Flow meter integrator

Claim 1

IN A METERING DEVICE FOR INTEGRATING A VARYING QUANTITY WITH RESPECT TO TIME, APPARATUS COMPRISING: A CAM MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT ITS CENTER OF ROTATION, AND HAVING A SPIRAL CAM SURFACE VARYING IN POSITION RELATIVE TO A REFERENCE POINT LINEARLY WITH RESPECT TO ROTATIONAL ANGLES OF SAID CAM ABOUT SAID CENTER OF ROTATION; MEANS TO POSITION SAID CAM AT ROTATIVE ANGLES BETWEEN LIMITS ABOUT SAID CENTER OF ROTATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH A PREDETERMINED FUNCTION OF SAID VARYING QUANTITY; FEELER MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR PERIODICALLY IMPARTING MOVEMENT OF SAID FEELER MEANS ALONG A FIXED PATH FROM A PREDETERMINED POSITION INTO A POSITION OF CONTACT WITH THE SAID CAM SURFACE AND RETURN TO SAID PREDETERMINED POSITION, THE DISTANCE BETWEEN SAID PREDETERMINED POSITION AND SUCH POSITION OF CONTACT FOR EACH SUCH MOVEMENT OF SAID FEELER MEANS ALONG SAID PATH BEING DETERMINED BY THE POSITION OF SAID CAM SURFACE AT THE ANGULAR POSITION OF SAID CAM AT THE INSTANT OF SUCH CONTACT, WHEREBY SAID DISTANCE FOR EACH SUCH MOVEMENT BEARS A SUBSTANTIALLY LINEAR RELATIONSHIP WITH SUCH ANGULAR POSITIONS OF SAID CAM; AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SUCH LINEAR MOVEMENTS OF SAID FEELER MEANS FOR PRODUCING AN OUTPUT QUANTITY WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY THE SQUARE ROOT OF THE TOTAL OF SAID DISTANCES OF SUCH LINEAR MOVEMENTS OVER A GIVEN INTERVAL OF TIME.