IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO SAFETY CABS AND LIKE VEHICLES
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Earp, of Newark-on-Trent, in the County of
Nottingham, Brewer, aad Ralph Ashton, of Ardwick, in the City of
Manchester and County of Lancaster, Coach Builder,, for the. Invention
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said. Thomas Earp and Ralph.
Ashton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,, with their Petition,
on the 19th November 1866. ***
:
We, THOMAS EARP, of Newark-on-Trent, in the County. of Nottingham,
Brewer, and RALPH ASHTON, of Ardwick, in the City of Manchester, and
County of Lancaster, Coach Builder, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO SAFETY CABS AND LIKE
VEHICLES," to be as follows:-
Our improvements are applicable to Hansom cabs and like vehicles par-,
ticularly to such as have two doors opening upon a vertical or nearly vertical
axis; these doors have hitherto been hinged upon a central post, and have
opened against the "splash board." Our Invention consists in' dispensing.
with the central post and in arranging the doors upon hinges or pivots, one-
door at each side of the vehicle, so as to shut against each other at the centre
of the cab, and when opened to cover the wheels of the cab and protect
the clothes of passengers, the two doors being so connected by levers and
rods, shafts and gearing, or by pulleys, chains, straps, or bands, that when-
one, door is opened the other door will be opened and closed if required.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Earp and Ralph Ashton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 16th May 1867.
•
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
EARP, of Newark-on-Trent, in the County of Nottingham, Brewer, and
RALPH ASHTON, of Ardwick, in the City of Manchester, and County of
Lancaster, Coach Builder, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Thomas Earp and Ralph Ashton, Her special license that we, the
said Thomas Earp and Ralph Ashton, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Thomas Earp and Ralph Ashton, our
executors, 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 OR APPLICABLE TO SAFETY
CABS AND LIKE VEHICLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the
said Thomas Earp and Ralph Ashton, by an instrument in writing under our
hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of our 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Thomas Earp and Ralph Ashton, do
hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
in and by the following statement and accompanying Drawings, that is
to say :-
Our improvements are applicable to Hansom cabs and like vehicles, par-
ticularly to such as have two doors opening upon a vertical or nearly vertical
axis i these doors are of the full height of the cab inside, and have hitherto
been hinged upon a central post, and have opened against the "splash board."
Our Invention consists in dispensing with the central post and in arranging
the doors upon hinges or pivots, one door at each side of the vehicle, so as to
shut against each other at the centre of the cab, and when open to cover the

page_text: wheels of the cab to protect the clothes of the passengers when getting in and
out of the cab; also in making the hinges to extend from the top to the
bottom of the doors, and thus form a water-tight joint; also in connecting the
two doors arranged as above described by levers and rods, tooth gearing, and
a shaft or intermediate gearing, or pulleys; rods, chains, straps, or band, or
other mechanical equivalent, so that when one door is opened the other door
will be opened, and when one door is closed the other door will also be closed,.
if required simultaneously.
Our improvements are illustrated by the Figures upon the accompanying
Sheet of Drawing.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 a plan of our improved cab. It is
similar to an ordinary Hansom cab, except in the arrangement of the doors.
It will be seen that the doors (a) extend from the floor to the under side of
the roof of the cab; they are slightly curved in front, and are hinged one on
each side so as to open and cover the edges of the wheels, as shewn by the
arcs (a) in peculiar dotted line in Fig. 2.
Fig. 8 is a detached front sectional elevation upon an enlarged scale showing.
part of the two doors (a) and the manner in which they are hinged and are
connected so as to move simultaneously; and Fig. 4 is a detached plan view
of the arrangement shewn in Fig. 3 for actuating the doors. The hinges (a³)
extend from the top to the bottom, and a shaft (a³) passes in the hollow of
the hinges from top to bottom, forming the axis of the hinges. This shaft (a³)
is secured to the lower part of the door, but turns in those parts of the hinges
secured to the side frames of the cab; thus arranged the joint is water-tight.
and gives means for connecting and actuating the two doors. The lower ends
of shafts (a) forming the axis of the hinges pass through the floor (6) of the
cab and work in bearings (c) secured to the framing, and upon the projecting
end of each shaft (a³) a pulley (d) is secured having three flanges, as shewn,
and in each of the two spaces between the flanges of each pulley a stud (d³).
´is secured to which one end of a short jointed chain (e) (represented by dotted
lines) of well-known construction is attached, the other ends of these chains
being joined to rods (¹) having right and left handed screw coupling links (e³)
for taking up the slack chain, as shewn.. With this arrangement it will be
seen that when motion is imparted to one door a similar simultaneous motion
will be given to the other door. A pin (d³) is placed in each pulley so as to
come against the bearing or frame of the cab to form a stop for the door
when sufficiently open. The mechanism is covered by a casing (f), as shewn.
Spur wheels may be used, as illustrated in Fig. 5, where the wheels are
represented by pitch lines; d are the wheels upon the axes (as) of the hinges,

page_text: and are intermediate wheels working upon studs secured to the under.
framing of the cab. Bevel wheels connected by a shaft and levers and rods,
or other mechanical equivalents may be used, but we prefer the arrangements
described and she wn by the. Drawings, but do not confine ourselves thereto.
We would remark that our improved arrangement of the doors of cabs may
be used without the mechanism for working the two doors simultaneously,
and that this mechanism may be arranged simply to open or to close the doors,
only by using one chain, strap, or band only instead of the two chains and
rods (e and e¹), and the mechanism may be applied either below. the floor or
above, or in the roof of the cab, without departing from our Invention, we
therefore do not confine ourselves to the details, but claim as our Invention,―
Firstly, the arrangement of the doors of cabs, extending from the floor to
the roof, so as to hinge upon each side and open and guard the wheels; and
the use of water-tight hinges, as herein-before described and illustrated by the
accompanying Drawings.
Secondly, the simultaneous opening and closing, or opening or closing of
the doors of cabs, arranged as herein-before described and illustrated by the
accompanying Drawings:
In witness whereof, we, the said: Thomas Earp and Ralph Ashton, have
hereunto set our hands and: seals, this Fourteenth day of May, in the
year of our Lord One thousand. eight hundred and sixty-seven.. :
Witness to the signature of
. Thomas Earp,
ROBERT MOTH MORRIS,
Merchant's Clerk,
Witness to the signature of
Ralph' 'Ashton,
Newark..
PETER J. LIVSEY,
Patent Agent,
Manchester..
THOMAS LARI.
(L.S:)
RALPH ASHTON. (c.s.)