Improvements in or relating to Road Traction.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 24th June, 1896
Complete Specification Left, 24th Apr., 1897-Accepted. 24th June. 1397
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Road Traction.
I, EDWARD JOEL PENNINGTON, of The Hotel Metropole, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to road traction in which the vehicle runs upon the
ordinary road, but is guided by some arrangement connected with the road so that
the steering, so far as it goes, is automatic. Thus the steering may be effected by
a grooved rail in or upon the road way, and a flanged wheel upon the vehicle so
that the wheel and the rail together will guide the vehicle; or this arrangement
may be reversed, the rail being raised or flanged and the wheel grooved. Or
again, a rod or wire rope may be fixed at the side or top of the vehicle passing
between the rollers so as to guide it, or the rope may pass through the vehicle or
underneath it for similar purposes. The vehicle itself may be provided with three
or more wheels, say for example three, the one in the front serving for guiding
purposes in connection with the rail or other device, and the two wheels at the
back running upon the road and serving for supporting and driving purposes.
These latter wheels I prefer to provide with large pneumatic tyres.
The frame-work, body and seating arrangements etc. of the vehicle may be varied
according to circumstances but if required a second guiding wheel may be employed
at the back either in the same line with the two driving wheels or these latter may
be placed in the middle or further forward, so that a guiding wheel is provided at
each end of the vehicle, and the driving wheels, of which more than two may be
employed if desired, somewhere between. Springs may be provided to all the
wheels.
It is intended that each vehicle wheel carries its own motor, but the vehicle may
be used for towing purposes if required. The motor may be of any desired
description, oil, electric, steam or other, and carried by the frame or vehicle in
any desired manner.
Dated this 24th day of June 1896
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in or relating to Road Traction.
I, EDWARD JOEL PENNINGTON, formerly of The Hotel Metropole, in the
County of Middlesex, now of The Motor Mills, Coventry, in the County of
Warwick, Engineer, 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:-
This invention relates to road traction in which the vehicle runs upon the
ordinary road, but is guided by some arrangement connected with the road so that
LD

page_text: the steering, so far as it goes, is automatic. Thus the steering may be effected by
a grooved rail in or upon the road way, and a flanged wheel upon the vehicle so
that the wheel and the rail together will guide the vehicle; or this arrangement
may be reversed, the rail being raised or flanged and the wheel grooved. Or
again, a rod or wire rope may be fixed at the side or top of the vehicle passing
between the rollers so as to guide it, or the rope may pass through the vehicle or
underneath it for similar purposes. The vehicle itself may be provided with
three or more wheels, say for example three, the one in the front serving for
guiding. purposes in connection with the rail or other device, and the two
wheels at the back running upon the road and serving for supporting and
driving purposes. These latter wheels I prefer to provide with large pneumatic
tyres.
The frame-work, body and seating arrangements etc. of the vehicle may be
varied according to circumstances but if required a second guiding .wheel may be
employed at the back either in the same line with the two driving wheels or these
latter may be placed in the middle or further forward, so that a guiding wheel is
provided at each end of the vehicle, and the driving wheels, of which more than
two may be employed if desired, somewhere between. Springs may be provided
to all the wheels.
It is intended that each vehicle carries its own motor, but the vehicle may
be used for towing purposes if required. The motor may be of any desired
description, oil, electric, steam or other, and carried by the frame or vehicle in
any desired manner.
In the accompanying drawings:-
Figure 1 is a side elevation and Figure 2 a back view of one form of carriage
constructed according to this invention,
Figures 3 and 4 being similar views of another arrangement.
Figure 5 is a side elevation of another form, and
Figure 6 shows an over-head arrangement.
Like letters represent like parts throughout the drawings.
A represents a vehicle of any desired form and B a rail which in Figures 1 and 2
is flush with the ground, and presents a channel in which the trolley wheels C run,
while in Figures 3 and 4 the rail B is raised above the ground level and the
trolley wheels C are grooved so as to embrace it. In both cases the direction of
the car is governed by the rail through the medium of the trolley wheels C, the
vehicle being in all cases driven by the road wheels D. In Figure 1 the road
wheels D are at the end of the vehicle, while in Figure 3 they are centrally
disposed; any sort of engine may be employed and any desired means of connection
between the engine and the driving wheels-in Figure 1 a chain E is shown for
this purpose.
In Figure 5 the rail B is raised above the ground, the steering being effected by
the trolley wheels C which engage with it, and the driving by the road wheels D
as before. In this figure the guide rail is shown at the side of the vehicle, but it
may be placed underneath the vehicle between the road wheels.
In Figure 6 an over-head arrangement is employed, the guide rail B being
supported at a suitable height above the vehicle, and the trolley wheels C being
carried in any suitable brackets or portions of the framework of the vehicle, the
directing of the carriage being effected as before.
The before described structural details may be varied as required without
departing from the spirit of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A self-propelled vehicle adapted to run upon ordinary roads or tracks driven
by one or more of the road wheels and steered or directed by one or more wheels
which engage with a rail for guiding purposes only.

page_text: 2. Steering or directing a self-propelled road vehicle by means of a guide rail.
3. A self-propelled road vehicle having one or more road driving wheels and one-
or more rail steering wheels.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.