GB1032092A - Improvements relating to coin-freed prepayment meter arrangements - Google Patents

Abstract

1,032,092. Coin freed metering apparatus. ASSOCIATED ELECTRICAL INDUSTRIES Ltd. Dec. 4, 1962 [Dec. 5, 1961], No. 43508/61. Heading G4V. To remove the load from the measuring unit of a metering apparatus the measuring unit generates electric signals to indicate the consumption of increments of metered quantity, a coin set prepayment differential gear being reset progressively in response to the signals from the measuring unit. As shown in the drawing accompanying the Provisional Specification, a watt-hour meter 3, 4, 5, drives a gear 8 which makes contacts 11 once in each revolution and, by consequent energization of solenoid 24, steps a ratchet wheel 22 controlling the main switch 18 of an electrical supply to a consumer. The wheel 22 is set by a coin unit 12 and fixed charge unit 13, by way of differentials 14, 17, and price-change gearing 15. Instead of the contacts 11 a set of changeover contacts may be employed in conjunction with a similar set controlled by the stepping of the ratchet wheel (see Fig. 1 of the Complete Specification, not shown). Instead of generating D.C. pulses, high frequency pulses may be produced by the watt-hour meter and be transmitted over the power line which may also carry similar signals of characteristic frequencies. The signals may be produced by a vane rotating to vary the coupling in the feedback circuit of an oscillator as described in Specification 1,032,093. As shown in Fig. 4, a tripping device td is set to switch on the supply in response to coin action permitting the rotation of gear g<1> and the biasing of spring rs. Electromagnetic escapement devices ed, ed1, are controlled stepwise by signals from a lighting and a power tariff meter, respectively, and over differential gears d and d1 control the return of tripping device td. One of the escapement devices, or an additional such device, may be controlled by pulses from a time meter. There may be only one escapement device controlled by pulses from an energy or a time meter. The escapement devices are described in Specification 971,516.