Improvements in Electricity Meters.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 12th July, 1890-Accepted,. 13th Sept.,
1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by ETIENNE MARÈS, of 70, Rue de Rivoli, Paris,
France, Gentleman.]
Improvements in Electricity Meters.
I, ERNEST DE PASS, of 78 Fleet Street, in the City of London, Fellow of the
Institute of Patent Agents, 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, reference being had to the accompanying drawings
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
This invention relates to improvements in electricity meters. The meter about to be
described is a Watt-meter of intermittent integration and whose moveable bobbin is
suspended from a balance beam. The strain exerted at the extremity of this beam is
equal to E I.
If we register at periodically equal intervals the product EI we shall have the
product EIT, admitting that EI is constant during one of these intervals, which is
so if the interval be not too long.
I will first describe the drawings, then the electro-dynamometer, and finally the
various mechanisms of the meter.

page_text: d is a needie for driving the pendulum.
dis a screw for securing the slide e².
E is the rocking balance beam,
e, es, are supporting screws, and
et
,
grooves or recesses for receiving these screws.
are arms or standards carrying the screws e³, et.
is a slide or guide and es a set screw for regulating the rocking movement of the
balance beam E.
is a moveable counter-weight.
F indicates the general arrangement of the movement driving the travelling
carriage G.
1 is an internally toothed wheel fixed to the back plate of the movement.
is a satellite wheel gearing with wheel 1.
3 is the arbor of wheel 2.
4 is a crank plate mounted on the axis 5 (Fig. 4), and on which the wheel 2 is
mounted and travels around the axis of the wheel which is fixed, as indicated by the
dotted line in Fig. 2.
6 is a stud carried by the wheel 2 on a level with its teeth and serving to drive the
carriage G. The stud 6 travels over the horizontal line a. ẞ. (Fig. 2).
Gis the carriage supported by two anti friction rollers or grooved pulleys g¹ g³
(Figs. 5 and 6) and rolling on the knife edge of the balance beam E.
g is a receptacle for containing shot, and forming a counterweight for purposes of
regulation.
is a fork attached to the carriage and driven by the stud 6.
His the cross piece of the electro-motor.
7 is a toothed wheel driven by the rack g of the carriage G and driving the wheel 8
through the pinion 9.
8 is the driving wheel keyed on the axis 10 of the units wheel of the meter.
10, 11, 12 and 13 are the axes of the four wheels forming the counting train.
S (Fig. 2) indicates the general arrangement of the commutator for leading and
distributing the current alternately to the inoveable bobbin c³ of the electro dynamo-
meter C, during one half revolution, and by the five studs p, q, r, s, t, to the electro-
motor during the other half revolution, for the automatic winding up of the motor
spring keyed to the shaft a³.
e is a nut for regulating the position of the stud 10, and which stud, by passing
through an aperture in the balance beam limits its rocking movement.
K is the commutator wholly of metal and insulated by the ebonite core k¹. It
consists of two semi-circular discs k³, k³. The disc carries on its front face a silver
disc which continuously receives the current from the spring and conducts it,
during one half revolution, to the semi circular disc k³, faced with silver, the current
then passing through the spring to the moveable bobbin c of the electro-
dynamometer, and during the other half revolution through the semi circular disc k
on which are mounted the five silver studs or contacts p, q, r, s, t, which conduct the
current five times successively to the spring k and thence to the electro-motor. The
advantage of this arrangement is that the current only passes into the moveable bobbin
during half a revolution of the commutator and thus obviates heating, or if heating
should arise, allows it to cool. Furthermore, it allows the motor spring to be wound
up, to compensate for the expenditure that may have taken place during the period of
rotation of the commutator, which is exactly four minutes and equal to the to and fro
journey performed by the carriage. This time may be varied and depends upon the
length of the pendulum.
-
Vis the terminal through which the current enters, and X is the terminal
through which it passes out. "Y is the terminal through which the current passes to

page_text: and be measured, say for instance,, 1o.
MECHANISM OF THE APPARATUS.
The apparatus is carried on a base board and comprises, as well as the Watt-
meter above described, a casing containing the clock movement, the upper part of
which contains the gearing for the registering dials, which it is unnecessary to
describe.
Near the lower part of said casing, and carried by the lateral attachment D, is
a train of wheels driven by a helical spring motor, and at the center of the
movement is seen the ratchet wheel a¹ (Fig. 1). The said spring actuates, by
means of the clock movement a conical pendulum d' which is situated above the
attachment D. I have adopted this pendulum because when once stopped it can
be started again, without dead point, by means of the releasing arrangeinent, and
enables the whole of the mechanism to work without shock. The clock movement
is intended to give to the carriage G a periodical and regular to and fro move-
ment along the balance bear E. 1 obtain this result by the use of Labvie's
system of gearing 1. 3, shown at Fig. 2. The constant working of this movement
is maintained in the following manner by means of an electric winding arrange-
ment which requires but little current.
The carriage accomplishes its to and fro journey along the balance beam in
four minutes, and the motor spring partially unwinding during this time it is
necessary to again wind up, at each period, the exact amount of spring which has
become unwound. I attain this result by means of the cylindrical commutator K,
which is plain or smooth on one half of its circumference and carries, on its other
half circumference, the five silver studs p, q, r, s, t. This commutator makes one
complete revolution in four minutes, which is the time occupied by the two and
fro journey of the carriage. During one half revolution the studs, each in their
turn, make contact with the piece which closes the circuit of the winding up
electro magnet hereinafter described. During the other half revolution the current
passes continuously, by the smooth semicircular contact, to the Watt-meter. It
will thus be seen that the Watt-meter is only active during the journey of the
carriage from the bobbin to the pendulum, this arrangement allows the Watt-
meter to remain inactive for a sufficient time and thereby enables it cool, if its
fine wire should become heated. The winding-up bobbin W is located between
the plates carrying the clock movement, and at every contact made by one of the
studs p, q, r, s, t, its armature a draws down the click a thereby turning the
ratchet wheel a¹ one tooth, and so winds up the spring. This spring is thus
wound up the amount of five teeth at each revolution of the commutator,
and as the spring unwinds this amount, it is always wound up again to the same
tension, the variation of which is only 8th of a revolution of the spring, a perfect
regulation of the pendulum is obtained and the equal and continuous working of
the apparatus is thus ensured. The sparks of rupture are extinguished by means
of a shunt bobbin, compound wound, of 20,000 ohms.
The balance beam E, is supported by two chrome steel points e¹, e³, (Fig. 8) one of
which rests in a steel recess and the other in a steel notch et so as to avoid wedging.
The balance beam supports at c the fine wire bobbin and it carries a counter-weight e
which ensures its coming to perfect equilibrium when the carriage is at the starting
point of its movement, that is to say, when its center of gravity passes over the points
of suspension of the beam. The upper part of the beam is formed with a sharp edge
along which the carriage travels by means of the two antifriction rollers g', g³. This
carriage is provided with a rack 9' on one of its longitudinal cross pieces which
engages with the driving wheel 7 of the registering dials when the beam is unattracted
by the Watt-meter. It also carries a pocket 9* for containing shot, which admits of
the apparatus being regulated.

page_text: The electrical connections are arranged in the following manner :-The two leads of
the source of electricity are connected to the terminals V and X ; and the lamps, or
other apparatus, consuming the current, are connected to the terminals Z, Y. From
Z to X extends a thick wire or metal rod 1. From V the current passes wholly
through the thick wire bobbins and returns to the terminal Y. From 20 a shunt
circuit leads to the winding-up electro-magnet through the wire 1, or to the fine wire
bobbin of the Watt-meter, through following the working of the commutator which
closes the circuit, or to the winding-up electro-magnet, or to the Watt-meter.
The working is as follows:
The clock movement having been started, and the apparatus connected up with the
source of electricity, its movement is maintained automatically.
Now, if there be nothing between the terminals V and X, nothing will be registered,
for the carriage being at the commencement of its journey the beam is in equilibrium,
but as soon as it advances the equilibrium is destroyed and the beam rocks, before the
rack on the carriage has had time to drive the wheel of the registering train.
But if lamps, or other apparatus, consuming the current be connected to the
terminals Y and Z, the bobbin of the Watt-meter will be attracted downwards and
the beam will be prevented from rocking while the carriage, whose rack engages with
the driving wheel of the registering train, advances progressively along the beam,
thus causing said driving wheel to revolve for an amount equal to the advance of the
carriage. At the precise moment at which the carriage has advanced for a sufficient
distance along the beam to equalise the attraction of the Watt-meter the beam will
rock, and the rack on the carriage will no longer engage with the driving wheel of
the registering train which will consequently cease revolving. The carriage continuing
its journey return to its starting point and recommences a fresh journey. The current.
only passing into the Watt-meter when the carriage travels from the bobbin towards
the pendulum, the beam cannot regain its position of equilibrium until the carriage
arrives at its starting point.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I claim :-
1. In electricity meters, the use of a balance beam for weighing or measuring at
equal intervals of time, the electric force developed in an electro dynamometer or
other measuring apparatus, by means (as equilibriating traveller) of a carriage,
mounted on wheels or grooved pullies, capable of travelling along said beam and
whose rack ceases to actuate the driving wheel of the registering train so soon as the
beam rocks, said beam being unable to regain its position of equilibrium until the carriage
has reached its starting point, whereby each journey performed by the carriage up to
the exact moment when the beam rocks is registered by means of the registering train,
substantially as described.
2. In electricity meters, the manner of mounting the travelling carriage with its
longitudinal rack for actuating the registering train, and the shot receptacle for
permitting the ready regulation of the maximum supply for which the meter is
required, substantially as described.
3. The commutator for only allowing the current to pass into the moveable bobbin
during half its rotation when the measuring is taking place and thus avoiding the
heating of the bobbin wire, then during the remaining half revolution permitting the
current to pass successively, a certain number of times, into the electro-motor for
effecting the automatic winding up of the motor spring (which ensures the constant
working of the pendulum), in proportion to the working of the gearing which actuates
the carriage, substantially as described.
4. In electricity meters, the application or employment of a stopping and starting
electro-magnet acting upon the pendulum in order to arrest it when the source of
electricity is cut off, and for permitting it to again work as soon as the current passes,
thereby preventing the spring from fully unwinding and keeping it always at the
same tension, as well as ensuring a perfect regulation of the period serving as the unit
of time for the measuring or registering, substantially as described..

page_text: 5. The use of the conical pendulum to regulate the working of an electricity meter,
substantially as described.
6. Electricity meters constructed substantially as described and shown with reference
to the accompanying drawings.
1