IMPROVEMENTS IN TWO-WHEELED CARRIAGES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Robert Augustus Glover, of Bury Street,
in the Parish of St. James, Westminster, Master of Arts, for the Inven-
T
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Robert Augustus
Glover at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 7th April 1854.
I, FREDERICK ROBERT AUGUSTUS GLOVER, of Bury Street, in the Parish of
St. James, Westminster, Master of Arts, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TWO-WHEELED CARRIAGES" to be as
follows:-
My Invention consists, firstly, in constructing carriages with compound
shafts, in such manner that they shall also form or act as springs for supporting
the load to be carried, by forming them of two parts, attached together near
to one end, and open or apart from each other at the other end; and by so
interposing between them near to the open end, one or more separating blocks
or stops, that on one of the two pieces being secured at its end to the axle, and
the load being placed upon or suspended from or attached to the end of the
other part (or partly to the end and partly elsewhere), the load, in causing the
extremities of the two parts at their open end to approach or come together,
will cause the parts of the shaft intermediate between the separating blocks or
stops and their point of contact to spring or open away from each other,
and on the pressure being removed, to collapse and resume their original
form.

page_text: Secondly, in so shaping the two parts of the compound shafts, as above set
forth, as to dispense with any separating blocks or stops, and yet produce the
action above described.
Thirdly, in the use of either of the foregoing improvements in connection
with the floor of the body of the carriage suspended beneath the axle. It is
to be observed, that when the compound shafts are made of wood, one
piece may be employed, by cutting it longitudinally the requisite portion of its
length.
Fourthly, my Invention consists in so constructing the body and arranging
the seats and fixing the shafts to the axle that the hind quarters of the animal
may be brought close up to or very nearly close up to the axle, so as to enable
the carriage to be turned in the narrowest limit, and the line of draught to be
shortened to the length of the horse.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Frederick Robert Augustus Glover in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 6th October 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
ROBERT AUGUSTUS GLOVER, of Bury Street, in the Parish of St. James, West-
minster, Master of Arts, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Heir heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Frederick Robert Augustus Glover, Her special license that I, the said
Frederick Robert Augustus Glover, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Frederick Robert Augustus Glover, my execu-
tors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TWO-WHEELED CARRIAGES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Frederick Robert Augustus Glover,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Frederick Robert Augustus Glover,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof (that is to say):-
My Invention consists, firstly, in constructing carriages with compound
-shafts, in such manner that they shall also form or act as springs for supporting
the load to be carried, by forming them of two parts, attached together near
to one end, and open or apart from each other at the other end; and by so
interposing between them near to the open end one or more separating blocks
or stops, that on one of the two pieces being secured at its end to the axle, and
the load being placed upon or suspended from or attached to the end of the
other part (or partly to the end and partly elsewhere), the load, in causing the
extremities of the two parts at their open end to approach or come together,
will cause the parts of the shaft intermediate between the separating blocks or
stops and their point of contact to spring or open away or from each other,
and on the pressure being removed to collapse and resume their original form.
Secondly, in so shaping, the two parts of the compound shafts, as above set
forth, as to dispense with any separating blocks or stops, and yet produce the
action above described.
Thirdly, in the use of either of the foregoing improvements in combination
with the floor of the body of the carriage suspended beneath the axle.
Fourthly, my Invention consists in so constructing the body and arranging
the seats that the hind quarters of the animal may be brought close up to or
very nearly close up to the axle, by fixing my improved shafts, above set forth,
to the axle, so as to enable the carriage to be turned in the narrowest limit,
and the line of draught to be shortened to the length of the horse.
And having now set forth the nature of my said Invention, I will proceed
to describe the manner in which each of the several improvements (which it
comprehends) is to be and may be respectively performed.
(First improvement.) In the Drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of one of
my improved double or compound spring shafts (in illustration of this improve-
ment), constructed of two separate pieces A and B, of any suitable description
of wood, such as lance, ash, or red pine, and connected together by an iron
protecting band or strap a. The upper piece A is the entire length of the
shaft, and the lower piece B about fifteen or eighteen inches shorter. The
general form and proportions of such shafts and the manner of using them as
springs are the same as in the shafts I make from a single piece of wood, and
which I am now about to describe more in detail; that is to say, I select a
piece of lance, ash, red pine, or any other suitable wood, which I make of any

page_text: convenient dimensions, as, for example, seven feet six inches in length, of a
varying thickness from five inches at one end to two inches and a half at the
other end, and of an uniform width of two inches and a half or three inches, or
slightly tapering from about four inches at the thicker end, and to about two
inches at the thinner end; and I cut the wood in the direction of its length
and along the middle, so as to divide the thickness into two thicknesses,
beginning the cut at the thick part, and continuing it till within about fifteen
or eighteen inches of the thinner end, at which point I protect the wood from
splitting or opening further by a band or strap of iron or leather, or other
suitable protection. In the Drawings, Figure 2 shews a side view of such a
piece of wood, with a cut run up the centre of it to within eighteen inches of
the small end; and Figure 3 is a similar view, representing the ends stretched
open a little. In the latter Figure, a is the projecting band or strap. The
manner of applying a pair of these shafts, and making them the springs of a
carriage, is as follows:-Supposing the axle tree to be divided into three parts,
the middle division of which is about two feet one (or two) inches in length, I
fasten rigidly or otherwise connect the lower portion of each of the shafts at its
end to the axle, one at each extremity of such middle division, and I fasten
the upper portion of each at its end c by a hinge joint to a transverse bar or
transom above them. The details of the joints and connections are shewn in
the Figures 16, 17, and 17, hereafter referred to. I separate cach of the two
ends of each of the double shafts, and keep them expanded by setting up
between the ends of each respectively short squared blocks of hard wood, which
act as fulcrums, as shewn in the Figure 4, in which d is the fulcrum block,
inserted into one of a series of pairs of morticed holes, made for its reception
in both portions of the shaft, and marked 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, and 4, 4, so as to
admit of adjustment according to the weight to be carried, by altering the
block from one pair of holes to another. Thus, if the weight were excessive,
the blocks should be placed between in the holes 1, 1, and if very slight, in
the holes 4, 4. It is to be noted, that from the double end of the shafts, for
about sixteen to twenty inches, more or less, each portion should be extremely
rigid; and when this cannot be obtained by the wood only, I fasten iron plates
or shoes on the sides of these parts of the shafts, in the manner shewn in the
Figures 5 and 6. In place of or in addition to this, I prefer to make a slight
modification of the shafts, as above described, by rigidly fastening on to each
portion respectively, and between the two portions, the additional pieces or
thicknesses of wood e, e, as shewn in Figure 7, and in these pieces I make the
morticed holes, instead of in the shafts themselves, and thus lessen, if not
entirely prevent, the liability to fracture; or sometimes I effect this strength-

page_text: ening by having the wood itself thicker, as shewn in the Figure 8, in which
case I make the morticed holes in the shaft itself, as before described.
The action of my improved double-spring shaft is represented by the Figure
9, the full lines denoting the ordinary relative positions of the upper and lower
portions respectively, and the dotted lines the relative positions they assume
when any extra stress or weight is brought to bear upon them. The weight of
the carriage resting upon or hanging from the end or point c, meets its resist-
ance at the end or point b, which is connected to the axletree, the blocks being
interposed. When extra stress is brought to bear against the point b, the
tendency of the point c is to approach it, and if the wood of either shaft broke
at the fulcrum the carriage would fall; but if the wood from c to c*, and from
6 to 6 is sufficiently strong to render that contingency impossible, and the
wood from 6x to a, and from c* to a, is sufficiently slender to allow the natural
clasticity of the wood to play, then when the extra stress is applied at c, while
the wood from c to c and from to b* retains its rigidity or inflexibility, the
wood from c* to a and from * to a is bowed out, and the result is a downward
and upward motion at c, similar to that which takes place in an ordinary
elliptic spring when extra stress is applied.
I wish it to be understood, that although I have above described that my
spring shafts are formed out of two separate pieces, or out of one and the same
piece of wood (by making a cut in it longitudinally), I sometimes make the
shaft of three pieces of wood, scarfed, spliced, or otherwise connected together
at or by the strap a; two pieces for the upper and lower portions, constituting
the spring, and about fifteen to eighteen inches shorter than the entire length;
and one piece about fifteen or eighteen inches in length, in continuation from
the strap a to the front end of the shaft.
And I also wish it to be understood, that instead of making my improved
spring shafts of wood, as above described, they may be made of iron or steel, or
partly of wood and partly of iron or steel combined, by adopting the same
general form and adapting the details of construction to the nature or require-
ments of the material or materials employed.
(Second Improvement.) Figure 10 is a side view of one of my improved
double or compound shafts (in illustration of this improvement), which may be
constructed of either one, two, or three pieces of wood, as above described, but
having the upper and lower portions curved, or permanently bent or shaped
into the form shewn, so as to form a fulcrum at the point C by touching each
other at this point, and opening away from each other in both directions away
from this point, but closing or being connected at the protecting band or strap
a, as in the firstly-described shafts.

page_text: Iron or steel may also be substituted in place of wood in shafts constructed
in accordance with this improvement.
(Third and Fourth Improvements.) The Figures 11 to 18 of the accom-
panying Drawings, which represent a family car built in accordance with these
improvements, will serve as a good illustration of the mode of construction
which I intend by them, though I do not intend to confine myself to the par-
ticular shape of the vehicle represented, as this may be varied in every possible
way, and a roof may or may not be added, as is desired. Figure 11 is a
diagram, hereafter referred to; Figure 12, a side view of the car; Figure 13,
a longitudinal section; Figure 14, a transverse section; Figure 15, a plan view;
Figure 16, side view of the shafts and transom frame on a larger scale; Figures
17 and 17 are two half plan views of the same, one shewing the transom
frame and the other shewing the axle; Figure 18, an cnd view, shewing
particularly the transom and the axle, and the cross bracing or straps k, k,
hereafter mentioned. The carriage consists of a body or case and an under
carriage. The body consists of a bottom and two sides, which sides are joined
together and kept upright by a cross piece or transom æ; this transom supports
or carries the weight of the carriage or body, and its loading, when the body is
laid or hung upon the under carriage. The bottom of the body or case is a
rectangular oblong frame, having a similar oblong, but of about half the
dimensions, taken out of the middle of it from one end, as shewn in the diagram
Figure 11. The object of this opened space is to allow the horse's feet to go
back so far as to pass under the axletrec, by which means the horse is brought
as close as possible to the weight he has to move, and he is enabled to drag
almost immediately from the very centre of gravity. The under carriage
consists of the axletree and wheels, and a pair of my improved double-spring
shafts, together with a transom a and transom frame a*, the shafts being
secured both to the axletree and to the transom in the manner described under
my first improvement, and more particularly illustrated by the Figure 16.
The transom is also secured to the body as before mentioned, and connects the
two parts of the carriage together, the connection at the point c being moveable,
or, more correctly speaking, a hinged joint, as it is important that it should not
be a rigid connection.
In order to keep the upper carriage or body from swagging about against the
wheels from side to side, I employ two cross braces or stays k, k, (see Figure
18,) of leather or chain, which I stretch or place between the right end of the
axle on one side up to the left end of the transom on the opposite side, and
vice versa, from the left end of the axle up to the right end of the transom;
and I connect them with the axle and the transom respectively by suitable

page_text: shackles or fastenings, as represented in the Drawing. I also employ two
other straps 1, 1, (see Figure 16,) which are essential to the easy action of the
carriage when the horse trots. These pass completely round the double shafts,
one underneath the lower portion of each shaft, and over a projecting arm or
portion of the transom frame, which is prolonged for the purpose. These arms
are not intended to be strapped down tightly, as this would hinder the proper
elastic action of the spring shafts, but their use is simply to hold the floor of
the carriage in parallelism to the ground, and to counteract the jogging motion
of the horse in the trot. The entire carriage, therefore, consists of a body, an
under carriage, two sets of straps, two for braces or stays, two for counterpoises,
and two blocks. The seating of the carriage and the disposition of the weight
to be carried has to be attended to, as in every other two-wheeled vehicle, in
which it is necessary to balance the shifting load. The weight should never be
thrown upon
the horse's back. The example given in the Drawing shews the
car, arranged to carry seven persons, including the driver, who sits at a standing
seat m, (see Figure 15,) on one side of the horse, and in front of the car.
Another person sits in the corresponding place n on the opposite side, or
luggage may conveniently be placed here when it is not so occupied. Three
persons sit with their backs to the horse right over the transom on the seat
marked o, and two others in the back corner seats of the carriage, marked p
and which for convenience are made so as to let down and hang as flaps
when not required to be used, and so as to afford more space to the occupants
of the transverse seats. The carriage may be either closed up behind like a
box, with a door in the middle, as represented, or the back may be altogether
open, the Patentee having carriages on this construction in both these forms.
9,
It is to be noted, that instead of the lower portion of the shaft being rigidly
connected with the axle, as shewn in the Drawings, (and more particularly in
Figures 16 and 17,) one or both shafts may be loosely connected therewith in
any convenient manner, the draught being in either case direct from the axle,
which has hooks upon it for attaching the traces.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Robert Augustus Glover, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of September, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
FRED ROBT AUGUSTUS GLOVER, A.M. (L.S.)