IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF ASCERTAINING THE DISTANCE VEHICLES TRAVEL
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MARCUS
DAVIS, late of New Bond Street, in the County of Middlesex, but now of
the Poultry Chambers, in the City of London, Optician, 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 Seventh day of October, in the fifth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Marcus
Davis, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the
said Marcus Davis, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and such others
as J, the said Marcus Davis, my executors, administrators, 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, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF
ASCERTAINING THE DISTANCE VEHICLES TRAVEL;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso, obliging me, the said Marcus Davis, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same 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
Jad, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Marcus Davis, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly 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):-
My Invention of improvements.in the means of ascertaining the distance
which vehicles travel, consists, in the construction and adaptation of a certain
apparatus which may with facility be applied to and removed from the wheels
of different carriages without reference to the size of the wheels. The apparatus
consists of a small roller placed on the top of one of the running wheels, and
maintained in contact therewith by springs or other convenient means, whereby
the rotary motion of the running wheel is communicated to the small roller
revolving in contact with it, and by means of the shaft or axle on which this
small roller is mounted, motion is given to certain wheel-work placed inside
the carriage, or in any other convenient situation, whereby the number of times
the small roller revolves, and consequently the distance travelled, is accurately
marked and indicated by an index on a plate or dial connected to the apparatus
for that purpose.
In order that my Invention may be more perfectly understood, I have, in
the accompanying Drawings, shewn the manner in which the apparatus is
applied to a carriage, and I have also shewn various views of the apparatus
drawn at full size in different positions, and detached from the carriage.
The various Figures in Sheet 1 represent the manner of applying the
apparatus to a common street cab, or other two-wheeled vehicle; but for a
hackney coach or other carriage with four wheels, it would be applied to one
of the hind ones in a somewhat similar way, or in any other manner which
might be found more convenient.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation; Fig. 2, a vertical longitudinal section looking in
the contrary direction; and Fig. 3, a transverse vertical section of an ordinary
street cab, with my improvements applied thereto. The small roller before
mentioned as revolving in contact with one of the running wheels, is shewn
at a; this small roller is mounted on an axle b, which is furnished with
universal joints, and part of the axle 6 also consists of hollow tubes sliding one
within the other, for the purpose of yielding to any irregular, lateral, or other
motion of the running wheel, as will be more fully described in reference to
Sheet II. The roller a is covered by a box or case c, which is supported by an
upright standard d, connected at its lower extremity to the axletree, as seen in

page_text: Fig. 3. The rotary motion of the roller a is, by means of the axle b, com-
municated to the wheel-work e, placed inside the carriage.
I will now, in reference to the Figures in Sheet II., more fully describe the
construction of the apparatus.
Fig. 1, in Sheet II., represents an external side view of the roller a and its
case as applied to one of the wheels of a carriage; Fig. 2 is an end view of the
same, shewing the manner of forming the flexible shaft or axle 6 of the roller a,
and also the way in which motion is communicated to the wheel-work inside the
carriage. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section of Fig. 2, and represents the
way in which the roller a is mounted in the box or case, its axle being partly
surrounded with antifriction rollers f,f,f,f, which bear upon it, but by means
of the springs 9, 9, are made to yield to any extraordinary pressure or concussion,.
so as to prevent the apparatus from becoming deranged. In order fully to
effect this object, the axles of the antifriction rollers f, f, and also the axle of
the roller a, work in slots h, h, made in the outer case, for the purpose of
giving them more freedom of action. Fig. 4 represents two of the antifriction
rollers as detached from the apparatus; and Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of
the apparatus taken in the line 1, 2, of Figures 2 and 3, and behind the roller a.
Fig. 6 is a plan view of Fig. 2, and Fig. 7 is a horizontal section of the same,
shewing the situation and arrangement of the springs and antifriction rollers,
and also the construction of the hollow axle or shaft b. It will be seen, in
reference to this latter Figure, that the axle 6 consists of two universal joints
and certain tubes sliding one within the other, and furnished with nibs and
slots i, i, i, i, to confine their action. An endless screw j, formed on one end
of this flexible shaft, gears into a horizontal screw wheel k, mounted at the
lower end of the upright shaft l, see Fig. 2; a side view of the screw j and
wheel k is seen detached at Fig. 8. Fig. 9 represents the case of the roller a
as seen from the opposite side to that shewn at Fig. 1. In this Figure, also,
the method of communicating motion to the wheel-work is more distinctly
shewn. Fig. 10 represents the internal arrangement of the wheel-work, the
dial plate m, m, as seen in the former Figure, being removed.
Fig. 11
represents a sectional view of Fig. 10, taken about the line 3, 4 in Fig. 10,
and Fig. 12 a similar view in the line 5, 6.. Upon the upper end of the
upright shaft l, which carries the screw wheel k below, is mounted an endless
screw n, which, by taking into the large wheel o, o, causes it to revolve. The
axle of this wheel carries a small pinion p, which gears into another wheel 9.
the axle of which also carries a small pinion r, that takes into a wheels, upon
the axle of which the index t is mounted, as seen in Fig. 9. In order to

page_text: indicate correctly the distance travelled, the relative size, proportions, and
number of teeth must be properly regulated; but as this part of the apparatus.
does not constitute the essential feature of my Invention, it will not be
necessary to give the proper proportions, as any clock maker will readily
understand what sized wheels to apply, according to the diameter of the
roller a.
One of the principal advantages derivable from the use of my improved
apparatus is, that it may be applied to any carriage without reference to the
size of the wheel, and taken from one carriage and applied to another
without requiring any alteration, as the distance travelled is not measured by
counting the number of times a running wheel of any given and certain size
rotates, but by actually measuring the periphery or circumference of any wheel
with which the roller a is in contact, as the roller a revolves on the top of the
running wheel without any reference to its diameter, as a small wheel in
getting over a certain space of ground must revolve a greater number of
times than a wheel that is considerably larger. To street cabs, or other
carriages let on hire, it is advisable to have an index that cannot be readily
altered, and that answers only to the movements of the vehicle. To effect this,
I construct the appatarus in the following manner :-Instead of the index, I
mount a circular dial plate on the same centre, and cause it to revolve, instead
of the index; then I cover the revolving dial plate with another circular plate,
but fixed, and having a small opening made in one part of it for the purpose
of shewing the figures on the dial plate as it rotates; or the dial plate may
be fixed and divided into any required number of equal divisions, and a
circular plate, with a slot or opening made on it to correspond with the figures
on the dial plate, is connected to the internal mechanism, and caused to revolve
thereby shewing through the slot or opening the distance travelled. This plate
may be covered with a piece of strong plate glass, which would prevent it from
being touched by any interested party. If required, the striking and repeating
movements of a clock may be adapted to the apparatus, as will be easily
understood by any clock maker. By this means the apparatus may be made
to strike at the end of every mile, half mile, or quarter, and also by applying
a repeating movement, it may, upon pulling a cord, be made to strike th
number of miles travelled.
Having now described my Invention, and the manner in which the same i
to be carried into effect, I wish it to be understood, that I lay no claim t
what has been heretofore done, and which for the better explanation of m
Invention, I have been obliged to shew and describe; but what I claim as th

page_text: Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent,
is the adaptation and application of a wheel or roller to the periphery of one
of the running wheels of a carriage, or of a wheel or roller connected there-
with, whereby I am enabled to ascertain the number of revolutions made by
the same wheel or roller, and consequently the distance travelled by the
carriage, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Marcus Davis, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord