Improved Means for Registering and Indicating Fares.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 6th July, 1896-Accepted, 12th Sept., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Registering and Indicating Fares.
I, JOHN FRANCIS OHMER, of 26 East 1st Street Dayton, in the State of Ohio,
United States of America, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention consists of means herein-after described for registering and
indicating the fares for street tramway traffic taken up by the conductor. For
example, the means contemplates registering and indicating each class of fares
separately. In describing the invention reference is made to the accompanying
drawings of which,
Figure 1, is a view in perspective, of the cabinet. A portion of the slide that
conceals the registering wheels is broken away to afford a view of said wheels.
Figure 2, is a front elevation of the mechanism removed from the cabinet.
Figure 3, is an end elevation, of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2.
.
Figure 4, is a detached detail view of one of the wheels that moves a respective.
register wheel.
In the detailed description similar letters of reference will indicate corresponding
parts.
A designates the inclosing case or cabinet having a series of sight openings a
across its upper front A¹. This latter part is adapted to receive a slide b that
closes a horizontal opening therein. The slide 6 may be made secure when pushed
in. In the drawings there is shown an end of said slide turned at a right angle and
provided with an opening therein through which a staple that projects from the
end of the cabinet may enter and the said slide may be secured by means of an
ordinary pad-lock; c c designates ears projecting from the ends of the cabinet to
which a strap may be secured by which the device may be suspended from the
conductor's belt. Referring to the internal mechanism, a' and a" and 61 and 6
designate the supporting parts or inner frame. c is a transverse shaft in fixed
bearings in the end pieces a' and a". Upon this shaft there are loosely mounted
several series of register wheels 1 2 3 and 4, each series or sets of which is separated
as indicated by the broken lines shown in Fig. 2, from which it will be seen that
some of said series or sets contain three while others have four wheels. This,
however, may be varied at pleasure, and the series may be uniform. These register
wheels are mounted adjacent to the horizontal sight openings in the front of the
cabinet and are visible there-through. The said wheels are of well known
construction and bear upon their peripheries, numerals from "0" to "9"; each
wheel representing a progressive numerical order, to wit; units, tens, hundreds etc.
The first or right hand wheel 1 of each series being the unit wheel. " designates
a second fixed shaft lying in the rear of and parallel with the shaft and upon
which are loosely mounted several series of wheels corresponding in number to the
series of register wheels. The wheels on shaft c¹ consist of toothed wheels e which
have each one tooth i out of line with the rest of the teeth thereon. e designates
a ratchet wheel which is fixed to the first one of the wheels e so that they
make a revolution together. This ratchet wheel in each series is in the rear of the
unit register wheel and the said unit register wheel is rotated by the wheel e that
moves with the ratchet wheel. The tooth i on the wheel e, when the latter makes
one revolution, will actuate the "tens" wheel on shaft c¹ to register the "teus."
Each of the wheels e is provided with one tooth that actuates the next higher -

page_text: order of register wheels, in a way that will be readily understood. f designates a
series of uniform slides the lower ends f' of which are turned at right angles and
lie below a transverse bar h that has a rigid attachment to the ends a¹ all of the
frame. These slides are provided with upper and lower slots jj through which,
screws d pass to slidingly support said slides. The said screws enter the bars
and similarly mounted in the end of the frame. k designates a series of helical
springs inclosing a round bar n and preserved under tension by one end thereof
being passed under and behind an upper parallel bar n', both of said bars n and n
are rigidly mounted in the end pieces a' a". The inner ends of these springs project
into the upper slots in said slides and exert a normal upward pressure thereon.
m designates a series of fare indicators carried by the slides f. There is one of
said indicators for each series of register wheels, and each indicator bears its
respective inscription, for example, the one operating in connection with the full
fare series of wheels will bear that inscription; that operating in connection with
the transfer series will bear the corresponding inscription, and so on throughout the
entire series. It is preferable to have the indicators lettered in different or
contrasting colors in order that they may be readily distinguished through the
sight openings a. o designates a cam lug on the rear of each of the slides f. p is
a series of sliding rods having finger pieces p' on their lower ends by which they
are operated. These rods are each inclosed in slots in bars qq' and have their
upper ends surrounded with helical springs q" that maintain them in an elevated
position, with the integral arms thereof in contact with the inwardly projecting
ends f¹ of the slides, and by means of which said slides are drawn downwardly to
present the indicators to their respective sight openings. s designates a releasing.
and retaining rod the lower longitudinal side of which is flat as shown in Fig. 3.
This rod lies adjacent to the rear side of the slides f and is rigidly mounted with its
flat side down, in two oscillating arms s that are pivoted to the ends of the frame
at t; t are two helical springs attached to the extreme upper ends of said arms,
and to a convenient place on the ends of the frame. Under the tension of these
springs the releasing and retaining bar or rod s is normally kept in the path of the
cam lugs o. As each respective slide is lowered by the actuating rods p, the
inclined part of the cam lug that is actuated is brought in contact with the upper
or rounded surface of the rod s which has the affect of pushing said rod inward
until the slide carrying said cam lug is lowered. The rod s immediately returns
to its normal position after said cam lug has passed. The flat side of the rod is
then above the cam lug, therefore, it locks said slide and its indicator
in a lower or exposed position until another rod p is actuated; this affects
the retaining and releasing rod in the same manner, and as the said rod s
is pressed inward by the downwardly moving cam lug, the slide that was
previously being held down, is simultaneously released. For example, it will
be noted in Fig. 2, that an indicator showing a half fare is being exposed;
should a transfer ticket be next received by the conductor he will draw down rod p
of the transfer series; this act releases the half fare indicator and permits it to
ascend under the tension of its respective spring k. u designates a spring-pressed
ratchet pawl pivoted to each of the rods p and engaging with the ratchet wheels e¹.
It will be noted that movement of each rod p simultaneously actuates an indicator,
and the register wheels of each respective series. The bell w in the bottom of the
frame is also sounded by the movement of any of the rods p by means of pins v
that project from said rods. These pins v are brought in contact with a horizontal
bar o mounted in pivoted arms o" on the ends of the frame. The said arms and
bar are pressed downward against the tension of springs xx; one of said arms o¹
carries a pivotal spring-controled trip u' which is moved in contact with the bell
hammer u. It will be noted from the foregoing description that each series of
registers and their respective slides, fare indicator and rod, is a system of itself
therefore, a record of each class of fares is kept separate and can be ascertained
by those having authority, simply by removing the slide 6 over which the conductor
has no control.

page_text: It will be readily seen that the fare in each particular class is observed by the
passenger or passengers. A registration for example, of a half fare, or a transfer,
cannot be made without withdrawing from the sight opening, the particular fare
that was previously exposed. The conductor, therefore, knowing that the
passenger is aware of the fare that has been paid, will not venture to omit the
registration and indication thereof, and will not fail to realize the probability of
the passenger observing the operation.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. In a fare register, the combination with two or more series of register wheels.
and their actuating wheels, of a slotted slide bearing a fare indicator for each.
series of wheels and having its lower end terminated at a right angle, a sliding rod
for each of said slotted slides having an arm projecting over the lower end of said.
slotted slides, a pawl carried on each of said sliding rods and engaging with a
respective series of register wheels, and a retaining and releasing rod adapted to
retain each of said slotted slides in a lowered position when the latter are moved
downward, and to concurrently release a slide that is previously held in a lowered
position, substantially as and for the purposes specified.
2. In a fare register, the combination with two or more series of register wheels.
and their actuating wheels, of a series of slotted slides f bearing fare indicators,
and having their lower ends terminating at right angles, a series of sliding rods p-
having arms r adapted to be brought in contact with the lower ends of the slotted
slides when said sliding rods are drawn downwardly, a pawl on each of said sliding
rods adapted to actuate a respective series of register wheels, a releasing and.
retaining rod in the rear of said slotted slides and actuated by the downward
movement of said slides, a rod o' actuated by the downward movement of the said
sliding rods, and alarm-sounding mechanism operated by said rod o', all arranged.
substantially as and for the purposes specified.
3. In a fare register adapted to be carried on the person, the combination with
two or more series of register wheels and their actuating wheels, of a series of
slides having indicators denoting various fares, a vertical sliding rod for each of
said indicator slides adapted to be moved downwardly, and to engage with said
indicator slides during said downward movement to lower the same, a pawl carried
on each of said vertical sliding rods adapted to engage with a respective series of
register wheels during the downward movement of said rods, and a retaining and.
releasing rod in the rear of said indicator slides adapted to retain each of said.
indicator slides in a lowered position, and to concurrently release the one that was
previously held thereby in a lowered position, substantially as described.
Dated this 6th day of Tule 1896
HERBERT HADDAN & Co.,
18 Buckingham Street, Strand, London, W.C., Agents to Applicant.