IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING AND INDICATING THE DISTANCE TRAVELLED BY A CARRIAGE." PROVISIONAL SP
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Palmer De la Fons, of Carlton Hill,
St. John's Wood, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING AND
INDICATING THE DISTANCE TRAVELLED BY A CARRIAGE."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Palmer De la
Fons at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 17th October 1853.
I, JOHN PALMER DE LA FONS, of Carlton Hill, St. John's Wood, in
the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING
AND INDICATING THE DISTANCE TRAVELLED BY A CARRIAGE" to be as
follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for
measuring and indicating the distance travelled by a cab or other

page_text: しっ
carriage, and is so arranged, that being set at zero by the driver when
a passenger enters the carriage, a moving scale, with or without a ball,
indicates the completion of every half mile, and thus points out the fare
which is payable. The-apparatus-is also so arranged that the whole
distance run shall be indicated, and also how much of such distance has
been with passengers. For this purpose there is an eccentric fixed on
the nave of one of the wheels which gives motion to a connecting rod,
which is in two parts, the one sliding within the other; the upper end
of such connecting rod.moves on a pin. joint, hence. the play of the
springs is compensated for. The connecting rod, by a suitable driver,
acts on a ratchet wheel, and moves it a distance each revolution of the
excentric on the wheel of the carriage, and the axle of the ratchet
wheel gives motion by a pinion to a cog wheel on another axle, on
which axle is a ratchet which gives motion to a scale, and moves it a
distance each half mile; such scale, commencing at zero, has the fares
engraved on it payable for each mile or part of a mile gone. The scale
has a ratchet on it, by which and a spring stop or catch it is-retained
from moving back, except when acted on by the driver-by moving away
the spring-catch,, when the scale moves to zero, and so long as the
spring stop is held back no indication takes place in regard to the scale,
but the distance run is indicated by another scale, which is in constant
gear with the apparatus put in motion by the eccentric; and there is a
scale which comes into and goes out of action with the first scale; hence
the third scale indicates at all times the distance run during the time of
there being a passenger, and as it is not set back to zero when the first
scale is, the third scale goes on adding each mile to, what has been
previously run. Hence the passenger by simply seeing that the first
scale is set at zero on getting into a carriage, has indicated, on completing
the distance, the sun to be pad; and the owner of the carriage at the
end of the day by the other two scales can ascertain what the whole
distance gone has been, and how much with passengers.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Palmer De la Fons in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 17th April 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,,
JOHN PALMER DE LA FONS, of Carlton Hill, Saint John's Wood; in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS. Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her.
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of October, in the,
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three," in the,
seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said John Palmer de la Fons,
Her special licence that I, the said John Palmer de la Fons, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the 'said
John Palmer de la Fons, 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 King-
dom, of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and, Isle of
Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUS FOR MEASURING
AND INDICATING THE DISTANCE TRAVELLED BY A CARRIAGE," upon the con
dition (amongst others) that I, the said John Palmer de la Fons, 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: Letter's Patent..)
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Palmiers de la Fons; do,
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner,
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof (that is to say):
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for
measuring and indicating the distance travelled by a cab or other
carriage, and is so arranged that being set at zero by the driver when a
passenger enters the carriage, a moving scale, with or without a bell,

page_text: on
indicates the completion of every half mile, and thus points out the
fare which is payable. The apparatus is also so arranged that the whole
distance run shall be indicated, and also how much of such distance has
been with passengers. For this purpose there is an excentric fixed on
the nave of one of the wheels, which gives motion to a connecting rod,
which is in two parts; the one sliding within the other. The upper end
of such connecting rod moves on a pin joint, hence the play of the
springs is compensated for. The connecting rod, by a suitable driver,
acts on a ratchet wheel, and moves it a distance each revolution of the
excentric on the wheel of the carriage, and the axle of the ratchet wheel
gives motion by a pinion to a cog wheel on another axle, on which axle
is a ratchet which gives motion to a scale, and moves it a distance each
half mile; such scale, commencing at zero, has the fares engraved on it
payable for each mile or part of a mile gone. The scale has a ratchet
it, by which and a spring stop or catch it is retained from moving
back, except when acted on by the driver by moving away the spring
catch, when the scale moves to zero, and so long as the spring stop is
held back no indication takes place in regard to the scale, but the
distance run is indicated by another scale which is in constant gear
with the apparatus put in motion by the excentric; and there is a
third scale, which comes into and goes out of action with the first scale;
hence the third scale indicates at all times the distance run during the
time of there being a passenger, and as it is not set back to zero when
the first scale is, the third scale goes on adding each mile to what has
been previously run. Hence the passenger, by simply seeing that the
first scale is set at zero on getting into a carriage, has indicated, on
completing the distance, the sum to be paid; and the owner of the
carriage at the end of the day by the other two scales can ascertain
what the whole distance.gone has been, and how much with passengers.
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention, I will proceed
to describe the manner of performing the same.

page_text: the case of the instrunient, showing the edge view of the parts; and
Figure 3, shows a front view, the covering plate and door to the indices
being closed. In each of these Figures the same letters indicate the
same parts. The apparatus as shown is arranged for a four-wheel car-
riage, and it is intended that motion should be communicated to the
apparatus from one of the hinder wheels by means of an excentric a,
fixed thereon, and the hinder wheel of the carriage is supposed to be
about twelve feet circumference. b, is a connecting rod which at its
lower end is attached to the band b', which surrounds the excentric a.
The upper part of the connecting rod moves on an axis b, and the
connecting rod is made in two parts, as is shown, one sliding withini
the other in order to allow for the play of the carriage springs. c, is a
driver which is connected by a pin joint to the connecting rod b, and it
is suspended by the rod d, and kept to its work by the spring e, so that
each time it is moved it will give motion to the ratchet wheelf. On the
axis of the ratchet wheel f is a 'pinion g, which takes into and gives
motion to the intermediate pinion h, which takes into and gives motion
to the cog wheel ), which, by means of a driver ', gives motion to a
ratchet wheel i, moving freely in one direction on the axis of the cog
wheel, which, by the cam surfaces. fixed to the ratchet i, gives
motion to the scale or index 1, every half mile; and by reason of the
ratchet (with its cam surfaces ', ',) being freely moveable on its
axis, the index 7 can be brought to zero at the commencément of a
hiring. And I may here state that altho' this apparatus may be
used for other carriages, it is chiefly intended for cabs, and the scales
or indices are graduated and marked accordingly, and on this index or
scale the amount of cab fares are marked, so that the passenger not
only can see what he has to pay at the end of the journey, but can
know from time to time the distance run. The scale or index has a
ratchet formed thereon as shown. The cam surfaces i, are arranged to
act on the index 1, by means of the driver, which moves on an axis
and it is constantly kept to its work by the spring . The driving end of
the lever is capable of moving on an axis ", when moving back so as
to pass over the teeth on the rack of the index 1, and at the end of its
motion upwards it comes against a stop as shown by dotted lines. The

page_text: lever driver, is acted on twice for each revolution of the ratchet i, and
this ratchet will at all times revolve with the cog wheel j, though it
may,
in order to set the index, be caused to revolve without that 'wheel. The
scale or index has at all times a tendency to fall to zero by its own
weight, but it can only do so when the spring stop ni moves away, as
indicated by dotted lines; and this moving away of the spring stop m
can only take place when the glazed cover or' door n is open, which is
arranged in the following manner-This door has on it a hasp, which
when shut comes against the spring m', moves it and the spring m into
the position shown by the Drawing; when the door n is open to set the
index, the springs m, m will assume the positions shown by the dotted
lines in. Figure 1, that is, the spring m¹ will be stopping one of the
wheel, indices as shown; the object of which arrangement is that the
wheel index o may not move when the carriage is running 'without a
passenger hence the index o will only be inovel when the index is
moved, and therefore the index o will indicate at the end of the day or
other period of time. whilst the carriage is absent from the owner the
whole distance run which has been paid for, and the index p will show
the whole distance run by the carriage since it left the owner; and this
is accomplished in the following manner The wheel indices ó, p, are
carried by the axis g; and the two indices revolve freely thereon, and the
one p is prevented moving by a spring stop p*, except when driven in
the right direction by the projection or pin pon the cog wheel, which
moves the index p one tooth each time the pin or projection.conies
round, and it will also move the index o, if the door be shut, as the hasp
on the door will, when shut, as before explained, have moved the spring
m, m', into proper positions for. recording the distance run with a pas
senger. Hence it will be evident that a passenger has only to see that
the index is set at zero when he starts;.and at the end of. his journey
he will have represented to him the fare he has to pay on the same
index. The owner, on the other hand, will, by observing, and recording
the figures in sight on the indices, o, p, when the carriage. starts, and
then when it returns he will only have to subtract the amount indicated
on the index o from the amount indicated on the index p, and he will
ascertain the number of miles paid for, and by the index p he will be

page_text: informed as to the whole distance the carriage has run since it has
been out.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
of performing the same, I would have it understood that I am aware
that it has before been proposed to measure and indicate the distance
run by a carriage; I do not, therefore, claim to do so generally, nor do I
claim any of the mechanical parts separately; but what I claim is the
combination herein described whereby three indices are used for the
objects explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Palmer de la Fons, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of April,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
four.
15 Witness,
FRED HARRIS.
JOHN PALMER DE LA FONS. (L.S.)