AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR MEASURING DISTANCES TRAVELLED OVER BY VEHICLES.
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Antoine Joseph Quinche, of Paris, in the
Empire of France, and of 16, Castle Street, Holborn, City,
London, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
MEASURING DISTANCES TRAVELLED OVER BY VEHICLES.'
Sealed the 1st February 1854, and dated the 2nd August 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Antoine Joseph
Quinche at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 2nd August 1853.
I, ANTOINE JOSEPH QUINCHE, of Paris, in the Empire of France, and
of 16, Castle Street, Holborn, City, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR MEASUR-
ING DISTANCES TRAVELLED OVER BY VEHICLES" to be as follows:-
This new indicator is for the purpose of calculating the distances
travelled over by carriages and other vehicles.
By means of a cam fitted to the box of the wheel each revolution of
the said wheel acts upon a spring, which causes the needle of the index
plate to turn and to number all the revolutions; also, to make the
instrument suitable for all circumferences of wheels, the number upon
the index plate has only to be divided.
The mode of action will be understood by the following description
of the different parts of the apparatus:

page_text: No. 1, index plate; there may be one on each side, but that behind
turns to the left. No. 2, needle. No. 3, rod to which are fixed catches.
No. 4, wheel on a pinion placed in the centre of the index plate,
bearing the needle or the needles, if there is an index on each side.
No. 5, bell, which is struck when each mile is travelled over. No. 6,
wheel with ten spaces between the teeth bearing the index No. 14.
No. 7, spring fitted to the wheel No. 6. No. 8, pin which holds the
rod of the catch. No. 9, wheel with a double set of teeth, which forms
the escapement. No. 10, wheel with 100 teeth, serving as an inter-
medium between the wheel No. 4, & No. 9. No. 11, rod & hammer,
corresponding to the pins of the centre wheel, & which strikes upon the
bell.
No. 12, spring for the wheel No. 9, forming pressure. No. 13,
spring forcing back No. 11. No. 14, little index of ten, showing itself
in the open part of the large index to denote 10 times each turn of the
needle. No. 15, spring of pressure for fixing the index 14. No. 16,
spring for pushing the rod No. 3.
ment by means of the wheel.
and holding the spring No. 17.
No. 17. No. 20, box of the wheel.
spring 17, at each turn of the wheel.
to No
No. 17, spring communicating move-
No. 18, plate screwed to the carriage,
19, tampion to keep back the spring
No. 21, cam throwing back the
No. 22, escapment rod screwed
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Antoine Joseph Quinche in the Great Seal
Patent Office, on the 2nd February 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
ANTOINE JOSEPH QUINCHE, of Paris, in the Empire of France, and of
16, Castle Street, Holborn, City, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
seventeenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto I, the said Antoine Joseph Quinche,
Her special licence that I, the said Antoine Joseph Quinche, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said

page_text: Antoine Joseph Quinche, 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 "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR MEASURING
DISTANCES TRAVELLED OVER BY VEHICLES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Antoine Joseph Quinche, 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 Antoine Joseph Quinche, 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:
My improved apparatus consists in the following arrangement of
parts for registering the space travelled over by the wheels of vehicles.
The apparatus by which this result is obtained is chiefly composed of
a clock-work fixed in a conspicuous position on the vehicle. The
anchor escapement of this clock-work receives a pendulous motion by
a lever, which is actuated by a cam, boss, or excentricity on the nave or
on the axle of one of the wheels of the vehicle, and the clock-work is
thus set in motion by its spiral spring, & indicates the number of
revolutions made by the said wheel on a dial. By adapting the change
wheels of the clock-work to the diameter of the wheel which actuates
the anchor scape the hands of the dial may be made to indicate
exactly the number of miles and parts of a mile run over, which will
serve to increase the commodity of the traveller, and to guard him
against fraud on the part of the driver. In order, however, that the
nature of my Invention may be clearly understood I have shewn on
the annexed sheet several views of the arrangement which may he
adopted, the same letters standing for the same parts in the different
views. Fig. 1, is a total view of the apparatus. A, axle of the vehicle;
B, nave or hub of the wheel; C, cam which actuates the lever D,

page_text: turning round the fixed point E; F, is a stop against the lever D;
H, is the anchor shewn also in Fig. 2; I, is the dial, & K, the
hand; G, is a spring acting against the anchor bar H, so as to push it
against the lever D. Fig. 2, shews the anchor. Fig. 3, represents the
double ratchet or scape wheel, which drives by means of the change
wheel, Fig. 4, the centre wheel, Fig. 5. Fig. 6, is an end view of the
spiral spring. Fig. 7, shews a smaller dial, which marks every revolu-
tion of the hand on the large dial, and is driven by means of the
ratchet, Fig. 8, and the spring click, Fig. 9. Fig. 10, is the bell,
which is struck at the proper time by means of a hammer, Fig. 11,
and pins L, L, fixed on the centre wheel, Fig. 5. Fig. 12, is the
spring which actuates the hammer. Fig. 13, shews the pins on
which the anchor swings. Fig. 14, shews an arrangement by which
the pieces G, & F, Fig. 1, are dispensed with, by using, instead
of the plain lever D, a double forked one, denoted by the same
letter. M, is the fork which rides on the inside of the nave, which is
for that purpose turned down to a less diameter than the remainder,
and carries the projection C. N, is the upper fork which moves the
anchor bar.
It is evident that the apparatus herein-before described is also
applicable, with slight modifications, to other purposes, such as indicators
for registering the number of revolutions made by steam engines, and
other turning apparatus or machines.
Having thus described my improvements, I wish it to be distinctly
-understood that I claim as my Invention the general arrangements of
the indicator above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Antoine Joseph Quinche, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of January,
in the year of our Lord 1854.
A. J. QUINCHES. (L.S.)