AN IMPROVED VEHICLE FOR THE CONVEYANCE OF VARIOUS KINDS OF LOADS ON COMMON AND OTHER ROADS
Year: 1834

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
HANSOM, of Hinckley, in the County of Leicester, Architect, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-third day of December, in the fifth year of His reign,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Joseph Hansom, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Joseph Hansom, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Joseph Hansom, my exors, adñiors, or assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the
term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "AN IMPROVED VEHICLE FOR THE CONVEYANCE OF VARIOUS KINDS OF
LOADS ON COMMON AND OTHER ROADS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained
a proviso, that I, the said Joseph Hansom, shall cause a particular description
of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph Hansom, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention

page_text: consists in the construction of vehicles or carriages for the conveyance of
passengers, goods, and all other kinds of loads of such certain new and improved
forms, that,
Firstly, the centres of the wheels or other equivalent rotary agents may
correspond to any degree that may be fitting or expedient with the line of
traction or propulsion, and at the same time the wheels be of much larger
dimensions, and the body parts of the carriages situated much nearer the
ground, than has been hitherto conveniently practicable.
Secondly, that the wheels and shafts may in all cases be of those dimensions
best adapted to facility of draught, and in certain cases the wheels be dispensed
with altogether (that is to say, understanding by the term wheels what are
usually so called, having felloes, naves, and spokes).
And, thirdly, that the part appropriated to the load or body part shall in the
case of passenger carriages be more easy of entrance and exit than the body
parts of such carriages now usually are, and in the case of carriages for the
conveyance of goods and other articles of dead weight, that the said body part
may be conveniently detached or re-attached upon loading or unloading.
By which several improvements, one or other, or all of them, I consider that
the tractive or propulsive force requisite, the wear and tear of the carriages,
and the risk of accidents will each and all be greatly lessened, and much also
of the labour, loss of time, and waste of commodity attendant on the ordinary
methods of loading and unloading carriages will be avoided.
And in further compliance with the said proviso, I, the said Joseph Hansom,
do hereby describe the manner in which my said Invention is to be performed
by the three sets of Drawings hereunto annexed, marked A, B, and C, and
by the following description of the same (that is to say):-
The set of Drawings marked A represent a passenger carriage of my
improved construction, embracing most of the aforesaid advantages, so far as the
same are applicable thereto, but in which wheels are employed of the ordinary
form with felloes, naves, and spokes, though of a larger size than usual;
Figure 1 being a front elevation of the said carriage, with one of the doors
represented as thrown open in order to exhibit the interior of the carriage;
Figure 2 is a side view, and Fig. 4 a back view. a, a, is the main body of
the carriage and connecting framework; b, b, short spindles, which serve to
connect the main body of the carriage and framework with the wheels, and the
wheels with each other; c, c, boxes in the framework of the carriage, into
which the inner ends of the spindles are fitted, the other ends fitting into the
naves of the wheels; the manner of so fitting which and securing them in their
places is shewn on a larger scale in Figure 3. d, d, the shafts of the carriage,

page_text: which are on a level or nearly so with the centres of the wheels, and also with
the centre of the main body part of the carriage.
And the set of Drawings marked B represent a passenger carriage of my
improved construction, in which, instead of wheels of the ordinary form, with
felloes, naves, and spokes placed externally to the body of the carriage, the
rotary action is produced by means of rings or zones, and friction rollers
working therein, or other equivalent rotary agents, and these rings or zones
girdle or circumscribe the body of the carriage at points more or less removed
inwards from the outer sides of the body; Figure 1 being a front elevation
thereof; Figure 2, a side elevation of the same; Figure 3, a section between
the rings or zones. a, a, is the main body of the carriage; b, b, the rings or
zones which girdle or circumscribe the same; c, c, transoms or cross beamis
which connect the rings or zones together; d, d, d, d, four friction rollers,
which are attached to the transoms c, c, and by acting on the inner peripheries
of the rings or zones cause the same to revolve; e, e, the shafts, which are ou
a level with or nearly so with the centres of the zones and main body of the
carriage.
And the third set of Drawings, marked C, represent a waggon on my
improved plan, made so that the body can be readily detached from the
wheels or re-attached thereto on loading or unloading, with the auxiliary
apparatus requisite for such purposes; Figure 1 being a side elevation of the
a, a, is the main body of the
same, and Figure 2 a back view thereof.
waggon, which may be attached or detached at pleasure; b, an axle of
the ordinary form, by which the wheels are connected; c, c, a balance beam
of a square form, which is secured at one angle by hinges to the top of the said
axle b; d, d, a lever, which is mortised at one end into the middle of the said
balance beam, and is connected at the other by a rope or chain with a windlass
e, e, fixed to a pole f, f, which projects horizontally from the said axle; g, g,
are side rods, with hooks at the ends thereof, which take into eyes or cleats
affixed to the sides of the body of the waggon; and h, h, links which connect
the side rods f,f, with the balance beam c, c. When the body of the waggon is
suspended at its proper working height from the side rods g, g, the lever d, d,
and the whole apparatus is in the position represented by the full lines in
Figure 1. When it is desired to detach the body of the carriage for loading
5 or unloading, the rope or chain must be unwound till the lever d, d, assumes
the vertical position indicated by the dotted lines, when the body of the
carriage will be found to have reached the ground, and may be unhooked by
hand; and when it is desired to re-atttach the body of the carriage to the axle,
all that is necessary is to replace the hooks of the side rods g, g, in the
eyes

page_text: affixed to the sides of the waggon, and wind up the rope or chain till the lever
d, d, is brought down again into its original position.
And now, having described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I hereby declare that, though
in the set of Drawings marked A attached hereto, and herein-before described,
the body of the passenger carriage and framework are represented as con-
nected by two separate spindles with the wheels, I reserve to myself full power
and liberty to connect the wheels by means of an axle in the ordinary way
whenever that can be done without detriment to the objects of my said In-
vention, as, for example, in the case of a passenger carriage body being formed
of two or more compartments, when the axle may pass through between such
compartments without interfering with the suspension of the said carriage
body from a point on a level or nearly so with the centres of the wheels; and
in like manner, though in the set of Drawings marked B the rotary motion
is represented as being produced by four friction rollers acting on the inner
peripheries of the rings or zones, yet I declare that I do not limit myself to the
use of such friction rollers, or to any number of such rollers, but claim to be
at liberty to use any other variety of means of causing the said rings or zones
to rotate which may be consonant with the general principles of my said In-
vention; and I further declare that I do not claim as parts of my Invention
either the employment of larger wheels than have been hitherto in common
use, or the apparatus for loading and unloading, represented in the set of
Drawings marked C, or any other of the contrivances herein-before described,
which are old, and known separately and by themselves, but only in so far as
the same are newly combined for the purposes of my said Invention; but I
claim as my Invention,―
Firstly, a passenger carriage constructed on the principles herein-before
stated, and in the manner exemplified by the set of Drawings hereunto annexed
marked A, in which the main body part of the carriage is connected with the
wheels, and the wheels with each other by spindles, instead of by an axle,
as usual, by which means wheels of much larger diameter than those in
common use can be employed with greater ease and to a greater advantage
than wheels of equal diameter with bodies attached thereto have been ever
heretofore employed, while at the same time the main body part of the
carriage is situated much nearer the ground, and rendered much easier of
entrance and exit than could otherwise be conveniently practicable.
Secondly, the form of passenger carriage constructed on the principles
aforesaid, which is represented by the set of Drawings marked B, hereunto
annexed, in which wheels of the ordinary form, having felloes, naves, and

page_text: spokes, and placed externally to the body of the carriage, are dispensed with,
and instead thereof rings or zones, with friction rollers or other equivalent
rotary agents working therein, are used, which rings or zones girdle or circum-
scribe the body of the carriage at points removed more or less inwards from
the outer sides of the said body.
And, thirdly, the form of waggon constructed on the principles aforesaid,
which is exemplified in the set of Drawings marked C, wherein the part
appropriated to the load or main body part is suspended below the centre
of bearing, and in such manner that the same can be conveniently detached
from the wheels or re-attached thereto upon loading or unloading.
And such my Invention being, to the best of my knowledge and belief,
entirely new, and never before used within that part of His said Majesty's
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, His said
Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, I do hereby declare
this to be my Specification of the same, and that I do verily believe this my
said Specification doth comply in all respects fully and without reserve or
disguise with the proviso in the said herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent contained; wherefore I claim to maintain exclusive right and privilege
to my said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Hansom, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-five.