AN IMPROVED CON- STRUCTION OF TIME INDICATOR FOR PUBLIC VEHICLES, AND OTHER USES."
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Aaron Sutton, of Rue Boursault, Paris, in the
Empire of France, Engineer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED CON-
STRUCTION OF TIME INDICATOR FOR PUBLIC VEHICLES, AND OTHER USES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Aaron Sutton at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st
November 1862.
I, AARON SUTTON, of Rue Boursault, Paris, in the Empire of France,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
CONSTRUCTION OF TIME INDICATOR FOR PUBLIC VEHICLES, AND OTHER USES," to be as
follows:-
The chief object of this Invention is to indicate to the passengers of public
carriages on hire the amount of fare for, which they are liable, and to record
for the use of proprietors of such carriages the daily earnings of the driver.
To this end I mount on any convenient part of the carriage, say at the side of
the driver's seat, a clock movement which I fit with a double set of index
hands, and a divided dial corresponding thereto. A pair of central hands I
use to shew on divisions concentric with the clock case the time the vehicle
is on hire by a passenger, and the fare required to be paid. The second set,
which may with advantage be placed excentrically, I employ for noting the
total of the day's earnings. At either side of the clock case I propose to
print in good. legible. characters the words "hired" and "for hire," and I
either mount the clock case on a hinge that will allow of its being turned to
the right or left at pleasure, so as to hide one or other of these notices, or I

page_text: affix the clock case, and avail myself of the use of a hinged cover or its
equivalent for obscuring either notice at pleasure. A further object of this
hinged arrangement will be presently explained.
To enable the clockwork to produce the above-mentioned indications, it
is necessary that it should act only when the vehicle is on hire, its action being
suspended at the completion of each hiring. It is therefore necessary that the
clock or cover should be turned on its hinge at the settlement of each fare,
and that the notice "for hire" be thereby brought into sight, and the notice
hired" be temporarily hidden. In doing this the action of the clockwork will
be suspended, and the central index bands will be thrown back to zero, or their
starting point, while the other index hands will be simply arrested in their
progress. When however the requisite movement is made for exposing the
notice "hired" the action of the clockwork will recommence. This inter-
mittent action I produce by the use of cams contained in or set in action by
the turning of the hinge. These cams when caused to act by the turning of
the hinged piece in the direction to expose the word "bired" withdraw a
reciprocating rod or lever employed for stopping the action of the clock.
Both sets of hands will then commence to move forward according to time.
Should however the passenger alight before a course is completed it will
be desirable to indicate that the fare for a course is due by a rapid progressive
motion of all the hands. This I also effect by means of the cams before-
mentioned. Thus a sliding piece or lever operated by the cams when the
hinge is set again in action serves by its connection with a segment rack
which is in gear with a pinion on the central arbor to turn the central index
hands forward to complete a course (at the same time actuating the recording
index hands) and then to return the central index hands to zero. From this
explanation it will be readily understood that my improved time indicator is
applicable to public billiard rooms to show the total lettings of each table, and
the time consumed by each hirer, and that it also admits of more extended
application.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Aaron Sutton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th
May 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, AARON
SUTTON, of Rue Boursault, Paris, in the Empire of France, Engineer, send 3
greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Aaron Sutton, Her special license that the said Aaron Sutton,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Aaron Sutton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED CON-
STRUCTION OF TIME INDICATOR FOR PUBLIC VEHICLES, AND OTHER USES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Aaron Sutton, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Aaron Sutton, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the.
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
The chief object of this Invention is to indicate to the passengers of public
carriages that ply for hire the amount of fare for which they are liable, and
to record for the information of the proprietors of such carriages the daily
earnings of the driver. To this end I mount on any convenient part of the
carriage, say at the side of the driver's seat, a clock movement, provided with
a double set of index hands, and a divided dial corresponding thereto. A
pair of central hands are used to shew on divisions concentric with the clock
case, the time the vehicle is on hire by a passenger, and the fare required
to be paid. The second set of hands, which may with advantage be placed
excentrically is employed for noting the total of the day's earnings. At the
sides of of the clock case are printed in legible characters the words "hired"
and "for hire," and the clock case is either mounted on a hinge that will
allow of its being turned to the right or left at pleasure, so as to hide one or
other of these notices, or the clock case may be fixed and a moveable hinged
cover or its equivalent may be used for obscuring either notice at pleasure.
A further object of this hinged arrangement will be presently explained.

page_text: To enable the clockwork to produce the above-mentioned indications, it is
necessary that it should act only when the vehicle is on hire, its action being
suspended at the completion of each hiring. It is therefore necessary that
either the clock or the cover should be turned on its hinge at the settlement
of each fare, and that the notice "for hire" be thereby brought into sight,
and the notice "hired" be temporarily hidden. In doing this the action of
the clockwork of the indicator will be suspended, and the central index hands
will be thrown back to zero or their starting point by means of a rack and
pinion, while the other index hands will be simply arrested in their progress.
When however the requisite movement is made for exposing the notice "hired"
the action of the clockwork of the indicator will recommence. This inter-
mittent action is produced by the intervention of cams contained in or adapted
to the hinge part of the apparatus, and set in action by simply turning the
apparatus on the hinge. These cams when caused to act by the turning of
the hinged piece in the direction to expose the word "hired" withdraws a
✓ reciprocating rod or lever which is employed for stopping the action of the
clockwork.. Both sets of hands will then commence to move forward according
to time. Should however the passenger alight before a "course" is completed
it will be desirable to indicate by a rapid progressive motion of all the hands
that the fare for a course is due. This is also effected by means of the cams
before-mentioned. To this end a sliding piece or lever (operated by the cams
when the hinge is set again in action) serves by its connection with a segment
rack, which is in gear with a pinion on the central arbor, to turn the central
index hands forward in order to complete a course (at the same time actuating
the recording index hands) and then to return the central index hands to zero.
It will be obvious that, if preferred, the indicating dials may be arranged
concentrically, and the index hands mounted centrally. This will of course
involve a modification of the wheel work as is well known, but as the clock-
work itself is of the ordinary construction for counting instruments I have not
given any description of it.
From this explanation it will be readily understood that this improved time
indicator is applicable to public billiard rooms in order to show the total
lettings of each table and the time consumed by each hirer.
The Invention may also be applied to various other purposes, in which it
is desired to indicate and keep an account of the time that has been con-
sumed.
The object of this Invention being to secure exact and impartial justice
and perfect accord between all parties interested in the employment, more
particularly of public carriages, it is important that the machine should be

page_text: entirely independent of the will of all parties. This object is effected, first, by
securing hermetically all the mechanism within a strong box or case; secondly,
by so intimately combining the machine itself with the necessary signal. to the
public that the one cannot be operated without the other; and, 'finally, by
making this signal so very visible and comprehensible to all that its operation
cannot be omitted or neglected by the coachman or attendant without: im-
mediate and certain detection.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 shews the machine ready for use, and
the word "hired" or its equivalent exhibited so as to indicate that the carriage
is in use; Fig. 2 represents the machine when not in use, and with the words
"for hire" or their equivalent exhibited, thereby indicating that the carriage
is not in use; Fig. 3 shews the machine in the same position as in Fig. 2;
but with the back of the case taken off the better to shew the interior
mechanism. a, a, a, a, is a box containing the clockwork and also an excentric
hinge; c, c, are the outer projections of a double bracket, within which the
excentric hinge is connected to the carriage by means of the square! bolt' d,
which passes through the same, as shewn in the Drawing; e, e, is a helical
cam or screw designed to actuate the lever i, which is so connected with the
hands of the indicator as to bring them always to zero when. the machine is
brought into the position shewn in Fig. 2, and into which position the.
machine must be turned in order to stop.its: action when the carriage is not
hired; f is a cam adjusted to the bolt d in such a manner that it will rise
up sufficiently to allow the lever g to pass underneath it to the position shewn
in Fig. 1. After the lever g has passed; the cam f falls down bebind it, and
the machine cannot be stopped without changing the signal by turning the
indicator into the position shewn at Fig. 2. By this movement the lever g
will be forced to pass over the cam f, and by its connections it will cause the
hands of the indicator to advance according to the height of the cam f, and
which will be regulated to the length of the course. The lever g is simply a
prolongation of the lever i, for the purpose of maintaining the end of the rack
lever i in a position parallel to the surfaces of the cams. Jis a friction
pinion on the central arbor of the indicator. It is of sufficient strength to
turn the hands forward or backward, and at the same time admits of being
turned freely with the sector rack after the hands shall have been arrested by
a click at zero. This arrangement admits of bringing the hands from
any given point to zero by means of a simple and uniform movement of the
lever. The connection existing between the two systems of needles is the
same as that ordinarily employed, with one exception, which is that the pinion
upon the central arbor of the smaller indicator, and which communicates

page_text: the movement to the smaller hands, is also a friction pinion, so that when the
large central hands are brought back, and the others are arrested by a click,
the pinion will turn upon the arbor, but when the movement is in a forward
direction the simple friction of the pinion on the arbor is sufficient to move
the hands of the smaller system in equal time with the central system. By
this means the proprietors of vehicles will have an exact account of the day's
business. is a reciprocating rod arranged in such manner that when the
machine is in the position shewn at Fig. 1 the point n will be disengaged
from the wheel o by the circular surface of the hinge, but when the machine
is at the position shewn at Fig. 2 the spring m will force the rod into the
cavity, and thereby seize the wheel o with the point n, and stop the clock
movement and consequently the motion of the hands of the indicator.
Having now described my Invention of "An Improved Construction of
Time Indicator for Public Vehicles and other uses," and having explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to
me by Letters Patent as aforesaid, the general arrangement or construction of
parts herein shewn and described, or any mere modification thereof, whereby
the time that a public vehicle is plying for hire may be clearly indicated and
registered. I particularly claim the means herein set forth of throwing the
working parts in and out of gear according to whether the vehicle be hired*
or not, and I also claim the use of the rack and pinion to admit of the
indicator hands being brought back to zero when the hiring is completed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Aaron Sutton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Seventeenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
AARON SUTTON. (L.S.)