Improvements in and relating to Fare Indicators and Registers for Public Vehicles.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Jan., 1899-Accepted, 4th Mar., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Fare Indicators and Registers
for Public Vehicles.
I, FRIEDRICH WILHELM GUSTAV BRUIN, of 71, Alexander Strasse, Berlin, in
the Empire of Germany, Managing Director, 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:-
Fare indicating devices generally comprise one or more indicating works, to
show or indicate to the occupant of the vehicle, the amounts registered for certain
services and a corresponding number of registering mechanisms to register the
sum total of the fare or fares indicated by the said indicating devices, in order
to enable the proprietor to control the driver. Both the indicating and the register-
ing mechanisms are intermittently operated as soon as a certain predeterminable
unit of work has been performed, i.e. as soon as a certain time has elapsed or a
certain distance has been covered. The intermittent operation of each indicating
device and that of its corresponding registering device must coincide exactly, and
the results of cach mechanism are registered by means of a hand or dial. The
hand or dial of the indicating works, for the occupant of the vehicle must return
automatically to its initial position i.e. to the initial charge, as soon as the apparatus
is adjusted to not engaged."
66
These conditions, which every fare indicating device is required to fulfil, are
attained by means of the present invention in a particularly simple manner, the
mechanism requiring very little space and being of a very reliable construction.
In addition to the above mentioned requirements, a fare indicating device has to
be provided with means for varying the speed of transmission of the motion
of the vehicle wheel to the indicating and registering mechanism i.e. the adjust-
ment of the tax for certain services. The present invention also provides for the
fulfilment of this requirement in a particularly simple manner.
The invention further comprises the construction of the dials for indicating
shillings and pence in such manner that their indicating surfaces lie in one and
the same plane, and also means for restricting the backward movement of the tax
adjusting spindle between certain taxes or positions as herein after particularly
set forth.
In order to render the present specification more easily intelligible reference
is had to the accompanying drawing in which similar letters of reference denote
similar parts throughout the several views: -
Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of the operating mechanism for the indication and
registration of the fare and the means for positively operating the latter from the
former, the section being taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 2.
Fig. 2 is a cross section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a view of the mechanism for adjusting the tax showing the parts in the
position they occupy for the highest tax.
Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the parts uncoupled i.e. out of operation, for
instance if the vehicle is running by time.

page_text: Fig. 5 and 6 are similar views showing means for blocking or arresting the
lever operating the change wheels when the vehicle is running by time.
Fig. 7 is a similar view showing a modified form of the device represented in
Figs. 5 and 6 and
.
8 and 9 show views of the mechanism for preventing the backward movement of
the tax adjusting lever at certain parts of its revolution as herein after set forth.
Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2: The cam wheel 1 having a suitable number of
cam surfaces thereon is rotated by means of a worm and wormwheel 0 and 0¹
in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1. This wheel, when it rotates, gradually
raises the pivoted lever 2 in the well known manner, said lever falling suddenly
under the influence of its spring 3 as soon as the highest point of each cam surface
has passed under the nose of the same. Pivotally connected to the lever 2 are two
pawls 4 and 5, one of which, 4, serves to intermittently move the pence indicating
disc 6 by means of the ratchet wheel 7 fast on the spindle of said disc, whilst the
other pawl 5 turns the shilling disc 8 by means of its ratchet wheel 9. Since
however this latter disc must only be moved one tooth for each revolution of the
pence indicating disc, the said pawl is normally held back out of engagement with
its ratchet wheel by means of a disc 10 mounted to rotate with the ratchet wheel 7.
At one part of its circumference the disc 10 is notched as at 10' and when this
notch comes round, as will be clear from Figure 1, the pawl 5 will be released
and allowed to engage the corresponding tooth of its ratchet wheel 9, which it
will rotate one tooth on the downward movement of the lever 2. The other edge
of the notch then pushes the pawl out of contact with the wheel 9 the disc 10
retaining it in this position until the notch again comes round. Both the pence
indicating disc 6 and the shilling indicating 8 are provided with wound springs 12
and 13 which tend to turn the discs in the opposite direction to the action of the
pawls (Fig. 2). The two ratchet wheels are provided with a detent pawl 14
and 15, said pawls being spring pressed on to the said wheels and preventing the
latter from following the action of the wound springs. In order to cause the
numbers on the two discs 6 and 8 indicating the pence and shillings to lie in one
and the same plane, the rim of the disc 8 on which the figures are provided is raised
all round as at Fig. 2 so that the figures of this disc will lie in the same plane as
those of disc 6. A registering mechanism is in connection with the indicating
mechanism just described and is operated simultaneously therewith. This is
effected by means of the pawl 4 which is prolonged upwardly as at 17 and formed
to a second pawl, adapted to engage the ratchet wheel 18 of the registering works.
These registering works are of the ordinary construction and require no further
description here.
The combination of the two pawls 4 and 17 to one rigid double pawl, obviates
the great disadvantage which hitherto obtained, when separate pawls were
employed, viz. since both the pawls have to yield slightly laterally when raised to
grip the next tooth of the ratchet wheel, it may easily happen that one of the same,
owing to some slight obstruction, may not return to proper engagement, and con-
sequently one of the works would register and the other would not, so that there
would be a discrepancy between the amount indicated and the amount properly
registered.
By the means just described, this is impossible since both pawls must move
simultaneously and to the same extent.
When the apparatus is adjusted to "not engaged
"i.e. the whole apparatus is
out of operation, a cam 19, fast on the tax adjusting spindle e¹, turns a spring
retained lever 20 on its pivot 20¹ and said lever, by means of its pin 21 raises
the end of the lever 2, thus throwing the three pawls 4, 5 and 17 out of engagement
with their ratchet wheels. This movement of the lever 20 simultaneously causes
the pin 22 on the face of the said lever to push back the detent pawls 14 and 15.
The ratchet wheels 7 and 9 are thus released and can return to their initial
positions under the actions of their springs 12 and 13. The disc 8 will run back
until its stop 23 strikes the fixed pin 24 and the disc 6 until its pin 25 is arrested

page_text: by a spring retained stop lever 26. The stop lever 26 will yield in one direction
and allow the disc pin 25 to pass it as the said disc revolves in the ordinary course
of indicating the fare, but on its return the spring of the said stop lever pushes
the upper end of the latter into the path of movement of the pin.
The means for adjusting the ratio of transmission of motion from the wheel
of the vehicle to the wormwheel O' will now be described.
Referring to Figs. 3 and 4 in which an apparatus is illustrated which is capable
of adjustment to one of three different taxes or units of distance covered: A cam
disc B is keyed to the spindle e¹ of the, tax adjusting mechanism said.disc being
provided with three different cam surfaces. I, II and III which serve to adjust the
pivoted double arm levers C, D, E to three different positions. The arm C D of
the said lever engages an annular groove J, formed on the sleeve of three gears F,
G and H adapted to slide on the shaft K. According to the position of the spring
pressed arm E on the cam disc B i.e. whether it is in contact with the cam surface I
II or III, the corresponding wheel F G or H. will mesh with one of the three
gears L M or N on the spindle of the worm and consequently adjust the speed
of the latter accordingly. The motion of the worm O is communicated to the
indicating, mechanism by means of the worm wheel O as previously described.
The cam disc B is furthermore provided with a fourth cam surface marked
time" on the drawings and if the end E of the lever C D E is resting on this
surface, the wheels F G H will be in the position shown in Figure 4 viz. all of them
will be out of engagement so that the apparatus may indicate by time. Each
position of the cani dise B is exactly indicated and adjusted in any suitable manner,
for instance in the present case by means of a polygonal disc P fast to the spindle e¹
and a spring pressed pivoted lever Q, the spring R of which pulls the lever sharply
down as soon as one of the sides of the polygonal disc P lies thereunder.
It will be readily understood that the cam dise B could be provided with more
cams, according to requirement, such for instance as to indicate "pay" at the end
of a journey, and that the means for causing the shaft el to stop momentarily in
any one position could also be adapted to any number of cam surfaces.
The arrangement of the sliding gears FG K permits a very considerable
variation of the taxes since any number of gears might be employed.
Since the arm E of the lever C D E is spring operated in the direction of the
arrow 1 (Fig. 3) and positively operated by the cam B in the direction of the
arrow 2, it might happen, that in shifting the gears F G H the teeth of the same
would not properly mesh with those of gears L M and N and in order to avoid any
jambing, which might be occasioned by such mishap the arm D C of the said
lever is elastic, so that the wheels can yield until the teeth properly mesh with
those of the contacting wheel.
The device described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4 provides for the adjustment
of the distance tax only the time tax being independent of such adjustment. It
might, however be desired to adjust the time tax also to certain units of time, so
that the time tax might be adjusted in the same way as the distance tax, when
the tax adjusting spindle is in the same position as for the adjustment for distance
taxes. It may under circumstances be desirable to retain the distance gears out
of operation whilst the tax adjusting spindle is being shifted to indicate a different
time tax.
In Figs. 5 and 6 as also in Fig. 7 means are illustrated for attaining this object.
The object is attained in two different ways, but in both cases the distance tax is
assumed to be adjustable to two different taxes only. The gears F G may either
be out of gear or may mesh with one or other of the gears L M. Thus when the
part of the disc B' representing "time III" comes into contact with the arm E
of the lever C D E, a pivoted spring pressed pawl T engages a pin S of the said
lever arm E and retains the same out of engagement with the cam disc B¹. If
now the lever is turned back through II and I the lever E remains out of engage-
ment, thus enabling the apparatus to be adjusted to any desired time tax (not
shown in the drawings and not forming part of the present invention) by any

page_text: suitable auxilliary mechanism. Before, however the cam disc B¹ may be turned
in the direction of the arrow far enough to adjust the apparatus from "time III"
back to "I" a pin U of the said disc throws the pawl T out of engagement with
the pin S and releases the lever arm E, allowing the same to again rest on the
surface "I" of the cam disc.
A similar device is shown in Fig. 7 but in this case the arm E is held out of
contact with the disc B₁ my means by means of an eccentric V mounted on a
separately operable spindle.
As previously mentioned, the position of the spindle e¹ is secured and marked
by means of a polygonal disc against the sides of which a spring pressed lever (Q)
acts, or by any other suitable means.
The tax adjusting spindle may be turned from one tax to the other by over-
coming the friction of the said spring pressed lever on the edge of the polygonal
disc. Under certain circumstances, however, it may be desirable to arrest the tax
adjusting spindle and to restrict its movement both backwards and forwards to
certain arcs of its path of rotation.
Means for fulfilling this requirement are illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9. A. disc 27
is keyed to the spindle e¹ and provided over a part of its circumference with ratchet
teeth in which a spring pressed pawl 28 may engage. In the position of the parts
as shown in Fig. 8 the backward movement of the spindle e, is blocked by the
engagement of the pawl with the teeth of the disc, but if the disc is in the position
illustrated in Fig. 9, the same may be moved either backwards or forwards for
a certain distance, the pawl simply sliding on the round edge of the disc.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is―
1: In a fare indicating device comprising fare-indicating and registering
mechanism, the former having concentrically arranged indicating discs, operated
by reciprocating pawls, the combination of a circular disc having a peripherial
notch, said disc being in connection with one of the charge or fare indicating discs
and being so situated as to keep the actuating pawl for the other disc out of engage-
ment with its ratchet wheel until the notch comes round substantially as described.
2: In a fare indicating device of the class specified, the combination of a
double pawl, having both its pawl members rigidly connected, one of said members
serving to operate the indicating mechanism and the other the registering works,
substantially as described.
3: In a fare indicating device of the class specified, the combination of two
concentrically arranged fare-indicating discs having those parts of their surfaces
which contain the figures in one and the same plane substantially as described.
4: In a fare indicating device having a number of variable taxes and means
for securing the tax indicating spindle in one or other of its positions to indicate
the tax, said tax adjustment being effected by means of change gears, the com-
bination of means for securing the spindle in one position, in which none of the
gears are in engagement.
5: In the device covered by Claim 4 the arrangement of two sets of cogwheels
mounted on parallel spindle one set of which is axially moveable along its key so as
allow each member of the set to be brought into engagement with the corre-
sponding member of the other set substantially as described.
6: In combination with the mechanism covered by Claims 4 and 5, the arrange-
ment of an elastic lever for shifting the moveable gears along their shaft substan-
tially as described.
7In the device covered by Claim 4 the combination of means for blocking
the axially moveable gears in their disengaged position, either from the tax
adjusting spindle or by means of suitable separate arresting device substantially
as described.

page_text: 8: In a fare indicating device the combination of a circular disc fast on the
tax adjusting spindle, said disc having ratchet teeth along a part of its circum-
ference which cooperate with a pawl so as to prevent the spindle from being turned
back at certain points of its revolution substantially as described.
Dated this 23rd day of January 1899.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.