AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING THE DISTANCE TRAVELLED BY ANY WHEELED CONVEYANCE, AND MARKING THE DISTANCE TRAVELLED PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Thompson, of 41, Pool Road, in the Parish of
Hackney, in the County of Middlesex, and Alfred Morten, of 35, Nicoll Road,
in the Parish of Harlesden, in the County of Middlesex, for an Invention of
"AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING THE DISTANCE TRAVELLED
BY ANY WHEELED CONVEYANCE, AND MARKING THE DISTANCE TRAVELLED
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Thompson and
Alfred Morten at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 19th April'
1881.
WILLIAM THOMPSON, of 41, Pool Road, in the Parish of Hackney, in the County
of Middlesex, and ALFRED MORTEN, of 35, Nicoll Road, in the Parish of Harlesden,
in the County of Middlesex. "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING THE
DISTANCE TRAVELLED BY ANY WHEELED CONVEYANCE, AND MARKING THE
DISTANCE TRAVELLED BY EACH PASSENGER ON TICKETS."
The objects of this Invention are the registration of the distance travelled by
any wheeled conveyance, the automatic indication of the same to the passengers, so
that each may know the distance he travels & the amount of fare he has to pay,
and the prevention of frauds by the servants in charge of such conveyance. For
these objects we combine distance-registering apparatus with ticket marking
apparatus, as hereafter described.
The conveyance or vehicle is fitted with an index which by means of a com-
bination of levers & wheels proportioned to one of the travelling wheels of the
vehicle indicates plaiuly the number of miles, and, if desirable, fractions of a mile
travelled by such vehicle. This will allow of a uniform fare per mile or fraction of
a mile. A passenger on entering the vehicle would be supplied with a ticket from
the machine, which in issuing it would stamp or mark it with the number of miles.
then registered, which will correspond with the index exposed to view. On
leaving the vehicle the passenger would compare the number of miles or portions
of a mile then registered on the index with that marked on his ticket, the
difference between the two shewing the number of miles he has travelled and
CD..

page_text: consequently the fare he has to pay. The passenger would hand the ticket and the
fare to the conductor, who would immediately replace the ticket in the machine,
which will withdraw it, restamp or mark it with the mileage then registered, and
retain it. The tickets will thus indicate the fares the conductor has received, as
well as the number of passengers and the distance travelled by each.
To accomplish these desirable objects we proceed as follows:-
To the nave of one of the wheels of the vehicle we attach a ring, heart-shaped;
one end of a balance lever with a roller to prevent friction is kept in contact with
this ring by a spring or otherwise. Or the lever is made fork-shaped at one end,
one arm at the base the other at the apex of the ring, with a roller to each to
prevent friction. (If preferred a slot can be used in place of the ring, in which
case the lever will be placed in it). Whichever method is adopted the lever will
oscillate at each revolution of the travelling wheel. Connected with the other end
of the lever is a pawl or key working a ratchet wheel, the pawl being kept in
position by a guide and spring or otherwise. Secured on the axle of the ratchet
wheel is a rag or spiked wheel from which an endless chain works another wheel
placed in any convenient position. By passing this endless chain over two rollers
pressed outwards by a spring, the chain will always be kept tight, thus counter-
acting any oscillation or jerking of the vehicle. Attached to this wheel is a
projection commencing at a given point, and gradually increasing outwards to
another given point till the circle is completed. Resting on this projection is a
roller carrying a rod or shaft kept in position by a guide. As the wheel revolves
the rod is gradually carried up until the wheel completes its revolution, when the
rod, forced down by a spring or weight, will drop from the higher to the lower
position, thereby depressing one arm of a lever & raising the other arm, which
by means of a rod with pawl or key will work a ratchet wheel. This ratchet
wheel will drive the marking wheels described below, and also by means of an
endless band or ratchet and pawl, the apparatus for indicating in any required
position or positions in the vehicle the number of miles travelled. This apparatus
may be either an endless band or chain, or a wheel with the figures plainly marked
thereon, or a dial face with a hand, the number exposed to view or indicated on
the dial always corresponding with that on the marking wheels, being changed
Bimultaneously.
Whatever whole or fractional parts of a mile it is desired to indicate, all that is
necessary is that the wheels of the machine shall be duly proportioned to the
travelling wheel of the vehicle. For example, we will suppose the travelling wheel
five yards in circumference, and that quarter miles are to be indicated. A ratchet
wheel with twenty two teeth would have to make four revolutions for each change
of the index. If the rag wheel on the same axle has nine cogs, the wheel with the
projection, which it drives by means of the chain, would have 36 cogs, so that the
lever would fall once in each quarter of a mile. If half miles only are required
to be indicated, the ratchet wheel might have 44 ratchets; but the wheels
can be proportioned in any other way so as to move the lever at the required
distance.
2,
45
We will now describe our method of arranging the figures for marking the
tickets and also indicating the distance travelled. For general purposes we
consider one wheel is sufficient to mark the tickets when issued, and a similar
wheel worked at the same time & by the same movement to mark them when
returned. If quarter miles are to be indicated, then each marking wheel would
have forty faces carrying numbers commencing at 0, // 3 to 9, 91, 91, 93/4
then returning to 0 again. If half miles are required, then the marking wheels
would have twenty faces running from 0, 1/2, to 9, 91, then returning to 0 again.
These figures can be made to print, stamp, perforate, or punch the tickets. To
prevent confusion the figures on the issuing wheel can be of a different character to
those on the receiving wheel, so that if a passenger entered at 93/4 miles & got
out at 3/4 miles, the ticket would have both numbers on it, but the difference in
the characters would shew that the distance travelled was 4 miles & not 6.

page_text: If higher numbers are required to be shewn we prefer using a train of wheels as
follows:-The fractional wheel with the fractional numbers on it, say, 0, 1, 13/1
has a ratchet wheel attached to it with the same number of teeth as the fractional
wheel has faces. On the same axle is also a wheel called the unit wheel numbered
from 0 to 9 (a third wheel called the tens wheel, & a fourth wheel called the.
hundreds wheel can be added); on another axle running parallel to the axle of the
ratchet wheel is placed a cog wheel with ten blades or flanges working the cogs of
the unit wheel (a similar cog wheel will work the tens wheel, & so on). At a
given point on the fractional wheel is placed the cam or projection which comes in
contact with a locking pin in the unit wheel, forces it out of its place & moves a
cog wheel one tenth & one number. The unit wheel will work the tens wheel,
and the tens wheel the hundreds wheel in a similar manner.
Our method of issuing, marking, and receiving the tickets is as follows:-
A ticket guider is placed over the marking wheels, one end against the ticket
box, the other against the front of the machine. In line with the ticket guider are
placed two ejecting rods, the sockets of the ejector working on them. The tickets
are placed in a box in a pile kept down on the ejector by a weight or spring and
catches. At a given point on the ejector is placed an extra thickness to come in
contact with one of the tickets and carry it along the guider. When ink is used a
pad or roller is placed underneath the ejector, when a pad it passes over a roller,
when a roller it passes over an inked pad, inking the figures on each forward
& backward movement; or an endless band can be used, passing over an inked
roller.
The ejector is worked by a balanced lever, a chain or band being secured to it
& to one end of the lever, and working over pulleys so arranged that when the
lever is raised the ejector is brought back, and when lowered it is brought forward.
Or a push lever may be used, its axles working in slots or grooves, the pins at the
end of the ejector working in slots or grooves in the end of the lever. In either
systems the lever comes in contact with a press forcing down the ticket guide with
the ticket in it on the numbers & marking it accordingly. The receptor is
worked by a similar lever as the ejector and the ticket marked in a like manner.
The ticket is placed in the receptor's mouth, drawn within the machine over the
marking wheel, marked & retained in the machine, thus shewing the number of
miles each passenger has travelled and the fares he has paid, thereby preventing
frauds on the part of the servants in charge of the vehicle.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Thompson and Alfred Morten in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 19th October 1881.
WILLIAM THOMPSON, of 41, Poole Road, in the Parish of Hackney, in the County
of Middlesex, and ALFRED MORTEN, of 35, Nicoll Road, in the Parish of Harlesden,
in the County of Middlesex. "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR REGISTERING THE
DISTANCE TRAVELLED BY ANY WHEELED CONVEYANCE, AND MARKING THE
DISTANCE TRAVELLED BY EACH PASSENGER ON TICKETS."
The objects of this Invention are the registration of the distance travelled by
any wheeled conveyance, the automatic indication of the same to the passengers, so
that each may know the distance he travels and the amount of fare he has to pay,
and the prevention of frauds by the servants in charge of such conveyance. For
these objects we combine distance registering apparatus with ticket marking
apparatus, as hereinafter specified.
The conveyance or vehicle is fitted with an index, which by means of a com-
- bination of levers and wheels, the ratios of which are proportioned to one of the
travelling wheels of the vehicle, indicates plainly the number of miles, and if
desirable the fractions of a mile traversed by such vehicle. This will allow the
distance travelled by the vehicle to be obvious to the passengers as well as to the
conductor, and thus afford an easy means for basing a charge to the passenger at
á uniform rate per mile, or fraction of a mile.
This portion of our apparatus we construct as follows:-Reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon.
Similar letters apply to like parts in the different Figures.
To the nave A, Fig. 1, of one of the wheels of the vehicle we attach an eccentric
cam or ring B, on which both ends of the arch piece C rest, being provided with a
roller c at each end to reduce friction. The rotation of the cam wheel B will thus
produce a reciprocating movement in the arch piece C travelling in guides D.
If preferred an eccentric slot can be used in the place of the cam or ring, in which
case the end of the lever would run in the groove. Attached to the arch piece C is
a lever d, Fig. 3, oscillating on a centre, and connected with the other end of this
lever is a pawl or key E working a ratchet wheel F, the pawl being kept in
position by a guide and spring e, or other suitable means.
Second. On the axle of the ratchet wheel F is a sprocket or spiked wheel f, from
which an endless chain g works another sprocket or spiked wheel G placed in any
convenient position. In order to prevent the slacking of this chain by the
movement of the axle the chain may be passed over two rollers, which can be
pressed outwards by a spring to take up any slack. The slackening of the chain
by the movement of the main axle may be largely avoided by placing the second
driven sprocket wheel in a horizontal position with the main axle carrying the
motion upwards by a second chain.
Upon the sprocket wheel G a spiral cam H is fixed, on which a rod h fitted with
a roller rests and is kept in place by a guide.
Should it be desirable for the registering and stamping apparatus to be readily
movable from end to end of the vehicle, a cog wheel would be fitted on the axle of
the sprocket wheel G and would remain a fixture in its position on the vehicle.
The spiral cam H would in that case be fitted on an independent axle fixed in the
movable box containing the registering and stamping apparatus, and on which
would be keyed a suitable cog wheel to which the necessary motion would be
imparted from the fixed sprocket wheel shaft. The box can easily be placed in
suitable rests or guides, so that the cog wheel in the box may be put in gear with

page_text: the cog wheel on the fixed sprocket shaft. A chain and sprocket gear would in
that case be provided from one or more axles in two or more required directions
suitable for the alternative positions of the registering and stamping apparatus.
As the spiral cam H is caused to revolve the rod h is gradually carried up until
the wheel completes its revolution, when the rod is forced down by the spring j
and will drop from the highest to the lowest part of the cam, thereby rocking the
lever J.
To the opposite end of this rocking lever J is fixed a rod K travelling in a
guide k which, fitted with a pawl or grip, moves the ratchet wheel L smartly through
the space of a tooth.
This ratchet wheel is fitted with a further check pawl gear in the form of a
spring, which prevents the ratchet wheel from moving in the reverse direction.
Upon this spring presses a further pawl, against which the rod K strikes as it
rises and prevents the wheel L from moving until actuated by the rod K.
This ratchet wheel will be fixed to a shaft on which the stamping apparatus is
fixed, and also which carries the first unit or fractional wheel of the counting
wheels for registering visibly the distance travelled.
The
This apparatus may be either au end less band or chain, or a wheel with the
figures plainly marked thereon, or a dial face with an indicating hand.
number exposed to view or indicated must always correspond with that on the
stamping wheel, or a train of wheels, such as are at present used for counting
purposes, may be used to indicate from fractions and units to hundreds of miles if
desired.
The exact value or fractional part of a mile to be indicated by each movement
of the indicating roller would be determined by the circumference of the travelling
wheel and the proportions of the sprocket gear.
In combination with such distance registering apparatus we employ a ticket
marking apparatus which is used as follows, for the prevention of fraud by the
servants in charge of the conveyance :-
A passenger on entering the vehicle is supplied with a ticket from the machine,
which in issuing it would stamp or mark it with the number of miles then
registered, corresponding with the index exposed to view. On leaving the vehicle
the passenger would compare the number of miles or portions of a mile then regis-
tered by the index with that marked on his ticket, the difference between the two
shewing the number of miles he has travelled, and consequently the fare he has to
pay. The passenger would hand the ticket and the fare to the conductor, who
immediately replaces the ticket in a second compartment of the machine, which
will withdraw it, restamp, or mark it with the mileage then registered, and
retain it.
The tickets will thus indicate the fares the conductor has received, as well as
the number of passengers and the distance travelled by each. To accomplish these
desirable objects we construct an apparatus as follows:-
The tickets, together with the issuing or receiving apparatus, may be contained
in a box of any suitable shape, which may be readily removable and adjustable in
different positions so as to be still in gearing contact with the driving apparatus
from the main wheel or wheels, as before described. The indicating or registering
dial or dials may be fitted as part of this same box, or fixed elsewhere in the
conveyance, as may be found most convenient.
The compartment of the box from which the tickets are issued is provided
most conveniently with a handle or push lever M. An endless chain or band m
is secured to the internal end of the lever and passes round two pulleys m¹, m²,
so that when the push lever M is thrust in, the upper part of the band m travels
outwards. To this upper part of the band is attached an ejector N which is of
two thicknesses, showing an intermediate shoulder n. This ejector travels between
guides n¹ and serves several purposes. The intermediate shoulder n pushes forward
one ticket at a time from the top of the supply pile of tickets O. The tickets are
contained in a suitable box o, and are continually pressed up to the top by a

page_text: spring or weight O. An alternative arrangement of ticket box and spring is shown
in Fig. 5. The ticket so pushed forward is delivered on to a resting table P, which
moves on a pivot p, and the ticket is there held in position by a spring p² to print
the ticket. The lever M is raised, pressing up, by means of the leg q, the printing
pad Q, which moves on the pivot q₁ against the under side of the ticket so as to
press the latter against the printing roller L¹. This roller is conveniently fixed on
the same shaft as the ratchet wheel L, and moves through one face for each ratchet
tooth, when the lever is again lowered, and the ticket lies stamped complete. The
forward pull of handle Mejects the stamped ticket by means of the hanging trail
piece n, whilst at the same time a fresh ticket is delivered by the back shoulder n
on to the printing table ready for the next requirement.
In order that the lever M may not be moved except in the stipulated positions,
a ratchet and pawl ml is provided, as also a guide m¹ working in a slot which
obliges the handle to operate in the prescribed routine.
When ink is used, a pad or roller is placed underneath the ejector; when a pad,
it passes over a roller; when a roller, it passes over an inked pad, inking the
figures on each forward and backward movement. In Fig. II. the inking pad R
with the ink bottler is attached to the ejector N, so that when the printed ticket
is ejected the pad carrying its own ink supply comes against the figure roller to
ink it for the next print, or an endless band can be used, passing over an inked
roller.
The receptor or receiving apparatus, Fig. I., is placed conveniently alongside the
issuing apparatus, being contained in a compartment of the same box.
The same axle, bearing a drum or drums L¹ on which are the registering or
stamping numbers, serves equally for both the issuing and receiving apparatus, so
that distances registered are always the same in both boxes.
A pull or push lever M¹ is also provided in this receiving apparatus, to which is
attached a slide or mouth piece S. As the lever is pulled forward an inclined guide
causes the front cover of the apparatus to descend so as to allow the mouth piece S
to project beyond it.
The ticket is then placed by the conductor, when done with, in the mouth
piece S, and on the lever being pushed back the ticket is carried in and caused to
drop on to a printing table T by a suitable stop, where it is held by a spring. If
the lever M' is then raised it presses the printing pad t and the ticket against the
stamping roller or rollers L', and the distance is thus printed on the ticket.
When the lever M is lowered and again drawn forward the stamped ticket is
pushed off the printing table T by the lower part of the mouth piece S into a
suitable receptacle U provided in the box.
An inking pad R¹ and ink bottle
is attached to the sliding mouth piece, and
comes under the face of the printing roller L' between each operation.
For general registering purposes we consider one wheel is sufficient to mark the
tickets when issued, and a similar wheel worked at the same time and by the
same movement to mark them when returned. In such case a suitable number of
polygonal faces must be provided on the wheel or drum to carry individually each
successive fraction of the mile that it is desired to register.
The figures may be made to print, stamp, or perforate the tickets, as may be
most convenient; and to prevent confusion the figures on the issuing wheel may be
of different character to those on the receiving wheel.
To provide a very large number of sucessive different figures for stamping, an
endless chain or band travelling over suitable polygonal drums may be used
instead of many sided drums.
If however high totals of distance travelled are required to be registered,
extended to three figures, the most convenient apparatus would be in the form of
rollers or drums laid close side by side on the same shaft, but all loose on it, except
the first, indicating units or fractions.
The successive wheels would only bear one figure on each face, but by their
"position side by side would indicate fractions, units, tens, hundreds, &c. Each

page_text: wheel would be driven from its neighbour by a cam and ratchet gear, as in
Fig. 4.
As
The first wheel V, which is fixed to the revolving shaft, carries a spiral cam v,
which at every rotation engages in a pin w on a lever W, which also carries a
projecting tooth or pawl w¹, and is held at the extreme end by a spring w11.
the spiral cam releases the lever w, the action of the spring w₁₁ causes the tooth w¹
to engage in the ratchet y of the second wheel Y, which is thus moved through a
fraction of a revolution. In the same way each wheel produces a fractional
revolution in its neighbour for each complete revolution of itself.
And having now fully described and ascertained the nature and objects of our
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, be it known
that what we consider novel and useful, and desire to protect by our Letters
Patent is,―
1st. In the distance registering portion of our apparatus the combination of a
sprocket or chain gear kept taut by riding rollers actuated by a cam gear and
levers fixed to the axle-tree with an indicating band and dial, an endless band or
chain, or a wheel with figures marked thereon, together with subsidiary apparatus,
substantially as described.
2nd. In the distance stamping, printing, or perforating portion of our apparatus
the combination of a sprocket or chain gear kept taut by riding rollers, and
actuated by a cam gear and levers fixed to the axle-tree with an issuing and
receiving, stamping, perforating, or printing rollers and push levers, substantially
as described.
3rd. The complete combination in a distance registering and stamping apparatus
of the actuating mechanism with the dial registering and issuing and receiving
apparatus, as individually claimed and described in Nos. 1 and 2, substantially as
and for the purposes specified.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Thompson and Alfred Morten, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Seventeenth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and eight one.
Witnessed by
S. P. WILDING,
23, Rood Lane,
London, E.C.,
Patent Agent.
W. THOMPSON. (L.S.)
A. MORTEN.
(L.S.)