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US 3,946,208 AGranted
Service meter with pulse counter
AssigneeRecord Taxameter AB
InventorLennart Carl Gote Borgstrom
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A utility or service meter including print-out means stored in a tamper-proof zone of a housing and presentable to a record card insertable in the housing to print the accumulated total of the units of the service consumed.
Claims13
A service meter including
- a housing having
- totalling means for accumulating a total of service units consumed, said totalling means including:
- a pulse counter,
- pulse emitting means responsive to the consumption of a predetermined number of service units for emitting a pulse, said pulse emitting means including a contact and means for opening and closing said contact,
- a solenoid including:
- a coil connected to said pulse emitter and
- a plunger advanced by said coil positioned to engage said pulse counter, said pulse counter including:
- transmission means including a resistance-capacitance circuit in series with said pulse emitting means and said coil, whereby a current pulse from the pulse emitting means is applied to said coil immediately upon closing said contact, and a current is applied to said coil as long as said contact remains closed,
- printing means, said printing means being mounted inaccessibly in said housing,
- a card slot in said housing, and
- means for selectively displacing said printing means toward said card slot to cause an imprint of the pulse counter total upon a card entered therein.
8 more elements
An apparatus for monitoring an amount of service units consumed comprising:
- means for periodically generating pulses indicative of consumed service units;
- solenoid means including a coil and a plunger movable by said coil upon energizing said coil;
- means for applying said pulses to said coil to energize said coil;
- tubular means for mounting said plunger for reciprocation within said coil, said tubular means being closed at one end, and said plunger being freely slidable with respect to said tubular means, except when engaging said closed end,
- lever means having pawl means thereon, said lever means being engaged by said plunger, and pivoted to rotate from a first position to a second position, as the plunger advances away from said closed end,
- a ratchet wheel engaged by said pawl means, said pawl means restraining said ratchet wheel from rotation, when said lever is in said first position, and rotating said wheel as said lever moves from said second position to said first position,
- biasing means for urging said lever to said first position from said second position to thereby drive said ratchet wheel in rotation,
- accumulating means indexed by said ratchet wheel for totalling the service units indicated by said pulses,
- printing means organized by said accumulating means,
- means for mounting said accumulating means printing means and lever means for displacement relative to said solenoid means,
- a housing enclosing said apparatus, and having a slot therein for receiving a card to be printed upon, and
- means for displacing said mounting means to register said printing means with said slot, to cause said printing means to record the accumulated amount of service units on a card inserted in said slot.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.