IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF OMNIBUSES AND OTHER VEHICLES.
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred George Margetson of the City of Bristol Engineer
and William Studley Hek of the same place Foreman wheelwright for an
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF OMNIBUSES AND
OTHER VEHICLES.
"2
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred George Margetson
and William Studley Hek at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on
the 25th February 1882.
ALFRED GEORGE MARGETSON of the City of Bristol Engineer and WILLIAM
STUDLEY HEK of the same place Foreman Wheelwright, "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF OMNIBUSES AND OTHER VEHICLES
Our invention consists of improvements in the construction of omnibuses and
other vehicles and its chief objects are:-
The setting of the body much lower or nearer to the ground than usual for
convenience of passengers in getting in and out, combined with lighter draught
for the horses by the front wheels at same time being higher than usual; the fitting
of the springs so as to work more freely; such arrangement of gearing underneath
that the steering is rendered more easy, and the vehicle made to answer more
quickly in turning; a considerable saving in weight and improved accommodation
for passengers riding on the top.
We attain these objects as follows:-
1st We securely fix the four springs to the axles but we in no way fasten the
ends of the said four springs to the body of the vehicle but allow them to move
freely at each end according to the deflection caused by the variation of the load,
the ends of the springs being fitted with friction rollers which bear up under the
framing of the body and revolve as the springs deflect.
2nd We dispense with the usual locking carriage in front, thus saving weight
and also allowing the body to be much nearer the ground; we make the front axle
cranked or bent similar to the hind one and secure it to the body by a central pin
only The friction rollers at the ends of the springs being free to work in any
direction form the support to the body, and upon these friction rollers the body
moves as it turns.

page_text: 3rd We make the hind springs also free to move in like manner and only connect
the body of the vehicle to the hind axle by the central pin exactly the same as the
front one. We arrange that the horses shall make a direct pull not only from the
front axle, but also from the hind axle; this we effect by connecting the splinter-
bar (to which the trace chains of the harness are attached) by bars or rods not only
with the front axle, but also by rods or chains working diagonally across each other
to the outer ends of the hind axle; thus when the horses are moved slightly to
either side, the front axle moves its wheels in the same direction and the pull
upon the hind axle moves its wheels in a reverse direction, which causes a
much quicker turn with a smaller displacement of the front wheels The front
wheels can therefore be made higher giving easier draught for the horses and the
body of the vehicle can be set lower for convenience of passengers getting in and
out, whilst the direct pull upon both axles alike is a considerable saving of strain
to the vehicle.
4th We arrange seats on the top of the vehicle in which all the passengers face
the direction in which the vehicle is being drawn without any central passage
between the seats, the passage for walking being on either side, so that the weight
is concentrated in the centre. We make the backs of the seats reversible, so that
the passengers if they desire it can easily and quickly alter the seats so as to sit
facing each other. For access to the top we arrange either a staircase at back in
the usual manner or (what we consider the most convenient) a staircase, at each
side rising from the platforın at back (which platform extends nearly to the outside
width of the wheels); the staircases rise above the hind wheels and are protected
by a hand-rail level with the outside width of the wheels.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Alfred George Margetson and William Studley Hek in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 23rd August 1882.
ALFRED GEORGE MARGETSON of the City of Bristol, Engineer, and WILLIAM
STUDLEY HEK of the same place, Foreman Wheelwright "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF OMNIBUSES AND OTHER VEHICLES
"3
Our Invention consists of improvements in the construction of omnibuses and
other vehicles, and its chief objects are :-
The setting of the body much lower or nearer to the ground than usual, for
convenience of passengers in getting in and out, combined with lighter draught for
the horses by the front wheels at same time being higher than usual; the fitting
of the springs so as to work more freely; such arrangement of gearing underneath
that the steering is rendered more easy and the vehicle made to answer inore
quickly in turning; a considerable saving in weight; and improved accommodation
for passengers riding on the top.
We attain these objects as follows:-
We securely fix the four springs to the axles, but we in no way fasten the ends

page_text: of the said four springs to the body of the vehicle, but allow thein to move freely
at each end according to the deflection caused by the variation of the load, the ends
of the springs being fitted with friction rollers which bear up the body and revolve
as the springs deflect.
We dispense with the usual locking carriage in front, thus saving weight and
also allowing the body to be much nearer the ground; we make the front axle
cranked or bent whenever the hind one is cranked or bent (or we make both of
them straight as required) and we secure the front axle to the body by a central
pin. The friction rollers at the ends of the springs, being free to work in any
direction, form the support to the body and upon these friction rollers the body
moves as it turns.
We make the hind springs also free to move in like manner, and connect the
body of the vehicle to the hind axle by the central pin. We arrange that the
horses shall make a direct pull not only from the front axle, but also from the hind
axle; this we effect by connecting the splinter bar (to which the trace chains of
the harness are attached) by bars or rods not only with the front axle, but also by
rods or chains working across each other from the front axle to the hind axle; the
connections of these rods with the bind axle should be as near its outer ends as
practicable, the connections of the rode with the front axle being nearer together.
When the horses are moved slightly to either side, the front axle moves its wheels
in the same direction and the pull upon the hind axle moves its wheels in a reverse
direction which causes a much quicker turn with a smaller displacement of the
front wheels. The front wheels can therefore be made higher giving easier draught
for the horses, and the body of the vehicle can be set lower for convenience of
passengers getting in and out, whilst the direct pull upon both axles alike is a
considerable saving of strain to the vehicle.
We arrange seats on the top of the vehicle in which all the passengers face the
direction in which the vehicle is being drawn without any central passage between
the seats, the passages for walking being on either side, so that the weight is
concentrated in the contre. We make the backs of the seats reversible so that
passengers if they desire it can easily and quickly alter the seats so as to sit facing
each other. For access to the top we arrange either a staircase at back in the
usual manner, or (what we consider the most convenient) a staircase at each side,
rising from the platform at back (which platform extends nearly to the outside
width of the wheels); the staircases rise above the hind wheels and are protected
by a hand rail level with the outside width of the wheels.
The accompanying drawings represent an omnibus constructed according to our
improvements. Figure 1 is a side elevation and Figure 2 a rear elevation of the
vehicle. Figure 3 is an inverted plan shewing the under gearing and Figure 4 &
similar view shewing this vehicle at the time the vehicle is describing a curve.
a a a a are the four springs; they are fixed to the front and rear axles b b' in
any ordinary manner; their ends are not fixed to the body of the vehicle but have
bent eyes fitted with friction rollers c c and are free to nove according to the
deflection caused by the variation of the load, the rollers cc revolving as the
springs deflect. It will be seen that the vehicle has no locking carriage in front;
the front axle b is cranked or bent similar to the hind axle b' and is secured to the
body by a central pin d only. The friction rollers cc form the support to the body
and the body moves upon then as it turns. The rollers c c travel in curved plates
or guides e e. The friction in turning is much less than in an omnibus constructed
with an ordinary locking carriage because in our arrangement the friction is
confined to the bearing parts of the rollers. The hind springs are free to move in
like manner and the body of the vehicle is only connected to the hind axle b¹ by a
central pin d'. fis the splinter bar; it is connected with the front axle b by bars
or rods g g and from the axle bare carried rods (or they might be chains) h h
which cross each other and are connected to the hind axle b'; the connections of
the rods h h with the hind axle are further apart than their connections with the
front axle so that it may require greater power to move the back wheels than to

page_text: move the front wheels. This is important because if the connections were at the
same distance apart the under gearing would be so sensitive that the hind wheels
would be moved too easily and produce an undesirable vibration of the pole.
The seats ii on the top of the vehicle are all arranged transversely of the vehicle
The seat backs are
and there is a passage k k at each side of the seats as shown.
hinged at so that they may either be placed for the passengers to face the
direction in which the vehicle is travelling as seen in Figure 1, or be reversed so
that some or all of them may face the opposite direction-This movement of the
backs is limited by suitable stops. mm are staircases one at each side rising
above the hind wheels. The arrangement of the seats as shewn will be found
suitable for tram cars as well as for omnibuses.
The arrangements of the under gearing and of the springs in the manner before
described although specially designed for omnibuses are also applicable to other
four wheeled common road vehicles.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed we declare that We claim :-
First. Constructing omnibuses and other four wheeled common road vehicles with
springs whose ends are not fastened to the body of the vehicle but are fitted with
friction rollers which support the body, substantially as and for the purpose
herein before described and shewn in the accompanying drawings.
Second. Constructing omnibuses and other four wheeled common-road vehicles
with the axles each secured to the body by a central pin and with rods or chains
working across each other and connecting the front and hind axles, the connections
with the hind axle being further apart than the connections with the front axle
all substantially as and for the purpose herein before described and shewn in the
accompanying drawings.
Third. Constructing omnibuses or other vehicles with their outside seats
arranged in the manner hereinbefore described and shewn in the accompanying
drawings.
In witness whereof I the said Alfred George Margetson for myself and on
Cak hawn housunto not my hand and