Improvements in or connected with Taxameters.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Aug., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 17th May, 1899-Accepted, 17th June, 1899
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Taxameters.
I, FREDERICK RICHARD SIMMS, of Amberley House, 12, Norfolk Street, Strand,
in the County of London, Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in or connected with taxameters, that is
to say, apparatus for use on cabs and like vehicles for indicating the amount of
the fare according to the time or distance basis and more especially in those
described in the Specifications of British Patents Nos. 1609 of 1875, 3761 of 1877,
3721 of 1884 and 4390 of 1887.
Such apparatus is usually provided with a "flag," that is to say, with a plate
or the like, which is rigidly connected to the lever for throwing the indicating
mechanism into and out of gear and which, when the cab or other vehicle is dis-
engaged, projects therefrom and bears a suitable inscription to indicate to the
public that the cab is disengaged. When a passenger is taken up, the flag is
withdrawn by the driver, this movement also simultaneously putting the indicating
mechanism into gear. It has, however, been found in practice that these pro-
jecting flags are liable to be broken off or permanently damaged by striking
against a passing vehicle or other obstacle.
Now, my invention has for its object to obviate this defect and to this end I
secure the flag to the aforesaid gear lever by a spring or flexible connection.
In a suitable arrangement for carrying out the invention the flag is formed
of a plate of suitable material, such as tin, carried in a wire frame the ends of
which are coiled to form springs; one of these springs fits inside the other which
is screwed into a split boss, preferably slightly taper, formed upon the gear lever
and screw threaded both internally and externally. A handle or crank is screwed
upon the outside of the split boss and when tightened, serves to securely retain
the flag frame in the boss, the said handle being itself secured in position by a
lock nut or other suitable means.
With this method of connecting the flag to the apparatus it will be obvious
that the said flag on striking an obstacle will yield or give, and return to its
normal position when the obstacle is passed, instead of breaking or being damaged
as is the case with apparatus as heretofore generally made.
The spring frame, in lieu of being connected to the gear lever as above described,
can be attached to a spindle rigidly secured to the split boss. In this case the
flag, when struck, will swing upon the spindle, and be returned to its normal
position by means of a spiral spring set upon the said spindle; the spring may
furthermore be made in one with the wire frame carrying the flag or it may be
a separate spring suitably attached thereto.
Dated the 26th day of August 1898
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London;
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: improvements in or connected with Taxameters.
I, FREDERICK RICHARD SIMMS, of Amberley House, 12, Norfolk Street, Strand,
in the County of London, Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:―
This invention relates to improvements in or connected with taxameters, that is
to say, apparatus for use on cabs and like vehicles for indicating the amount of
the fare according to the time or distance basis and more especially in those
described in the Specifications of British Patents Nos. 1009 of 1875, 3761 of 1877,
3721 of 1884 and 4390 of 1887.
Such apparatus is usually provided with a "flag," that is to say, with a plate
or the like, which is rigidly connected to the lever for throwing the indicating
mechanism into and out of gear and which, when the cab or other vehicle is dis-
engaged, projects therefrom and bears a suitable inscription to indicate to the
public that the cab is disengaged. When a passenger is taken up, the flag is
moved radially from the vertical to the horizontal by the driver, this movement
also simultaneously putting the indicating mechanism into gear.
Now it has been found in practice that these projecting flags are liable to be
broken off or permanently damaged by striking against a passing vehicle or
other obstacle and my invention has for its object to obviate this defect. To this
end I secure the flag to the aforesaid gear lever by a spring or flexible connection.
In a suitable arrangement for carrying out the invention the flag is formed
of a plate of suitable material, such as tin, carried in a wire frame the ends of
which are coiled to form springs; one of these springs fits inside the other which
is screwed into a split boss, preferably slightly taper, formed upon the gear lever
and screw threaded both internally and externally. A handle or crank is screwed:
upon the outside of the split boss and, when tightened, serves to securely retain
the flag frame in the boss, the said handle being itself secured in position by a
lock nut or other suitable means.
In the accompanying drawings,—
Figure 1 is a sectional view of a flag constructed according to the invention, the a
said flag being shewn fitted in position upon a taxameter; and
Figure 2 is a front view of the taxameter shewing the flag attachment.
a is the body of the taxameter and 6 is the lever for throwing the indicating
mechanism into and out of gear. is the usual flag which is of tin or other
suitable material and bears an inscription for indicating to the public that the g
cab is disengaged, and d is the wire frame for carrying the said flag c.
e, f are
the two springs formed respectively upon the two ends of the wire frame, the
springe being of smaller diameter than the spring into which it passes as
clearly shewn in Figure 1. is the split boss which is formed upon the lever b,
the said boss tapering slightly as clearly shewn in Figure 2 and being screw- 4
threaded internally and externally. The outer spring is screwed into the screw-
threaded split boss g as shewn in Figure 1 and is held in position therein by
means of the handle or lever h which is screwed upon the outside of the said
split boss g so as to tighten the said boss upon the spring f. i is the nut which
is screwed upon the boss g for holding the lever h in position upon the said boss. 4
This handle or lever is provided for enabling the gear lever b to be easily
manipulated by the driver, without placing any strain on the flag support as at
present.
With this method of connecting the flag to the apparatus it will be obvious

page_text: that the said flag on striking an obstacle will yield or give, and return to its
normal position when the obstacle is passed, instead of breaking or being damaged
as is the case with apparatus as heretofore generally made.
The spring frame, in lieu of being connected to the gear lever as above described,
can be attached to a spindle rigidly secured to the split boss. In this case the
flag, when struck, will swing upon the spindle, and be returned to its normal
position by means of a spiral spring set upon the said spindle; the spring may
furthermore be made in one with the wire frame carrying the flag or it may be
a separate spring suitably attached thereto.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. In taxameters, connecting the flag to the lever carrying it by a spring or
flexible connection, substantially as, and for the purpose, hereinbefore described.
2. In taxameters, the employment for carrying the flag of a wire frame, the
ends of which are formed into springs, one of which passes into the other and
the outer of which is secured to the lever controlling the indicating mechanism
of the taxameter, substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. In taxameters mounting the flag in a wire frame, the ends of which are
formed into springs, one of which is passed into the other and the outer of which
is secured to a split boss upon the gear lever by means of a handle upon the
said boss, substantially as herein before described and illustrated.
4. In taxameters of the kind described in Claim 1 the arrangement wherein
the flag is carried in a frame mounted on a spindle rigidly secured to the lever
a spring being provided on the spindle for holding the frame in its normal
position, substantially as described.
5. The combination and arrangement of parts forming the improved flag con-
nection for taxameters, substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in
the accompanying drawings.