IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MEANS OF APPLYING CARRIAGE AND CERTAIN OTHER SPRINGS
Year: 1851

page_text: THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, JAMES
WEBSTER, of Leicester, Engineer, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Eleventh-day of February, in the
fourteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Webster, my exors, adiñors, and assigns,
Her especial license, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said
James Webster, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
James Webster, my exors, adññors, 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, and also in the
Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, and in all Her said
Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION AND MEANS OF APPLYING CARRIAGE AND CERTAIN OTHER SPRINGS;"
in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso requiring that I, the
said James Webster, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be enrolled in Her said
Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and imme-
diately 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
James Webster, do hereby declare that the nature of my Invention, and

page_text: the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by this present Specification or instrument in writing,
reference being had to the several Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:
My said improvements in the construction and means of applying springs
consist in constructing such springs so that each point or arm of a spring may
act against an incline or inclined plane for the purpose of obtaining the action
of the spring by means of such application of its points or arms to such
inclined planes. When such a spring is used as a bearing spring, the spring
may be placed upon the carriage or other sustaining body, and the inclined
planes against which the points or arms of the spring are to act upon the
body to be sustained on the inclined planes may be placed upon the sustaining
body, and the spring upon the body to be sustained, whichever may be most
convenient; and when a spring is intended to be used for any other purpose
the spring may be placed upon one body and the inclines or inclined planes
upon the other, in such a manner that the action of the spring may be obtained
by its points or arms being applied to and acting against the inclined planes.
In constructing a spring according to my Invention I prefer to make it with
two arms acting in contrary directions (as shewn in Figure 1 of the said
Drawing, the arms being connected together at their bases, and being also
fixed securely upon the carriage or other body to which the spring is to be
attached. When the spring is so constructed I place the inclines or inclined
planes against which the arms or points of the spring are to act in such a
position that they will form a figure somewhat resembling the letter V (as
shewn in Figure 2), the points or arms of the spring acting against the inclined
planes in the interior of the Figure, as shewn in Figure 3.
This I believe to be the most advantageous manner of applying springs to
inclined planes for the purpose of obtaining the requisite action of the springs;
but the springs may be applied so as to act against inclined planes in several
ways, as shewn in the said Drawings hereunto annexed.
A spring made according to my Invention may either be made of a single
plate, as shewn in Figures 1, 3, and 6, or of several plates, as shewn in
Figures 4, 5, 7, and 8.
In Figure 3 is a side view of a spring and of the inclines against which
the arms of the spring are to act. In this Figure, a, a, are the two arms of
the spring connected together at their bases by a cross piece b, the whole
being made in one piece and of a single plate of steel; c is a piece of metal
by means of which the spring is secured in its proper position, and the binding
of the cross piece b is prevented; d, d, are the two inclines or inclined planes
against which the arms of the spring are to act, and which must be fixed or

page_text: held securely in their intended positions. If a weight or other force be
applied to the base of the spring, the effect will be to force the arms of the
spring down the inclined planes d, d, to an extent proportionate to the weight
or amount of force applied to the spring. The strength of the spring and
also the lengths and angles of the inclined planes against which its arms are
to act may be made to vary according to the weight or force which, the spring
shall be intended to sustain, and the extent of action of which the spring is
intended to be capable.
In Figure 4 I have shewn a similar spring, and the inclines against which
the arms of the spring are to act, the spring shewn in this Figure being made
of two plates instead of one. And in Figure 5 I have shewn a similar spring
made of three plates, with its inclines.
In Figure 6 I have shewn a spring, each arm a of which is made of a single
plate of steel, and the bases of the arms are secured to a cross piece e by
means of a bolt and nut, as shewn in the Figure.
In Figure 7 I have shewn a spring each arm of which is made of four
plates of steel, the arms being secured and held together at their bases by
means of a bolt and nut without any cross piece; and in Figure 8 is shewn a
similar spring, each arm being made of six plates of steel. It is evident that
the number of plates used in the construction of a spring or its arms may be
varied according to circumstances, but I deem a single plate to be better than
several in a majority of cases.
In Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5, I have shewn each of the inclines or inclined
planes against which the points or ends of the arms of the springs are to act
as being straight from top to bottom; but in Figures 6, 7, and 8, I have
shewn the inclines against which the arms are to act as being curved instead
of straight, this construction of incline being intended to be adopted in those
cases in which the power of the incline to deflect the arms of the spring shall
increase as the arms approach the bottoms of the inclines.
In Figures 9, 10, and 11, I have shewn such springs as I. have described,
and their inclinės applied to railway carriages as bearing springs, draw
springs, and buffer springs.
Figure 9 is a horizontal longitudinal section of a railway carriage for
carrying a first or second class carriage body. d is the framework of the
carriage; 1, 1, are ordinary draw bars with the improved spring applied
thereto; m, m, are the two arms of the spring; n, n, is a casting which
contains two inclines or inclined planes, as shewn in section; o, o, are two
friction rollers to prevent the points or ends of the spring being worn by
friotion with passing along the inclines. When the draw bar b is drawn out

page_text: by the force of the engine, the ends of the spring will be drawn with it and
pass along the faces of the inclines n, n. The inclines will cause the arms of:
the spring to collapse or be deflected towards each other, and thus produce
an action which will have a tendency to pull the draw back again into the
frame of the carriage whenever the force shall be removed or sufficiently
diminished.
Figure 10 represents a side elevation of a railway carriage similar to that
shewn in Figure 9, some of the parts in Figure 10 being shewn in section.
In this Figure I have shewn my improved springs applied both as buffer
springs and as bearing springs. p is the buffer rod; q, q, is a casting which
receives the end of the rod p, and this rod is secured by means of a pin, as
shewn in section; the casting 9, 7, receives the bottom end of the spring r, r,
which is fastened to the casting by means of a bolt in the centre of the
spring r,, as shewn in section. S is a casting which is fastened to the inside
of the carriage frame d by means of four bolts passing through the frame-
work of the carriage d, as shewn in section. The casting S is made with
two inclines or inclined planes, as also shewn in section.
When pressure is
applied to the buffer head it will drive the spring r, r, along the two inclines.
in the casting S, thus causing the arms of the spring to collapse or be deflected
either until the points of the arms reach nearly to the bottom of the inclines,
when the buffer head comes home, or until the power of the collapsed arms of
the spring shall be sufficient to resist the force applied to the buffer; when the:
pressure is released from the buffer head, the force of the spring will cause
the points of the spring to recede towards the outer ends of the inclines, and
will thus force back the buffer rod p into its previous position.
In Figure 10 I have also shewn my improved springs applied as bearing
springs for a railway carriage. a, a, is the ordinary axle guard; b, b, is the
ordinary axle box; e, e, is the spring, shewn as formed of two plates, which is
fixed to the axle box by a pin f passing through the centre of a block placed
within the spring, as shewn in the Figure; on the top end of the axle box b
there is a cavity formed to receive the bottom end of the spring e, e, as shewn
in the Figure. C is a casting furnished with two slots to fit the wings of the
axle guard a, a, and this casting being slided up within the wings of the
guard is there fastened by two bolts to the framework of the carriage d, d
The casting C is provided with two inclines or inclined planes n, n, shewn in
the Figure. The inclines n, n, when forced downwards by the weight or load
of the carriage, will cause the ends of the springs to collapse or be deflected
towards each other to an extent proportionate to the strength of the springs
and the weight or force which they may have to sustain. The strength of the

page_text: springs and also the angles of the inclines should be so regulated that the
springs shall sustain the greatest load which the carriage is intended to carry
without being driven home to the bottom of the inclines, either by the weight
of the load or the motions of the carriage: I have shewn these bearing
springs with their points at or near to the positions which they should occupy
when the carriage they bear is unloaded; and I prefer to regulate the strength
of the springs and the angles of the inclines, so that when the carriage is
loaded and at rest, the points of the springs will press against the inclines at
their centres or nearly so, and thus allow the same extent for the action
of the springs in each direction. It will be evident that when the load or
weight is removed from a carriage the two ends or points of the bearing
springs will spring open, and acting against their inclines will raise the
carriage to its previous position.
Figure 11 represents an ordinary railway truck to which my improved
springs have been applied as buffer and also as bearing springs, some of the
parts being shewn in section. The buffers attached to this truck are of the
description called cylinder buffers, but made with my improved springs. In
this buffer g is an ordinary cylinder which is fastened to the framework d of
the truck by means of two pins, as shewn by dotted lines in the Figure. h is
the ram which fits the cylinder; i, i, is the spring, made of a single plate of
steel, and each of its ends is provided with a small roller to prevent the
friction from wearing the ends of the spring or the surface of the inclines.
The piston or ram h is provided with two inclines or inclined planes, against
which the points of the springs with their rollers act, so that when pressure
or a blow is given to the buffer head of the ram h it will be driven into the
cylinder g, the two inclines causing the two ends of the spring to collapse or
be deflected towards each other to an extent proportionate to the force applied
to the buffer, and the force of the spring will press the ram outwards when-
ever the force applied to the buffer head shall be removed or diminished.
This cylinder is provided with a pin k for holding the ram in its proper
position, and for preventing it from working loose or getting out of order;
this pin k also serves to screw the ram h down on to the ends of the spring
to give it a proper bearing on the ends of the spring. At the bottom of the
cylinder a cavity is formed to receive the end of the spring i, i, which is
fastened by means of a pin passing through the centre of a block (placed
within the spring) into the sides of the cavity.
In Figure 11 I have also shewn my improved springs applied as bearing.
springs in a similar manner as shewn in Figure 10, each of the springs.
shewn in Figure 11 being made of one plate of steel instead of two plates,

page_text: and the ends of the springs being also provided with rollers to prevent the
friction from wearing the ends of the spring or the faces of the inclines.
In Figure 12 I have shewn the application of my improved springs in the
formation of a stationary buffer, which I deem to be useful for railway pur-
poses. c, c, c, c, is the outer cylinder of the buffer, fixed by means of two
flanges F, F. This cylinder is furnished with a pair of inclines m, m, against
which two points of the springs are to act; within this cylinder is an inner
cylinder q, q, furnished with a buffer head, in which is fixed one end of the rod
P, P, and this rod passes freely through the block which carries the springs
and also the closed end of the outer cylinder, so as to keep the inner cylinder
and the springs in their proper positions; and the loose end of the rod has a
nut thread upon it, to prevent the inner cylinder from being thrown out; this
inner cylinder is furnished with two inclines n, n, against which the other two
points of the springs are to act. a, a, and a, a, are two springs, each of which
is made of a pair of plates and fixed securely upon a perforated block of iron b,
and this block fitting loosely upon the rod p, p, allows the free action of the
springs in each direction. Upon pressure being applied to the buffer head,
the inner cylinder will be driven in, but meeting with the resistance occasioned
by the action of the points of the springs against the inclines m, m, and n, n,
the inner cylinder will only be driven in until the resistance of the springs
acting against the inclines shall be equal to the force applied to the buffer
head, and upon the pressure against the buffer head being removed or
diminished, the springs will force the outer cylinder and its buffer head back
to the extent allowed by the rod p, p, on the pressure against the buffer.
In Figure 18 I have shewn the application of my spring to an apparatus
which may be called a suspender, and which may be used as a weighing
apparatus.
In this Figure c, c, is a case having two inclines m, m, within it and a cylinder
d, d, fixed upon the upper end of it; upon the upper end of this cylinder is
secured a cap furnished with a hook X for suspending the apparatus.
The rod p, p, is furnished with a stop or nob which works freely up and
down within the cylinder, and prevents the rod from being drawn too far out;
the springs a, a, are secured upon the rod p, p, in such position that their
points will act against the inclines m, m, and the lower end of the rod is fur-
nished with a hook y to hold anything which is to be suspended by it; the
rod p, p, works freely in orifices at the top and bottom of the case, so as to
allow the free action of the rod upwards and downwards to the extent
permitted by the stop which works in the cylinder.
The application of any weight to the hook y will draw down the rod until

page_text: the action of the springs against the inclines shall cause the inclines to be
equal to the amount of the force applied to the hook y, and upon the weight
being removed the springs acting against the inclines will draw the rod up to
its former position. When this apparatus is intended to be used for weighing,
the rod may be indexed, as shewn in the Figure, or the apparatus may be fur-
nished with an index and index plate for indicating the various weights of the
bodies which may be suspended by the hook y.
In Figure 14 I have shown the application of my spring as a bearing spring
for a dray or cart. In this Figure d, d, is a portion of the framing of the
dray, on the under side of which is secured a square box or casting b, b, having
two inclines inside of it, against the points of the spring are intended to act.
a is the axletree of the dray, upon which is secured a casting c, c, the lower
part of which embraces the axletree, and within the upper portion of it is
secured the spring a, a, as shewn in the Figure; the upper part of the casting
c, c, works within the box b, b, and the weight of the dray will cause the
inclines to press against the points of the springs a, a, and thus produce the
intended action of the spring.
. Instead of making the various inclines in the manner which I have
described, they may be so made that each incline shall have a double action;
thus in Figure 15 I have shewn a pair of inclines, the portions d, d, of which
are similar to the inclines shewn in Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5, but I have added
the additional or return inclines c, c, by means of which the arms of the springs
may be made to press against inclines when drawn up as well as when forced
down. These additional inclines may be useful either for preventing a jerking
motion of the spring when it is in use or for preventing the spring from being
thrown out of its place.
In Figure 16 I have shewn another method of applying my springs to
inclined planes. The two arms of a spring when so made press towards
instead of from each other, and against two inclined planes placed between
the arms of the spring, and the action of the spring is obtained by the points of
the spring passing up and down those inclines, in like manner as herein-before
described; this description of spring may also be used in conjunction with
double inclines, as shewn in Figure 17.
The forms and dimensions of the springs made and used according to my
Invention may be varied, according to the purposes to which they are to be
applied, and the forms and dimensions of the inclines or inclined planes may
also be varied in a similar manner.
Javing described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I declare that I claim as of my Invention, the constructing

page_text: of springs so that their points or arms may be applied to or press against
inclines or inclined planes, for the purpose of thereby obtaining the action of
such springs, in manner herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Webster, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Sixth day of August, in the
year of our Lord 1851, the aforesaid James Webster came before our said
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Ninth day of August, in the year of our Lord One