Improvements in Coin Freed Electric Meters.
Year: 1898

page_text: Improvements in Coin Freed Electric Meters.
CHARLES WILLIAM SCOTT CRAWLEY, 16, Red Lion Street, Clerkenwell, E.C.,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
:-
My invention consists of a screw which by any suitable mechanism is rotated
in one direction proportionately to the amount of current passing, and the time
it flows. The screw carries a nut which is free to move longitudinally but
prevented from rotating as hereafter described. The longitudinal movement of
this nut is therefore also directly proportional to the amount of current passing,
and the time it flows. When the nut has reached the end of its travel, it by
any suitable arrangement of switches, breaks the consumer's circuit. A drum
working on an axis parallel to the screw is geared to the nut, the gear being
made sufficiently stiff to prevent the nut rotating when driven forward by the
screw. In the drum are four slots; one of the slots is set under a fixed slot or
tube in the case, into which a penny can be dropped. An arm actuated by hand
from outside the case of the meter can press against such penny when in the
slot, and rotate the drum one quarter turn, but cannot rotate the drum if no
penny is in. This rotates the nut in such a direction as to drive it back again
a certain distance, and by a proper regulation of the gear this distance is made
equal to that which would be driven forward by the passage of one pennyworth
of electricity. In the same way other pennies may be inserted successively and
the nut driven back a similar amount for each penny until it reaches the other
end of its travel when it actuates any convenient form of stop to prevent further
coins being inserted until the nut has been again moved forward by the current.
When the circuit has been broken and a penny has been inserted and the nut
driven back as described I sometimes automatically reclose the circuit, but I
often prefer to close it by hand, in which case 1 generally prefer to make the
moving part which acts on the main switch (that is the one opened by the
mechanism above described) to close it, in the first part of its movement break
the circuit at another switch before closing the main switch, after which the
return movement closes the other switch again. I do not confine myself to the
use of pennies only, but make the instrument to work with a coin of any
required size. I generally make the slot or tube in the case through which the
coin is dropped sufficiently small to prevent any larger coins being dropped
down, and I make the slots in the drum opposite to one another, and wide
enough to allow the coin to drop freely through the drum. I then slightly close
them by a pin or other suitable means so that they will retain the coin of the
proper size, but allow anything smaller to drop straight through. When the first
penny as described is dropped in, the drum is pushed forward one quarter revo-
lution. When a second penny is dropped in, the drum is again by the handle
pushed forward another quarter revolution. The first penny then drops out. In
the same way the second penny is dropped out when the third is put in, and so

page_text: on. I do not confine myself to four slots in the drum, but may use any suitable
number, preferably an even number.
I, CHARLES WILLIAM SCOTT CRAWLEY, of 10, Red Lion Street, Clerkenwell, E.C.,
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 an apparatus which is described but not claimed in
the Specification No. 30020 of 1897.
In this apparatus there is a screw which by any suitable mechanism is rotated
in one direction proportionately to the amount of current passing, and the time
it flows. The screw carries a nut which is free to move longitudinally but pre-
vented from rotating as hereafter described. The longitudinal movement of this
nut is therefore also directly proportional to the amount of current pass-
ing, and the time it flows. When the nut has reached the end of its travel, it
by any suitable arrangement of switches, breaks the consumer's circuit. A drum
working on an axis parallel to the screw is geared to the nut, the gear being
made sufficiently stiff to prevent the nut rotating when driven forward by the
screw. In the drum are four slots; one of the slots is set under a thick slot or
tube in the case, into which a penny can be dropped. An arm actuated by hand
from outside the case of the meter can press against such penny when in the
slot and rotate the drum one quarter turn, but cannot rotate the drum if no penny
is in. This rotates the nut in such a direction as to drive it back again a certain
distance, and by a proper regulation of the gear this distance is made equal to
that which would be driven forward by the passage of one pennyworth of elec-
tricity. In the same way other pennies may be inserted successively and the
nut driven back a similar amount for each penny until it reaches the other end
of its travel when it actuates any convenient form of stop to prevent further
coins being inserted until the nut has been again moved forward by the, current.
When the circuit has been broken and a penny has been inserted, and the nut
driven back as described I sometimes automatically reclose the circuit, but I
often prefer to close it by hand, in which case I generally prefer to make the
moving part which acts on the main switch (that is the one opened by the
mechanism above described) to close it in the first part of its movement, break
the circuit at another switch before closing the main switch, after which the return
movement closes the other switch again. I do not confine myself to the use of
pennies only, but make the instrument to work with coin of any required size. I
generally make the slot or tube in the case through which the coin is dropped
sufficiently small to prevent any larger coins being dropped down, and I make
the slots in the drum opposite to one another, and wide enough to allow the coin
to drop freely through the drum. I then slightly close them by a pin or other
suitable means so that they will retain the coin of the proper size, but allow any-
thing smaller to drop straight through. When the first penny as described is
dropped in, the drum is pushed forward one quarter revolution. When a second
penny is dropped in, the drum is again by the handle pushed forward another
quarter revolution. The first penny then drops out. In the same way the second

page_text: penny is dropped out when the third is put in, and so on. I do not confine myself
to four slots in the drum, but may use any suitable number, preferably an even
number.
Figure 1 is a vertical section and Figure 2 an end elevation of the apparatus.
Figure 3 is a side elevation of the drum case. Figures 4 are a side elevation
and central section of the drum. The whole apparatus when in use is contained
in a casing which is not shown in the drawings.
The coin slot a leads into one or other of four slots o¹ in a drum o free to turn
on the spindle o² fixed in standards o³. The drum o has fixed to it the toothed
wheel op is a handle fixed to an arm 71 free to turn on the spindle o³ and
carrying a cylindrical pusher 22. If therefore the handle p be turned when a
coin is in one of the slots o¹ it revolves the drum o and wheel o' with it. The
handle p can only be turned to and fro through a quarter revolution being stopped
by the bent portion of the arm pl coming against the standard 03. The wheel o
gears with a long pinion q which in its turn gears with the pinion r which is
a nut on the screw r¹ to which the ratchet wheel d is fixed.
The wheel dis rotated in the direction of the arrow Figure 1 proportionately
to the amount of current passing and the time it flows by any convenient
mechanism such for example as that described in the Specification No. 30020
of 1897.
Each time the handle is moved upwards with a coin in the corresponding
slot of the pinion is moved a certain distance from right to left of Figure 2
(the screw being stationary) and this operation can be repeated until the pinion
comes against the left hand standard when any convenient apparatus (not shown
in the drawings) prevents the introduction of more coins. The coins fall in
turn from the slots o' through a hole cut in the cylindrical pusher. The use of
the current on the other hand turns the wheel d and screw r1 in the direction
of the arrow Figure 2 and carries the pinion r from left to right of Figure 2.
s is the fixed contact of a switch in the consumers circuit and s pivotted at sa is
the moving contact. The latter is operated and held in and out of contact by
a spring one end of which is fixed to it and the other end to a push and pull t
insulated from the switches. is the fixed contact of another switch in the con-
sumers circuit and a pivotted at u² is the moving contact. The contact u¹ is
caused to engage with u by pulling the rod t which moves s¹ from left to right
of Figure 2 and the latter carries with it in the same direction. If the coins
introduced into the apparatus have not been expended and the pinion r is there-
fore not at the right hand end of the screw the contacts and are kept in
engagement by the catch pivotted at but if r is at the right hand end
of then this catch is raised by it and w¹ is pulled by the spring w out of
engagement with u immediately is pushed in and s¹ moves to the left again.
It will thus be seen that both switches can only be closed simultaneously when
the coins in the apparatus have not been expended.
Figure 5 is an elevation and Figure 6 a horizontal section showing an indicator
for the number of unused coins in the apparatus. is a quadrant having upon
it numbers (say 12) corresponding to the maximum number of coins that can
be introduced. This quadrant is fixed to one arm of a lever y pivotted at y¹
whose other arm is kept in contact with the pinion r by the spring z. The
quadrant therefore moves with the pinion r and shows the number of coins remain-
ing unused at any time.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. The combination of a screw and a long pinion parallel to each other and
working in fixed bearings, a pinion working as a nut on the screw and gearing
with the long pinion and means whereby the introduction of coins turns the long

page_text: pinion or the screw and the consumption of current turns the screw or the long
pinion.
2. The combination with the subject matter of Claim 1 of a switch operated
by the pinion when it comes to the end of its travel.
3. The combination of two switches in the consumers circuit substantially as
described and illustrated in the drawings.
4. The coin receiving drum and parts working in connection with it substan-
tially as described and illustrated in the drawings.
5. Coin freed electric meters substantially as described and illustrated in the
drawings.