IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CARRIAGES, COACHES, OMNIBUSES, AND OTHER SUCH LIKE CONVEYANCES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Wright, of 42, Bridge Street, Blackfriars, City
of London, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF CARRIAGES, COACHES, OMNIBUSES, AND OTHER SUCH LIKE
CONVEYANCES." A communication from abroad by Rene Sauvage De
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Wright at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 19th
September 1859.
I, JAMES WRIGHT, of 42, Bridge Street, Blackfriars, City of London, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CARRIAGES, COACHES, OMNIBUSES, AND OTHER SUCH
LIKE CONVEYANCES," a communication, to be as follows, that is to say :-
The object of my Invention is to form the front wheels of my carriages of
an equal or greater diameter than the hind ones, and at the same time to
enable the carriage to turn easily. I form the frame of my carriage in two
parts or compartments, a front and a rear one; these two are applied or joined
to each other by means of two curved partitions, but in such a manner that
the front compartment can turn freely in a horizontal plane, and rests upon its
axle in the ordinary manner, the hind one resting in like manner upon the
axle of the rear wheels. A pole or pearch passes underneath, and is firmly
fixed to the rear compartment, but not to the front one, beneath which how-
ever it is prolonged; the imperial, or top part of the carriage, is fixed to the
rear compartment, at the same time passing over the top of the front one, but
not fixed to it, so that it forms a perch on the top, similar to the pole or pearch

page_text: underneath, which while they will always retain the rear compartment in
its place, will allow the front one to move to the right or left between
them. To give greater security, I make use of two flat iron plates above and
below the rear compartment, which act as guides to it, and enable it to turn
within and between them. The door of the rear compartment may be
behind, and that of the front one either at the side or in the front of it.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Wright in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th March 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WRIGHT, of 42, Bridge Street, Blackfriars, City of London, Civil Engineer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Wright, Her special licence that I, the said James
Wright, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said James Wright, my 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
THE CONSTRUCTION OF CARRIAGES, COACHES, OMNIBUSES, AND OTHER SUCH LIKE CON-
VEYANCES," a communication from abroad by Rene Sauvage De Saint Marc,
of Lyons, in the Empire of France, upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said James Wright, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Wright, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing statement, that is to say:-
My Invention has for its object to replace the small front wheels of four

page_text: wheeled carriages or omnibuses, or such like conveyances, by others of larger
diameter, and at the same time to allow the carriage to turn as easily as by the
present mode of construction. Ordinary four-wheel carriages are composed of a
body or case, which rests through the springs upon each side of the axle of the
two rear wheels, and upon the centre of the front axle by means of a wheel or
turn-plate. By this arrangement the front axle and wheels are enabled to
turn round, and thus bring with them the carriage. To enable this however
to be done, the front wheels must necessarily be small, as they have often
to run partly under the body of the carriage in turning.
The object of my Invention is to suppress the wheal or turn-plate in front,
and substitute for the small fore wheels others of larger diameter, and at the
same time to enable the carriage to turn easily. To effect this, my carriages
are composed of two bodies or cases, instead of one as in the ordinary con-
struction, each case rests upon each side of one of the axles by means of the
springs, and each is articulated to the other so as to turn freely in each
other, and thus enable the carriage to turn with the same facility. By means
of this arrangement a more steady and speedy motion is given to the
carriage.
In order to render the nature of my Invention more clear and intelligible,
I have to this Specification appended the accompanying Drawings, which shew
a coach or omnibus constructed after my system, and capable of containing
sixteen inside and four outside passengers; at the same time I wish it under-
stood that I do not confine myself to the exact details therein shewn, as these
will vary somewhat according to the form and particular use of the carriage,
but they represent fully the general principles of my Invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the carriage; Figure 2 is a plan of the same,
shewing the carriage turned bottom upwards; A, B, C, D, is the rear case or
body, having the entrance in the centre at the rear; it is surmounted by an
imperiale having a raised frame F, E, H, G, to receive the luggage, and also
the banquette or front seat; the driver's seat may either form a part of the
imperiale, or may rest upon the front case P, Q, R, S; the case A, B, C, D,
rests upon each side of the rear axle by means of the rear springs, which are
arranged as in ordinary carriages. Under the rear case is fixed a pole or
bearer L, M, N, O, and attached to it through the portion L, M. The front
case P, Q, R, S, (Fig. 1), in a similar manner to the rear one, rests upon the
front axle by means of the fore springs; the entrance to this case is in the
front, and either in the centre or at the sides. This case is adjusted in its

page_text: place between the bearer L, M, N, O, and the bottom frame H, G, of the im-
periale; it is centered upon the pivots y and o, the one on the imperiale frame,
sy
the other in the bearer. L, O; the plane of these pivots y and o is in a line
at right angles to the mesial plane of the carriage. The front face of the rear
case is cylindrical and concave, and the rear face of the front case is also
cylindrical but convex; these two faces have for a common axis the line
which contains or intersects the axis of the two pivots y and o. To avoid
friction between the faces a small space exists between them. It will from this
be seen that the front case will turn upon the two pivots y and o, until the
wheel comes in contact with the bearer L, M, N, O, which allows sufficient
room for turning the carriage; owing to the distance between the two pivots y
and o the cylindric faces will always be kept parallel in every position. In
some cases, to give greater security, I fix at P and N, Fig. 1, upon the rear
case two arcs of cast iron, between which the front case turns after the manner
of the wheel-plate in ordinary carriages. I also adopt any other similar simple
means to give greater strength, and always keep the front rotating case
properly sustained.
P, N, R, (Plan 2), is an arc of a circle fixed under the front case; this arc
slides upon a similar are fixed on the rear case or on the bearer L, O; in this
arrangement it ought to be put a little on one side of the front case; a similar
arrangement exists on the top portion of the carriage; by these devices the
cases perfectly sustain each other in all positions. T, U, is the pole under
the front case, and fixed to it by the straps K, Y, in the usual manner.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of my Invention, and
how the same is constructed and acts, I wish it understood that what I claim
and wish secured by the before in part recited Letters Patent is, the con-
struction of all kinds of four-wheel carriages with two cases or bodies, so
formed as to sustain each other, by which construction I am enabled to make
use of front wheels much larger than by the present system, and thus obtain
for my carriages a much quicker, easier, and steadier motion, and at the
same time retain the power of turning easily.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Wright, have hereunto this Seven-
teenth day of March, One thousand eight hundred and sixty, set my
hand and seal
JAMES WRIGHT. (L.S.)