IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR RECORDING THE FARES RECEIVED OF PASSENGERS BY PERSONS IN CHARGE OF OMNIBUSES, TRAM CARS, OR OTHER VEHICLES
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Sydney Jones, of 102, High Street, Stoke
Newington, in the County of Middlesex, Estate Agent, for the Invention of
"IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR RECORDING THE FARES RECEIVED OF PASSENGERS
BY PERSONS IN CHARGE OF OMNIBUSES, TRAM CARS, OR OTHER VEHICLES."
Sealed the 25th June 1878, and dated the 28th December 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Sydney Jones at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th December 1877.
HENRY SYDNEY JONES, of 102, High Street, Stoke Newington, in the County of
Middlesex, Estate Agent. "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR RECORDING THE FARES
RECEIVED OF PASSENGERS BY PERSONS IN CHARGE OF OMNIBUSES, TRAM CARS, OR
OTHER VEHICLES."
My system of check is automatic, based upon the fact that revolution will check
the distance traversed, and the time occupied in traversing the distance, and that
the weight of each passenger will identify him or her as to occupation or non-occu-
pation of any seat, and I proceed as follows:-Revolution is already provided by
the wheels of the vehicle, and a recording cylinder or cylinders with the routes or
journeys indicated thereon, shall be set in motion by spur, bevil, or worm gearing,
reduced and driven direct from the axle of either the fore or hind wheels; the cir-
cumference of the said wheels will be used to indicate the distance travelled by the
vehicle, and the said cylinder or cylinders shall be covered with paper or any other
convenient material, or coated with some white solution or wash so as to receive
the tracing of a pencil or style, and the said cylinder or cylinders will run longitu-
dinally with and under each line or set of seats, and will continually revolve slowly
as long as the vehicle is moving forward, the idea being that one revolution of the
cylinder or cylinders shall be equal to the total or a proportionate part of the
distance or miles travelled by the said car or vehicle in one day.
The seats will be constructed so that each passenger sits upon a seat, "separated
by arm-rests or otherwise," below which is a spring balance which has a slight
movement, and descends more or less, according to the weight of the passenger, and

page_text: which on descending will give a lateral horizontal or other movement to a pencil or
style, as may be most convenient, which pencil or style shall then come into contact
with the recording cylinder or cylinders herein-before described; the seats, both
inside and outside the vehicle, will therefore be so constructed as to register the
weight of each passenger by a spring balance, and the said weight shall be recorded
on the distance marker or cylinder with the said pencil or style at the exact place
or road where the passenger (or weight) first took- the seat, and by the said pas-
senger (or weight) leaving the seat, and thus removing the weight it will cease to
record and shew when the said passenger (or weight) left the said seat.
If a
passenger changes seats the weight will prove that he or she has done so, and
identify him or her. The distance marker or cylinder will consequently tell the
proprietor of the vehicle as to distance travelled by each passenger, identify him by
his weight and form a check on the fares received.
The connection between revolution given by the wheels, and the cylinder or
cylinders referred to, shall be of such a nature as to cease motion when the vehicle
is backed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henry Sydney Jones in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th June 1878.
HENRY SYDNEY JONES, of 102, High Street, Stoke Newington, in the County of
Middlesex, Estate Agent. "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR RECORDING THE FARES
RECEIVED OF PASSENGERS BY PERSONS IN CHARGE OF OMNIBUSES, TRAM CARS, OR
OTHER VEHICLES."
My Invention is automatic in its action, and is based upon the principle of
checking or registering on a rotating or revolving surface the distance travelled by
each passenger, and ascertaining and registering by another movement the weight
of the passengers individually, in order that each one may be identified in different
seats throughout the vehicle.
My said Invention comprises a revolving cylinder, drum, or roller, or series of
the same, whose revolution is obtained through the medium of suitable gearing from
one of the ordinary axles of the car or other vehicle. The said cylinder or cylinders
must extend below the seats from end to end of the vehicle, and I prefer that the
perimeter or circumference of the said cylinder or cylinders shall represent or indi-
cate the distance travelled by the vehicle in one journey or number of journeys, or
in one day. The said cylinders or drums are to be covered with paper or other
convenient material, or coated with a white solution or wash suitable for receiving
the tracing of a pencil or marker, and the said cylinder or cylinders will continually
and slowly revolve while the vehicle is moving forward.
The seats are so constructed that each passenger sits upon a seat separated from
the other seats by arm-rests or otherwise; below each seat I place a spring or
springs to support the seat, and when occupied the latter descends and compresses

page_text: the said spring or springs more or less, according to the weight of the passenger
Each seat is provided with apparatus so arranged that in descending the seat will
give a lateral horizontal, or other movement, to a pencil or other marker, which
being in contact with the recording cylinder will produce thereon a line or mark of
greater or less length, according to the distance travelled by the occupant thereof,
and in a different position on the cylinder, according to the weight of the
passenger.
The manner in which my said Invention may be most advantageously carried
into practice in a tramway car or similar vehicle is illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing, which I will now proceed to describe.
improved apparatus.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section on the line x, x, Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section on the line y, y, Figure 2.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
A is the body of the veliicle; B, B, are the ordinary axles; and C, C, the wheels
of the same; D, D, are the inside seats, and E, E, are the outside or roof seats of
the said vehicle. a, a, are the cylinders or drums under the inside seats, and b, b,
are similar cylinders or drums under the outside seats. The cylinders a, b, are
mounted on shafts a', 6', extending throughout the length of the vehicle and fitted
to turn freely in suitable bearings.
The revolution of the cylinders a is obtained as follows:-Adjacent and parallel
to the axle B I arrange a short counter shaft c, which is supported by hangers or
bearings attached to the vehicle frame. On the axle B is a toothed wheel c¹, which
gears with a corresponding wheel c² on the counter shaft c, and imparts rotation to
the same.
I find in practice that it is most convenient not to reverse the direction of rota-
tion of the aforesaid cylinders, drums, or rollers at the end of each journey, but to
cause them always to rotate in the same direction, although the movement of the
travelling or bearing wheels will be reversed; for this purpose I employ the
following device, that is to say, I prefer that the wheel c' should be double, or that
there shall be two of such wheels placed side by side on the countershaft c; and
between the wheels c', c³, 1 arrange an intermediate wheel c, which is geared with
the wheel c', and rotates in an opposite direction thereto. The double wheel c² is
fitted to slide endwise on its shaft, but is caused to turn with the same by a key or
feather. The wheel c* is of such a length, and the two wheels or two parts of the
double wheel c² are so far apart that when one wheel or part of the wheel c² is in
gear with the wheel c* the other part c² will be out of gear with the wheel c¹, and
In combination with this double wheel is arranged a lever e, whose
fulcrum is at e¹. By means of this lever the adjustment of the wheel c² to bring it
into or out of gear with the wheels c' and c' may be conveniently effected, and by
reason of this adjustment the direction of rotation of the cylinders a will remain
the same, although that of the wheels C is reversed.
vice versa.
The cylinders 6 of the outside seats are geared with and caused to participate in
the motion of the inside seat cylinders a by the bevel wheels f, g, vertical shaft h,
and bevel wheels i, j, or by other suitable mechanism, the two upper shafts b¹ being
connected by the bevel wheels j¹ and shaft b².
But I wish it understood that instead of the above-described arrangement of
gearing for preventing the reversal of the motion of the registering cylinders when
the movement of the vehicle is reversed I may employ any other suitable mechanisin.
Moreover this apparatus for preventing the reversal of the cylinder will. not bo
required in omnibuses or other vehicles which are turned round at the journey's
end.
The means whereby the registering action of the said apparatus is produced

page_text: comprise the following devices:-The seats are hinged at their back or inner edges
to the sides of the vehicle, as shown at k, and at their outer edges they are sup-
ported by springs l. The strength or resistance of these springs is such that they
will yield under the weight of a person sitting on the seat to permit the said seat
to descend slightly, but not sufficiently to cause any discomfort or inconvenience to
the occupier of the seat. I prefer that the said springs should be enclosed in hollow
or tubular standards or posts m, whose upper ends form stops which limit the
downward movement of the said seats, but the said springs may be otherwise
arranged as desired.
At the bottom of each seat I arrange an elbow or two-armed lever n, which is
fulcrumed at n¹ to the side of the car, or to some other fixed part under the seat.
The short arm n of this lever is pin jointed or pivoted to the seat at n³, and the
long arm n has attached to it a bar or holder n³, which carries the pencil or other
marker o, and is pressed down upon the surface of the paper or other material on
the cylinder by a spring p.
It will be obvious from the above description that the pencil or marker o below
the seat will be pressed upon the surface of the cylinder, or the paper or other
material coiled upon the same, and that when either of the seats is occupied, and
during the time the car or other vehicle moves forward the said pencil or marker
will trace or mark a line thereon, the length of which line will correspond with and
indicate the distance travelled during the time of occupation of the scat by the
passenger. But in addition to this indication of the occupation of the seat, my
apparatus affords the means as above specified for identifying any one of the pas-
sengers or occupants of the vehicle by ascertaining and registering the weight of
each individual by means of the jointed or pivoted lever n, as follows:-When not
occupied the seat will be in the position shewn at D*, Figure 2, but when occupied
the seat will be more or less depressed, according to the weight of the passenger
occupying the same, and the upper arm n² of the said lever participating in this
movement of the scat will turn on its fulcrum, and through an arc of greater or
less extent, and will obviously cause its long arm n to move the pencil or marker
longitudinally across the surface of the cylinder, and hold it at some point midway
between its two ends, in which position it will remain during the occupation of the
seat by the same individual. All of the seats except the one at D° are shewn in
the position they would assume when occupied by a person of medium weight.
The said springs and lever apparatus should be so arranged and adjusted with
regard to the cylinders throughout the vehicle that a given weight will move the
pencil to a corresponding position on each cylinder.
And as it is practically impossible that any two individuals travelling in a vehicle
at the same time should be of precisely or exactly the same weight, this device
affords the means for identifying any passenger or individual in the vehiclo
throughout any changes or movements of the passengers from one seat to another
during a journey of the said vehicle.
The gearing whereby the wheels C are connected with the cylinders should be
provided with ratchet wheels or other means which will act to disconnect the said
cylinder so that the same will stop if the vehicle should move backward.
It will be clear from the above description that the seats, both inside and outside
of the vehicle, by means of my improved apparatus will register the weight of each
passenger, and the exact places on the road where the passengers take and leave
the seats, and will also record and will afford the means for ascertaining if any
changes of seats by the passengers from one seat to another inside or outside of the
vehicle, or from an inside seat to an outside seat, or from an outside to an inside
seat have taken place. Therefore the difficulty arising from the changing of seats
by the passengers, and which has been insurmountable by the use of other indi-
cating apparatus in tramway or similar vehicles, is completely obviated by my
Invention.
The said apparatus must be enclosed or covered and secured by special locks, so
that only the officers of the company, or proprietor or other duly authorized person

page_text: can have access to the said indicating cylinders. And the driver and conductor of
the vehicle will not be able to disarrange or tamper with any of the markings or
indications. The officer or other authorized person will at the end of each journey
or series of journeys place a fresh sheet of paper or other material upon each
cylinder, and will then lock the doors by which access is had to the same."
The proprietors of the vehicle or the officers of the company to whom the said
vehicle belongs will consequently be enabled to ascertain at the end of each journey
or number of journeys the number of passengers who have travelled in the vehicle,
and the distance travelled by each passenger, and can therefore ascertain with
certainty the amount received for fares during such journey or number of
journeys.
My Invention does not necessitate any material change in the construction of
the cars or other vehicles, and may be readily applied to those already existing.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and the manner of performing the
same, I wish it understood that I claim,-
First. Providing a tramway car, omnibus, or other vehicle with apparatus geared
in connection with and operated by the wheels of the said vehicle in such a manner
that the distance travelled by the passengers in the vehicle will be accurately shewn
by the indication and record of the weight of each individual, whether he or she
occupies the same seat or different seats during the journey.
Second. The improved apparatus consisting of the hinged seat, supported by a
spring or springs, the cylinder or drum below the same, and the lever connected
with the seat and with the rod or holder of the pencil or marker, which is thereby
caused by the depression of the seat to indicate on the cylinder or on the paper, or
other material placed around the same, the weight of the occupant of the seat, as
above set forth.
Third. The combination with the aforesaid cylinders or drums, and the gearing
for connecting the same with the wheels of the vehicle, of suitable mechanism or
devices for causing the cylinders to continue rotating in the same direction when
the movement of the vehicle is reversed, as above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Sydney Jones, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
HENRY SYDNEY JONES. (L.S.)