Number wheel stack assembly for utility meters

A counter assembly comprising:

• a carrier having a shaft extending lengthwise to form an axis of rotation for a plurality of number wheels, the carrier also forming an eccentric lobe along one side of the shaft;
• a plurality of number wheel hubs, each having an aperture of a shape that slideably receives the shaft and eccentric lobe to orient the hubs, while the eccentric lobe prevents said hubs from rotating around the shaft, each hub having a recess and a pinion spindle disposed in the recess, said pinion spindle being spaced radially from the shaft and extending substantially parallel to the shaft;
• a plurality of internal pinion gears, each being disposed for rotation on a respective pinion spindle;
• a plurality of number wheels representing successive orders of magnitude, each number wheel being rotatably disposed on a respective hub, each internal pinion gear having one or more wider teeth extending beyond the hub and alternating with one or more narrower teeth, and each number wheel having an inner race with a tooth that engages one of the wider teeth of the pinion gear mounted on the hub in a next higher order number wheel on each revolution of the tooth, each number wheel except a lowest order number wheel having a plurality of teeth disposed along a rim on one side of the inner race adjacent a next lower order number wheel, the plurality of teeth on the rim of the number wheel being driven by both the narrower and wider teeth on the driven pinion gear;
• and
• means operable for driving a lowest order number wheel in incremental portions of one revolution to drive the number wheel assembly through the pinion gears.