IMPROVED METHODS OF EFFECTING LOCOMOTION, BY WHICH VEHICLES CAN BE MOVED ON COMMON ROADS, TRAMROADS, AND RAILROADS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Mills Dix, of Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent,
in the County of Stafford, for the Invention of "IMPROVED METHODS
OF EFFECTING LOCOMOTION, BY WHICH VEHICLES CAN BE MOVED ON COMMON
ROADS, TRAMROADS, AND RAILROADS."
Sealed the 14th April 1874, and dated the 16th February 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Mills Dix
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 16th February 1874.
I, ALEXANDER MILLS DIX, of Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent, in the County
of Stafford, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVED METHODS OF EFFECTING LOCOMOTION, BY WHICH VEHICLES CAN BE
MOVED ON COMMON ROADS, TRAMROADS, AND RAILROADS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is improved methods of effecting loco-
motion, by which vehicles can be moved on common roads, tramroads,
and railroads, whereby animal and engine power can be dispensed
with.
In carrying my Invention into effect I mount a vehicle upon one or
more axles, to which toothed pinions are fitted for gearing into teethi
within travelling wheels, the pinions being arranged in connection with

page_text: travelling wheels for the proper distribution of the weight. Outside the
pinions are collars or bearing bands, and these bear upon other bands of
the travelling wheels to prevent injury to the toothed gearing.
The main axle or axles is, are, or may be rotated by manual labour
from crank handles, and the distance travelled by the travelling wheels
will depend upon their diameter and the proportions or diameters of the
pinions by which they are moved.
In the case of a tram or other car I fit one pair or more of main
wheels, and these are or may be driven by pinions from crank handles
by men upon platforms fixed to the framing, so that the men travel with
the vehicle. I fit other wheels, say, to each or one end of the vehicle
to serve as guide wheels.
I purpose to have my pinions, say, about one foot in diameter, to work
within toothed inner rims of the travelling wheels, say, of about 2 feet
diameter, the outer rims or peripheries of the travellers being, say, 8 feet
in diameter, thus by two rotations of the pinions working together as
one to produce a forward motion of the vehicle corresponding to about
24 or 25 feet with little labour to the men, by reason of the weight borne
by the wheels being maintained slightly in advance of the vertical line
of the travelling wheels, whereby they are caused to rotate by the pre-
ponderance of weight on one side more than on the other.
I have described two pinions as being employed, but one only will be
necessary in a number of cases, and this may be at or near the centre of
the vehicle, or at some other part, as desired.
Shifting clutches can be used to throw one or other or both of the
pinions out of gear, such as when turning corners, the motion being
obtained from the power of the "off" wheel only, or both may be worked
independently and at different speeds.
Instead of toothed pinions and toothed rims being employed, friction
gearing or a band may be used.
In some cases also I append an appliance to the centre of the
travelling wheels which carry the axle, in lieu of the weight of the
vehicle being deposed upon the bands upon either side of the cog, as
herein-before mentioned, the which appliance holds the axle to which is
attached the wheel that conveys the weight of the vehicle beyond the
vertical line, and which axle is divided into two parts, so mechanically
.

page_text: arranged that either half with its wheel may revolve independently of
the other to facilitate rapid evolutions.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexander Mills Dix in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 15th August 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
MILLS DIX, of Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent, in the County of Stafford, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Alexander Mills Dix, Her special
licence that I, the said Alexander Mills Dix, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander Mills
Dix, 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 METHODS OF EFFECTING LOCOMOTION, BY WHICH VEHICLES CAN BE
MOVED ON COMMON ROADS, TRAMROADS, AND RAILROADS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Alexander Mills Dix, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, 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 Alexander Mills Dix, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
The object of this Invention is improved methods of effecting loco-

page_text: motion, by which vehicles can be moved on common roads, tramroads,
and railroads, whereby animal and engine power can be dispensed
with.
In carrying my Invention into effect I mount a vehicle upon one
or more axles, to which toothed pinions are fitted for gearing into teeth
within travelling wheels, the pinions being arranged in connection with
travelling wheels for the proper distribution of the weight. Outside the
pinions are collars or bearing bands, and these bear upon other bands of
the travelling wheels to prevent injury to the toothed gearing.
The main axle or axles is, are, or may be rotated by manual labour
from crank handles, and the distance travelled by the travelling wheels
will depend upon their diameter and the proportions or diameters of the
pinions by which they are moved.
In the case of a tram or other car I fit one pair or more of main
wheels, and these are or may be driven by pinions from crank handles
by men upon platforms fixed to the framing, so that the men travel with
the vehicle. I fit other wheels, say, to each or one end of the vehicle
to serve as guide wheels.
I propose to have my pinions, say, about 1 foot in diameter, to work
within toothed inner rims of the travelling wheels, say, of about 2 feet
diameter, the outer rims or peripheries of the travellers being, say, 8 feet
in diameter, thus by two rotations of the pinions working together as
one to produce a forward motion of the vehicle corresponding to about
24 or 25 feet with little labour to the men, by reason of the weight
borne by the wheels being maintained slightly in advance of the vertical
line of the travelling wheels, whereby they are caused to rotate by the
preponderance of weight being on one side more than on the other.
I have described two pinions as being employed, but one only will be
necessary in a number of cases, and this may be at or near the centre of
the vehicle, or at some other part, as desired.
Shifting clutches can be used to throw one or other or both of the
pinions out of gear, such as when turning corners, the motion being
obtained from the power of the "off" wheel only, or both may be worked
independently and at different speeds.
Instead of toothed pinions and toothed rims being employed friction
gearing or a band may be used.

page_text: In some cases also I append an appliance to the centre of the
travelling wheels which carry the axle, in lieu of the weight of the
vehicle being deposed upon the bands upon either side of the cog, as
herein-before mentioned, the which appliance holds the axle to which is
attached the wheel that conveys the weight of the vehicle beyond the
vertical line, and which axle is divided into two parts, so mechanically
arranged that either half with its wheel may revolve independently of the
other to facilitate rapid evolutions.
The Invention will be fully understood by the following detailed
description and by the annexed Drawings:-
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the lower frame A of a vehicle,
mounted upon leading and trailing wheels B, B. The travelling
wheels C, C, have rings D, D, in their naves, in which teeth E, E,
(shown only in Figure 2) are formed for the teeth F, F, of discs G, G,
upon a separate axle H to gear into, and push or propel the travelling
wheels C, C, round, the axis of the travelling wheels C, C, becoming
slightly to the rear of the axis of the axle H on motion being com-
municated to it by band or by crank handle, or in any known manner.
The inner edges of the rings of the naves are fitted to receive the outer
edges or peripheries of the discs, or separate plates may be arranged for
the purpose of taking the strain of the load borne by the vehicle, and
thus to prevent injury to the teeth.
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a travelling wheel detached, in the
nave of which the teeth can be distinctly seen, and also one of the ring
surfaces of the disc or plate to bear upon.
Figure 3 shews a view of a pinion F on a shoulder pin or stud H as
an axle, projecting from a bracket J, secured to the under part of the
carriage frame A. The projecting stud or axletree has a plate K upon
it, and the face of this bears against the edge face I of the wheel nave
to prevent the entrance of dirt or dust to the teeth while the machine is
travelling. The stud or axletree H is loose in the bracket, and the
pinion is fixed to it, so that should a square end of a rod be inserted in
the central aperture of the axletree from inside and from one side of the
vehicle, the driving wheel on that side only would be the power wheel,
the driving wheel upon the other side being similarly fitted but out of
gear would be simply a follower. By this means the wheel to travel
over the larger radius of a circle would be the propeller when turning a

page_text: corner of a roadway or in making a curve to clear other vehicles at other
times.
By a clutch arrangement both pinion's could be put into gear, and the
vehicle would move ahead by the crank being turned. The turning of
the crank may be effected from the outside of the vehicle or from the
inside, as found convenient. If the pinions are to be driven from the
inside of the vehicle I prefer that that be done off an independent shaft
by straps or chains taking over drums M, M, as in Figure 4, the drums
being broad enough for the straps to be shifted along them from and on
to fast and loose pullies on the additional shaft in a similar manner to
that adopted by engineers with over-head motions of lathes. Thus
perfect control over the guiding of a vehicle can be had at all times.
In Figure 4 I have shown a divided axle enclosed in a box N, but any
other method can be used as found necessary.
Having now set forth the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim, the driving
or propelling of vehicles on common roads, tramroads, and railroads by
toothed pinions or their equivalents on separate axles, such pinions
gearing into teeth in the naves of the main wheels, in the manner and
for the purposes set forth and shown.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Mills Dix, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of August, One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named Alexander Mills
Dix in the presence of
H. R. Dix,
Clerk to Messrs. Keary & Marshall,
Solrs.,
Stoke-upon-Trent.
A. M. DIX. (L.S.)