A Compact Eight-day
Page 60
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
RECORDING INSTRUMENT
irODERN road-tran spo rt con ditions necessitate the keeping of •a careful watch upon the movements of vehicles if economic operation is to be obtained. Many instruments which record the mileage travelled,_ the time occupied per journey and so forth have been devised for affixing to the vehicle. Most of them operate upon a one-day principle, which is convenient for many users, but the value of the checking may be interfered with when a vehicle is away for several days at a time.
To overcome this an eight-day Autograph recorder has been firoduced by Ripaults, Ltd., 1, King's Road, London, N.W.1. It costs £22 complete with drive, which may be from the front wheel, cardan shaft or gearbox. It incorporates a back plate for fixing to the vehicle ; this carries the mechanism, which is encased in a hinged cover
capable of being locked to avoid tampering by unauthorized persons.
At the lower end of the plate is a spring-loaded roller which draws a waxed paper strip on to itself as the strip is unwound by the clockwork mechanism situated in a drum above it. The blank-paper • cartridge is mounted in its holder and the free end passes around the toothed drum coupled to the clockwork.mechanism ; thence the strip travels to the spring-loaded roller.
Sixty millimetres of strip travel vertically downwards each hour, or, if preferred, 120 mm. can be arranged per hour ; thus one millimetre equals one minute—or half a minute in the optional design—and this gives a check on the time. The needle is fixed to an arm operated through a train of gear wheels and a snail-shaped cam. It traverses the paper strip once every five miles ; thus the lateral and longitudinal markings on the paper give a record of distance and time respectively and the relationship between them is easily worked out after inspection through the window of the .device.
The clockwork mechanism and roll will rim for eight daysof 24 hours, but it can be put out of action by means of a trip lCVer, if required. At the top of the mechanism is an ordinary mileage recorder, giving readings up to 99,1)99 miles.