A NEW INDICATOR FOR CARRIAGES
Year: 1867

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Mare Runkel at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 21st May
1867.
I, MARC RUNKEL, of New York, United States of America, Engineer, at
present residing at 54, Regent Street, Quadrant, in the County of Middlesex,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW INDICATOR FOR
CARRIAGES," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is, firstly, to show to the traveller how much
he has to pay to the driver, by indicating as well the length of the time
during which the former occupied the carriage, as also the distance be
travelled while the latter was in his service.
Secondly, to record the various trips the vehicle performed during the day,
indicating at what time it was in active service, and at what time it was
unoccupied.
Thirdly, to give to the owner a true and correct account of the money
which the driver should have received according to the work performed by
the carriage in his care.
Fourthly, to indicate with what speed the carriage was driven at any hour
of the day.
To obtain these advantages I adapt to the carriage two instruments of
different nature, which, however, co-operate.
To one of these instruments, which I will indicate by No. 1, and which I
will describe the first, is the time-teller. This instrument is a common clock
movement, which carries on its central shaft a disc, and that with the same

page_text: any
speed as it would carry the hand which indicates the hours; the disc is pro-
vided with printed dial of paper or other like material, and will be caused
On
by the movement of the clockwork to make one rotation during the day.
the casing of this clockwork I adapt a hand which is provided with a pen, a
pencil, or a metallic point, to draw on the dial the movements of the hand.
'This hand moves only in one sense, that is from the centre of the dial toward
its outer periphery, and from the latter position to the centre. The dial is
printed partly in dark color, and whenever the carriage is unemployed the
pen or tracer will rest on the dark ground and will leave no trace, but as soon
as any person takes possession of the vehicle the pen will move from the dark
part towards the light ground, and leaves the trace of its movement on
the rotating dial, and continues to mark a part of the periphery of a circle as
long as the carriage is in the service of the same traveller; the change of
station of this band is commanded by the movement of the seat of the
carriage. This seat is moveable, as it hangs on hinges, and is raised springs
whenever the carriage is to be hired, but when in the service of traveller
the seat will be held down by means of a catch which engages in a spring.
A wire, adapted in the way of common bell-hanging, forms the connection
between the seat and the indicating hand, and in such a way that whenever
the seat is raised and consequently vacant the hand rests on the dark ground,
but as soon as anyone presses down the seat the connecting wire throws the
hand on the white ground, where the tracing will be visible until to the
moment when the driver is paid and sent off. The latter then disengages
the seat by moving a lever. which is in connection with the catch and spring
underneath the seat. The driver is forced by his own interest to operate the
lever, as by not doing so the band will continue to mark "payable time," for
which he will be accountable to his employer. In connection with this lever
is an outside signal, which, however, is only visible when the carriage is
vacant, and which disappears as soon as some traveller takes possession of the
same. This signal, as also the hand, by means of a small mechanical con-
trivance, may be operated by being connected to the seat as well as to the
lever. The clock movement or time-teller may be adapted on any part of
the vehicle, so that the occupant may always see it.
The instrument No. 2 is for the purpose of measuring the distance. It
consists of a series of wheels contained within a box which is fastened to
the axle of the carriage. On the outside of the box there is, a side, lever, which
is raised at every rotation of the wheel by means of an eccentric near the
centre of the driving wheel; the side lever gives motion to a rocket wheel,
which travels one tooth at every rotation of the driving wheel; the rocket

page_text: wheel imparts its motion to one or several gear wheels, the number of which,
as also the number of their teeth, depends entirely on the division of the cir-
cumference of the driving wheel in the distance of a mile. Within the box
which contains the gear wheels is an escapement, which remains inactive
until the distance of a mile (or, if wanted, the distance of half a mile,)
is performed; but as soon as this distance is completed the gear wheel
engages the escapement and gives it a pull or a push; the escapement
through the agency of a string or a metallic wire, likewise like a bell arrange-
ment, gives motion to a pin which perforates the paper dial at the moment
when the mile or half a mile ought to be marked. It will be readily seen
that the perforations which are made in this way near the division of the
rotating dial not only give the distance travelled, but that they also mark the
speed with which the carriage was driven at a certain hour of the day.
What I claim as my Invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,―
Firstly, the application of the two instruments before described, viz., the
instrument No. 1, which measures and marks the time by turning a dial, and
the application of the moving band provided with a pen, a tracing needle, or
any other equivalent to mark on the dial and the. The instrument No. 2,
which measures and marks the distance by receiving its motion by the eccentric
near the centre of the driving wheel, and which transfers the mark of the
distance to the dial of the timekeeper, for the purpose and in the manner
described.
Secondly, the two instruments co-operating in connection with the outside
signal and with the lever to be operated by the driver, as herein described.