IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CHECKING AND RECORDING THE FARES RECEIVED BY THE GUARDS OF TRAMWAY CARS AND OTHER VEHICLES, AND FOR CHECKING AND RECORDING RECEIPTS OR PAYMENTS GENERALLY
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Daniel Clarke, of Leith, in the County of Mid Lothian,
North Britain, Book-keeper, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR CHECKING AND RECORDING THE FARES RECEIVED BY THE GUARDS OF
TRAMWAY CARS AND OTHER VEHICLES, AND FOR CHECKING AND RECORDING
RECEIPTS OR PAYMENTS GENERALLY."
Sealed the 21st June 1878, and dated the 27th December 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Daniel Clarke at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 27th December 1877.
DANIEL CLARKE, of Leith, in the County of Mid Lothian, North Britain, Book-
keeper. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CHECKING AND RECORDING THE
FARES RECEIVED BY THE GUARDS OF TRAMWAY CARS AND OTHER VEHICLES, AND
FOR CHECKING AND RECORDING RECEIPTS OR PAYMENTS GENERALLY."
The said Invention relates to improvements in apparatus for checking and
recording the fares received by the guards of tramway cars and other vehicles, and
for checking and recording receipts or payments generally.
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An apparatus constructed according to this Invention consists of a box having a
glass or transparent top. The upper part of the box is provided with a slit and
shoot, into which passengers drop the coin or coins in payment of fares
The said
coins are received upon a hinged flap or table immediately beneath the before-
mentioned transparent top, and remain thereon, and visible through the top, in
case of dispute as to the amount dropped into the box.
The fares so received are tipped from this hinged table into a fastened receptacle
beneath by the following mechanism, which also strikes a bell to notify that the fares
have been duly passed into the receptacle beneath, and it may also record the amount
of fares so tipped into the said receptacle. This mechanism consists of a series of
sliding rods arranged on the inner side of the box, their ends projecting
through the top to the exterior thereof, and having studs by which they may be
depressed against springs which have a tendency to return them to their original
nosition

page_text: Each rod is connected to the hinged table or flap by a chain or otherwise, so that
the depression of a rod will effect the tipping of the table, and the shooting of
,the coin or coins thereon into the receptacle beneath. Each rod on being depressed
will act on the tail of a bell hammer, which on the rising of the rod will by the
action of a spring recoil, and cause the hammer to strike the bell, and indicate
that the coin or coins from the table has or have been deposited in the receptacle
beneath.
In order to record or indicate the amount of fares received there is a sliding rod
for each amount of faro payable during a journey. The rods are marked at their
upper projecting part with such amounts, and each is provided with a tooth or pro-
jection which, on the depression of the rod, engages with a toothed wheel, and
imparts a partial notation thereto, and to a divided dial affixed thereon or con-
nected therewith, which dials are visible through apertures in the front of the
apparatus
Let it be supposed that there are four different amounts of fare payable during a
journey, there will be four rods, each marked with one of such amounts, and each
in connection with a dial as aforesaid, so divided and marked with numbers corre-
sponding to those in their respective rods that the depression of either of the rods
will give the dial in connection therewith a portion of a rotation which will bring
before the aperture in the case numbers or figures indicating the amount of fares
paid, so that by adding together the indications of all the dials at any time, the
amount that the locked receptacle should contain is readily ascertained.
It will be evident that where the amounts of the fares are not to be recorded, or
where there is but one amount of fare, but one rod and its connections will be
necessary.
It is preferred to lock or otherwise fasten the receptacle beneath for fares by a
lock or fastening accessible only from the back of the box, and to cover this back by
a shield or false back sliding in grooves at the sides of the back proper. Upon this
shield the way-bill may be fixed The shield, or the shield and way-bill, may be
secured in its or their place upon the back proper by a seal, so that the fastening of
the fare receptacle will not be accessible unless the seal be broken.
Although the Invention is herein described as applied to the check and recording
of fares in vehicles, it will be readily understood that it is equally applicable to the
checking and recording of fares, payments, or receipts generally.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Daniel Clarke in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th June
1878.
DANIEL CLARKE, of Leith, in the County of Mid Lothian, North Britain, Book-
keeper. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CHECKING AND RECORDING THE
FARES RECEIVED BY THE GUARDS OF TRAMWAY CARS AND OTHER VEHICLES, AND
FOR CHECKING AND RECORDING RECEIPTS OR PAYMENTS GENERALLY."
My said Invention relates to improvements in apparatus for checking and
recording the fares received by the guards of tramway cars and other vehicles, and
for checking and recording receipts or payments generally.
An apparatus constructed according to this Invention consists of a box, which
may have a transparent top, and the upper part of which is provided with a slit or
shoot, into which passengers drop the coin or coins in payment of fares. The said
coins are received upon a hinged flap or table, which in the case of a transparent
top being employed is immediately beneath the said top. The coins remain upon
this flap, where they are visible in case of dispute as to the amount of fare dropped
into the box.
The fares so received are tipped from this hinged table into a locked or sealed
receptacle beneath by opening or pressing back the said table by means of mechanism,
which also strikes a bell to notify that the fares have been duly passed into the
receptacle beneath, and which also actuates a dial or dials to record the amount of
the fares so tipped into the said receptacle. This mechanism consists of a sliding rod
(or it may be a series of sliding rods, as herein-after described), arranged on the
inner side of the box, and which by means of a stud at the exterior of the box may
be depressed against a spring, which has a tendency to return to its original
position.
This rod on being depressed will act upon the table or flap, as aforesaid, and upon
the wheels of a recording dial, and will then act upon the tail of a bell hammer to
strike a bell to indicate that the fare has been duly passed from the flap or table
into the receptacle beneath.
In order to record and indicate the amount of fares received there may be a
sliding rod for each amount of fare payable during a journey, the said rods being
marked at the exterior of the box with such amounts of fares; and each rod on
its depression will be caused to impart a partial rotation to the wheel or wheels of
a recording dial, which dials are visible through apertures in the front of the
apparatus, so that by adding together the indications of all the dials at any time
the amount that the locked receptacle should contain is readily ascertained.
Each rod will be connected by a chain or otherwise with the table, so as to
open or press it back on the depression of each rod, and each said rod will act upon
the tail of a bell hammer, or each rod may act on a different number of bell
hammers, so as to strike a bell a number of times corresponding to the amount of
fare which the depression of each rod records.
Where there is but one amount of fare payable on a journey but one rod and its
connections will be necessary.
One rod and its connections may also be used to indicate by means of a dial the
amount received in cases where different fares are payable, the rod in this case
being depressed once for every unit of fare, that is to say, on the payment of each
fare the rod will be depressed, and the bell thereby struck, and the indicating dial
moved a number of times corresponding to the number of units in the said fare so
paid.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I now proceed
more particularly to set forth the system, mode, or manner in or under which the
same is or may be used or practically carried into effect, reference being had to the
annexed Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon,―
Figure 1 is a front elevation of an apparatus constructed according to my

page_text: Invention provided with one rod, which is to be depressed a number of times
corresponding to the units in the several fares paid; Figure 2 is a plan of the same;
Figure 3 is a transverse section on the line 1, 2, Figure 1, from which Figure 3 the
recording and indicating mechanism is omitted the more clearly to shew the parts
which operate the said mechanism.
The said mechanism, however, is shown separately in side elevation in Figure 4.
Figure 5 is a front elevation of the said mechanism drawn to a larger scale.
The apparatus consists of a box formed of an upper part A, which may be of
metal, and of a lower locked receptacle A¹, which may be a leather bag. In the
upper part of the box is an opening, immediately beneath which is a shoot A³, one side
of which is formed by a hinged flap or table B, which when in its normal position
is closed by a spring b. A stud plate C slides in a slot in the side of the box,
which plate has on its inner side two projections c and c', the projections c extending
in front of and partly over the flap B, and the other projection c¹ being for actuating
the recording and the indicating or bell-sounding mechanism, as herein-after
described.
On a coin or coins in payment of a fare being placed into the shoot, and upon
the flap B, the guard will depress the stud plate C, the projection c coming into
contact with and pressing back the flap B a short distance by which the said coin
or coins is or are allowed to slide from the said flap down into the receptacle A¹
beneath The projection c¹ at the same time comes into contact with the end of
the lever d (see Figure 5), which lever turns on a fulcrum d² on the plate D, which
plate carries the bell-sounding and recording mechanism, and is secured inside the
box or receptacle so that the recording dials are visible through the apertures a, a,
(Figures 1 and 3), and so also that the projections c and c³ will respectively operate
upon the flap B and the lever d. A pin d¹ on the lever d operates a rod e, which
slides in guides f.f, a coiled spring g tending to keep the said rod in a raised position.
The said rod e carries a click h, which on the depression of the said rode passes
freely over the tail of a bell hammer i, and which click h when the said rod rises
(that is, after the fare has been tipped into the locked receptacle) elevates the tail
of the hammer against its spring j, and passing beyond it the spring by returning
the said tail causes the hammer to strike bell E (Figure 4), which bell is fastened to
the stud k.
At the upper end of the rod d is a pawl e', which engages with a ratchet wheel Z,
giving the said wheel a partial rotation at each stroke of the rod d. The axis of
this wheel carries the unit dial of a recorder F (Figure 4), the wheels m of the
other dials recording tens, and hundreds, and thousands, being actuated from the
unit dial by a spur or equivalent means, as is well understood in connection with
ordinary recording dials. The striking and recording mechanism is contained in a
box n (Figure 3), which protects it from the coins in the receptacle A¹.
On the receipt of each fare the guard depresses the stud C, whereby the pro-
jection c presses back the flap B (as herein-before explained, and as indicated in
dotted lines in Figure 3), and the fares fall into the bag A', the projection c¹ at tho
same time coming into contact with the lever d the rod e is depressed, and on the
said rod rising the bell E is struck, and the unit dial receives the tenth part of a
rotation, which adds one to the number of the record of the dial F. The stud C is
depressed a number of times, which corresponds with the units in each amount of
fare paid, that is, on a fare which is but one unit of value being dropped into the
shoot the said stud c is depressed once and the bell is struck once, the dial receiving
a motion which adds one to its record. On receiving a fare which is two units of value
the stud C is depressed twice, whereby the bell is struck twice, and two is added
to the record of the dial F, and so on with regard to other amounts of fare. Thus,
at any time the amount of fares which have been received and tipped into the
receptacle A¹ can be readily ascertained from the record of the dial F. On the
rising of the rod e, and consequently of the stud C, after each depression (which
rising is caused by the spring g) the flap B is returned to its closed or normal
position by the spring b. The aperture through which the coins pass into the

page_text: receptacle A' is protected by a fixed guard pextending underneath the said aperture,
so as to prevent the return of the coins therethrough.
The receptacle A' is provided with a locked door a², through which the said
receptacle may be emptied of its contents by the person appointed to remove them,
and who is in possession of a key which opens the lock of the said door, which
may be in other convenient part of the receptacle than that shewn.
The shoot A into which the fares are dropped may be covered by a top of glass
or other transparent material if desired, in which case the coins will be dropped
into a slit conveniently placed to cause the said coins to fall upon the flap B.
In place of the depression of the one stud C a number of times corresponding to
the units of each fare received it will be evident that separate studs C, rods e, and
dials F may be used for each amount of fares payable, each stud and dial in this
case being marked with the amount of the fare which it indicates, and the amount
of the fares which have been passed into the receptacle A¹ will be ascertained by
adding together the records of all the dials, according to the values which they
each denote.
Figure 6 represents in front elevation, and Figure 7 in side elevation, an apparatus
constructed according to this modification of my Invention, which apparatus is
suited for recording and indicating fares of different units of value by means of
separate rods.
The said apparatus is shewn as arranged to record and indicate fares of one and
two units of value, and is carried by two plates D and D¹, which will be contained
in a box or receptacle similar to that in Figures 1, 2, and 3, and protected by an
inner box similar to that marked n in Figure 3. The 1ods e, e', project outside
the box or receptacle, and have heads or studs c, c¹, at their ends, each of which is
marked with one of the amounts of fares payable On the receipt of a fare of one
unit the rod e will be depressed, and will open or pull back a flap similar to that
marked B in Figures 2 and 3 by means of a chain attached to a projection 9 on the
said rod e, the said projection passing through a slot in the plate D on the return of
the said rod by its spring g The projection q will raise the tail of a bell hammer i,
and strike the bell K once, the said rod also actuating a recording dial F, which is
marked as recording fares of a value corresponding to that marked on the said stud c
On a fare of two units of value being received the rod e' will be depressed, and in a
similar manner it will actuate a recording dial F¹ marked to correspond with the
amount with which the stud c¹ of this rod is marked. The projection r on the rod
el passes through a slot in the plate D, and it also has connected to it a chain by
which the flap B is pulled back. On the return of the said rod e¹ by its spring g¹
the projection will raise the tails of two bell hammers i, , and thus by the bell
being twice struck the passenger will know that the true amount of his fare has
been recorded.
The recording dials are actuated by the rods e, e¹, through mechanism similar to
that shown in Figure 5, the said mechanism being between the plates D and D².
The tails of the hammers i, i, i, are so constructed that on the depression of the
rods e, e¹, the said tails yield against springs, but on the rising of the said rods
the said tails actuate the hammers, and cause the striking of the bells
It will be evident from the foregoing description that more than two sliding rods
may be employed to indicate and record fares of more than two different values,
the said rods which indicate fares of high value acting, if desired, upon the tails of
a number of bell hammers, so as to strike the bell a number of times corresponding
with the fare registered by the depression of the rods. More bells than one may be
employed, and one struck after the other in indicating fares of more than one unit
of value, so that the difference in tone of the said bells will serve to distinguish the
number of strikings.
Although my Invention is herein described as applied to the checking and
recording of fares in vehicles, it will be readily understood that it is equally
applicable to the checking and recording of fares, payments, or receipts generally.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said Inven-

page_text: tion, and the system, mode, or manner in or under which the same is or may be
used or practically carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I
consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to
me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the arrangement of parts
constituting the improved apparatus for checking and recording fares, payments, or
receipts, as herein-before described, and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings,
whether it be the arrangement, Figures 1 to 5, in which one rod is employed to
actuate the indicating and recording mechanism, or whether it be an arrangement
similar to that described with reference to Figure 6, in which separate rods are
employed for indicating and recording separately the different amounts of fares or
other payments.
In witness whereof, I, the said Daniel Clarke, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Twenty-second day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
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DAN. CLANAE (L.S.)