IMPROVEMENTS IN CARRIAGES TO BE USED ON ROUDABOUTS
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Sanger, of Margate, in the County of Kent, and
Frederick Savage, of King's Lynn, in the County of Norfolk, for an Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CARRIAGES TO BE USED ON ROUDABOUTS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Sanger & Frederick
Savage at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd May
1880.
WILLIAM SANGER, of Margate, in the County of Kent, and FREDERICK SAVAGE, of
King's Lynn, in the County of Norfolk. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CARRIAGES TO BE
USED ON ROUNDABOUTS."
This Invention has for its object improvements in carriages to be used on
roundabouts. For this purpose we construct the carriages in such a manner that
the body or part of the carriage in which people are to be seated may have given
to it a pitching movement, and also, if desired, a sideway rolling notion, so as to
resemble the movements of a vessel at sea. The body of the carriage is also fitted
up with a mast and sails, and otherwise fitted up to resemble a sailing vessel, or it
might be fitted up to resemble a steamer. To give a pitching movement to the
boat or part of the carriage in which people are seated we support it on an axis
which lies transversely below the centre of its bottom; this axis is mounted in
bearings carried by the frame which carries the axles of the wheels on which the
carriage runs. The axis has also a lever arm projecting downwards from it; from
the end of this lever arm a connecting rod is led to a crank on a short shaft carried
by the frame; on this shaft is a toothed wheel into which a pinion on one of the
axles of the supporting wheels can be brought into gear whenever this axle is
secured in an inclined position to allow the wheels to run on the circular track of
the roundabout, or can be put out of gear when the axle is held at right angles to
the frame and in position for the carriage to be drawn along a common road.
Thus when the axles of the carriage are inclined to one another so that the

page_text: carriage may run on the circular track of the roundabout, and the pinion on the
axle is so brought into gear with the toothed wheel on the short shaft before
mentioned, this shaft will be revolved whenever the carriage is drawn forward, and
from the crank upon the short shaft a rocking motion will be transmitted to the axis
which carries the boat; thus the front and back of the boat will be alternately 5
When the
raised and lowered in the same way that a boat pitches when at sea.
axle with the toothed pinion upon it is set at right angles to the carriage and the
pinion no longer gears with the toothed wheel before mentioned, the carriage may
be drawn along a common road without the boat receiving any pitching motion.
The carriages may be drawn around the circular track of a roundabout by horses
or may be propelled by steam power, as desired.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Sanger and Frederick Savage in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 3rd November 1880.
WILLIAM SANGER, of Margate, in the County of Kent, and FREDERICK SAVAGE, of
King's Lynn, in the County of Norfolk. "IMPROVEMENTS IN CARRIAGES TO BE
USED ON ROUNDABOUTS."
This Invention has for its object improvements in carriages to be used on
roundabouts.
We construct the carriages in such a manner that the body or part of the carriage
in which people are to be seated may have given to it a pitching movement, and
also, if desired, a sideway rolling motion, so as to resemble the movements of a
vessel at sea. The body of the carriage may also be fitted up with a mast and
sails, and otherwise fitted up to resemble a sailing vessel, or it might be a steamer.
To give a pitching movement to the boat or part of the carriage in which people
are seated we support it on an axis which lies transversely below the centre of its
bottom, and give a rocking motion to the carriage upon the axis from the wheels of
the carriage as they turn. We propel the carriages of the roundabout by steam
power in the manner hereinafter described, or they might be drawn by horses as
in ordinary roundabouts. Figure 1 of the Drawings hereunto annexed shows a
plan view of a roundabout in which the carriages are driven by steam power, and
in which the bodies of the carriages have a pitching motion given to them, as above
described; Figure 2 is a side elevation of one of the carriages, and Figure 3 an
end elevation showing the way in which it is driven.
The frame A of each carriage is carried on one axle B which has a pair of wheels
B¹ fixed upon it. The wheels run on the circular track or railway of the roundabout.
The frames A of the several carriages are brought close together, end to end, and
coupled together so as to support or keep one another in a horizontal position, as
shown at Figure 1. On the axle of the wheels is a pinion which gears with a
toothed wheel C, as shown at Figure 2. From a crank pin on the wheel C a
connecting rod passes to one arm of the bell crank D; the other arm of this crank
is connected by a link E with the boat G, which boat is free to rock upon the
axle B. Thus when the carriages are drawn around the circular track or railway
of the roundabout, and the wheels B¹ so made to turn, a rocking movement is given
to the crank D and is so transmitted to the boat.
Springs composed of blocks of vulcanized india rubber may be interposed
between the boat and the axle, as shown.
In order to cause the several carriages to travel around the circular track or
railway of a roundabout we employ an engine similar to an ordinary portable
steam engine placed at the centre of the circular track. The engine gives a
revolving motion to a frame H wheel H' composed of radial spars coupled together by
rods, ropes, or chains. The outer ends of these spars are connected to the frames A
of the carriages at their centre, as shewn at Figure 1. At the centre of the wheel
the spars are fixed to the toothed wheel H¹ which is driven by a pinion K that
receives motion from the crank shaft of the engine through a pair of bevel gear
wheels L, as shewn at Figure 4, which is a side elevation of the engine on a larger
scale. The toothed wheel H¹ and frame of spars H carried by it turns around the
chimney of the engine, and so the chimney does not interfere with the turning of
the spars.
Instead of each carriage of the roundabout having only one axle and one pair of
wheels, as shewn at Figures 1, 2, and 3, each carriage frame may be supported on
two axles and two pair of wheels, as shewn at Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8. In this case,
when the carriages are placed onto the circular track or railway of the roundabout

page_text: one of the axles B of the carriage has to be set at an angle to the other axle, as
shewn by the dotted lines X, Y, Figure 8. When the axle is fixed in this position
a pinion on the axle then comes into gear with a toothed wheel C, and a crank pin
on this wheel being coupled by a connecting rod with a rocking lever D that carries
the boat, the boat will receive a pitching motion when the carriage is drawn
around the circular tramway. When however the axle B is set at right angles
across the carriage frame, as shown at Figure 8, to allow of the carriage being
drawn along ordinary roads, the pinion on the axle is out of gear with the toothed
wheel C and no pitching motion is given to the boat. At Figure 5 the carriages
are shewn as being drawn around the circular tramway by horses.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, we would state that we claim,-
First. The construction of the carriages of a roundabout in such a manner that the
body of the carriages in which people are seated may have a pitching motion given
to it to resemble the movements of a boat or vessel at sea.
Second. Our improved roundabout and carriages, substantially as described and
represented in the Drawings annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Savage, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Second day November, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty.
F. SAVAGE. (L.S.)