IMPROVEMENTS IN WAGGONS, VANS, AND TRUCKS FOR TRANSPORTING BURDENS, AND IN MEANS FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING THE SAME
Year: 1871

page_text: ETTERS PATENT to Thomas James Smith, of the Firm of Robertson,
Brooman, and Company, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London,
Patent Agents, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WAGGONS,
VANS, AND TRUCKS FOR TRANSPORTING BURDENS, AND IN MEANS FOR LOADING
AND UNLOADING THE SAME."-A communication from abroad by Pierre
Folacci, of 23, Boulevard de Strasbourg. Paris, France.
ealed the 22nd December 1871, and dated the 21st September 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas James Smith
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 21st September 1871.
66
I, THOMAS JAMES SMITH, of the Firm of Robertson, Brooman, and
Company, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agents, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS
IN WAGGONS, VANS, AND TRUCKS FOR TRANSPORTING BURDENS, AND IN MEANS POR
LOADING AND UNLOADING THE SAME," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates, firstly, to the construction of waggons and
other similar vehicles for transporting burdens such as minerals,

page_text: merchandise (loose or in bulk), and material in general; and, secondly,
to means for loading and unloading the same with facility at the front,
at the sides, or at the rear, as desired.
According to one method of construction the vehicle is composed of
two frames, one of which, the lower, is mounted upon wheels to run
upon a common road or upon fixed ways, and supports an upper frame
upon a central pivot and radial rollers, so that it can be turned in any
direction for receiving or discharging the load, which is borne upon a
body free to slide up or down in an inclined manner upon rollers,
preferably different diameters, the body or the upper frame being
furnished with rollers to reduce friction. The front proper of the upper
frame has a locking bolt, or its equivalent, for retaining the sliding body
in position.
According to another method of construction the upper frame is
caused to slide upon the lower one, which is fixed, and the motion is in
one direction only, the lower frame having a locking fore-carriage to
enable it to be moved into position.
"
In another method the upper frame is in two parts, each of them
having an independent motion in the same or in different directions, the
traversing motion being obtained by a wheel and pinion or ratchet and
paul arrangement of mechanism.
In some cases the sliding body on the upper frame has rollers upon
the
upper surfaces for the load to bear upon and to facilitate its being
removed therefrom with ease, and wedges may be used to retain the
load upon the body or upon the top frames.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas James Smith in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 21st March 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
JAMES SMITH, of the Firm of Robertson, Brooman, and Company, of 3
166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agents, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the

page_text: thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Thomas James Smith, Her special
licence that I, the said Thomas James Smith, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas James Smith,
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 WAGGONS, VANS, AND TRUCKS. FOR TRANSPORTING BURDENS,
AND IN MEANS FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING THE SAME," (communicated to
me from abroad by Pierre Folacci, of 23, Boulevard de Strasbourg,
Paris, France,) upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Thomas James Smith, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly 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 Thomas James Smith, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:-
This Invention relates, firstly, to the construction of waggons and
other similar vehicles for transporting burdens such as minerals,
merchandise (loose or in bulk), and material in general; and, secondly,
to means for loading and unloading the same with facility at the front,
at the sides, or at the rear, as desired.
According to one method of construction the vehicle is composed of
two frames, one of which, the lower, is mounted upon wheels to run
upon a common road or upon fixed ways, and supports an upper frame
upon a central pivot and radial rollers, so that it can be turned in any
direction for receiving or discharging the load, which is borne upon a
body free to slide up or down in an inclined manner upon rollers,
preferably of different diameters, the body or the upper frame being

page_text: furnished with rollers to reduce friction. The front proper of the upper
frame has a locking bolt, or its equivalent, for retaining the sliding body
in position..
According to another method of construction the upper frame is
caused to slide upon the lower one, which is fixed, and the motion is to
and fro only, the lower frame having a locking fore-carriage to enable it
to be moved into position.
In another method the upper frame is in two parts, each of them
having an independent motion in the same or in different directions, the
traversing motion being obtained by wheel and pinion or ratchet and
paul arrangement of mechanism.
In some cases the sliding body or the upper frame has rollers upon the
upper surfaces for the load to bear upon and to facilitate its being
removed therefrom with ease, and wedges may be used to retain the
.load upon the body, or upon the top frames.
The Invention will be fully understood from the following description,
with reference to the accompanying Drawings, in which Figures 1 and 2
are respectively a vertical longitudinal section and a horizontal section
of a waggon or cart which will unload in any direction.
This waggon is composed of a frame a, b, c, d, similar to the lower
part of ordinary waggons, and has two pair of flanged wheels e, e, to
travel upon a railway f,f. The frame is provided at the central part,
comprised between the wheels e, e, with a bolt or fixed pivot g, h,
around which all the revolving apparatus i, i, moves; this supports the
upper part j, k, l, m, of the waggon. A ring a and the end of a chain
c provided with a hook completes the frame. The upper part or top
frame j, k, l, m, of the waggon rests upon the boss i, i, of the pivot
g, h, and upon the six radial arms r, r, of the revolving apparatus by
means of three cross pieces q, q, which hold the revolving apparatus
rigidly. At the extremities of the radial arms r, r, there are fixed six
wheels i, i, which roll upon an iron flat ring 8, 8. The top frame
j, k, l, m, carries at its upper part six rollers t, t, of various diameters
from, say, about 1 to 4 inches, in such a manner that the loading table
o, p, which bears upon these rollers may have an inclination of about
4 per cent. This inclination may be varied according to the nature of
the load by means of a wedge placed underneath the point m; it will

page_text: facilitate the sliding of the loading platform o, p, which bears the load.
When the safety bar u has been drawn and the hook / detached the top
frame can easily turn around the pivot g, h, and will therefore
discharge the load in any direction either in front, to the right, or to
the left of the road in which the waggon may be. It is furnished with
two tie-rods z, z, which firmly bind it, and it carries at the back part a
pulley y, used to effect the loading of the waggon and also to securely
hold large blocks of material, which would sway to and fro during
their transport.
The principal feature of this arrangement consists of a revolving
apparatus i, i, r, r, placed upon the lower frame, which permits of the
load being discharged with the waggon in any position, and in the
change from a sliding action to a rolling action by means of the loading
platform o, p, running upon the rollers t, t. This platform 0, p, is
capable of assuming a vertical position, and as the gudgeons v, v, may
fix themselves at j to the bottom of the sliding surface o, j, it is
evident that the whole load may be instantly discharged. An ordinary
workman entrusted with the duty of drawing the safety bar and of
giving a blow with a hammer to the claw will suffice to unload
the waggon.
In Figures 3 and 4 I have represented a modification of the system
of carriage to be used for loading and unloading only from the rear.
In this arrangement, which is so combined as to travel upon roads, in
streets, or in dockyards, and other such places, the carriage is mounted
upon ordinary wheels a, a, solidly constructed. The frame, which forms
the fixed part of the carriage, rests upon the wheels a, a, and it is
furnished with a front portion c, c, working around the bolt d to give it
freedom of motion and to facilitate its working.
Upon the frame b, b, are placed transverse rollers f, f, with diameters
graduating from the front to the rear for the purpose of transforming
the friction from that of sliding to one of rolling. Upon these rollers f,f,
the movable frame 9 works, which is provided with conducting rollers
h, h. This frame is provided with a rack i, with teeth placed much
apart, which serves to press or to put at liberty the upper roller f, upon
which the load slides when it is put on or taken off the waggon. The
rack i is commanded by a little pinion k, which is actuated by means of
a handle on the outside. The frame g is worked by the aid of a
"

page_text: pulley wheel T placed at the front part of the carriage, and furnished
with a strong chain 7 with a hook at its end.
The action of this arrangement, of which is the same as that of the
one first described, only instead of unloading in all directions the top
plate only unloads from behind the carriage by turning in the
loop m.
This second arrangement is more especially applicable for ordinary
roads or railways.
In Figures 5, 6, and 7, I have shown another arrangement of the
Invention.
In this arrangement the movable frame unloads only to the right or
to the left. The frame rests upon four ordinary wheels a, a, so that
the vehicle can travel upon roads, and it is furnished with a front
portion b, working around the bolt c. The top frame d, constructed
with very strong joints, rests upon the four wheels a, a, and bears the
sliding conductors f, f, upon which is placed the movable platform g
receiving the load. This movable platform g is worked by a system of
Vaucanson chains h, h, bound to the cramps i, i, and moved themselves
by pinions j, which are set in motion by means of a crank handle k.
This movable platform g works in the grooves 1, 1, to the right or to
the left, in the same manner as the tables arranged as before described
for loading or unloading materials.
This combination is applicable for removing material from borings and
excavations and also for transmission.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,—
Firstly. The combination of the movable, frame provided with rollers
or drums, with the circular metal ring so arranged that the vehicle will
discharge its load in any direction, substantially as described and shown
in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly. The arrangement of a movable frame provided with a
double row of rollers and of a rack, in order to effect the discharge at
the rear of the vehicle, substantially as described and shown with
reference to Figures 3 and 4 of the annexed Drawings.

page_text: Thirdly. The arrangement substantially as described and shown in
Figures 5, 6, and 7, in which the movable frame or platform can
discharge its load to the right or left of the vehicle by means of
Vaucanson chains attached to the frame, the chains being commanded
by the pinions and crank handles.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas James Smith, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of March One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.