IMPROVEMENTS IN CHECKING THE TIME OF ENTRY OF WORKMEN OR OTHERS INTO AN ESTABLISHMENT AND IN APPARATUS PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Nathan Crossley Firth of Chester in the county of
Chester for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CHECKING THE TIME OF
ENTRY OF WORKMEN OR OTHERS INTO AN ESTABLISHMENT AND IN APPARATUS
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Nathan Crossley Firth
"
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th August 1883.
NATHAN CROSSLEY FIRTH, of Chester, in the County of Chester IMPROVE
MENTS IN CHECKING THE TIME OF ENTRY OF WORKMEN OR OTHERS INTO AN
ESTABLISHMENT, AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR."
This invention has for its object a time piece or mechanism that will automatically
indicate at what time the workinen respectively deposited their checks. It
consists in arranging a time piece and 'certain mechanism hereafter described in
combination with the box chamber or chambers into which the workmen drop
their checks, so that on given intervals, say every five minutes, the checks already
deposited are separated from those to follow after. There are two ways of doing
this, either to have a series of chambers and the clockwork to transfer the depositing
slit from chamber to chamber at given periods, either by causing the slit or the
chambers to travel, as I prefer, or for the clock to deposit a cover over the checks
already deposited at each successive period; this can be done in a variety of ways,
for instance, the clock can let fall a succession of lids, but the simplest plan I have
yet 'designed is as follows. The chamber into which the checks full is preferably
a deep narrow hole. "The clock has a drum revolving in a horizontal axis over' a
slit also leading to the chamber. In this drum are radial or oblique slots, each
containing a disc that will loosely cover the internal cross sectional area of the
chamber. The clockwork is so arranged as to bring one disc opposite the slit at
each given period of say five minutes, the disc falls and covers the checks already
deposited. The checks and discs can be removed and entered in the time book at
leisure. The drum is connected with a clock dial in any convenient manner,
which shows the workman the time. The clock work can if désired be arranged
with a spring and catch, or pawl mechanism, so that the pointer can spring at
éach period to the figure indicating the next period. Sometimes I prefer to place
the dial above the drum, not on the same axis. Sometimes I place a pointer on
the drum and a dial round it, but as it is usually required for the drum to occupy
more than one hour in a revolution, this will not always answer.
answer,
accept
to at

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patont filed by
the said Nathan Crossley Firth in the Patent Office on the 27th February
1884.
NATHAN CROSSLEY FIRTII, of Chester in the county of Cliester IMPROVE
MENTS IN CHECKING THE TIME OF ENTRY OF WORKMEN OR OTHERS INTO AN
ESTABLISHMENT AND APPARATUS THEREFORE"
This invention has for its object a time piece or mechanisin that will automatically
indicate at what time the workmen respectively deposited their checks. It
consists in arranging a time piece and certain mechanism hereafter described in
combination with the box, chamber or chambers into which the workmen drop
their checks, so that on given intervals say every five minutes the checks already
deposited are separated from those to follow after.. The arrangement I prefer for
this purpose is for the clock to deposit a cover over the checks already deposited
at each successive period; this can be done in a variety of ways for instance, the
clock can let fall a succession of lids, but the simplest plan I have yet designed is
that shown in the drawings in which the main figure shows a sectional elevation
of the apparatus and the smaller figure above a plan view of the check drum and
surrounding parts. In these A is an ordinary clock, and a a train of clockwork.
B check drum driven by the clockwork so as to rotate synchronously with the
clock, the small dots on the surrounding dial corresponding with say minutes on
the clock dial, and the larger dots with intervals of say five minutes. It is
obvious that by suitably proportioning the train of gearing the check drum can be
made to perform one revolution per given time say per half hour per hour, per
two hours, or as in the actual example illustrated per hour and a quarter. Corro-
aponding to given intervals of time of five minutes each in the example illustrated
I place slots in the check wheel and into each of these slots I slip a metallic disc
through an opening at top or by opening the case. The apparatus being set in
motion at say 5.55 AM, at six one of the discs comes opposite a slit b at the bottom
and it falls out down tube O into hopper D and thence into tube E, in the mean
time numbers of workmen have arrived and deposited their checks in the slit G,
these (5 in number in the drawing) will have fallen into tube E before the official
check. The official check shown in the drawing as a deep black line at once
divides these from the checks of subsequent arrivals and at the end of five minutes
another official check again falls, covering those and separating them from still
later arrivals. The checks and discs can be removed and entered.in the time book
at leisure. The checking drum is connected with the clock dial in any convenient
manner, the clock thus shows the workman the time at which his check was
deposited. The clock work can if desired be arranged with a spring and catch or
pawl mechanism so that the pointor can spring at each period to the figure
indicating the next period. Sometimes I prefer to place the dial above the drum
or on the same axis. Sometimes I place a pointer on the drum and a dial round it
but as it is usually required for the drum to occupy more than one hour in a
revolution, this will not always answer.
The official checks must be of material different from those of the workmens
checks but there can be a great variety in the latter, they can be round or polygonal
with a hole in the centre or without, or have other differences to malo distinction
between different orders or trades of workmen.
1 sometimes arrange the check wheel or drum with clutch or other mechanisın,
and a cam motion to set it in operation so that it can be set to commence operations
at any given time, just as an alarum is set to go off at a given instant. In this
case the check wheel can be filled over night and yet only commence action at the

page_text: right time in the morning the clock going all the time. An ordinary alarum train
can be used only instead of an alarum a clutch or its equivalent is operated so as to
put the check drum in connection with the clock work.
In thus describing my invention, and the best mode known to me for carrying
it into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not bind myself to the exact
arrangement specified, nor do I claim as my exclusive property automatic means
for recording the time at which checks are passed into a given aperture, but that
what I believe to be new and claim as the invention, to be secured under the
letters patent is :-
1st. The improvement substantially as herein described in checking the time of
entry of workmen or others into an establishment, which consists in causing by
means of clockwork covers at stated intervals to cover or separate all the checks
already deposited from those subsequently deposited so that the checks deposited
during each period shall be kept clear of the rest and the position of the various
checks and covers shall show during which interval of time each check was
deposited.
2nd. The apparatus for checking the time of entry of workmen or others into
an establishment by means of workmen's checks and periodical covers or separating
pieces deposited automatically at given periods, substantially as described.
In witness whereof I the said Nathan Crossley Firth have hereunto set my
hand and seal this twenty sixth day of February in the year of our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and eighty four..