US686507A - Electric meter. - Google Patents

Description

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ELECTRIC METER. (Application led Sept. 17, 1900.)

(No Model.)

5 Sheets-Sheet I.

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No. 686,507. A Patented Nov. I2, |901. J. CAUDERAY.

ELECTRIC METER. (Application filed Sept. 17, 1900,.)

5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

' No. 686,507. Patented Nov. I2, |90I.

J. CAUDERAM ELECTRIC METER.

(Application filed Sept. 17, 1900.)

(un Model.) 5 Sheets-shea; 3.

No. 686,507. Patented Nov. l2, mol.

J. CAUDERAY. ELEcTmc METER.

4 (Application led Sept.' 17, 1900.) (Ilo Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

. ,m 'n.56 f5 VM A wiwi www? Patented Nov. I2, 190|.

J. CAUDEBAY.

ELECTRIC METER.

(Application led Sept. 17,` 1900.)

5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

JULES CAUDERAY, OF LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND.

ELECTRIC METER.

- SPECIISJC.A'IION` forming part of Letters Patent No. 686,507, dated November 12, 1901.

Application led September 17, 1900. Serial No. 30,249. (No model.)

Ton/,ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known'thatI, JULES OAUDERAY, elec? trician, of Lausanne, Switzerland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Meters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to electric meters, and particularly to meters wherein an automatic circuit-interrupter is employed to maintain a constant practically uniform motion of the mechanism independent of the intensity of the current and within certain limits of the work to be done by said mechanism.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front View of the meter. Fig. 2 is a back view ofthe same. Fig. 3 is a side elevation from left to right of Fig. 1. meter. Fig. 5 Vis a plan of the lower portion of the meter, showing more clearly theautomatic interrupter. Fig. 6 is a similar plan View showing the interrupter in another position. Fig. 7 is an elevation of a portion of the balance-wheel axis.

1 is a vertical galvanometer, the coils 2 3 of which are respectively above and underneath a fiat open frame 4, in which is rotatively arranged a shaft, upon which is fixed a magnetic needle 5. The galvanometer is placed 'between the arms of a permanent magnet 6, the ends of which are xed to the open frame 4, which forms both a magnetic and mechanical continuation of the arms of the magnet, and the magnet is fixed toa vertical plate 8.

Horizontally across the ends of the frame 4, which are secured to the arms of the magnet, are iron screws 7 and 9, which form laterally-adj ustable poles of the magnet and the points of which maybe adjusted at any suitable distance from the needle 5. Theneedle is'magnetized by the induction of the poles of said screws, and the strength of its magnetizing power is controlled by the adjusting of these poles for the purpose hereinafter described.

At the rear of the shaft which bears the needle 5 is xed a hand 11, arranged so as to vibrate on the front of a scale 12, engraved upon a plate 13, placed on the front1 of the magnet 6. On the inner end ofthe said shaft is fixed another needle 14, much longer than the hand 5, the top portion of which vibrates on the front of a graduated plate 15, fixed to .rated periphery. Fig. 4 is an under side view of the arms 16, the ends of which are fixed to a horizontal shaft 17, carried by brackets 18. To one of the arms 16 is pivoted an arm 19, hori- Zontally guided bya hook 20, which engages the forked part 21 of said arm and which carries a spring-ratchet engaging a horizontal toothed Wheel 23, mounted upon a vertical shaft 24. This shaft is mounted in a bearing 25, fixed to the frame of the registering apparatus 26, placed on the top of a frame 27, the operation of which will be further explained. toothed wheel 23 from turning backward.

Upon the shaft 24 and above the toothed wheel 23 is placed a disk 29, having a gradu- 24carries a Worm 30, engaging a worm-wheel v31, mounted upon a shaft 32, the front end of which projects beyond the front plate 33 of the registering apparatus and carries a hand 34, which rotates in front of a dial provided with a circular series of gures from 1 to"10, placed equidistant from each other. The registering apparatus has three other hands 35 36 37, rotating each in front of a similar dial, their shafts 38, 39, and 40 beingV engaged with the shaft 3'2 in the way usually employed by gearing, so that a complete rotation of any one of the shafts-causes the next shaft to the left and the hand fixed to it to turn one-tenth of a revolution. When, for instance, the hand of the units has passed over the whole circumference of the corresponding dial, the hand of the tens will have been moved from O to 1, and so on.

The'gearings of the registering apparatus are similar to those of the registering apparatus of the gasometers, and it is useless to fully describe them.

The arms 16 and the graduated plate 15 are pressed away from the plate 8 by a spring 41.

'The forward movement of the arms is controlled by an adjustable stop-screw 10,screwed in abearin g near the top of said plate 8,which in turn limits the stroke of the graduated plate 15. If the arms 16 are moved toward the plate 8, the arln 19 is retracted with its A cross-spring 28 prevents the` The lower part of the shaft IOO ment which causes the wheel to be rotated a number of teeth, which is controlled by a double cone 45, described below.

The means by which the indications of the galvauometer are transmitted to the registering apparatus are as follows: On the front of the graduated plate 15 and at the top end of the long hand 14 is arranged a double cone 45, provided with a series of circumferential grooves and flattened on one side of its aXis, the shaft of which has conical ends pivotally engaged with suitable screws 42, screwed to the arms 43, projecting from the plate 8. The said double cone is provided with a certain number of grooves intended to receive the projection 44 ot the hand 14. According to its actual position the hand of the galvanometer-arm gears with the one or the otherof these grooves of the double cone, the diameter of which varies according to the rotation of the said double cone. If the hand of the galvanometer is placed at zero, the projection 44 will be opposite to the central portion of the double cone, which portion is cylindrical-that is to say, in front of a cylindrical groove-and the rotation of the double cone will not act upon it at all. The position of the hand depends upon the intensity and direction of the electric current which passes through the coils of the galvanometer, which are placed in the circuit and the current of which must be controlled, and said hand is connected to itin this present case in the manner hereinafter described.

The graduated plate 15 is divided so as to mark the amperes, and the diameters of the double cone are arranged accordingly. Therefore if the coils of the galvanometer are traversed by a current of an intensity of one ampere the hand will pass from zero to the first graduation to the right or to the left, according to the direction of the said current, and if it remains in this position during one revolution of the double cone said hand will be pressed backward once by that portion of the double cone which is on the front of the first graduation of the plate. This movement must be controlled so as to have the arm 19 and its ratchet 22 moving the ratchet-wheel 23 at such an angle as to move the graduated disk 29 one degree. In case the hand should bein a position indicatinga current of greater intensity-say, for instance, of three amperes-then said hand would be thrown backward during every revolution of the `double cone 45, so as to cause the ratchet-wheel 23 to be rotated by a correspondingly greater number of teeth.

The means by which the double cone is caused to execute a complete revolution are the following. These means are similar to the driving mechanism of `electric clocks.

4G is a horizontal balance-wheel carried by a shaft 47 and provided with a coiled spring 4S. These parts are similar to the balance and spring of a watch, but of course of much larger dimensions. The disk 46 weighs about seven hundred grams and fulfils a complete oscillation to and fro per second under the control of the said spring. The motive power which maintains the said balance-wheel in action is produced by the electromagnets 49, carried by the frame 27 and acting upon the armatures 50 and 5l of the balance-wheel46. These armatures are normally kept in an oblique plane to the poles of the magnets and are brought into the axial plane of the magnets by the attraction of the magnets when the same are energized. The magnets are placed in a circuit which is to be controlled, and the connections are made as follows: The terminals 52 53 of the base 54 of the apparatus are respectively connected to the opposite terminals of the coils of the galvanometer by means of thick wires 55 and 56, leading to the insulated metallic plates 57, carried by the plate 8, directly connected to the terminals of said coils in the the usual Way. The terminals 58,62 are connected together bya thick wire 59. The wires of the main line 61 must be connected to the terminals 52 62. One of the magnets 49 is provided with spools, connected at one end by a wire 63 and at the other end by a wire G4 to a metallic plate 65, mounted upon a non-conducting platform 66. The plate 65 carries a bracket 67, to which a fork 72 is connected by means of a spring 73 pressing its heel end, which is formed like a knife-blade, against a vplate 74, provided with suitable notches. Said fork 72 surrounds the shaft 47 of the balancewheel,and as the described construction of the parts does not allow the fork 72 to remain in stable equilibrium the spring 73 always maintains it pressed against either the one or the other side of said shaft. (See Figs. 5 and 6.) On a disk 75, fixed to the shaft of the balancewheel, is pivoted a roller 76, which when the oscillations of the balance-wheel have reached a predetermined amplitude comes in contact with the one and then the other of the teeth of the fork 72 and causes it to oscillate from the position shown in Fig. 6 to that shown in Fig. 5, and vice versa. Said fork 72 carries a contact-arm 77, intended to close the circuit of the electromagnet as said arm meets a spring contact-arm 78, fixed to a ratchet 79, pivoted at 8O on the insulated platform 66. The contact-arm is electrically connected to the bracket 7l. The shaft 47 of the balancewheel 46 carries a disk Sl, upon which is fixed a tooth S2, intended to act upon the ratchet 79 a little before the balance-Wheel has reached its resting position by means of the spring48. The gearing of the tooth 82 with the ratchet 79 takes place at every oscillation of the balance-Wheel, Whatever may be the amplitude of the latter; but as soon as said amplitude is sufficient to allow the roller 76 to meet the teeth of the fork 72 the latter is oscillated, so thatits contact-arm 77 will be outof the Way of the spring-contact 78, fixed to the ratchet 79. When the balancewheel is in its normal or rest position, the roller 76 must be placed at an angle of, say, thirty degrees from the mid- IOO dle position of the fork, sopas to always stop the fork in the position of Fig. 6, in which the circuit is closed. It will be observed that in this construction of the interrupter the current never passes in the metallic mass of the instrument, but only in contact-pieces especially provided for that purpose. The electromagnets may have a resistance of one thousand ohms, so that when operating with a main current of one hundred volts of electromotive power an intensity of only one-tenth of an ampere will cross the coils of the magnet during one-fifth of asecond in intervals of seven to twelve seconds. The variations of seven to twelve or fifteen seconds for the time during which the balance-wheel and its disk fulfil one entire oscillation without renewing the impulsion may be caused, first, by some variations in the strength of the electromotive power with which the apparatus is working, or, secondly, by the different distances between the magnet-poles andthe armatures.

Next the bearing of the balance-wheel is an eccentric 83. 84 is an oscillating shaft provided with a rocker-bearing 85,V from which projects a horizontal arm 86, in the end of which is mounted a small roller, which bears against the eccentric 83 under the action of a spring and which is acted upon by the eccentric 83 when the balance-wheel is oscillating, causing the shaft 84 to be rocked to and fro. A long arm 88'projects from the shaft 84 through an opening in the end of the frame 27. At its top end the said long arm carries a spring acting upon a ratchet 90, which gears with the teeth of a ratchet-wheel 91, mounted on the shaft of the double cone 45. The arm 88 also carries a stop 92, which prevents the ratchet-wheel from being carried away too far. The backward movement of the wheel is Aprevented by a ratchet 93. The wheel 91 has sixty teeth, and the rotation of the eccentric is such that at each oscillation of the balance-wheel the ratchet 90 will cause the ratchet-wheel to be moved by one tooth, cau-sing thereby the wheel and the double cone 45 to fulfil one complete revolution in sixty seconds. The current of the main circuit passes from the contact 52 and 53 through the coils of the galvanometer and causes a deviation of the needle from zero in the one or the other sense, according to the direction of the current. The derived current passing through the coils of the magnet causes the double cone 45 to be rotated by means of the balance-wheel once in sixty seconds. From this results at each sixty seconds a rocking movement of the arm 19 and its ratchet 22, which will catch a number of teeth of the ratchet 23, corresponding to the position of the hand 14, and a number of corresponding indications will be noted by the registering apparatus.

I claim as my invention- 1. In an electric meter, the combination with a registering mechanism and means in conjunction with said mechanism for operating the same, of a Vertical oscillatory shaft whose oscillations operate the aforesaid means, and a circuit in conjunction with electromagnets for maintaining oscillations of even amplitude in the said shaft, the interrupter comprising a pivoted fork, a contact thereon, a roller secured eccentrically to said shaft and adapted to cause the said fork to oscillate with the shaft when the oscillations of the shaft are large enough for the roller to come into contact with the' arms of said fork, a pivoted ratchet, a contact secured thereto, a tooth carried by the shaft and adapted to engage the said ratchet with every oscillation of the shaft, the parts being so arranged that When the oscillations of the shaft fall below a predetermined number the fork is not moved by the roller and the contacts are permitted to come together closing the circuit and giving a new impulse to the shaft, substantially as specified.

2. In an electric meter, the combination with a base, a registering mechanism and a support therefor, of a galvanometer, electromagnets in a shunted circuit, a shaft carrying the armatures of said electromagnets, a pivoted fork 72 and a spring 73 for normally holding the fork in position, a contact 77 on said fork, a roller 76 secured eccentrically to the said shaft and adapted to oscillate the said fork when the amplitude of the oscillations of the shaft are sufficiently large, a pivoted ratchet 79, a contact 7 8 carried by said ratchet, a tooth 82 and collar 81 on the shaft and to which the tooth is secured, the said tooth being adapted to engage the said ratchet with every oscillation of the shaft, the parts being arranged and operating substantially in the manner and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the forgoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JULES CAUDERAY.

Witnesses:

D. MIER GILMER., M. SMER.

ICO

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