Distance Recording Apparatus.
Year: 1885

page_text: Distance Recording Apparatus.
I FRANK ELMORE (Francis Edward) of 359 Clapham Road in the County of
Surrey, Electrical Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PASSENGER FARE CHECKING, INDICATING, AND
RECORDING APPARATUS" to be as follows:-
DISTANCE
This invention relates to certain improved means or apparatus for automatically
indicating the amount of fare to be paid by a passenger upon a tramway, omnibus,
or cab, and at the same time to record the amount paid; or on railways to show
at what station the train has arrived, or to indicate the distance travelled by a
vehicle whilst occupied.
In carrying out this invention a small shaft is geared to the wheel or axle of the
tramway car, omnibus, cab, or vehicle and upon this shaft is fixed a small commu-
tator or a similar device, arranged with a brush pressing thereon, so that when the
wheel or axle of the car revolves it will cause this commutator to "make" and
"break" an electric circuit of which they form part. This making and breaking
of contact is in number therefore exactly proportional to the number of times
which the wheels of the car revolve and therefore proportional to the distance
travelled by the car.
From the metallic part of the commutator I take one wire and lead it along or
under all the seats of the car and connect to it all the under or bottom sides of the
contact-makers of which there are one to each seat; I take a wire from the brush
and connect it to a battery, or other source of electricity, and from the other pole
of the source of current I take a wire along all the seats connecting it to all the
outside ends of the wires surrounding small electro magnets; there is one of these
electro magnets to each seat; the outside ends of these wires I take to the top
side of the contact breakers before mentioned.
It will be seen from this description that if any of these contact-makers he
depressed so as to make contact while the car is in motion a definite number of
impulses of electricity will pass through the electro magnet belonging to and
connected to the contact-maker which is pressed, and these impulses of current
cause the electro-magnet to attract its keeper or armature; this motion gives
rotatory motion to a hand or pointer, which is pivoted over a dial, by means of

page_text: a toothed wheel and pawl, or any of the well known means of converting a
reciprocating motion into a rotary motion.
The dial before mentioned may be divided or marked in any way convenient, so
as to conform to the rules of the owners or proprietors in whose vehicle the
apparatus is fixed; for cabs it would probably be preferable to mark the dial in
yards or fractions of a mile.
It will be seen from this that in the case of many seated vehicles, such as cars,
by a passenger taking a seat it causes the contact maker to close that particular
circuit (which is in multiple arc to the main circuit where a number of these
indicators are in the one vehicle as in a tram-car); now as the car travels along it
causes a number of impulses of current to pass through the indicator, these
impulses being in proportion to the distance travelled, and these impulses cause a
corresponding revolution of the hand or pointer over the dial, showing the
passenger occupying the particular seat exactly how much fare he has to pay, how
many yards he has travelled, what stage of the journey he has arrived at, or these
may all be combined on the same dial. This arrangement, it will be seen, protects
the passenger from being defrauded by the conductor, who upon the passenger
leaving the seat has a key which engages the pivot carrying the hand or pointer
and turns the hand back to zero, which act causes a small pencil carried by the
arm to make a mark or line, from the point at which the passenger gave up
the seat, back to zero making a record of the amount of fare he received from
the passenger.
This turning of the hand back to zero causes the pencil, carried by the arm, to
take up a fresh position, preferably nearer to the centre from which it works; this
can be done by a small chain and a spring barrel, or by a fluted pin and a rack, or
by means of an eccentric ring against which the carrier carrying the pencil works,
and when the pointer and pencil are returned to zero brings back this eccentric
ring almost but not quite so far back. Or the arm carrying the pencil may be
fitted to a screwed pillar or pivot so that as it revolves it raises the arm and there-
fore decreases the distance between the pillar and the pencil, and when the arm is
turned back to zero the screw is turned back with it making a Vee shaped mark
for each fare paid quite distinct from each other.
These devices are intended to make the pencil leave a perfectly clear mark for
each separate stage and not to make one line on top of the other, or the same end
may be obtained by having the dial to move slightly for each time the hand is
turned back; or to apply the same principle differently, I proceed as follows; to
the wheel or axle of the car I have a small shaft geared, this shaft running through
all the indicators and geared to the dial of each, so causing them to revolve in
unison with the wheels of the car but of course much slower making one complete
revolution for each journey, where the length of the journey is of a definite length
as in a tramway or omnibus. I provide a contact maker as before with a small
coil or electro-magnet and an armature which armature may be connected to the
pointer or haud in such manner as to cause the pencil which this arm carries to be
brought into contact with the paper, upon contact of the circuit being made,
provision being made as before for the pencil not to cover the dial on the same
place twice which can quite simply be done by gearing the pillar which carries the
arm and pencil to the shaft or dial so that it, the pencil, is gradually propelled
towards the centre or from the centre, in this form the conductor has not to touch
the instrument at all, as the act of the passenger leaving the seat causes the current
of the electric circuit to be stopped and relieves the pencil from the paper, but at
the same time making a small mark at right angles to the descriptive curve which
serves to indicate the length of the journey.
Now should another passenger take the seat, immediately upon its being vacated
by the previous passenger, the act of occupying or taking the seat causes the pencil
to make a small mark parallel to the mark made by the passenger who has just
left it showing that the seat was then emptied and another passenger commenced
a fresh stage.

page_text: Or I may proceed as before gearing the face of the dial and causing the current
sent through the electro magnet or solenoid to cause the movable pointer to engage
with the revolving dial and so move round with it; the amount to be paid by the
passenger will then be according to the distance as set forth by the space on the
dial between the movable pointer and zero; zero being represented by a fixed
pointer. When the current ceases to pass by reason of the passenger having left
the seat the movable pointer is released and stands still where it was set free until
turned back to zero at which place it will stand until another passenger takes the
seat when it will again start revolving with the dial. I also provide means to
leave an indication with a pencil of the distance travelled. The gearing is so
arranged where this is being fitted to tram-cars that the spot under the fixed
pointer is named in letters by the name of the station at which the car has
arrived, the fare from that point to a number of other places on the dial can also
be put in.
I have herein described means for registering the amount of fare paid in a
graphic manner but it is simple to have the distance indicated in yards or the
total number of yards for which any particular seat has been used during the
day. The object in graphically indicating it as described is because distances are
paid for at different rates during the same journey on almost all our tramway
systems, omnibusses and cabs. In cabs which are let out to the driver at so much
per day or where the driver is the owner, the registering device may be superfluous
as the apparatus is then only intended to show the passengers how much fare they
have to pay. Where baggage is carried outside, the cab a small tray to fit the top
of the cab will be provided and so arranged with a contact maker and connection
to send through the coil of the instrument an additional number of impulses per
mile travelled, or this could be arranged as a proportion on the fare indicated by
the indicator.
Electricity is herein used as the principle means of carrying out this invention
but it is quite patent that mechanical or hydraulic or other means could be made
use of to effect the same purpose but they would not be so compact; or I may
supply these impulses of current by a magneto generator either in a rotary form or
as a pure exploder i.e. a large permanent magnet having a pair of coils wound
round its poles, has an armature which I cause the gearing to pull away from the
connecting poles, thereby causing a momentary impulse of current these impulses
correspond to those produced by the contact maker and battery.

page_text: Distance Recording Apparatus.
I, FRANK ELMORE (Francis Edward) of 359, Clapham Road, in the county of
Surrey Electrical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PASSENGER FARE CHECKING INDICATING, AND DISTANCE
RECORDING APPARATUS," 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 certain improved means or apparatus for automatically
indicating the amount of fare to be paid by a passenger upon a tramway, omnibus
or cab, and at the same time to record the amount paid, or on railways to show at
what station the train has arrived or to indicate the distance travelled by a vehicle
whilst occupied.
In carrying out this invention a small shaft is geared to the wheel or axle of the
tramway car, omnibus, cab or vehicle, and upon this shaft is fixed a small com-
mutator or a similar device arranged with a brush pressing thereon so that when
the wheel or axle of the car revolves it will cause the commutator to make and
break an electric circuit of which they form part. This making and breaking of
contact is in number therefore exactly proportional to the number of times which
the wheels of the car revolve and therefore proportional to the distance travelled
by the car.
From the metallic part of the commutator I take one wire and lead it along or
under all the seats of the car and connect to it all the under or bottom sides of the
contact makers of which there are one to each seat, I take a wire from the brush
and connect it to a battery or other source of electricity and from the other pole of
the source of current I take a wire along all the seats connecting it to all the
outside ends of the wires surrounding small electro magnets-there is one of these
electro magnets to each seat-the outside ends of these wires I take to the top side
of the contact breaker before mentioned. It will be seen from this description
that if any of these contact makers be depressed so as to make contact while the
car is in motion a definite number of impulses of electricity will pass through the
electro magnet belonging to and connected to the contact-maker which is pressed
and these impulses of current cause the electro-magnet to attract its keeper or
armature, this motion gives rotatory motion to a hand or pointer which is pivoted
over a dial, by means of a toothed wheel and paul or any of the well known means
The dial before
of converting a reciprocating motion into a rotary motion.
mentioned may be divided or marked in any way convenient so as to conform to
the rules of the owners or proprietors to whose vehicle the invention may be
applied. For cabs it would probably be preferable to mark the dial in yards
or fractions of a mile. It will be seen from this that in the case of many seated
vehicles such as cars, by a passenger taking a seat it causes the contact maker to
close that particular circuit (which is connected in multiple are to the main circuit
where a number of these indicators are in the one vehicle as in a tram car) now as
the car travels along it causes a number of impulses of current to pass through the
indicator these impulses being in proportion to the distance travelled-and these
impulses cause a corresponding revolution of the hand or pointer over the dial
indicating to the passenger occupying the particular seat exactly how much fare he

page_text: has to pay, how many yards he has travelled or what stage of the journey he has
arrived at, or these may all be combined on the one dial. This arrangement it will
be seen protects the passenger from being defrauded by the conductor, who upon
the passenger leaving his seat has a key which engages the pivot carrying the hand
or pointer and turns the hand back to zero, which act cause a small pencil carried by
the arm to make a mark or line from the point at which the passenger gave up his seat
back to zero making a record of the amount of fare he received from the passenger,
this turning of the hand back to zero causes the pencil carried by the arm to take
up a fresh position preferably nearer to the centre from which it works. Or the
arm carrying the pencil may be fitted to a screwed pillar or pivot so that as it
revolves it raises the arm and therefore decreases the distance between the pillar
and the pencil, and when the arm is turned back to zero the screw is turned back
with it making a Vee shaped mark for each fare paid quite distinct from each
other. These devices are intended to make the pencil leave a perfectly clear
mark for each separate stage and not to make one line on top of the other or the
same end may be obtained by having the dial to move slightly for each time the
hand is turned back.
Or to apply the same principle differently I proceed as follows:-to the wheel or
axle of the car I have a small shaft geared this shaft running through all the
indicators and geared to the dial of each so causing them to revolve in unison with
the wheels of the car but of course much slower; the dial making one complete
revolution for each journey where the length of the journey is of a definite length
as in a tramway or omnibus I provide a contact maker as before with a small coil
or electro magnet and an armature which armature may be connected to the pointer
or hand in such manner as to cause the pencil which this arm carries to be brought
into contact with the indicator-dial paper. Upon contact of the circuit being made
provision being made as before for the pencil not to cover the dial on the same
place twice which can be readily effected by gearing the pillar which carries the
arm and pencil to the shaft or dial so that it (the pencil) is gradually propelled
towards the centre or from the centre in this form the conductor has not to touch
the instrument at all as the act of the passenger leaving the seat causes the current
of the electric circuit to be stopped and relieves the pencil from the paper but at
the same time making a small mark at right angles to the descriptive curve which
serves to indicate the length of the journey. Now should another passenger take
the seat immediately upon its being vacated by the previous passenger the act of
occupying or taking the seat causes the pencil to make a small mark parallel to the
mark made by the passenger who has just left it showing that the seat was then
emptied and another passenger commenced a fresh stage.
Or I may proceed as before, gearing the face of the dial and causing the current
sent through the electro magnet or solenoid to cause the movable pointer to engage
with the revolving dial and so move round with it; the amount to be paid by the
passenger will then be according to the distance as set forth by the space on the
dial between the movable pointer and zero,-zero being represented by a fixed
pointer. When the current ceases to pass by reason of the passenger having left
his seat the movable pointer is released and stands still where it was set free until
turned back to zero at which place it will stand until another passenger takes the
seat when it will again start revolving with the dial. I also provide means to
leave au indication with a pencil of the distance travelled. The gearing is so
arranged where this is being fitted to tram cars that the spot under the fixed
pointer is named in letters by the name of the station at which the car has arrived
the fare from that point to a number of other places on the dial can also be put
in-I have herein denoted means for registering amount of fare paid in a graphical
manner but it is simple to have the distance indicated in yards or the total number
of yards for which any particular seat has been used during the day. The object
in graphically indicating it as described is because distances are paid for at different
rates during the same journey on almost all our tramway systems, omnibuses and
cabs. In cabs which are let out to the driver at so much per day or where the

page_text: driver is the owner, the registering device may be superfluous as the apparatus is
then only intended to show the passengers how much fare they have to pay.
Where bagage is carried outside the cab a small tray to fit the top of the cab will
be provided and so arranged with a contact maker and connection to send through
the coil of the instrument an additional number of impulses per mile travelled or
this could be arranged as a proportion on the fare indicated by the indicator; or
I may supply these impulses of current by a magnet generator either in rotary
form or as a fuse exploder i.e a large permanent magnet having a pair of coils
wound round it poles, has an armature which cause the gearing to pull away
from connecting the poles thereby causing a momentary impulse to correspond to
those produced by the contact maker and battery.
Fig. 1 shows the hub of a wheel, and a fixed axle of a vehicle, the parts of the
contact breaker being fixed to the axle, and an operating stud being fixed on the
hub of the wheel.
Electric connection is shown from battery placed in the vehicle, as indicated by
Fig. 2. The indicator device is also shown in connection above the seat.
In sheet 1, Fig. 1ª is plan of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 represents a similar device in combination with, and driven from a
revolving axle in which case the contact breaker device is attached to the framing
of the vehicle.
Figs. 4 and 4ª are elevation and plan respectively of magneto generator to supply
impulses of electric current in place of contact breaker and battery.
In sheet 2, Fig. 5 shows in plan the indicator device with portion of dial broken
away to show. the parts, and Fig. 5° a cross section.
Figs. 6 and 6 are like views to Figs. 5 and 5ª showing modification of the
indicator.
In reference to the two sheets of drawings hereto annexed Fig. 1 sheet 1 shows
one form of the contact breaking device which operates as follows:-The wheel
hub with stud fixed thereto revolves stud a engaging at each turn of the wheel and
carrying with it lever a¹ which, oscillates upon its pillar a² when lever a¹ is pushed
over by stud a, it describes an arc of a circle, and when the angle through which
lever a', has passed is such as to release a¹ from a, it is brought back to rest against
pillar a³, each oscillation of this lever causes the pawl b¹, to engage the teeth
of wheel c, and to revolve it, which wheel is fixed to and causes to revolve with it
wheel c', which engages and revolves wheel and commutator d, and d¹ brush e
pressing against and making and breaking contact with commutator d, this
commutator is made from a small cylinder of box wood vulcanite or other non
conductor having one or more small bars of metal connected to the spindle upon
which it works, so as to put it, in electrical contact with the wire shown, another
wire el, is taken from the brush to the battery g, this commutator and brush
forming part of the electrical circuit which is closed by a passenger sitting upon
the contact maker h, Fig. 2. The connections are shown from seat contact maker
to indicating device i, which is shown fixed over the seat. A hinged seat is shown
on right hand of Fig. 2 to operate contact maker 1, a modification of contact
breaker is shown at Fig. 3 to be operated by stud a fixed to axle where such axle
revolves as in a tramway car.
A modified apparatus is indicated in elevation and plan at Figs. 4 and 4".
a¹ being a lever which by the rotation of the wheel and stud a las imparted to
it an oscillating motion mounted upon stud a². Spring balways returning lever
to its normal position against stud a³ the oscillation of lever a¹ imparts a recipro-
cating motion to connecting link b² and armature f working upon guides f¹ which
reciprocating motion produces vibratory or intermitent currents to circulate in
coil e surrounding the permanent magnet and in any such device which may be
included in circuit with it. All the Figs. show means to produce vibratory or
intermitent currents by the rotation of the wheels of the vehicle in which they
may be fixed which currents are caused to circulate through indicator i.by a
passenger depressing contact maker h.

page_text: The
Fig. 5 sheet 2 shows a plan of indicator and 5* a section. The current generated
or pulsating by apparatus Figs. 1 1 3, 4 and 4º, sheet 1 pass through coils ; and
cause soft iron core to become magnetic during the duration of such current.
magnetisation of the core attracts armature k working upon guides ' and which is
after such attraction returned to its normal position against nuts on end of
guides by springs this armature k has fixed to it and moves with it a spring
catch paul which engages to revolve wheel causing pillar m to revolve which
pillar is threaded and works through feinale screwed nut n through which passes
guide n³, and so cause the nut to raise and lower as pillar is revolved working in a
groove in the periphery of nut n is a small collar o, which is kept in the same
relative position to arm p, by ear o¹, sliding on guide o².
It will be seen from the foregoing that upon a passenger taking a seat it causes
intermittent or pulsating currents to be produced by the device Figs. 1 1ª or 34
or 44 which currents circulate round cores of the electromagnet j, and by means
of apparatus, shown, cause the arm p, fixed to pillar m to revolve and also cause
nut n, to travel down the thread upon pillar m. Collar o, surrounding nut n, is
connected by a cord o³, to pencil p¹, and is so drawn nearer to the pillar as it
revolves, making zig-zag marks on a paper or other dial. When the seat is vacated
the official in charge turns pointer p, back to zero by means of a key fitting upon
head r, which will turn also collar o, back by its guide o², attached to collar of
arm p, pillar m, and nut n, being prevented from being turned back by pawl 1,
engaging teeth l¹ of wheel.
The dialing 9, will be in divisions as required.
Figs. 6 and 6 show plan and section of a modification of indicator where the
record of the amount paid for fares or the distance travelled is made upon the
drum t, by pencil p¹, propelled up and down screw n¹, which is rotated by wheel 1ª,
and pawl 3, from armature k, working on pin ¹, hand or pointer > being rotated
by pawl l, and wheel U, rotating pillar m. This modification will be operated by
the intermittent currents substantially as in Figs. 5 and 6ª upon a passenger taking
a seat but the pointer p is fixed firmly to pillar m and when the seat is vacated the
official in turning the pointer back to zero by key and head r also turns back
pillar m which being geared to drum t by wheels shown above and below t
causes drum t to be turned back. The distance travelled in this case is recorded
by the spiral line which pencil p makes while being raised or lowered by screw n¹
in conjunction with rotary motion of cylinder t which may be covered with paper.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention
and in what manner it is to be performed I declare that what I claim as follows
Firstly. The combination of contact breakers Figs. 1, 1 and 3 with battery g
and contact inaker h and indicating and recording apparatus Figs. 5, 5ª or 6 6ª
constructed and operating as and for the purpose herein set forth.
Secondly. The combination of magneto generator operated substantially as
herein described and as illustrated by Figs. 4 and 4ª together with a contact
maker h Fig. 2 connected in circuit with indicator and recording device Figs. 5, 5ª,
or 6, 6 as and for the purpose herein set forth.
Thirdly. The indicating and recording device constructed and operating as
herein described in reference to and shown by Figs. 5, 5, and 6, 6, of the
drawings.