AMP-HOUR METER

• US 3,805,157 A
• Filed: 12/18/1972
• Issued: 04/16/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Joseph C. Quigley, Robert S. Acks
• Original Assignee: Joseph C. Quigley, Robert S. Acks
• Inventors: Acks, Robert S., Quigley, Joseph C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Alfred E.
• Application Number:
  US05/316,190
• Time in Patent Office: 484 Days
• Field of Search: 324/76R,76A,141,142,29.5,181,182 325/152
• US Class Current: 324/141
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 21/133 by using digital technique

Abstract

A submersible having a bank of storage batteries for power is provided with a circuit giving crewmen a real-time indication of power used or power remaining in the batteries. A sensor element interposed in series with the load created by the submersible'"'"''"'"'s machinery bleeds off a small sample of the load current which is proportional to the power drain of the machinery. An integrator circuit coupled to a unijunction transistor functions as a relaxation oscillator to generate pulses at a rate proportional to the magnitude of the load current and to pass them to a circuit for producing counter pulses. Counter pulses are coupled to a digital read-out for providing a visual indication of power used or power remaining in the batteries and also are fed-back to the integrator circuit to repeatedly reset it during the integration sequence. Increased reliability is ensured by the provision of a biasing-circuitry arrangement which is '"'"''"'"''"'"''"'"'on'"'"''"'"''"'"''"'"' only during the period when load current is being drawn from the bank of storage batteries.

Claims

1. An apparatus for indicating the power drawn by a submersible from its on-board batteries comprising:

a calibrated shunt resistor providing a signal proportional to the current flowing from said batteries;

an integrator circuit including an operational amplifier, feedback capacitor, a variable resistor, and reset relay coupled to the shunt resistor for integrating the proportional signal at a variable rate proportional to its magnitude;

an actuator circuit having biasing batteries and a relay connected to the operational amplifier, said relay being coupled to interconnect said biasing batteries to said operational amplifier for actuating the integrator circuit only when said current is flowing;

a sensing circuit including a unijunction transistor connected to the operational amplifier for responding to the integrated proportional signal to provide a trigger pulse each time the integrated proportional signal reaches a predetermined level;

a counter pulse generating circuit having a pair of SCRs and a unijunction transistor connected to the sensing circuit for receiving said trigger pulse to generate a counter pulse each time said trigger pulse is received;

leads coupled to the counter pulse generating circuit for resetting the reset relay and operational amplifier of the integrator circuit to zero each time a counter pulse is received; and

a four-digit counter coupled to the counter pulse generating circuit for providing a visual read-out of the accumulated counter pulses and power consumed by said submersible.