THE CONSTRUCTION OF FARE BOXES FOR THE PRE- VENTION OF FRAUD ON THE PART OF DRIVERS, CONDUCTORS, &c
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Morris Smith, of Northampton, Gentleman,
for the Invention of "THE CONSTRUCTION OF FARE BOXES FOR THE PRE-
VENTION OF FRAUD ON THE PART OF DRIVERS, CONDUCTORS, &c."-A com-
munication from abroad by J. B. Slawson, of New Orleans, in the State
of Louisiana, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 15th September 1859, and dated the 16th July 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Morris Smith
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents with bis Petition, on the
16th July 1859.
I, WILLIAM MORRIS SMITH, of Northampton, Gentleman, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "THE CONSTRUCTION OF FARE BOXES FOR
THE PREVENTION OF FRAUD ON THE PART OF DRIVERS, CONDUCTORS, &c.," to be
as follows:-
This Invention relates to that class of fare boxes intended to prevent fraud
on the part of conductors, drivers, &c., in which the fare on being deposited
by the passenger, before dropping into the receiving drawer below, is tem
porarily arrested in an upper compartment, so constructed and arranged that
the conductor, &c., as well as the passenger, may scrutinize the fare to see
whether the amount deposited is correct, after which it is caused to drop into
a receiving drawer, inaccessible to the omnibus attendant.
In practice, it has been found that by the driver neglecting to open the
passage to the drawer below, and thus causing the money to remain in the
upper compartment, the fare might be removed by means of a split or cleft

page_text: stick. To prevent this fraud it is now proposed to give the compartment
leading to the drawer a zig-zag or crooked form, which will offer an effectual
obstruction to the withdrawal of the coin. There are in connection with this
zig-zag compartment, two mouths or passages, one for receiving the fare of
the inside, and the other for guiding down the fare of the outside passengers
to the cash drawer. The zig-zag compartment is formed of or fitted with
glass, to allow of the coin deposited therein being scrutinized prior to its being
discharged (by the withdrawal of a spring slide) into the cash drawer. A
lamp is situate within the fare box for the double purpose of lighting the
vehicle and illuminating the coin, that the driver or conductor may inspect
the fares at night. Fitted also to the box is a drawer accessible to the
driver or conductor for containing change...
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by tho said William Morris Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 16th January 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MORRIS SMITH, of Northampton, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said William Morris Smith, Her special license that I, the said
William Morris Smith, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Morris Smith, 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 "THE CONSTRUCTION OF FARE BOXES FOR THE PREVENTION OF FRAUD
ON THE PART OF DRIVERS, CONDUCTORS, &c.," being a communication from abroad
by J. B. Slawson, of New Orleans, in the State of Louisiana, in the United
States of America; upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Morris Smith, by an instrument 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Morris Smith, 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent,
relates to the class of fare boxes intended to prevent fraud on the part of
conductors, drivers, &c., in which the fare, on being deposited by the passenger,
before dropping into the receiving drawer below, is temporarily arrested in an
upper compartment, so constructed and arranged that the conductor as well as
the passenger may scrutinize the fare to see whether the amount deposited is
correct, after which it is caused to drop into a receiving drawer inaccessible to
the conductor.
In practice, it has been found that by the conductor neglecting to open the
passage to the drawer below, and thus causing the money to remain in the
upper compartment, the fare might be removed by means of a thin split or
cleft stick, which being thrust down into the compartment, will secure the
arrested coin in the cleft of the stick, and thus enable it to be readily with-
drawn. To provide against this constructive defect of this class of fare boxes
is one of the objects of the present improvement. The improvement consists
in a peculiar construction of the upper or receiving chamber, by means of
which frauds of abstraction are rendered impracticable on the part of con-
ductors and others having the care of omnibuses or other public vehicles.
The Invention also relates to the arrangement and combination of a mouth
at the top of the fare box, for allowing the outside passengers of omnibuses to
drop their fare into the box in addition to the mouth through which inside
passengers deposit their fares. And it further relates to the arrangement of a
light in the inside of the fare box, by means of which it is not only sufficiently
lighted up to scrutinize the fare, but to light the inside of the carriage. To
enable others skilled in the art to make, construct, and use the improvement,
I will now proceed to describe it in detail.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. I represents the improved fare box in
front elevation; Fig. 2, a rear elevation of the same; and Fig. 3 is a vertical
transverse section taken through the line x, x, of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a similar
view of a modification of the improved fare box.
The case enclosing the fare box is represented as being provided with glass
plates A1, A3, A3, A', both in front and renr. In one portion of this case is
arranged the fare-box proper, which consists of the money drawer B opening
in front (and securely locked, so as to prevent access to it except by the

page_text: proper person), and the receiving chamber C arranged above. These two
compartments are made to communicate with each other by withdrawing a
spring slide D, which in its normal position is made to intercept the fare or
cover, the channel a leading from the receiving chamber C above into the
drawer B below. The receiving chamber C, into which the money is to be
deposited by the inside passengers through the mouth E, consists of a crooked
or zig-zag channel, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, to prevent
wedging of the fare, formed by glass plates c, c', and d, d', securely fitted into
the frame of the box. This irregularity in the form of the channel is produced
either by placing the two pairs of glass plates c, c', and d, d', at an angle to
_ each other, as fully represented in the Drawing, or by forming each of the
sides of one glass plate only, but which for that purpose must be moulded to
the required shape. This peculiar shape or formation of the receiving chamber
or channel c, which at its upper end is made barely wide enough to allow the
money to pass through, will by reason of the mouth being out of the plane of
the deposited coin, render it impracticable to extract money through the mouth,
when by the neglect, intentional or otherwise, of the conductor the slide D
after the inspection of the fare has not been withdrawn so as to drop it into
the drawer beneath.
In order to enable the outside passengers to deposit their fare in the box, a
mouth or orifice F is formed at the top of the case, and an inclined glass
plate bis arranged below it, so as to direct the money thus deposited into
the channel or receiving chamber C. This mouth F is closed by a binged
cover F*, to prevent the admission of rain to the fare box G; Fig. 3 is a
drawer opening on the outside of the box next the conductor, to give him
ready access thereto. This drawer is intended for the reception of change and
tickets. In the upper part of the case, over the drawer G, is arrangel a lamp
H, the case being provided with a door I, in order to light the same, and with
holes e, e, at the top for the escape of the smoke. This arrangement of the
lamp inside the case enclosing the fare will not only serve the purpose of
lighting the inside of the omnibus and the space outside next to the driver or
conductor, but will also sufficiently illuminate the fare box compartment to
enable the conductor and passengers to scrutinize thoroughly the money paid
for night fares. In order to prevent the smoke of the lamp from darkening
or tarnishing the inside of the glass plates enclosing the fare box and receiving
chamber, a glass plate may be inserted between the two compartments, and if
deemed advisable, the chimney itself may be passed directly through the top
of the box, in which event a cap should be arranged over it to prevent the
ingress of rain.

page_text: The modification of fare box shewn at Fig. 4 differs from the arrangement
above described, chiefly in the way of constructing the chamber C. In place
of pairs of flat plates of glass set at angles to each other, so as to produce a
zig-zag passage offering security for the deposited coin, two glass plates e, f,
are employed. The inner face of the plate e is recessed so as to form parallel
shoulders across it at different elevations from the slide D, corresponding to the
diameter of the silver coins used, but the inner face of the plate f is merely
bevilled off towards its upper edge. When, therefore, a small coin is deposited
in the box, its upper edge will be under, and be protected by the lower shoulder
of the plate e, and in like manner the upper edge of a larger coin will lie under
a more elevated shoulder, the largest sized coin finding security from sur-
reptitious extraction from the shoulder formed by the lower edge of the mouth-
piece 9, which may be made of metal, the other portions of the channel or
chamber C being constructed of glass to permit of the deposited coin being
inspected as explained. The glass plates are secured to the sides of a box by
metal plates h, which when fixed in position by screws form recesses for the
ends of the glass plates e, f.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention for the construction of
fare boxes, for the prevention of fraud on the part of drivers, conductors, &c.,
as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and explained the man-
ner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the
above in part recited Letters Patent, I claim the construction and arrange-
ment of passages for receiving and effectually protecting from surreptitious
abstraction, the coin constituting the fare of the inside and outside passengers,
as above described; and in combination therewith, I claim the application
of a lamp to the fare box for the purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Morris Smith, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Nineteenth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
W". MORRIS SMITH. (L.8.)