Exploring, and such like Purposes.
Year: 1885

page_text: Exploring, and such like Purposes.
I, JOHN IMRAY of No 28 Southampton Buildings Chancery Lane in the County
of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature.
of my invention for. A CONSTRUCTION OF WATER-TIGHT METALLIC CARS FOR
MILITARY, EXPLORING AND SUCH LIKE PURPOSES" to be as follows:-
This invention relates to a construction of watertight metallic cars, available for
transporting victuals, water or liquids, ammunition or other articles required in
military, exploring or other expeditions, also for carrying men, or for constructing
pontoons. The body of the car is made as a water tight tank of metal plate under
which a cranked axle is attached, by U irons rivetted to the body, and in front of
which are fixed eyes to receive a pair of shafts jointed thereto, these shafts being
of iron or steel or of iron or steel tube tied together by a beut bar at the rear, and
provided at the rear with eyes to joint to those on the car, and in front with cyes
to receive traces or pull ropes. The shafts may be of various dimensions to suit
horses, mules or other animals, or instead of shafts, there may be jointed to the car
a T shaped pull by which men can draw it. The body of the car has at each
corner rings to which ropes can be attached for hauling it, or through which poles
can be passed for carrying it. There are also other rings and books by which
spades, pickaxes or other tools can be hung to the car, and there are staples
to receive the uprights of an open framing applicable when straw or other light
materials are to be carried, these materials being covered if desired by a tarpaulin
fastened to the rings. The tank body is also provided with a lid hinged to it, this
lid being, if desired, strengthened by inside framing so as to render it fit for
supporting the planking of a pontoon which is formed by floating a number of the
car bodies in a row and laying timbers thereon. In order to make the joint of the
lid to the body watertight, a tube or band of caoutchouc is presented on a fillet
surrounding the body and pressed on by a fillet surrounding the lid which is held
firmly down by bolts and nuts, or by eccentric catch hooks or turnbuckles, or by
cords laced under and over hooks projecting from the body and lid respectively.
When the pontoon has only to carry light weights the car bodies may be floated
without lids. Two cars may be connected together, and the front one may be
provided with rails and footboards to carry men sitting back to back, while the
rear car may convey their tools, ammunition, rations or necessaries.

page_text: Exploring, and such like Purposes.
I, JOHN IMRAY, of N° 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane in the
County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, 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:—
This invention relates to a construction of watertight metallic cars available for
transporting victuals, water or liquids, ammunition or other articles required in
military, exploring or other expeditions, also for carrying men, or for constructing
pontoons.
The construction of the said cars will be readily understood on reference to the
accompanying drawings. The car consists of a body A of thin sheet iron or steel
carried by two wheels B of wood or iron connected by a cranked axle C. The body
is securely fixed to the axle by means of U irons D embracing the axle below and
fixed to the sides of the body. The box shaped body may be closed by a sheet
metal rounded cover E opening on hinges consisting of a rod passed through loops
fixed respectively on the body and on the cover. For the cover, may be substituted
an upright iron framework Fig. 2, in which case the contents are protected by
means of a sheet metal guard plate attached to rings a secured to the corners of the
body by means of loops b. Rods can be passed through the rings a for transport-
ing the vehicle by hand in difficult places. The rings may also serve to receive
ropes for securing the body to anchors or to banks of a river when the apparatus
is used to form a bridge of boats as indicated at Fig. 3. The body A is composed
of three plates of sheet metal fixed together by angle irons and rivetted cold so as
to form an absolutely water-tight joint, as ordinary sheet metal tanks. The
strengthening bands c of half round iron ensure the rigidity of the structure. On
the sides of the body, various tools such as spade, pickaxe, hatchet, etc. are
suspended by means of rings and hooks rivetted to the body. The ends of the
axles are perforated for the reception of a pin d for securing the wheels, attached
by means of a leather thong. Sand is prevented from getting into the axle box by
means of a metal cap which is also perforated for the passage of the pin d. The
shafts F are of solid forged iron as shewn at Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7; they are
connected together by means of a curved connecting piece f. Each shaft has at its
front end a hook g for connecting the harness, and at the rear end it has a fork h
into which fits a corresponding eye fixed on a plate which is securely attached to
the inner strengthening rib of the casing by rivets passing through the same.
The
two rivets k nearest the shafts have their outer heads formed as hooks for the
traces. The connection of the fork of the shaft with the eye is effected by means
of two bolts i secured by screw nuts. One of these bolts has, at its inner end, a
hook for the harness. The vehicle may be drawn by means of either a mule,
horse, donkey or bullock or by manual power. The shafts employed for traction
by a donkey, shewn at Figs. 6 and 7, weigh about 6 pounds less than those for a
mule, shewn at Figs. 4 and 5. The shafts for manual traction are constructed the
same as those for a donkey, with the difference that they are made rather shorter,

page_text: Instead of making the shafts of solid metal they may be made tubular. In case of
manual traction they may be replaced by a bar with T head at its front. end. This
bar may be tubular and rivetted to a pin secured to a transverse plate fixed to the
body by means of the same arrangement of bolts by which the eyes are secured in
the case of shafts for mules. The T head may be made of thinner metal than the
bar. Instead of rivetting the bar to the pin on the body, they may be secured
together by a vertical key passing through slots.
Figs. 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 shew the invention as applied to a vehicle with four
wheels, the main features being the same as in the foregoing arrangements. The
two sets of wheels are independent of each other, each carrying a casing or body A
secured to the axle by means of U irons rivetted to the body. The front part of
the vehicle is provided with a flat cover and back and side rails forming seats for
four or six men. The rear body has an open framework. The two bodies are
connected together by means of a flat hook a, fig. 18, fixed underneath the body of
the front part, with which engages an eye b, fig. 20 on the end of a bar projecting
from the rear body. The shaft is fixed by means of a key in a socket c rivetted to
the underside of the body of the front part, the socket c and the hook a being
formed of one and the same piece either as a steel casting or of malleable cast iron,
rivetted to the underside of the front body, so that the traction shall be transmitted
directly to the rear body; this vehicle may be drawn by oxen, horses or mules.
The improved vehicle may be employed for a number of purposes besides that of
the commissariat, thus it may be used as the magazine for ammunition for a
battalion on the battle field. For this purpose, the interior of the body may be
divided into a number of compartments by means of wood divisions sliding into
grooves formed by U irons rivetted to the sides of the body. These vehicles may
also be used for trench work and on the ramparts of besieged fortresses; they may.
also be employed for the transport of ammunition for mountain guns. As before
stated, the vehicles may also be employed for the formation of boat bridges as
shewn at Fig. 3, the invention in this case consisting in the conversion of the body
of the vehicle into a floating non-submersible body. For this purpose, the cover is
modified so as to impart to it sufficient strength for carrying the floor of the bridge
and for ensuring a water-tight joint between the cover and the body, various
arrangements may be employed; thus, as at Fig. 14, a caoutchouc tube m may be
rivetted to the angle iron rim of the body. Another arrangement, as shewn at
Fig. 15, consists in employing, in place of an angle iron, a trough shaped rim n, in
the trough o of which is placed a caoutchouc fillet p. The cover has, in this case,
a half round rib q fixed to it which is imbedded in the caoutchouc. According to
another arrangement, a band of caoutchouc of suitable section may be fixed by
means of a band of iron rivetted to the cover. The edge of this band, as also that
of the angle iron, is, in that case, dovetailed or undercut so as to retain the
caoutchouc. The cover may be secured in various ways, thus, as shewn at
Figs. 10, 11, 12 and 13, there may be fixed along the body and along the cover,
hooks r in opposite directions over which a cord 8, attached with its one end to the
end hook, is passed, so that on drawing the free end of the cord, the cover will be
drawn down tight. Instead of fixing the hooks as described on the body, they
may be made to swing on rivets t fig. 16; these hooks being thus made to engage
with the fixed hooks on the cover. The book is, in this case, made of cam shape,
and with a notch v, so as to securely hold the hook and the cover when the
movable hook is pushed over by the button u. The cover may be strengthened
against the pressure of the bridge floor by means of T irons arranged in the form
of a cross on the inner side of the cover as shewn at Figs. 8 and 9, or any other
mode of strengthening may be employed, such as simple transverse strengthening
bands of flat iron terminating at each side in eyes for the reception of bolts. The
cover may either be formed arched or it may be made flat and it may either be
made with a deep rim, as at Fig. 10, or it may be simply strengthened at the edge
by means of an angle iron, as at fig. 12, thus giving an increased depth for the
body with the same total depth as at Fig. 10. The securing of the cover may also

page_text: be effected by means of pivotted clamps with screws, as frequently used for steam
boilers and the like. In every case, the hinge joint of the cover must be made with
sufficient play to allow of its being pressed hoine; or the hinges may be dispensed
with altogether and the cover be simply connected by means of chains. These
vehicles may also be used partly for transport on wheels on land and partly for
transport on water, in which case the body is separated from the wheels and the
separate parts are placed upon any boats that may be available. If-the boat should
sink, the water-tight closing of the casing will prevent the contents from being
damaged. These vehicles may also be used for the transport of potable water in
regions where there is no fresh water. In this case, the body may be entirely
closed and provided with a discharge cock; the construction would otherwise be
the same as above described. The water-tight closure of the body may be made
less perfect when the vehicle is to be employed as a. floating body for forming
bridges than when it is to transport goods that may be damaged by immersion in
water.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. The herein described improved construction of metallic cars wherein the body
is connected to the axle by U irons rivetted to the sides of the body.
2. The herein described details of construction whereby the metallic cars are
rendered applicable for transport either by traction or by carrying, or as floating
supports.
3. The herein described mode of applying the metallic cars to the construction of
boat-bridges, the body being used either with or without a cover, so as to constitute
either an open boat, or a hermetically closed non-submersible body.
4. The various hereindescribed constructions of shafts for the traction of the
metallic cars, either by mules, donkeys, bullocks or men.
5. The herein described construction of metallic cars with water-tight body
removable from the wheels and provided with a water-tight cover.
6. The several herein described arrangements for forming a water-tight joint
between the body of the car and the cover.
Dated this 10th day of November 1885