Improvements connected with or relating to Meters or Instruments: for Measuring Electricity.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 11th July, 1893-Accepted, 23rd Dec., 1893
UUMI LEIE DE CULTIVATION.
Improvements connected with or relating to Meters or Instruments:
for Measuring Electricity.
I, FELIX HEINRICH ASCHNER of 12, Badstrasse, Berlin in the Empire of
Germany, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has for its object a measuring instrument on which, instead of the
hitherto usual number of ampères, the price of the then consumption of electrical
energy may be read off. The need has, in fact, become apparent that, for instance,.
the consumers of electric energy connected with an electric power supply may at
any time be themselves quickly able to ascertain the extent of the cost per hour
of the current used.
The measuring instrument or meter indicates at any moment what the actual
consumption of current costs per hour, and fixes the number of lamps actually
burning, and it may thus be tested whether the lamps are burning only as much
current as they should.
If the total of the number of lamps multiplied by the unit of price is less than
is recorded by the instrument, either earth circuiting exists, or the lamps employed
are uneconomical ones. If it has been ascertained that no earth circuiting takes
place, then it is evident the lamps burn uneconomically.
As, however, the consumer, not being an expert, does not know how to deal
with the divisions of the scale of a current meter in ampères, it becomes a question
of constructing a current meter in which, for a given tension in the series of cables,
the divisions of the scale show the cost of the actual consumption of current.
For this object, any suitable form of current meter may be employed, which is
provided with a scale divided in the following manner :-
A calculation is made of what 1, 2
up to 10 ampères cost per hour at
the tension selected as a basis, and the price obtained is entered on the divisions
corresponding to 1, 2, 3
up to 10 ampères. By interpolation, the prices
may then be obtained for the intermediate fractions.
From the division of the scale thus obtained, another might also be
advantageously formned, in which each line of the larger division gives the price
of 1, 2
up to 10 shillings for the corresponding strength of current per
hour. Between the divisions for the shillings, smaller divisions may then be
inserted for fractions of a shilling.
If a meter (measuring instrument) provided with a scale divided in this manner
be inserted in an electric conductor, the actual cost of consumption can then always
be immediately read off. If the consumption of current remains even, the price
ascertained from the scale may then be simply multiplied by the number of hours
in order to obtain the total cost; where the strength of current is variable, the
reading off must be taken from time to time and the total cost obtained
therefrom.
In order that the invention may be fully understood, there is annexed hereunto
a sheet of drawings showing a meter constructed according to this invention.
It will be seen that the drawing is a face view of such a meter, in which :-
A is an ordinary face or dial plate having a scale B marked on it in shillings and
pence, or other monetary value, for indicating the value of ampères of current
consumed per hour or other given space of time: and C is an index operated by
the current.

page_text: 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 :-
A measuring instrument (or meter) for directly reading off the cost of the
actual consumption of electrical energy, having a scale the divisions of which, at
the tension taken as the basis in the group of wires or conductors, give the cost
calculated on the actual consumption of current per hour; substantially as herein-
before described.
: Dated this 25th day of October 1893.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.