Improved Means for Balancing Road Vehicles on their Axles.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Nov., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 9th May, 1899-Accepted, 17th June, 1899
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Balancing Road Vehicles on their Axles.
We, JOSEPH CLULOW and HERBERT ERNEST ORTON, of 85, Humberstone Gate,
Leicester, Carriage Builders, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
This invention relates to road vehicles and embodies improvements which are
mainly though not exclusively applicable to two wheeled delivery vans such as
are at present used by bakers drapers, confectioners and other tradesmen.
The object of the invention is to enable the driver while inside the vehicle
to balance the latter on the axle at will without leaving it.
This may be effected by moving the bedy of the vehicle to or fro or rela-
tively to the axle so that the load is supported centrally on the latter and not
allowed to press too heavily on the back of the horse on the one hand or to press
unduly upwards underneath the barrel of the animal on the other hand.
The invention consists in the combination with the body of the vehicle of means
whereby the driver can shift the said body relatively to its axle according to the
load and ensure the latter being carried centrally on the axle and the vehicle
evenly balanced.
One method of carrying out this invention is as follows:-
The usual laminated springs one each side of the vehicle are normally carried
centrally on the axle. Each end of the spring is supported in the upper end of a
vertical arm connected to or forming part of a horizontal shaft or scroll iron which
passes underneath and from side to side of the body.
The shafts or scroll irons are normally carried in eyes forming the ends of
brackets which are bolted underneath the body.
Inside the body of the vehicle is a lever connected either directly or indirectly
with one of the hereinbefore mentioned shafts or scroll irons.
Upon the driver moving the said lever in one direction or the other the said
shaft or scroll iron is partly rotated so that the vertical arms supporting the springs
are moved at an angle to the said shafts thereby moving the springs and body of
the vehicle to or fro over the axle to adjust the load as hereinbefore described.
We reserve the right to alter the details of construction without departing from
the invention.
Dated this 28th day of November 1898.
Improved Means for Balancing Road Vehicles on their Axles.
We, JOSEPH CLULOW and HERBERT ERNEST ORTON, of 85, Humberstone Gate,
Leicester, Carriage Builders, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
[Price 8d.]

page_text: what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement;-
This invention relates to road vehicles and embodies improvements which are
applicable to two-wheeled delivery vans such as are at present used by bakers,
drapers, confectioners and other tradesmen.
The object of the invention is the provision of mechanism whereby the driver
while inside the vehicle is enabled to balance the latter on the axle at will without
leaving it.
This is effected by shifting the body to or fro over or relatively to the axle so
that the load is balanced or supported centrally on the latter and is not allowed
to bear too heavily on the back of the horse on the one hand or to press unduly
upwards underneath the barrel of the horse on the other hand.
The invention will be understood from the following further description and
the accompanying drawings which illustrate the application of mechanism for the
purpose named to a two-wheeled delivery van of the type mentioned.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of sufficient of a two-wheeled delivery van to illus-
trate our invention.
Figure 2 is a plan of the underside of the vehicle.
Figure 3 is a front elevation of the portion of the operative mechanism by which
the balancing of the vehicle is effected.
Figures 4, 5 and 6 are details, the section of the last figure being taken on the
line X X of Figure 1.
Figure 7 is a side elevation of part of the body of a delivery van with slightly
modified mechanism.
Figure 8 is a front elevation of such mechanism per se and
Figure 9 is a detail of the hand lever and curved rack.
A, represents the body of a two-wheeled tradesman's delivery van and B the
usual cranked axle thereof.
C, are the laminated springs of the vehicle upon which the latter is supported.
The said springs are rigidly connected to the axle by strap bolts D), passing there-
over and over lugs B formed integrally with the axle B, and tightened at their
ends against washer plates D¹, next to the said lugs.
One end of the spring passes between two rollers E mounted in two downwardly
depending side cheeks E forming an integral part of a bracket, the base plate E
of which is fixed by bolts E³ to the underside of the body A. The said bracket
is shown in side and front elevations in Figures 4 and 5.
The end C of each of the springs is free to move to or fro between the said
rollers when and as desired and the said end is turned downwards at a right
angle so as to prevent it being drawn out from between the said rollers.
The other end of the spring C is pivotted between the bifurcated end of an
arm F formed integrally with a horizontal shaft or scroll iron F the reduced ends
of which have bearings in scroll eyes G forming the ends of plates G¹ bolted at G³
to the body A preferably in the interior of the latter as shown most clearly in
Figure 1.
Centrally on the shaft there is formed an integral lever arm 12 pivotted
between two rods H terminating at their upper end in an internally threaded
nut H in which is a screwed rod H2 rotatable by means of a handle H³ an integral
collar Hon which rests a circular washer J having a lug on each side entering
a hole in a vertical metal stay K bolted to the underside of the upper part of a
casing A enclosing the parts H H H J K and F2 and located centrally on the
interior of the van so as to form the driver's seat.
A collar Jon the screw prevents any upward movement of the latter.
When the driver of the delivery van has disposed of part of his load and desires
without leaving the vehicle to balance the body on the axle and thereby reduce
the weight of or upward pressure on the horse he rotates the handle H thereby

page_text: causing the nut H₁ to travel up or down on the screwed rod H2 and the latter
to elevate or depress the end of the lever arm F2 connected thereto which thereby
partly rotates the scroll iron or shaft F in the bearings G and acting through the
arms F which are fulcrumed at F3 to the ends of the springs C the body becomes
transposed to a more forward or backward position relatively to the supporting
axle and springs, in which case the free ends of the springs C would be projected
a short distance through the roller bearing bracket as indicated by the dotted
line in Figure 1 or drawn close up against the said bracket as it is actually shown
in the said figure.
It is obvious that the head of the spring instead of being inserted between the
rollers of the bracket E' could be fulcrummed to arms depending from a scroll iron
in a similar manner to the other end of the spring.
In the arrangement for the same purpose shown in Figures 7 and 8,
A, represents the body of the van, B the usual cranked axle and C the laminated
springs which latter support the body and rest on the axle.
In this case the springs are connected by strap bolts D to lugs B₁ on the axle
itself in an exactly similar manner to that described with reference to Figures 1
to 5 except that the lugs B₁ instead of being cast on the cranked portion of the
axle B are formed with the horizontal ends of the latter close adjacent to the
wheels.
Each end of the springs is received and movably fulcrummed within the open
or bifurcated upper end L' of a shaft or scroll iron L passing through the eyes
or bosses M of scroll plates M¹ which are fixed by bolts M² to the underside of the
van body A as indicated in Figure 7.
Each end of the two shafts L is formed with an integral collar or shoulder Le
which bears against the outer side of the scroll eye M and prevents any longitu-
dinal movement of the said shaft.
The shaft or scroll iron L near the front of the van is provided with an integral
or attached arm L³ preferably near one end thereof and to this arm there is con-
nected by bolts N2 a hand lever N having on one side a projection or catch N
adapted to engage the teeth of a curved rack O attached by screws 0' to the inside
of the body A and thus maintain the said lever in any desired position, against
movement.
To alter the relative positions of the body and the axle and springs for the pur-
pose of balancing the load on the axle the driver pulls the hand lever towards him
so as to disengage its catch from the rack and then moves the lever N to or fro
partly rotating the shaft L to which it is attached and through the medium of
the arms L moves the springs and axle in one direction or the other relatively
to the body as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 7.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is;
1. In a two wheeled delivery van the application of mechanism by which the
position of the body may be varied relatively to the axle for the purpose specified.
2. In a two wheeled delivery van the application of mechanism by which the
driver without leaving the vehicle may transpose the body to a more forward or
backward position relatively to the axle for the purpose specified.
3. In a two wheeled delivery van the combination with a hand lever or screw
attached to the body, of connections between it and the axle and springs, by which
the relative positions of the said body and the axle and springs may be varied for
the purpose specified.
4. In a two wheeled delivery van the combination with a hand lever or screw
actuatable by the driver while within the vehicle of a scroll iron or shaft and con-
nections between it and the said lever or screw and connections between the said
scroll iron or shaft and the springs and axles for the purpose described.

page_text: 5. In a two wheeled delivery van the combination with a hand lever or screw
actuatable by the driver while within the vehicle of a scroll iron or shaft, a con-
necting arm between the latter and the said lever or screw and arms between the
said shaft and the springs and attached axle for the purpose described.
6. In a two wheeled delivery van the combination with a hand lever or screw
actuatable by the driver while within the vehicle of two scroll irons or shafts sup-
porting the ends of the springs to which the axle is attached and one of which
scroll irons or shafts can be actuated by the said hand lever or shaft for the pur-
pose described.
7. In a two wheeled delivery van the combination of mechanism constructed,
arranged and operating substantially in the manner and as for the purpose des-
cribed and illustrated with reference to Figures 1 to 6 of the accompanying
drawings.
.
8. In a two wheeled delivery van the combination of mechanism constructed,
arranged and operating substantially in the manner and as for the purpose des-
cribed and illustrated with reference to Figures 7 to 9 of the accompanying
drawings.
Pattu this oth day of pray 1.
Witness;
E. N. LEWIS,
JOSEPH CLULOW.
HERBERT ERNEST ORTON.
Berridge Street Chambers,
Leicester.
Boult & Wade,
Witness;
E. N. LEWIS,
Berridge Street Chambers,
Leicester.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicants.