IMPROVEMENTS IN TILLS FOR THE PREVENTION OF FRAUD BY PERSONS WHO RECEIVE MONEY IN SHOPS OR OTHER PLACES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Browne Wolsey Webb, of Harrington Square, in the
County of Middlesex, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TILLS FOR THE
PREVENTION OF FRAUD BY PERSONS WHO RECEIVE MONEY IN SHOPS OR
OTHER PLACES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Browne Wolsey Webb at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th July 1881.
BROWNE WOLSEY WEBB, of Harrington Square, in the County of Middlesex.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN TILLS FOR THE PREVENTION OF FRAUD BY PERSONS WHO
RECEIVE MONEY IN SHOPS OR OTHER PLACES."
I
This Invention has for its object improvements in tills for the prevention of
fraud by persons who receive money in shops or other places. For this purpose
use an apparatus which I term a check-till or tell-tale, and which is constructed
with clockwork arranged to act in conjunction with an electric battery and set of
bells in such a manner that all of the money received by the cashier will be.
recorded by means of such apparatus. This apparatus or mechanism consists of a
series of toothed wheels and indexes operating to indicate on dials or faces any sum
paid, and simultaneously to the electric bells, which tell the amount registered by
striking as many times as there are pounds, shillings, or pence in the amount
received. For instance, should a customer pay the shopman in charge of the till, say
£1 14 6, one bell will strike once, another bell fourteen times, aud another bell six
times. This amount will by the indexes be added to the sum previously registered
on the dials, so that the till keeps a perfect record of the total amount that has been
paid during a day or other period of time. The money in the till or desk at the end
of this period should of course correspond with the amount registered on the dials;
any discrepancy denotes fraud, and the extent of the same is at once apparent. The
battery and bells may or may not be placed in the box with the clockwork. The
said till or apparatus may be placed in the cashier's desk or on the counter or bar,
and connected with bells placed in the office or parlour, the battery being arranged
in any convenient place. After the close of business for the day the till or tell-tale
.
:

page_text: can be removed and unlocked by the proprietor or other authorized person, who sets
the indexes at zero for the next day's use.
My said Invention is carried into practice as follows, that is to say:-I construct
a case or box of suitable form and dimensions, and provide the same with a lid or
cover, which is fitted to slide in the said case, and which I term the bed. On the
top or outer side of this bed I mount the dials. There may be any number of the
latter, but I will in the following description refer to an apparatus with four dials,
one for pence, one for shillings, one for pounds, and one for scores of pounds. Each
of these dials is properly marked with figures, and is provided with an index or
pointer fixed on an arbor which is provided with (a starting handle. Each dial
is surrounded with a rim of brass or other metal, in which at the zero point is
inserted a piece of vulcanite or other suitable insulating material, to which the said
starting handle returns after each operation, and on which it rests till the next
operation, the electric circuit being then broken or interrupted. Below the bed
and supported thereon are two plates, which I term the main plate and the lower
plate, whereby the clockwork mechanism is supported. Each arbor is connected by
a small ratchet and spring-pawl with a shaft or spindle in such a manner that the
arbor when turned forward by the starting handle causes the shaft to turn with it,.
but the said arbor can turn back ward without moving the said shaft. These shafts
or spindles are geared together by toothed wheels, which I term the main wheels.
Each arbor is provided with a ratchet wheel arranged in combination with a pawl
or click, which is designed to hold the said ratchet wheel, and thereby prevent the
turning of the said arbor until the handle is moved from the insulated point. The
said pawls or clicks are controlled by the aid of a sliding rod or bar, which I term
a lock, and which extends lengthwise through the apparatus, and is provided with
arnis arranged to engage with the said pawls when a spring which bears on one
end of the said bar forces it back or inward, and the said bar has to be pulled
outward against the force of this spring to release the pawls from the said arms
and permit the arbors to turn. This movement of the said sliding bar is effected
by the aid of the electric current, as hereinafter described.
Each arbor is connected by a strip or ribbon of metal or other material with a
spring, which when the handle is turned allows the said ribbon to coil around the
arbor, and when the handle is released the said spring uncoils the ribbon, thereby
turning back the arbor and setting the handle again to the insulated zero point on
the disc. Each arbor is provided with a small arm arranged to come in contact
with a stop, which prevents too great a recoil of the arbor when the handle is
released, and also ensuring the stopping of the said handle at the zero point.
One novel feature of my Invention is the peculiar kind of wheel-gearing employed
to connect the dial-shafts with each other so that they will operate conjointly, and
the proper amounts in pounds, shillings, and pence will be registered on the series
of dials by the turning of the starting handle of one of the said arbors.
The said main wheels which form this gearing are toothed, but instead of being
geared together in the ordinary manner they are arranged as follows, that is to
say-The wheel of the first dial-shaft is provided with a device which I term a
spring tooth. This spring tooth is pivotted near the periphery of the wheel, and
projects outward beyond the other teeth, so that when it approaches the position
wherein it will coincide with a line drawn from the axis of the said wheel to that of
the second wheel, the said spring-tooth will gear with the ordinary teeth of the said
second wheel, and will turn the latter such a distance as to cause its index or
pointer to travel over one division of the dial. The said second wheel is in like
manner provided with a spring-tooth to engage with the main wheel of the third
spindle, and the latter has a similar tooth to engage with the main wheel of the
fourth spindle. The spring-tooth has a tail, which is arranged to bear against the
spindle and forms the spring. A small stop is fixed in the wheel in such a position
that when the latter is turned forward the tooth is unyielding, and will act on the
next adjacent wheel in the series above described; but if it is desired to turn the
latter forward without turning the first wheel, the said spring and stop will allow

page_text: the spring-tooth to yield and let the said second wheel pass. This arrangement of
gearing therefore not only permits me to actuate all of the arbors together, but
also allows them to be turned separately or independently of each other, and it
will be much more compact and convenient than the ordinary wheel and pinion
gearing.
Another novel feature of my Invention is the combination, specified, with the
above described apparatus of means for controlling the same and sounding the bells
by electricity.
For this purpose I provide the said apppratus with electro-magnets properly
included in the circuit of the aforesaid battery, and I fix on the longitudinal sliding
bar or rod which controls the pawls or clicks an arın or bar which form the
armature of the said magnets. I have hereinbefore stated that the said rod is forced
back by a spring, in which position the armature will be separated from the
magnets. But when the circuit is completed, the magnets attracting the said
armature pull the sliding rod forward, thereby releasing the pawls which hold the
ratchet wheels, so that the mechanism may be operated by turning the handle.
Each of the said pawls is provided or connected with a rod, which when the pawl
is moved by its ratchet wheel is caused to touch a contact piece, thereby completing
the circuit in which the bells are placed, and causing the latter to sound once every
time the pawl is moved. The said pawls are provided with springs to keep them
properly in gear with the ratchet wlieels.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Browne Wolsey Webb in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
7th January 1882.
BROWNE WOLSEY WEBB, of Harrington Square, in the County of Middlesex.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN TILLS FOR THE PREVENTION OF FRAUD BY PERSONS WHO
RECEIVE MONEY IN SHOPS OR OTHER PLACES."
This Invention has for its object improvements in tills for the prevention of
fraud by persons who receive money in shops or other places. For this purpose I
use an apparatus which I term a check-till or tell-tale, and which is provided with
clock work arranged to act in conjunction with an electric battery and set of bells
in such a manner that all of the money received by the cashier will be recorded
by means of such apparatus. The said apparatus or mechanism comprises a series
of toothed wheels, indexes, and other devices operating to indicate simultaneously
on dials or faces, and by the said bells any amount paid to the person in charge of
the till. It is obvious that the said apparatus may be adapted to the English,
French, Belgian, or any other monetary scale or system, according to the country
in which it is to be used. In the following description however I refer only to
the use of the English system, which affords a very convenient illustration of the
working of my Invention. The clock faces or dials are marked to indicate by the
movements of the indexes pounds, shillings, and pence, and when any sum has
been paid the said indexes move to the proper position to register this sum on the
series of dials, and the electric bells indicate the said sum audibly (so that the
person who pays the money may know if the payment is correctly recorded) by
striking as many times as there are pounds, shillings, and pence, in the amount
received. For instance, should a customer pay the shopman in charge of the till,
say £1 14 6, one bell will strike once, another bell fourteen times, and another
bell six times; this amount will by the indexes be added to the sum previously
registered on the dials, so that the till keeps a perfect record of the total amount
that has been paid during a day or other period of time. The money in the till
at the end of this period should of course correspond with the amount registered
on the dials; any discrepancy or deficiency denotes fraud, and the extent of the
same is at once apparent. The battery and bells may or may not be placed in the
box containing the clock work. The said till or apparatus may be placed in the
cashier's desk or on the counter or bar, and connected with bells placed in the
office or parlor, the battery being arranged in any convenient position. After
the close of business for the day the till or tell-tale can be removed and unlocked
by the proprietor or other authorized person who sets the indexes at zero for the
next day's use.
My Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a front elevation of one form of my improved till or apparatus.
Figure 2 is an end view of the internal mechanism of the said apparatus with
the box or enclosing case of the same in section.
Figure 3 is a rear view of the front plate or part of the said box or case and the
mechanism supported thereby.
Figure 4 is a front elevation, and
Figure 5 a rear elevation of portions of the said mechanism.
Figure 6 is a side view, and
Figure 7 a rear view of details of the said mechanism hereinafter described.
Figure 8 is a plan of a modified arrangement of my improved till, and
Figure 9 is a side or edge view of portions of the mechanism contained

page_text: Figure 10 is a plan of portions of the said mechanism below the cover or lid,
and
Figure 11 is an underside view of the said mechanism.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawings.
I will first proceed to describe the part of my Invention illustrated in Figures 1
to 7 of the Drawings. In carrying this part of the said Invention into practice I
construct a box or case a of suitable form and dimensions, and provide the same
with a front plate or piece a¹ whereon the dials bare fixed. There may be any
number of the latter, but in the Drawings I have shewn an apparatus having four
dials for indicating the amount paid, that is to say, one for pence; one for shillings,
one for pounds, and one for scores of pounds, and an additional dial to denote the
amount of change given out. Each of the said indicating dials is properly marked
with figures, and is provided with an index or pointer c¹ fixed upon an arbor or
spindle c; two of these spindles are shewn provided with a starting or operating
handle whereby they may be revolved. The dials over which the said handles
move have a rim b¹ of brass or other metal, in which at the zero point is inserted
a piece b² of vulcanite or other suitable insulating material. Upon this piece b³
the handle d rests when in its normal position, the said handle being caused (after
it has been moved around the disc) to return to the zero point, as hereinafter
described. One terminal of the battery is connected with the ring or rim b', and
the other with a series of contact-pieces hereinafter described, so that the circuit
which will be completed by the contact of the handle or lever d with the said rim
will be broken when the said handle is in contact with the insulating material at b²,
or in other words, when it is in its normal position.
To prevent any motion of the arbor or spindle c during the backward move-
ment of the handle d to its normal position, I provide the devices represented in
Figures 6 and 7, that is to say, I attach to the arbor c a ratchet-wheel c³, and
connect to the hub or boss d' of the handle d, which is loose upon the said arbor c,
a spring-pawl ; this pawl in each forward movement of the said handle engages
with a tooth of the wheel c², thereby rotating the same, and consequently the
arbor c and pointer c¹, but in the return movement of the said handle the pawl d²
rides over the teeth of the ratchet-wheel and does not therefore alter the position
of the said pointer.
The shafts or spindles c are geared together by wheels f which I term the main
wheels. Each arbor c is provided with a ratchet-wheel g arranged in combination
with a pawl or click h, which is designed to hold the said ratchet-wheel and thereby
prevent the turning of the arbor until the handle d is moved from the insulating
piece b² represents a spring for keeping the pawl h in proper engagement with
the ratchet-wheel g.
To the hub d' of each handle d is attached one end of a spiral spring d*, whose
other end is attached to a bracket e* on the plate e. This spring serves to carry
the bandle d back to its normal or zero point when it is released after being turned
around or partially around over the disc b. The hub or boss of each of the handles d
is provided with a pin do (see Figures 6 and 7), which is adapted to come in contact
with the projecting arm or bracket e* on the plate e, and serves as a stop to prevent
too great a recoil of the said handle when the same is released. The said pin and
arm moreover ensure the stopping of the said handle at the zero point in whichever
direction it may be turned.
One novel feature of my Invention consists in the peculiar kind of wheel-gearing
employed to connect the dial-shafts c with each other, so that they will operate
conjointly, and so that the proper amounts in pounds, shillings, and pence will be
registered on the series of dials by the turning of the starting handle of one of the
said arbors. The main wheels f, which constitute this gearing, are toothed, with
the exception of the wheel on the first dial-shaft, as clearly shewn in Figure 5, but
instead of being geared together in the ordinary manner they are arranged as
follows, that is to say:-The wheel or disc f on the first dial-shaft c is provided

page_text: with a device i, which I term a spring-tooth; this tooth is pivotted at i¹ near the
periphery of the said wheel or disc, and projects outward beyond the periphery of
the same, so that when it approaches a position wherein it will coincide with a
line drawn from the axis of the said wheel to that of the intermediate wheel or
pinion, the said spring-tooth will gear with the said wheel f*, which in turn
gears with the wheel f on the arbor c of the second dial. This wheel f will thereby
be turned such a distance as to cause its index or pointer c¹ to travel over one
division of its dial b. The wheel ƒ on the second dial shaft or spindle is in like
manner provided with a spring-tooth to engage with the main wheel on the third
dial-spindle, and the last named wheel has a similar tooth to engage with the main
wheel of the fourth spindle. Each spring-tooth has a tail 12, against which bears a
spring j. A small stop is fixed in the wheel in such a position that when the
latter is turned forward or in the direction of the arrow, Figure 5, the tooth is
unyielding, and will act on the next adjacent wheel in the series so as to turn the
main wheel of the second dial, as above described. If however it is desired to turn
the last named wheel forward without turning the first wheel the spring j will
allow the spring-tooth to yield, and permit the teeth of the intermediate wheel f*
to pass. This arrangement of gearing therefore not only permits me to actuate all
of the arbors or spindles c together, but also allows them to be turned separately or
independently of each other, and it will be found much more compact and conve-
nient than the ordinary wheel and pinion gearing. Another novel feature of my
Invention consists in the combination with the above described apparatus of means
for controlling the same, and sounding the bells by electricity.
To provide for the sounding of the bells on the movement of either of the
handles d, I connect the wire 1 from one terminal of the battery to the electro-
magnets, which on being energized by the passage of an electrical current attract
their armatures 2*, so that the hammers thereon strike the bells m. This wire 1 is
also connected to the metal rims of the first and second dials. The wire 2 from the
other terminal of the battery is connected with metal contact-pieces n, at which the
circuit is normally broken. To permit the closing of the circuit through the said
pieces I attach to the pawls h, which engage with the ratchet-wheels g on the first
and second dial-spindles or arbors, arms or pieces o, which are brought into contact
with the said pieces by the outward movement of the pawl cach time the ratchet-
wheel is moved the distance of one tooth.
The operation of the said devices is as follows, that is to say:-When the
handle d of either the first or second dial rests in its normal position upon the
insulating piece 62, the circuit is broken, as no current can pass from the rim b¹ into
the said handle, and thence to the arm o. As soon however as either of the said
handles is moved from the piece b² the current flows through the said handle and
through the spindle c to the arm o, and when the handle is turned to the extent of
one division the said arm will be forced by the movement of the pawl h into
contact with the piece n, and complete the circuit through the electro-magnet 7,
thereby causing the bell to be sounded.
If the handle d is moved over several divisions upon the dial b, then the bell will
be rung a number of times corresponding with that of the divisions passed over, as
the contact of the pieces n, o, will be effected at each movement of a tooth of the
ratchet-wheel-g past the pawl h.
In order to prevent the movement of the main wheels f when the circuit is
broken, I arrange upon the arbors or shafts c a disc p having a series of notches p¹.
In combination with these discs I arrange pivotted arms or levers 9, which are
forced into contact with the. said discs by springs q¹. These arms or levers are
connected by a chain or other means to the armature 7 of an electro-magnet 7 in
such a manner that on the passage of an electric current therethrough the said
armature will be attracted and will raise the levers 9 out of contact with the
discs p, and consequently prevent their engagement with the notches in the said discs,
so that the latter are free to revolve. When however the circuit is interrupted the

page_text: said levers or arms q will be forced into the notches p', and will consequently
prevent the rotation of the main wheels, and thus render any fraudulent movement
of the dial-indexes impracticable.
To permit the last payment made to be readily seen prior to its being deposited
in the closed drawer or other receptacle for the same in the bottom of the box or
case a, I prefer to arrange in the lower part of the latter a plate 8 adapted to turn on
pivots & supported in the sides of the said case. This plate, when in its normal
position, rests against a glass-plate t at the front of the case or box and supports
the money in such a position that it may be seen through the said plate t. The
lower edge of the said plate s is attached by a chain or other suitable connection
to the armature v¹ of an electro-magnet v. This armature on being attracted draws
the lower end of the plate & rearward to permit the money resting thereon to fall
into the drawer or receptacle beneath. To prevent such a rearward movement of
the plate by the weight of the money thereon I prefer to form one end of the
armature with a hook 2, which, when the said armature is not attracted by the
magnet r, rests in front of the upper edge of the plates and consequently prevents
any forward movement of the same. When however the said magnet is energized
by the passage of the current the said hook will be raised out of engagement
with the plate s so as to allow the latter to drop the money as above set forth.
In the above named Figures of the Drawings I have shewn two dials only
provided with handles and two bells, but it will be evident that a greater
number of handles and bells may be provided if desired.
Moreover in some cases
the intermediate wheel f* may be dispensed with and the main wheel f of the
second dial be operated directly by the spring-tooth i of the wheel of the first
dial. Such an arrangement is illustrated in the apparatus shewn in Figures 8
to 11 of the Drawings. These Figures represent the dials arranged horizontally
instead of vertically as in the preceding Figures, and shew various modifications in
the disposition of the different parts of the same. For instance, three of the
dials bare shewn provided with bandles d, and three bells are arranged in
connection with the same. When this apparatus is employed a separate box or.
receptacle for the money is preferably used and provided with a plate pivotted in
a similar manner to the plate s in Figure 2, and controlled by an electro-magnet
connected by suitable wires with the said apparatus. To provide for the locking
of the handles in the apparatus illustrated in Figures 8 to 11, I, in some cases,
employ a longitudinally sliding bar or rod which controls the movement of the
pawls or clicks h, and is provided with arms or connected with locking pieces
arranged to engage with the said pawls for this purpose. This bar has an arm
which forms the armature of an electro magnet, and is forced in one direction by
a spring, so that the said armature will be separated from the magnet and the
arins or locking pieces will engage with the said pawls. When however the
circuit is completed the magnet attracts the said armature and pulls the sliding
rod forward, thereby releasing the pawls which hold the ratchet-wheels g so that
the mechanism may be operated by turning one of. the handles d. I prefer, in
some cases, to attach to the plate a¹ an extra dial a*, as shewn in Figure 1 of the
Drawings. This dial is provided with indexes or pointers which are set by the
proprietor or person in charge of the till each day to a proper position to indicate
the amount of change supplied to the shopman or other receiver of money.
Having thus fully described my said Invention and the manner of performing
the same, I wish it understood that I claim in an apparatus for preventing fraud
by money receivers,―
First. The dial-rim provided with the piece of insulating material in combi-
nation with the handle and the pointer or index, substantially as above set forth
and for the purposes specified.
Second. The combination with the arbor, upon which the handle is mounted
of the spring surrounding the boss of the said handle and the stop consisting of
the pin and the arm or bracket, substantially as above set forth and for the
purposes specified.

page_text: Tbird. The dial-arbor provided with a ratchet-wheel c² in combination with .the
spring-pawl on the loose boss or sleeve of the handle, substantially as above set
forth and for the purposes specified.
Fourth. The combination with the arbor operated by the handles of the ratchet
wheel g fixed on the said arbor and the pawl h, with or without the arm o, adapted
to make contact with a piece n, all substantially as above set forth and for the
purposes specified.
Fifth. A wheel provided with a pivotted tooth which projects beyond the toothed
or other periphery of the said wheel, and is provided with a tail to be acted on by
a spring, and is arranged in combination with a stop, substantially as above set
forth and for the purposes specified.
Sixth. The combination with the series of shafts or arbors carrying the ratchet
wheels g of the main wlieels provided with the spring-teeth, substantially as above
set forth and for the purposes specified.
Seventh. The combination with the aforesaid series of dials of the series of
wheels provided with spring-teeth, so arranged and operating that the indexes of
the different dials of the series are caused by the manipulation of the handle or
handles to co-operate to register on the said dials the amounts paid, as above set
forth.
Eighth. The combination with the rim b¹ connected with one terminal of a battery
and the contact piece n connected with the other terminal of the said battery of
the piece o adapted to close the circuit on the movement of the handle d and sound
a bell included within the said circuit, substantially as above set forth and for the
purpose specified.
Ninth. The apparatus consisting of the parts constructed, combined, and arranged
as illustrated in Figures 1 to 7, or in Figures 8 to 11 of the Drawings, and
operating substantially as set forth for the purposes specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Browne Wolsey Webb, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of January, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
-
("S'T)
WYDDD,
TOTA