Improved Electricity Meter for Continuous and Alternating Ourrents.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Oct., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 20th July, 1894-Accepted, 25th Aug., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by COMPAGNIE ANONYME CONTINENTALE POUR LA
FABRICATION DES COMPTEURS À GAZ ET Autres Appareils, of 9, Rue
Petrelle, Paris, France.]
Improved Electricity Meter for Continuous and Alternating
Ourrents.
I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery
Lane, in the County of London, Consulting Engineer and Chartered Patent Agent,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :—
According to the present invention an electricity meter is constructed as follows.
A vertical spindle, capable of receiving reciprocating rotary motion through a
certain angle, carries a bobbin situated within a fixed double electro-dynamometer
coil, and, below this, it also carries a cylinder or ring of conducting material
connected thereto by radial arms. In line with and below this spindle is a second
spindle rotated by a small electro motor, and which carries on radial arms a number
of permanent horse-shoe magnets arranged symmetrically round the axis, so as, by
their upward directed limbs, to embrace the lower part of the conducting cylinder.
In the circuit of the motor is included a rheostat, actuated by the motion of
the first named spindle and serving to regulate the speed of the motor engine, as
will be presently explained.
The electro motor also actuates through suitable speed reducing gearing a
counter or registering mechanism for indicating the amount of electrical energy
expended.
The electro dynamometer consists, as before stated, of a double coil of thick
wire included in the main circuit, the electrical energy supplied through which it
is desired to measure, and a bobbin of fine wire carried by the spindle and placed
in a shunt on the main circuit. On a current passing through the latter, the axial
plane of the bobbin tends to be deflected through a certain angle relatively to the
central plane of the double coil.
The spindle of the bobbin has great freedom of motion imparted to it, by
forming it tubular and passing through it a fine wire or thread the upper end of
which is suitably attached to the framing so that the spindle is suspended
therefrom, the ends of the spindle being formed with points that can turn freely
in fixed centres.
The motor may be constructed of three armature bobbins with iron cores
mounted round a rotatable axis, parallel thereto, the upper end of the cores being
fixed to a disc on the said axis.
The field electro magnets are arranged to face the lower ends of the armature
bobbins with their axes parallel to those of the latter, the upper ends of their
cores being connected together by an iron bridge piece.
On the passage of a current the rotation of the armature axis causes the before
mentioned permanent magnets to be carried round the conducting cylinder, situated
between their limbs, thus producing induced currents in the latter, and tending to,
drag it round with them with a force proportionate to their speed. The direction
of such rotation is so arranged relatively to the direction of the before mentioned
deflection of the bobbin of the dynamometer, on the passage of a current, that.
the direction of the drag exercised on the ring by the magnets is opposed to the
direction of such deflection.

page_text: If the speed of the motor be regulated so that the axis of the dynamometer.is.
maintained in a state of equilibrium by the action of the two ahove named
opposed couples, the speed of the magnets will be proportional to the force of
the current to be measured, and it will consequently be sufficient to count the
revolutions of the indicating apparatus in order to ascertain the amount of energy
expended.
This position of equilibrium is maintained by means of the before mentioned
rheostat regulator, which varies the current supplied to the motor through a shunt
according to the position of the spindle of the dynamometer bobbin. Thus the
displacements of this spindle consequently act upon the motor in the same way as
the governor of a steam engine controls the speed of the latter.
The rheostat employed for this purpose consists of an arm made of insulating
material mounted on a pivot and actuated by a finger on the dynamometer spindle,
the said arm having two spring contacts which, according to the varying positions
of the dynamometer spindle, are caused to make variable contacts, whereby the
current supplied to the motor is varied.
Dated this 23rd day of October 1893.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Electricity Meter for Continuous and Alternating
Currents.
I, CHARLES DENTON ABEL, of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery
Lane, in the County of London, Consulting Engineer and Chartered Patent
Agent, 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 :-
According to the present invention an electricity counter is constructed as I
shall describe referring to the annexed drawings which shew it in front view
Fig. 1 in transverse section Fig. 2, and in sectional plan Fig. 3.
This counter consists of four distinct parts :-
1. A spindle A free to rotate through several degrees and carrying the coil of
an electro dynamometer BI and a conducting cylinder D attached to A by
arms F.
2. A spindle C which can be put in rotation by an electromotor MN, and
carries a number of permanent horseshoe magnets E E, arranged regularly around
the spindle and embracing but not touching the metal cylinder D.
3. A regulating rheostat introduced in the circuit of the motor M and worked
by the movements of the spindle A.
4. A counter V of the number of revolutions worked by gearing from the
spindle C and constituting a register of the expenditure of electric energy.
The electrodynamometer consists of two fixed coils of coarse wire II forming
part of the main circuit, and of a moveable coil B of fine wire in shunt from the
two conductors of the main circuit.
The coil B is suspended by a fine wire fixed to the lower part of B, passing
up A which is tubular and attached to a fixed piece at a. The spindle A thus
suspended is kept central by pivots at its ends.
The motor consists of three moveable coils M on iron cores attached to an iron
head m and connected to a collector having three keys. The inductor N consists
of two similar coils attached to an iron head n.
When the motor revolves, the magnets E in turning round the ring D induce
in it currents which tend to draw it round with a force proportional to the speed
of the magnets. The direction of rotation of the motor is such that this force is

page_text: opposed to that which tends to deflect the coil B of the electrodynamometer, and
which is proportional to the current.
If the speed is so regulated that the spindle A remains always in equilibrio
under the action of these two opposing forces, the speed of the magnets will at
every instant be proportional to the power of the current to be measured, and it
will be enough to count the number of revolutions by the counter V to ascertain
the energy expended. The position of equilibrium is maintained by means of the
regulating rheostat which I am about to describe, and which has for its object to
vary the current of the motor supplied by a special shunt in relation to the
position of the spindle A. The movements of this spindle therefore act upon the
motor in the same manner as a governor of an engine regulates its speed. R R¹
indicate resistances.
This rheostat which regulates the current for the motor consists as shewn in
Fig. 3, of an insulating piece S which is deflected by a contact t so as to bring
either of two flexible blades s and s' into contact, the former with pins 1 and 2,
the latter with pins 3 and 4.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The electricity counter constructed and operating substantially as described with
reference to the annexed drawings.
A
01 1
1004
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.