IMPROVEMENTS IN CONDUCTORS' HAND ALARMS & REGISTERS, AND IN MEANS OF SUPPORTING THE SAME ON OR IN THE HAND
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Benjamin Doolittle, of Bridgeport, in the
County of Fairfield, and State of Connecticut, one of the United
States of America, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONDUCTORS'
HAND ALARMS & REGISTERS, AND IN MEANS OF SUPPORTING THE SAME ON
OR IN THE HAND."
Scaled the 6th October 1875, and dated the 20th April 1875.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Thomas Benjamin
Doolittle at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition and Declaration, on the 20th April 1875, pursuant to the
9th Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
BENJAMIN DOOLITTLE, of Bridgeport, in the County of Fairfield, and
State of Connecticut, one of the United States of America, send
greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CONDUCTORS' HAND ALARMS AND REGISTERS, AND IN MEANS OF SUPPORTING THE
SAME ON OR IN THE HAND," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unta

page_text: me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters
Patent for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that I am
the true and first Inventor thereof.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Benjamin Doolittle, do
hereby declare that the following Complete Specification, under my
hand and seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by
the following statement, that is to say :—
My Invention relates to that class of Inventions designed for use by
conductors of street or other railroad cars or trains, ticket collectors, and
others, wherby the number of fares, tickets, or fees collected by them
may be indicated, whilst at the same time an alarm bell or gong is rung
to indicate that the official has performed his duty.
My Invention has for its object to produce an instrument which shall
give an alarm and make a register each and every time a fare is collected, :
and which shall be compact in form and adapted to be secured in or on one
of the hands of the official (by preference on the left) so that the fingers
of the official when not using the instrument shall be unincumbered, as
will be herein-after more fully set forth.
In carrying out my Invention I employ by preference a flat or
cylindrical or semi-cylindrical barrel or tube, within which is arranged a
series of ratchets or train of gear wheels (similar to the ordinary train of
gear wheels employed in registering instruments) having numbers on
one of their disc faces and a vertically moving spring bar or rod provided
at its upper end with a spring hook or catch which shall take hold of
or engage with one of the first of the train of gear wheels and turn the
same one point or notch at each stroke. The rod at its lower end is
provided with another spring catch or arm for the purpose of operating
a small striking hammer which vibrates so as to strike a bell arranged
within a cap or covering, by preference at the lower extremity of the
case or frame of the instrument, as will be herein-after more fully
explained.
My Invention relates, secondly, to improvements in means for holding
check and alarm apparatus and fare registers upon the hands of con-
ductors or other persons employed in collecting fares or tickets in
railroad, street, or other cars or places, and it consists in the application

page_text: to such devices of a holder herein-after more fully described and adapted
to be connected to the device to be held in such manner that the device
may be held in the palm of the hand whilst the holder passes over the
back of the hand and around the wrist of the user in such manner as to
allow the free use of the fingers for the purpose of holding or collecting
fares, or tickets, or fees, whilst the thumb is free to operate the button
or other means for operating the register or other device.
to such devices of a holder herein-after more fully described and adapted
to be connected to the device to be held in such manner that the device
may be held in the palm of the hand whilst the holder passes over the
back of the hand and around the wrist of the user in such manner as to
allow the free use of the fingers for the purpose of holding or collecting
fares, or tickets, or fees, whilst the thumb is free to operate the button
or other means for operating the register or other device.
But that my Invention may be fully understood, I will describe the
same more in detail by reference to the accompanying Drawings, in
which similar letters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding
Fig. 4 a back view of the instrument with the straps broken away and
the, register cover plate removed; and Fig. 5, a separate view of the
strap.
A is the barrel or tube cast or otherwise formed to receive a train of
register wheels 1, 2, 3, 4, pivotted within the said barrel or tube, each
provided with suitable springs to hold them against return movement.
A channel is formed in the barrel to the right of the register wheels to
receive a vertical push rod or bar B which is kept in an elevated
position (as seen at Figs. 1, 2, and 4) by a coil spring C arranged in a
slot in the lower end of the barrel immediately under the lower
extremity of the push rod B.
The barrel A terminates in or has secured to the lower end thereof a
disc or plate with the edge threaded or otherwise formed to be received
by or to hold a cap D, to which is attached a bell E. F is a striker or
hammer protruding below the disc or plate sufficiently to insure its
striking the bell E; this striker is pivotted at F¹, and has a driving

page_text: pro-
spring G arranged so as to force the striker against the bell when
suddenly compressed and released, and a suitable recoil spring is
vided to catch the striker and hold it off from the bell after it has been
struck in the following manner:-The push rod B being forced down,
the lower end of a spring arm H (pivotted to the rod B and held against
a guide pin I by a spring K) comes in contact with a nick in the
circular pivot end of the striker, forcing its lower end back and passing
the centre of the pivot slips off when the driving spring forces the
striker against the bell, it then returns to it position away from the bell
and it is there held by a suitable counter spring.
The push rod B is provided at or near its upper end with another
spring arm or catch J which engages with the spurs or cogs of the
register wheel No. 1, so that the downward movement of the push rod B
to cause the bell to be sounded also causes the rotation of the register
wheel just one point, and the wheels are all so constructed and arranged
that the complete revolution of any one causes the succeeding wheel to
revolve a distance equal to one point or notch.
The register wheels are covered and the push rod held in place by a
sliding plate which may be securely fastened when in position, as seen
at L, Fig. 1, and another similar sliding plate N covers the exposed
numbers on the rear of the register wheels and also the squared ends of
the pivots of the wheels 1, 2, 3, 4, which are adapted to receive a koy
for readjusting the registering wheels, as seen at Fig. 4. The top edge
of this plate N and the top of the barrel A are slightly countersunk or
provided with recesses or holders for the reception of the wax or other 2
seal so that the plate can only be removed by breaking the seal, which
would at once show that the case of the instrument had been attempted
to be opened or tampered with. The top of the push rod is formed with
or has secured to it a suitable knob or means for operating it.
To the rear side of the barrel and top of the disc or plate are secured
suitable strap holders O, P, as shown at Fig. 1, by means of which the
strap is connected to the instrument and the instrument secured to the
hand.
The strap or holder R is composed of a vertical or nearly vertical strip
of leather or other suitable substance r, the lower end ¹ of which is by a
preference connected to the projection P by being passed round the same
and stitched to the rear side of the part, whilst the upper end 1ª

page_text: extends under the projection O, as shown, in order to shield the hand
from the friction of the projection O, and on its outer side is provided
with a strap which passes through the loop O¹ and is secured to the
part by means of a buckle 74 or loops 7, 7. At about the centre of
the part Ran extensions is formed which connects the part » with a
band adapted to pass around the wrist of the wearer in order to prevent
the instrument and part from slipping out of position. This band t is
provided with a buckle and loop for the purpose of holding with
capability of adjustment and removal the end 2 of the band 1³.
The inside of the parts of the holder C may be padded, as shown by
Fig. 2, in order to give greater ease to the wearer.
By supporting check and alarm apparatus and registers in the palm
of the hand by means of a holder R carried over and supported on the
back of the hand and wrist the user of the register or other device is
enabled to make free use of his fingers for collecting money, tickets,
or fares, whilst at the same time the thumb is free to operate the
mechanism of the device.
The form of strap shown in the Drawings is considered the best, but
this may be varied without departing from the spirit of my Invention.
The instrument, as shown at Fig. 1, is applied to the hand as follows:-
The barrel A is grasped in the left hand when the portion R of the strap
lies against the back of the hand just behind the knuckles, and the
other portion R¹ of the strap is buckled around the wrist, thus securing
the instrument in the proper position to enable the wearer to force down
the push rod with his thumb.
a, b, Fig. 1, are holes through which a suitable key, lever, or instru-
ment may be inserted to slip the plate and break the seal when it is
desired to inspect the register figures and readjust the wheels.
In using the instrument the official is expected to strike the bell twice
each time he collects a "full" or adult's fare, but only once when he
collects a "half" or child's fare; in doing this he necessarily causes the
register to denote two or one accordingly, and thus keep a faithful
record of the fares, tickets, or fees he has collected.
It will be seen that the instrument may be readily used in crowded
cars and other places, and that it requires only one hand to manipulate
it, and that the other hand will be free at other times to perform any

page_text: Ninth. A holder adapted to pass over the back of the hand and around
the wrist for the purpose of supporting a check or alarm indicator or
fare register in the palm of the hand of the user, substantially as
described.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this
Twenty-third day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-five.
THOMAS BENJAMIN DOOLITTLE. (L.S.)