MENTS IN TICKETS ISSUED TO PASSENGERS ON RAILWAYS, STEAMBOATS, OR OTHER CONVEYANCES, AND IN APPARATUS FOR PREPARING SUCH TICKETS."
Year: 1879

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Adolf Ellissen at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 4th October 1879.
ADOLF ELLISSEN, of Maida Hill West, in the County of Middlesex. IMPROVE
MENTS IN TICKETS ISSUED TO PASSENGERS ON RAILWAYS, STEAMBOATS, OR OTHER
CONVEYANCES, AND IN APPARATUS FOR PREPARING SUCH TICKETS."
This Invention relates to the tickets ordinarily issued to passengers on railways,
steamboats, or other conveyances, on which tickets are indicated the date of issue,
and the places to and from which they are to be used, and it has for its objects an
improved method of making such indications upon them, by which the number
and variety of different tickets are reduced, and also improvements in the apparatus
used for producing such indications upon the tickets.
In preparing aud issuing such tickets, for instance on a railway having several
stations, it has always heretofore been the practice to prepare and print for cach
such station complete sets of tickets, that is to say, one set to each of the other
stations upon the railway, as well as corresponding sets of return tickets available
from as well as to each of such other stations. My Invention consists, first, in
preparing a set of tickets to each station upon the railway, the name of such station
being printed upon the ticket, but that of the station from which it is issued being
left blank. Complete sets of tickets so prepared are supplied to each station upon
the railway, and a stamping or printing apparatus, preferably of the kind herein-
after described, for producing upon the ticket the name of that particular station is
also supplied to each station.
This printing or stamping apparatus for producing the name of the station upon
the ticket may form a part of the ordinary dating stamp by which the date of the
issue of the ticket is ordinarily printed upon it as required, or it may be a separate
and distinct apparatus of any suitable kind.
By my improvements, when a ticket is issued from any particular station to any
other station upon the railway, it has stamped or printed upon it the date of its
issue as well as the name of the station from which it is issued, and thus each set
of tickets prepared as described may be supplied indiscriminately to either of the
stations upon the railway, the ticket only becoming of value when the name of
the issuing station has been printed upon it, and in this way the great multiplicity
of variety in the tickets ordinarily required, especially where the number of stations
is great, is avoided. Where a return ticket from, as well as to any particular

page_text: station is required, I also stamp or print upon the ticket the word "return" or other
equivalent word. On arrival at the station for which it is issued the ticket so
marked is cut or otherwise defaced and is then available only for the return journey
to the place from which it was issued. In order to stamp or print upon the ticket
as required the name of the station from which it is issued, as well as the date of
issue, I prefer to use a stamp actuated by electricity; for this purpose I use one or
more electro-magnets actuating an armature connected to the stamp in such manner
that when a current of electricity is passed through the electro-magnet the stamp is
forcibly depressed against the ticket which is held under it. The electricity is
passed round the electro-magnet when required from a galvanic or other electric
battery by pressing a button or turning a handle, or by the act of placing the
ticket in position. When the current of electricity is cut off the stamp returns to
its former position by means of a spring or weight, and in doing so becomes inked
with any suitable ink in the usual way. By this arrangement of apparatus tickets
of any thickness can be readily stamped with very little labour, and great economy
in the cost of the tickets is effected.