AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR CHECKING THE FARES PAID BY PASSENGERS IN OMNIBUSES, TRAM-CARS, AND OTHER PUBLIC VEHICLES
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Nevil Maskelyne, of the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly,
in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MODE OF
AND APPARATUS FOR CHECKING THE FARES PAID BY PASSENGERS IN
OMNIBUSES, TRAM-CARS, AND OTHER PUBLIC VEHICLES."
Sealed the 5th August 1879, and dated the 1st May 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Nevil Maskelyne at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st May 1879.
"
JOHN NEVIL MASKELYNE, of the Egyptian Hall Piccadilly, in the County of
Middlesex. AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR CHECKING THE FARES
PAID BY PASSENGERS IN OMNIBUSES, TRAM CARS, AND OTHER PUBLIC VEHICLES."
The object of this Invention is to prevent fraud on the part of conductors or
persons in charge of public conveyances by checking the number of fares taken
during a journey, and the particular stages of the journey at which the various
passengers entered and alighted.
In carrying out my Invention I use tickets which are marked in some distinctive
manner corresponding to the various stages of the entire journey, and these tickets
are taken from a ticket receptacle (to be hereafter described) by the conductor, and
given one to every passenger who enters the vehicle, which ticket will be given up
as the passengers alight and returned to the ticket receptacle, thus at the end of a
journey the particular stages of the journey over which each passenger travels can
be readily seen by the inspector, and if the number of returned tickets does not
correspond with the number of tickets issued, the conductor has to make good the
difference. It is also proposed that travelling inspectors should be employed to see
that each passenger has a ticket, and should any passenger be without a ticket he
would be called upon to pay from the commencement of the journey.
The apparatus consists of a movable ticket receptacle and a dial or disc faced
with paper, which is caused to rotate by means of clock work, or in any other
suitable manner receive the markings of a pencil, the whole being enclosed in a
locked box and placed in a convenient position upon the conveyance.
The ticket receptacle is divided vertically into a number of compartments
corresponding to the number of stages of the particular journey to be taken, and
longitudinally so as to form two compartments for each stage, one to receive a full
•

page_text: complement of tickets before starting, the other to receive the tickets returned to
the conductor as each passenger alights.
Before commencing the journey a card or paper is placed upon the rotating disc
and the ticket receptacle is moved forward by a suitable mechanical contrivance, so
as to bring the first ticket compartment opposite two apertures made in the outer
box or case, and through these apertures the tickets are drawn from and returned
to the receptacle. As the receptacle is pushed forward a bell is struck, and a
pencil point suitably placed for the purpose is caused to draw a line across the
travelling disc from the centre of the circumference indicating the first stage of the
journey.
Upon reaching the commencement of the second stage, the ticket receptacle will
be again moved forward so as to bring the second compartment opposite the ticket
apertures, in doing which the bell will be struck, and a second line will be drawn
across the paper disc indicating the second stage of the journey, and so on for each
succeeding stage, the interval between the radial lines upon the disc showing the
time which has been taken to travel that particular stage.
Supposing a passenger to enter the conveyance during the first stage and to
alight during the third stage, the ticket he received on entering will be indicated on
the disc by a pencil mark between the radial lines. When he alights the ticket
will be returned by the conductor to compartment No. 3 of the ticket receptacle,
that being the compartment at the time in front of the ticket apertures in the outer
The conductor at the end of the journey will therefore have to account for
the fare equivalent to three stages.
case.
As an additional security the issue of the tickets may be made to register
audibly and a turnstile or other simple mechanical contrivance may be used to
record the number of passengers who have entered the conveyance.
The rotation of the disc should be so regulated that the time taken for one
rotation thereof should exceed by, say, a quarter of an hour the stated time for the
journey of the particular conveyance to which the apparatus is applied, to allow for
loss of time occasioned by a block of traffic or other unavoidable delay short of an
absolute break down of the conveyance.
In case a passenger should enter the wrong conveyance and find out the mistake
within a limited time, provision is made whereby the ticket issued to him can be
returned and registered on the disc as having been returned within so many
minutes, and that therefore no fare was paid.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Nevil Maskelyne in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st
November 1879.
JOHN NEVIL MASKELYNE, of the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, in the County of
Middlesex. "AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR CHECKING THE FARES
PAID BY PASSENGERS IN OMNIBUSES, TRAM-CARS, AND OTHER PUBLIC VEHICLES."
The object of this Invention is to prevent fraud on the part of conductors or
persons in charge of public conveyances by checking the number of fares taken
during a journey, and by indicating the particular stages of the journey at which
the various passengers entered and alighted.
In the accompanying Drawings I have shewn a convenient method of applying
my Invention to an ordinary omnibus. Sheet I. shews the indicating apparatus,
Fig. 1 being a front elevation thereof with part of the cover removed. Fig. 2 is a
view taken from underneath; Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation on the line 1, 2, of
Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation on the line 3, 4, of Fig 1.
In carrying out my Invention I combine the use of tickets which are marked in
some distinctive manner corresponding to the various stages of the entire journey
with a ticket receptacle and an indicating apparatus. The tickets are taken by
the conductor from the ticket receptacle and are given one to every passenger who
enters the vehicle, which tickets are to be given up as the passengers alight, and
returned to the ticket receptacle. Thus at the end of a journey the particular
stages of the journey over which each passenger travels can be readily seen by the
inspector, and if the number of returned tickets does not correspond with the
number of tickets issued the conductor has to make good the difference.
A is a locked box or case containing the ticket receptacle B and the indicating
apparatus. This box or case is placed by preference over the door of the omnibus.
The ticket receptacle B is divided vertically into a number of compartments
corresponding to the number of stages of the particular journey to be taken, and
longitudinally so as to form two compartments for each stage, the lower one to
receive a full complement of tickets before starting, the upper to receive the tickets
returned to the conductor as each passenger alights.
Two openings a, b, are made in the box or case A, and through these openings
the tickets are drawn from and returned to the ticket receptacle B. The opening a
I make large enough to withdraw at one time the whole of the packet of tickets
contained in one of the lower compartments of the ticket receptacle B, and I close
this opening by a small door or flap. The opening b is only of sufficient size to
return one ticket at a time to the upper compartments. The ticket receptacle is
provided with a trigger arrangement, as shewn in Figures 1 and 3 (to be worked
by the conductor), by which it is slidden forward so as to bring each compartment
in its turn opposite to the openings a and b. The back of the receptacle B is
formed with a series of cams C (Fig. 2) thereon, and these cams C serve to actuate
a portion of the indicating apparatus, as will be hereafter explained.
The indicating apparatus consists of a dial or disc D faced with paper, which is
caused to rotate by means of clockwork contained in the box D' or in any other
convenient manner. The rotation of the disc should be so regulated that the time
taken for one rotation thereof should exceed by, say, a quarter of an hour, the
stated time for the particular journey about to be run to allow for loss of time
occasioned by a block of traffic or other unavoidable delay short of au absolute
break down of the conveyance. The disc of paper or card I prefer should be marked
off with radial lines to indicate certain periods of time (say, from one to five minutes)
previous to being placed on the disc D. The paper dise is also marked off by con-
centric circles into three spaces 1, 2, 3, to register respectively the number of

page_text: passengers who have entered during each stage of the journey, the commencement
and end of each stage, and the number of passengers who have alighted during
each stage. The number of passengers who enter and alight from the vehicle are
indicated in the respective spaces 1 and 3 by perforations made in the paper by
the prickers d and e, while the stages are indicated in space 2 by the triple
pricker f
The pricker d is attached to one end of an arm d' which is mounted loosely on
the axle g.
This axle g has its bearings in bracket-pieces carried by the flat cross
bar h. The armi d' is provided with a pin or projection d which bears against the
face of a snail cam E mounted loosely on the axle g. The pin d² is kept in contact
with the snail E by means of the spring which is mounted on the rod k. This
rod is carried by the eccentric boss of the lever which has its fulcrum on the
axle g. The lever is connected by the cord or chain m to an arrangement of
levers placed under the step of the conveyance, and actuated by the passenger
entering the conveyance.
The snail cam E has attached to it a ratchet wheel n (see Fig. 3), which wheel
is worked by a pair of pawls n', n³. The pawl n¹ is mounted on a disc keyed to
the rock shaft g and serves to rotate intermittently the snail cam, while the pawl n²
is pivotted to a bracket and acts as a retaining pawl, thus at each movement of
the snail cam E the pricker or marker d is shifted laterally on the rod k so that it
will not strike the paper twice on the same spot. The lever is provided with a
spring o whereby the pricker d is kept raised from the paper. The pricker is
actuated by pulling on the cord or chain m, which rocks the lever and by means
of the rod causes the pricker to move forward and perforate the paper.
The mode of mounting and working the pricker e is the same in every respect as
that just described, and therefore needs no further explanation, the pricker being
actuated by the chain or cord m³.
The pricker f is mounted at one' end of a lever f¹, which has its fulcrum on the
axle g. The other end of this lever is provided with a bowle f, which is in contact
with the series of cams C on the ticket receptacle B. A spring fs bears against the
lever f, and retains it in its normal position. It will thus be seen that as the
ticket receptacle B is moved forward the cams will be brought successively into
action, and by raising one end of the lever f¹ will cause the pricker f to
descend and perforate the paper in the space 2. This pricker f is also connected
with the cord or chain f of the gong F, and by pulling the handle f5, the
pricker is caused to descend onto the paper at the same time that the gong is
struck.
The working of the apparatus is as follows, viz. —At the time for starting, the
inspector having placed the paper on the disc and seen that the apparatus is otherwise
in order, will pull the handle ƒ³, see Fig. 2, and strike the gong, and at the same time
depress the pricker f, and thereby perforate the paper in space 2. As the conveyance
leaves the starting point the conductor will slide forward the ticket receptacle B to
bring compartment 1 opposite the openings a and b, in doing which the cams C
on the receptacle B will actuate the lever and cause the pricker f to again per-
forate the paper.
Thus the proper time for starting and the actual time will be
registered in space 2. In the meantime, say three passengers have entered the
vehicle, and by their entrance by means of the step arrangement, to be presently
more fully described, the pricker d will be caused to make a corresponding number
of perforations in the space of No. 1 of the disc D. The conductor will now take
the packet of tickets from compartment 1 and give one to each passenger then in
the conveyance, and also to every passenger who enters during that stage. These
tickets I prefer should have printed on one side a number corresponding to the
stage at which they are to be issued, and on the reverse side a list of the fares from
that particular stage to the end of the journey.
Should a passenger alight during the first stage the fact will be indicated by the
pricker e (actuated by the step arrangement) in space 3 of the disc D, and the ticket
he received will with the farebe handed to the conductor, who will put the ticket.

page_text: through the opening b into the upper part of compartment 1 of the ticket recep-
tacle. Upon arriving at the end of the first stage the conductor will before any
of the passengers alight ring the gong F, and mark the fact in the space 2 as
before. The passengers who have reached the end of their journey will then
alight, and fresh passengers will be taken up. Upon starting again the ticket
receptacle B will be moved, and this fact will be recorded on the disc D. By this
means the time during which the conveyance waited at that particular point can be
ascertained with facility. Before however the receptacle B is moved, the ticket
given up by the passengers who have alighted must be placed in the upper com-
partment 1, otherwise the conductor will have to account for the fare for the whole
journey. Should a passenger who entered the conveyance during the first stage
alight during the third stage, the ticket corresponding to the first stage will be
found in the upper compartment No. 3, and the conductor will have to account for
the fare equivalent to the three stages. The same operations will be repeated at
each stage, and in this way every passenger entering and alighting will be auto-
matically registered, and by the issue of the tickets the amount of the fare paid by
each will be ascertained, and if the number of tickets used and the perforations
on the disc D do not correspond, the conductor will have to account for the
difference.
The step arrangement for actuating the passenger indicating apparatus is shewn
in Sheet II., Fig. 1 being the side elevation of a portion of an omnibus with the
step mechanism adapted thereto, Fig. 2 an end elevation, and Fig. 3 a plan view of
the same.
a is a lever which has its fulcrum at b. This lever a is attached at one
end to the step 1, and at the other end carries an inclined tail piece. By stepping
on the step 1 the tail piece of the lever a is raised and is caused to rock in a lateral
direction a cross lever b¹ which is pivotted to a swivelling fulcrum c, and is attached
at its outer end to the cord or chain m of the indicating apparatus.
By the lateral rocking of this cross lever c its inner end is brought over the tail
end of a second lever d, which has its fulcrum at e. This lever d is depressed by
the pin f on the underside of step No. 2 when the passenger steps on to it as he
enters the conveyance. In like manner the lever d is provided with an inclined
tail piece, which upon being raised by depressing the step No. 2 as before explained
will rock in a lateral direction the cross lever g, which is pivotted to the swivelling
fulcrum h, so as to bring its inner end over the tail end of the lever a, which being
raised by the passenger stepping on to step No. 1 as he quits the conveyance will
depress the outer end of the lever f, to which the cord or chain m' of the indicating
apparatus is attached. By this arrangement of levers and cross levers both steps
must be depressed before the apparatus will work.
In case a passenger should enter the wrong conveyance and should find out the
mistake within a limited time the ticket issued to him is marked and returned to
the upper compartment of the ticket receptacle B, at the same time the entrance and
exit is registered on the disc. The inspector's attention will thus be called to that
ticket, and upon referring to the paper disc D he will find that a passenger got in
at that particular stage, and also one alighted within, say, one minute, and that
therefore no fare was taken.
Instead of the step arrangement a turnstile may be used if more convenient for
the vehicle, or the indicating and ticket apparatus may be used without any
mechanical connection to the vehicle, in which case the withdrawal and return of
each ticket would be made to perforate the disc, and inspectors would be necessary
to see that the conductor issued a ticket to each passenger.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention of "An Improved Mode
of and Apparatus for Checking the Fares paid by Passengers in Omnibuses, Tram-
cars, and other Public Vehicles," and explained the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters
Patent I claim,―
First. The checking of the fares paid by passengers in omnibuses and other

page_text: public vehicles by means of tickets in combination with indicating apparatus, as
herein set forth.
Secondly. The apparatus for indicating the number of passengers entering and
alighting from public conveyances, and also for indicating the commencement and
end of the various stages of a journey, in combination with the ticket receptacle,
substantially as herein shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Nevil Maskelyne, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirty first day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
JOHN NEVIL MASKELYNE. (L.S.)