IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF OMNIBUSES AND OTHER PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CARRIAGES
Year: 1851

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CHARLES SCOTT, of Camberwell, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster,
the Fifteenth day of November, in the fifteenth year of Her reign, did give
and grant unto me, the said William Charles Scott, my exors, adñiors, and
assigns, Her especial licence, full power, solo privilege and authority, that I,
the said William Charles Scott, my exors, adññors, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Charles Scott, my exors, adññors, and assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
hereafter during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within that part of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark,
and Man, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, by my
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF OMNIBUSES AND OTHER
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CARRIAGES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained
a proviso that I, the said William Charles Scott, shall particularly describe
and ascertain 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
inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
mouths next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters

page_text: Patent, as, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Charles Scott, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly ascer-
tained ascertained in and by the following description, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say:-
My said Invention, entitled, as aforesaid, "Improvements in the Con-
struction of Omnibuses and other Public or Private Carriages," consists of or
has reference to peculiar modes of construction and arrangements of the public
carriages commonly understood by the term omnibus, and in the application of
such part or parts of such construction, or of the whole, as it may be found
advantageous, to other public or private carriages. The peculiar modes of
construction by which I carry my said Invention into practical effect, as regards
the public carriage termed omnibus, is as follows:--
Firstly, the two longitudinal and extending sitting places of the interior of
the carriage are in my improved construction cach divided into distinct
compartments, and thus each such individual seat is rendered completely
independent, and, as regards the case and convenience of the occupant, entirely
unconnected with its adjacent seats.
Secondly, in the construction of the aforesaid compartments, seats, or
divided sittings. I effect such arrangement of the interior formation of the
carriage by means of a framework of timber, with iron or other suitable
materials, such framework of the interior composing the framing of the
carriage body itself; and to this framework I also attach the flooring or bottom
of the body, the panneling or sides of the body thereof, and all those parts
constituting in the whole that part of the structure which is originally known
among carriage builders as the body of the vehicle, thereby producing in the
assemblage an increased amount of firmness and strength with a reduction in
the weight of the vehicle favorable to a reduced amount of the traction or
draught taken in ordinary calculations for the accommodation of a given
number of passengers. The separate bands of the aforesaid framework which
form the divided seats traverse the width of the body of the vehicle from side
to side, and in passing across its lower part or bottom they receive and support
a second or false flooring at a convenient distance above the first or lower
floor. The first or lower floor receives the feet of the seated passengers, while
the second or upper floors affords them a complete covering and protection
from the tread of those who from time to time may pass to and from the seats.
The body of the carriage being thus framed as aforesaid, I attach the

page_text: panneling of the body to the outer edges or thickness of such framing, and by
such arrangement I am enabled to make the panneling of less weight or of
lighter materials than would be required in a carriage of the same dimensions;
or capacity if built on the ordinary construction, because the necessary.
strength of the body is already provided by the system of framing adopted
in its construction. I make the panneling of the sides of the body of
the carriage of curvilinear sheets or plates, and in practice I use for
such sheets or plates any material of suitable strength, lightness, and
durability to the required purpose, as any of the woods proper for light and
strong panneling, any suitable metal in sheets or plates, or any of the pre-,
parations of paper known under the denomination of papier machè, or the
pasteboards possessing the requisite strength and durability. I make the
aforesaid curvilinear sheets or plates each of a length equal to the width of
each seat, and of a width suited to the required height of the panneling of the
body, and I place them on the body with their convex faces or sides outwards
from the interior of the vehicle, the concave faces or sides thereof respectively
forming the back of each passenger's seat; and this portion of the construction
of the body I adopt for the purpose of enlarging the practical superficial area
of the seat without increasing the width of the body between the two opposite
rows of seats, or sacrificing any portion of the requisite stiffness of the entire.
construction; and the lights or glasses are placed in a fixed position, and are
of sheets of curvature corresponding with the pannels, avoiding by these means
the inconveniences arising from injurious currents of air, dust, or dirt, the
noise resulting from imperfect fittings, or shaking of windows. These
advantages, taken with the herein-after described mode of ventilation, will
maintain the requisite uniform temperature and purity of air. I provide such
distinct and seperate seats in the interior of the body corresponding in number
with the passengers such vehicle may be intended to convey in the inside, and
I construct on the outside of the vehicle seats to any prescribed number it
may be intended also by its construction to convey. I also construct a con-
venient and secure mode of access to such outer seats by step ladders securely
fixed to the body, one of them on each side its entrance door, and with two
band nails to cach, and which extend by a single hand rail through the whole
length of the said seats. I provide the means of a sufficient ventilation of the
interior of the body by constructing an air tube or tubes, the open mouth or
mouths of which I place on the outside of the body, in front or any other
suitable position, having its or their open mouths presented to the open air;
and I make the tube or tubes pass longitudinally or otherwise beneath the scat
or in any other suitable position; and the tube or tubes are pierced with.

page_text: numerous apertures by which the continuous stream of air admitted at its or
their open mouths to the interior of the body effect an unintermitting influx of
fresh air, which by entering the vehicle effects its constant and self-acting
ventilation; and the system of ventilation here described is completed by a
construction of roof which affords easy egress to the heated and vitiated air, and
by placing above each window suitable curved plates of perforated metal.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
The annexed Drawing shews views in elevation and in section of an
omnibus constructed according to the principles of my said Invention.
Figure 1 shews an exterior side elevation; Figure 2 shews a longitudinal
vertical section taken through the centre of the body; Figure 3 shews a trans-
verse vertical section; Figure 4 shews an exterior end elevation of the back
or hinder part of the vehicle; Figure 5 shews a horizontal section or plan
taken above the level of the interior seats, the hind wheels, and back, seen in
end elevation.
REFERENCE TO THE FIGURES OF THE DRAWING.
In the Figure 1, which shews an external elevation of one side of the
vehicle, A, A, A, A, mark the body; B and C respectively, one of each of the
fore and hind wheels; D, D, one of each of the fore and hind springs, and
those other parts of the carriage and body as far as they can be shewn in this
view of it; E, E, that portion of the body on which the driver's seat is built;
F, the driver's seat; G, the driver's footboard; II, one of the steps by which
the passengers ascend to the roof seats behind the driver; I, one of the ends
of the front roof seats immediately behind the driver; K, K, K, mark the
front of the roof seats, and L, L, L, their back rail; M, M, M, shews a hand
rail of security for the roof seats; N, N, is a profile or side view of the step-
ladder of access to the roof seats; O, its footboard or first step off S, which is
the entrance step to the interior of the vehicle; P, P, P, P, P, P, mark the
pannels of the body, presenting their convex faces to the exterior; R, R, R,
R, R, R, shew the external appearance of the windows of the vehicle.
In Figure 2, which is a longitudinal vertical section, or vertical section
taken through the length of the vehicle, in order to exhibit the construction
and arrangement of the interior, the wheels, the seat of the driver, and the foot-
board, the windows, the step to the interior, and the roof seats, their backs, their
rail of security, and the step ladder for access to the roof, are respectively marked
with the same following letters of reference. a, a, a, a, &c. shew the edges of the
ribs which form the divisions of the seats into separate sittings; R, R, R, R,

page_text: R, R, shew the back of the separate seats, and S, S, S, S, S, S, the front edges;
b, b, shews the upper floor herein-before mentioned for the protection of the
passengers' feet, and c, c, the lower floor, on which the passengers' feet are
placed between the two floors; d, d, mark the external appearance and the
course of the air tube by which the interior is ventilated; S, one of the fore
springs; W and W₁ respectively, one of the fore wheels and one of the hinder
wheels; the other parts of this Figure are respectively marked with the same
letter of reference as in the Figure 1.
In Figure 3, which is a transverse section of the body of the vehicle, the
same parts are respectively marked with the same letters of reference placed
on them as in the Figure 2, as far as they can be seen in both those Figures.
a, a, shews a portion of two opposite ribs which forms the divisions of the
seats; b, the edge view of the upper floor; c, the edge view of the under
floor; and d, the aperture for ventilation; G, G, the axle; and W, W', the
wheels.
In Figure 4, which is an exterior view in elevation of the hinder end of the
vehicle, A shews a front view of the entrance door; B, B, the step to the
entrance in front view; and C, the standing place for the conductor in front
view; D, D, D, on each side of the entrance door, the steps of the ladder of
ascent to the roof in front view; E, an end view of the roof seats; and F, F,
the rail of security along each side of the roof; G, G, the axle in front view;
and W, W, the wheels.
Figure 5, which is a horizontal section or plan, shews the shape and con-
figuration of the interior of the vehicle as regards its separate seats, the arms
or divisions which form its separate seats, the curve of its panelling and of the
back, and cushions of each scat, the figure and place of the upper floor, the
place of the under floor drawn in dotted lines, the place and dimensions of
the footboard and the wheels. In this Figure, A, A, A, A, &c. mark the
cushions; B, &c. the backs; C, the upper floor; D, the place of the lower
floor; and E, the step to the entrance door.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would here have it to be understood, that I
claim as of my Invention the combination of parts which I have herein set
forth and described as regards those portions which compose what is techni-
cally termed and understood by carriage builders and coach makers as the body
of the vehicle, that is to say, the arrangement, general figure, and the mecha-
nical construction of the passengers' seats, and the double floor for the protection
of the feet, as taken particularly each for itself, and as taken generally in their
combination with the minor couveniences and improvements, in the mode of

page_text: ventilation, the mode of communication between the passengers and the conduc-
tor of the carriage, the mode of communication between the conductor and the
driver, the mode of ascending to the roof scats, &c.; and this in their forms
and arrangements respectively as they are herein set forth and described. And I
claim to make the herein recited parts under such variations of form and under
such difference of arrangements and combinations as may be deemed to fall
within the natural scope, meaning, and intention of form, arrangement, and
combination which I have herein particularly set forth and described; and
although I have given the mode of structure as above described, which I
prefer, I do not confine myself to the precise forms and arrangements herein
set forth, so long as I do not depart from the principle of my Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Charles Scott, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of May, One thousand eight hundred
Enrolled the Fourteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-two.