Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 18th July, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 18th Apr., 1889
Complete Specification Accepted, 18th May, 1889
I, JOHN FULLER SPONG of 53 Chelsham Road, Clapham, in the County of Surrey,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
According to my invention I so construct the upper part of the body of the carriage
that it will fold up into a small compass and when so folded will slide in grooves or
otherwise into a boot so as to be out of the way when it is desired to have the carriage
open instead of closed.
Generally I apply my invention to the fore part only of the carriage the back
part folding in the manner which is usual with carriages which can be used either
open or closed.
The method of folding the front which I prefer to adopt and which forms one of the
features of my invention is as follows:-I build the upper fore part of the carriage
with hinges at the junction of the front framework with the side framework in order
that the sides may be folded in on to the front framework. The fore part of the roof
I likewise hinge to the front framework and further divide this portion of the roof
into two parts which are joined by hinges so that the two sections may be folded the
one upon the other and then folded on to the front framework by means of the hinge
above mentioned: At the lower part of the front framework I provide a bar which
is hinged to the said framework so that the entire portion of the head when folded
together may be hinged forwards. To this bar I fix a nut or "traveller" which fits
on an endless screw contained in the knee boot of the carriage and so arranged that
by rotating the screw the framework of the head when folded and hinged forwards in
the manner above described is forced to travel down or up the endless screw as the
lutter may be rotated to the left or to the right.
This endless screw is fixed at the upper or lower parts of the knee boot and may
be actuated by any convenient mechanism such as by a spindle with a handle attached,

page_text: a cog-wheel fixed to the other extremity which cog-wheel gears into another wheel
placed at the one end of the endless screw, and which spindle is likewise contained
in the boot of the carriage.
In place of the bar above described 1 sometimes attach the endless screw to a board
or frame contained in the knee boot which frame I pivot at its lower border
so that in this case the head of the carriage when folded together and screwed
down into the knee boot may be pivoted bodily forward so as to rest against the
rail of the coachman's seat and not inconvenience the occupant of the fore seat of
the carriage.

page_text: 8
Improvements in Carriages.
I, JOHN FULLER SPONG, late of 53 Chelsham Road, Clapham, in the County of
Surrey, and now of 25 Queen Annes Gate London S.W. Gentleman, 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:
According to my invention I so construct the upper part of the body of the carriage
that it will fold up into a small compass and when so folded will slide in grooves or
otherwise into a boot so as to be out of the way when it is desired to have the carriage
open instead of closed.
My invention applies to the fore part only of the carriage the back part folding
in the manner which is usual with carriages which can be used either open or closed.
The method of folding the front which I prefer to adopt and which forms one of the
features of my invention is as follows:-I build the upper fore part of the carriage
with hinges at the junction of the front framework with the side framework in order
that the sides may be folded in on to the front framework.
The fore part of the roof I likewise hinge to the front framework and further
divide this portion of the roof into two parts which are joined by hinges so that the
two sections may be folded the one upon the other and then folded on to the front
framework by means of the hinge above mentioned. At the lower part of the front
framework I provide a bar which is hinged to the said framework so that the entire
portion of the head when folded together may be hinged forwards. To this bar I fix
a nut or traveller which fits on an endless screw contained in the boot of the
carriage and so arranged that by rotating the screw, the framework of the head
when folded and hinged forwards in the manner above described is forced to
travel down or up the endless screw as the latter may be rotated to the left or to
the right.
"
2
This endless screw is fixed at the upper or lower parts of the boot and may be
actuated by any convenient mechanism such as by a spindle with a handle attached, a
cog-wheel fixed to the other extremity which cog-wheel gears into another wheel
placed at the one end of the endless screw and which spindle is likewise contained in
the boot of the carriage.
In place of the bar above described I sometimes attach the endless screw to a board
or frame contained in the boot which frame I pivot at its lower border so that in this
case the head of the carriage when folded together and screwed down into the boot
may be pivotted bodily forward so as to rest against the rail of the coachman's seat
and not inconvenience the occupant of the fore seat of the carriage.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.

page_text: Figure 3 is a section of the boot and fore part of the body showing the apparatus
for lowering and raising the front framework when folded.
In Figures and 3 the dotted lines shew the position the parts assume when the
carriage is open and the front let down into the boot. a is the front part of the roof,
it may either be made in one piece, as shown, or it may be hinged in the middle so as
to fold up. is the front window and c c are the side windows-these can be folded
inwards against the front window b. d is a bar to which the upper framework is
hinged at d. This bar carries a nut d to receive the quick threaded screw e.
upper end of this screw has fixed to it the bevelled pinion f which gears with the
bevelled pinion g upon the axis h whose upper end is provided with a handle h¹. kis
the coachman's seat. Z is the true front of the under part of the fore body of the
carriage and m is the false front, the space between these being the boot to receive the
front part of the carriage.
The
To open the carriage a is turned forwards to come into a line with b and the two
together are turned forward about the hinge so as to come into a line with
the boot; the windows c c are folded inwards so as to lie above the window b, the
handle is turned which causes the bar d to descend along the screw e and the
motion is continued until the parts assume the positions shown by dotted lines in
Figures 1 and 3, the bar d being at the bottom of the boot and the parts b and c being
within it whilst the part a rests against the back of the coachman's seat.
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. A carriage in which the portions of the front can be folded together and lowered
into a boot or receptacle at the front of the carriage.
2. In carriages such as are referred to in the preceding claim hinging the front part
of the carriage to a bar which can be caused to descend into the boot or receptacle by
means of a quick threaded screw or otherwise.
3. The carriage substantially as described and shewn in the drawings.