IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO TURNSTILE REGISTERING APPARATUS
Year: 1884

page_text: I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO TURNSTILE REGISTERING
APPARATUS" to be as follows:-
This invention relates to turnstile registering mechanism for street cars or other
vehicles or places, and has for its object to so arrange the car platform and locate
the turnstile thereou that accurate registration of the passengers is obtained; false
registration and what is known as "beating the register" prevented, and safe and
free access provided to and from the car.
The invention accordingly consists in the provision of a rear car or other
platform having a central passage-way, and a drop-step having a transverse guard-
rail and side openings; of a turnstile located on one side of, and having its arms
arranged to revolve through, the said central passage-way; of an apartment
located upon the other side of, and communicating with, said passage, and also
with the interior of the car for the sole use of the conductor; of a yielding tread-
plate located at the entrance of said passage-way, which plate engages with a
ratchet-wheel on the turnstile-shaft to lock it against forward movement and
prevent its rotation in that direction and avoid making a false registration when
the turnstile is not in use or passengers are not passing through it.
Each passenger attempting to gain access to the car must, by reason of the
location of the said tread-plate, step upon it, and the act of so doing depresses
the plate or automatically releases its connection or lock with the turnstile-shaft
ratchet-wheel, whereby the stile is free to revolve as the passenger passes through
it to be registered. Any suitable form of turnstile may be used the shaft of which
is provided with mechanism in gear with the registering devices, which mechanism
is so constructed and arranged that it will operate to move the registering devices
only when the turnstile is rotated forwardly by the passengers passing through it

page_text: to gain access to the car. The said mechanism remains stationary when the stile
is reversely or backwardly rotated by the passengers passing through it on their
way out of, or in leaving, the car.
Spring-actuated arms are provided for preventing recoil of the stile after being
moved, and also for preventing excessive rotation of the same as each entering
passenger passes through it.
Covers or boxes are provided for enclosing the stile and its appurtenances to
keep them free from dust and dirt.
The stile and its adjuncts may be used upon cars, carriages or other vehicles,
and also in public or other halls.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co, Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO TURNSTILE REGISTERING
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 tramway or street cars having turnstile registering
mechanism; and it has for one of its objects to so arrange the car-platform and
locate the turnstile thereon that accurate registration of the passengers is obtained,
false registration and what is known as "beating the register" prevented, and safe
and free access to and egress from the car provided for.
Further objects of the said invention are to so simplify and improve the con-
struction and arrangement of the parts of the turnstile-register described in the
specification of United States Patent dated May 6, 1879, and numbered 215,104,
that it may be applied to the rear ends or platforms of the tramway or street-cars
now in use without necessitating expensive alterations in the said platforms or
materially changing the form of the same; to lock the forward movement of the
turnstile, or prevent it being accidentally or designedly turned in the required
direction for operating the register, when passengers are not passing through it to
gain access to the car, the turnstile being free at all times to revolve in an opposite
direction, or that which permits egress from the car; to provide the platform with
an apartment or enclosure which is located on one side of, and extends from end
to end of, the platform, for the use of the conductor; to provide a straight enclosed
central avenue or passage-way across the platform for travel through the turnstile
in passing into, or departing from, the car; and to furnish the platform with a-
drop-step having lateral openings or entrances and exits, and means for moving or
sliding the step to and from the platform, to bar or close its passage-way and
prevent overcrowding of the car and back-platform riding.
In the accompanying drawing,
Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a part of the rear end of a tramway or
street-car with the present improvements applied thereto.
Figure 2 is a plan, partly in section, of same.
Figure 3 is a sectional elevation of a detail.
Figure 4 is a like elevation.
Figure 5 is a vertical longitudinal section, and
Figure 6 is an inverted plan of mechanism interposed between the turnstile and
register.
A represents the rear or other platform of a street-car or other vehicle, A¹ the
turnstile, and A* the register.
In the aforesaid specification, the shaft or spindle of the turnstile is shown
located in the medium line of the platform or its extension. Such arrangement
involves a waste of platform-space, furnishes a tortuous passage-way through the
•

page_text: stile to the car, and provides no apartment or space on the platform for the sole
use of the conductor.
In employing a turnstile upon street-cars, it is desirable to maintain, as near as
possible, the present size of platforms; and to have a straight passage-way across
the platform, and the latter should be so arranged that the conductor can, without
passing through the turnstile, obtain access to the extreme rear end of the
platform, or get to the rear of the stile for purposes of observation and for
imparting information to incoming passengers as to whether or not they are
getting on the desired car, before they pass through the turnstile and are registered.
To obtain these desirable objects, I place the shaft D of the turnstile to one side a
of the platform, so that the body of the former will not occupy the entire area of
the latter, but will leave a central space a¹, and an opposite open side, a³.
I prefer to make the platform with a rounded end a³, having side enclosures or
railings a, a" with a central opening a³, leading into space a¹. The railing a³ on
the side a³ is continued across the platform at a³, or bounds one side of the central
space a to near the end A' of the car, leaving an interval or opening a³, which,
if desired, may be closed by a spring or other automatically closing gate a³.
The turnstile is so arranged that its arms C revolve close up to, but do not touch,
the adjacent end wall A' of the car, and are covered by a roof or sheathing a10.
By such construction it will be noted that the main portion of the turnstile is
within an enclosure all on the side a of the platform; that only one of its arms
projects into the space a', and must be moved before access to, or departure from,
the car can be effected; that said space a¹ forms a straight passage-way through
the turnstile; that the rail a' forms a guard for preventing passengers slipping by
the turnstile and entering the car without passing through the stile and being
registered; and that the railed space a² forms an apartment for the sole use of the
conductor, affording him access to the extreme rear end of the platform and
entrance to the car, thereby dispensing with his use of the turnstile, avoiding
false registrations or the registration of more passengers than actually pass into
the car, and all interference with the freedom of their movements through the
turnstile.
The conductor leaves apartment as through the gate a³ or passage-way a³ to
gain access to the interior of the car for collecting fares or other purposes, and
returns in the same way, said gate being placed at the passage as to prevent
passengers thoughtlessly or designedly stepping into the conductor's apartment for
purposes of riding upon the platform A, or otherwise. If desired, however, the
gate as may be dispensed with.
The platform A is provided with a dropstep B, which may be of any suitable
construction, the use of this step depending upon the elevation of the platform A
above the road-bed. I prefer to so arrange said step that it will have side
openings 6 for the entrance and exit of passengers and a rail or guard b¹ arranged
transversely to the car. The step B may, if desired, be permanently fixed to a
secondary platform B', which is bolted or otherwise firmly secured to platform A,
as shown in Figure 1; or it may be loosely supported in hangers 6³, and be
provided with anti-friction rollers 63 and a rack 6, which latter engages with a
segment or wheel 6º secured upon a shaft be which bas its bearings in boxes 6', and
is provided with an operating lever 68. By oscillating the latter to and fro, which
may be done by the conductor or other attendant of the car, the step B is
reciprocated to and fro, opening the passage-way over the step for admission to
or, departure from, the car, as indicated by dotted lines, Figure 2, or bringing
its rail 6' up against the entrance to the central passage-way a¹, as shown in full
lines in said Figure, to close the entrance to the turnstile. The last named
movement is made in the intervals between the ingress and egress of passengers,
to prevent riding upon the step, or, whenever the car is full of passengers, to avoid
overcrowding.
I have shown a rack-and-segment device or gear for moving the step B; but it
is obvious that various other forms of mechanism may be substituted therefor and

page_text: accomplish the same result. If desired, any other form of step may be used in
lieu of the one shown and above described.
Upon the curved ends of the railings are placed hand or safety rails a", for the
convenience of the passengers.
At the entrance of the passage-way al, and pivotted or hinged to the platform A,
is a tilting board or tread-plate R, which is so located that a passenger cannot gain
admittance to said passage-way without stepping upon and tilting or depressing
plate R. It is provided with a spring r, which acts to elevate the forward end of
plate R above the floor of platform A; and with a finger or catch, which
engages with the teeth of a ratchet-wheel d firmly secured to the turnstile-shaft at
its lower part or just above the platform-floor, as shown more plainly in Figure 5.
The engagement of finger rl with ratchet-wheel & locks the turnstile or prevents
it being turned, either accidentally or designedly, in the direction of arrow x
Figure 2, when passengers are not passing through it, such direction being the one
required to effect a movement of the register and entrance to the car; hence, in
the intervals between the admission to the car of the passengers, the turnstile
cannot be rotated in its forward direction. When, however, an entering passenger
passes into the passage-way a and treads upon and depresses the plate R, the
finger is disengaged from ratchet-wheel whereby the turnstile is unlocked, or
is free to be revolved by the entering passenger passing through it. The plate R
is so arranged with reference to the turnstile that such disengagement is effected
before the passenger has advanced far enough into the passage-way a¹ to take hold
of the turnstile. If desired, however, the plate R may be so arranged that the
disengagement between it and the turnstile is made at the moment the passenger
presses against, or gives the initial movement to, the stile. As soon as the
passenger passes through the stile, the reaction of spring r elevates plate R to
effect the locking of the stile. The latter has the outer ends of its arms enlarged
and its spaces arranged as set forth in the said former specification. It is provided
with radial partitions a¹³, extending from its arms down to the ratchet-wheel_d
for guards, and to prevent surreptitious passengers passing through the stile. Its
shaft at its upper end is furnished with ornamental radial or other hand-rails d¹,
for the passengers to take hold of as they travel through the stile, to avoid being
thrown against the sides of the passage-way a¹ by the sudden jolting or swaying
of the car.
Beneath the platform A, and mounted upon the turnstile-shaft D, are the disc F,
ratchet-wheel G, three-armed or triangular plate J, spring-arm f, and spring-pawl g,
all constructed and arranged as described in the aforesaid specification, except that
the wheel G has anti-friction rollers G₁ for contact with the spring-pawl g, and is
not provided with spring-arms; but in lieu of the latter it has an integral or fixed
ratchet-wheel G, which revolves therewith and engages with a spring-pawl j,
pivotted to one of the arms of plate J, as plainly shown in Figure 6. The fanction
of the ratchet-wheel G³ and pawl; is precisely similar to that described in the
said former specification for the spring-arms, that is to say, to cause the ratchet-
wheel G and disc F to turn with the plate J when moved by the turnstile in the
direction of dotted arrow, Figure 6, in order that the forward movement of the
stile may be transmitted to the register, said pawl j slipping by the teeth of
ratchet-wheel G³ so as not to move it or the disc F when the plate J is reversely
moved by the backward rotation of the stile; the ratchet-wheel G' and pawl j,
herein shown and described, being preferable, as they are more durable and have
a more positive action than that of the spring-arms referred to.
The disc M, instead of being connected directly to register-operating rod N, as
shown in the said specification, is journalled to the platform and is in gear with
the rod N by means of a chain L and sprocket-wheels, respectively secured to
the disc M and rod N. The operation, in both cases, is exactly the same, the
advantage of the latter construction being that it affords greater latitude for
disposing the register in the desired position upon the car or its platforms. The
rod N is enclosed in a tubular column n firmly bolted to platform A, and extends

page_text: above the sheathing ato, as shown in Figure 5. Upon the top of column is secured*
the register, which may be of any suitable or desired construction, preferably
arranged so that its dial will face the conductor's apartment. Enclosing the rod N
in column n prevents access to said rod for the purpose of tampering with the
register.
The functions of the discs F, M, ratchet-wheel G, plate J, spring arm f, and
spring-pawl g are the same as described in the aforesaid specification, and need
not, therefore, be herein described; but it will be noted that these discs and
ratchet-wheels are independent of the tread-plate R and spring pawl or catch r¹,
which simply holds or locks the turnstile in its forward movement, while said dises
lock the registering mechanism independently of the tread-plate.
K represents a spring-arm, having a notch or indentation k. Said arm is secured
to the platform A so that it is in the plane of the plate J, in order that its arms
will come in contact therewith and pass into and out of the notch k, (see Figure 6,)
for the purpose of preventing recoil of the turnstile or its backward rotation
before it is in position to receive another or succeeding passenger, and avoiding a
like result on the forward rotation of the turnstile before it has effected a
movement of the register.
I have shown and described my improvements applied to a street-car having a
sliding or movable door A³, but it is obvious that they may be used upon other
forms of vehicles, at the entrance of public halls, theatres, or other places. So,
also, any form of turnstile and register may be employed.
The gearing and mechanism interposed between the turnstile-shaft D and
register-operating rod N are enclosed in a casing S, to exclude dirt and dust.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to
me by my foreign Correspondent I declare that what I claim is
First. A street-car-platform having a straight central passage, upon one side of
which is a fixed guard rail, and on the other a turnstile, the arms of which pass
through said passage, substantially as described.
Second. A street-car-platform having a turnstile-register, a central longitudinal
passage-way through which the arms of the stile revolve, a guard-rail or partition
on one side of said passage-way, and a side apartment extending from end to end
of the platform, substantially as shown and described.
Third. A street-car-platform having a turnstile-register, a passage-way through
the stile, a side wall or guard for the latter, and a pivotted or a tilting board for
locking the stile in its forward movement, substantially as shown and described.
Fourth. A street-car-platform having a turnstile-register, a central passage-way,
one of the sides of which forms a guard for the arms of the turnstile, and a side
apartment with an opening to the central passage-way, substantially as shown and
described.
Fifth. A street-car-platform having a turnstile-register, a central passage-way,
and a conductor's apartment having communication with said passage-way,
substantially as shown and described.
Sixth. A street-car-platform having a turnstile-register, a passage-way through
the stile, and a conductor's apartment with a spring or self-closing gate, substan-
tially as shown and described.
Seventh. A street-car-platform having a turnstile-register, a central passage-way,
an adjacent side apartment having a dividing wall or guard, and a drop-step
located at the entrance of the central passage-way, substantially as shown and
described.
•
Eighth. A street-car-platform having a turnstile-register and a drop-step with
lateral entrances and a transverse guard-rail, substantially as shown and described.
Ninth. A street-car-platform having a rounded end, a turnstile-register, a drop-
step with lateral openings, and means for moving said step to and from the
platform; substantially as shown and described.

page_text: Tenth. A street-car-platform having a turnstile-register, a central passage-way, a
side apartment, a drop-step with lateral openings and guard-rail, and means for
moving said step to cause its guard rail to act as a gate for closing the entrance to
said passage-way, substantially as shown and described.
Eleventh. A street-car-platform having a turnstile-register, a central passage-
way communicating with an enclosed side or conductor's apartment, and a drop-
step with lateral openings and a transverse guard-rail, substantially as shown and
described.
Twelfth. A street-car-platform having a turnstile-register, a central passage-way,
a conductor's apartment, and lateral entrances to said to passage-way, substantially
as shown and described.
Thirteenth. A street-car-platform having a turnstile-register, means for locking
the turnstile in its forward movement, and a drop-step with lateral openings and a
transverse guard-rail, substantially as shown and described.
Fourteenth. A street-car-platform having a turnstile-register, a central passage-
way provided with a tilting board for locking the turnstile in its forward
movement, a conductor's apartment, and a drop-step with lateral openings and a
transverse guard-rail, substantially as shown and described.
Fifteenth. In combination with platform A, the turnstile A¹ having guard-
rails d', substantially as shown and described.
Sixteenth. In combination with platform A, the turnstile A¹ having the
ratchet d, and means for engagement with said ratchet to lock the stile in its
forward movement, substantially as shown and described.
Seventeenth. In combination with platform A, the turnstile A¹ having the ratchet-
wheel d, and the pivotted board R having the latch or finger¹ and the reaction-
spring r, substantially as shown and described.
Eighteenth. The platform A, having railings a³, a7 with opening a³, central
space a, and turnstile A¹, substantially as shown and described.
Nineteenth. The platform A having railing a, roof or sheathing a¹ enclosing a
turnstile A³ central passage a¹, and apartment a³, substantially as shown and
described.
Twentieth. The combination, with the platform A, of a turnstile A¹, register A³,
means for locking the turnstile in its forward movement, devices for transmitting
the rotation of the turnstile to the register and locking the latter during the
intervals of non-registration, and mechanism for preventing the recoil of the
turnstile, substantially as shown and described.
Twentyfirst. A street-car-platform having a turnstile-register, a rounded or
curved end a with guard-rails as, and drop-step B with lateral openings and
transverse rail, substantially as shown and described.
Twentysecond. A turnstile-register, combined with a platform, means for operating
the register when the turnstile is rotated, and independent mechanism for locking
the latter in its forward movement, substantially as shown and described.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
For the Applicant.