Improvements in Electricity Meters.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Oct., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 27th July, 1891-Accepted, 24th Oct., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electricity Meters.
JOHN LEA 5 Aberdeen Terrace St. James' End Northampton in the County of
Northamptonshire Electrical Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion to be as follows:-
This invention consists in placing an automatic recorder to any of the present
ammeters or voltmeters or both in such a manner that at intervals of time it shall
register the amount of current in use and used.
This I accomplish by placing behind the indicating needle a short light bar which
has a pin, which presses against the indicator needle, or is by its movement allowed
to follow it to the extent of its movement and carry a pawl or click arrangement
which runs over a tooth wheel, this wheel is in gear with a counting train like that
used in ordinary gas meters.
At intervals of time this light bar is taken by a pin back to zero and in doing so
will move the click or pawl into the first tooth, and carry the wheel with it, thus
turning the counter train on, according to the number of teeth the pawl had behind
it, which was in accordance with the distance the indicator needle was from zero.
This movement may be made by an ordinary clock or by an arrangement of clock-
work made very small and started and kept in motion by a coil or coils of wire of
given resistance according to the voltage used drawing into itself an iron rod or bundle
of iron wires which is attached to a bar and suspended in a manner that by its
backwards and forwards movement it rotates a wheel which drives the clockwork
and also works the before mentioned light bar with its pawl. The teeth on the
ratchet wheel wherein the pawl or click works has its teeth placed the same distance
apart as the divisions indicating ampéres. For instance say that twenty amperes
are being used, then the movement back of twenty teeth, on a wheel of one hundred
teeth, having on its axle a pinion of ten, will move the next wheel of one hundred,
two teeth only and if this takes place ten times in one hour that will indicate,
twenty ampéres hours. This of course can be read as twenty ampéres or two,
hundred ampéres, or any number required according to the make of the apparatus
used, and already understood by electrical engineers, or by allowing a part of the
current, only to pass through the instrument.
COMPLETE. SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electricity Meters.
JOHN LEA of 5 Aberdeen Terrace St. James' End Northampton in the County of
Northamptonshire Electrical Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention consists in placing an automatic recorder to an ampére, meter volt
meter, or both. forming. a Watt. meter, thus forming an electricity meter, this I
accomplish by placing near the axle.of the above mentioned instrument, a follower
or light bar, having a pin which presses against the indicator on the axle, or a stop
pin if no indicator needle is required this pin follows the other one or indicating
needle to the extent of its movement and has on the bar to which it is attached, a
pawl or click arrangement which runs over a toothed wheel, this wheel is in gear
with a counting train like that used in ordinary gas meters.
At intervals of time the light bar is taken back to zero, and in doing so will move
TU 017

page_text: the click or pawl into the tooth of the wheel, carrying it round, moving the wheel
which is on the side of it which is geared into a counting train. This movement
may be made by an ordinary clock, or by an arrangement of motion caused by a
pendulum or escapement, well known to electrical instrument makers, this motion
rotates a wheel which drives the pin or counterbalanced wire which is on the same
axle and which catches the pin of the click or pawl every time it comes round should
it be away from zero and thus pushes on the counting train, Figs. 1. 2. and 3 shew
the manner in which the counting train is pushed on according to the distance the
indicator needle or pin on the axle of an instrument is from zero, by the pendulum
arrangement. This pendulum I drive either by a clock or by a simple solenoid or
electromagnet, the subject of this invention commences at the pin C which is in a
slot C¹ of the pendulum P this pin is fixed in a rocking bar e which is loose on the
arbor band has a small crank e¹ forming a click which turns the ratchet wheel W
and the arbor 6 also the counterbalanced wire or pin 61 which catches the crank
pin P¹ of the pawl or click S and turns the wheel M and the wheel which is on
the side of it geared into another like itself y, and the counting gear H in the
frame work T, until the wire b¹ brings the crank upon the stop t which disengages
it from the wire b', it will be seen that this axle and turning wire is not in a line
with the centre of the wheel M into which the crank pawl works, so that as the
pendulum rocks, the bar e turns the wheel W and the wire 6' will catch the crank P¹
wherever it may be and carry it round to the stop t when by these being out of line the
wire has nearly lost the crank pin and when it comes upon the stop tit releases it and
by the weight of the other end N of the follower A. turns it back until it falls into
the position from where it was brought, unless there has been a change in the
quantity of electricity used, then it will drop back more or less according to the
position of the indicator needle O or the pin upon the axle O¹ of the ampére meter
or electrical instrument which is in the circuit to be measured or registered by the
pin on the follower A resting against the pin 0¹ or the pointer or indicator O
which is upon the axle or in communication with the before mentioned ampere
meter or Watt meter. This ampere meter or Watt meter may be any of the
present systems where the pointer or axle upon which the moveable part is fixed
moves over degrees of the circle or divisions that are equal, that is to say supposing
that the axle turns one degree for one ampére, it shall turn twenty degrees for
twenty ampéres and so on. The teeth on the wheel M may be placed in such a
position and number that ninety shall form the quarter of its circumference, and
each tooth may represent a movement on the indicating train of any part of an
ampére per hour according to the size of this electricity meter, which may be made
as small as watch work or as large as machinery, and the counting train to any
number of wheels and pointers according to the power of the current and time it is
required to run between the times of inspection, if a great number of ampéres of
current are to be registered at one time, the wheel that contains the ninety to a quarter
of its circumference may be made to turn a pinion and another like wheel or a larger
one may be placed upon the pinion axle, and do the work of the before mentioned
wheel of 360, which in that case becomes an intermediate.
The follower, following a pin on the axle of the larger one thus using nearly the
whole of the circumference of the second wheel for the quarter of the first, with a
spring to bring it back instead of the weighted end N, or a weight and cord, this is
not shewn in the drawings because the system there shewn is enough for most
purposes.
I have not shewn a drawing of any ampere meter or Watt meter because there
are several in the market at the present time and a new one is about to be introduced
when a Patent has been granted for it.
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
1st. By a known regulated time a wire, pin, or catcher shall be caused to turn as

page_text: shewn at 6 and P¹ for the purpose of carrying forward a follower A and I substan-
tially as herein described and shewn in the drawings.
2nd. The stopt for the purpose of disengaging the click and allowing the follower
to return to the indicating needle or pin or stop from which it was brought by the
wire pin or catcher, substantially as described.
3rd. The follower A with its counterbalance N, click or pawl S, crank and pin P¹,
and wheel M, all for the purpose set forth and substantially described.
Dated this 25th day of July 1891.
JOHN
LEA,
5, Aberdeen Terrace, St. James' End, Northampton.