AN IMPROVED SHAFT BEARER OR TUG, AND AN APPROVED MANNER OF APPIXING THE SAME TO THE HARNESS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Dudley Le Souèf, of Twickenham, for the Invention
of "AN IMPROVED SHAFT BEARER OR TUG, AND AN APPROVED MANNER OF
APPIXING THE SAME TO THE HARNESS."-A communication from Charles
Girardet, of and now residing at Vienna.
Sealed the 31st December 1858, and dated the 2nd July 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Dudley Le Souèf at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd July 1858.
I, DUDLEY LE SOUÈF, of Twickenham, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "AN IMPROVED SHAFT BEARER OR TUG, AND AN IMPROVED
MANNER OF AFFIXING THE SAME TO THE HARNESS," (a communication,) to be as
follows:-
The tug consists of a ring or cylinder, made of metal or other suitable
material, which opens transversely in the middle by means of a hinge, so as to
allow of the shaft being placed in the lower portion, the upper half is then
closed and made fast by means of a spring, pin, or other suitable contrivance.
Attached to or forming part of the same piece as the lower portion of the ring
or cylinder is a plate of metal or other proper material, thro' a loop or slot
underneath each end of which the proper strap is passed. Under one of these
loops or slots is fixed a flap of leather or other suitable material, to the other
end of which is attached a pin which fixes the tug at the desired elevation
upon the strap by being pushed thro' one of the holes made therein into the

page_text: corresponding one drilled in the lower part of the above-mentioned plate. This
pin may be made fast to the tug by a spring or catch. The strap to which
the tug is attached is fixed at its lower extremity to the flap of the saddle by a
pin rivetted on to the latter and passing thro' a corresponding hole in the strap,
and fixed therein by means of a revolving plate (fixed to the strap), forming
a key fitting into a groove made in the pin.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Dudley Le Souèf in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st January 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DUDLEY
LE Souer, of Twickenham, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Dudley Le Souef, Her special licence that I, the said Dudley
Le Souèf, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Dudley Le Souèf, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "AN IMPROVED
SHAFT BEARER OR TUG, AND AN IMPROVED MANNER OF AFFIXING THE SAME TO THE
HARNESS," (a communication from Charles Girardet, of and now residing
at Vienna,) upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Dudley
Le Souef, 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 Dudley Le Souef, 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 (that is to say):-
My improved shaft bearer or tug consists of a ring or band of metal, the

page_text: lower half of which supports the shaft, whilst the upper half is moveable on
hinges, and being intended to secure the shaft in its place, can be locked by
means of a spring, catch, or pin. The lower or bearing part of the tug
projects from and may be cast of one piece with a plate, two loops on the
under side of which grasp the saddle strap, whereon the tug can be raised and
lowered, so as to suit any required elevation of the shaft. The saddle strap is
furnished with holes at convenient distances from each other; and in order to
make the tug fast, it is only necessary to place it on the saddle strap in such
a position that the required hole in the strap corresponds with a hole of a
similar size in the plate, and to insert therein a pin attached to a flap of
leather or other suitable material, which is hinged on the under side of the
plate. A pin fixed in the saddle, and passing through the last hole in the
saddle strap, secures the tug in its position, the strap being prevented from
disengaging itself by a revolving washer, which takes into a groove in
the pin.
In order that this Invention may be clearly understood and readily carried
into effect, I will now proceed to describe the same, reference being had to
the annexed Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon.
Fig. 1 represents the shaft bearer or tug in side elevation, as placed on the
saddle strap; Fig. 2 is a perspective view; and Fig. 5 an end view of the
same; and Fig. 3 shows part of the saddle and of the saddle strap.
The shaft of the vehicle is placed in the bearing A, which is or may be cast
of one piece with the plate A', and secured in its place by the lid or cover B,
the latter being locked by means of the plate C, acted upon by the spring C¹,
as shown in dotted lines at B¹. The plate A' is furnished at its under side
with two loops A & A³, through which the saddle strap D passes freely, and
the shaft bearer is therefore moveable on the saddle strap D, so as to admit of
being placed at that elevation which the required position of the shaft calls.
for. The saddle strap D is perforated (see Fig. 3) at convenient distances
with holes 1, and when the tug is to be adjusted, the hole 2 in the plate A' is
placed opposite to that one of the holes 1 which happens to suit the purpose,
whereupon the pin E which is attached to the flap F at A, is inserted into
the hole 2, and may be secured by a spring or catch. A pin G, (see Fig. 3,)
fixed to the saddle, and passing through the last hole in the saddle strap,
secures the tug in its position, the revolving washer H, taking into a groove in
the pin G, preventing the said strap from disengaging itself. It is to be
observed that the saddle strap D is made fast on the top of the saddle, and
therefore prevented from moving upwards and downwards.

page_text: Fig. 4 represents the lid B of the shaft bearer as locked by means of a pin,
the construction of the apparatus being otherwise precisely the same as that
described with reference to Figs. 1 & 2.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be carried into effect, I desire it to be understood. that I do not
claim the detached shaft bearer with moveable lid or cover as such; but what
I do claim as the Invention intended to be secured to me by the above in part
recited Letters Patent is, -
Firstly, the peculiar mode of placing and securing the shaft bearer or tug
to the saddle strap, and the latter to the saddle, as shown and described with
reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3, & 5, of Drawings.
And, secondly, the two methods of locking or fastening the lid or cover of
the shaft bearer or tug, as shown and described with reference to Figs. 1 & 2,
and to Fig. 4 of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Dudley Le Souef, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this First day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
DUDLEY LE SOUEF. (L.S.)