Engineering:Hubometer
A hubometer (from hub, center of a wheel; -ometer, measure of), hubodometer, or simply hubo, is a device mounted on the axle of any land vehicle to measure distance traveled.
The whole device rotates with the wheel, except for an eccentrically mounted weight on an internal shaft. This remains pointing downwards and drives the counting mechanism as the body of the hubometer rotates round it.
Typical uses
Hubometers are needed on semi-trailers, as they are the only means of measuring distance traveled over the lifetime of the vehicle, a tire, etc. For instance, they are used on buses, trucks, or trailers whose tires are supplied to the vehicle operator by an independent company on a contract of "price per thousand kilometers". The hubometer is installed by the tire company to give them their own measure.
In New Zealand hubodometers[1] are used for the calculation of road user charges[2] for HGVs powered by a fuel not taxed at source.
Historical data
At the Veeder Manufacturing Company in Hartford, Connecticut production of cyclometers, hub odometers, and other scientific tools was underway for contracts with the United States government. Designed by Curtis Veeder[3] in 1895, the cyclometer measured the distance traveled by bicycles[4] as Curtis was a bicycle enthusiast. He would later adapt the invention to measure distance traveled for automobiles, hubodometers,[5] as well as hand-turned cyclometers for use by the US Weather Bureau. The Veeder Manufacturing Company would produce these tools for use by the US government during World War One. These devices would be placed on the wheel of an automobile to measure the distance traveled by counting the rotations of its wheels.
Curtis Veeder acquired the Root Company of Bristol in 1928 before retiring to form the Veeder-Root Corporation[6] that is still in business today. With his industrial wealth, Veeder built an elaborate stone mansion on Elizabeth Street in Hartford which is now home to the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History.[7][8][9]
See also
- Odometer
- Speedometer
- Tachograph
- Tachometer
- Taximeter
- Hobbs meter
- Tach Timer
References
- ↑ "Road user charges (RUC) | Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency". https://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/licensing-rego/road-user-charges/.
- ↑ Road user charges handbook, ISSN 1176-9297
- ↑ Smithsonian | National Museum of American history - Behring Center https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1420830
- ↑ Muller, Mary (12 September 2014). "Yankee Ingenuity: Curtis Veeder, a Mechanical Genius and Shrewd Businessman". https://connecticuthistory.org/yankee-ingenuity-curtis-veeder-a-mechanical-genius-and-shrewd-businessman/.
- ↑ "Hubodometers | Electronic & Mechanical Hubodometers |Veeder Root". https://www.specialtyproducttechnologies.com/veeder-root/products/hubodometers.
- ↑ "Electronic, Electromechanical & Mechanical Counters | Veeder Root". https://www.specialtyproducttechnologies.com/veeder-root.
- ↑ "VEEDER MANUFACTURING COMPANY". Digital History 511: Theory & Practice. https://library.ccsu.edu/dighistFall16/exhibits/show/connecticut-manufacturing-duri/veeder-manufacturing-company.
- ↑ “Veeder’s Successful Development of the ‘Big Unit’ Market,” Printers’ Ink, vol. 103 #4, April 25, 1918, pp. 129–132, 137–138.
- ↑ Veeder Manufacturing Company, [Catalog], no date, Hartford, Ct., Trade Literature, Smithsonian Institution Libraries.
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