AN IMPROVED SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING THE NUMBERS OF PASSENGERS TRAVELLING IN OR ON OMNIBUSES AND OTHER CONVEYANCES OR ENTERING PUBLIC GARDENS AND BUILDINGS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Rudolph Wappenstein, of the City of Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING THE NUMBERS OF PASSENGERS
TRAVELLING IN OR ON OMNIBUSES AND OTHER CONVEYANCES OR ENTERING
PUBLIC GARDENS AND BUILDINGS."
Sealed the 31st August 1869, and dated the 4th May 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Rudolph Wappenstein
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 4th May 1869.
I, RUDOLPH WAPPENSTEIN, of the City of Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING THE NUMBERS OF
PASSENGERS TRAVELLING IN OR ON OMNIBUSES AND OTHER CONVEYANCES OR
ENTERING PUBLIC GARDENS AND BUILDINGS," to be as follows:-
For omnibuses I employ for each journey or stage a meter having two
sets of dials and fingers, one set for the inside and the other set for
outside of the omnibuses, and the dials are marked to indicate units,

page_text: tens, hundreds, and thousands. The meter is placed at the bottom of a
box or frame having two pairs of large dials, the box being fixed to the
body of the omnibus so that one pair of dials shall be at the outside and
the other in the inside. These dials turn on pivots independent of each
other, and one of each pair is used for the inside and the other of each
pair for the outside, and the dials are marked one to twenty-four or other
number, according to the size of the omnibus. In the box at the front
of each pair of dials there are appertures opposite the numbers, and when
a passenger goes inside or to the top of the omnibus the corresponding
dials move forward a number, and when the passenger leaves the dials
move back a number, which movements are effected by ratchet wheels
acted upon by catches an sliding bars put in motion by a lever when a
passenger enters or leaves the omnibus, there being one lever for the
inside and another for the outside. These levers are formed as bars,
turnstiles, or folding bars or doors, and are moved by the passengers
pressing against them or acted upon by hand.
For working each division of the meter I employ an improved catch
lever acted upon by 'the lower end of one of the sliding bars for giving
movement to a toothed wheel one tooth at a time. To each lever is
jointed a plate carrying a pin or catoh, which plate is kept in its working
position by a spring, and when the lever is moved one way the catch
moves the wheel, but when moved the reverse way the spring yields and
allows the catch to return without affecting the wheel. For enabling
the sliding bars to be worked when the levers are turned both ways I
fix the levers to shafts fitted to frames fixed to the framework of the
omnibus, there being one frame and shaft for the inside and another for
the outside. To each shaft is fixed a plate having a catch and several
arms, and loose' on the 'shaft there is a ratchet wheel into the teeth of
which the catch is geared, there being pivotted to the frame another
catch employed as a holder. To the ratchet wheel is fixed a plate and
several arms which with the arms fixed to the shaft act one at a time'on
short levers pivotted to the frame and connected 'by chains passing over
guide pulleys to the sliding bars. When the shaft is turned one way the
catch on the plate rides on the teeth of the ratchet wheel, which is held
by the holding catch, and one of the arms on the plate fixed to the
shaft gives motion to one of the short levers and chains connected to it
for giving motion to two sliding bars and enabling their catches to turn
two dials in one direction; but when the shaft is turned the other way

page_text: the catch on the plate turns the ratchet wheel and arms fixed to it,
so that an arm shall act upon another short lever and move its corre-
sponding chains and sliding bars to turn the two dials in the reverse
direction, and in all cases the return movements of the sliding bars are
effected by springs.
The foregoing arrangement is adapted for a lever formed as a bar,
which is moved to and fro, aud also for folding bars or doors; but when
turnstiles revolving in one direction are employed the short levers will
be acted upon by arms turning in one direction. When the omnibus is
empty cyphers are behind the apertures in the plates at the front of the
large dials, and at the commencement of operations the fingers of the
meter are set at cyphers. When the first passenger by going inside or
on the top of the omnibus moves the bar or lever two sliding bars are
worked to cause the two corresponding large dials to turn to indicate
one and the meter also measures one, and when another passenger goes
inside or on the top the dials measure two and the meter also measures
two, and so on for any number. When the passenger leaves the inside
or the top of the omnibus the bar is turned in a reverse direction and
other sliding bars are called into operation to turn each dial a number
back, but at the same time gives another forward motion to the corre
sponding finger of the meter, and thus the numbers seen on the large
dials always agree with the numbers of the passengers, and the fingers of
the meter, which always travel forward, indicate the numbers of entrances
and exits of the passengers both for the inside and the outside; and
when the dials are properly working as the passengers enter and leave
there is evidence that the chains are properly connected to the short
levers and the meter measuring correctly, and when the omnibus is full,
either inside or outside or in both places, the fact is indicated by the
dials. When the passengers have all left the omnibus the dials have
returned to the positions indicating cyphers, and at the end of the single
or double journey, or at any other specified time, the conductor removes
the meter and the number indicates the number of entrances and exits
of the inside passengers, and the numbers on the other dial the same for
the outside passengers, and it is evident that the number of fares are
these numbers divided by two. When the journey is divided into two or
more stages the meter is removed at the end of each stage and a fresh
one supplied. The meter removed at the end of first stage indicates
the number of inside and outside passengers who have entered and left

page_text: the omnibus; the second meter indicates the number of fresh passengers
and those who have left during and at the end of the second stage; and
the last meter indicates the number of passengers taken up for the last
stage and the number who leave during the stage, and when the journey
is completed. Instead of employing a pair of large revolving dials at the
outside and another pair in the inside of the omnibus, I may use for each
place one stationary dial with two series of numbers and two fingers, and
work the fingers by means of ratchet wheels, catches, and sliding bars;
and in both arrangements when desired I use transparent dials, which can
be illuminated in times of darkness. It is incumbent that one person only
shall enter at a time, and to ensure this object I employ two turnstiles
fitted to shafts at the sides of the door or passage and cause the arms to
meet in the middle, or I employ a pair of front and back arms fitted to
shafts at the sides of the door or passage and formed so that when the
front arms are open for entrance the back arms will close, and when the
back arms are opened the front bars will close, and it is evident doors
may be used instead of bars.
For steamboats, public gardens, and buildings, the large dials are not
required, and the meters are used in connection with the improved
turnstiles and folding bars or doors.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Rudolph Wappenstein in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 4th November 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RUDOLPH
WAPPENSTEIN, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Rudolph Wappenstein, Her special license
that I, the said Rudolph Wappenstein, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Rudolph Wappenstein, 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

page_text: 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 SYSTEM
AND APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING THE NUMBERS OF PASSENGERS TRAVELLING IN
OR ON OMNIBUSES AND OTHER CONVEYANCES OR ENTERING PUBLIC GARDENS AND
BUILDINGS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Rudolph
Wappenstein, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 Rudolph Wappenstein, 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 (that is to say) :-
In one arrangement of apparatus for omnibuses I employ for each
journey or stage a meter having two sets of dials and fingers, one set
for the inside of the omnibus, and the other set for the outside, and
the dials are marked to indicate units, tens, and for calculating
hundreds and thousands. The meter corresponds with a stationary dial
having two series of numbers and two fingers turning on arbors in-
dependent of each other, and one of the series of numbers and one
finger are used for the inside of the omnibus and the other series and
finger for the outside, and the numbers are one to twenty-three or other
number higher than can be carried according to the size of the
omnibus. The movements of the fingers of the meter and stationary
dial are effected by ratchet wheels acted upon by catches on sliding
bars moved one way by levers put in motion by a double or single turn-
stile or arins at the entrance to the inside and outside of the omnibus,
and the other way by springs, and when a passenger goes inside or
to the top of the omnibus a corresponding finger moves forward to a
number of its correspoding series, and when a passenger leaves the
omnibus the finger moves back a number, the dials of the meter at
the same time registering the numbers who have passed to and from
the inside and outside of the omnibus. The apparatus may be placed
inside or outside the omnibus, and the meters can be easily adapted to
public gardens, buildings,and steam boats.
:

page_text: The foregoing improvements and modifications of them will be clearly
understood by the following particular description thereof, reference
being had to the Figures and letters on the accompanying two Sheets
of Drawings, in which Figure 1 is an external view of the apparatus;
Figures 2, 3, and 4, views of some of the working parts; Figures 5 and
6, side and front views of the mechanism for working the fingers of
the meter and dial; and Figure 7, an external view of one set of
dials and fingers of the meter, Figures 1 and 2 being drawn to a
scale of two inches to the foot, and Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, about
full size.
At the top of the entrance to the inside of the omnibus there is a
box a, Figure 1, carrying a case or frame b, at the bottom of which
is the meter c, and at the upper part the dial d with two series of
numbers marked from one to twenty-three, the finger e corresponding
with the outer series of numbers for the inside passengers, and the
finger with the inner one for the outside passengers, though either
series may be used for the inside or outside as desired. The two sets
of dials of the meter are placed one in front and one behind, and the unit
finger of cach set and each finger of the stationary dial are worked by
two similar sets of ratchet wheels, catches, and sliding bars, and there-
fore if one set is fully described the other will be perfectly understood.
The finger e is held on a squared part of the arbor or boss g Figures 5
and 6 of a ratchet wheel h working on a long arbor or boss i of a ratchet
wheel k, Figure 5 working on a pin fixed to the plate m, and the
front end of the arbor i is squared to hold the finger f. To the wheel h
is fixed a smaller ratchet wheel n behind which there is a ratchet
wheel o loose on the arbor i and having a catch p in gear with the
wheel n, and its own teeth held as required by a catch and spring q
on the plater, and these wheels are employed for moving the finger e
forwards and backwards, and there are similar wheels k, s, t, Figure 5,
and sliding bars and catches for moving the finger f forwards and
backwards. In guides j fixed to the back plate u there are two sliding
bars, w, having their tops connected to two springs held to the
case or frame b, Figure 1, and to these bars are jointed catches y, z,
provided with springs a, b, and the catch z is for acting on the ratchet
wheel h, and the catch y on the ratchet wheel o, and there are similar
sliding bars and catches for acting on the ratchet wheels k, t, for the
other finger f. The dials at the front and back of the meter, one for

page_text: the inside and the other for the outside passengers, have each two
series of numbers for units and tens, one marked forwards and the
other backwards, and two series of numbers for calculating the hundreds
and thousands, also marked reversely as shewn in Figure 7, one of
each series being intended to register the numbers of passengers who
have entered either division of the omnibus, and the other of each series
for registering the numbers who have left. The fingers c, d, for the
unit series are fixed to the arbors of ratchet wheels e', f¹, and the
fingers g, h, of the other series to the arbors of the ratchet wheel ², j',
and the ratchet wheels e, f, are turned one tooth at a time by catches
k, on the small sliding bars m', n', moved downwards by pins o¹, p',
formed at the bottom ends of the sliding bars v, w, and upwards by
spiral springs in the sockets q', and each ratchet wheel i, j, is turned
one tooth at a time by a pin in cach ratchet wheel e', f. 'The sliding
bars and catches for moving the fingers to denote. and register the
inside passengers are worked by a double turnstile Figure 1, placed
at the entrance to the inside of the omnibus and a similar turnstile
or a single one is used for the outside passengers. The turnstile consists
of two sets of arms ¹, s, fixed to two vertical shafts t', u', which arm
meet in the middle, so that one person only can enter and leave at a
time, and to ensure the simultaneous movement of the arms I fix
to the bottom of the two shafts t, u, below the floors two toothed wheels
v, Figure 2, gearing into two intermediate toothed wheels o¹. The
shafts work in bearings in the floor or frame and also in the box a,
and to one shaft t¹, Figures 3 and 4, is fixed a plate a² having four
arms 62, and catch c², and loose on the shaft there is a ratchet wheel d*
into the teeth of which the catch is geared, there being pivotted to
the plate e another catch f employed as a holder. To the ratchet
wheel is fixed a plate gå having four arms 3 which with the arms b³
act one at a time on short knuckle jointed levers ², , on a stud m³
in the small frame 22, and connected by chains o2 passing on guide
pulleys to levers q, r, jointed to the sliding bars v, w, and the knuckle
joints of the levers 2, 1, yield in one direction so that each lever can
be only moved one way by the arms and returned by a spring. When
a passenger enters the omnibus the shaft is turned in the direction
of the arrow and the catch c² on the plate a² turns the ratchet wheel d²,
plate g², and arms h², so that an arm shall give motion to the knuckle
Jointed lever, chain o, and sliding bar w, thereby causing the catch z.
to move the ratchet wheel h a tooth, and give a forward movement

page_text: to the finger e, and at the same time the bottom end p' of the sliding
bar wo moves the sliding bar n¹ to cause the catch to turn the ratchet
wheel a tooth and turn finger d¹ a unit, and when the passenger
has entered the omnibus and the pressure removed from the turnstile
the spring and the spring in the socket q' return the bars to and n
to their original positions, the small springs b', &, yielding to allow the
catches to pass the teeth of their corresponding ratchet wheels. As
the passengers enter the omnibus these movements are repeated, the
finger e moving forwards, but when a passenger leaves the omnibus
the turnstile and shaft are reversed and the catch on the plate a
rides on the teeth of the ratchet wheel d², and one of the arms & acts
upon the knuckle-jointed lever k³, chain o, and sliding bar v, thereby
causing the catch y to move the ratchet wheel o a tooth, which, by
means of the catch p and ratchet wheel n, turns back the ratchet
wheel h and finger e, and at the same time the bottom end o¹ of the
sliding bar moves the sliding bar m¹ to cause the catch k¹ to turn
the ratchet wheel e¹ a tooth, and turn back the finger c¹ a unit, and when
the pressure is removed the spring x, and the spring in the socket q¹
return the bars and m' to their original position, the small springs
attached to the catch y, k', yielding to allow the catches to pass the
teeth as before described for the other side, there being holding catches
for all the ratchet wheels to hold them until acted upon.
After the pas-
sengers enter and leave the inside of the omnibus the number behind the
finger e always agrees with the number of the passengers because the
finger moves forward at each entrance and backwards at each exit, but the
fingers of the meter are always progressing, the fingers c, d, indicating
the units and tens and the fingers g, h, the numbers of hundreds and
thousands by calculation, the fingers d', h', registering the numbers
who have entered the inside of the omnibus and the fingers c', g', those
who have left. The sliding bars and catches for giving motion to the
ratchet wheels k, t, Figure 5, for turning the finger f, are worked by
a single or double turnstile or levers at the outside of the omnibus in
connection with apparatus similar to that shewn in Figures 3 and 4
acting on knuckle-jointed levers connected by chains to levers t', u',
Figures 3 and 4, and turning the finger f forwards and backwards as
described for the finger e, and the number of the passengers who get
on and leave the outside of the omnibus are registered by the fingers
of the dials at the back of the meter, the fingers being worked by
ratchet wheels and catches exactly similar to those at the front. When

page_text: the omnibus only travels a certain distance in one stage it is not
necessary to remove the meter until the higher numbers have been
reached, but when the journey is divided into two or more stages the
meter is removed at the end of each stage and a fresh one supplied.
Thus, if there are three stages, the meter removed at the end of the first
stage indicates the number of inside and outside passengers who have
entered and left the omnibus during and at the end of that stage. The
second meter indicates the number of fresh passengers and those who
have left during and at the end of the second stage; and the last meter
indicates the number of passengers taken up for the last stage and the
number who leave during the stage and when the journey is completed,
and during the stages the fingers of the large dial are denoting the
changes going on.
Instead of the stationary dial with two series of numbers I may
use revolving dials turning on arbors independent of each other and
worked by ratchet wheels and sliding bars as before described for
moving the fingers e and f. One dial is to be used for the inside
passengers and the other the outside, and at the front of the dials there
are apertures in the case or frame opposite the numbers, and when
a passenger goes inside or to the top of the omnibus the correspond-
ing dial moves forward a number and when the passenger leaves the
dial moves back a number.
Instead of the turnstiles or levers, I employ when desired a pair of
front and back arms fitted to the shafts at the sides of the door or
passage and formed so that when the front arms are opened for entrance
the back arms will close, and when the back arms are opened the front
arms will close, and it is evident that doors may be used instead of arms.
The dials are made of any convenient diameters and numbered as
required, and when desired I use transparent dials which can be illumi-
nated in times of darkness.
For steam boats, public gardens, and buildings, the large dials
are not required, and the meters are used in connection with the
improved turnstiles and folding arms or doors.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be
understood that I claim,-
First. The system of employing a dial with two series of numbers
marked reversely and having corresponding fingers for indicating the

page_text: numbers of passengers inside and outside the omnibus, and also the
revolving dials behind apertures in the case or frame for the same
purpose.
Secondly. The system of using for each dial of the meter two series of
numbers maked reversely and having a finger for each series, so that
both the entries and exits shall be registered.
Thirdly. The improved combination of plates, arms, ratchet wheels,
catches, and knuckle-jointed levers shewn in Figures 3 and 4, for
enabling double and single turnstiles, folding arms, doors, or other
levers, to work an indicating apparatus and meters when turned in
both directions.
Fourthly. The improved arrangement of the various ratchet wheels
catches, sliding bars, levers, and springs, shewn in Figures 5 and 6,
for enabling the fingers of the large dial to be turned forwards and
backwards.
And, fifthly. The improved arrangement of the ratchet wheels, springs,
catches, and sliding bars, and mode of working them, to cause a finger
for one series of numbers to be turned forwards in one direction and
another finger for another scries of numbers to be turned forwards in
the reverso direction for as many dials as required, as all such im-
provements are herein described and illustrated in the aecompanying
two Sheets of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Rudolph Wappenstein, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Third day of November One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
RUDOLPH WAPPENSTEIN. (L.S.)