Improvements in Fare Meters for Public Vehicles, and in the Apparatus in connection therewith.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Oct.,
1897
Complete Specification Left, 15th Aug., 1898-Accepted, 17th Sept., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Fare Meters for Public Vehicles, and in the
Apparatus in connection therewith.
I, JOHN MELTON BLACK, of 56, Tabernacle Street, London, Gentleman, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
In appliances as heretofore described for recording the time occupied the dis-
tance travelled and the amount of fare to be paid on public vehicles as cabs and
the like the forward movement of the mechanism of the fare meter fixed on the
vehicle has been effected from the wheel of the vehicle in most cases by the means
as hereunder mentioned that is to say by the pressure of air or a non freezing fluid
through a pipe flexible or otherwise connecting, the 'fare meter with the pressure
appliance fixed to the axle of the driving wheel of the vehicle which pressure is
given either by a piston forcing the air or fluid in the pipe forward or by forcing
exterior air into the tube at each revolution of the driving wheel of the vehicle
whereby the air or fluid in the 'tube is compressed and raises a piston at the fare
meter end of the tube a sufficient height to actuate the driving mechanism of the
fare meter or by causing pressure to be exerted by similar means on an elastic
medium as india rubber thin metal or the like or by the action of small bellows
which acting on the air in the tube produces the same result or by tappet or its
equivalent attached to the nave of the driving wheel of the vehicle moving forward
at each revolution of the wheel one tooth of a toothed wheel secured in a suitable
frame and attached to the axle of the wheel of the vehicle. This toothed wheel
is attached to a close coiled wire rod which is passed under the body of the vehicle
and connected with the driving wheel of the fare meter and imparts the same
forward movement it had received at the axle end to the driving wheel of the
fare meter or by gearing, worm and bevel wheels or by cord wheels so placed as
to cause a cord or chain cord to run during the revolution of the driving wheel of
the vehicle and thereby to act on the driving wheel of the fare meter.
These various methods being by their construction liable to get out of order
and hence subject to irregularity and uncertainty of action my invention relates
to improvements in the construction and working of the apparatus which connects
and drives the fare meter from the driving wheel of the vehicle and renders the
movement positive.
For this purpose I employ a metal or other non-elastic tube one end of which
is secured to the base of the fare meter fixed to the vehicle and in such a position
where possible as to be visible to both the passenger and driver of the vehicle.
This tube then passes under the body of the vehicle between suitable two pronged
forks fixed to the vehicle to prevent swinging of the tube and is connected and
properly secured to a tube of larger diameter some six inches or thereabouts in
71

page_text: length and which tube is held by a hinged pivotted or suspended appliance fixed
to the axle of the driving wheel of the vehicle or from a bracket connected there-
with. The object of this appliance is to allow sufficient depression of the tube
to counteract the various positions of the body of the vehicle as compared with
the position of the wheel axle, through the flexure or giving way of the springs
of the vehicle by weight or jolting.
Inside the tube I place a rod of flexible material metal ebonite or the like which
passes through the tube to the fare meter and projects therein a sufficient height
to raise a lever pivotted in such a position as to act upon a ratchet wheel by means
of a pawl and so move the wheel forward at each pulsation of the rod but in
place of this I prefer to employ a ratchet wheel suitable for the rod to act direct
thereon without the intervention of a lever. For this purpose the teeth of the
ratchet wheel would be of special form and the rod adapted to move the ratchet
wheel one tooth forward at each advance and to return to its normal position
without interfering with the next lower tooth of the ratchet, the advance of
the ratchet wheel being secured by the usual method of employing another spring
pawl acting on a tooth of the ratchet wheel.
On the end of the rod next to the wheel axle a metal cap or piston is fixed
sliding in the larger tube and between this piston and the connecting tube of lesser
diameter a coiled spring is placed for the purpose of bringing back the piston
with its rod attached to its normal position after it has been depressed. The
normal position of the piston would be equivalent to the depression required to
move the driving ratchet wheel of the fare meter one tooth forward at each
pulsation.
The depression of the piston and rod is given either direct from the hub of the
wheel by means of a cam or its equivalent mounted thereon pressing the piston
and rod inwards at each revolution of the wheel of the vehicle or by a lever so
pivotted and acted upon by the cam or its equivalent on the hub as to give the
same result.
It is evident that every depression of the piston by the action of the cam or
lever would cause the rod projecting in the fare meter to pulsate in unison and
advance the ratchet and driving wheel of the fare meter and the coil spring in
the tube would bring back the piston with its rod attached to its normal position
ready for the next thrust of the cam or lever and thereby render the pulsation of
the rod positive and equivalent to each revolution of the driving wheel of the
vehicle.
Improvements in Fare Meters for Public Vehicles, and in the
Apparatus in connection therewith.
I, JOHN MELTON BLACK, of Tabernacle Street, Finsbury, in the County of London,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
My invention relates to apparatus for use in cabs and other public vehicles for
indicating to a passenger particulars as to the hiring such as length of time the
vehicle has been engaged, the distance travelled and the amount of fare to be paid.

page_text: акрила
operating the apparatus from one of the wheels of the vehicle and in most cases
the wheel has been adapted to operate a plunger or similar device by means of
which pulsations of air are transmitted to a piston or the like in the indicating
apparatus; or a toothed wheel. arranged adjacent to the wheel has been inter-
mittently rotated by a lug or tooth upon the wheel, the motion of the said. wheel
being communicated to the indicating apparatus through the medium of a flexible
shaft in the form of a coiled spring. In some cases also the motion of the wheel
has been communicated through the medium of bevelled gearing or of a cord,
belt or the like. In practice, however, none of these arrangements have been
satisfactory as they were liable to irregularity and uncertainty of action mainly
due to the movements which take place between the body of the vehicle which is
mounted upon springs and the axle itself.
The object of my invention is to provide an arrangement which will operate
in a positive and regular manner notwithstanding the movements of the body
of the vehicle upon the springs or the jolts or vibrations to which the vehicle has
been subjected and to this end I provide the following arrangement. Upon the
inner face of the wheel hub I arrange a cam surface which acts against a plunger
sliding in a sleeve carried by the axle or a part fixed thereto. This sleeve is
mounted upon trunnions so that it is free to oscillate and at the end most remote
from the cam surface, has connected to it a tube of rigid material which can
be bent or twisted in any desired manner but which, when so bent, will retain
its form, the end of the said tube being connected to the case of the indicator in
the vehicle. Inside this tube I place a rod of flexible material such, for instance,
as ebonite one end of which rod is connected to the plunger sliding in the sleeve,
whilst the other end of the said rod is adapted to act against a sliding piston, rod
or the like through the medium of which the movement can be imparted to the
fare registering apparatus.
A coiled spring is arranged inside the sleeve for pressing back the plunger after
it has been moved inwards by the cam on the wheel hub.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by,
reference to the accompanying drawing in which:
Figure is a sectional elevation illustrating my invention; and,
Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1:
Figure 3 is a face view of the cam on the wheel hub;
Figure 4 is a longitudinal section drawn to a larger scale than Figure 1 of the
sleeve and its connected parts; and,
Figure 5 is a plan view of a detail.
a indicates the axle of the vehicle, 6 the hub of one of the wheels thereon, c one
of the springs supporting the body of the vehicle and d the case of the indicator
fixed in the said body in any suitable position. e is the cam, the operating surface
of which is quite plain but formed with double inclines, the highest and lowest
parts of the cam being, as shewn, at diametrically opposite points. f is the
plunger against which the said cam operates and g is the sleeve in which the said
plunger slides.
As shewn in the drawings this sleeve has fixed upon it a collar h provided with
two trunnions i, i which trunnions are designed to be carried in bearings j, j
between two blocks k, one of which is shewn in plan view in Figure 5. These
blocks may be fixed in any desired manner, they are represented in Figures 1 and 2
as being held by the stirrups 1, 1 which hold the springs c, c upon the axle a.
m is the rigid tube which at one end is connected to the sleeve g and at the
other end to the case of the indicator, the connection between the said tube and
the case d, as shewn in the drawing, being effected through the medium of à
union part n to which the pipe is directly connected and a screw collar o adapted
to be fixed upon a nipple on the case of the indicator.
The arrangement hereinbefore described of connecting the tube m to the pivoting

page_text: sleeve g permits of the movements of the body of the vehicle taking place without
putting any strain upon the said tube m which would be liable to injure it, the
sleeve 9 moving slightly upon its trunnions in order to accommodate itself to
the movements imparted to the tube m from the body of the vehicle. By placing the
trunnions at the end of the sleeve nearest to the cam surface e it will be obvious
that the movements of the plunger relatively with the cam surface will be so
slight as not to interfere with the action of the cam upon the said plunger.
In order that the said plunger may always be in proper contact with the cam
surface and that there shall be as little friction as possible between them I prefer-
ably arrange an anti-friction ball p which itself runs upon anti-friction balls in
the end of the said plunger as clearly shewn in Figure 4.
In order to steady the tube m relatively with the axle I'fix upon the latter one
or more guide forks q which embrace the said tube m as shewn in Figure 1 to
allow of its up and down movements.
r is the rod of ebonite or other material which is capable of readily adapting
itself to the sinuosities of the tube m and which at one end is connected with the
plunger so as to partake of the reciprocating movements of the latter whilst at
the other end its motion is transmitted to any suitable device for receiving the
motion and operating the indicator. As shewn, the rod r is connected with the
plunger by a tubes and the end of the said rod which operates the meter is
represented as bearing against or being attached to a plunger t which in its turn
operates against another plunger u in connection with the meter d.
In practice it will be advisable to provide that the plunger u shall be capable
of partaking of a longer movement than is actually necessary for operating the
indicator in order to prevent any irregularity which might possibly otherwise
occur.
is a coiled spring arranged inside the sleeve g and bearing at one end against
a stop in the said sleeve and at the other end against the plunger f the object
of this spring being to draw back the rod r in the tube after it has been pushed
by the plunger and to hold the said plunger in contact with the cam surface c.
It will be obvious that this spring must be of sufficient strength to overcome
any friction which may exist between the rod and the inside of the tube by reason
of the sinuous form of the latter.
Instead of communicating the motion of the cam directly to the plunger fit
may be communicated through the medium of a lever or other device against which
the cam operates and which in its turn operates against the plunger.
With the construction hereinbefore described it will be understood that every
impulse which the plunger receives from the cam or lever will cause the rod r to
pulsate in unison and so operate the indicating mechanism and that the spring
will bring back the plunger with the rod to their normal position ready for the
next thrust of the cam or lever and thereby produce movements of the meter
corresponding to each revolution of the wheel of the vehicle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The combination with fare registering apparatus of means for transmitting
movement to the said apparatus from one of the wheels of the vehicle, such means
consisting of a rigid tube and of a flexible rod sliding in the said tube, the said
rod being at one end in connection with a device through which it receives its
movement and at the other end in connection with a device by means of which
movement is transmitted to the registering apparatus, substantially as described.
2. The combination with fare registering apparatus of means for imparting
movement to the same from one of the wheels of the vehicle and comprising a
rigid tube connected at one end to a pivoted sleeve and at the other end to the
case of the registering apparatus, and a flexible rod sliding in the said tube and

page_text: connected to a plunger operated from a cam surface on the said wheel and at the
other end acting against a device in connection with the indicating or recording
mechanism, substantially as described.
3. The combination with fare registering or indicating apparatus of means for
transmitting movement from a vehicle wheel to the apparatus arranged in the
said vehicle such means consisting of parts constructed and combined substantially
in the manner herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing
and operating as and for the purposes set forth.
Dated this 15th day of August 1898.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.