IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING THE ARRIVAL OR DEPARTURE OF WORKMEN OR OTHERS.
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Sage, of the Parish of St. Andrew's, in the
County of Middlesex, and 323, High Holborn, in the said County, for an
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING
THE ARRIVAL OR DEPARTURE OF WORKMEN OR OTHERS.'
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Sage at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st February 1880.
FREDERICK SAGE, of the Parish of St. Andrew's, in the County of Middlesex,
and 323, High Holborn, in the said County. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES OR
APPARATUS FOR CHECKING THE ARRIVAL OR DEPARTURE OF WORKMEN OR
OTHERS."
It is almost needless to remark that much valuable time is constantly lost to
employers by the late arrival of workmen, clerks, and others in their employ, and
many means have been devised for overcoming this evil; but, so far as I am aware,
these have all failed in some important particular.
Now my present Invention I believe fills all the requirements of absolute
certainty, cheapness, adaptability, and, if necessary, portability also; the main
features thereof are as follows:-I make a box of any suitable form, materials, and
construction, but preferably rectangular, and of thin sheet iron or tin plate, and
wider at the bottom that the top. This box is pivotted at or near the bottom, so
that it is free to oscillate; the top is by preference considerably smaller than the
bottom, and curved in a circular sweep, the pivot at bottom being taken as the
centre, and the top as parts of the periphery of the circle; this top
pierced with
the required number of slits, each slit communicating with a compartment of the
box, which is formed by a division running from top to bottom inside the box, so
that each compartiment is, owing to the shape of the box, larger at bottom than at
top. Above this box I arrange a suitable shoot, preferably in zig-zag form, and
terminating at or near the top of the box, and at one or more of the bends small
holes are placed, so that if a wire, etcetera, be pushed down it may pass through
these instead of adapting itself to the shape of the shoot, and getting to the bottom
thereof interfere with the action of the apparatus. Suitable clockwork mechanism

page_text: is provided for the purpose to be presently specified, and the whole apparatus or
machine is enclosed in a proper casing, leaving only a narrow slit at the top exposed
to view. The method of operation is as follows:-Each employé is provided with
a brass or other tally or ticket, as is at present commonly the case, and in passing
drops it through the slit at the top. Now the clockwork is so arranged that each
compartment of the box remains under the mouth of the shoot for a limited time
only, at the expiration of which it is moved on and gives place to the next, and so
on. It will be seen that supposing the men have to be in by six o'clock in the
morning, and the machinery be so arranged that at 6.5 the second compartiment
comes under the shoot, any tally falling down after 6.5 inust drop into the second
shoot instead of the first, and bearing that man's number shows that he did not
arrive till 6.5, and was at least five minutes late. The second compartment would
give place to the third at a fixed time, say 6.15, so that any one dropping his tally
into the slit at top after 6.15 would be automatically registered by the machine as
having been a quarter of an hour late on that occasion. The machine, therefore,
automatically, and with certainty, shows not only who was in time and who late,
but how late each late-comer was. The whole thing can be under lock and key,
only to be opened by a responsible person. For collecting the tallies a drawer or
box would be held under one compartment, and all the tallies contained therein
withdrawn (through a suitable door provided for the purpose), and entered in the
books, the other compartments being emptied in order.
A variation of this machine may be made by having a circular drum divided into
compartments as before, and revolving with or around a vertical shaft, which would
be driven by clockwork so as to bring each compartment in turn underneath the
shoot. Another variation is to have a drawer with compartments running on a
small tramway, or otherwise so arranged, that it could be moved along as desired by
clockwork so as to place each compartment in turn under the shoot in the same
manner as already described. The principle of these would of course be the same.
These machines can be made of any suitable size; for large factories they would
necessarily be large, and perhaps too heavy to be really portable.
For checking the departure of workmen or others the apparatus would be prac-
tically the same, though the details might require to be slightly varied.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Frederick Snge in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 21st
August 1880.
FREDERICK SAGE, of the Parish of St. Andrew's, in the County of Middlesex,
and 323, High Holborn; in the said County. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES OR
APPARATUS FOR CHECKING THE ARRIVAL OR DEPARTURE OF WORKMEN OR
OTHERS."
It is almost needless to remark that much valuable time is constantly lost to
employers by the late arrival of workmen, clerks, and others in their employ, and
many means have been devised for overcoming this evil, but so far as I am aware
these have all failed in some important particular.
Now my present Invention I believe fills all the requirements of absolute
certainty, cheapness, adaptability, and, if necessary, portability also; the main
features thereof are as follows:-
I make a box of any suitable form, materials, and construction, but preferably
rectangular, and of thin sheet iron or tin plate, and wider at the bottom than the
top. This box is pivotted, so that it is.free to oscillate; the top is by preference
considerably smaller than the bottom, and curved in a circular sweep, the pivot
being taken as the centre, and the top as part of the periphery of the circle; this
top pierced with the required number of slits, each slit communicating with a
compartment of the box which is formed by a division running from top to bottom
inside the box, so that each compartment is, owing to the shape of the box, larger
at bottom than at top. Above this box I arrange a suitable shoot, preferably in
zig-zag form, and terminating at or near the top of the box, and at one or more of.
the bends small holes are placed, so that if a wire, etcetera, be pushed down it may
pass through these instead of adapting itself to the shape of the shoot, and getting
to the bottom thereof interfere with the action of the apparatus. Suitable clock-
work mechanism is provided for the purpose to be presently specified, and the
whole apparatus or machine is enclosed in a proper casing, leaving only a narrow
slit at the top exposed to view. The method of operation is as follows:-Each
employé is provided with a brass or other tally or ticket, as is at present commonly
the case, and in passing drops it through the slit at top. Now the clock work is
so arranged that each compartment of the box remains under the mouth of the
shoot for a limited time only, at the expiration of which it is moved on and gives
place to the next, and so on. It will be seen that supposing the men have to be
in by six o'clock in the morning, and the machinery be so arranged that at 6.5 the
second compartment comes under the shoot, any tally falling down after 6.5 must
drop into the second shoot instead of the first, and bearing that man's number shows
that he did not arrive till 6.5, and was at least five minutes late. The second
compartment would give place to the third at a fixed time, say 6.15, so that any
one dropping his tally into the slit at top after 6.15 would be automatically regis-
tered by the machine as having been a quarter of an hour late on that occasion.
The machine, therefore, automatically, and with certainty, shows not only who was
in time and who late, but how late each late-comer was. The whole thing can be
under lock and key, only to be opened by a responsible person. For collecting the
tallies are emptied into a drawer or box held underneath, or arranged in the case
under the compartments, and all the tallies contained in each emptied thereinto
(through a suitable door in the vibrating box provided for the purpose) and entered
in the books, the other compartments being emptied in order. By adjusting the
same to move the box A at the required intervals this apparatus may be used for
a watchman's "tell tale," who would drop in a tally at each time of passing during
the night.
'

page_text: Reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, in which like letters repre-
sent like parts, Fig. 1 is an elevation partly in section of the apparatus and case
with the front removed; Fig. 2, an end elevation of the same, the end of the case
being removed; and one form of the clockwork for controlling the machine is
.shown in Fig. 1.
A is the vibrating box; A', the compartments, with sliding bottoms or doors A²;
B is the zig zag shoot, with openings B¹; C, the clock work; D, the flag or
equivalent for showing the time; D¹, a special washable tablet for the foreman,
upon which the employer can write some particular word over night, which tho
foreman must copy upon his tally before dropping it into the box; E, the drawer;
and F, the case. The operation is as follows:-The clockwork is so arranged that
at some convenient carly hour (say four o'clock). the first compartment of the
vibrating box A comes directly under the shoot, so that all tallies or tickets dropped
down the shoot must fill into this first compartment until the box moves on to the
next. Say at 5 minutes past 6 this movement takes place, and now all the tallies
dropped in will enter the compartment representing that time, and so on to the
next and next, as arranged. In the case of the foreman it will be seen that as the
word is constantly changed he must be there to read it, as it passes out of sight
at 6.5, or whatever time is allowed, and if his ticket does not bear the particular
word which tho employer wrote over night it is clear he did not arrive in time to
see it before it passed out of sight. In place of the washable tablet a receptacle
may be arranged to hold a piece of paper, etcetera.
The object of the holes or openings B' in the shoot B is to allow the passage
out of any wire or the like that might be pushed down the shoot to stop the move-
ment of the vibrating box; the openings are of course too small to allow the
tallies to escape, but the wire passes out through them instead of continuing down
the shoot into the slit in the vibrating box. I will now describe one method of
applying the clockwork. Referring to Fig. 1, A is the vibrating box carrying
an arm G and projecting pin G'; H is a wheel revolving once in 24 hours,
and gearing with a pinion I fixed to or upon the axle of the disc or cam K; L is
a bar pivotted at L', and carrying a pin L2 and a stop or detent L³; pins A³ project
from the side of the vibrating box A, as shown, and rest against detents L³, when
the latter is raised by reason of pin Ĺ resting on the periphery of disc K. The
detent L³ is clearly shown in Fig. 2, which is a side view thereof, L being the
rod, L³ the detent itself, and L' the recess through which pins A³ pass when bar L
is dropped by reason of pin L³ falling into one of the notches K₁ of disc K; M is
a cam fastened to or to the axle of wheel H, and revolving with it once in twenty
four hours, and against the periphery of this can presses the pin G₁ of arm G.
This cam is of peculiar form, substantially as shown, though notches may be varied
in length, etcetera, to suit circumstances. The one in the Drawing is supposed to
be divided as follows:-The portion of its periphery at its longest radius, against
which pin G' presses, keeps arm G at its lowest point, and retains the vibrating
box A at its extreme limit, so that all tallies dropped down the shoot whilst the
box is in this position must fall into one compartment and register the arrival of
workmen, say, at 6 o'clock in the morning. As the cam travels round the first
notch is supposed to reach pin G at or about 6 o'clock, and falling into it allows the
box A to move until the second compartment is under the shoot, thus registering
the time of arrival of all who were later than G o'clock, and the length of the first
short division being one forty eighth of the whole periphery of the cam, which
makes one revolution in 24 hours, it follows that pin G will be in position to enter
the second notch at or about 6.30; the other notches are similarly arranged,
except that the length is varied, the next but one being three forty eighths in
length (that is, three half hours, or one hour and a half), so that the pin would not
be in position to enter it till 8.30, and the next one (longer still) not till 1 o'clock.
It is evident that by altering the length of these notches they may be made to
represent 5 minutes each, or even less. I say advisedly "in position to enter,"
because it cannot really do so until detent L³ is removed by the dropping of arm L,

page_text: as already explained, and it will be understood that disc K, which in the Drawing
would make one revolution per hour, is employed as a fine adjustment to regulate
the movement of the box A, as it is easier to adjust this disc to a minute than the
slow moving wheel H. The vibrating box A is over hung, weighted, or otherwise
adjusted, so that the top shall have a slight tendency to move away from the clock-
work, and this tendency is increased by the weight of the tallies when they are in ;
N is a plate attached to arm L, and a suitable pin O projects from the side of the
cam M, the object being that when. the pin G' resting against the shortest radius
of the periphery of the cam (in which position the box A is entirely past the
shoot, and any tallies dropping in will fall down into the drawer or bottom of the
case) begins to rise up the incline leading to the longest radius, this cam-pin comes
under plate N and raises it, arm L, and detents L³, entirely clear of the pins A³,
thus allowing the box ▲ to gradually return to its position again as at ŵrst.
mus anowing me vox a to graduuny return to its position again as at orst.
CLAIMS.
Having now described my Invention, and the best method known to me of
performing the same, I wish it to be understood that what I do claim, and desire
to protect under the hereinbefore in part recited Letters Patent is,—
1st. In a checking machine the use of the vibrating box A divided into com-
partments A¹, each having a suitable slit at the top and a removable bottom or
its equivalent below, overhung or otherwise arranged so as to have a tendency to
move the top slits successively under the shoot, and carrying a flag, or equivalent
device for showing the time at which each slit is underneath the mouth of the
shoot, substantially as and for the purposes set forth and shown.
2nd. In a checking machine the zig zag shoot B, with openings B¹, in combi-
nation with the vibrating box A, substantially as and for the purposes set forth
and shown.
3rd. In a checking machine the combination of the zig zag shoot B, vibrating
box A, collecting drwer E, and controlling clockwork, in one case or frame F,
substantially as and for the purposes set forth and shown.
4th. In a checking machine the employment of the special disc or device D¹
attached to or combined with the vibrating box A, substantially as and for the
purposes set forth and shown.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Sage, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twentieth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.
Witness,
STEPHEN HUNT,
Clerk to W. P. Thompson & Co.,
323, High Holborn, W.C.
FREDERICK SAGE. (L.S.)