IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING THE ENTRY AND THE EXIT OF PASSENGERS INTO AND FROM PUBLIC VEHICLES, AND ALSO FOR INDI- CATING THE SEVERAL STOPPING STATIONS WHILE ON A JOURNEY
Year: 1877

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Albert Gordon Smith at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 26th October 1877.
ALBERT GORDON SMITH, of 127, Wrotham Road, Gravesend, in the County of
Kent. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING THE ENTRY AND THE
EXIT OF PASSENGERS INTO AND FROM PUBLIC VEHICLES, AND ALSO FOR INDI-
CATING THE SEVERAL STOPPING STATIONS WHILE ON A JOURNEY."
According to my Invention I employ two steps in convenient places for passengers
to tread upon when entering or alighting from the conveyance. These steps are
free to descend through a small space when a passenger treads thereon to cause
needles to puncture or impress a piece of paper. The paper is preferably a roll or
web, and is so arranged that the needles cause the punctures to be at a convenient
distance apart.
The puncture caused by a passenger entering the conveyance by first treading on
the lower step is on one side of the centre line of paper, and that caused by a pas-
senger alighting by first treading on the upper step to appear on the opposite side
of the centre line of the paper, the two punctures being of different shapes.
The paper from one roller to the other receives an intermittent angular motion
from the wheel of the conveyance, which thus causes an intermittent advance of
the paper.
While the paper remains at rest the successive punctures are in a direc-
tion inclined to the direction of the advance of the paper. Upon the paper receiving
its advance the needles take up their original position again.
A disc or dial on which is written the names of places or landmarks, to which the
conveyance journeys, is fitted in some conspicuous place, an authorized person being
employed to alter the disc as convenient, so that the proper names appear as the
several localities are reached, the turning of the dial also causing a conveniently.
shaped puncture to appear on the paper.
To each step I fit a piece of metal, which I call bearers; these bearers press
against and move a flap composed of two pieces, the frame and the plate. The frame
is centered so as to revolve through a convenient angle, and the plate slides to and
fro in a groove formed in the frame,

page_text: When
The plate is perforated by two slots or slits, and is so placed that one of them
must be opposite one of two needles, which are used to puncture the paper.
the flap revolves through a convenient angle, from the pressure of the bearer, the
plate forces one needle through the paper, but does not move the needle which is
opposite its slot. The needles are returned to their places by the pressure of springs.
Every time the flap lifts from its axle or pivots a click engages with the plate, and
slides it out of the frame as far as it is able; the plate is then in a position to work
the getting-in needle. Should however a passenger next get out, the tread upon the
upper step works the arm of a bell-crank lever connected to the axle of the click,
and this slides the plate into the frame as far as it is able; the flap is then ready to
work the getting-out needle when the lower step is trodden upon. The upper step
arranges the needles, and the lower step forces them through the paper. Each needle
is attached to a rack, and each rack is in gear with a pinion which arrange the
needles in their successive positions while the paper is stationary. When the paper
receives its intermittent motion provision is made to lift the detents, which allows
the racks to obey the pressure of a spiral spring, and return the needles to their
original position.
Each pinion is connected by a pipe or sleeve axle to the working wheel of a
inasked ratchet wheel. Each masked ratchet wheel has saw-shaped teeth, and is
worked by a hooked click, which click is attached to a bent lever receiving its
motion from the bearer of the upper step:
The paper receives its intermittent motion in the following manner :-A tooth is
fixed to one of the wheels of the conveyance, and gears with a star wheel once
during each revolution; this star wheel gears with other star wheels, which reduce
the intermittent motion to any desired frequency. The intermittent motion being
transmitted by means of ordinary toothed wheels to one of the paper rollers thus
advances the paper.
To return the needles to their original position.-Part of the intermittent motion
of the star wheel is transmitted by ordinary toothed wheels to two wheels which
partially encase the masked ratchet wheels, and which I call the encasing wheels;
their functions are to release the detents from the ratchet wheels by performing a
revolution around them each time the paper advances, and thus allow the needles to
return to their original position; also to re-adjust the idle wheel of the masked
ratchet wheel, and thus correct any error that may peradventure have occurred.
To assist in performing the functions I fix an arm of the axle of each encasing
wheel (which arins are prevented from completing their revolution) through obstruc-
tions on the racks until the needles have taken their original position, thereby
keeping the detents off the ratchet wheels as necessary. To constrain this arm
always to finish its revolution at one point I attach a helical spring thereto, which
spring I pivot as near the extremity of the arm as convenient.
The mechanism connected with the disc or dial is as follows:-The names of
certain localities being written upon the dial are caused to appear in a convenient
place by the rotating of the dial. I use also a hand or pointer to distinguish, if
necessary, the locality for a person entering the conveyance from the locality for a
person alighting from the conveyance, that their fares may be reckoned accordingly.
At stated places an authorized person shall move the hand through a certain
angle; the dial shall be constrained to move in this direction with the hand. After
the paper has received a convenient number of advances the hand is caused to return
to its former position, and not moving the dial in this direction shall therefore point
to the name of another locality. The hand will continue in this position until moved
by some person.
The dial moves with the hand in one direction, but not in the opposite. A piece
of metal is fixed to one; and sprung obliquely against the other, enters one of a series
of indentations.
...To puncture the paper. A toothed wheel moves with the dial through a certain
angle, and causes one revolution of another wheel, to which is connected a crank;
the throw of this crank is transmitted by connecting rods to a pointed instrument,

page_text: turning any necessary angles by bell-crank levers; this pointed instrument returns
by the pressure of a spring.
To depress the hand. The intermittent motion from the star wheel is trans-
mitted by ordinary bevil wheels to a wheel having broad and narrow teeth in
alternate order, the narrow being the longer of the two, and alone acted upon by
another wheel shaped like a Maltese cross, one corner of which is shaped differently
to the others. This wheel, which I term the depressed wheel, is entered on the
pointer or hand, and brought into gear with the first shaped wheel by a person
inoving the hand; the number of indentations on each of these wheels may be varied
as required.
When a tooth of first-namned wheel gears with the shallow indentation of depressed
wheel, this will separate then centres, and thus depress the hand.
The depressed wheel is eccentrically fitted on its axle in order to prevent any
external force depressing the hand during a certain time.