters.
I, JOHN ANDERSON, of 181 Gorgie Road, in the City and County of Edinburgh,
Gas Meter Maker, do hereby declare the nature of my invention to be as
follows:-
This invention has reference to and comprises improvements in the construction
or arrangement and combination of the parts of mechanism connected with
automatic coin-freed or pre-payment gas meters specially suitable for small house-
holders whereby on the insertion of a penny or other fixed coin or coins in a slot
connected with the meter à measured supply of gas will be obtained; and which
will be more simple and efficient than the pre-payment gas meters heretofore
in use.
"
As applied to an ordinary supply dry gas meter there is used in combination with
the improvements the usual double acting bellows with the usual slide valves, and
rotating crank spindle with tangent on top connected in the head of the meter to
the upright rods from the bellows below the crank spindle by a worm turning a
wheel on the first motion spindle of the usual counting mechanism or index. The
improvements consist all as follows:-A raising and lowering vertical spindle
carrying at its lower end a bell crank stop lever is fitted in the upper open chamber
in the path of the usual revolving "tangent so that when this spindle, and its stop
lever is down in its lowest position it stops the "tangent" and the action of the
meter, but when raised allows the meter to go on measuring gas through it, and
which is indicated on and by the usual counting mechanism and dials, or as an
alternative method of bringing the meter to a standstill, if so preferred the vertical
spindle would operate upon an upright valve spindle passing through an ordinary
meter stuffing box with a cone, and seatings at its lower end acting as a valve upon
the inlet gas passage, so that when the vertical lever is down the gas is shut off, and
the meter thereby brought to a standstill, but when the vertical lever is raised the
meter is released and goes on measuring with gas passing as before. This vertical
reciprocating spindle of the stop lever has a lateral arm at its top end which rests
on a disc with a notch in it, so that when the notch comes round, the spindle and
lever falls, and at every other part of the revolution of the disc, the spindle is kept
up, and allows the meter to measure gas. This disc is secured preferably on a
hollow spindle to rotate on a fixed central disc carried on bearing brackets
projecting up from the box part of the meter. This spindle has also a large
ratchet wheel keyed or fixed on it, turned by a weighted ratchet pawl lever
fulcrumed on a stud or crosshead projecting out from a reciprocating piston
working in a horizontal spring cylindrical chamber, and which when pushed in to
its inmost normal position by the action of inserting a coin, as hereinafter
described, brings the pawl into action,. and turns the ratchet wheel to a given
distance or proportion of its revolution against the power of the spring, which
pushes the piston, and the ratchet pawl always back to a changeable normal
position in the other direction, and which also takes the ratchet pawl out of action
ready for another or new action inwards, and allows the ratchet wheel to be turned
in the backward direction. The said hollow spindle, also carries a screw friction
box with discs of leather or other suitable material in it, working against a friction
disc secured on the hollow spindle, and the friction box carries a toothed spur

page_text: wheel working into a screw or worm on the top end of a vertical spindle, and which
spindle is turned by a spur wheel at its lower end working into a worm or screw on
the first motion horizontal spindle of the counting mechanism which turns the
friction clutch and ratchet wheel back in the opposite direction until the spindle of
the stop lever falls into the said notch again and stops the action of the meter as
described. The outer end of the spring actuated piston has a curved cross-head
reciprocating in a groove in the centre of a barrel formed of two discs with a slot
through these for receiving a penny or other coin or coins and any smaller coin
would drop into the money box without actuating the mechanism. The spindle of
this barrel passes outside the front of the meter case, with a handle, and pointer on
it showing its position for receiving the coin, and the direction to turn the barrel.
To ensure the handle and pointer being turned completely round, a weighted lever
is actuated by the coiu drum that will stop the action of the meter by means, of the
top arm until the handle and pointer have been brought back to their normal
position, so that the edge of the coin may press in the cross-head and piston to the
desired extent to turn the ratchet wheel to the extent to measure the gas for each
coin inserted, a ratchet wheel being fitted on this barrel with a fixed pawl to
prevent its being turned in the opposite direction. A screw spindle is fitted at one
side of the spring barrel and piston with a milled finger head outside, and has a
pinion on it working into a toothed wheel plate fitted on a stud centre also outside,
but covered in by a portable case, this wheel plate being divided and marked on
the face, so as to give say, from ten to forty feet of gas for each action of the coin
and position of the screw spindle with a stationary pointer in front. The inner end
of the screw spindle actuates a reciprocating stop bar, which takes against a stud
or crosshead on the inner end of the piston so as to regulate the length of the
outward stroke and normal position of the piston to give from the said ten to forty
cubic feet of gas for each coin inserted through the slot.
The hollow spindle of the ratchet wheel has also a pointer on it in front working
over a circular dial divided to indicate say 500 cubic feet in the circle, and any
fixed number of coins may be inserted consecutively after each other through the
.slot, that would give any less number of feet of gas in the revolution of the ratchet
wheel, and this dial would indicate the volume of gas paid for, and to be consumed.
To prevent the complete rotation of the ratchet wheel a portion of it is left uncut,
when this uncut part comes under the weighted ratchet pawl the latter slides along
and stops the further rotation of the ratchet wheel. A loose segmental lever would
preferably be mounted on the hollow spindle in front of the ratchet wheel which
would have lateral pins in it to tilt this segmental lever when no more coins ought
to be inserted that is before the wheel and its spindle made a full revolution; and
this segmental lever would have printed on it the words "No more coins to be
inserted or similar device, and would show through a segmental slot in the front
plate, below the dial, and the wheel when turned backwards would measure the gas
for the number of coins inserted and indicate same on the ordinary counting
mechanisin, and stop the meter, as before described with the pointer at zero, and
the pins would take back the segmental lever again to its top normal position with
the pointer at zero. Each reciprocation of the spring piston by the action of
inserting the coin, which drops from the barrel into a money box below, is made to
reciprocate a rod by the last part of its motion in the inward direction, and which
rod is connected to one arm of the bellcrank spring pawl lever turning a spur or
ratchet wheel fixed on the same spindle as the lever, one tooth at a time, and which
wheel would be fitted with a spring ratchet pawi to prevent it turning backwards
The spindle of this wheel would project out through a divided dial plate formed on
the side of the box into which the coins were dropped, and which dial would be
divided into say 100 divisions corresponding to the number of teeth in the wheel
and the pointer would thus indicate the number of coins that had been inserted
into the slot of the meter, and so show through a glass in the case the number of
ccins which the person, collecting the money should find in the box on unlocking it
In closing the money box again the collector would turn the indicating pointer
:

page_text: back to zero on the dial and lock both the door of the box and the glass face of the
dial with the same lock.
1000
W. R. M. THOMSON & Co.,
96, Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Coin-freed Gas Meters.
I, JOHN ANDERSON, of 181 Gorgie Road, in the City and County of Edinburgh,
Gas Meter Maker, do hereby declare the nature of my invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement in writing, that is to say:
This invention has reference to and comprises improvements in the construction
or arrangement. and combination of the parts of mechanism connected with
automatic coin-freed or pre-payment gas meters, specially suitable for small house-
holders, whereby on the insertion of a penny or other fixed coin or coins in a slot
connected with the meter a measured supply of gas will be obtained; and which
will be, more simple and efficient than the pre-payment gas meters heretofore
in use.
And in order that my said invention and the manner of performing or carrying
the same into effect or practice may be properly understood, I have hereunto
appended an explanatory sheet of drawings in which the same reference letters
are used to indicate corresponding parts in all the figures where shown.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal or side section of the upper part, broken away, of a
dry gas meter as fitted with my improved mechanism, and Figure 2 is a corre-
sponding plan view with the meter cover removed.
Figure 3 is an end elevation at right angles to Figure 1, and Figure 4 is a
view corresponding to Figure 1 but looking from the opposite side of the
meter.
Figure 5 is a longitudinal section detached showing the coin actuated recipro-
cating piston and its working chamber and recoil spring, and Figure 6 a transverse
section as taken on the lines 5-5 Figure 5.
Figure 7 is a detached section showing the ratchet wheel and spindle and screw
friction box and fittings.
Figure 8 is a detached front elevation showing the usual pre-payment indicating
dial and pointer, and the usual gas consumpt recording indicators.
Figure 9 is a detached front view of the coin receiving chamber with the receipt
indicating dials, and
Figures 10 and 11 are sectional views at right angles to each other showing
my improved arrangement of mechanism for actuating the coin recording dials.
Referring to these drawings:-As applied to an ordinary supply dry meter, there
is used in combination with the improvements the usual double acting bellows and
the usual slide valves, and rotating spindle with "tangent" 4 on top connected in
the head of the meter through the links 5, 5, and levers 6, 6, to the upright rods 7
from the bellows; while a worm 2 on the spindle 3 turns a wheel 1 on the first
motion spindle 8 of the usual counting mechanism. The improvements consist all
as follows: As shown particularly in Figures 3 and 4, a rising and falling vertical
spindle A carrying at its lower end a bellcrank stop lever A' is fitted in the upper
open chamber in the path of the usual revolving "tangent 4 so that when this
spindle A, and its stop lever A' are down in their lowest position, as shown in
Figures 3 and 4, they stop the "tangent 4 and action of the meter; but when
said spindle A rises the meter goes on measuring gas through it as usual. This
vertical reciprocating spindle A of the stop lever A has a lateral arm A' Figure 3
"
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page_text: at its top end, which rests on a disc B' with a notch in it, so that when the notch.
comes round the spindle A, A', and lever A' fall, and at every other part of the
revolution of the disc B' the spindle A is kept up and allows the meter to measure
gas. This disc B' is secured preferably on a hollow spindle B to rotate on a fixed
central stud B³ Figure 7 carried on bearing brackets projecting up from the box
part of the meter. This spindle B has also a large ratchet wheel B' keyed or fixed
on it, turned by a weighted ratchet pawl lever 6 fulcrumed on a stud or cross-
head projecting out from a reciprocating piston C, working in a horizontal
cylindrical spring chamber C, C, and the piston C when pushed in to its inmost
position against the power of the spring C³ by the action of inserting a coin, as
hereinafter described, brings the pawl into action, and turns the ratchet wheel 13'
to a given distance or proportion of its revolution. The spring C pushes the
piston C, and the ratchet pawl always back to a changeable normal position in
the other direction, and also takes the ratchet pawl out of action ready for
another or new action inwards and allows the ratchet wheel B' to be turned in the
The
backward or reverse direction by the usual acting mechanism of the meter.
said bollow spindle B, also carries a screw friction box D with a spring d or discs
of leather or other suitable material in it, working against a friction disc d secured
on the hollow spindle B, and the friction box D carries a toothed spur wheel D¹
working into a screw or worin D2 on the top end of a vertical spindle D' turned by
a worin wheel D₁ at its lower end working into a worm or screw E on the first
motion horizontal spindle 8 of the counting mechanism, and the friction clutch D
and ratchet wheel B1, are turned back in the opposite direction by the usual acting
mechanism of the meter until the spindle A of the stop lever A falls into the said
notch again in the disc B³, and stops the action of the meter as described. The
outer end of the spring actuated piston C, has a curved crosshead (reciprocating
in a groove, in the centre of a barrel formed of a central spindle and two
discs c, c, with a slot c' in these and through the spindle c³ for receiving a penny or
other coin or coins to act on the head C¹ of piston C; any smaller coin would drop
through the slot c' into the money box without actuating the mechanism. The
spindle of this barrel c passes outside the front of the meter case, and carries a
handle and pointer on it showing its position for receiving the coin, and the
direction to turn the barrel c. To ensure the handle and pointer c being turned
completely round, a weighted lever a fulcrumed at a is actuated by a raised part cl
on the circumference of the coin drum c that will stop the action of the meter by
means of its arm a' rising and coming into the path of the lever 6 and preventing
its oscillation until the handle c and pointer have been brought back to their
normal position. In action the edge of the coin, presses in the cross-head C', and
piston C, to the desired distance to actuate the pawl b, and turn the ratchet
wheel B', to the extent to measure the gas for each coin inserted, a ratchet wheel a³
being fitted on this barrel c with a fixed pawl at to prevent its being turned in the
opposite direction. A screw spindle F is fitted near one side of the, spring
barrel C, and piston C with a milled finger head F' outside, and has a pinion F
on it working into a toothed wheel plate fitted on a stud centre at fl also outside,
but covered in by a portable case. This wheel plate is divided and marked on
the face, and a stationary pointer is mounted in front of it as shown in
Figures 1, 2 and 4 so as to give an adjustment of say from ten to forty feet of gas
for each action of the coin and position of the screw spindle F. The inner end of
the screw spindle F, adjusts a stop bar F3 which takes against an angled pro-
jection on the crosshead ' on the inner end of the piston C, so as to regulate
the length of the outward stroke and normal position of the piston C, and at same
time tilt the pawl bout of action to give from the said ten to forty cubic feet of gas
for each coin inserted through the slot.
The hollow spindle B of the ratchet wheel B' has a pointer on it in front
working over a circular dial 6, as shown in Figures 2 and 8, divided to indicate,
say, 500 cubic feet in the circle, and any fixed number of coins may be inserted
consecutively. after each other through the slot, that would give any less number
S..

page_text: of feet of gas in the revolution of the ratchet wheel B'; and this dial 63 would'
indicate the volume of gas paid for and to be consumed. To prevent the complete.
rotation of the ratchet wheel B' a portion of it is left uncut at B Figure 1 and
when this uncut part comes over the weighted ratchet pawl 6 the latter slides along
and the further rotation of the ratchet wheel B' is thus stopped. A disc B' is.
secured in front of the ratchet wheel B', by the lateral pins &, and would come into
exposed action when no more coins ought to be inserted, that is before the wheel B¹
and its spindle-B have made a full revolution; and-this-disc- B', would have.
printed on it the words "No more coins to be inserted" or similar device, and
would show through a segmental slot in the front plate, below the dial 3, as shown,
in Figure 8 and the turning of the wheel B' backwards permits the passage to.
consumer of the pre-paid gas for the number of coins inserted, and the measurement
of which would be indicated on the ordinary counting mechanism as shown at the
lower part of Figure 8, and when the' pointer 6 returns to zero it will indicate
that the prepaid gas has been consumed and the action of the meter has stopped..
As shown in Figures 10 and 11, each reciprocation of the spring piston C by the
action of inserting the coin (which drops from the slot c¹ in the barrel c into a
money box Z below) is made to reciprocate a rod G by pulling it against the
action of a spring G" at the last part of its motion in the inward direction, the
lower end of the piston head C' acting on the end G of the rod G. The other
end of the rod G is connected to the upper end of a lever G' fulcrumed on a
spindle G³ and a spring pawl lever G' is also fulcrumed on this stud spindle G³ to.
turn one tooth at a time a spur or ratchet wheel g fixed on a hollow spindle g¹¹
mounted loosely on the spindle G, and which wheel a would be fitted with a spring-
ratchet pawl to prevent it turning backwards. The spindle 7" of this wheel
projects out through a divided dial plate formed or fixed on the side of the box
into which the coins were dropped, and which dial would be divided into, say,.
100 divisions corresponding to the number of teeth in the wheel, and the pointer ',
on the axis 9", would thus indicate the number of coins that had been inserted
into the slot of the meter, and so show through a glass in the case the number of
coins which the person collecting the money should find in the box on unlocking
it or preferably an additional dial and pointer would be mounted to record,.
say, shillings, and be actuated by a pinion 2, mounted on the same axis g" as
wheel 9, and gearing into a wheel y³, of twelve times its circumference and number
of teeth and mounted on the axis 9 on which the pointer his mounted. In closing-
the money box again the collector would turn the indicating pointers back to zero
on the dials and lock both the door of the box and the glass face of the dials with.
the same lock.
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 :-.
First. The construction or arrangement and combination of the parts of the coin-
freed operating mechanism of a pre-payment gas meter, substantially as herein
described in reference to the accompanying drawings.
Second. In a coin-freed gas meter, the arrangement and use of a vertical rising
and falling spindle having a lever mounted at its lower end to come in the path of
and stop the usual "tangent" when the pre-paid gas has been consumed, and which.
is raised and frees the "tangent" on the insertion within the meter of prepayment
operating coins, substantially as herein described in reference to and shown in the
accompanying drawings.
Third. In a coin-freed gas meter, the combination and use of a "tangent,"
vertical acting spindle with lever, notched disc mounted on a horizontal spindle,.
ratchet wheel secured to said spindle, and ratchet actuating pawl and reciprocating
piston operated by the coin inserted within receiving organ of meter, and having a
connecting train of gearing to the ordinary counting mechanism, substantially as
berein described in reference to and shown in the accompanying drawings.

page_text: Fourth. In a coin-freed gas meter, the mechanism herein described for recording
the number of coins inserted in money receiving chamber substantially as set forth.
Dated this 18th day of December 1893.
W. R. M. THOMSON & Co.,
96, Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Agents.