IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPERTAINING TO DOG CARTS OR OTHER ROAD CARRIAGES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John McDowell and Charles Grieve McDowell, both of
Warrington, in the County of Lancaster, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN AND APPERTAINING TO DOG CARTS OR OTHER ROAD CARRIAGES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John McDowell and
Charles Grieve McDowell at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on
the 26th July 1880.
JOHN MODOWELL and CHARLES GRIEVE MCDOWELL, both of Warrington, in
the County of Lancaster. "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPERTAINING TO DOG CARTS.
OR OTHER ROAD CARRIAGES."
This Invention consists in contrivances for making parts of the carriages movable,
so as to give greater convenience and comfort to the occupants and to the horse.
With dog carts and the like it is very desirable to be able to shift the centre of
gravity of the body and its occupants combined back wards or forwards, so that the
weight may be more forward in going up hill than in going down, and also so that
whether one seat be occupied or two the centre of gravity shall be nearly over the
axle. This has been done before to some extent by sliding the body on bearings
attached to the shafts, the body being moved by a nut and screw (in this case the
occupant bad to alight), or by a lever worked from the driver's seat, and other
methods. By these methods the shafts were designed so as to afford a rigid bed for
the body to slide upon, instead of being flexible throughout as is desirable.
Now in place of sliding the body on the shafts we slide it on a frame attached to
the carriage part (the shafts being attached to the frame). It can be made to slide
on metallic slides or move to and fro on anti-friction rollers or other well known
mechanism for reducing friction in rectilinear motion. The mechanism we prefer
for this purpose is a rack and pinion motion; the pinion can however be a fractional
one, so as to have a quadrant of large radius working in the movable rack and the
remaining circumference, or a separate pinion of lesser radius working rigidly
with the quadrant gearing with the rack and the body. It is obviously immaterial
whether the pinion is on the shaft and the stationary rack on the body, or vice versa.

page_text: In place of rack and pinion motion a right and left hand screw with a winged thread
and wide pitch can be used, the handle working over one half of the screw, the nut
on the body over the other, and in this case the pitch of the two parts can be
varied to give greater power or purchase. Whether gearing or screw or their
mechanical equivalent be used we arrange stops, so that it cannot be moved too far,
and a locking device, so that when the apparatus has been used it can be locked so as
not to move when not required. The handle for working it is brought up alongside
the driver's seat, so that he can use it the same as he would a brake handle, and if
desirable the handle itself can form the locking device.
In four-wheeled carriages it is not requisite to shift the body, but it is often
desirable to have seats so arranged as to be movable, so that people can pass through
them instead of having to clamber over them or get in over the wheel. For this
purpose we make half or the whole of the seat movable sideways in a similar manner
and with similar mechanism, varying only in adaptation to the arrangement we
employ for the dog cart. The occupant can then enter behind, pass between the
stationary and sliding portions of seat, pushed on one side for the purpose, re-adjust
the seat, and sit down. The handle is preferably placed on the opposite side of the
carriage to the seat to be moved, so that if on the near side a person can pull out
the seat, if on the off side he can use the handle. In this case, if a locking device
be used at all, it is made so as to be unlocked from either side. It is preferable
however to do without a locking device on the mechanism, and place it on the
two divided portions of the seat itself. The seat can be divided equally or
unequally, as desirable; it is frequently however desirable to make the stationary
part the shorter. The advantage of having a stationary and a movable part instead
of two movable parts is that the brake handle can be brought up against the
stationary side of body where it would be most convenient, and also that a person
can get in without disturbing the driver.
The same or a similar mechanism can be applied to landau heads. It is very
desirable that the fore wheels should be brought as near the hind wheels as
possible. To enable us to do this, instead of pivotting the fore stick of the head
on the ordinary hinge, we make its pivot to slide backward as the head falls. By
this means the whole falls in smaller compass, and the boot can consequently be of
less dimensions and the draught be considerably lightened.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John McDowell and Charles Grieve McDowell in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 26th January 1881.
JOHN MCDOWELL and CHARLES GRIEVE MCDOWELL, both of Warrington, in
the County of Lancaster. IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPERTAINING TO DOG-CARTS
"
OR OTHER ROAD CARRIAGES."
Fig. 1 is a side elevation; Figs. 2 and 3, plan of bottom of body of cart, Fig. 3
being a slight variation; Fig. 4, section showing sliding gear; Figs. 5 and 6, views
showing sliding seat.
This Invention consists in contrivances for making parts of the carriages movable
so as to give greater convenience and comfort to the occupants and to the horse.
With dog carts and the like it is very desirable to be able to shift the centre of
gravity of the body and its occupants combined backwards or forwards, so that the
weight may be more forward in going up hill than in going down, and also so that
whether one seat be occupied or two the centre of gravity shall be nearly over the
axle. This has been done before to some extent by sliding the body on bearings
attached to the shafts, the body being moved by a nut and screw (in this case the
occupant had to alight) or by a lever worked from the driver's seat and other
methods. By these methods the shafts were designed so as to afford a rigid bed for
the body to slide upon instead of being flexible throughout as is desirable.
Now in place of sliding the body on the shafts we slide it on a frame S, Figs.
1, 2, and 3, attached to the carriage (the shafts being attached to the frame). It can
be made to slide on metallic slides or move to and fro on anti-friction rollers J
(Fig. 4) or other well known mechanism for reducing friction in rectilinear motion.
The actuating mechanism we prefer for this purpose is a rack and pinion motion F
(Fig. 3); the pinion can however be a fractional one, as shown, so to have a
quadrant of large radius working in the movable rack, and, if desirable, the
remaining circumference, or a separate pinion of lesser radius working rigidly with
the quadrant, gearing with the rack and the body. The simpler form shown does
however well enough for nearly all practical purposes. It is obviously immaterial
whether the pinion is on the shaft and the stationary rack on the body, or vice versa.
Figs. 1, 2, and 3 show actuating arrangements. In these C is a handle working in
journal K, and connected at L by means of a link D and shorter link M with
lever E. The end of this lever E, a rack in Fig. 3; holds into a rack F or slots F'.
The levers E and C are steadied at their pivots N and K by struts or stays H, H,
and G, G, respectively. The lever C is confined in a toothed guard P, as usual with
carriage levers. Q, Q, are the springs.
In place of rack and pinion motion a right and left hand screw with a winged
thread and wide pitch can be used, the handle working over one half of the screw,
the nut on the body over the other, and in this case the pitch of the two parts can
be varied to give greater power or purchase. Whether gearing or screw or their
mechanical equivalent be used we arrange stops so that it cannot be moved too far,
and a locking device so that when the apparatus has been used it can be locked so
as not to move when not required. As the number of locking devices applicable in
this case is almost infinite, and many excellent ones are well known to coachmakers,
we have not troubled to invent a new one, so do not specify further in regard to it.
The handle for working the apparatus is brought up alongside the driver's seat, so
that he can use it the same as he would a brake handle, and, if desirable, the
handle itself can form the locking device, such as by means of toothed guard P,
shown in Fig. 1.

page_text: In four-wheeled carriages it is not requisite to shift the body, but it is often
desirable to have seats so arranged as to be movable, so that people can pass through
them instead of having to clamber over them or get in over the wheel. For this
purpose we make half or the whole of the seat movable sideways in a similar
manner and with similar mechanism, varying solely in adaptation to the arrange-
ment we employ for the dog-cart. The occupant can then enter behind, pass
between the stationary and sliding portions of seat, pushed on one side for the
purpose, re-adjust the seat, and sit down. The apparatus actually employed by us
is shown in Figs. 5 and 6, in which Fig. 5 is a plan, Fig. 6 general view. The
handle R is preferably placed on the opposite side of the carriage to the seat to be
moved, so that if a person be standing on the near side he can pull out the seat, if
on the off side he can use the handle. In this case, if a locking device be used at
all, it is made so as to be unlocked from either side. It is preferable however to do
without a locking device on the mechanism, and place it on the two divided
portions of the seat itself. The seat can be divided equally or unequally, as
desirable; it is frequently however desirable to make the stationary part the
shorter. The advantage of having a stationary and a movable part instead of two
movable parts is that the brake handle can be brought up against the stationary
side of body, where it would be most convenient, and also that a person can get
in without disturbing the driver. In Figs. 5 and 6 S, S, are two pulleys; T, belt
round same; U, rod attached to T at u; V, bracket attached to belt at v, and in its
body to the base of the movable seat W; W' is the stationary seat; R, the handle;
X, X, lugs in which the rod U slides.
A similar mechanism can be applied to landau heads. It is very desirable that
the fore wheels should be brought as near as possible to the bind wheels. To enable
us to do this we propose in our Provisional Specification, instead of pivotting the
fore stick of the head on the ordinary hinge, to make it to slide backwards as the
head falls. By this means the whole falls in smaller compass, and the boot can
consequently be of less dimensions and the draught be considerably lightened. We
have not however had time to work out the details of this arrangement, so make no
special claim for it in this Specification.
Having now described our Invention, and the best modes known to us of
carrying it into effect, we wish it to be understood that we are well aware that
the bodies of dog-carts and other two-wheeled carriages have been shifted on slides
placed on the under carriage, the motor power being by a screw or lever, but in all
these cases it was necessary to make the shafts as rigid as possible for the purpose
of maintaining a true bearing, with the exception of the curricle, in which case it is
necessary that a frame or platform should be placed under the body to allow of the
shafts being removed for the purpose of attaching a pole for two horses, the slides
being transferred to the side rails of this platform, and the motor being by means of
a screw worked from behind the carriage, necessitating it being moved by a person
standing on the ground; we do not claim these methods as our Invention, but what
we believe to be new and desire to protect under the herein before in part recited
Letters Patent is,-
33
First. The manufacture of "dog carts or other two-wheeled vehicles with the
body capable of being promptly moved by the driver in his normal position (without
alighting or stopping the horse, and whether there be other passengers in the vehicle
or not), so as to adjust the weight to the horse by means of apparatus attached to
or consisting in part of a special platform or frame, placed conveniently near or
under the body, substantially as described.
Second. The combination of the body of the "dog cart" (A), the special platform
or frame (S), the carrying rollers or bearing wheels (J), and props moving in
corresponding slots on the frame or body, the whole so arranged [that the shafts can
be elastic or springy, yet the body be adjustable by means of a lever convenient to
the driver's hand.

page_text: Third. In seats for carriages the combination of a stationary part and a sliding
part, substantially as and for the purposes described.
Fourth. The apparatus for moving carriage seats to one side, arranged and
constructed substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John McDowell, for and on behalf of myself
and the said Charles Grieve McDowell, have hereunto set my hand and seal,
this Twenty fifth day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty one.
Witness,
W. P. THOMPSON,
Patent Agent,
Liverpool & London.
JOHN M'DOWELL. (L.S.)