IMPROVEMENTS IN OMNIBUSES AND SIMILAR VEHICLES, AND IN APPARATUS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Thompson, of No. 85, Lower Gardiner
'Street, in the City of Dublin, and of, Clare Hall, in the County of Dublin,
Ireland, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN OMNIBUSES AND SIMILAR
VEHICLES, AND IN APPARATUS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, PART OF WHICH
IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES."
Sealed the 20th March 1868, and dated the 11th November 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Thompson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th November 1867.
I, WILLIAM THOMPSON, of No. 85, Lower Gardiner Street, in the City of
Dublin, and of Clare Hall, in the County of Dublin, Ireland, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OMNIBUSES
AND SIMILAR VEHICLES, AND IN APPARATUS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, PART OF
WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES," to
be as follows:-
One part of my Invention relates to improved modes for checking or con-
trolling the amount of the fares received by conductors of omnibuses or similar
vehicles from passengers. For this purpose I construct in one arrangement a
platform or step outside at the entrance, on which are placed two self-registering
turnstiles of any suitable known: construction, one of which will register the
number of persons passing into or on to the omnibus or other. vehicle, while
the other registers the number of persons passing from the same. These
turnstiles may be provided with a "tell-tale" or other suitable clock so.

page_text: arranged that the time in which the turnstiles complete one revolution will be
thereby indicated, thus indicating with approximate accuracy the time at which
each passenger is taken up or set down, and consequently, by inference, the
distance each passenger travels, and the proportionate fare he should have
paid.
In place of fixing the turnstiles as described they may also be placed inside
the door of the omnibus, and other turnstiles be provided for the passengers
outside. In order to cause the passengers on the box or front seats to pass
through such turnstiles, these seats are made accessible from the back of the
omnibus by means of one or more passages along the roof provided with
railings, and by making a portion of these seats to turn on hinges, instead of
making them accessible from the front as at present. The said passage on
the roof may be made to pass all round the roof, and also in front of the box
seats, where it serves as the footboard.
Another mode of controlling or checking the amount of fares received by
the conductor consists in providing open receptacles at convenient places,
either inside or outside the omnibus, which receptacles contain counters or
medals marked with the different fares that are chargeable, and each
passenger is bound to take such a counter markod with the amount of fare
that he pays the conductor, and to drop it through the slit of another closed
receptacle, so that at the end of each journey the number of counters and the
fares marked thereon contained in the closed box will indicate the amount of
money received by the conductor. Or the conductor may be obliged to
hand to each passenger at the time that he receives the fare the corresponding
counter to be dropped into the closed box, or even to be retained by the
passenger.
Another improvement consists in providing speaking tubes running along
the omnibus or vehicle, and placed so as to be commanded by the driver with
a mouth piece accessible to the conductor, and a series of mouth pieces
accessible to each of the passengers, so as to enable the latter to communicate
readily with the driver or conductor.
Another part of my Invention consists in an improved construction of blind
for windows and doors of omnibuses and other vehicles, which is so arranged
that while it admits of the free passage of the air, it effectually prevents the
entrance of dust into the vehicle. For this purpose a number of trough-
shaped tubes of glass, metal, or other material are fixed side by side either
vertically, diagonally, or horizontally in the framing of the bliud, small
interstices being made to intervene between each two of the tubes. Behind
this row of trough-shaped tubes is a second row so arranged that each tube is
་

page_text: opposite to or covers one of the interstices in the first row, other interstices*
being made to intervene both between the two rows and between the tubes in
the second row. If requisite one or more other rows may be placed behind
the second one, each successive row being arranged so as to cover the
interstices of the preceeding one. All the tubes being placed so that the'open'
sides thereof are turned towards the outside of the vehicle it will be seen that
while the air is free to pass through, the dust that is not caught up by the
first row of troughs will be caught either entirely by the second, or if not
then by the third, and so on. In some cases a sheet of glass or other suitable'
material may be placed either in front of or behind the tubes, spaces being
however left for the passage of air; also the tubes may be arranged so as to
be moveable if required. This improved blind may also be applied with'
advantage to the windows and doors of railway and other carriages, or they.
may be fitted as ventilators to any other part of the carriage, omnibus, or:
other vehicle.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Thompson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
24th March 1868.
1
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
THOMPSON, of No. 85, Lower Gardiner Street, in the City of Dublin; and of
Clare Hall, in the County of Dublin, Ireland, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her 'Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Heiself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Thompson, Her special licence that I, the said William
Thompson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
the said William Thompson 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN OMNIBUSES AND SIMILAR VEHICLES, AND IN APPARATUS IN CONNECTION
THEREWITH, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO RAILWAY AND
OTHER CARRIAGES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Thompson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under

page_text: my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Thompson, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same, is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
One part of my Invention relates to improved modes for checking or con-
trolling the amount of the fares received by conductors of omnibuses or
similar vehicles from passengers. For this purpose I construct in one
arrangement a platform or step outside at the entrance, on which are placed
two self-registering turnstiles of any suitable known construction, one of
which will register the number of persons passing into or on to the omnibus
or other vehicle, while the other registers the number of persons passing from the
same; these turnstiles may be provided with a "tell-tale" or other suitable
clock so arranged that the time in which the turnstiles complete one revo-
lution will be thereby indicated, thus indicating with approximate accuracy
the time at which each passenger is taken up or set down, and consequently,
by inference, the distance each passenger travels and the proportionate fare
he should have paid.
In place of fixing the turnstiles as described, they may also be placed
inside the door of the omnibus, and other turnstiles may be provided for the
passengers outside in order to cause the passengers on the box or front seats
to pass through such turnstiles; these seats are made accessible from the
back of the omnibus by means of one or more passages along the roof,
provided with railings, and by making a portion of these. seats to turn on
hinges instead of making them accessible from. the front as at present; the
said passage on the roof may be made to pass all round the roof and also in
front of the box seats, where it serves as the foot board.
Another mode of controlling or checking the amount of fares received by
the conductor consists in providing open receptacles at convenient places
either inside or outside the omnibus, which receptacles contain counters or
medals marked with the different fares that are chargeable, and each passenger
is bound to take such a counter marked with the amount of fare that he pays
the conductor, and to drop it through the slit of another closed receptacle, so
that at the end of each journey the number of counters and the fares marked.
1

page_text: thereon contained in the closed box will indicate the amount of money
received by the conductor; or the conductor may be obliged to hand to each
passenger at the time that he receives the fare the corresponding counter to
be dropped into the closed box, or even to be retained by the passenger.
Such counters may be conveniently arranged connected together in long slips;
perforated at intervals where they are to be separated from each other, and
rolled up in coils inside a locked box, through slits in which the ends are made
to protrude, and are torn off by the conductor to hand to the passengers.
"
Another improvement consists in providing speaking tubes running along
the omnibus or vehicle, and placed so as to be commanded. by the driver, with
a mouth piece accessible to the conductor, and a series of mouth pieces accessible
to each of the passengers, so as to enable the latter to communicate readily
with the driver or conductor.
Another part of my İnvention.consists in an improved construction of blind
or ventilator for windows, doors, and other parts of omnibuses and other
vehicles, which blind or ventilator is so arranged that while it admits of the
free passage of the air it effectually prevents the entrance of dust into the
vehicle. For this purpose a number of trough-shaped tubes of glass, metal,
or other material are fixed side by side, either vertically, diagonally, or hori-
zontally in the framing of the blind, small interstices being made to intervene
between each two of the tubes. Behind this row of trough-shaped tubes is a
second row so arranged that each tube is opposite to or covers one of the
interstices in the first row, other.interstices being made to intervene both
between the two rows.and between the tubes in the second row. If requisite,
one or more other rows: may be placed behind the second one, each successive
row being arranged so as to cover the interstices of the preceding one.
the tubes being placed so that the open sides thereof are turned towards the
outside of the vehicle, it will be seen that while the air is free to pass through,
the dust that is not caught up by the first row of troughs will be caught
either entirely by the second, or if not then by the third, and so on.
In some
cases a sheet of glass or other suitable material. may be placed either in front
of or behind the tubes spaces being however left for the passage of air. Also
the tubes may be arranged so as to be moveable if required. This improved
blind may also be applied with advantage to the windows and doors of railway
and other carriages, or they may be fitted as ventilators to any other part of
the carriage; omnibus, or other vehicle.
All
On the accompanying Sheet of Drawings are shown my various before
described improvements. Figure 1 shows a part plan of an omnibus;
Figure 2 shows an end view thereof; Figure 3 shows a part longitudinal

page_text: section on line X, X, Figure 1; Figure 4 shows an enlarged perspective
view of the counter or ticket box; Figure 5 shows a transverse section of the
same; Figure 6 shows an enlarged elevation of my improved dust blind or
ventilator; Figure 7 shows a sectional plan, and. Figure 8 shows a transverse
section of the same.
The omnibus A is provided with a platform or step B, upon which are
erected the registering turnstiles C, C, of which, C turns only in the direction
of the arrow and serves to admit the passengers into or on to the omnibus,
while C¹ though turning in the same direction serves to allow the passengers to
pass out from the omnibus. In order to prevent confusion the turnstiles are
formed as shown, with only one recess, and each turnstile when moved
partially round by the entrance or exit of a passenger is caused by a spring in
any suitable known manner to complete one revolution so as always to prevent
the recess in the proper direction. The turnstiles are connected below the
platform to any known arrangement of registering mechanism contained in
the casing D, which may comprise a clockwork mechanism for registering
the time at which each revolution of the turnstile is effected. This may be
readily accomplished by causing the clockwork to move a disc or band of
paper having graduated marks denoting intervals of time, and by making an
arm or stud on the central spindle of the turnstile strike at every revolution
against a spring lever carrying a pencil or marking instrument situated in
close proximity to the paper, which marking instrument is thereby caused to
make a mark upon the travelling paper. All the passengers on the outside of
the omnibus have to pass through the turnstile C and ascend to the roof up
the steps E, and they pass along the passages F on the roof to the front
seats G which are divided at g and made to be raised on hinges at g' as shown
on plan for the convenience of descending to the footboard H, for which
purpose also a step I, shown in dotted lines, is provided beneath the seat.
In place of the just-described system of registering, the entrance of
passengers into the omnibus, the before-mentioned system of check tickets
or counters may be employed. Figures 4 and 5 show the system which I
prefer to employ for this purpose. J is a box provided with a cover, capable
of being locked, so that the conductor cannot tamper with the contents. In
this box are the tickets, consisting of one, two, or more long strips of card-
board, paper, or other suitable material K rolled up, as shown in the section,
with the ends passing through slits j in the box. The strips are perforated at
intervals, as indicated, the space between each two perforations constituting a
counter or ticket, each of which is marked with the amount of the fare, and
also by preference with the signature of the proprietor or manager, in order

page_text: the more effectually to prevent fraud. According to the amount of the fare
to be paid by the passenger the conductor tears off one of these tickets and
hands it to the passenger in exchange for the money, who may either retain
the ticket or be made to insert it through a slit in a second closed box. The
number of tickets of each roll remaining in the box J at the end of a journey
or day will evidently indicate the number removed by the conductor, and con-
sequently the amount of money to be delivered up by him. In order to
prevent the perforated strips K from passing out too readily from the box, and
also to prevent the protruding ends from. passing into the box by inadvertance,
the slits may be provided with india-rubber lips j, as shown, between which
the strips K pass. The box J may either be suspended inside or outside the
omnibus, as shown.at Figure 2, or it may be carried by the conductor.
L shows the speaking tube before mentioned, provided with a mouth piece?
at each end for the conductor and driver, and with branch mouth pieces 11, 11,
for the passengers.
M, M, are my before-described improved dust blinds or ventilators, shown
more clearly at Figures 6, 7, and 8. These consists of a framing m, in which
are arranged two, three, or more rows of trough-shaped tubes m³, m³, in such
a manner that the open side of the tubes are all turned towards the outside
of the omnibus, the second row of tubes being arranged so as to cover the
small interstices between the troughs of the first row, and the third row being
made to cover the interstices in the second row, as clearly indicated in Figure 7.
Small spaces being also made to intervene between each row of tubes, it will
be evident that the air will readily pass through the blind or ventilator, while
the dust will be effectually intercepted by the troughs in the several rows. In
order to clean the troughs from time to time they are made to pass through
the top of the frame m, as shown at the section, Figure 8, so as to be capable
of being drawn out, and they are secured in their places by a hinged cover n
closing over the top of the fiame, and secured by a button or catch. The
troughs m may either be made of a rounded transverse sectional form, as
shown, or they may be of any other convenient form. As before stated, these
improved dust blinds or ventilators may also be employed with advantage in
other vehicles and carriages besides omnibuses, as also in railway carriages.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not claim
any particular construction of registering turnstiles, as any known construction
of such apparatus may be made available for the purposes of this Invention;
but what I claim is,―
First. The application to omnibuses and vehicles of a similar character of

page_text: self-registering turnstiles arranged and operating substantially as and for the
purposes berein-before set forth.
Second. The application to omnibuses and vehicles of a similar character of
a system of check tickets or counters, substantially and for the purposes set
forth.
Third. The improved dust blind and ventilator M, constructed and arranged
substantially as herein-before set forth.
Fourth, the application to omnibuses of speaking tubes L with branches /
for intercommunication between passengers, conductor, and driver.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Thompson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of March, in. the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
WILLIAM THOMPSON. (L.S.)