CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HEADS OF OPEN AND CLOSE CARRIAGES
Year: 1848

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DAVID
DAVIES, of Wigmore Street, Cavendish Square, in the County of Middlesex,
Coach Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Fifteenth day of April,
One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, in the eleventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said David Davies, my exors, admors, and assigns, Her especial
licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said David
Davies, my exors, admňors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said David
Davies, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention
of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HEADS OF OPEN AND
CLOSE CARRIAGES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I,
the said David Davies, should cause a particular description of the nature of
my said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her
said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next
and immediately' 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
David Davies, do hereby declare the nature of iny Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon
(that is to say):-
My Invention of "Certain Improvements in the Construction of the Heads of
Open and Close Carriages," consists in forming them with framed side windows,
which form part of the moveable head on one or both sides of the door,
and hinged to the body of the carriage, to which windows the stretchers and
flexible covering of the carriage head are attached. These framed windows are
hinged to the body of the carriage in such a manner as to cause the roof of
the carriage when opened to be thrown back quite out of the way of the
heads of the persons sitting in the carriage. The arrangements I have adopted
for carrying out my said improvements are shewn in the accompanying
Drawings, Nos. 1, 2, and 3. Figure 1 is a side elevation of so much of the
framework of a carriage body, with one of my improved heads applied thereto,
as is necessary to shew the character of my improvements. Figure 2 is a
view of the same, fitted with the leather or other flexible covering complete.,
The same. letters refer to corresponding parts in each of these Figures.
A, A is the body of the carriage. B, the door. C, C are pillars rising a
short distance above the body of the carriage, on each side of the door, and
level with the top thereof, or nearly so. D, D, are framed panels to receive
glass, forming side windows, which are hinged to the pillars C, C, at or near
the point c.
The construction and arrangement of this part in detail, and
the kind of hinge joint which I employ for the purpose are more distinctly
shewn by the enlarged Drawing Figure 3, which is half the actual size.
From these Drawings it will be seen that a recess is formed in the top of the
pillar C, within which a segmental piece d, attached to the under side of the
panel D, works in and out as the carriage head is opened and closed, forming
a kind of rule joint which gives great stability to this part of the head. e is
a projecting metal stop, fitting into a notch in the under side of the framed
panol D to give steadiness to the head when closed. a is an iron corner plate
for strengthening the angle. The segmental piece d also fills up what would
otherwise be an unsightly angular space when the carriage head is open.
The recess in the pillar is made good on the outside, with a piece of thin
plate iron before the flexible covering of the head is put on. E, E are two
slats or stretchers hinged to the framed panel D at e', for supporting and
keeping extended the flexible covering of the bead in the usual manner.

page_text: F is the central portion of the roof of the carriage, hinged to the front com-
partment thereof at f, and turning back upon it when the head is opened, as
shewn on the right-hand side of Figure 1. Figure 2 shews the head as
entirely closed. G, G are the joint irons, which are of the usual construction,
but their lower extremities are central on the outside of the carriage body
at g, and their upper ends centred on the framed panels D. The leather or
other flexible covering is fitted in the ordinary 'manner, except that it is affixed
to the panels D, D, and gussetted at h to adapt itself to the movement thereof
in opening and closing the head.
I am aware that glass panels have been heretofore inserted in the flexible
covering of the heads of carriages; I do not, therefore, claim the insertion of
such windows or lights in the sides or other parts of such flexible coverings,
nor do I confine myself to the precise details herein shewn and described, so
long as the general character of my Invention is retained, as the same may
be modified so as to be made applicable to various kinds of carriages. Thus,
for instance, in these Drawings I have shewn my patented improvements as
applied to the carriage called a landam, but the same may be applied to
chariots, broughams, and all other carriages. What I claim as new and
constituting my Invention is the introduction of framed panels forming side
windows, hinged to the carriage body in the manner herein-before described,
the flexible covering of the head of the carriage being affixed to such panels,
and moving in conjunction with them in the manner and for the purpose
herein-before described and shewn.
hand
In witness whereof, I, the said David Davies, have hereunto set my
and seal, this Thirteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord One