Improvements in Receipt Blanks.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Jan., 1896-Accepted, 14th Mar., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by DAVID PARKS FACKLER, of No. 20 Nassau
Street, New York, United States of America, Actuary.]
Improvements in Receipt Blanks.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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 improvements in receipts, and the object of my invention
is to produce a simple instrument which can be used like an ordinary receipt, but
which has the further function of indicating whether or not the amount mentioned
in the receipt was paid promptly at a given date or at some time after the due
date. This renders the receipt useful as a check on an agent using the receipt in
case the payment is made through an agent. It is well known that insurance
companies and other corporations make collections through widely scattered agents,
and in some cases an agent represents that a premium is not paid when due, when
as a matter of fact it has been paid, and he is thus able to hold back the amount
and have the use of the money for a certain time. My improved receipt is,
however, adapted to overcome this difficulty and enable the principal to be certain
whether or not the amount has been paid at the date due, and by the use of my
detachable coupons and a bi-sectional phrase, which will be hereinafter fully
described, the agent will know that either the principal or the party paying the
money must have knowledge of the misdoing, and that a perfect record is kept.
This will appear fully from the description to follow.
With these ends in view my invention consists of a coupon receipt constructed
and arranged as hereinafter described and claimed.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this
Specification, which is a view of a blank receipt with detachable coupons, the
eceipt and coupons being made to emhody my invention.
The receipt 11 may be made in any usual way, the phraseology, of course,
varying according to the circumstances, and it is preferably made with sufficient
-pace below the body portion of the receipt to provide for printing in any directions
or other matter. The body portion 11 of the receipt contains the usual receipting
clause, and at the end of this are detachable coupons 12 and 13, which are prefer-
ably separated by a perforated line 14 to enable them to be easily detached, but it
is, of course, apparent that these lines of perforations are merely for convenience
and can be dispensed with without affecting the principle of the invention.
The coupons serve as promptness vouchers, and in a well defined space 15
extending across the two coupons 12 and 13 is a conspicuous phrase reading
"Premium paid promptly and not after due date" the line of separation coming
between the words "paid" and "promptly." It will be seen then that if the
instrument is entire it will show that the amount has been promptly paid, but that
if the first coupon is torn off the receipt will read "Premium paid after due
date."
It will, of course, be understood that this particular phrase is not essential and
that many others of a similar import can be substituted, the only necessary thing
being that the meaning of the phrase be reversed by separating the coupons.
Extending from the body of the instrument over one line of separation and
upon the second promptness voucher or coupou 13 is a phrase similar in effect to

page_text: the one above mentioned and produced preferably in a well defined space 16, the
phrase reading "Premium paid before and not after the days of grace expired,'
the line of separation coming between the words "paid" and "before," and if
the coupon 13 is left attached the instrument will show on its face that the amount
was paid after the due date, but before the expiry of the days of grace, while if
the coupon is not attached the instrument will show that the premium or amount
was paid after grace expired.
I have shown two coupons attached to indicate that the instrument may be made
to indicate the three things, viz.: whether the amount was paid when due; whether
it was paid after the due date, but before the expiry of the days of grace, or
whether it was paid after grace expired. It will be found that for many purposes
it is only necessary to have one coupon with the bi-sectional phrase extending from
the body of the instrument across the coupon and with the phrase worded as
described, so that when the coupon is detached the meaning of the phrase will be
reversed. It will be seen further that still other coupons may be provided if
necessity requires without affecting the principle of the invention.
In using the instrument shown, if the amount is paid promptly, the receipt is
left entire, but if paid after it is overdue the agent cuts off the first coupon which
is numbered to correspond with the receipt and policy, as is also the second coupon,
and returns the coupon to his principal as a voucher for the fact that this receipt
is still in his-the agent's-hand. If the payment is not made until after the
expiry of grace the second coupon is cut off at the date of expiry and is returne
to the principal, and thus the principal knows that the amount has not been paid
and that the party thereafter receiving the receipt will have a receipt, which shows
on its face that the amount was not paid when due.
From the above description it will be evident that if the agent wishes to hold
back and report as unpaid the money received for a premium which was duly paid,
it would be necessary for him to cut off the first coupon before handing the
receipt to the payer, because unless he can return the coupon to the principal, it
will be clear that the agent has received the money and is holding it back; but as
the receipt, if the coupon is removed, would state that the premium was not paid
when due, which the payer would surely notice and denounce, the agent will be
afraid to remove the coupon, and will have to remit the money or have his
defalcation known. The body of the receipt, moreover, bears a notice stating
that the presence or absence of the promptness voucher or vouchers will show
when the premium was paid.
The instrument described is chiefly valuable for use between principal and agent
as specified above, but it can be used for other purposes and the coupons severed
or left attached according to the circumstances of the case, thus enabling an easy
record of the transaction to which the receipt refers to be kept.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is:
1. An instrument of the kind described, complete in itself and adapted for use
without separation, but having separable parts and a bi-sectional phrase extending
across the lines of separation, the structure of the phrase being such as to
radically change the tenor or meaning of the instrument when the latter is
severed.
2. An instrument of the kind described having its several parts constructed,
arranged and organized substantially as shown in the accompanying drawings an
described in the foregoing Specification.
Dated
1000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.