Certain Improvements in Apparatus Employed for Checking the Receipt of Money from Persons Riding in Public Vehicles.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 9th June, 1887
Complete Specification Left, 9th Mar., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 8th Sept., 1888
Certain Improvements in Apparatus Employed for Checking the
Receipt of Money from Persons Riding in Public Vehicles.
JOHN MELTON BLACK Tabernacle Street, City of London, Gentleman, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements on that description of punch instrument
which is employed for punching and registering the number and value of tickets
issued to passengers riding in public vehicles, in exchange for their fares, and the
object of the present. Invention is adapting to such instrument a second punch or
"snipper," which will enable such instrument to punch and snip that description of
ticket employed for checking the receipt of fares which is described in the Specifica-
tion of a Patent, bearing date the 23rd April 1887 No. 5907.
The punch Instrument to which this Invention is more particularly applicable is
one which partakes of a square formation, secured by slides to a back plate, so that
the punch instrument can be suspended by a strap passing round the conductors
neck or otherwise, the lever actuating the punch lever communicating by a lever and
rod with the punch slide is placed below the bottom of the box containing the receptacle
for receiving the pips punched from the ticket, and my improvements consist in
placing a second punch alongside the first or principle punch and actuating the same
by a lever placed a little in the rear of the first punch lever or in a position, convenient
for being acted upon separately from the first punch.
The two punches are so arranged in their slides relative to the back bed plate
against which the ticket is placed when in position for punching that one punch will
act slightly in advance of the other, for example the ticket when place! in the slit on
the platform for being punched will first have a hole punched out of the division
or terminal section on the ticket representing the place to which the passenger is
going and then the second or superior punch will be actuated so as to punch a white
or coloured pip out of the division of the ticket representing the fare value of the
distance to be travelled.
071 1
1007
THOMAS WRIGLEY,
36, High Holborn, W.C.,
Agent to Applicant.

page_text: Certain Improvements in Apparatus Employed for Checking the
Receipt of Money from Persons Riding in Public Vehicles.
I JOHN MELTON BLACK Tabernacle Street City of London Gentleman do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement
This invention relates to improvements in apparatus used by conductors of public
vehicles for the purpose of punching tickets to be given in exchange for money fares
from passengers riding in public vehicles or by persons employed in the collection of
money for fares in Steamboats Ferries Piers &ct. or for admission to places of recreation
and amusement.
In apparatus of this kind as hitherto constructed the object has been to improve the
construction of the instrument generally known as a Ticket or Registering or Cancelling
punch which shall in the hands of an Operator deface or cancel one of a series of
Tickets each series representing by its special colour or printed impression thereon
-one special fare value or price of admission by means of punching or snipping one
piece out of the ticket and collecting in a receptacle the piece so punched or snipped
out to be afterwards counted if required and registering the number of pieces so
punched or snipped out by means of various kinds of numbering apparatus but so far
as I am aware no instrument has been bitherto used or constructed so as to cancel or
delace one of a single series of tickets representing and available for all fare values
and sectional stations or localities on the route to be traversed by punching or suipping
two pieces out of the ticket and by this defacement to indicate the value of the fare
paid by the passenger to the Conductor and the sectional station or locality to which
the passenger is entitled to travel for the fare so paid.
The object therefore of this invention is the construction of a novel form of
Ticket punch so as to carry out the system of tickets for checking the receipt of
fares of money which is fully described in the Specifications No. 5907 and
No. 15,785 A.D. 1887 wherein one ticket is to represent all the various fares and
sectional localities on the route to he traversed in place of separate and special coloured
tickets for each fare as now used thereby necessitating a punch instrument of a
special construction so as to punch two holes in each ticket issued to passengers
in exchange for their fares the one to represent the value of the fare paid the
other to indicate the locality to which the passenger is entitled to travel. The
clipping from the punch to represent the value of the fare paid is collected in a
locked receptacle of the punch to be afterwards counted if required the other
clipping representing the sectional locality to which the passenger is entitled to
travel is not collected except required.
In order that the invention may be well understood and explained in detail I have
hereunto annexed two.sheets of drawings upon which letters of reference are marked
in corresponding parts on all the Figures alike.

page_text: Fig. 1 represents the apparatus in elevation with the front cover and inner plate
upon which the cover slides and the lower plate covering the lever and slide of the
projecting platforms removed showing the means whereby the slides and levers act
upon the two punches in the punch head and also upon the numerating discs.
Fig. 2 represents a section of the apparatus through the lines - shewing the
position of the two punches in the punch head.
Fig. 3 is a back view of the punch head removed from the bed plate shewing the
position of the punch slides.
Figs. 4 and 4a represent the cover or lid in elevation and section showing the
receptacle for the clippings of the punch.
Fig. 5 is a representation of the inner plate upon which the cover or lid slides.
Fig. 6 represents the cover of the slide and lever of the projecting platforms.
Figs. 7 and 7 a represent the class of ticket back and front for which this
instrument is specially applicable showing two holes punched out of the same, the
one representing the amount of fare paid the other the sectional station or locality to
which the passenger is entitled to travel for the fare so paid and in accordance with
the hereinbefore recited Specifications.
A is the bed plate upon which the various parts are mounted B is the outer casing
in which the cover 6' for holding the clippings slides is the inner plate upon which
the cover rests when the lid is closed is the punch head having two punches or
plungers cc working therein is the slit or opening in which the tickets are
inserted to be operated upon by the two plungers D is a bracket arm having a slit in
the same into which the head of the superior punch or plunger c¹ is placed and fixed
to the slide d' which is fitted so as to slide on the bed plate and at the back of the
punch head is a lever acting upon the slide d¹ by means of the projecting
piece and another slide actuating the lever d² Upon one side of the slide d³ a
series of rack teeth is placed adapted to act by means of a tumbler pawl pawl dog
hammer rest spring and hammer upon the bell H and so ring the bell at each full
depression of the lever d' as in the ordinary punches now in common use and also to
prevent the slide 3 returning to its normal position until this full depression has been
accomplished by the well known means usually adapted for that purpose is a lever
acting upon the slide d³ having a projecting platform d for the finger or thumb to
operate the lever which by its depression acts upon the slide d³ lever slided bracket
arm D and plunger c¹ and the pin K E is a bracket arm fastened to the slide e¹, and
having a slit in the same into which the head of the punch or plunger c² is placed.
e' is the slide fitted to slide outside the slide d¹ and on the bed plate A and at the back
of the punch head c e2 is a lever acting upon the slide e¹ by means of the projecting
piece and the pin on the slide e³ which slide has at et a series of rack teeth acting
upon a tumbler pawl e and pawl dog to prevent the return of the slide e² to its normal
position until the full depression of the slide has been accomplished and at the foot of
the slide is the projecting platform e for the finger or thumb to operate the slide
which by its depression acts upon the lever e slide e bracket arm E and plunger c²
and the pin K when required to do so.
F. are two spiral springs held in their positions by the pins G gg2g³ the spring F
acting upon the slide d' and the spring on the slide e¹. I is a set of numbering
discs fitted as in ordinary punches and actuated in the usual way by ratchet wheels
springs and pawls vibrating upon an arm suspended from the axle upon which the
numbering discs are placed and having upon the standard of the frame next to the
slide a sliding piece into which the pin K is fitted This sliding piece has a to
and fro motion equal to the throw of the vibrating arm carrying the pawls and
through which a pin is placed so as to act upon the same Upon the slide d³ the
pin is fixed in such a position as to cause the pin K to turn over one of the
faces of the unit disc at each full depression of the slide and upon the slide el a
bar is fixed having upon it the pin k so placed as also to cause the pin K to turn
over one of the faces of the unit disc at each full depression of the slide which
pins act direct upon the pin K of the sliding piece at, each depression of either
slide and are so placed as to act independent of each other that is to say if the

page_text: slide d³ is depressed the pin 3 would remain stationary and if the slide e¹ is
depressed the pin would remain stationary The return movement of the vibrating
arm carrying the pawls is caused by means of spring fingers resting upon the side
pieces of the arm which causes it when pressed forward by the pin K of the sliding
piece to return to its original position When the slide da alone acts upon the pin K
and the pin ka is removed then I dispense with the spring fingers on the vibrating
arm and in place of the same employ another pin fixed to the slide 3 as at k to
effect the same object If preferred the vibrating arm of the numbering discs carrying
the pawls can be fixed to the axle of the discs and a lever and stud fitted to the
axle outside the frame and next to the slide d³ in which case the lever and stud
would take the place of the sliding piece and pin K and the pins k¹ and k³ would
act upon the lever and stud in the same way as on the pin of the sliding piece I
prefer however that the slide acting upon the punch from which the clippings.are
collected should alone act upon the numbering discs in which case the numbers on
the discs should correspond with the number of the last consecutively numbered
ticket issued by a conductor If on the other hand both punches act upon the
numbering discs then the numbers on the discs will always be double the number
of the last consecutively numbered ticket issued by a conductor that is to say provid-
ing the numbering discs have been set at starting at double the number less two as
the number of the first ticket to be issued by a conductor.
Tho cover can be locked by any of the usual means adopted in instruments of this
class as a Letter ring Combination lock a sealed lock or the various well known kinds
of permutation locks I would also remark that the second punch of the punch
head can be placed on either side of the superior punch and in advance of the same
in which case a
slight re-arrangement of levers slides and springs would be necessary
but I prefer the second punch in the position as shown in the drawings annexed to
render the punching of the tickets certain and effective.
In order that the invention may be more clearly understood I will explain the
method of using this novel form of punch and I would remark that I prefer to mount
the same upon a plate having two side pieces for the punch to slide in and to suspend
this plate by means of a strap over the shoulders of the Operator in which case the
punch platforms would be operated by the thumb of the left hand both hands of the
Operator being free when the punch is not in use.
It is necessary for the utilization of this kind of instrument a special form of con-
secutively numbered ticket which shall have upon the face of the same separate coloured"
spaces for all the fares chargeable on the route to be traversed and also printed upon
the face of the same the sectional stations or localities on the route to be traversed in
the order of their position To better exemplify the working I will take as an example
one of the routes in London traversed by an Omnibus Company namely that from
Kensal Green to London Bridge upon which there are eleven sectional stations and
five different fares 1' 2" 3" 4" which by the method now in use would require five
separate series of tickets of different colours one for each fare and which fares would
continually vary as the Omnibus arrived at another sectional station necessitating the
"from and to" stations included in the various special fares to be printed on the face
of the several series of coloured tickets which divisions on this route would be numerous
By the system of tickets described in the Specifications No. 5907 and No. 15,785
A.D. 1887 one ticket answers for all the fares and sectional stations on this route
which for example is illustrated in Figs. 7 and 7 a of the drawings The ticket repre-
sented at Fig. 7 front and back view has the left hand margin divided into five spaces
that for the penny fare being white the two penny fare blue the three penny fare red,
the four penny fare orange and the five penny fare green The ticket represented at
Fig. 7a back and front view which I prefer for a route upon which the penny fares
largely predominate has the penny fares placed on the right hand margin and the
coloured spaces to represent the other fares upon the left hand margin Suppose. the
passenger enters the vehicle at Kensal Green to ride to Oxford Circus the fare being
three pence then the Copductor would hand the passenger a ticket punched in the red
section indicating the three penny fare the clipping from which is collected in

page_text: the locked receptacle of the punch and the number registered on the numbering
discs and then punches a triangular or other shaped piece out of the sectional division
"Oxford Circus " indicating that the passenger is entitled to ride to Oxford
Circus for the fare paid but no further as shown at Fig. 7 and the number of the
consecutively numbered ticket so issued will be the same as the number on the recording
apparatus of the punch when the superior punch is only acting on the numbering
discs that is to say suppose the consecutive number of the ticket so issued was 2754
then the number on the registering discs would be 2754 also Suppose the passenger
enters the vehicle at Tottenham Court Road to ride to the Bank the fare for which
distance is one penny then the Conductor punches the ticket in the white division
representing the penny fare and punches a triangular or other shaped piece in the
division "Bank" as shown in Fig. 7a and hands same to passenger and the Tablet
form (described in the hereinbefore recited Specification) placed in a prominent part
of the vehicle and upon which the number of the next ticket to be issued by the
Conductor after passing a sectional station is entered in large figures will indicato
in the event of dispute the exact locality where the passenger joined the vehicle
This method is applicable to any number of fares or sectional localities on the route
to be traversed I would here remark that when the punch is handed to the Con-
ductor the number on the registering discs should always be placed at one unit less
than the first number of the bundle of consecutively numbered tickets handed to the
Conductor and as the numbering discs are continuous in their action so will they always
agree with the consecutive number of the ticket in the hands of the Conductor when
the superior punch is only acting on the numbering discs.
To ascertain the amount of money taken by the Conductor during the time the
punch has been used the total number of tickets issued is ascertained by the difference
between the number on the register at starting and the number on the register when
the punch is delivered and the number on the registering dises should be the same
number as the last ticket issued by the Conductor or one less than the number of
the next consecutively numbered ticket to be issued. These numbers being in accord
shews apparently a correct issue of tickets but as each ticket may represent a different
money value it will be necessary to count the coloured clippings only deducting the
total of these from the total number of tickets issued which will give the number of
the white or penny fares received. Suppose 800 tickets were issued during the day
200 of these being represented by coloured clippings in the receptacle and of these
200 clippings 100 are blue equal two pence each 50 red equal three pence each
30 orange equal four pence each 20 green equal five pence each the total representing
570 pennies to be added to 600 the difference between 200 and 800 making a total of
1170 pennies received by the Conductor during the day's work.
By this system of punch the Conductor will be compelled to hand into the exchequer
of the Company all the contents of his money bag without being able to compare the
same with the tickets he had issued or remaining thereby securing advantages to the
Proprietors of Public Vehicles &ct. of much greater supervision over the receipts of
the Conductors than has hitherto been the case by the use of the present system of
single Ticket punches and separate bundles of coloured tickets for each fare on the
route to be traversed.
This system also prevents the issue of old tickets for new tickets and enables those
persons employed on a line of route as "Inspectors of tickets" to perform their duty
inore efficiently owing to the numbers upon the tickets issued by the Conductors being
always in consecutive order.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1st. The general construction and arrangement of the improved apparatus for
checking the receipt of money from persons riding in public vehicles substantially as

page_text: 2nd. The combination in one instrument of two punches constructed and arranged
so as to be operated by slides and levers and which punches are capable of acting the
one in advance of the other substantially as and for the purposes described.
3rd. The use and employment of a ticket punch having two punches one to indicate
the fare paid and the other the station to which a person is entitled to travel constructed
combined and operating substantially as described.
4th. In the approved apparatus the means of actuating numbering discs by slides
connected with the respective punches operating independently of each other as
described and shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.
T: 0th of Mo 1888