CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF VEHICLES, AND THE VARIOUS PARTS OF THE SAME
Year: 1855

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Uriah Scott at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 17th September
1855.
I, URIAH SCOTT, of Duke Street, Adelphi, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF VEHICLES, AND THE VARIOUS PARTS OF
THE SAME," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to reduce the amount of wear and tear which
vehicles of every description are at present liable to, and to lessen that vibratory
action and noise which are inseparable from the rigid construction of the various
parts, and the density of the materials used therein; and my principle is to
employ a certain portion of some elastic or non-conducting material or materials,
which in their natures are proof against that particular action and injury
which the purpose to which they are applied necessarily exposes them; and
when necessary to alter or re-construct any metal or other parts at present
used, either to accommodate the other material or materials I introduce, or the
retaining of which would oppose the object I have in view; and it may be as
well here to describe the materials which in the majority of instances I would
prefer, and which consist of a substance generally known by the name of felt,
whether made of hair, cotton, wool, or flax, or of any or all of them combined,
or of any other fibre or substance that may be felted or woven, or both
combined. I may either use this in its first state without any admixture,
but with or without alternate layers of india-rubber or other material, as I
may coat or cover the surface or thoroughly impregnate the entire substance

page_text: with a solution of india-rubber, paint, or any other composition that may
suggest itself. This material or other similar materials shall be employed in
connection with the principal bearings, or, where necessary, as a substitute for
any portion of the wood or iron at present used.
I will now proceed to describe the method in which I construct the various
parts. First, in the case of those vehicles where at present four wheels are
employed, and where the chief weight is or.may be placed over the hind ones,
I would use one front wheel instead of the two, as at present, the driving seat
to be placed behind, and the length of the front axle to be equal to the
diameter of the wheel, and the bearings to be taken at either end; and my
springs must be semicircular instead of straight, and secured at their ends by
a metal cap or socket, similar in shape to the letter V, and "set" by having a
block or cushion of some elastic material firmly introduced at the angles
formed at either end, but in other respects constructed like the ordinary
elliptic springs; but whether in the case of three wheels or four, I reverse
the disposition of turnplate and springs, placing the former immediately over
the axle, and the springs between it and the body of the carriage, otherwise
the noise and concussion I do away with by the construction of the wheels,
to be hereafter described, would be repeated or renewed by the chattering of
the turnplate, which will differ from that of the ordinary construction, both
in its increased size and the simplicity of its construction, consisting merely
of two circular plates, and confined to each other by the inverted side clips
attached to the upper or lower plates, as the case may be.
I will now proceed to describe my axle, which consists of two parts; an
outer tubing or socket which constitutes the wearing surface, and an inner or
main shaft, which shall be disconnected from each other by the felt or other
non-conducting material, and secured from all liability to turn or twist by
the construction of their adjacent parts. If, however, the solid axle should be
retained, and the elastic material applied to the outer circumference or rim of
the wheel, as will be advisable in all the lighter description of carriages, I
would employ an axle varied from the ordinary smooth surface now used
and substitute a corrugated shaft, which will have the effect of both diminishing
the extent of the resisting surface or friction, and also admit of a greater
quantity of lubricating matter being the part in contact with the revolving
surfaces, while any grit or other metallic substance accidentally introduced or
generated by the wear will find their way into the interstices instead of helping
to grinding away the surface of the metals or to retard the velocity of the
wheel.
In the next place, as regards my periphery or felloe, I proceed as follows:-

page_text: After the spokes are secured, as usual, into the nave or stock, and I wish to
use a metal felloe, I fix upon the end of each spoke a metal cap or ferrule,
having a projecting piece or nut on either side, giving them the appearance of
the letter T, to admit of their being secured by bolts or pins to the inside of
the metal felloe. Having thus fitted all my spokes, I shrink on or attach my
metal felloe, and secure it with bolts or pins to the socket at the extremities
of the spokes, when no elastic material has been used in the nave or axle.
It will be advisable to add another tire or band of india-rubber, felt, or other
soft material, which is secured to the metal or other felloe by having square
nuts introduced into the body of the material into which the screws or bolts
are inserted; over this I may again place a metal tire, according to the degree
of wear or quietness required in the carriage. If it is thought necessary, the
metal caps or ferrules before described may be applied to the inner as well as
the outer extremity of the spoke, and secured to the outside of the stock or
nave, which would admit of greater room being given to the elastic material
being used for the nave or axle, as the case may be.
My elastic nave is constructed as follows:-I take a metal tube or socket,
according to the size required; on and around this I secure a fold or layer
of my elastic material, and then, having previously provided a solid ring of
wood or metal, as the case may be, having the mortice beds for the spokes cut
or cast therein; and then having encircled my elastic material with a thin
sheet of metal, I force on my solid ring previously described. I secure the
ends with the washers and caps as usual.
I now describe my hind spring, but it will also do for the front. I make
a straight or curved spring of steel for the bottom. I then bend two pieces
of iron in form of a arch, or any other suitable shape, with a joint in the
centre and at the two ends. I then fasten my button spring to my arched
tops with bolts. I then fix a band of leather or india-rubber, or other suit-
able material to the under side of the arch. I then take two pieces of iron,
arched, or any other suitable shape, with two holes at the ends; I then bolt
them to the bands of leather, so that they will be perfectly free from all
metallic connexion with the steel spring and the arched top first mentioned.
In some cases I place the bands of leather below the steel spring. When I
do that I do not require the arched irons first described, but the second ones
only to be fastened to the bands, as before mentioned.