IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF OMNIBUSES
Year: 1852

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Green, júnior, at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd October 1852.
(Void by reason of notice to proceed not having been given within the
time prescribed by the Act.)
I THOMAS GREEN, junior, of Westbourne Park Villas, in the
County of Middlesex, Omnibus Proprietor, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
OMNIBUSES" to be as follows:-
The objects of this Invention are to render omnibuses more com-
modious than hitherto, and to enable the vehicle to be, worked with
greater ease. The first of these objects is attained by giving additional
facilities for the ingress and egress of the inside passengers, as well as
the ascent and descent of outside passengers, by affording more room
for the passengers, by effecting a better ventilation of the vehicle, by
preventing the noise consequent on the rattling of the windows, and by
hanging the body of the vehicle on springs of a somewhat different con-
struction to those at present in use.
The second object is secured by shaping the body of the vehicle so
that it will bring the horses nearer to their work, and admit of the

page_text: vehicle being turned in less space than heretofore, and by bringing a
brake lever up to the footboard of the driver, so that by the pressure of
his foot he can work the brake. In the accompanying Drawing,
Fig. 1, shews a cross section of the body of the vehicle; Fig. 2, a front
view; and Fig. 3, a partial side elevation. A recess a, is made in the
roof from end to end to allow of passengers walking upright in the
vehicle, and cornices are attached to the sides thereof to act as hand
rails. ax, ax, are ventilators set in the sides and ends of the recess.
The windows b, b, are fixtures, the frame of the omnibus being filled in
with glass. The front of the vehicle at c, instead of being flat, takes a
convex form, and the seat d, corresponds therewith, by which means a
greater length of seat is obtained than heretofore in the same width of
vehicle. The large springs e, for the hind wheels are fixed at one end
only, and slide through a-guide-at-the other. By this arrangement
the ordinary back springs are dispensed with, and the tendency of the
carriage to sway" is diminished, which admits of the diameter of the
body being increased without increasing the span of the wheels. A
small additional spring is used to assist in sustaining the weight of an
extra heavy load. At the hind part of the vehicle a vertical rod, 'having
step pieces projecting at right angles therefrom, is affixed, to enable
passengers to mount the top of the omnibus. The front part of the
vehicle: below the footboard, falls back, to allow of the horses being
brought nearer to their work, and its sides are recessed as at f, f, Fig: 2
to allow the front wheels to run under.the body when the vehicle is
being turned round,, and. thus a greater." lock," and consequently a
greater. facility. in turning,. is obtained: g, g, is the arrangement of brake,
whereby the driver can, through the pressure of his foot, bring a brake
or brakes into action.