IMPROVED PAVEMENT FOR STREETS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVED PAVEMENT FOR STREETS."-A communication
from abroad by Lucius Stabbing of the City of Na Vak
Sealed the 30th April 1861, and dated the 14th December 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton,
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
14th December 1860.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVED PAVEMENT FOR STREETS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to produce a pavement which will present a
smooth and even surface for the wheels of vehicles, and which at the same
time will prevent the slipping of the horses' feet, and it consists, 1st, in the
employment of moveable teeth or keys which project through slots or
openings made in fiat metal surfaces which form the pavement. These teeth
or keys are balanced by weights or springs in such a manner that they give
when exposed to the pressure of a flat surface, and they prevent the slipping
of the horses' feet when not depressed.
The Invention consists, secondly, in forming the pavement out of two
plates, each of which is ribbed in such a manner that channels are provided for
[Price 8d.]

page_text: carrying off the water and dirt. Steam or hot air can also be introduced
between the plates for the purpose of melting snow or ice, or for any other
purpose desired.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 14th June 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the Twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, given and grant unto me, the
said William Edward-Newton, -Her- special license that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 "IMPROVED
PAVEMENT FOR STREETS," being a communication from abroad, upon the condi-
tion (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 William Edward Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-—
The object of this Invention of "Improved Pavement for Streets," is to pro-
duce a pavement which will present a smooth and even surface for the wheels
of vehicles, and which at the same time will prevent the slipping of the horses'
feet; and it consists, first, in the employment of moveable teeth or keys, which

page_text: project through slots or openings made in flat metal surfaces which form the
pavement. These teeth or keys are balanced by weights or springs in such a
manner that they give when exposed to the pressure of a flat surface, and they
prevent the slipping of the horses' feet when not depressed.
The Invention consists, secondly, in forming the pavement out of two plates,
cach of which is ribbed in such a manner that channels are provided for
carrying off the water and dirt. Steam or hot air can also be introduced
between the plates for the purpose of melting snow or ice, or for any other
purpose desired.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a plan or top view of a portion of
pavement constructed according to the Invention; and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal
vertical section of the same, the plane of section being indicated by the
line x, x, in Fig. 1.
The surface of this pavement is formed by placing together a series of flat
smooth metal plates A, which are so arranged as to break joints. These plates
are perforated with a number of holes a, and teeth or keys b project from
below through the holes. The upper surfaces of these keys are slightly
inclined, as clearly shown in Figure 2, and weights c, or in their stead springs
serve to balance the keys, so that they are kept in an upright position, and a
slight pressure exerted on the same in a vertical direction is sufficient to
depress them. The weights or springs which serve to balance the keys are so
arranged that the keys when not exposed to a vertical pressure bear alternately
on one and then on the other sides of the holes a, as clearly shown in Fig. 2
of the Drawing. If the wheels of a vehicle pass over the plates, the keys are
depressed, and the wheels move with the same ease as they would on a
perfectly smooth surface. At the same time if the foot of a horse begins to
slip on the plates it will strike the nearest key edgewise, and the key is now
squeezed in between the edge of the hole through which the same projects
and between the edge of the horse-shoe, and the slipping of the foot is
prevented.
The plates A are provided with ribs d, which run in a longitudinal direction,
and they rest on ribs e which project from plates E, that form the base or
foundation of the pavement. The plates E and the ribs e extend from one
side of the street to the other, and these plates are joined together, so that no
dirt can pass up between them. The ribs e are perforated with apertures f
close down to the bottom plates E, thereby forming channels, which carry off
the water and dirt that finds its way down through the holes a in the top
plates A. At the same time, by the arrangement of the ribs d and e a hollow
space is formed between the plates A and E, so that steam or hot air can be

page_text: introduced if it be desired to melt snow or ice that may have accumulated on
the surface of the plates A.
The pavement, notwithstanding its first cost, will exceed that of ordinary.
pavement, will prove the cheapest in the end, because it is self-cleaning, since
the water and dirt all wash through the holes a, and even snow or ice can be
removed without difficulty; and, furthermore, the saving in rolling stock and
in horse flesh will be immense; there will be no slipping of horses, one horse
will be enabled to move a much larger weight. than on ordinary roads, and
the wheels in passing over the smooth surface will sustain no injury.
Having now described this Invention of improved pavement for streets, and
having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I claim as the
Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid,-
First, the employment of moveable teeth or keys projecting through slots
or openings in flat metal surfaces which form the pavement, the said moveable
teeth being balanced by weights or springs, so that they may give when
exposed to the pressure of a flat surface, and prevent the slipping of the
horses feet-when-not-depressed.
Second, I claim forming the pavement out of two plates, A and E, cach
being ribbed, so that channels are provided for carrying off the water and
the dirt, and that steam or hot air can be introduced between the plates
whenever it is desired.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Fourteenth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)