A NEW OR IMPROVED APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENT FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPTS OF MONEY FOR THE FARES OF PASSENGERS BY OMNIBUSES, TRAMWAY CARS, AND OTHER SIMILAR VEHICLES
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Ezra Lofts, of Cambridge, in the County of Cambridge,
Engineer, for the Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED APPARATUS OR
ARRANGEMENT FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPTS OF MONEY FOR THE FARES OF
PASSENGERS BY OMNIBUSES, TRAMWAY CARS, AND OTHER SIMILAR VEHICLES."
Sealed the 22nd June 1877, and dated the 28th April 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Ezra Lofts at the Office of
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th April 1877.
EZRA LOFTS, of Cambridge, in the County of Cambridge, Engineer. "A NEW
OR IMPROVED APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENT FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPTS OF
MONEY FOR THE FARES OF PASSENGERS BY OMNIBUSES, TRAMWAY CARS, AND
OTHER SIMILAR VEHICLES."
The object of my present Invention is to check the receipts of money received
from passengers by the conductors or other persons in charge of omnibuses, tramway
cars, and the like, and also in other places where practicable, which object I attain
as follows:
In the door, or other convenient part of the vehicle, I fix an upright box glazed
on one or more of its sides, of sufficient depth and capacity to hold a certain number of
tickets or checks, say six, by way of illustration. These tickets I prefer to make circular,
two inches in diameter, and one-eighth of an inch thick (more or less). The interior
space in the said glazed box would then be a trifle more than two inches in width
and a trifle more than one-eighth of an inch across, so that each ticket shall freely
move or fall down the said box, so as not to pass each other or become wedged
therein, but. to rest one upon the other until such box is filled therewith. The said
box is fitted with a spring, or a trapdoor, or bar for its bottom, so arranged or
weighted as to be able to support five such tickets, but to open when the weight of
six tickets bears upon it, and thus to allow one or more of the said six tickets to fall
into a box or other receptacle placed below such glazed box, and well secured by a
suitable lock or other efficient means. The key of this box to be kept by the
manager of the vehicle. The mouth of the said glazed box is hopper-shaped, and is
provided with a suitablo opening or passage, or one such opening inside and one
outside such door, or other convenient place, of a size freely to admit such tickets.
In order to prevent such tickets being abstracted through the said openings, the
Die C

page_text: upper part, or hopper-shaped mouth, of the said glazed box is so arranged that the
tickets will slide down one or both the inclined sides of such hopper to the said
upright box, which is not directly under the said openings.
The said tickets or checks have the usual fares of the vehicle legibly marked or
stamped on both sides thereof, so that they may be plainly seen by any or all
passengers within such vehicle, or by any person outside thereof.
In the case of an omnibus, I propose that when a passenger hails & conductor the
latter shall ask such passenger where he is going to; and, on the said passenger naming
the place of his destination, the said conductor shall hand him one of the said tickets
having the correct amount of the fare stated thereon; this ticket the passenger is
to pass into the said glazed box before being allowed to take his seat. The con-
ductor is to collect such passengers' fare as soon thereafter as convenient, and, if
possible, before the ticket has fallen from out the glazed box, when it can be seen
by all present, and referred to in case of doubt or dispute.
The conductor is supplied at certain times with a suitable number of tickets of
the required kinds for his particular traffic, and to account for when required to
do so.
It is believed that this improved method, if properly carried out, would effectually
prevent fraud by the persons receiving such fares, and prevent overcharging
uninformed passengers, as such overcharge would have to be handed over to
the said proprietors, and therefore in no way benefit the person making such
overcharge.
The said glazed box may be placed at any workable angle, so that the tickets
may roll or slide down insido such box.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Ezra Lofts in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 23rd October
1877.
EZRA LOFTS, of Cambridge, in the County of Cambridge, Engineer. "A NEW
OR IMPROVED APPARATUS OR ARRANGEMENT FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPTS OF
MONEY FOR THE FARES OF PASSENGERS BY OMNIBUSES, TRAMWAY CARS, AND
OTHER SIMILAR VEHICLES."
The object of my present Invention is to check the receipts of money received
from passengers by the conductors or other persons in charge of omnibuses, tramway
cars, and the like, and also for other similar purposes.
In order that my said Invention may be more fully and more clearly understood
and be more readily performed, I will explain the same with the aid of the
accompanying Drawing which forms part of this Specification, reference being
made thereto by the numerals and letters marked thereon, and which reference
applies to each Figure of the said Drawing where the same index numerals and
letters appear.
Figure 1 is a general view of my said apparatus in isometrical perspective;
Figure 2 is a back elevation of the same one-fourth full size.
In or on the door or other convenient part of a vehicle I fix or fit the apparatus,
as shewn in Figure 1, glazed in the front of the upright part or case a, and also on
the opposite side if desired. This case a is now represented to contain ten circular
tickets or checks, which checks are about 2 inches in diameter and th of an inch
thick, more or less, according to to the size of the case a and general convenience.
The interior space or channel in the said case a is made slightly to exceed the
width and thickness of the said checks, so that each such check may freely move or
fall down the said case without passing each other, or becoming jammed or wedged
therein, but resting one upon the other, as shewn in Figure 1. The bottom of the
aaid case a is fitted with a spring, or a trapdoor, or has a sliding bar or pin under
it, so arranged and weighted when a spring or trapdoor is used, as to be able to

page_text: support a given number, ten in the case now illustrated, of such checks, but to open
when an additional check (eleven in this example) bears upon such spring or trap so as
to allow one or more of the said checks to fall into the box b or other receptacle
placed below the said case a. Or in order to avoid interference with the apparatus
by the jolting of the vehicle or other violence, I cause the said checks to be passed
from the case a to the receptacle b by the following means:-Inside, and at the back
of the case a, I pivot at a suitable point c the upright lever d, provided at its upper
end with a roller e projecting across, or nearly so, the upper part or mouth f of the
case a, and at its lower end with a block or framing g carrying two pins h and i
projecting inwards nearly across the said interior space of the case a, the pin h
being directly under the centre of the lower check, and supporting it with all those
above it, the pin i being clear of the said checks but in the horizontal plane where
the lowest and next lowest checks touch each other. Opposite the roller e and fixed
in and to the said mouth f is another roller j; the distance between these two rollers
is somewhat less than the diameter of the checks. The object of these rollers e and j
is to facilitate the entrance of the checks. The mouth f of the case a is hopper-
shaped, and is provided with a suitable entrance or entrances in the door or other
part of the vehicle when needed. In order to prevent the abstraction of the checks
through such openings, the said mouth f is inclined downwards at different angles
on the front and back sides thereof.
The tickets or checks have the usual fares of the vehicle legibly marked or
stamped on both sides thereof, so that the amounts of the said fares may be plainly
seen by the passengers within such vehicle, or by any person outside thereof,
according as the case a is glazed and fixed.
In the case of an omnibus I propose that when an intending passenger hails the
conductor thereof, the latter shall ask such passenger where he purposes going to, and
on the said passenger stating the place of his destination, shall hand him one of the
said checks having the correct amount of the fare stated thereon; this check the
said passenger is to pass into the said case a at f before being allowed to take his
seat in or upon the vehicle.
When the bottom of the case a is opened by the mere weight of the checks, it is
only necessary to place or drop such checks into the case a, but by the alternative
method of passing the checks to the box b as previously herein described and
illustrated in Figure 2 of the Drawing, it is requisite to press the check into
the mouth f, which forces the roller e further from the roller j, so that such
check may pass into the case a and at the same time operate the lever d, and
thus move the block or frame g with its projecting pins h and i to the positions
shewn by the dotted lines in Figure 2; by this movement the pin h is removed
from under the said lowest check, and thus allows the latter to drop into the
box b; at the same time the pin i is brought under the next lowest check,
and thus prevents it and all those above it falling into the box b. When the
check just now forced into the mouth f has passed clear of the rollers e, j, the.
lever d and its accompaniments are brought to their normal positions by the
elastic band k, or by a suitable spring, when the said checks, by the with-
drawal of the pin i from under them, fall upon the pin h, which concludes the
operation.
The conductor is to collect the fares of the passengers as soon after the latter
have taken their seats as may be convenient, and, if possible, before their checks
have passed from the case a, and whilst they can be seen by all present, and
be referred to in case of doubt or dispute; for this reason I prefer to liberate
only one check at a time, so as to keep the case a always filled with the recent
checks; this is effected at the commencement of receiving fares by filling the case a
with blank checks.
The conductor is, when requisite, supplied with a suitable number of checks of
the proper kinds for his particular traffic, and has to account for them when
required to do so.
The key of the box h to ho kant be the proprietor or manager of the rehiela

page_text: It is believed that this improved method, if fairly carried out, will effectually
prevent fraud by the persons receiving such fares, and also prevent the overcharging
of uninformed passengers, inasmuch as such overcharges would have to be handed
over to the said proprietor or manager, and would therefore in no way benefit the
person making such overcharges.
Having thus fully described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention and
the method of performing the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not restrict
myself to the size of the apparatus, nor to the precise dimensions of the parts, nor
to the details thereof, as they are capable of much variation without departing from
the principles and leading characteristics of my said Invention, but I claim as new,
and desire to secure by the before-mentioned in part recited Letters Patent, the
apparatus or arrangement substantially as and for the purposes herein described and
shewn in the Drawing,
In witness whereof, I, the said Ezra Lofts, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Seventeenth day of October, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-seven.