Telemetering system

Claim 1

IN A TELEMETERING SYSTEM, A QUANTITY METER LOCATED AT THE STATION OF A CONSUMER OF A COMMODITY AND OPERATIVE TO INDICATE THE QUANTITY OF THE COMMODITY CONSUMED, SAID QUANTITY METER BEING OF THE GENERALLY STANDARD TYPE HAVING A SERIES OF INDICATORS EACH INDICATING A DIFFERENT QUANTITY OF THE SAME COMMODITY, SAID INDICATORS EACH COMPRISING A UNIDIRECTIONALLY DRIVEN ROTARY INDICATOR SHAFT; SAID INDICATOR SHAFTS BEING GEARED TOGETHER TO ROTATE AT UNIFORMLY, PROGRESSIVELY DECREASING SPEEDS FROM ONE END OF THE SERIES TOWARD THE OTHER THEREOF; A SINGLE POSITION SENSING MEANS OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID QUANTITY METER; SAID SINGLE SENSING MEANS COMPRISING A ROTARY ELEMENT AND A NON-ROTARY ELEMENT; POSITIVE DRIVE MEANS MECHANICALLY COUPLING FOR COMMON ROTATION THE SAID ROTARY ELEMENT OF THE SENSING MEANS AND A SELECTED ONE OF SAID METER INDICATOR SHAFTS; OTHER THAN THE ONE OF THE INDICATOR SHAFTS AT THE FASTEST ROTATING END OF THE SERIES OF INDICATOR SHAFTS, THAT ADVANCES LESS THAN 360* BETWEEN SAID METER READING PERIODS OF PRE-ESTABLISHED SPACING; SAID SINGLE SENSING MEANS COMPRISING AN ELECTRICAL IMPEDANCE WHICH CARRIES PROGRESSIVELY THROUGHOUT SUBSTANTIALLY 360* OF ROTATION OF ITS TORARY ELEMENT TO ASSUME A VALUE DEPENDENT ON THE ANGULAR POSITION OF THE SELECTED SHAFT RELATIVE TO A FIXED INDEX POINT, THE OTHER INDICATOR SHAFTS OF THE METER BEING FREE AND UNENCUMBERED BY SENSING MEANS, AN ELECTRICAL MEASURING CIRCUIT FOR DETERMINING THE VALUE OF SAID IMPEDANCE WITH SUFFICIENT PRECISION TO PROVIDE AN UNAMBIGUOUS INDICATION OF THE ANGULAR POSITIONS OF THE SELECTED AND FASTER ROTATION SHAFTS RELATIVE TO RESPECTIVE INDEX POINTS AND THE CORRESPONDING QUANTITY OF THE COMMODITY CONSUMED BY A METER LOCATED AT A METER READING STATION REMOTE FROM THE CONSUMERS STATION, AND ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION MEANS CONNECTING SAID MEASURING CIRCUIT TO SAID SENSING MEANS.