US2489030A - Fuel mileage calculator - Google Patents

Description

Nav. 22, 1949 R R, HERRICK A' 2,489,030

FUEL MILEAGE CALCULATOR Filed sept. 2e, 1945 ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 22, 1949 UNTTED STATES PATENT oEEicE FUEL MILEAGE CALCULATOR Ralph R. Herrick, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application September 26, 1945, Serial No. 618,696

4 Claims.

This invention is for a calculating device and relates more particularly to a calculating device of staple construction to be used in rapidly calculating the distance, as for example, the number of miles per gallon or other unit of fuel obtained by an automobile or other vehicle or vessel.

The invention has for its object to provid-e a calculator of cheap and simple construction, by means of which the owner or operator of a vehicle may very readily and quickly obtain an accurate determination of the distance per unit of fu-el being obtained by an automobile or other vehicle. The device is of a character such that it can be manufactured and distributed at W cost, perhaps even being distributed as an advertising novelty. It is designed to give a reasonably accurate indication of mileage per unit of fuel on either short distances or over long distances. While I shall hereinafter refer to mileage in reference to distance, and to gallons in reference to units of fuel, it will be understood that this is by way of illustration, and that the device may be equally calibrated for use in estimating kilometers or other distances with liters or other units of volume, instead of gallons.

The invention may be readily understood by reference to the accompanying (drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a calculator embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section in the plane of line II-II of Fig. 1, the section being a transverse horizontal section;

Fig. 3 is a section in the plane of line III-III of Fig. 1, the section being a transverse vertical section; and

Fig. l is a fragmentary front elevation of a modification.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 3, the device may be conveniently formed of sheet plastic material, or may be formed partly of paper and partly of transparent material. It comprises a body designated generally as 2, and formed of thin transparent sheet material folded upon itself to provide a front flap 3 and a rear ap or panel 4 with a folded base portion 5. The parts 3 and 4 are generally circular.

Located between the front and rear panels 3 and 4 is a rotatable disk 9 Which is pivotally secured in the structure by an eyel-et 8 acting as a pivot.

The base portion 5 may be provided with a panel l0 or other writing surface to provide for the inscription of a speedometer reading at the start of a test run. The inscription panel may be of a character on which marks can readily be made with a pencil and subsequently erased. Plastic writing surfaces of this character are weil known in the art. At the other end of the base portion of the panel are a plurality (preferably 3) independently rotatable disks ll, l2 and I3, these being pivoted between the two folds of the base, and the base is cut away to expose the peripheries of the disks for turning them. The base is provided with windows Il', I2', and I3 for eX- posing numbers on the disks il, l2 and i3 respectively. These disks are adjusted to show the gasoline consumption during the test run. The numbers on the several disks Il, l2 and i3 run from 0 to 9, so that gasoline consumption up to several hundred gallons may, if desired, be indicated.

The circular front panel 3 of the body has a central transparent window area l, and around this window area is a numbered scale arranged in circular fashion concentric with the pivot 8. Concentric with the inner scale, which is designated generally as 6, there is a second scale on the front panel 3, and which is designated generally as 6a. The inner scale 6 is calibrated from 1 to 50, the numeral 1, however, not being marked, but it coincides with the "12 oclock position and the distance between successive digits in the scale decrease according to logarithmic progression. The outer scale 6a progresses in units of 10 from 100 to 300, and units of 50 from 300 t0 1000. The spacing of the markings corresponds to the logarithmic values of the numbers, the spacing of course decreasing as the numbers become higher in the logarithmic progression.

On the rotatable intermediate disk 9 around the periphery of the panel 3 is a third scale which is also a logarithmic scale, and which may run from 1 to 100 or higher. In the illustration, the first number of the scale which is visible is 20, and the last number which is shown is 100, this showing sufiicient of the scale for the purposes of the Ypresent invention. The rotatable disk .Si has an indicator of some kind, preferably an arrow i4, painted on it so that the point of the arrow terminatesadjacent the scale 6 on the panel 3. This arrow is visible through the transparent central portion 1 of the panel 3. Being painted on the disk 9, it moves with the rotation of the disk 9 around the scale 6.

The Scale on the disk 9 represents gasoline or fuel consumed. The figures in the scale 5a represent distance values, and the figures in the scale 6 represent miles per gallon. In using the device, the operator may conveniently record his odometer reading on the inscription panel IE at the 3 beginning of his trip. Using the disks I I, I2 and I3, he may indicate the amount of gasoline in the vehicle at the start of the trip, and as additional fuel is purchased, he may indicate the additional purchases so that at the end of the test run, the total gasoline consumption for the trip will appear in the windows II', I2' and I3.

At the end of a given test period, the operator may readily calculate the distance covered by ilrst subtracting the original reading subscribed on the panel I 0 from the odometer reading at the end of the test peri-od to determine the dist-ance which has been covered. He will then move the disk 9 to bring .the total number of gallons of gasoline consumed opposite the figure on the scale Ba which corresponds to the total distance covered. The arrow I4 4will then .point to the miles of fuel per gallon which has been obtained during the run, the pointer I4 pointing to the miles per gallon on the scale 6.

For example, with the setting shown in Fig. 1, llthappens that the numlber22 on the disk 9 coin cides with the number 100 on the mileage scale. vThe arrow I4 points to the scale B at a point between the numerals 4 and 5, showing that; if 22 .-gallons were used to go 100 miles, the-mileage per gallon 'would be slightly more than 41/ miles. It will also be observed that with the same setting the'fgure indicating 90 gallons on the disk of scale 9 registers slightly over the -iigure 400 on `the mileagescaleyshowing that if it took 90 gallons to go slightly more than 400 -miles, the mileage would be slightly more than 41/2 miles per gallon.

n In the drawing the scales are approximate, rather than being precisely accurate, but one skilled in ,the art may readily correct for this slight inaccuracy, the drawings showing the principle of my invention.

Because of the logarithmic values of the several scales,the device enables the amount of fuel consumed to be brought into register with the total mileage covered on the test run .togive the mileage obtained per gallon of tuel. It will of course be observed that in lieu of fgallonsf literslor other units ormeasure may be substituted, and Lin lieu of miles, lkilometers or other units of distance may appear.

Fig. 4 shows a slight modication embodying the same principle. In this figure, there is a card 2U on which is pivoted a' diskZ I, the pivot-for the ydisk being designated 22. The disk is provided with a window 23. Printed on the card 20 is'a circularly arranged series offigures 21'6,v located so as to be invisible except as such iigures may be Yexposed through the window 23. The gures in z. the scale 24 correspond tothe figures represent ing milesper gallon in the scale l-` described in Fig. 1.

Around the `periphery of the disk A.2| there isa second scale designated generally as `25, representing the total mileage coverediand corresponding to the scale 6a in Fig. l. On the `periphery of the disk 2| there is a third scale26,"representing the total fuel consumption `for thetest run. It

lthe total mileage is 200, the: gallons of fuel is l0,

so that the number' ZOappears inthe-window.

While I have illustrated and described certain teo specific preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that this is merely illustrative, and that various changes and modications may be ma'de therein, and that various materials may be used, all within the contemplation of my invention and under the scope of the `following claims.

I claim:

l. A fuel mileage calculating device comprising two members, kone of which is pivotally supported for movement in a circle relatively to the other, one of said members having a circular logarithmically calibrated scale indicative of total fuel consumption, and having an indicator associated therewith, the other member having two separate concentrically arranged logarithmically calibrat- `ed scales along circles having different diameters,

one of which is indicative of the total distance traveled and the other of which is indicative oi fuel units perunit of distance traveled, the indi- `of which is a logarithmic progression of distance values, and the other of which is a logarithmic `progression representing distance covered per unit offiuel, a rotatable disk concentrically arranged with reference to the scales on 'the body and having a scale thereon in juxtaposition tothe nrst of said scales on `the body, the scale on the disk being logarithmically proportioned and representing total fuel consumption values, and indicating means on sai'd disk movable in a circle ad- .jacent the second-of said scales on the body so 'that-when the scale on the disk representing total 'fuel consumption is adjusted to bring the figure representingtheA fuel consumed opposite that ngure on the body -whichrepresents total distance covered, the indicator willpoint to a position on the second scale on said body to indicate the num Vber of miles traveled per unit of fuel.

v3. Aiuel mileage calculating device comprising a body having concentricinner and outer scales,

Lthev outerof said scales being calibrated according fto a logarithmic progression of .distance values,

the inner of said scales being calibrated according to a 4logarithmic progression representing :mileage per unit of fuel, a rotatable disk pivotally supported on the body and having a scale thereon concentrically positioned with reference to the outermost scale on the body and having markl ings thereon adapted to be brought into registration with the markings of the outermost scale on :the body, the scale on the disk being logarithmically arranged according to the number of fuel units consumed, the rotatable disk having an indicator thereon movable adjacent the inner scale on the body andvisible through the body, the

`several scales being so arranged that when the figure on the disk representing the total number offuel units consumed is brought opposite the indicator and inner scale will register the number of' distance units traveled per unit of iuel used.

y4. A fuel mileage calculating device comprising "a member having two concentrically arranged lcircular logarithmically calibrated scales with 5 numerical values indicated thereon, radially aligned values on one scale being an even multiple of the correspondingly positioned Values on the other, the scale having the smaller series of numbers indicating miles per gallon of fuel used and the other scale designating total distance traveled, a second member pivotally attached to the first so that one may rotate relatively to the other with the scales being concentric about the axis of rotation, and another logarithmically calibrated scale on the second member concentrcally arranged about the axis of rotation and in juxtaposition to that scale on the rst member which indicates total distance covered, and an indicator on the second member movable along the miles-per-gallon scale of the first member.

RALPH R. HERRICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

lll

OTHER REFERENCES Pages 384-388 of Dec. 1917 issue and page 247 of Nov. 1917 issue of Industrial Management.

Page 8 of Graphical and Mechanical Computation, by Joseph Lipka; published by John di) Wiley 8l Sons, Inc., New York, N. Y. in 1918.

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