IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF DIALS OR INDICATORS FOR SHEWING THE DISTANCE TRAVELLED BY CABS AND OTHER PUBLIC CONVEYANCES AND THE FARES DUE FOR THE SAME
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Lemasson, of No. 13, Rue Lagille, Paris
in the Empire of France, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF DIALS OR INDICATORS FOR SHEWING THE DISTANCE
TRAVELLED BY CABS AND OTHER PUBLIC CONVEYANCES AND THE FARES DUE
FOR THE SAME,"
Sealed the 7th August 1868, and dated the 14th February 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Lemasson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents with his Petition, on the
14th February 1968.
1, ALFRED LEMASSON, of No. 13, Rue Lagille, Paris, in the Empire
of France, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF DIALS OR INDICATORS FOR SHEWING THE
DISTANCE TRAVELLED BY CABS AND OTHER PUBLIC CONVEYANCES AND THE FARES
DUE FOR THE SAME," to be as follows:-
The object of the present Invention is to chew by means of two dials
the distance travelled by cabs and other public conveyances, and the
fares to be paid; it also denotes by aid of small placards whether the
cab is engaged or not, and that it journeys by time or distance.
Di Q

page_text: The mechanism for working the dials is actuated by one of the hind
wheels of the vehicle by means of jointed rods passing underneath the
carriage and communicating with the indicators, and consists of a ring,
the exterior and interior circles of which are eccentric, the latter
encircling the nave of the wheel and communicating a backward and
forward motion to an arched piece or segment of a circle pivoting on a
stop pin, and furnished at either end with a tooth gearing with a cog
wheel which turns one tooth at each revolution of the carriage wheel.
This gear wheel is loose on the axle and is placed next the nave of the
wheel; its other side is hollowed with an eccentric groove in which the
bent ends of a lever engage and receive from the groove a rectilinear
and alternate motion. Supposing the cog wheel to have 27 teeth and
the diameter of the carriage wheel to be about 3 feet each complete
course of the lever and rods above mentioned as in connection with the
dials would indicate thereon a distance travelled by the vehicle
amounting to about 100 yards. A strong spring is fixed on the shaft,
which engages in grooves cut on the circumference of the eye of the
lever to check any shocks that might otherwise occur.
In the accompanying Drawings the several parts forming the clock-
work for indicating the time, distance, and fare are represented. o,
is the barrel arbor; P, the axis of the hands; Q, the wheel turning the
large hand and gearing with the wheel R which works that I loose on
the axis P, the boss of this wheel bears the minute hand; S and S¹ are
the pinion and hour hand; T, the barrel setting the hands at 12 o'c.;
this is effected by separating the wheels R, R', and S, S', by means of
the lever u. m, m³, are ratchets loose on the axis o, and are actuated
by it with the aid of the pawls n, n¹. The ratchet m receives motion
from the carriage wheel, and that m¹ from the clockwork by means of
the cog wheels p, the axis o from the endless screw s, and the toothed
wheels t, u, c, set in motion the wheels and y, which bear on their
bosses the hands of the dial; the large hand shews the fare to be paid
and the distance travelled, the small hand adds up the sums to pay.
z is a barrel, the object of which is to point the hands when required
at zero. B and C are levers the points of which B' and C', on striking a
paper disc placed on the circle I, shew the distance travelled; this
latter being governed by the barrel o in conjunction with the wheel A
and pinion makes half a turn in 12 hours; behind the disc is a
blackened paper, so that the shocks received by the former, are correctly
indicated 1), is a lever which according to whether it is vertical, partly

page_text: or completely pressed down, permits the point J and pallet J' to trace
the first, second, or third circles of the dial, for shewing during the day
in what manner the vehicle has been engaged, whether by time or
distance. The arrangement of the levers V, X, X, and Y, is such that the
conveyance being hired by distance and a stopage taking place they
displace the toothed wheels 2 so as to bring into operation the ratchet
m³, the springs %, %, reinstate the wheels as soon as the carriage moves
on again. The placards denoting whether the vehicle is engaged by
time or distance and whether hired or otherwise are connected to. a
lever which when vertical exhibits the word "free," when inclined at
an augle of 45 degrees it shews the word "distance," and when
horizontal the word "time."
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Alfred Lomasson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 12th August 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, ALFRED
LEMASSON, of No. 13, Rue Lagille, Paris, in the Empire of France, send
greeting.
Her
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Lemasson, Her special licence
that I, the said Alfred Lemasson, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I,. the said Alfred Lemassou, 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 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
SHEWING THE DISTANCE
THE CONSTRUCTION OF DIALS OR INDICATORS FOR
TRAVELLED BY CABS AND OTHER PUBLIC CONVEYANCES AND THE FARES DUE FOR
THE SAME," upon the condition (amongsi. others) that I, the said Alfred
Lemasson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should

page_text: particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what mauuer the same was to be performed, and cause the same
to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar mouths
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Lemasson, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement and accompanying Drawings, that is to say:-
The main advantages of this system are absolute control or check
on the driver, both for the proprietor or hirer of the vehicle; and
the small cost of the apparatus admits of its universal adoption to
all vehicles in public requisition and to all means of locomotion in
general. As far as the check is concerned or exercised the following
are the principal characteristics of my controller:-It is hourly, that
is to say, that it indicates the lapse of time between the engagement
and dismissal of the vehicle; it measures the exact distanco travelled
over, whether hired or otherwise. The carriage is furnished with an
external placard, shewing that the vehicle travels by distance or time,
and of a second signal shewing whether the carriage is engaged or
not. The driver on starting, at the request of the hirer, sets the
indicator for marking the number of miles travelled by time or
distance. Whether the cab is engaged by time or not and the
'occupier detains it the time during which the vehicle is stationary
is automatically marked at the speed regulated according to the law for
cabs engaged by time; moreover, when engaged by time, and whether
the horse goes at the requisite speed, the marking or indication still
takes place at the rate of miles per hour exacted by the law; it
also indicates the sums to pay for the night or day tariff or fare.
The controller also shews whether the horse has travelled at a greater'
or less speed than the time fixed by the rules. In this system of
controller or indicator it is one of the wheels of the carriage that
actuates the dial for marking the actual distance travelled; it is
optional which wheel is employed for this purpose, whether one of the
front or hind wheels is employed, either to the right or left is immaterial.
The mechanism employed for this purpose is by means of jointed
rods passing underneath the carriage and communicating motion to
the indicators by the aid of a ring a, the exterior and interior circles
of which are eccentric; the latter encircling the nave of the wheel

page_text: communicates a backward and forward notion to an arched piece or
segment of a circle pivoting on a stop pin or tenon d, and
furnished at either eud with a tooth gearing with the cog wheel c,
which turns one tooth at each revolution of the carriage wheel.
The feature of novelty in the machinery for transmitting motion to
the indicators is, that it does not operate on the latter till the carriage
wheel has made several revolutions, or, in other words, has traversed
50, 60, 70, 80, or more yards. On the nave I place an arc d
retained by the tenon d, animated with an oscillatory movement
outside the stop pin a¹ by the effect of the ring a; thus the segment
has a similar backward and forward movement to the balance wheel
of a clock. By this it will be seen that its movement may be such
that each complete oscillation will turn one tooth of the cog wheel e
at a time. For this purpose the latter is moveable on the axle of
the arc d, and has its extremities f bent and cut, so as to produce
on the wheel the same effect as that of the anchor escapement of
watches and other similar clockwork. The are held by the stop
pin can rest on a stop or blade as is the cases in balances. The
gear wheel is displaced one tooth at a time by the complete
oscillation of the arc d or for one turn of the wheel of the carriage.
Ou its exterior surface is a hollow eccentric groove, in which the
bent and rounded ends e of a lever g engage and receive from this
groove a rectilinear and alternate motion as already described. The
lever g is guided in its course by the support placed on the axlo;
this eccentric motion of the groove of the toothed wheel is such
that for a single turn thereof the lever is displaced sufficiently to
admit by means of the shaft and of the levers i, i, K, K, (Fig. 1)
turning one tooth of a ratchet of the indicator, see Figures 7 and S.
To avoid accidents likely to disarrange the mechanism of transmission
the lever can be connected to the axis. . by the pressure of 21
spring fixed to the axis in the notches made on the socket of
the lever i. The lever having its course limited by two stops
any shock to the carriage tending to lengthen or shorten the shaft j
is obviated by the spring which passes from one notch to another,
and notwithstanding compels the organs to transmit to the indicator
every turn of the wheel. This latter is seen from the inside, see
(Fig. 6), the dial in the middle shews the hours and minutes, that
on the right hand marks the distance travelled and the sums to
pay for the tariff by day; the left-hand dial shewa also the distance

page_text: travelled and the amount to be paid for the night journey. The
small hands add up the sums to pay at each turn of the large ones.
The Figures 7 and 8 are elevations of the interior and a plan of
the controller. A barrel spring O communicates a regular movement
to the hands of the centre dial also to a tooth wheel fixed on the
axis P of the minute work. By the wheels q & 1 the gear wheel p
loose on the axis o' receives from the wheel a regular motion, which
it transmits to a ratchet m loose on the axis o. This ratchet m' as
well as that m is attached to the axis o by means of catches aud n
which are fixed thereto, see (Fig. 10). A muffles keyed on the axis o is
furnished with pallets, the object being to impart its movement to two
pinions s' and s". The contact of these and the disc takes place by the
penetration of the pins of the first named between the pallets of the
second, and is produced automatically by the action of the profile of
a disc V on the end of a lever T. The disc V makes one turn in 24
hours, and engages the pinion & for the tariff by day and that for
that by night. The pinion s', which has its pins engaged in the pallets
of the discs during the whole time of the day journeys (whilst at the
same time the pinion s" is held aloof from the disc s) communicates its
motion to a toothed wheel t moveable or loose on its axis and furnished
with a ratchet wheel w which regulates its movement. The wheel u,
although keyed on the axis, can also be moved so as to admit of two
pins fixed on the wheel t engaging in the teeth of the latter cut for this
purpose, thus the wheel a participates in this movement of the wheel t
and pinion fixed on the same axis. The two wheels and
y actuated
by those and a bear on their bosses or naves the two hands of the
right-band dial. When the disc V disengages the pinion that 8"
engages with and imparts motion to a wheel the axis of which bears
a bevil wheel X which gears with a similar wheel, and by tlie aid of
two conical pinions actuate a disc S furnished with two pins; these
engage in the cut teeth of a wheel u which connects it with the
pinion, both of which are loose on the same axis and gear with the
wheels and y bearing the hands of the left-hand dial for marking the
night tariff. When the jointed rods transmit motion to the indicator
it is the ratchet m by means of its catch piece n which turns the axis o,
but if on the other hand the motion is produced by the clockwork the
axis-o is actuated by the ratchet m' and catch n¹, and is put in commu-
nication with the wheel p, the sloped teeth of which admit of the entry
of the two pins fixed on the ratchet_m². A spring Y keeps apart the

page_text: gear wheel p and ratchet m¹ when the movement which had put it in
communication therewith has ceased. It will be understood that the
ratchet m actuated by the carriage can by means of the lever B mark
points on a paper which will shew exactly the distance run by the
horse. For this purpose all that is necessary is that the end of the
lever Brests on a projection of the ratchet, whose speed commencing
at zero increases till the lever B marks by aid of its end B' a point or
stroke on a card, shewn at (Fig. 9). This card is placed on a disc K
actuated by the wheels ", 7, A, and A' at such a speed that it makes one
turn in 24 hours, striking on the 5th circle; it will be readily perceived by
the number of points marked what has been the speed of the horse.
The lever B strikes on a blackened paper placed on the card (Fig. 9).
This card will be arranged on the disc.K so that the night and day
journeys are easily distinguishable. The disc K will have figures
in relief shewing the number of the carriage; all that is necessary
to impress this number on the card is to pass the finger over the
latter. The piece ³ keyed on the axis o is set in motion either by the
rods or orgaus for transmitting motion to the dial, or by the action
of the clockwork, as the case may be, a friction lever C acting on a
projection of this piece for indicating on the card of the disc the rate
at which the engaged vehicle travels in such wise that the point of
the lever C marks strokes or indications in the first circle when the
carriage has been hired by distance, and in the second circle when
engaged by time. For indicating on the card the time that the vehicle
is disengaged the point of a lever J having a continuous friction marks
on the first circle as long as it so remains; when engaged by distance
its indications take place in the second circle, and when hired by time
in the third circle.
In order that the principle may be well understood we will take
cases in point; for example, supposing the carriage to be disengaged a
lever D bearing the placard "disengaged" occupies a vertical position
see (Fig. 1), the gear wheel 2 is separated from the ratchet me, the
wheels t and, as well as the disc s, have no connection, and the
wheel n, the hands of the right and left hand dials are stationary at
zero. If the horse starts the lever B indicates its speed, and the point. J
traces or marks the first circle. When the vehicle is engaged by distance
or time the driver inclines the lever D at an angle of 45 degrees; this
movement causes a shaft E to slide in its supports G, G, (Fig. 7). The
branch H. fixed to the shaft E by means of its end presses the wheel u

page_text: up to that t, so as to lock them together; the branch L does the
same with the wheel and disc S, and a placard bearing the word
"distance" is displayed, and a projecting piece rests on the point J,
which then inakes its indications in the second circle. The hands of
the dials to the right and left, according to the hour of the day, are
actuated by the ratchet m, the levers B, C, J, marking the speed of the
horse and the hire of the vehicle; the hirer can see indicated in black
the distance travelled in the journey, and in red. the amount of fare due,
the small hand adding up the amount of each turn of the large, hand.
As soon as the hirer leaves the vehicle the driver raises the lever D
vertically, which indicates that it is "disengaged," the effect of which is
to disengage the wheels and from the pins of the pieces t and 'S;
the result is that the axes of the wheels u,», and y are solicited by
the barrel arbors z, z, and the hands of the dials return to zero. If
the disc which produces the change of tariff of the respective hours
has actuated the lever T, the vehicle being already engaged, the hands
of the right-hand dial remain stationary and those of the left-hand one
commence to move. In paying the driver it is simply necessary to add
together the indications of the hands of the two dials. In raising the
lever the four hands return to zero. When the vehicle is engaged
by distance the hirer has the option of having the hands marking the
fares made to continue to move although the horse is pulled up; the
clockwork under these circumstances would indicate at the rate of speed
exacted by law for vehicles engaged by distance. To effect which
without the aid of the driver I arrange a lever V which is raised by
the pins of the ratchet m, and conducted to its normal position by aid
of a spring, so that its end engages in the notches of another lever M
connected with the branches M' and N. The branch M¹ is raised by
the pins of the wheel p, and the branch N rests nearly to its centre on
the wheel p; thus when the lever V is in the first notch of the lever M
the branch N relinquishes the wheel p to the action of the spring Y;
if, on the other hand, by the passage of the pins of the wheel p the
lever V falls into the second notch (Fig. 7) the end forces the wheel
to approach the ratchet m'. If then the ratchet m is fixed or the
vehicle stationary a pin of the wheel 2 (which turns continuously)
causes the lever V to drop in the second notch, and the clockwork
will set the hands going. When the carriage is engaged by time the
driver.inclines the lever horizontally, and the rods H, I, L, of the bar E
engage the wheels u, t, p, the ratchet m³, the wheel w¹, and the disc S.

page_text: The projection Q causes the point J to trace the third circle; the
projection R makes the point C" trace the second circle, and finally that
S replaces the word "time" by that of distauce."
If it is desired to make the dials mark at the rate of so many miles
an hour, whether the horse is equal to that speed or not, it is merely
necessary to lower the lever D horizontally, which separates the
ratchet m from its catch piece.
Finally, what I claim as my Invention is, the system of jointed rods
or organs for transmitting motion to the dials; the indicators for shewing
the distance travelled and the fares due; the combination of the three
levers whose indications on a card check the driver by marking the
fares collected and the rate of speed of the horse.
My Invention is applicable to all public conveyances, locomotives,
water wheels, and to all means of locomotion in general, and can be
adapted either with or without the motion transmitting rods, reserving
to myself the right of varying or modifying the form and dimensions
of my apparatus, as well as the material of which they are con-
structed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Lemasson, have here-
ALFRED LEMASSON. (L.S.)