AN IMPROVED INSTRUMENT OR 'TELL- TALE, FOR REGISTERING THE TIME OF ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE OF WORK- PEOPLE IN HOUSES OF BUSINESS AND MANUFACTORIES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Hunt, of Houndsditch, in the County of
Middlesex, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED INSTRUMENT OR 'TELL-
TALE, FOR REGISTERING THE TIME OF ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE OF WORK-
PEOPLE IN HOUSES OF BUSINESS AND MANUFACTORIES."
Sealed the 30th September 1864, and dated the 2nd April 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Hunt at the
Office of the Commissioners of. Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd April 1864.
I, JOHN HUNT, of Houndsditch, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED INSTRUMENT OR
TELL-TALE, FOR REGISTERING THE TIME OF ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE OF WORK-
PEOPLE IN HOUSES OF BUSINESS AND MANUFACTORIES," to be as follows:-
. The plan heretofore generally adopted in large establishments for ascer-
taining the precise time at which workmen come to their work has been to
employ a person called a "timekeeper," whose duty it was to observe by a
clock the precise time at which each man arrived at his work, and to keep a
written account or registry thereof. Now the object and intention of this
Invention is to dispense with the necessity for employing a personal "time-
keeper," or to considerably reduce his work by constructing an instrument in
such a manner that when actuated by a clock, or otherwise, it shall be self-
acting, and register in a simple and, unerring manner each hour and portion
thereof the time at which any or every workman comes to, and if necessary,
leaves his work.

page_text: The following is an example of the construction of the improved instrument
above referred to. Within a circular case, and upon a long pivot working
through the centre of same, I fix a drum or wheel formed with twelve com-
partments, the divisions whereof radiate from the centre of said wheel, and
each represents the twelfth part of one hour; the outer end of the aforesaid
case has a slit or opening formed therein to receive tickets having numbers,
and if desirable dates, or other symbols printed thereon; these tickets it is
proposed to furnish to each of the workpeople, whose duty it is to deposit one
of said tickets through the aforesaid slit or opening into one or other of the
before-mentioned compartments in the aforesaid drum, according to which is
uppermost. The inner end of the aforesaid drum has numbers painted
thereon corresponding with the hours and minutes on the clock face, so that,
suppose, for example, the clock to indicate the hour of six, a ticket dropped
into that compartment on which the number six is painted would shew that
the ticket was placed in said compartiment at six o'clock, and as the aforesaid
drum rotates by the action of the clockwork thereon, or otherwise, a fresh
compartment is brought opposite to the slit in the case every five minutes, so
that when at every hour the several compartments are cleared of their contents
the numbers on each of said compartments shew within five minutes the time
at which the tickets were deposited in the several compartments, which time
can be registered in a book, and thus each hour the precise time at which
workpeople come in or go out may be ascertained. It is proposed to have a
false back to the case of the drum for discharging 'the contents of the several
compartments therein, and also to employ a pawl and ratchet to prevent the
drum being turned backwards. In using this instrument it is necessary for
each workman to have a book of tickets, and for the employer to make it a
condition when engaging him that he shall, under a penalty, deposit one of
said tickets in said instrument each time he comes to his work, and if
necessary when he leaves it at any other than the regular time for departure.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Hunt in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st October 1864.
TO ALL, TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HUNT, of Houndsditch, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of April, in the year of our Lord

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign; did; for 'Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Hunt, Her special licence that I, the said John Hunt,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Hunt, 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
INSTRUMENT OR TELL-TALE,' FOR REGISTERING THE TIME OF ARRIVAL AND
DEPARTURE OF WORKPEOPLE IN HOUSES OF BUSINESS AND MANUFACTORIES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Hunt, 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 John Hunt, do hereby..declare the
nature of the 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:-
..
"
The plan heretofore generally adopted in large establishments for ascer-
taining the precise time at which workmen come to their work has been to
employ a person called a "timekeeper," whose duty it was to observe by a
clock the precise time at which each man arrived to his work, and to keep a
written account or registry thereof. Now the object and intention of this.
Invention is to dispense with the necessity for employing a personal "time-
keeper," or to considerably reduce his work by constructing an instrument in:
such a manner that when actuated by a clock, or otherwise, it shall be self-
acting, and register in a simple and unerring manner each hour and portion
thereof of the time at which any or every workman comes to, and if necessary,
leaves his work.
The following is an example of the construction of the improved instrument
above referred to. Within a circular case, and upon a long pivot working
through the centre of same, I fix a drum or wheel formed with twelve com-
partments, the divisions. whereof radiate from-the centre of said wheel, and
cach represents the twelfth part of one hour; the outer end of the aforesaid
case has a slit or opening formed therein to receive tickets having numbers,

page_text: and if desirable dates, or other symbols printed thereon; these tickets it is
proposed to furnish to each of the workpeople, whose duty it is to deposit one
of said tickets through the aforesaid slit or opening into one or other of the
before-mentioned compartiments in the aforesaid drum, according to which is
uppermost. The inner end of the aforesaid drum has numbers painted.
thereon corresponding with the hours and minutes on the clock face, so that,
suppose, for example, the clock to indicate the hour of six, a ticket dropped
into that compartment on which the number six is painted would shew that
the ticket was placed in said compartment at six o'clock, and as the aforesaid
drum rotates by the action of the clockwork thereon, or otherwise, a fresh
compartment is brought opposite to the slit in the case every five minutes, so
that when at every hour the several compartments are cleared of their contents
the numbers on each of said compartments shew within five minutes the time
at which the tickets were deposited in the several compartments, which time
can be registered in a book, and thus each hour the precise time at which
work people come in or go out may be ascertained. It is proposed to have a
false back to the case of the drum for discharging the contents of the several
compartments therein, and also to employ a pawl and ratchet to prevent the
drum being turned backwards. In using this instrument it is necessary for
each workman to have a book of tickets, and for the employer to make it a
condition when engaging him that he shall, under a penalty, deposit one of
said tickets in said instrument each time he comes to his work, and if
necessary, when he leaves it at any other than the regular time for
departure.
And in order to explain my said Invention as completely as possible, I now
proceed to describe the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the
same into practical effect, reference being had to the illustrative Sheets of
Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the numeral figures and letters of reference
marked thereon respectively, as follows:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
At Sheet 1, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of case to contain my improved
tell-tale, and a timepiece for working same; Figure 2, an elevation of cylinder
to receive tickets, also section of same, shewing compartments therein; these
views are drawn to a scale of half size. At Sheet 2, Figure 4 is an edge view
of ticket cylinder, shewing mechanism for working same; Figure 5 an
elevation at A, Figure 4; Figure 6, an elevation at B, Figure 4; Figure 7, a
section of parts hereafter referred to. At each of the foregoing Figures
similar letters of reference are employed to denote corresponding parts in so

page_text: far as such parts appear or can be seen at each of such said Figures
respectively.
A is a cast-iron standard supporting an axis B, on which is securely fixed
the cylindrical case C; the ends D, E, of said case are formed of wood, that
marked D is fixed to the metal periplury G, and that marked E works loosely
on the axis B, and within the periplury G, for the purpose hereafter stated;
H mark twelve compartments or divisions intended to contain paper tickets,.
which are placed in the hopper I of the outer case K which encloses the time-
piece and cylindrical case C; L are openings corresponding with the opening
in the hopper I; a, a', are six pins fixed in D at equal distances asunder, as
exhibited at Figures 4 and 5 of Sheet 2; these pins are intended to hold.
the case C in a fixed position by means of the vibrating escapement piece b
during certain intervals of time; the piece b is fixed in a short axis c; d is a
pin, and M a lever, also fixed to c; N is a ratchel wheel fixed on the axis B;
this axis enters a hole in the boss of a spring case O, and is fixed in said boss ;
P is another axis, forming the axis of the timepiece, on which the minute.
hand thereof is fixed in the usual way; the axis P is loose in the case O, and
said axis extends within the case O, and has one end of a convolute steel.
spring affixed thereto, the other end of said spring being fixed to the case O,
as at Figure 7 of Sheet 2; Q is a disc of metal, having six pins e, e¹, fixed
therein at equal distances asunder; the disc Q is fixed by its boss 9 to the
axis P, and moves therewith; R is a pawl taking into the teeth of the ratchet
wheel N, to prevent the case C from being turned backwards; S is a spring,
against which the pin d presses, for the purpose hereafter stated. The dotted
line T denotes the position of the pendulum of the timepiece, and the space
at U is that intended to be occupied by the other works of the timepiece;
W is a spring for preventing the loose end E from turning round, except at
will; h is a stop pin for preventing the lever M being moved further than is
necessary; are metal flaps hinged inside G, to cover the openings L therein
as the case C is moved round, thus preventing the contents of the several
compartments falling through said openings.
i
The operations of the aforesaid mechanism are as follows:-The parts a, M,
b, Q, being in the position represented at Figures 4 and 5 of Sheet 2, and one
of the openings L in the case C opposite to the opening in the hopper I, upon
the timepiece being set in motion the axis of the minute hand will turn round:
the disc Q, and cause the pin e' to push against the lever M; simultaneously.
with this movement the spring f will be wound up, and the escapement piece b.
be moved upon its axis, and when the pin e' has arrived in the position.
denoted by the dotted lines a at Figure 4, the detent 1 of the piece 6 will be,

page_text: ..
moved out of contact with the pin a', and the spring f being liberated will
exert its force upon the axis B of the case C, and thus advance it in the
direction of the arrow's flight, so as to present the next opening L opposite to
the hopper I, the pin a³ coming against the detent 2 of the piece 6 will now
arrest the further advance of the case C, and hold it steady until the pin e¹ of
the disc has arrived in the position denoted by the dotted lines y at Figure 4
of Sheet 2, when the pin e¹ escaping from the lever M, said lever by the action
of the spring S on the pin d will throw the lever M back, and thus move the
piece 6 in an opposite direction, the effect of which is the cause the detent 2 to
escape from the pin a³, and allow the spring f, which has been again wound
up, to exert its force upon the case C, so as to turn it partly round, and
present the next opening L opposite to the hopper, and so on in succession.
The above mechanism is arranged to allow the case C to present a fresh com-
partment opposite to the hopper every five minutes, so that, suppose each
compartment to be marked with numerals beginning at zero for that com-
partment which is uppermost when the hands of the timepiece are at any
hour, (say, for example, 8 o'clock,) a ticket placed in this compartment
would when taken out shew that it was placed in between 8 o'clock and
five minutes past; the next compartment would bear the numeral 5, shewing
five minutes past the hour; the following compartments would be respectively
marked 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, and supposing the contents of
the case C to be discharged every hour, which may be done by moving the
hole X in the loose end E successively opposite to the several compartments,
the person performing this office has simply to look at the numerals in each
compartment as he empties it, and insert it in a time book kept for that
purpose.
I would here remark that in order to facilitate the registering of the time
of arrival of workmen at different periods of the day, namely, before breakfast,
after dinner, and after tea, I propose to use books containing tickets printed
in the following manner and order, each book to contain 24 leaves,
serving for one month; each leaf contains three tickets, marked 1, 2, 3, and
the workman's number corresponding to his name;' say, John Smith's number
is 30, then the tickets are marked 30, 33; on each leaf; there are also
3 columns -ruled on each leaf of tickets, the first leaf is marked. No. 1
in the first column, the second No. 2, and so on in succession up to
twenty-four, the several numbers representing the twenty-four days above
mentioned, so that suppose a workman to begin his time-book on Monday, he
would tear out the top ticket marked 3 No. 1 when he came to work, the
ticket No. 1 when he returned from dinner, and the ticket 3 No. 1 when

page_text: he returned from tea, each time placing the ticket in the hopper of the tell-.
tale, and so on for each day throughout the month.
It will be obvious that the mechanism may be varied so as to register at any
other intervals of time, the intention of this Invention being to make work-
men, clerks, and other officials register their own time of arrival, instead of
relying upon a personal timekeeper, as heretofore practised.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of my said
Invention for "An Improved Instrument or Tell-tale for Registering the Time
of Arrival and Departure of Workpeople in Houses of Business and Manu-
factories," together with the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the
same into practical effect, I would remark in conclusion, that I hereby declare
my Invention to consist in, and I claim the mechanical arrangements above
described with reference to the Sheets of Drawings accompanying these
Presents, in combination with an ordinary timepiece, for the purposes
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Hunt, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this First day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
JOHN HUNT. (L.S.).