AN IMPROVED SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR. REGISTERING THE NUMBERS OF PASSENGERS TRAVELLING IN. OR ON OMNIBUSES. AND OTHER CONVEYANCES
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Rudolph. Wappenstein and
Richard Ray at the Office of the Commissioners.. of. Patents,, with.
their Pétition, on the 16th. December: 1868..
We, RUDOLPI WAPPENSTEIN and RICHARD. RAY; of the City of
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature.
of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR.
REGISTERING THE NUMBERS OF PASSENGERS TRAVELLING IN. OR ON OMNIBUSES.
AND OTHER CONVEYANCES," to be as follows:-
For omnibuses we employ for cach journey or stage of the journcy a.
double meter for the inside and another-double meter. for the outside, ouv
division of each meter being used for indicating the entrance and the
other the departure of the passengers, and in one or more conspicuous.
positions we place dials and fingers to be used as checks or. tell-tales..
Each division of the meter is worked by a catch lever put in motion by:
the hand or foot of the conductor when a passenger enters and leaves
the omnibus, cach movement causing a bell to be struck. and the
indicating finger moved one division of the dial, and if the same move-
ment that works the meter is in communication, with the tell-tale the
passengers can detect whether the conductor has rigidly performed his

page_text: duty. At the end of the single or double journey the conductor removes
the meters one shewing the number of passengers who have entered the
omnibus and the other the number of those who have left, and if those
numbers agree
sagree and the receipts correspond it is evident no peculation has
taken place. When the journey is divided into two or more stages the
meters are removed at the end of each stage and fresh ones supplied.
The meters removed at the first stage indicate the number of inside and
outside passengers who have entered and left the omnibus. The second
meters indicate the number of fresh passengers and those who have left
during the second stage, and the last meters indicate the number of
passengers taken up for the last stage and the number who finally leave
the omnibus, the conductor moving the catch lever and working the
meter at the departure of each passenger, and when the cashier examines
the different dials the numbers of passengers for the different stages can
be determined. For working each meter we employ an improved catch
lever for giving movement to a toothed wheel one tooth at a time. To
each lever is jointed a plate carrying a pin or catch, which plate is kept
in its working position by a spring, and when the lever is moved one way
the catch moves the wheel, but when moved the reverse way the spring
yields and allows the catch to return without affecting the wheel. The
meters may have several dials for indicating units, tens, and hundreds
and be applied to steam boats and all other objects or purposes where
checks are required. If desired instead of the catch lever for working
each division of the meter being put in motion by the hand or foot of
the conductor it may be made self-acting by causing the passengers to
open a door or push aside a bar to get into or out of the omnibus or by
other similar means.