A New or Improved Device for Indicating the Names of Streets, Advertisements, and the like in Tramcars and other Conveyances.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Feb., 1894-Accepted, 24th Mar., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Device for Indicating the Names of
Streets, Advertisements, and the like in Tramcars and
other Conveyances.
Communicated by ALFRED MAERKER, of 28, Potsdamerstrasse, Berlin, in the
Empire of Germany, Banker.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON F.C.S. M.I.M.E. of The Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors 6, Lord Street, Liverpool and 6, Bank Street,
Manchester both in the County of Lancaster and 323 High Holborn in the
County of Middlesex Civil Engineer 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 has for its object a new or improved device which renders it
possible for vehicles which travel over a given course to afford to passengers,
mainly when the windows are obscured owing to frost or other causes, as well as
in the dark or at any time, a rapid and convenient means of ascertaining where-
abouts they are, at any point of the journey, whilst, at the same time as the name
of the street is indicated, the attention of the passengers is directed to suitable
advertisements.
The invention is best described in the accompanying drawing, in which-
Figure 1 is a cross section of the mode of attachment of the indicating device
to a tramcar:
Figure 2, a longitudinal section of the same:
Figure 3, a view showing a method of attaching the pulling device beneath a
carriage or car:
Figure 4, a section on an enlarged scale showing an arrangement of the roller
carrying an endless band, and the stopping and winding up mechanism:
Figure 5, an arrangement of names on the endless band:
Figure 6, a section on an enlarged scale showing the mechanism operated by
means of the foot:
Figure 7, a plan of the guide box or holder for the tread bolt or lever.
The arrangement and mode of working of the apparatus will now be more
particularly described as follows:-
On each side about the middle of the length of the roof of the tramcar a, a
box b is arranged, which contains a large roller c and several smaller rollers c¹,
over which the endless band d, containing the names of streets and advertisements,
is carried in such a way that, at each rotation of the roller c, the band is unrolled
to a suitable extent corresponding to the rotation of the roller c and the distance
of the inner pair of rollers c³ c³. Between these last named rollers, there appears,
when the apparatus is in operation, each time, the name of the street which the
car will next pass, whilst a bell q, Figure 2, arranged inside the car, is simultaneously
caused to ring. The indicating device is preferably arranged in place of the
already existing toplight, in the centre of each longitudinal side of the tramcar, so
that each passenger can read the names in question.
The method of operating the apparatus is as follows:-
A bolt 1, placed in a holder or socket m, is arranged on the front and rear
platforms of the car in any suitable position near the driver. This bolt is constantly
pressed upwards by the pressure of a spiral spring n. The bolt is loosely seated
on another bolt o, which is connected by means of a hinge or pivot with an elbow
lever k, arranged on a support p. Two thin wires, cords or the like run from

page_text: the free end of this elbow lever k beneath the car to the middle of the two
longitudinal sides of the car, and are carried, by means of rollers i i, vertically to
the top of the car to a peculiarly shaped lever or pawl e. This pawl or lever e is
pressed with its lower part e' against the roller c, by the pressure of a spiral
spring, so that, when not in action, one of the ratchet teeth v of the roller c
presses against the lower part e¹ of the lever or pawl e.
If the cord or wire h be drawn tight by the driver pressing on the bolt 7, the
parte releases the ratchet tooth and the roller can revolve until the next
ratchet tooth either rests against the part e² or the part e¹ of the pawl or lever e.
If the bolt be pressed too long, the tooth v will rest against the part e³ of the
lever e, and, by such an arrangement of the pawl, the entire unwinding of the
band on the roller c at one operation is prevented.
For winding up the roller c, a spiral spring y is arranged on the fixed spindle w,
and the winding up itself is performed by means of two bevel cog wheels ff',
which engage in one another, which wheels may be revolved by a removable
crank g or other suitable device. The cog wheel only engages, during the
winding up, with the cog wheel f', whilst, when not in action, the former drops
out of engagement by its own weight.
The bolt is withdrawn from the platform not occupied by the driver, in order
to prevent, on the one hand, an improper operation of the apparatus by the
public, and, on the other hand, to prevent the apparatus being choked by dirt, by
covering the hollow with a slide piece.
Figure 5 shows, by means of numbers, the succession of the street names, from
which it is evident that the roller can always revolve in the same direction, even
when the car is on a return journey.
;
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion 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 :
In a device for indicating in succession the names of streets, advertisements,
and the like ;-
1. The arrangement of a toothed roller acting under spring pressure and carrying
an endless band bearing the names of the streets successively. passed by the car
or vehicle together with suitable advertisements, or the like announcements, in
combination with a series of smaller rollers for stretching and displaying said
endless band, and a pawl arrangement whereby only one tooth of the band roller
is released at a time, and thus only one name displayed at each operation,
substantially as hereinbefore described and shown on the accompanying drawing.
2. In an apparatus such as described in Claim 1, the operating of the pawl
for releasing the band roller by the driver of the car, by means of a bolt and
lever placed in a suitable position in the floor of the platform at each end of
the car, such bolt being removable when not in use; substantially as described and
shown.
3. In combination with the arrangement described in Claims 1 and 2, a suitable
bell or other warning device indicating when a street name is changed, substantially
as described.
Dated this 20th day of February 1894.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents.