Electrically driven meter totalizing device

• US 4,365,251 A
• Filed: 12/04/1980
• Issued: 12/21/1982
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/1980
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ABB Power T&D Limited (ABB Limited)
• Original Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Company LLC (Brookfield Asset Management Incorporated)
• Inventors: Miller, Robert C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Robinson, Thomas A.
• Application Number:
  US06/213,692
• Time in Patent Office: 747 Days
• Field of Search: 340/870.02, 340/870.19, 340/870.2, 340/870.31, 179/2 AM, 324/137, 324/139, 324/141, 324/142, 324/153, 310/49 R
• US Class Current: 340/870.02
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 11/02 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 11/56 Special tariff meters

Abstract

A register is coupled to a rotor which is driven in stepped rotation by magnetic fluxes directed through electromagnetic pole pieces of a stator. The pole pieces carry coil windings which produce the magnetic fluxes by being sequentially and discretely energized by a circuit responsive to pulse signals, each pulse signal representing a quantum of a quantity to be measured.

Claims

1. An electrically driven meter totalizing device responsive to pulse signals comprising:

a dial register assembly including a front plate, a back plate, a gear train, a plurality of dial indicators, and a rotatable input, said gear train being carried for rotation between said front plate and said back plate and coupling said dial indicators adjacent said front plate, said rotatable input being carried adjacent said back plate and being in driving relationship with said gear train;

circuit means including a plurality of outputs, said outputs being discretely energized in a repeating sequence and in response to said pulse signals;

an electromagnetic drive system including a rotor mounted for rotation on said back plate and being in driving relationship with said rotatable input, said rotor having an armature including at least three radially disposed evenly spaced equal magnetic segments, said magnetic segments being rotatable along a circular reference axis, said electromagnetic drive system further including a stator attached to said back plate, said stator having a plurality of electromagnetic pole pieces and further having a plurality of coil windings, each of said coil windings carried on one of said pole pieces and connected to one of the outputs of said circuit means for producing magnetic fluxes from the pole piece ends, said pole piece ends being adjacent said circular reference axis and defining magnetic poles, said pole pieces fixedly spaced in a magnetically rotatably attractive relationship with said magnetic segments so that immediately after the fluxes produced from the ends of one of said pole pieces attracts at least one of said magnetic segments, causing rotation of said armature, the ends of the pole piece that will next produce fluxes will be disposed to attract at least another one of said magnetic segments.

2. An electrically driven meter totalizing device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the ends of said magnetic segments define at least three circular openings in said armature, said openings evenly spacing said magnetic segments along said circular reference axis, the arcuate distance as measured along said circular reference axis between the circumference of adjacent openings being substantially equal to the radius of said openings, and wherein said stator includes three U-shaped electromagnetic pole pieces.

3. An electrically driven meter totalizing device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the ends of said magnetic segments define at least three triangular openings in said armature, said openings evenly spacing said magnetic segments along said circular reference axis, wherein each of said openings is tapered along said reference axis opposite the direction of the desired rotation of said rotor, and wherein said stator includes two U-shaped electromagnetic pole pieces.

4. An electrically driven meter totalizing device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said armature is a thin disc mounted for rotation on said back plate and having gear teeth disposed along the circumference of said disc, said gear teeth directly meshed with said rotatable input.

5. An electrically driven meter totalizing device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rotor includes a shaft mounted on said back plate, said shaft carrying a gear meshed with said rotatable input and further carrying said armature disposed for rotation.

6. An electrically driven meter totalizing device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said circuit means includes a plurality of outputs, each of said outputs connected to one of said coil windings, said circuit means further including a control input with counter means for allowing said sequential energization of said coil windings in response to said pulse signals received at said control input.

7. An electrically driven meter totalizing device sequentially energized by first and second power sources in response to pulse signals, each pulse signal representing a predetermined quantum of a quantity to be measured comprising:

a dial register assembly including a front plate, a back plate, a gear train, a plurality of dial indicators and an input gear, said gear train being carried for rotation between said front plate and said back plate and coupling said dial indicators adjacent said front plate, said input gear disposed at said back plate and being in driving relationship with said gear train;

an electromagnetic drive system including a rotor meshed with said input gear, said rotor having a shaft-mounted armature made of thin magnetic material, said armature including at least three similar circular openings substantially equally spaced along a circular reference axis, the arcuate distance as measured along said reference axis between the circumference of any two adjacent openings being substantially equal to the radius of said openings, said electromagnetic drive system further including a stator having first, second and third U-shaped pole pieces mounted on said back plate, the ends of said pole pieces defining pairs of magnetic poles for directing fluxes through said armature, each of said poles of said first, second and third pole pieces being consecutively disposed adjacent said circular reference axis, said poles being arcuately evenly spaced along said reference axis a distance substantially equal to the radius of said circular openings, first, second and third coil windings being carried on said first, second and third pole pieces, respectively; and

a sequence control circuit including first, second and third outputs connected to said first, second and third coil windings, respectively, said sequence control circuit further including a control input having a counter means for allowing individual energization of each of said first, second and third coil windings in a predetermined repeating sequence that responds to each of said pulse signals so that the magnetic fluxes imparted to said pole pieces and directed from said magnetic poles produce stepped rotation of said armature, said control input further having a switching means for changing the energization of each of said coil windings from said first power source to said second power source, said second power source supplying a smaller amount of power than said first power source for holding said armature in a fixed position between inputs of said pulse signals.

8. An electrically driven meter totalizing device as claimed in claim 7 wherein each of said pulse signals represent a quantum of electric energy consumption.