IMPROVEMENTS IN TWO
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Marston of Birmingham in the County of
Warwick Carriage Builder for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN TWO
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Marston at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd January 1882.
JOHN MARSTON of Birmingham in the County of Warwick Carriage Builder
"IMPROVEMENTS IN TWO WHEEL CARRIAGES OF THE KIND COMMONLY CALLED
BROUGHAM HANSOMS"
In constructing a Brougham Hansom according to my Invention I employ two
folding doors capable of opening both outwards and inwards. When the doors are
fully opened inwards the pillars of the doors lie against the pillars of the body.
The doors are hinged to the body by compound hinges which permit of the
required range of motion in the doors In order to prevent draught when the
doors are closed I make at the hinged edge of each door a tongue extending from
top to bottom of the door. When the doors are closed these tongues engage in
grooves in the pillars of which the doors are hinged and prevent the passage of air
at the hinged edges of the doors. The prevention of draught at the meeting edges
of the doors is effected by a convex metal rib on one edge and an india rubber rib
on the other. When the doors are closed the metal rib on one door embeds itself
on the elastic india rubber rib on the other door and the passage of air is thus
prevented at the meeting edges of the doors.
On the underside of the roof rail a double dovetail or double wedge is fixed and
when the doors are closed the said wedge is situated between the tops of the doors
and relieves the hinges of the pressure which they would otherwise have to bear.
The doors may be fixed in their open position either inward or outward by
means of bolts near their meeting edges. These bolts are rounded at bottoin and
take into recesses formed in the floor of the vehicle for their reception. These
bolts may either be raised by the handle of the door or by pressure against the
door.

page_text: In order to receive and carry off rain which may fall on the outside of the doors
a gutter is formed at the bottom of each door outside, the said gutters opening at
the sides of the floor of the vehicle and delivering the collected water at the sides
of the vehicle.
Each side of the vehicle is furnished with two windows which can be raised to
form a close carriage or depressed to form an open carriage.
The back of the vehicle consists of three parts namely a fixed middle part and
two outer parts one on each side of the middle part and capable of sliding upon or
into the middle part.
In order to deaden vibration in the travelling of the vehicle a pad or block of
india rubber is introduced between each spring and that part of the axle on which
it bears. Similar pads or blocks of india rubber may be used at all points where
the springs are connected.
In order to enable the doors to close flat against the inside of the vehicle when
they are opened inwards holes are made in the strings or bands used for raising
the glasses at those parts of the said bands which in the raised and lowered
positions of the glasses come opposite the buttons by which the glasses are fixed at
any required height.
When the doors are opened inwards the buttons enter the said holes and the
door can lie flat against the side of the vehicle.
A Brougham Hansom constructed according to my Invention can be used either
as a close or open carriage. When the doors are opened inwards there is an
unobstructed view and when closed the vehicle is without draught and secure
against the entrance of rain.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Marston in the Great Scal Patent Office on the 14th June
1882.
JOHN MARSTON of Birmingham in the County of Warwick Carriage Builder
"IMPROVEMENTS IN TWO WHEEL CARRIAGES OF THE KIND COMMONLY CALLED
BROUGHAM HANSOMS"
In constructing a Brougham Hansom according to my Invention, I employ two
folding doors capable of opening both outwards and inwards. When the doors aro
fully opened inwards, the pillars of the doors lie against the pillars of the body.
The doors are hinged to the body by compound hinges which permit of the
required range of motion in the doors. In order to prevent draught when the
doors are closed, I make at the hinged edge of each door, a tongue extending from
top to bottom of the door. When the doors are closed, these tongues engage in
grooves in the pillars to which the doors are hinged and prevent the passage of air
at the hinged edges of the doors.
The prevention of draught at the meeting edges of the doors is effected by a
convex metal plate on one edge and an india rubber rib on the other. When the
doors are closed, the metal plate on one door embeds itself on the elastic india
rubber rib on the other door, and the passage of air is thus prevented at the
meeting edges of the doors.
On the underside of the roof rail, a double dovetail or double wedge is fixed and
when the doors are closed, the said wedge is situated between the tops of the
doors and relieves the hinges of the pressure which they would otherwise have to
bear.
The doors may be fixed in their open position either inward or outward, by
means of bolts near their meeting edges. These bolts are rounded at bottom and
take into recesses formed in the floor of the vehicle for their reception. These
bolts may either be raised by the handle of the door or by pressure against the
door.
In order to receive and carry off rain which may fall on the outside of the doors,
a gutter is formed at the bottom of each door outside, the said gutters opening at
the sides of the floor of the vehicle, and delivering the collected water at the sides
of the vehicle; or the water may be delivered from the gutters beneath the floor
of the vehicle.
Each side of the vehicle is furnished with two windows which can be raised to
form a close carriage or depressed to form an open carriage.
The back of the vehicle consists of three parts; namely a fixed middle part and
two outer parts, one on each side of the middle part and capable of sliding upon
or into the middle part.
In order to deaden vibration in the travelling of the vehicle a pad or block of
india rubber is introduced between each spring and that part of the axle on which
bears. Similar pads or blocks of india rubber may be used at all points where the
springs are connected.
In order to enable the doors to close flat against the inside of the vehicle, when
they are opened inwards holes are made in the strings or bands used for raising
the glasses at those parts of the said bands which in the raised and lowered
positions of the glasses come opposite the buttons by which the glasses are fixed at
any required height.
When the doors are opened inward, the buttons enter the said holes and the door
can lie flat against the side of the vehicle,

page_text: A Brougham Hansom constructed according to my Invention can be used either
as a close or open carriage. When the doors are opened inwards, thero is an
unobstructed view and when closed the vehicle is without draught and secure
against the entrance of rain.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawing represents in perspective a square
fronted Brougham Hansom containing my improvements the folding doors being
represented opened inwards; Figure 2 is a horizontal section of the body of the
Hansom, with the folding doors in their closed positions, drawn to a larger scale, the
said section Figure 2 being taken on the line a, a Figure 1; Figure 2A represents
a plan of the floor rail, situated immediately under the closed doors; Figure 2B is a
section of the floor taken on the line b, b Figure 2; Figure 3 is a front elevation
of Figure 2 with the floor rail in section; Figure 3A is a portion of Figure 3 drawn
of the full size; Figure 4 represents a portion of the body of the Hansom, with one
of the folding doors represented opened outwards; Figure 5 represents the meeting
edge and a plan of one of the folding doors and Figure 6 represents the jointed
edge of the said door; Figure 7 represents a portion of one of the folding doors
and the pillar of the body drawn to a larger scale; Figure 8 represents a back
elevation of the body and Figure 9 is a horizontal section of the same taken on the
line c, c Figure 8; Figure 10 represents one of the door bolts drawn of the full size.
The other Figures represent parts of my Invention as herein after explained.
The same letters indicate the same parts in the several Figures of the Drawing.
d is the body of the Hausom and e, f are the folding doors hinged to the body by
the compound hinges g,g. Each of these hinges is composed of three flaps; one of
the outer flaps being screwed to the pillar of the Hansom body and the other outer
flap being screwed to the pillar of the door. The outer flap on the door is jointed
to one edge of the middle flap and tho other outer flap on the pillar of the body, is
jointed to the opposite edge of the middle flap. By means of these hinges the
folding doors e, fare capable of opening both inwards, (as represented in Figure 1
and indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2) and outwards (as represented in Figure 4
and indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2). When the folding doors e, f are closed,
the three flaps of the compound hinges abut against, or are parallel to, one another.
When the doors are opened outwards, the middle flaps and the outer flaps, to which
the doors are jointed, are turned outwards. When the doors are opened inwards
the outer flaps only are turned outwards from off the middle flaps. Each of the
doors e, f is fixed in its closed position or in its opened position, either inwards or
outwards, by means of a sliding bolt h. Each bolt is furnished with a handle h²
inside and outside the door, and the spindle on which the said handles are fixed,
carries a pinion ³ (see Figure 10) which gears with a rack * near the top of the
bolt. By depressing either of the handles h² the bolt his raised. A spring h
acting on the head of the bolt causes the said bolt to be depressed when the handle
is loosed. The bolts h, when the doors are closed fall into the depressions or
sockets at in the floor rail plate shown separately drawn of the full size in
Figure 11.
The plate is inclined at each side for lifting the bolts h, h preparatory to their
engaging with the depressions or sockets ³, . When the doors e, f are opened
outwards, the bolts h, h are lifted by travelling up the inclined parts of the plates
1, (see Figures 2 and 2B) and on the doors reaching their fully opened position
the bolts snap into the depressions 12, 12 in the plates 1, and fix the doors. When
the doors are opened inwards, the bolts are first lifted by passing over the bevilled
or oblique plates m, m fixed on the floor of the Hansom, and the said bolts after-
wards fall behind the said bevilled or oblique plates and fix the doors. By
depressing either of the handles h² of one door, the bolt h of that door can be raised
and the door opened inwards or outwards or closed.
When the doors are closed as represented in Figures 2 and 3 draught is
prevented at the hinged edge of each door by means of the tongue n extending
from top to bottom of the door, engaging with the groove n made in the pillar to
which the door is hinged; and the prevention of draught at the meeting edges of

page_text: the two doors e, f is effected by the convex metal plate on the edge of one door f
and an india rubber rib p on the edge of the other door e.
When the doors e, fare closed the metal plate on the edge of the door f embeds
itself on the elastic rib p on the edge of the door e and the passage of air is thus
prevented at the meeting edges of the doors; u is a double wedge or double
dovetail fixed on the underside of the roof rail. This double wedge or dovetail is
shown drawn of the full size in Figure 34 and separately in Figure 12. On the
top of each of the folding doors ef a plate v (shown separately in Figure 13) is
fixed, the convex edge of the plate v projecting from the edge of the door and being
presented to the convex edge of the double wedge u.
When the doors e, f are closed the wedge u is situated between the plates v, v
on the tops of the doors and the binges of the doors are thereby relieved of the
pressure which they would otherwise have to bear. A similar double wedge x,
shown in Figure 11 is fixed at the floor rail and is made in one piece with the
plate with which the fastening bolts h, engage.
The glasses or sliding windows e, f at the upper halves of the folding doors e, f
are raised and lowered by strings or bands, one of which is represented in Figure 4
and marked es. In addition to the ordinary eyeletted holes in the strings or bands
for engaging on the fixed buttons for holding the glasses in their raised positions,
other holes e, e' are made. When the glass c³ is in its lowered position, the hole e
in the band is situated opposite the button and when the glass e² is in its fully
raised position the hole et in the band is situated opposite the button. On
opening inwards the folding doors; the buttons, enter the top holes et or the
bottom holes e according as the glasses are fully raised or fully lowered and the
doors can thus lie flat against the sides of the Hansom.
The sides windows of the Hansom are provided with sliding glasses similar to
those of the folding doors e, f, the said side glasses or windows being raised and
lowered by strings or bands.
k is a gutter at the bottom of each of the doors e, f for carrying off rain which
may fall on the outside of the doors. The gutters k, are open at their outer ends
and deliver the collected water at the sides of the Hansom as indicated by the
arrows. Rain, collecting on the floor rail may also be carried away by means of
the depressions or wells y, y holes in the said depressions or wells opening on the
underside of the floor rail as represented in Figure 3.
The windows at the back of the Hansom are made in the manner represented in
Figures 8 and 9 where it will be seen that the back of the upper half of the
Hansom consists of three parts q, r,s; namely, of the two outer parts or window
frames q, and the middle part s, the said middle part s being furnished with
recesses t, t into which the glasses q2, 72 of the back windows can slide by a lateral
motion when it is wished to open the said back windows. Spring studs at w, w
on the parts drop into holes in the glasses q², r, and hold them either in their
open or closed positions.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner in which
the same is to be performed I wish it to be understood that I claim as my Invention
of "Improvements in Two Wheel Carriages of the kind commonly called Brougham
Hansoms"
First-The combination with or adaptation to the said Brougham Hansoms of
folding doors capable of opening both outwards and inwards substantially as
herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
Secondly Preventing draught at the hinged edges of the said folding doors,
when closed, by means of tongues on the said doors engaging with grooves in the
pillars to which the doors are hinged as herein before described and illustrated in
the accompanying Drawing.
Thirdly Preventing draught at the meeting edges of the said folding doors by
means of a convex plate on the meeting edge of one door embedding itself on an
elastic rib on the meeting edge of the other door as herein before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.

page_text: Fourthly The construction of the fastening bolts described and illustrated and
the arrangements described and illustrated for fixing the folding doors in their open
position, either outwards or inwards.
Fifthly The arrangement described and illustrated of the gutters on the folding
doors for receiving and carrying off rain falling on the outside of the said doors.
Sixthly The additional eyeletting or perforating of the strings or bands used
for raising and lowering the glasses of the folding doors for the purpose and in the
manner described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawing.
Seventhly The double wedges or double dovetails described and represented
for relieving from pressure the hinges of the folding doors when closed.
Eighthly The arrangement or combination of the parts described and illustrated
of the back laterally sliding windows.
In witness whereof I the said John Marston have hereunto set my hand and
seal this Thirteenth day of June in the year our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and eighty two.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
37, Temple Street,
Birmingham.
JOHN MARSTON. (L.S.)