GE Portable Induction Test Meter Type 1B5Y

Sangamo Electric Meter


© Brooke Clarke 2017
Background
GE Portable Induction Test Meter Type 1B5Y
    Description
    Photos
    Patents
Sangamo Electric Meter
    Description
    Photos
    Patents
Related
References
Links

Background

I was hopping that this was a flux type meter like the Sensitive Research Instrument Co. Fluxmeter but it turns out to be a meter for calibrating electric power meters (see: Smart Meters).  It will work with GE or Westinghouse electric meters.  It's missing the sense coil which should be fitted in the lid.

Note T.A. Edison (Wiki) got his start by inventing improvements to Stock Tickers (millions of today's dollars) and they ran on DC.  He later got into the DC electric business making power plants and light bulbs all operating on DC.  A problem with DC lamps led to the first electronic device (what we now call a vacuum tube) that was patented by Edison.  The problem is that DC could not then efficiently be changed to a higher or lower voltage so the distance covered was rather short (a mile or so).

George Westinghouse (Wiki) made street lighting (Wiki) systems based on using AC power and transformers (Wiki) so his system can can go many many miles.
427489 Alternating-current electric meter, George Westinghouse, May 6, 1890, 324/92; 324/134 - an early AC electric power meter.

When Nikola Tesla (Wiki) invented an AC motor (Wiki) , it was G. Westinghouse who licensed the technology and was then manufacturing both AC motors and AC generators based on Tesla patents.  So I'd expect Westinghouse the be market leaders in AC electric meters since GE (Wiki) is the company that came about from Edison's DC electric inventions. After Tesla won the competition for the Niagara Falls electrical system (Wiki) based on using AC, the Edison DC electrical system started it's decline.

GE Portable Induction Test Meter Type 1B5Y

Description

GE Portable Induction Test Meter Type 1B5Y

This is a calibrator used for AC electric meters.

Photos

Fig 1
GE Portable
                        Induction Test Meter Type 1B5Y
Fig 2
GE Portable
                        Induction Test Meter Type 1B5Y
Fig 3
GE Portable
                        Induction Test Meter Type 1B5Y
Fig 4
GE Portable
                        Induction Test Meter Type 1B5Y
Fig 5
GE Portable
                        Induction Test Meter Type 1B5Y
Fig 6
GE Portable
                        Induction Test Meter Type 1B5Y
Fig 7
GE Portable
                        Induction Test Meter Type 1B5Y
Fig 8  Lower disk bearing
GE Portable
                        Induction Test Meter Type 1B5Y
Fig 8 upper disk bearing & clockwork
GE Portable
                        Induction Test Meter Type 1B5Y



Patents

The earliest electric meters were for use with DC and made use of electrolytic chemical reactions in glass containers.  There is a Watt-Hour meter that has what looks like a very small mercury thermometer where the "temperature' is the run time in hours. 

A number of men invented the induction motor (Wiki) that's the heart of a modern analog electric meter.  While the motor invented by Ottó Bláthy came before the one by Galileo Ferraris (Wiki), the Ferraris disk induction motor has no commutators (Wiki) so is much simpler and is the one used in analog electric meters.

255308 Electrical Meter, Hiram S. Maxim, Mar 21, 1882, 324/92; 324/134 - the oldest electric power meter in class 324/92.  This probably is for a DC power meter.  The working principle is that the current in the circuit to be measured is used to drive a small motor and since the power is proportional to the current squared the motor has a square law load so that it's shaft turns in proportion to the power delivered (assuming the voltage stays the same).

388583 Electric Meter, Karl Raab (Germany), Aug 28, 1888, 324/92 324/106 - a conductor is heated by it's current which heats the surrounding air and an anemometer (Wiki) measures the air movement. Not to practical.

388003 Meter for Alternating Electric Currents, O. B. Shallenberger, Aug 14, 1888 - is one of the earliest patents for an A.C. power meter but it has practical problems.  For example it uses a fan to provide the square law resistance to disk rotation.  The GE 604501 patent uses horseshoe magnets which also damp the disk when there is no power being consumed.

408295 Electric Meter, Sebastian Ziani De Ferranti, Aug 6, 1889, 324/92; 324/137; 384/100 - AC meter using disk

The following table is based on the patent dates that appear inside the lid.

604501, Motor
                        Wattmeter, Carl Daniel Raab (Germany), May 24
                        1898
604501, Motor Wattmeter, Carl Daniel Raab (Germany), May 24 1898, 324/137 - spinning disk


other patents by Rabb.  Notice in the Patents  paragraph above a patent by Karl Raab also of Germany)
598208 Electric meter, Carl-daniel Raab, Feb 1, 1898, 324/138 -
598209 Electric meter, Carl Daniel Raab, Feb 1, 1898 324/138 -


733611
                                Bearing for electric meters, George H
                                Alton, Gen Electric, Jul 14, 1903
733611
                                Bearing for electric meters, George H
                                Alton, Gen Electric, Jul 14, 1903

733611 Bearing for electric meters, George H Alton, Gen Electric, Jul 14, 1903, 384/246; 125/39 - 

Other Alton patents:
645054 Register-dial, George H Alton, Gen Electric, Mar 13, 1900, 235/113; 235/1A; 235/24 - 5 separate small dials

Note that these are often called "Gas Meter" registers maybe because they were used on gas meters first.
31791 Gear for Gas Indicators, Joseph S. Elliott, Mar 26, 1861, 235/113; 235/140 - 4 small dials. 


860987, William J Mowbray, Gen
                                Electric, July 23, 1907
860987, William J Mowbray, Gen
                                Electric, July 23, 1907

860987, William J Mowbray, Gen Electric, July 23, 1907, 324/116; 324/137; 324/149 -

other patents by Mowbray:
858011 Meter, William J Mowbray, Jun 25, 190, 324/116; 324/134 - similar to this meter.
1024218 Meter, William J Mowbray, Apr 23, 1912, 324/116, 324/142 - improved version of the prior 2 AC electric meters.


984297,
                        Electric meter, William H Pratt, Gen Electric,
                        Feb 14, 1911
984297, Electric meter, William H Pratt, Gen Electric, Feb 14, 1911, 324/138 -

other patents by Pratt:
713346 Ground-detector, Nov 11, 1902, Gen Electric, - 3-phase
730698 Electrical measuring instrument, William H Pratt, Gen Electric, Jun 9, 1903 - " springless instrument"
728612 Means for compensating temperature changes in electrical measuring instruments, May 19, 1903
768344 Means for controlling electric meters, Aug 23, 1904 - records time at different current ranges
730397 Power-factor indicator, Jun 9, 1903 -
919459 Recording instrument, Apr 27, 1909 -  pen drum recorder of electric usage
835321 Electric meter, Nov 6, 1906 - general use
917130 Meter, Apr 6, 1909 - general use lighter weight disk
829801 Method of making hollow articles, Aug 28, 1906 - for use in electric meters and other instruments
816375 Electric meter, Mar 27, 1906 - dual mechanism for 3-phase power 
and many more

  


Sangamo Electric Meter

Description

This is an electric utility meter of the type commonly used on single family houses.  The input is 220 VAC from a center tapped transformer.

Photos

Fig 1
Sangamo Electric
                      Meter
Fig 2 Seal at left of meter base
Sangamo Electric
                      Meter
Fig 3
Sangamo Electric
                      Meter
Fig 4
Sangamo Electric
                      Meter
Fig 5 Seal (see patent below)
Sangamo Electric
                      Meter

Patents

2914354 Seal, Moberg Sigurd M, E JBrooks Co, Nov 24, 1959 -

Sangamo
Most prior art electric meters were the of the "motor meter" type or the "Mercury meter".
This Sangamo electric meter makes use of a Whatthour-meter motor (Wiki), also known as a Ferraris disc.

1010271 Induction-meter, Robert C Lanphier, Sangamo Electric Co, Nov 28, 1911, 324/137 - design prevents the demagnetization of the permanent magnet when there is a pulse of line power. 
1010272 Induction-meter, Robert C Lanphier, Sangamo Electric Co, Nov 28, 1911, 324/137 - shows the location of the two dampening permanent magnets (30, 31) - easily replaced series and shunt coils.

Westinghouse Precision Wattmeter

On eBay with patent dates:
July-15-1913
1067311 Wattmeter, Frank Conrad, Westinghouse Electric, 1913-07-15
May-11-1915
1138690 Meter, Albert B Rypinski, Westinghouse Electric, Westinghouse Electric, 1915-05-11, -
June-12-1917
1229767 Electrical measuring instrument, Paul MacGahan, 1917-06-12, -
May-15-1922
not Tuesday
374?
Maybe Model No.?

Related

Sensitive Research Instrument Co. Fluxmeter
Smart Meters - Electric
Test Equipment

References


Links

PRC68, Alphanumeric Index of Web pages, Contact, Products for Sale
Page Created 18 Oct. 2017