CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEELS OF STEAM CARRIAGES, AND IN THE MACHINERY FOR PROPELLING THE SAME
Year: 1834

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
WHITESIDE, of Air, in the County of Air, Wine Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twentieth day of November, in the fifth year of His reign,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Robert Whiteside, His especial licence that I, the said Robert Whiteside,
my exors, aduiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert Whiteside,
my exors, adñiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of " CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEELS OF STEAM CARRIAGES, AND IN THE MACHINERY FOR
PROPELLING THE SAME;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
that I, the said Robert Whiteside, shall cause a particular description of the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Robert Whiteside, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascertained

page_text: First, to improvements on wheels for steam carriages.
And, secondly, to improvements on rotatory steam engines, which are
applicable to the purposes of propelling steam carriages, and for actuating other
descriptions of machinery.
Having thus stated the objects of my Invention, I will proceed to explain the
same more fully.
The object of the aforesaid Invention, (the improved wheel for steam
carriages) is to obtain a firm connection between the moving and the moved
parts, or between the steam engine, or the axle of the wheels which move the
carriage. In order to perform this effectually, the springs usually placed
over those wheels are placed in them, and to prevent the twisting force
of the machinery from tearing them out, two quadrangular framings are
attached to the wheels; all which is explained by the annexed Drawings.
A, B, C, D, is the outer circumference of the wheel, formed of iron; the
spokes are rivetted or otherwise fastened to the tire at one end, and at the
other either rivetted or screwed to a flat ring, which is thickened in parts to
receive the screws; the central space of the rings varies according to the play
intended to be allowed to the springs; in the present instance it is eight
inches diameter. The points A, B, C, D, are equidistant from each other.
Between A and C and B and D are placed two rods, which must be firmly
attached to the rim of the wheel at both ends, and parallel to each other. On
these rods traverses a quadrangular iron framing E, F, G, HI, by means of ears
or rings which embrace the rods; the rings may be fitted with friction rollers
to make them slide with greater freedom on the parallel rods, but this is not
necessary. On this framing E, F, G, H, slides another frame of the same
nature, in a direction at right angles to that of the first, but instead of the
rings, as in the first, being attached to rods and cross bars, similar
to I and J, they are fixed to a plate of iron, in the centre of which is a hole to
allow of an axle box passing through. The box is bolted to the aforesaid
plate (by means of a flanch cast along with it), and passes through the hole
or opening in the centre of the wheel, so that one end of the springs may be
fastened to it, and the other end to the circumference of the wheel by any
convenient means. The whole wheel may then be covered over on each side
with a thin iron plate to preserve the frames, &c., from the wet and dust,
taking care at the same time to allow in the inside plate a hole of sufficient

page_text: size (say eight inches diameter) for the axle to play; this hole may be covered
over with a piece of waterproof cloth connected, water-tight, on one part to
the axle, and on the other to the inner covering plate.
Now I would remark, as springs have been before placed in or adapted
to wheels, I do not lay claim thereto. But I do confine my claim of
Invention, so far as relates to the improvements on wheels for steam carriages
to the application of the two quandrangular frames as above described, for
preventing the strain of the power applied to propel the same coming on to
the springs, as above described.
The second part of the improvements for which I have received a Patent is
for the purpose of keeping tight and reducing the friction of that description
of steam engines known by the name of rotatory, and consists in one or more
reservoirs of any fluid which may be found suitable (I prefer melted tallow or
oil), which fluid is to be placed under a pressure a little superior to the force
of the steam (which presses against the piston), for the purpose of forcing it
into every crevice, and between all the moving parts in the engine where there
is a liability of leakage of steam, so as both to prevent loss of steam when
those parts wear, and also almost completely to do away with friction. The
parts I consider it most essential to force the fluid into are:-First, between
the outer edge of the piston (where it is usually made to revolve in contract
with the outside cylinder) and the outside cylinder. Second, where the inside
cylinder and the ends of the outside one revolve in contact. And, third, at
the edge of the slides, where they come in contact with the inside cylinder.
The means whereby this is effected are to have the reservoirs, as aforesaid, of
sufficient capacity, which reservoir may be placed either at such an elevation
that the force of the fluid contained in it, when it has arived at any of the three
above-mentioned places, to which it is to be conveyed by suitable pipes, be
superior to the pressure of the steam on the piston; or the upper part
of it may have a pipe leading to the boiler, so that the fluid may be under the
same pressure of steam in the reservoir as the piston, and the reservoir at
the same time must be elevated so much above the place that the piston
is in its highest revolution, that the fluid may flow freely through pipes from
the reservoir, and conveyed to a channel which is cut along the centre of the
outer edge of the packing of the piston, (or the piston itself, where no packing
is used; to accomplish this the piston must be very carefully fitted), so that the
steam may be prevented escaping from one side of the piston to the other.
being met by the superior column of fluid. In the same way the fluid is
conveyed between the moving inside cylinder and the points in contact between