IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS APPLICABLE TO PUBLIC CARRIAGES FOR ASCERTAINING AND REGISTERING THE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS WHO HAVE TRAVELLED THEREIN DURING A GIVEN PERIOD, AND THE DISTANCE EACH PASSENGER HAS TRAVELLED
Year: 1852

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Nineteenth day of October, in the sixteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Edward Newton, Her especial licence, full power, solo
privilege and authority, that I, the said William Edward Newton, my exors,
adiiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward Newton,
my exors, adiñors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein mentioned,"
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies
and Plantations abroad, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney,
Sark, and Man, an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
APPLICABLE TO PUBLIC CARRIAGES FOR ASCERTAINING AND REGISTERING THE
NUMBER OF PASSENGERS WHO HAVE TRAVELLED THEREIN DURING A GIVEN PERIOD,
AND THE DISTANCE EACH PASSENGER HAS TRAVELLED;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said William Edward Newton,
by an Instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same

page_text: is to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Edward Newton, do hereby declare that the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following description thereof,
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters
and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention of "Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus applicable to
Public Carriages for Ascertaining and Registering the Number of Passen-
gers who have Travelled therein during a given Period, and the Distance each
Passenger has Travelled," has for its object to shew the time which a carriage
has worked profitably (that is to say) during which it has run with a passenger
or passenger inside. The apparatus will shew the time when any person
entered the carriage, when he got out, and how long he remained inside. It
will also indicate the time when the carriage commenced running, when it
stopped, how long it ran, and how long it stopped. The first mark shewing
the presence or absence of passengers in the vehicle is produced by means of
pencils, or marking instruments, which are equal in number to the number of
compartments in the carriage, and are sustained and guided by helical springs,
which keep them to their work and in contact with a travelling paper or other
surface on which they are made to mark. These pencils are actuated by the
'spring seats of the carriage from which motion is communicated by means of a
wire or cord which passes under the seats, and is attached to rods in connection
with the pencils. These pencils follow the movements of the seats to which they
'correspond, and which are depressed when they are occupied, and rise again
when empty. The second mark, shewing the time of running and stoppage of
'the carriage, is produced by means of a pencil or marking instrument attached
to a rocking lever, one end of which terminates in a coiled spring_fixed to the
box which encloses the various parts of the mechanism, and carries at its
other extremity a metal roller of sufficient weight to counterbalance, the force
of the spring, and maintain the lever in a horizontal position. The slightest
movement will suffice to disturb the equilibrium, and cause this lever with the
pencil to oscillate within certain limits determined by two stops. The points of
all the pencils are caused to press upon a band of paper wound round the
cylinder, and, upon which it is held tight by a bridle piece. This band of paper
is caused to unwind off the cylinder, and pass over a table in contact with the
pencils, by means of a second cylinder or roller, to which motion is commani-

page_text: cated by means of a suitable gearing set in motion by clockwork, and upon this
second cylinder the paper band is wound to a certain distance every hour after
having received the marks from the pencils.
The apparatus thus briefly described is shewn in detail in Sheets I. and II.
Fig. 1, Sheet I., is a front view of the apparatus, with the front plate or cover
removed in order to shew the internal working parts. Fig. 2 is an edge view
thereof, and Fig. 3 is a plan or top view of the apparatus, as seen from above.
A is a cylinder or roller, on which is wound a band of paper to receive marks
from the pencils or marking instruments G and H. A' is a similar roller or
cylinder on to which the paper is gradually wound from the other cylinder when
the apparatus is in operation. The cylinders A and A' are actuated, through
the intervention of the toothed gearing C, D, by clockwork placed at M,
Fig. 1. The band of paper on which the marks are made by the pencils is
divided transversely by lines (see Fig. 10, Sheet II.), which indicate time, and
is slowly unwound at a given speed, so that a certain length is unwound during
each hour, or part of an hour. The band of paper is also divided longitudinally;
first, into a space in which the pencil G attached to the rocking lever E marks;
second, a space for each of the pencils corresponding to the seats or compart-
ments of the carriage, and this space for each pencil is subdivided into as
many spaces as there are places in the seats or compartments corresponding
with the pencils, when the apparatus is applied to a carriage in which each
passenger pays for his place. In those carriages in which the fare is the same,
whether it be occupied by one or more passengers, a single pencil and a single
space will suffice. One of these paper bands is represented in Sheet II., at
Fig. 10, by inspecting which the arrangement of the lines will be readily
understood.
GENERAL WORKING OF THE APPARATUS.
When the apparatus is at rest, and the carriage unoccupied, the pencils, by
pressing upon the band of paper as it is unwound, will trace straight horizontal
lines upon it. On the carriage bein put in motion, the equilibrum of the rock-
ing lever being disturbed, it will be caused to oscillate, and cause the pencil
to produce a zig-zag line thus
instead of a straight line.
On the carriage stopping the line produced will again become straight.
When any person sits down upon one of the seats of the carriage his weight
will depress the spring seat, and act upon the cord which communicates
with the instrument, and the pencil corresponding with that seat will be
depressed, in doing which it will trace a perpendicular line from its starting
point to when it stops, and will then continue to trace a horizontal line in one
of the spaces on the paper; until, on the passenger leaving the vehicle, the
wynen the apparatus is at rest, and the carriage unoccupied, the pencils, by
pressing upon the band of paper as it is unwound, will trace straight horizontal
lines upon it. On the carriage bein put in motion, the equilibrum of the rock-
ing lever being disturbed, it will be caused to oscillate, and cause the pencil
to produce a zig-zag line thus
instead of a straight line.
On the carriage stopping the line produced will again become straight.
When any person sits down upon one of the seats of the carriage his weight
will depress the spring seat, and act upon the cord which communicates
with the instrument, and the pencil corresponding with that seat will be
depressed, in doing which it will trace a perpendicular line from its starting
point to when it stops, and will then continue to trace a horizontal line in one
of the spaces on the paper; until, on the passenger leaving the vehicle, the

page_text: seat will again rise, and the pencil following this movement will again trace
a perpendicular line up to the first space where it will mark its horizontal
line: As the figures traced by the various pencils cross the lines which mark
the time, the duration of the movements will be easily ascertained, and con-
sequently the time of running or of stopping, and the time during which
the carriage was occupied or unoccupied, and by comparing the two figures
which are placed one above the other it will easily be seen whether the vehicle
has run with or without passengers, and stopped with or without passengers.
The movements above shewn and described in the. Drawings and descrip-
tions herein-after contained are the same for instruments applicable to all
descriptions of carriages, with this difference, that the number of pencils
will vary according to the number of compartments in the carriage. The
movements of the seats, and their action upon the pencils, will be the
same. A single pencil will suffice for all the seats and compartments in the
carriages where it is not very important to know the number of passengers; as
they pay by the time or the distance, and each seat must have a movement
corresponding to this pencil. But in those carriages where each person pays
for his place, and in which the price of the places varies according to the com-
partments, it will be necessary to have as many pencils as there are compart-
ments of different prices, and as many movements for each pencil as there are
places in each compartment (see Figures 7 and 8, Sheet II.) The seats of
these carriages must be partitioned off into as many separate seats as it is
intended to contain passengers, as shewn in Fig. 7, which represents a longi-
tudinal section of an omnibus seat, with the present improvements adapted
thereto. For omnibuses, however, by reason of the frequency of change of
passengers, another movement and another pencil are required. This move-
ment, which is scarcely perceptible, is derived from the step, and serves to
control the indications furnished by the movements of the seats. It shews
whether the passenger has merely changed his seat in the carriage, or whether
the figure was produced by a change of passengers. Figure 7, Sheet II., shews
the apparatus for effecting this movement, which will always be the same. Its
extent is very small, and every time it coincides with the movement of a scat
will shew that another passenger has entered, whilst the movements of the seats
will count for nothing when they are not either the result or the cause of the
movement of the step, and the movements of the step also will go for
nothing when they are not followed or preceded by a movement of the
seats. Fig. 9 is a detached view upon an enlarged scale of the contri-
vance which is to be adapted to the step of an omnibus for this purpose.
All the pencils must work upon the same line, each one in the space set apart
for it, and they must never interfere with each other. For this kind of

page_text: carriage, in order that the marks may be correct and distinct, the clockwork
must cause the paper to pass under the pencils at the rate of eight inches per
hour. For any other carriage a speed of four inches per hour will be sufficient.
Figures 4, 5, and 6 represent front and side elevations and plan, detached
views drawn upon an enlarged scale of the marking apparatus to be affixed to
the side of the carriage, to which are attached the cords or wires serving to
establish communication between the seats and the indicator, and which also
serve to support this latter. The cylinders or rollers on which the paper is
wound are mounted on pivots, and turn in the frame N. One of these cylinders
carries the toothed wheel C, which takes into the toothed wheel D of the clock-
work M. E is a lever, having at one end a coiled spring E' fixed to the
case of the apparatus, and at the other end the lever E is provided with a
friction roller L of sufficient weight to counterbalance the tension of the
spring, and maintain the lever in a horizontal position. This lever is provided.
with a pencil G. F, F, are helical springs attached at their upper extremities
to the casing, and at their lower ends to the piece V, which carries the pencil
carriers H. This pencil carrier has a projecting arm attached to the helical
springs, and which acts as a guide working up and down in the groove R
(Fig. 1). G, H, are the pencil carriers consisting of a tube or socket having a
stop, upon which bears a very fine helical spring made of steel wire, and in which
works a rod having also a stop bearing against the said spring. This rod, which
has a slot throughout its entire length, has a hole for the reception of the sub-
stance which forms the pencil or marker, and which it must hold with gentle
pressure. N is a metal frame of the form represented in the Figures 1, 2,.
and 3, and serving to support the rollers or reels A, A', which are mounted on
pivots therein. This frame carries two sockets d, d, for the reception of the
two supports 2,2, which are firmly bolted to the casing. I is a bridle piece or
flat bar, which, by the action of the spring r, serves to hold the paper tight
upon the rollers. J is a small table (made of copper) screwed on to the frame-
between the two cylinders. It must be equal in height or thickness to the-
diameter of the cylinders when provided with paper, and about three quarters.
of an inch in breadth. M is the clockwork whereby the cylinder A is driven..
at any suitable speed. P is an iron plate on which certain parts of the
mechanism are fixed, and which is let into a recess at that side of the-
carriage where the indicator is to be fixed, and behind or at the back of
this plate Pare rods T, T, (Figures 4 and 5, Sheet I.) working in guides S, S,.
attached to the plate P, P. These rods have projections at their upper
extremities, provided with holes for the reception of the rods V, V, (Fig. 2) of:
the instrument. The lower extremities of these rods have eyes x, c, for the-

page_text: .
reception of the cords or wires leading from the seats, and transmitting the
movements of the same to the apparatus. These rods are surrounded by helical
springs R, R, which have a tendency always to maintain them in an elevated
position, and which will therefore again cause them to rise after having been
depressed by the action of the seats. In Sheet II. Fig. 7 is a longitudinal
section, and Fig. 8 a transverse vertical section of an omnibus, shewing the
arrangement of the seats, which are divided into compartments, and also that
of the step and the cords which transmit their movements to the indicator.
The action of the step is shewn detached on an enlarged scale at Figure 9.
T, T, is a strong plank forming the foundation of the seats, and upon which
are mounted the grooved pullies P, P. S, S, S, are the seats, which are hinged
at C, Fig. 8, and beneath or at the under side of which are mounted the grooved
pullies P¹. These seats, which, when depressed, come into contact with the
front board O, are maintained in the position shewn in the Figures by
springs R (Fig. 8) attached to the fixed bottom plank T. Upon the seats S
the cushions are placed. The thickness of the cushions (which is exaggerated
in the Drawing) is not appreciable in practice. One of the seats is shewn
at S' (Fig. 7) as depressed, or in the position it would assume on a person
taking his scat, the weight of the person being suflicient to push it down, as
shewn in the Drawing. F is a wire or cord extending under all the seats,
and attached at one extremity to a fixed point as at H, and the other end of
the cord or wire is connected to the indicator, as will be presently explained;
and it is kept strained tight throughout the length of the seats over the
pullies P, P¹, and also over the pullies N, N1, at the end of the carriage, from
whence it passes up to the levers L, L', Fig. 8, where its other end is attached.
By this means, whenever a person sits down on one of the seats, as at S', the
cord F is depressed, and motion is communicated to the indicator through the
cord and pulley M, Fig. 8, connected with the back plate to which the
indicator is attached. E is an auxiliary spring for keeping the wires or cords
taut in case the springs of the back plate B should not be sufficient for that
purpose. The indicator is represented in outline at A, Fig. 8. A strong fabric
is stretched over the seat, and is securely nailed at one edge to the front
board O, and at the other to the back at V, in such manner as to allow free
play to the seats, the object of this fabric being to prevent the interior from
being tampered with, and also to prevent the entrance of any injurious matters.
It will now be understood that on a person taking his seat the spring R will
be depressed, and the seat S will be lowered on to the wooden front O, by which
'means the pulley P' will be caused to depress the portion of cord between the
two pullies P into the position shewn by the closed seat St, Fig. 7, by which

page_text: means the cord or wire is drawn down. This motion will be communicated
through the lever L to the pulley M, upon which the cord proceeding from the
lever L also acts. The pulley M transmits this movement to the indicator A;
and, as the extent to which the cord or wire F will be drawn in will vary
according to the number of seats depressed, the pencil H will be depressed a
proportionate number of divisions whichever side the seats are depressed, and
whether at the extremities or the middle of the omnibus. D (Fig. 7) is the
footboard, which is supported on three arms J, J, J. The two front arms are
mounted at their upper extremities, as shewn at Fig. 9. The third is jointed
at (Fig. 7), and bolted either to the bottom of the carriage or to the spring.
Fig. 9 shews in section and upon an enlarged scale the upper extremities of
the two front arms J of the footboard D'. In this Figure is a wooden cross
piece, forming the front of the floor of the omnibus. G, G, aro iron bands
which support the cross piece D', and connect it to the framing of the
omnibus. C is an iron socket let into the cross piece D', and rivetted
to the lower band, G. E is the upper extremity or head of the arm J,
which passes through the socket C. B is a strong helical or coiled spring
placed round the rod E. A is a screw nut firmly fixed on the top of the rod E,
and bearing upon the helical spring B, the weight of the footboard not being
sufficient to compress it. The screw nut A, however, bears upon the part H
of the socket C, when the spring yields to pressure, as when a person treads on
the step, and pulls down or depresses the arin J. S is a bell crank lever, one
arm of which bears against the head A of the rod E, and is actuated by it; and
the other arm, to which the cord F is attached, communicates these move-
ments to the pencil H' of the indicator. This crank movement is sunk in the
thickness of the wood of the carriage, and the cord passes through a metal
tube situated, as shown in the Drawing, either outside or inside the carriage.
The cord is conducted by another similar crank (situated as shewn at s,
Figures 7 and 8.) to the back plate of the indicator. All the cords, with their
cranks and pullies, must be sunk in the thickness of the pannels under the
cushions, and, if necessary, must be enclosed in metal tubes or boxes, so as to
protect them from injury or from being tampered with. In French and
some other omnibuses the conductor stands upon the footboard while the
carriage is running, and therefore during this time the spring B (Fig. 9)
will be compressed, and the head of the rod E of the arm J, which supports
the footboard, will be depressed upon the points H of the socket C. In this
position one of the arms of the bell crank lever S will bear upon the head A
of the rod E, Figures 7 and 9, and the pencil of the indicator connected
therewith by the cord or wire Fi will be at the top of the space in which it

page_text: works. Upon the carriage stopping, and the conductor descending from the
footboard to allow of the entrance or exit of a passenger, the rod E will again
rise by the action of the spring B, and acting upon the crank lever S will draw
down the pencil of the indicator. The crank may be acted upon either from the
upper or under part of the head A, according to whether the cord is inside or
outside of the omnibus. Fig. 10, Sheet II., is a view of part of the paper
band which is intended to be wound on the cylinders or reels A, A'. It will
vary in length and breadth according to the kind of carriage to which the
indicator is to be applied, the number of pencils to be employed, and the length
of time it is required to be worked. It is to have marked upon it the number
of, the apparatus upon which it is to be wound, and is divided into as many
transverse compartments as it is intended to indicate hours. As the diameter
of the cylinder upon which the paper is gradually wound increases in size as it
receives more paper, the divisions (which will be irregular) must be so arranged
as that each division shall constitute exactly the length unwound during the
space of an hour from the cylinder which is put in motion by the clockwork.
These principal divisions are subdivided into quarters of hours and minutes.
The paper is also divided longitudinally into spaces by lines corresponding to
the places where the pencils are to bear, shewing the starting point of each
pencil and the spaces over which they respectively run during the various
movements imparted to them. This paper is to be changed when the carriage
has done running or has arrived at the end of a journey. If the marking
instruments are of black lead, ordinary paper may be used; but if it should be
preferred to use lead, tin, or silver, prepared paper must be employed. The
instrument above described is applicable, not only to omnibuses, hackney cabs,
stage coaches, and other public vehicles, but also for vehicles sent out by
private houses for the delivery of goods, or in fact in any case where it is
requisite to ascertain exactly the time a carriage has occupied in running over
a certain distance, or the number of persons which it has carried during a
certain time: Each instrument should bear the number of the carriage to
which it is applied, and should be provided with two pairs of cylinders mounted
in two separate frames. The frame, with its cylinder, is easily removable; and
when this is done another one with a fresh paper may be substituted for the
one previously used, which will allow time to examine and change the paper
of this latter. The Figures in Sheet III. represent a modification of the
instrument in which the distance run by the carriage is iudicated by the
oscillating lever, and in which a peculiar method of transmitting the motion of
the wheels of the vehicle to the apparatus is shewn. Figure 11 is a front
view of this modification. Figure 12 is a plan view thereof, and Figure-13 is
:

page_text: a side elevation of the same. In this arrangement the movement of the
running wheels is made the means of shewing the distance travelled, as is the
case in most indicators hitherto employed. It is only necessary for this
purpose to ascertain the circumference of the wheel, and the number of
revolutions it must make in order to run over a mile. This having been
ascertained, the toothed wheels A, B, are divided in such manner that the
click R acting upon the ratchet wheel A will cause it to advance one tooth
for every revolution of the carriage wheel, causing the wheel B and its
counterwheel B' to make one entire revolution during the time that the
carriage wheel is running over a mile. The wheel B' carries two tappets T
and T', one of which T strikes against and drives back the spring lever P,
which determines the extent and place of vibration of the rocking arm V, and
for this purpose allows this latter to descend whilst the other T', acting upon
the rocking arm V, causes it to descend and oscillate at a lower elevation
during the time it is passing. The straight mark produced by the pencil
attached to the working arm during the process of the carriage will thus have
a blank, and a V-shaped mark underneath it, marking miles, half miles, or
quarter miles, according to the number of tappets T, T, with which the wheel
B' is provided; and as these lines will intersect the lines marking the time,
the distance run over during a certain time may be readily ascertained.
It will be understood that the tappet wheel may be arranged in such a manner
as only to make one revolution whilst two or four miles are being run over,
and, consequently, in that case only these distances would be indicated. The
spring click R, which acts upon the ratchet wheel A, will make as many
strokes as the number of entire revolutions made by the wheel of the carriage
with which it is made to communicate by a tube or pipe made of some
impervious, flexible, and elastic material, such as gutta percha or caoutchouc,
covered with a double layer of wire, which will not impair its flexibility, and
terminating in two small hollow spheres or globes made of the same sub-
stances, as seen in Figures 13 and 14. This tube and one of the hollow
globes is filed with water, mercury, or other liquid. The other ball is only
half filled. Atmospheric air may be employed instead of liquid, if the
substance employed be perfectly air-tight. Upon the half-full globe S, which
is placed in the metallic box M, attached to the instrument, a shoulder on tho
rod of the click R bears; upon the full globe S¹, and placed in the metal box
M', which is fixed to the axle, as shewn in Figure 14, the arm H of the small
jointed lever L bears. This lever is mounted on the collar by which the
carriage wheel is fixed. The arm H' of this lever takes into an eccentric
groove made in the face of the nave of the wheel, which works against the

page_text: collar (see Figure 14.) Every time the wheel makes a revolution, the lever,
following the movement given to it by the eccentric groove, will be made to
perform a complete oscillation, and during one half of this oscillation its
extremity H will be caused to bear upon the globe S', and drive out the liquid
contained therein, which will pass into and fill the globe S, thereby raising the
click which actuates the toothed wheel A.. During the other half of the
oscillation of the lever L, the spring of the click, acting upon the liquid in
the globe S, will drive it back again into the groove S¹, which it will again fill;
by this means motion will be communicated from the wheel to the instrument.
If the tube be arranged as shewn in Figures 13 and 14, the mechanism will
be protected from any injury arising from the bad state of the roads, or from
the shaking of the box, and also from mud, dust, and rain. The distance which
the click has to travel is always the same, but the volume of water displaced
by the lever L'must always be greater than is necessary for raising the click
R. part of the power being lost in resisting the elasticity of the tube and its
globes. The teeth of the ratchet wheel A are arranged for a wheel. having a
circumference of thirteen feet. By simply altering the number of teeth of
this wheel, without altering its diameter, the instrument may be applied to
carriages having wheels of different diameters. In the instrument represented
in this sheet, the cylinders and paper band are made narrow, and but onc
pencil is shewn. The action of the seats is the same as in the omnibus
herein-before described, or each seat may have a separate action.
Having now described the Invention that has been communicated to me by
my Foreign Correspondent, as aforesaid, I would observe, that, although I have
set forth the best means with which I am at present acquainted for carrying
the same into effect, I do not mean or intend to confine myself to the precise
arrangement or construction of parts herein shewn and described, as they may
perhaps be varied without departing from the nature and object of the present
improvements; but I claim,-
First, the general arrangement of the parts herein shewn and described for
ascertaining and registering the number of passengers that have travelled in a
vehicle or carriage during a given period of time, or any mere modification
thereof in which a pencil or marking instrument is made to mark on a strip,
band, or sheet of paper, or other suitable material, which is caused to rotate or
move forward gradually, as above described. I claim particularly the method
above shewn, or any mere modification thereof, for depressing or drawing down
the pencils or marking instruments by means of a cord or wire acted on by
the scats. I also claim the method; shewn in Sheet II. of communicating the
motion of the step piece to the indicating apparatus.

page_text: Second, I claim the arrangement of parts shewn in Sheet III., or any mere
odification thereof, for effecting the same or similar purposes.
In witness whercof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Nineteenth day of April, in the
year of our Lord 1853, the aforesaid William Edward Newton came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Nineteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.