US1958559A - Automatic taximeter control - Google Patents

Description

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May 15, 1934. I w BAKER 1,958,559

AUTOMATIC TAXIMETER CONTROL MECHANISM Filed Dec. 30, 1930 [NVEjVYUR Patented May 15, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC TAXIMETER CONTROL MECHANISM Application December 30, 1930, Serial No. 505,642

2 Claims. (Cl. 235-30) The object of this invention is to provide means whereby the flag shaft of a taximeter will be automatically thrown into recording position by the passenger entering the cab. Heretofore con siderable trouble has been experienced by cab drivers intentionally or unintentionally failing to move the flag of a taximeter so that the taximeter will record when carrying a passenger. It is, therefore, desirable to have means which will automatically throw the flag shaft of the taximeter into position so that the taximeter will operate when the cab is engaged.

Another object of the invention is to provide means which will in nowisc interfere with the cab driver throwing the flag into its degree or operative position in case the automatic means should fail to function. The driver should never be relieved from the responsibility of seeing that the taximeter flag is thrown in case the automatic means should be out of working order or for any reason should fail to function.

In the drawing I have shown in Figure l a conventional taxicab having my improved construction incorporated thereon.

Figure 2 shows the back side of a conventional taximeter having my invention incorporated thereon.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the back of a taximeter having my invention incorporated thereon.

Figure 4 is an inside view of the back of the taximeter showing my invention and Figure 5 is an enlarged detailed view of the means to prevent the flag being returned to its home position. 7

This invention is an improvement over that shown in my co-pending application, Serial No. 505,641, filed on December 30, 1.930.

By way of illustration I have shown my inven tion as incorporated in a conventional taximeter such as is shown, for instance, in the patent granted to Julius Gluck 1,762,862, patented June 16, 1930, in which the home position or the vacant position of the flag is directly above the flag shaft or in the position shown in the drawing in this application. Its hired position is with the flag rotated substantially 90 degrees anticlockwise as shown in Figure 2 or clockwise as shown in Figure 4. Its non-recording position is directly beneath the flag shaft, which position is reached by the flag being rotated 180 degrees in the directions above mentioned. This non-recording position is used when the cab is detained by a prolonged wait which should not be charged to the passenger, such as a tire blowout. The flag is returned to,its vacant position or home position by continuing the rotation to the position shown in Figure 1.

In the drawing the taxicab 1 is provided with a taximeter 2 having a back plate The taximeter will be driven by a conventional means as shown in the above mentioned patent. In the said patent there are two driving means, one from the clock and one from a moving part of the vehicle such as the front wheel or the transmission. Both of these driving means are controlled by the position of the flag shaft. Ii, therefore, the flag shaft is in its home position the taximeter will not record fares but if it is thrown to its 90 degree position it will record fares, which fares will be the sum charged for both waiting time and the distance driven. The throwing of the flag from its vacant position to its recording position also registers that an initial fare has been charged. For instance, the fares in New York City are 15 for the first mile and 5c for each additional mile. The passenger is therefore charged 16 as an additional charge over and above what the taximeter would usually record for the charge computed on the distance traveled plus the waiting time. If, therefore, the flag is moved from its vacant position to its recording position the initial fare will be registered and the taximeter will be thrown into position whereby it will be operated. Connecting the floor boards 4 and 6 of the taxicab is a rectangular water-tight box 5 which is closed by a rectangular piston 7. Fluid 8 is contained in the box 5 so that if a passenger should step on the piston 7 his weight would be transmitted to the fluid 8 which communicates with a pipe 9 which communicates with the upper portion of a cylinder 10. The cylinder 10 is closed at its bottom by a cap 11 and at its top by a cap 49 through which passes a pull rod 12 connected to a piston 50 within the cylinder 10. On the inside of the cylinder 10 are lugs 51 which limit the upper movement of the piston 50. There are also lower lugs 52 and between the piston 50 and the lugs 52 is interposed a helical spring 53. When a passenger steps on the piston 7 he forces the fluid 8 through the pipe 9 into the cylinder 10 above the piston 15 thereby forcing the said piston downwardly against the tension of the spring 53. Its downward movement will be stopped when the spring 53 is pressed fiat against the lugs 52. Its downward movement pulls down on the pull rod 12. When the passenger gets out the spring 53 will move the piston 50 upwardly which moves the pull rod 12 upwardly and will force that part of the fluid in the cylinder 10 which is above the piston 50 and below the lugs 51 back through the pipe 9 into the fluid box 5.

The pull rod 12 is connected to an arm 13 and a slide 14. The slide 14 is guided by guide rails 15. The slide 14 is provided with an ear 16 which carries a pivot bolt 1'7 on which is mounted a bell crank lever 18 having a lower arm 19 which is normally pressed outwardly by means of a spring 20. A lug 48 may be used to limit the upward movement of the arm 19. The lever 18 normally rests directly above a lever 21 secured to the flag shaft or controlling shaft 22 to which is also secured the flag 23. The flag 23 is positioned outwardly beyond the lever 21.

The arm 13 is provided with a hole 24 through which passes a pull member 25 provided with a button 26 below the arm 13 so that as the arm 13 moves downwardly it will engage the button 26 and pull the pull member 25 which passes over a guide roller 27 mounted on the inside of the back 3. The pull member 25 is connected to a bell crank lever 28 pivoted on a pin 29 carried by an arm 30 secured to the back 3 of the taximeter which bell crank lever is provided with a forwardly extending arm 31 which engages the inner end of a stop bolt 32 which extends through the back 3 of the taximeter. The stop bolt 32 is provided with a pin 33 and between the pin 33 and the back 3 is a spring 34 which tends to move the stop bolt 32 inwardly and thereby rotate the bell crank lever 28 counter-clockwise as viewed in Figure 5 and pull the button 26 upwardly. The fluid 8 is placed under compression and a part of it goes through the pipe 9 into the upper portion of the cylinder 10 above the piston 50 forcing the piston 50 downwardly and pulling the pull rod 12 and slide 14 downwardly so that the bell crank lever 18 will pull downwardly on the lever 21 and thereby rotate the flag shaft 22. When the piston 50 has been moved downwardy as far as it will go the lever 21 will have been rotated approximately degrees. member 12 moves downwardly it likewise moves the arm 13 downwardly so that just prior to the time that the arm 11 engages the floor board 10 the arm 13 engages the button 26 and pulls the pull member 25 downwardly rotating the bell crank lever 28 clockwise as viewed in Figure 5 and projecting the pin 32 outwardly. The flag shaft has thus been thrown to recording position. If, however, the mechanism failed to work there would be nothing to prevent the operator from engaging the flag and manually throwing it to its recording position. Furthermore, there is nothing to prevent the operator moving the flag from its 90 degree or recording position to its 180 degree or non-recording position but he cannot move it beyond that point for the lever 21 will engage the stop member 32 sothat the operator As the pull cannot return the flag by continuing its rotation to its home position. Furthermore, as shown in the said patent, the flag shaft 22 is provided with a disk 36 provided with ratchet teeth 35 which extend for approximately 90 degrees of the circumference of the disk 36 and which teeth are engaged by a spring pressed pawl 3'7 so that the flag shaft cannot be rotated in a reverse direction from its 90 degree position to its home position. There is, therefore, nothing to prevent the driver from moving the flag from its 90 degree position to its 180 degree position or from its 180 degree position back to its 90 degree position but he cannot rotate it from its 90 degree position directly to its home position and he cannot rotate it when the cab is occupied beyond its 180 degree position. When the passenger gets out the spring 53 returns a part of the fluid in the cylinder 10 into the fluid box 5 and pushes the pull rod 12 and slide 14 upwardly and raises the arm 13 out of engagement with the button 26 so that the spring 34 retracts the stop bolt 32 so that the cab driver can now rotate the flag manually from is 90 degree position through its 180 degree position to its home position.

It is realized that many changes may be made in the specific form of the invention as shown by way of illustration in this application and I, therefore, desire to claim the same broadly except as I may limit myself in the appended claims. Having now described my invention I claim:

1. In combination, a fluid reservoir having a movable part adapted to be actuated by the weight of a passenger, a cylinder, a piston slidable within the said cylinder, stops within said cylinder to limit the movement of said piston, communicating means between said reservoir and said cylinder so that when the passenger operates the said movable part the fluid will be forced into said cylinder to actuate said piston, a slide actuated by the movement of the said piston, a taximeter cam shaft, and means actuated by the movement of said slide to rotate said shaft into operative position.

2. In combination, a fluid reservoir having a movable part adapted to be actuated by the weight of a passenger, a cylinder, a piston slidable within the said cylinder, stops within said cylinder tolimit the movement of said piston, communicating means between said reservoir and said cylinder so that when the passenger operates the said movable part the fluid will be forced into said cylinder to actuate said piston, a slide actuated by the movement of the said piston, a taximeter cam shaft, means actuated by the movement of said slide to rotate said shaft into operative position, and means within said cylinder to return said piston to normal position when the weight of the passenger is removed from the reservoir.

HASTINGS W. BAKER.

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