IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CHECKING AND REGISTERING CAB AND OTHER VEHICLE FARES AND THE DISTANCE RUN, WHETHER BY COURSE, TIME, OR MILEAGE
Year: 1876

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edward Griffith Brewer at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 13th December 1876. A communication
from abroad by Henri Faure, of Paris, France,
EDWARD GRIFFITH BREWER, of Chancery Lane, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR CHECKING AND REGISTERING CAB AND OTHER VEHICLE FARES AND
THE DISTANCE RUN, WHETHER BY COURSE, TIME, OR MILEAGE." A communication
from abroad by Henri Faure, of Paris, France.
The improvements which form the subject of this Invention are applicable to
carriages, and they comprise the required conditions which have been for some time
demanded.
Apparatus constructed according to this Invention are excessively simple in
action, and the facilities afforded for regulating same are easily understood.
In the following description the Invention is described as applied to an ordinary
cab for town work, but it will be understood that the arrangement can be modified
to suit different vehicles or localities without departing from the Invention, and the
following description is only given as an illustration of a convenient way of carrying
the Invention into effect.
Supposing the seven following conditions have to be fulfilled :-
1st. Time the vehicle is not at work.
2nd. The time the vehicle has been engaged by the hour.
3rd. The time occupied by "fares" or "courses."
4th. The time the vehicle has been driven by the hour outside the usual radius.
5th. The number of fares or courses.
6th. The number of courses or fares by the hour and the time occupied for each
of them.
7th. The number of miles run during each course or fare.
DESCRIPTION OF THE MECHANISM.
As before stated, this is exceedingly simple, and is composed of clock movement
which can be wound up as often as required, and operates without the use of
pendulum as an ordinary escapement clock. This done, it must be understood that
the wheels composing this clock movement will make a certain number of revolu-
Pavice A71

page_text: tions in a given time; but without entering into the internal arrangements of the
movement a grooved cylinder is mounted on the last wheel; this grooved cylinder
will follow the movement of the wheel aforesaid, and according to its diameter will
represent a certain distance; if then we suppose a strip or band of paper rolled up on
a reel, and that this band of paper is unrolled by the roller, it is evident that at each
of these revolutions the roller according to its diameter will have drawn the band
of paper a known distance; to prevent the band of paper sliding on the roller as
before stated, the said roller may be grooved or it may be provided with points, and
even there may be a second cylinder of the same kind in such manner that the band
will be forcibly drawn in proportion to the periphery of the circumference of the
drawing cylinder.
The arrangement for drawing off the paper being understood, two levers are
provided having their centres of motion opposite to one another, and the said levers
are kept up or supported by springs and have pointed hooks or "stylets" at their
ends; now each time these levers are left to themselves and aided by the springs the
stylets will be in contact with the strip of paper and trace a line on it so long as
the contact lasts. Two discs which may be differently coloured are also provided;
supposing, for example, one disc is coloured green, it would indicate the number of
direct fares or "courses," and the other disc coloured red will indicate the hour
journey, those discs having two rods which are actuated by the aforesaid fulcrumed
levers; when the discs are raised these lovers are free, and as they are worked by
the springs they put the stylets in contact with the strip of paper; if there is
only one disc to raise there is only one "stylet" in contact; if the two discs are
raised, the two "stylets" are in contact, and the strip or band is marked with one
or two lines.
The rods connected to the discs are provided with notches, into which springs
take; when the carriage is at rest the discs are lowered and by their weight keep
up the levers, and consequently there is no contact between the stylets and the
paper; if one of the discs is raised one of the levers is disengaged, and contact is
established between one of the stylets or prickers and the paper. There is a box
which contains a certain number of tickets which are compressed by a spring at
the upper part of the box there is an aperture when the disc is lowered a fillet
or rib fixed to one of the rods, closes this aperture and it is impossible to withdraw
a ticket when the disc is raised another fillet comes into operation and raises the
ticket and the opening being disengaged the ticket can be withdrawn.
It must be understood that the description given with reference to one dise only
is equally applicable for the other disc.
The band or strip of paper fabric or of any other suitable material has printed on
it or written or otherwise produced divisions corresponding with the development of
the organs of movement of the clock motion. Thus from the moment that we
admit there cannot be a sliding motion between the wheel and the band, the latter
will be developed in a regular manner or quantity during a complete revolution of
the wheel. For example, supposing the wheel has 0.025 diameter, and making its
rotation in an hour, the band will then have developed from 0-025 x 3-1416 = 0.078;
if we divide these 0-078 by 60 divisions, which represent the minutes, we see on the
bands the number of minutes where the stylets would have been in contact. Thick
lines may represent the hour, thin lines may represent the minutes; these lines are
those printed or stamped on the bands. Take as the starting point, for example,
six o'clock, the discs being lowered, and consequently the carriage empty, the clock
movement has worked without effecting the band or strip of paper; the carriage
is hired at 6.15, and the driver is told to go a certain distance, "a course," the green
disc is raised and the corresponding "stylet" or puncher is disengaged and indicates
on the bands that the carriage is engaged for driving to a certain place by the
course, the distance or course being finished at 6.30, the line stops and the band is
free another person hires the cab, say at 0.45, the red disc is raised and the
corresponding stylet or puncher operates and traces on the band another line, the
carriage stops, and the hirer gets out at, say 7.45, and he dismisses the carriage.

page_text: which remains empty till 8 o'clock, at which time it is again hired, say by the hour,
and we have another line produced; he keeps the carriage within the radius until
8.30; then he goes outside the radius, the two discs are raised, and the two lines are
traced on the bands; the hirer returns with cab within the radius at 9 o'clock and
5 rehires the carriage by the hour within the radius, the green dise is lowered and the
red disc alone continues to operate; the hirer dismisses the cab at 9.30, and the
carriage is free till ten o'clock, and so on.
On the return of the carriage the proprietor or proprietors or his or their
representatives would under the above conditions be informed,
1. That the carriage has been unhired from 6 to quarter past 6, from 6.30 to 6.45,
from 7.45 to 8, and from 9.30 to 10 o'clock.
2. That the carriage has been hired by the course from 6.15 to 6.30.
3. That the carriage has been hired by the hour within the radius from 6.45
to 7.45, then from 8 to 8.30, then from 9 to 9.30.
4. That the carriage has been employed outside the radius from 8.30 to 9.
It will be seen that the checking is easy.
To obtain the mileage travelled many plans for utilizing the rotation of the fore
or hind wheels have been proposed, but these have always been effected by means
of combination of mechanism, and the shaking of the carriage has always been an
obstacle against the mechanism working well. It is necessary therefore to provide
some means of compensating for the fluctuating produced by the inclination of the
carriage in relation to the wheels' variations which are often considerable.
A combination of mechanisin made according to this Invention is as follows:-On
the periphery of the wheel and cam revolves a roller which operates a bellows to
which is fitted a tube or elastic tube, and this tube or pipe will have a large amount
of latitude or play, and at its end there is fitted a second tube attached to a second
bellows; each turn of wheel communicates motion to the two bellows, whereby
alternate to-and-fro motion are produced, corresponding with the number of the
revolutions of the wheel.
TRANSMISSION MECHANISM.
This mechanism is composed of a barrel motor driving a pinion, on the axis of
which is mounted a wheel, which itself drives the pinion of the escapement wheel;
a pawl operated by the bellows alternately stops or frees the rotation of the escape-
ment wheel.
On the axis of the pinion there is mounted a disc with projecting spindles which
act on a lever having a fulcrum; this lever is moved in a vertical direction by a
spring, its course being limited by a stop, and it is guided by a slide; each time
that the lever escapes from one of the spindles of the disc it will strike against
and produce a shock on an anvil point which carries a "stylet" or punch, which
acts as a marker on the strip of paper for use by the proprietor or proprietors.
As the registration by means of the turning of a wheel would be too complicated
the arrangement of mechanism is such that the "stylet" will only act every, say,
100 yards, but this is not to be understood as a fixed rule, for as it is only a question
of arrangement of toothed wheels, modifications may be substituted.
The arrangement is such that each turn of the wheel produces a sound from a
whistle, and consequently allows a tooth of the escapement wheel to escape; however
if there are two cams on the nave of the wheel the escapement is made by two
teeth, and so on.
The checking will be done at the end of the day by the proprietor or proprietors
from the paper strip. Besides, the hirer himself may, should he wish, check the
number of miles he has been driven by means of a quadrant mounted on the axis
of the barrel; this quadrant may be provided with divisions from 0 to 12 for
example at its lower part it carries a button jointed and provided with a pinion;
a spring presses on the pinion and keeps it engaged in the wheel of the barrel.
When the passenger gets into the carriage, if he does not wish to take notice of
the distance previously run, or in other words to make his own calculation from the

page_text: point left off by the previous occupier of the carriage, he has only to touch or turn
the button and the needle will be brought to zero. The distance previously run
will be always marked on the paper bands for checking by the proprietor or other
authorized person or persons; the occupier would only have to take note from 0 of
the marks made by the needle when he leaves the carriage.
Flags may sometimes be used instead of discs or other equivalent means for
indicating to the public or to the inspectors when the carriage would be disengaged.
The forms of the apparatus may be varied to suit the vehicles to which the same
is applied.
The band or strip for receiving the registering marks should bear the number of
the vehicle to which it is applied in order to facilitate the control of the same.