IMPROVEMENTS IN MILEAGE INDICATORS FOR CABS AND OTHER VEHICLES."
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jonathan Sellers, of Preston, in the County of
Lancaster, Boxwood Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MILEAGE INDICATORS FOR CABS AND OTHER VEHICLES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jonathan Sellers at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th May 1870.
I, JONATHAN SELLERS, of Preston, in the County of Lancaster,
Boxwood Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MILEAGE INDICATORS FOR CABS AND OTHER VEHICLES," to
be as follows :-
My Invention relates to an improved combination and arrangement
of mechanism which when applied to a cab or other vehicle will show
the distance travelled during each journey as well as the total distance
travelled by the cab within a given period, and consists in a worm, which
I prefer to make of plate secured to the nave of the wheel by the bolts
which hold the wheel on to the axle, and in a bracket secured to the

page_text: axle and carrying the bearings of a short shaft having a worm wheel on
it, which gears with the worm secured to the nave. The said bracket
also forms a cover for the worm and worm wheel. To the end of the
short shaft (and this form a peculiar feature of my Invention) one end
of a helical spring is attached; this spring is curved and bent in any
required form to connect its other end to a short shaft forming the first
motion shaft of the index mechanism, which is placed in any convenient
part of the vehicle. This helical spring forms the entire connecting
shaft between the two short shafts, and allows for the vibration and
movement between the body of the carriage or vehicle and the axle, and
the said spring conveys rotary motion from one short shaft to the other.
The index mechanism consists of two parts, one dial exposed to the
public view and showing the mileage of the journey, the other dial is
enclosed by a cover, and may be locked by the proprietor, showing the
total mileage. I prefer to make the index mechanism with a dial for
the public like a clock, and having twelve divisions and two central
hands; one hand makes one-twelfth of a revolution for a mile, the other
an entire revolution. These two hands are arranged upon a central
shaft, and are driven by friction or otherwise, and they are brought
back to zero at the beginning of a journey by pressing upon a button
which slides the shaft endways and releases the hands which are
weighted to bring them back to zero. The hand showing the total
distance is driven by friction, and can be turned back by the proprietor
to its zero when the cover is unlocked.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Jonathan Sellers in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 26th November 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JONATHAN
SELLERS, of Preston, in the County of Lancaster, Boxwood Merchant,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of May, in the year
of our Lord. One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Jonathan Sellers, Her special license that I,

page_text: the said Jonathan Sellers, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Jonathan Sellers, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time
to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and
Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MILEAGE INDICATORS FOR
CABS AND OTHER VEHICLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Jonathan Sellers, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Jonathan Sellers, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :—
My Invention relates to mechanism which when applied to a cab or
other vehicle will show the distance travelled during each journey, as
well as the total distance travelled by the cab within a given period,
and the distances travelled when occupied or engaged and when empty
or disengaged; and my Invention consists in improved combinations
and arrangements of mechanism, which will be most readily understood
by reference to the accompanying Drawings and the following description
thereof:
Fig. 1 is a side view of part of a four-wheeled cab with the door
removed, showing the application of my Invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional
view of part of the same, looking towards the driver's seat in front;
Fig. 3 is a cross section, and Fig. 4 a plan of a part of a four-wheeled
cab, shewing an alternative arrangement of the barrier to be herein-after
described. Fig. 5 is a side view of part of a Hansom cab, shewing my
Invention applied; and Fig. 6 is a view of part of the axle and nave of
the wheel and the mechanism to be applied thereto. Fig. 7 is a detached
full-size back view of part of the mechanism for actuating the barrier
and index; and Fig. 8 is an end view of the cam which works the sliding
plate or locking bar herein-after described. Fig. 9 is a longitudinal
section of the indicator mechanism; and Fig. 10, a view of the inside of

page_text: the door when opened. Fig. 11 is a back view, shewing the recording
drum and index, and the bearings of the worm shaft, and other parts in
section. Fig. 12 is a partial longitudinal section, showing the recording
drum and an alternative arrangement of its tracer and index hand, which
alternative arrangement is also shewn in Fig. 11. Fig. 12ª is a detached
plan of the tracer and spring and index hand; Fig. 13 is a back sectional
view, and Fig. 14 a cross sectional view of the index mechanism, which
may be used when the total distance travelled by the vehicle is only
required to be shewn.
The indicator mechanism (x) is worked by a worm (a) secured to the
nave (a¹) of one of the wheels (I prefer one of the hind wheels of four-
wheeled vehicles, as shewn in Fig. 1). This worm is a thin plate with a
single screw thread upon it, and it is secured to the nave of the wheel
by the three screw bolts usually employed in securing the wheel on the
ordinary patent axle or by other suitable means. To the axle (a²) a
bracket (as) is secured by the same bolts that secure the spring (a¹) to
the axle, and this bracket carries the bearings of a short shaft (a³), upon
which a worm wheel (a) is secured that gears with the worm (a) secured
to the nave (a¹). To the short shaft (a³) one end of a flexible shaft 6 is
connected, the other end of which is attached to the short shaft of the
index mechanism; this flexible shaft is formed by coiling wire into the
form of an helical spring. I prefer to arrange the flexible shaft so that
it will be acted upon laterally as much as possible rather than in the
direction of its length by the movements of the vehicle upon its springs,
as shewn in Figs. 1, 2, and 5, and also to envelope the flexible shaft with
a cover or tube of leather or like material, passing it through suitable
guides, holders, or bearings (61) fixed to the body of the carriage, as shown,
to keep it steady; and where the shaft passes in a horizontal straight
line between two bearings, as shewn in Fig. 1, a piece of straight wood
or metal may be passed through the interior of the coil to keep it from
sagging. It will be obvious that with the flexible shaft (6) the index
mechanism (x) may be placed in any desired position, but I prefer to
secure it to the outside of the vehicle, near one of the side windows (c)
in front of the vehicle, as shewn in Figs. 1, 2, and 5, with the dial for
the public looking back from the driver, so that a person seated in the
vehicle and facing the driver can easily see the dial. The index
mechanism is in a cylindrical box (x), having bearings for a vertical short
shaft (d), which may be arranged in its bearings as shewn in Figs. 9 and

page_text: Upon the hollow
13, or, as I prefer it, as shewn in Fig. 11, in which the upper and
lower journals are formed by brass tubes brased or otherwise secured
upon the shaft. The worm is small enough in diameter to allow the
shaft to be passed endways through its bearings from the upper side of
the box, and secured by the collar d', as shewn. The worm (d³) gears
with a wheel d³ free to rotate upon a boss or hollow shaft d' upon a
central solid shaft (e). The wheel d³ has a pawl jointed to its side,
which takes into the teeth of a ratchet wheel (de) fast upon the hollow
shaft d. This arrangement, which is shewn best in Fig. 13, prevents
the index mechanism from being turned backwards.
shaft (d) a wheel (d) is secured that gears with one d³ secured to a
pinion d working on a screw stud d* on a cross partition at of the index
box, the pinion de gears with a wheelf having its exterior bearing in the
cross partition (r). The central solid shaft (e) passes through the wheel f
which has a key groove in it for a key e¹ secured in the central solid
shaft, as shewn. The boss of the wheel f is coned internally to fit an
externally coned boss f, which is loose upon the central solid shaft e,
and to this boss the index hand f* for the public is secured, the dial
being divided into twelve divisions (or any other convenient number)
like a clock, as shewn in Fig. 2. The dial is enclosed by glass x³ in a
frame secured to the box x. Fast upon the hollow shaft d' there is a
pinion 9, which gears with a wheel g¹ secured upon the end of a long
pinion g, which rotates upon a screw stud fixed in the partition plate a³
secured in the cylindrical box. The long pinion g² gears with the wheel g*
secured upon a hollow boss g, having its bearing on the partition
plate. The interior of this hollow boss fits and slides at one end upon
the exterior of the hollow shaft d'; its other end is secured to a drum (4)
which is loose upon the central solid shaft, upon the end of which a
knob eis screwed. Upon the central solid shaft a helical spring
placed, one end of which acts against the drum h, and the other against
the end of the hollow shaft d', the result of which action is to force the
central solid shaft endways and pull the external cone f' into the
internal conefto give friction sufficient to cause the hand f³ to move
with the wheel ƒ and central solid shaft. Round the cone boss f¹ a
volute or spiral spring f' is coiled, one end being attached to the cone
boss, the other to the face of the dial; and this spring acts to bring back
the hand against a pin f' at zero or the figure XII, when the index is to
be adjusted, which is done by pressing the knob e² so as to force the
solid shaft e endways until one cone is released from the other, and the
is

page_text: cone boss f¹ being then loose on the shaft the volute spring f³ can then
act to bring back the hand. This may be done by weighting the hand
so that the weight will descend to its lowest point when the cone boss is
released, and bring the point of the hand to zero, in which case the
pin would not be required. The wheels are so calculated in relation
to the circumference of the carriage wheel from which the index is
driven that each of the twelve divisions on the public dial will represent
a mile, and each twelfth is further divided into four quarters. The dial
for the proprietor, shewing the total distance run, rotates, and is formed
on the face of the disc of the drum h, the hand or pointer for this dial
being fixed. The dial in the example shewn, see Fig. 11, is divided to
represent 60 miles in one revolution. To show the distance travelled at
each hiring, when occupied or engaged and when empty or disengaged,
there is a loose ring or hoop h¹, which is placed upon the exterior of the
rotating drum dial h; this ring being prevented from moving by the
pressure and friction caused by a spring h³ secured to the disc of the
drum, as shewn in Figs. 11 and 12. This ring is also divided on its edge
to correspond with the divisions from the face of the rotating dial, so that
its position when placed upon the drum can be seen and recorded. To
the cylindrical face of the ring a ribbon of paper is attached similar to
that used for writing upon with a metallic pencil; the two ends of the
ribbon of paper are secured on a point in the ring, and kept down by
a spring (h*) secured to the ring (see Fig. 9). The two ends of the
ribbon of paper are secured near the zero of the index of the ring, and
this
zero is brought opposite the point of the tracer ³ when the
apparatus is set for use. The tracer employed may be of any suitable
metal, but I prefer a small piece of silver wire fixed in a holder h* by a
screw. This holder is capable of lifting vertically, being guided in a
bracket hº secured to the partition plate (x*³), and the tracing wire is
pressed down upon the paper by a helical spring round the holder, as
shewn in Fig. 9. There is a vertical slot in the bracket h for the
screw h³, and this slot at its upper end changes to a horizontal direction,
so that the screw may be lifted and then turned to one side to lift and
hold the tracing wire above the surface of the paper when required.
Another arrangement of the wire tracer is shewn in Figs. 11, 12, and
Fig. 12ª. In this case a spring bracket he is used (which also acts as
the index hand), into which bracket a piece of wire is screwed and
secured by a lock nut, as shewn. The wire can be screwed down as the

page_text: end wears away. The wire tracer will mark a line upon the paper, the
length of which will be in proportion to the distance travelled, but if the
drum / merely rotated the line would only be a continuous straight line,
and to make a distinction between the full and empty it is arranged so
that the drum shall be pushed endways to occupy one position when the
vehicle is engaged, and another position when disengaged. When the
drum is in the position in which it is shewn in Figs. 9 and 11 the
tracer is recording an engagement, so that except the mechanism is set
to bring the hand for the public dial to zero at the completion of the
engagement, the tracer will continue to record an engagement when the
vehicle is empty. When the knob e' is pressed inwards the hand f* will
be brought to zero, and the central solid shaft and the drum, which has
been pushed endways by the movement, will be retained in that position
by a vertical locking slide i, secured to move freely in guides ¹ fastened
to the door x* of the index box. This slide drops down (as shown in
dotted line, Fig. 10) until a slot in it enters a circular groove in the
knob e. While the drum (h) is held in this position the tracer h³ will
mark the disengaged line, and the hand f² of the public dial will remain
at zero adjusted ready for the next engagement; but when the locking
bar i is forced upwards the drum slides (by the force of the spring e³) to its
engagement position, and the cone carrying the hand for the public is
drawn into gear at the same instant so as to record the mileage. The
door of the indicator is secured by a lock (2³) and key. In a groove
round the door a piece of india-rubber is inserted, and in the centre
opposite the knob (e) a diaphragm of india-rubber is secured by ring,
and the object of this is to keep the rain and dirt from entering the box
and prevent the knob from being turned. To make it necessary for the
driver of the vehicle to attend to the proper setting of the indicator,
I arrange barriers or obstructions in the inside of the vehicle, which will
have to be removed before the person or persons hiring the vehicle can
take his or their seats; and I connect these barriers or obstructions with
the index mechanism, so that when they are removed the tracer will
record an engagement when the vehicle travels.
ment of barrier is shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 5,
Figs. 3 and 4. The barrier in Figs. 1, 2, and 5
hinged to the front vertical part of the seat on
against the front riser of the seat when the vehicle is occupied, as shewn
in Fig. 2 in full line, and in dotted line in Fig. 1; and when the vehicle
is not engaged it is brought into a horizontal position to occupy nearly all
One form and arrange-
and another form in
consists of a frame k
an axis k¹; it is close

page_text: the space in front of the seat, as shewn in full line in Fig. 1. This barrier
or frame k is actuated by a rod passing through a slot in the seat close
to one side of the vehicle, which rod is connected with a crank k³ upon
a short horizontal shaft * connected with a handle or shaft having
bearings in the bracket carrying the indicator box (see Fig. 7). This
crank is turned a little past the "dead centre," when the barrier is lifted
by turning the handle k* until a pin in the cam k³ comes against a
stop or projection on the bracket, consequently the barrier will be held
up, as its own weight will tend to turn the handle in the opposite
direction to that in which it should move to lower the barrier. When
the barrier is up the slide i should be down in the position ready for hire,
as shewn in Fig. 7, but when the barrier is turned down out of the way
the cam k on the shaft * (see Figs. 7 and 8) will force up the slide and
release the recording drum 1, as before explained. The barrier k, as
shewn in Figs. 3 and 4, is placed so as to extend horizontally above the
seats when the vehicle is disengaged, and lie close to one side of the
vehicle when it is engaged. This barrier consists of a single arm or
frame when intended for a single-seated vehicle like a Hansom cab, but
is made double when for a double-seated or four-wheeled cab, the two
frames in the latter case being connected by a bar k*, which comes
above the doorway when the barrier is turned up (see Fig. 3). The
frame is connected to a shaft ¹ in suitable bearings attached to the side
of the vehicle, and the shaft may be actuated by a pair of bevel
wheels, one of them on a short shaft k' passing through the side of the
vehicle to which the handle and cam for lifting the slide may be
connected. The shaft for the barriers may be covered to form an arm
rest when the barrier is turned up.
Figs. 13 and 14 shew an index for simply recording the total distance
travelled by the vehicle to which it is applied. d is the worm shaft; ď³,
the wheel in gear with the worm d³, which wheel is free to rotate one
way on the boss of a pinion d' loose upon the central solid shaft e.
There is a pawl d jointed upon the wheel &, which acts upon ratchet
teeth in a wheel de fast upon the boss of the pinion d', which can only
by this arrangement be driven forward and not backward. The pinion d*
gears with a wheel d' upon a screw stud d*, which has a pinion d upon
it that gears with a wheelf having its exterior bearing in a cross
partition x². On the end of the boss of the wheel fa disc h is secured in
front of the dial plate. The hand f is secured to the central solid

page_text: shaft e, which is drawn endways to bring the hand against the disc by a
spring e*, as shewn. With this arrangement the hand f can be set to
zero at the beginning of a journey, and by noting the position of the
hand when set to zero upon the disc h, which is divided in its face, the
proprietor can tell whether or not it has been tampered with. ** is the
door of the index hinged at x8, and x is the lock.
I have now particularly described the nature of my Invention, and the
mode of carrying it into effect, and claim as my Invention,—
Firstly. The general combination and arrangement of mechanism as
herein-before described and illustrated by the Drawings.
Secondly. The use of the flexible shaft for conveying motion from the
wheel of the vehicle to the index mechanism, substantially as described.
Thirdly. The use of paper prepared to be written upon by metallic
pencils upon a drum for recording mileage, substantially as herein-before
described and illustrated by the Drawings.
Fourthly. The use of barriers in vehicles for actuating the recording
mechanism, substantially as herein-before described and illustrated by
the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jonathan Sellers, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
Signed, scaled, and delivered by
the said Jonathan Sellers in
the presence of me,
J. T. JOHNSON,
Bookkeeper,
Kidderminster:
JONN. SELLERS. (L.S.)