US1196749A - Means for way-billing. - Google Patents

Description

.J. A. MURPHEY.

MEANS FOR WAY-BILLING. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5. 1912.

1 1 96,749. Patented Aug. 29, 1916. 1 FIG. I

NEW YORK 'ro WEIGHT RATE AMOUNT A-I4 FIG. I

ADAMS EXPRESS" A44 4 COMPANY ADVANCE COLLECT A. MURPHEY, OF GERMANTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

MEANS FOR WAY-BILLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 29, 1916.

Application filed February 5, 1912'. Serial No. 675,612.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JAMES A. MURPHEY, of Germantown, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Means for Way-Billing, whereof the following is a specification, reference being bad to the accompanying draw in I l fly improvement is particularly applicable to systems of'way-billing packages for shipment by express, to lessen the time and labor required by the present system. The effect of my improvement may be best understood with reference to the present sys- Company to have a caller read from each package the name of the shipper and addressee to a wrlter who is supposed to enter the same in the way-bill, to designate the entry with a number, and inform the caller of that number; the caller being supposed to' mark said number somewhere on the package, by pencil or paint. The way-bill is then forwarded to the ex ress office local to the address on the pacliage. For instance, there are, at present, twenty-five shipments made I 'by Adams Express Company from Philadelphia to Bristol, Pennsylvania, per day and it is the present practice to send a single waybill with each'shipment, averaging forty articles. Moreover, the auditing department of said company finds it necessar stracts of wayills which are sometimes very voluminous. Upon receipt of a. package at that office, the clerk must refer to the Way-bill to ascertain what, if any, charge to make for expressage. Such reference requires the clerk to scan some if not all of the forty entries in the way-bill to select the information regarding each package. Such a system not only necessitates expenditure of much time and labor, but affords opportunities for numerous errors which may be due to failures of the caller and writer to hear each other, or, to the checking clerks failing to hear each other, or, to mismarking either the package or the way-bill. To avoid such errors it has been proposed to write a separate way-bill for each package and send it with the latter. However, such practice would involve an expenditure of much more time and labor than the present is the present practice under the present system to enter in its books ab-.

system in that it would necessitate the prepaatlon of forty times the present number of way-bills.

I propose to retain the present system of calling,,wr1ting, and inclusion of a plurality of items in each way-bill, but provide the writer with a printed form constituting a way-bill having a series of distince tlvely numbered spaces and appropriately headed blank 0 umns for matter descriptive of respective shipments, and 1 provide the caller with a; series of separable adhesive labels, to be attached to the respective shipments, respectively distinctively numbered in correspondence with'the numbers on said way-bill; each of saidlabels having spaces for a date and for entries indicatin whether the charge for shipment has een advanced, is to be collected, or has been paid; said spaces being conveniently respectively designated Advance Collect Paid.

Figure I showsa way bill having appropriately-headed columns and a series of distinctively numbered spaces for entries relating; to respective shipments. Fig. II shows a convenient form of printed adhesive label; being one of a series of labels which are similar but are distinctively numbered in correspondence with the numbers on the way-bill. In said figure, the, reference mark A indicates an adhesive coating upon the back of one of the labels, and it is to be understood that all of the labelsare provided with such a coating.

In accordance with -my invention each package carries the information, contained in the way-bill, essential to enable the agent at the placestof delivery to makethe proper charges and entries independently of the way-bill; thus saving the time and labor now required to refer to the way-bill for such information for each package. Moreover, in accordance with my system a single line entry in the books requlred by the auditing department of the express company is found sufficient to account for all of the packages shipped on a certain date to a certain place from a given place of shipment. For Instance, a single line entry may be made, accounting for two thousand packages as follows :J an. 16, to A2014 from Phila. to Bristol,-Pa.

I do not desire to limit myself. to the precise details of construction and arrangement 1912, packages Al4 herein described as varibus modifications may be made therein without departing from the essential features of my invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim 1. Means for way billing express shipments, including a printed form constituting a way bill having a series of distinctively numbered spaces and appropriately-headed blank columns for matter descriptive of re spective shipments,- and a series of separable adhesive labels, to be attached to the respective shipments,

numbers on said way bill; each of said labels having spaces for a date and for entries indicating whether the charge for shipment has been advanced, is to be collected, or has been paid; said spaces being respectively designated Advance Collect Paid.

2. Means for Way billing express ship meats, including a printed form constituting a way bill having a series of distinctively numbered spaces and appropriatelyheaded blank columns for matter descriptive of respective shipments, and a series of separable adhesive labels, to be attached to the respective shipments, respectively distinctively numbered in correspondence with the numbers on said Waybill; each of said labels having spaces for a date and for entries indicating Whether the charge for shipment has been advanced, is to be collected, or has been paid.

3. Means for way billing express shipments, including a printed form constituting away bill having a series of distinctively numbered spaces and appropriatelyheaded blank columns for matter-descriptive of respective shipments, and a series of separable'adhesive labels, to be attached tothe respective shipments, respectively distinctively numbered in correspondence with v .the numbers on said Way bill; each of matter relating to respective shipments.

6. Means for Way-billing express shipments, including a series of distinctively successively numbered, primarily connected but separable adhesive labels; each having appropriately;designatedspaces for matter concerning the shipment to which it relates, indicating therespectively distinc tively numbered in correspondence with the.

date of shipment,- and whether the advanced, is paid.

charge for shipment has been to be collected, or has been 7. Means for way-billing express shipments, including a series of distinctively successively numbered, primarily connected but separable adhesive labels; each having appropriately designated spaces for matter concerning the shipment to which it relates.

8. Means for way-billing express shipments, including a printed form constituting a Way-bill having aserles of distinctively numbered spaces and appropriately designated columns for matter descriptive of respective shipments, and a series of separable adhesive labels, to be attached to the respective shipments;

tively numbe numbers on labels having respectively distincred in correspondence with the said way -bill; each of said appropriately designated spaces for entries concerning the shipment to which it relates.

9. -Means for way-billing express ship ments, including a printed form constituting a way-bill having a series of distinctively numbered spaces and appropriately designated columns for matter descriptive of respective shipments,

and a series of separable adhesive labels, to be attached to the respective shipments,

respectively distinctively numbered in correspondence with the numbers on said Way-bill; each of said labels having appropriately designated spaces for entries concerning the shipment to which it relates, indicating the date of shipment,

and whether the charge for shipment has been advanced, is to be collected, or has been paid.

10. Means for Way-billing express shipments, including a printed form constituting a way-bill having a series of distinctively numbered appropriately designated spaces and appropriately designated columns for matter descri tive of respective shipments; a series of primarily connected but separable adhesive labels, arranged to be respectively attached to the respective shipments, said labels being respectively distinctively numbered in correspondence with the numberson said Way-bill; each of said labels having appropriately designated spaces for a date and for entries indicating whether the charge for shipment has been advanced, is to be collected, or has been paid; said Way-bill and labels each having entries" therein, the entries in said labels corresponding with the entries in said way-bill, and the entries in said way-bill being respectively identified with the respective labels.

11. Means for Way-billing an express -shipment, including a distinctively numbered adhesive label for attachment to the shipment, and having appropriately designated spaces for a date and for entries indicating whether the charge for shipment has 6 been advanced, is to be collected, or has been paid; the number on said label corresponding with the number of an entry in the office records of said shipment.

12. Means for waybilling an express shipment, including an adhesive label for attachment to said shipment, bearing a disshipment, including a label attached to and carried by said shipment to its destination; said label bearing a distinctive number corresponding with the number of an entry in the o'flice records of said shipment, and said label having appropriately designated spaces for entries concerning the shipment to which it is attached.

14. Means for way-billing express shipments, including a printed form having a single series of spaces and appropriately headed columns for matter descriptive of' respective shipments; all-of said spaces being distinctively successively numbered in. a single series; and a serles of separable adhesive labels, adapted to be attached to the respective shipments, respectively distinctively consecutively numbered in correspondence with the numbers on said way bill; each of said labels having spaces for a date and for entries indicating whether the charge for shipment is to be collected or has been paid; whereby each shipment carries the information, on said label, contained in said way-bill, essential to enable the agent at the'place of delivery to make 40 v the proper'charges and entries independ ently of the way-bill; and said way-bill constitutes a record of the respective labels and shipments. I 1 .15. Means for way-billing express shipments, including a series of separable'adhesive labels adapted to be attached to the respective shipments, eachbearing a printed number individually distinguishing it from all other such labels, and each having spaces fora date and 'for entries indicating whether the charge for shipment is to be collected or has been paid; whereby each shipment, pro- .vided with such a label, carries the information essential to enable the agent at the place of delivery to make the proper charges and entries independently of any way-bill separate from the shipment. y

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this thirty-first day of January, 1912.

JAMES A. MURPHEY.

Witnesses: v

WM. J. LITTEL, G. E. HAMPDEN.

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