A NEW AND IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR ASCERTAINING AND REGISTERING THE DISTANCE WHICH RAILROAD AND OTHER. CARRIAGES HAVE TRAVELLED
Year: 1874

page_text: ETTERS PATENT to Henri Adrien Bonneville, of the British and
Foreign Patent Offices, 18, Ruc de la Chaussée d'Antin, Paris,
France, and 6, Piccadilly, in the County of Middlesex, Patent
Agent, for the Invention of." A NEW AND IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
ASCERTAINING AND REGISTERING THE DISTANCE WHICH RAILROAD AND OTHER.
CARRIAGES HAVE TRAVELLED."-A communication from Achille Alfred
Brunot, residing at Amiens, France, Inspector to Northern
Railway.
Sealed the 18th September 1874, and dated the 23rd March 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henri Adrien Bonneville
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 23rd March 1874.
I, HENRI ADRIEN BONNEVILLE, of the British and Foreign Patent.
5 Offices, 18, Rue de la Chaussée d'Antin, Paris, France, and 6, Piccadilly,
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for " A NEW AND IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR ASCERTAINING

page_text: AND REGISTERING THE DISTANCE WHICH RAILROAD AND OTHER CARRIAGES HAVE
TRAVELLED," that it is a communication from Achille Alfred Brunot, a
person resident at Amiens, France, Inspector to Northern Railway, to
be as follows:-
The Invention relates to registering the travelling of the railroad cars
and others, and consists of an apparatus substantially formed with a clock
motion spring, by means of which a rotary motion is imparted to a dial
provided with partitions and held upon springs in a portable box. A
lump suspended at the lower end of a very flexible pendulum strikes by
the trepidation of the running car against a pencil that impresses marks
at a proper distances on the above-mentioned dial, which are the
graphical reproduction of the car travelling.
The Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, in which
Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of the apparatus shown partly in
section through the line e, f, g, h, i, j, Fig. 2; and Fig. 2, a plan view of
the same, shown partly in section through the line a, b, Fig. 1.
In the Drawings A designates the clock spring box; X is its rotating
axis carrying the dial P; B, a bed plate sustained upon spiral springs;
S, S', are brackets on the side of the box A, carrying a screw V which
works through the medium of a gearing from the clock spring hori-
zontally drawing a screw nut T, below the bottom side of which is
attached a rod, to which is suspended a socket in which the pencil C freely
slides, which, when the car is running, is striked by the oscillating
lump Y suspended at the lower end of the pendulum F attached at the
upper end of the screw nut T, and impresses the marks upon the
dial P
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henri Adrien Bonneville in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 18th September 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRI 30
ADRIEN BONNEVILLE, of the British and Foreign Patent Offices, 18, Rue
de la Chaussée d'Antin, Paris, France, and 6, Piccadilly, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her.
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of March, in the year 3

page_text: of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give & grant unto me, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, Her special
license that I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henri Adrien
Bonneville, my administrators, executors, and assigns, should at any
time agree with and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "A NEW & IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR ASCERTAINING AND
REGISTERING THE DISTANCE WHICH RAILWAY AND OTHER CARRIAGES HAVE
TRAVELLED," communicated to me by Achille Alfred Brunot, a person
resident at Amiens, France, Inspector to Northern Railway, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands & 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 Henri Adrien Bonneville, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
The Invention relates to registering the distance travelled by railway
carriages and others, and consists of an apparatus substantially formed
of a clock motion spring, by means of which the rotary motion is
imparted to a dial provided with partitions and held upon springs in a
portable box. The shaking of the carriage causes a lump suspended at
the lower end of a very flexible pendulum to strike, owing to the jolting
of the carriage against a pencil, which marks at proper distances on the
above-mentioned dial the graphic productions of the travelling carriages.
The Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, in which
Fig. I. represents a side view of the apparatus shown in a box cut open;"
and Fig. II., a plan of the same, the pendulum being cut through the
line a, b, Fig. I., and the box cut horizontally.
+
:

page_text: In the Drawings A is the box in which the clockwork movement is
enclosed, the axis X of which, rotating with the same speed as the hour
hand, supports a metal plate P covered with an india-rubber sheet, on
which is placed the disc, either of paper or thin cardboard divided into
twelve hours and fractions of hours printed in red to bring the mark out
better.
This paper disc is maintained in position by means of a flexible
plate P fastened with a screw nut O. The clock movement is wound
up by means of the said screw nut, while the pencil screw nut returns to
its first position.
:
All the mechanism is mounted on a bottom plate B, which rests on
four spiral springs placed on the bottom of the box, and it is maintained
by the rods b, so that the clockwork movement suffers less from the
shaking in the carriage, and the trepidation of the latter sets in motion
the pendulum.
Upon one of the faces of the dial plate two brackets S, S¹, mounted.
on a box support two guides g, g¹, on which slides a rigid piece T.
holding the pencil, which is carried horizontally from right to left by
means of levers L, L', Fig. III., moved by the same spring, the lever L
resting on an eccentric G operated by the pinion p & the wheel R, the
other lever L' pushing the sockets of the pencil. The eccentric causes
the pencil to travel over a certain way, whilst the dial makes a revolution">
and then describes a spiral for every turn. During the stoppages the
pencil is drawn back some distance from the paper by means of a spring-
¹, which is controlled by a screw V.
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}
2
The upper part of the rigid piece T supports and carries also into its,
movement a very flexible spring blade F, at the end of which is sus-
pended a weight Y. This weight is put in movement by the trepidation,.
and strikes against the pencil c with repeated blows in order thus to
make marks on the divided dial; this weight is forced back by means of 3
an antagonist spring r². The pencil being of a special metallic com-
position does not need to be cut, and is not submitted to the chances of
breaking as with ordinary ones. For the transport, and to hinder at will
the balancing of the weight, it is maintained by means of a catch lever
which is placed as shown in the dotted lines K' during the journey, to g
register the motion of the carriage. The stoppage is represented by. the:
absence of the marks.

page_text: The true motion of the carriage is graphically indicated by the suc-
cession of marks and white spaces, and may then be compared with the
prescribed motion. When, for example, the speed of the train is required
to be controlled the instrument indicates in the same way the move-
ments in the station's, & all the movements of the carriage on which it
is placed.
When it is required to register a journey of more than twelve hours,
which corresponds to a complete revolution of the dial, a self-acting
mechanism displaces the pencil, which follows a spiral line, so that the
marks shall not be made on the old ones after each turn of the dial.
The box in which the controlling apparatus is enclosed being portable
can be placed either on the engine in view of the engineer, or in the
luggage van, or in any carriage whatever.
The controlling apparatus can be applied to ordinary carriages,
omnibuses, or others; it may be used also as a controller of police or
watchmen, as it is easily portable.
In one case as in another the apparatus is enclosed in a box provided
with a special fastening H; besides this, it has outside a visible dial
which tells the time.
Having thus described the said Invention, and the manner of
carrying it into effect, I would have it understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details above enumerated, but what I claim and
desire to secure by the said Royal Letters Patent is, an improved
apparatus for ascertaining and regulating the distance which railway
and other carriages have travelled, constructed substantially as above
described and represented in the annexed Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, have
hereto set my hand & seal, this 17th day of September, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
four.