AN INDICATOR FOR CONTROLLING THE SPEED OF CARRIAGES AND TO PREVENT ANY FRAUD ON THE PART OF CABMEN
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Louis Joseph de Mesmacker at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 12th July 1883.
LOUIS JOSEPH DE MESMACKER, of Brussels, Belgium "AN INDICATOR FOR
CONTROLLING THE SPEED OF CARRIAGES AND TO PREVENT ANY FRAUD ON THE
PART OF CABMEN
"
The apparatus which constitutes the object of the present application consists of
a registering apparatus, and of transinitting devices for working it.
The indicating or registering apparatus is placed in a box fixed preferably under
the back seat of the carriage or vehicle; it may however be fixed in the part of
the carriage between the body and the driver's seat, access being obtained by
lowering the fly or bracket seat, or in any other suitable position, the mode of
access being varied to suit the arrangements of the carriage. This box contains
two sets of clockwork; one is simply for driving the bobbin which winds the
ribbon off a reel at the other end of the box, on which a supply of ribbon has been
previously wound; the other turns a shaft, which carries a toothed wheel keyed to
it, a certain number of times per hour. The teeth of this toothed wheel press
against a roller of india-rubber or other soft substance; the ribbon passes between
the teeth of the wheel and the india-rubber roller and so is forced to go at the
regulated speed. The axes of the india-rubber roller are fixed in a plate carried
by rods which can slide up and down in the framing, and by the action of coiled
springs on their upper ends keep the india-rubber roller in constant contact with
the toothed wheel; a flat spring furnished with a projection is also provided for
keeping the roller and wheel separated when it is required to remove the ribbon.
The reel carrying the supply of ribbon turns between two washers, which are
kept tight against it by a spring, so that the reel cannot turn too loosely. The
ribbon is preferably about three quarters of an inch wide, and is divided into
sections representing a certain number of minutes corresponding to the speed of
revolution of the toothed wheel; it may be of paper, cloth, leather, or other
suitable material. On leaving the reel, the ribbon passes over a guide roller to
keep it in a constant position; between this roller and the toothed wheel it
receives the impressions from pencils actuated by the transmitting devices hereafter
described, each different check actuating a special pencil. The pencils are fixed
in cylinders which slide in openings in a framing screwed to the plate which
carries the clockwork and bobbins; this plate is screwed to the back of the inside

page_text: of the box under the seat of the carriage. The pencils are kept raised off the
ribbon when not working by means of spiral springs acting on the cylinders.
Rests supported from the framing are placed under the pencils, against which the
ribbon is pressed by the pencils when the latter are pressed down
The transmitting apparatus is designed to check the driver or other employé in
four different ways, each transmitting device actuating a special pencil in the
registering box, but it is evident that all the checks need not in all cases be
employed, and other adaptations than those described might be made to suit the
requirements of particular cases.
First. To check the time during which the carriage has been in motion. This is
effected by fixing a pencil to work somewhat loosely in its slides, and placing a
weight on its top; the motion of the carriage will then suffice to cause it to make
impressions on the ribbon.
Second. To check the time during which the inside of the vehicle has been
occupied. The board carrying the padding of the back seat is hinged along its
rear edge to the cab wall or other support, and when unoccupied it is kept raised
from the board below by several springs. The bottom of the carriage is also
made movable and has a short arm projecting backwards horizontally; a vertical
rod fastened at top to the front of the seat, is connected at the bottom with this
arm, so that the movable bottom and seat are caused to move together. A button
situated just over the top of a pencil in the indicating box is placed under the
movable seat, so that the pencil registers when the seat or carriage bottom are
depressed. When the seat is depressed, a detent fixed in its front is caught by a
catch hinged on the front of the indicating box: the seat is released by the driver
pulling a handle fixed at his side, which actuates the hinged catch by a wire acting
on bell crank levers.
Third. To check luggage carried on the top of the vehicle. A frame is placed
"on the top of the vehicle, resting on a small roller hinged at one end of a lever; a
vertical rod is carried down the side of the cab from its other end, the bottom of
this rod acting on one end of another hinged lever; the other end of this latter
lever actuates an indicating pencil. When luggage is put on the frame, it depresses
the roller, thus raising the vertical rod and depressing the pencil. If desired, the
frame might be divided into several compartments, each actuating a special pencil,
and the quantity of luggage carried would, thus be registered.
completely covers the top of the vehicle, and the gallery is fixed upon it; its edge
is turned down over the sides of the cab to prevent the interposition of substances
which would prevent the working of the apparatus, and by this construction, the
introduction of water is also avoided.
The frame
Fourth. To check the time during which the front or driver's seat has been
occupied. The seat is hinged, and rests on a roller fixed in the end of a hinged
lever. The movement imparted to this lever is carried round to the indicating
box by rods arting on bell crank levers, there actuating another hinged lever, by
means of which an indicating pencil is depressed.
All these transmitting devices are inside the carriage and hidden by its fittings.
The back seat moves in a frame which is perfectly adjusted, to fit it, so as to
render impossible the interposition of any substance which could hinder the
working of the apparatus. Naturally, the above described arrangements which are
given as an example of the application of my systemn, could be modified if the
controlling apparatus occupies a different position in the vehicle.