Improvements applicable to Carriages for Common Roads.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Sept., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 18th June, 1895-Accepted, 20th July, 1895.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements applicable to Carriages for Common Roads.
I,. ALFRED WILLIAM KNIGHT, of High Street, Cuckfield, in the County of
Sussex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to carriages for common roads and has for its chief'object
to provide improved means for connecting the axles and springs.
Hitherto it has been usual to arrange india-rubber or other cushions between.the
springs and flap irons on the axle, clips or stirrups being passed over the springs
and Hap irons to connect the springs. This arrangement however has the
disadvantage that when the carriage is loaded the springs are so compressed that
the clips are loosened.
Now according to my invention I obviate this objection by dispensing with the
usual flaps and making use of a cushion. case having a bracket for the axle.
The cushion case has at the centre a solid bearing for the spring to rest upon
and the two end portions of the cushion case are recessed to hold elastic cushions
which receive the vibration of the springs when loaded.
The cushion case and bracket are fixed to the spring and the axle by means of
clips arranged; so close together as to embrace the spring around that part resting
upon the solid bearing.
In practice
find. it advantageous to introduce set screws through the bracket
into the axle to prevent the latter from moving end wise in the said brackets and
to prevent it from rotating.
By: the use of the described. cushion case and bracket I am enabled to set the
springs up with. more facility than heretofore.
It will be obvious that my cushion case can be applied with equal advantage
upon the top of a spring:
Dated the 19th day of Sentember 1894
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements applicable to Carriages for Common Roads.
I, ALFRED WILLIAM KNIGHT, of High Street, Cuckfield, in the County of
Sussex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to carriages for common roads and has for its chief object
to provide improved means for connecting the axles and springs.
Hitherto it has been usual to arrange india-rubber or other cushions between
the springs and flap irons on the axle, clips or stirrups being passed over the
springs and flap irons to connect the springs. This arrangement, however, has the
disadvantage that when the carriage is loaded the springs are so compressed that
the clips are loosened.

page_text: Now according to my invention I obviate this objection by dispensing with the
usual flaps and making use of a cushion case having a bracket for the axle, the
axle preferably being formed circular in section.
The cushion case has at the centre a solid bearing for the spring to rest upon
and the two end portions of the cushion case are recessed to hold elastic cushions
which receive the vibration of the springs.
The cushion case and bracket are fixed to the spring and the axle by means of
clips arranged so close together as to hold that part of the spring resting upon the
solid bearing.
It will be obvious that my cushion case can be applied with equal advantage
upon the top of a spring.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe how it can be
carried into practice by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figures and 2 are respectively a side elevation and a plan of a portion of a
spring and axle of a carriage for common roads connected together according to
my invention :
Figure 3 is a plan of the lower part of my combined cushion case and bracket:
Figures 4 and 5 are respectively sections on the lines 4-4 and 5-5 Figure 2:
Figures 6 and 7 are respectively a side elevation and a plan illustrating the
cushion case and bracket adapted so as to connect the top of a spring to a futchell
iron or the like; and,
Figure 8 is a section on the line 8-8 Figure 6:
Figure 9 is a plan of a futchell iron adapted to my cushion case or bracket.
a is my cushion case which is provided with a cap or removable part b designed
in conjunction with the part a to embrace the spring c.
In the arrangement of my invention shewn in Figures 1 to 5 the cushion case is
formed with a bracket d for the axle e and provided with a cap d' by means of
which the axle is held in the bracket, the said axle as shewn being circular in cross
section.
fis the bearing at the centre of the cushion case a upon which the spring e rests
and y is a recess in the said bearing to receive the nut h on the usual centre bolt i
of the spring, the said recess serving in conjunction with the bolt head to prevent
The said recess is
the movement of the spring relatively with the cushion case.
advantageously made of a shape corresponding with that of the said nut so as to
prevent the latter from working loose on the bolt i.
, are the recesses in the ends of the case a, and k, k the elastic cushions in the
said recesses which receive the vibrations of the spring d.
1, are the clips for holding the spring c and axle e in the cushion case and
bracket, the said clips being one on each side of the spring and each in the form of
a staple the curved part of which is located in a correspondingly shaped groove in
the cap d¹ whilst the legs pass up one on each side of the axle e through holes in
the case a and cap b, nuts m, m being screwed onto the legs to hold the parts
together.
n, n are set-screws passing through the bracket and into holes formed in the
axle e whereby the latter is prevented from moving end wise and rotating in the
said bracket. o, o are lock-nuts upon the said screws n, n for locking them in
position.
By the use of the described cushion case and bracket in conjunction with a
circular axle I am enabled to set or tilt the springs at any angle with more facility
than heretofore and the bracket being movable upon the axle enables me to fix the
springs at exactly the required distance apart. Also by the use of the centre solid
bearing the usual wooden spring block is dispensed with, thus allowing the spring
a greater length for vibration than heretofore.
In adapting my cushion case to the top of a spring as shewn in Figures 6 to 9.
the bracket d is dispensed with and the clips 1, 1 are placed so as to embrace
the spring and the ordinary futchell iron p (or the like) to which the spring is
secured.

page_text: As the futchell iron shewn in Figures 6 to 8 is only secured against longitudinal
movement by friction with the top of the cushion case I sometimes, as shewn in
Figure 9, form recesses 9, 9 in the said plate in which the legs of the clips 1, 1 are
located thereby securing the said plate against such movement.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a carriage for common roads the combination with a spring and an axle of
a combined cushion case and bracket which respectively hold the said spring and
axle by means of clips, the said bracket being capable of adjustment upon the axle,
all substantially as described.
2. In a carriage for common roads having a spring and axle connected together
by means of a combined cushion case and bracket as described in the preceding
claiming clause, providing the ends of the cushion case with elastic cushions, the
bearing for the spring with a recess and the bracket with set-screws all substantially
as, and for the purposes, described.
3. In a carriage for common roads the combination with a spring and a futchell
iron or the like, of a cushion case all connected together by clips substantially as
described.
4. The improvements relating to carriages for common roads herein before
described and illustrated respectively in Figures 1 to 5 and 6 to 9 of the accom-
panying drawings.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.