IMPROVEMENTS IN VENTILATORS FOR OMNIBUSES, AND IN APPARATUS FOR ACTUATING, THE SAME
Year: 1857

page_text: Sealed the 27th March 1857, and dated the 28th January 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Cooke at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th January 1857.
г
I, THOMAS COOKE, of 1, New Street, Portland Town, in the..County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN VENTILATORS FOR OMNIBUSES, AND IN APPARATUS FOR ACTUATING,
THE SAME," to be as follows:-
My Invention of improvements in omnibus ventilators, and the apparatus
for actuating the same consists in disposing-ventilators one on either side
of and immediately under the roof seat of the omnibus. Suitable openings
are formed in the riser on each side of the seat to permit, free, ingress; or
egress of air. The ventilators consist of two flaps placed longitudinally and
extending to the length of the raised space or recess in the roof of the omnibus
under the seat. These flaps are hinged along the centre of the roof of this
space, and incline each way towards the side when closed; when open they
are raised up nearly horizontal, and cover the entire area of the space. When
the ventilators are raised the air passages in the risers of roof seats are quite

page_text: open, but when they are lowered these openings are cut off from the area
of the omnibus and the ventilating passages. closed. The ventilators are
actuated through the intervention of two vertical screws, which rise midway
of their length. The lower ends of these screws are received within two
tube supports, which come down to the seats and floor of the omnibus,
similar to such stays or supports now used. On the top of these supports
are placed two pinions, which fit as screw nuts, on the upright screws.
These pinions when caused to rotate propel the screws up or down. In order
to effect this, the screws are prevented rotating, and the nut pinions are pre-
vented rising or falling by reason of the bearings in which they are supported.
The tops of the screws are attached to the ventilators, which participate in
the rising and lowering motion of the screws, and are so opened or closed,
and the amount of ventilation regulated. The pinions gear into two racks
placed longitudinally near the roof of the omnibus, the racks being suitably
guided and supported on rollers and bearings, so as to traverse freely in the
direction of the length of the omnibus. The ends of the racks are connected
by a cross tie, which forms a double arm, carried by a longitudinal tube,
which is in a central position, and proceeds to the rear of the omnibus,
the double arm or cross tie having a socket which slides on the central tube
The longitudinal tube has a screw within it, the stem of which is carried
out at the back part of the omnibus, and is furnished with a handle, by which
the conductor causes the screw to rotate, for the purpose of communicating
motion to the ventilators. Projecting pins from the socket of the double
arm pass through slots in the supporting tube, which pins také into the
worm or screw inside or into a nut on such screw, so that any rotary motion
of the screw traverses the sliding socket backwards or forwards on the tube..
This traversing motion of the socket arm carries with it tho, racks, which
communicate motion to the pinions, with which they gear, as before described,
and so act on the ventilators to open or close them....
..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed' 3
by the said Thomas Cooke in the Great Seal Patent Office on 'the'.
28th July 1857.
2:
22
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
Cooke of 1, New Street, Portland Town, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting..
3

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent; bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of January, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself; 'Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Thomas Cooke, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Cooke, niy
executors; administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Cooke, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make; use, 'exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for, "IMPROVEMENTS IN VENTILATORS
FOR OMNIBUSES, AND: IN APPARATUS FOR ACTUATING THE SAME," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I; the said Thomas Cooke, my executors or administra-
tors, by an instrument in writing under my, or 'their, or one of their hands
and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain, the nature of the said
Invention; and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause
the same to be filed in the Great Seal. Patent Office within six calendar
month's next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
"
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Cooke, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly.described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say
My Invention of improvements in omnibus ventilators, and the apparatus.
for actuating the same, consists in disposing ventilators immediately under
the roof seat of the omnibus, with suitable' openings formed; in the riser on.
each side of that seat, to permit free ingress or egress of air. The ventilators
consist of two flaps or valves placed longitudinally and extending to the,
length of the raised space or recess in the roof of the omnibus under, the
scat. These flaps are hinged along the centre of the roof of this space, and
incline each way towards the side wlien closed when open they, are raised.
up nearly horizontal, and cover the entire area of the space. When the
ventilators are raised the air passages in the risers of roof seats are quite
open, but when they are lowered these openings are cut off from the area
of the omnibus' and the ventilating passages closed. The, ventilators are
actuated through the intervention of two vertical screws, which rise midway
of their length. The lower ends of these screws are received, within two
tube supports, which come down to the seats and floor of the omnibus, similar
to such stays or supports now used. On the top of these supports are placed.

page_text: two pinions, which fit as "screw nuts on the upright screws. These pinions
when caused to rotate propel the screws up or down. In order to effect
this, the screws are prevented rotating, and the nut pinions are prevented
rising or falling by reason of the bearings in which they are supported:
The tops of the 'screws are attached to the ventilators, which participate
in the rising and lowering motion of the screws, and are so opened or
closed and the amount of ventilation regulated. The pinions gear into
two racks placed longitudinally near the roof of the omnibus, the racks
being suitably guided and supported on rollers and bearings, so as to
traverse freely in the direction of the length of the omnibus. The ends
of the rack are connected by a cross tie, which forms a double arm or
cross tie, carried by a longitudinal tube; which is in a central position,
and proceeds to the rear of the omnibus, the double arm or cross tie having
a socket which slides on this central tube. This longitudinal tube has a
screw within it, the stem of which is carried out at the back part of the
omnibus, and is furnished with a handle, by which the conductor causes the
screw to rotate, for the purpose of communicating motion to the ventilators.
Projecting pins from the socket of the double arm pass through slots in the
supporting tube, which pins take into the worm or screw inside, or into a
nut on such screw, so that any rotary motion of the screw traverses the
sliding socket 'backwards or forwards on the tube. This traversing motion
of the socket arm carries with it the the racks, which communicate motion
to the pinions with which they gear, as before. described, and so to act on
the ventilators to open or close them.
"
Instead of communicating motion to the ventilators by means of the racks
and pinions, the screw on the longitudinal hand shaft may communicate
motion at once to a screw wheel which acts upon another screw, so as to
transmit the necessary rising and lowering motion to the ventilators to open.
and close them, or the rising and lowering motion may even be communicated
by means, of cords wound on and unwound from a suitable barrel, for the
purpose of opening. or closing the ventilators, or it may be effected by any
other convenient means.

page_text: of the upper part of the same, showing the fitting of the working gear more
distinctly.
-a, a, are the ventilators, jointed, and moving on a hinge at 6, extending their
entire length; they are fitted in the space immediately under the roof seat c, c,
and occupy the entire area of that recess if desired, or may be less than the
length of the omnibus, as may be requisite for ventilation.
:
Figures 1 and 2 represent the ventilators as extending to a length
somewhat less than the length of the omnibus, as represented by the lattice-
work opening in Fig. 2. d is a tube, extending to the length of the
omnibus, in which a screw e is fitted, the end of which is passed out
at the back end of the omnibus, and is fitted with a handle p, by which
it may be turned. This tube d is supported by stays f, f. 9.9, is a double
arm, the boss of which encircles the tube d, and is free to slide on it.
The boss of g, g, is furnished with internal projections, which enter the
slots h, h, in the top and bottom of tube d, and take into the thread of the
screw e therein, so that any motion of revolution in the screw e causes
the boss and arms g, g, to traverse on the tube d. Two racks h¹, h', are affixed
one to each arm g. These racks traverse in suitable guides, and gear with
two pinions i, i, fitted and screwed on screws k, k, received in the pillars 1, 1,
which pillars may pass down to the floor of the omnibus, and, as sometimes
so furnished, the rotary motion communicated to the pinions i, i, by the
traverse of the racks causes the screws k, k, to be traversed up or down within
the pinions by reason of the screw therein. The top part of the screw is
suitably connected with the ventilators a, a, to prevent the screws turning
round, and at the same time to transmit the rising or lowering motion to the
ventilators necessary for opening or shutting the air passages. The tops of the
screws k, k, are connected with small slides fitted to slots in the ventilators a, a,
which move towards and from the hinge b. The ventilators, as seen in Figs.
4 and 5, are down and closed, while the raised & dotted position represents
them as open, in which it will be readily understood that when in the dotted
position the ventilators a, a, are entirely above the latticework openings m, m,
and therefore the external air has free communication with the inside of the
omnibus; but that when the ventilators are down they rest on the lower rail
of the opening m, which is then entirely above the ventilators a,, and are
therefore cut off from communication with the interior, of the omnibus.
A handle p is fixed on the end of shaft e, which handle moves round in a
recess immediately over the door of the omnibus; by turning this handle, and
with it the shaft e, the conductor can at any time raise or lower the ventilators
a, a, as may be required from time for the purposes of ventilation. The gearing

page_text: will at all times hold the ventilators rigidly open or closed; or. in any inter-
mediate position in which they may be placed.
9
Figures 6, 7, and 8 represent part of an omnibus fitted with ventilators
according to my Invention, but with the gearing for actuating such ventilators
somewhat modified; Figure 6 is the plan of the top of an omnibus with roof
seat removed; Fig. 7 a longitudinal section, and Fig. 8 a transverse section;
of the same. In this case the roof seat is raised somewhat higher to make
room for the gear above the ventilators a, a, which are the same as before,
except that they occupy the whole length of the omnibus; they are jointed at
b, b, and move as on hinges at that point. p is the conductor's handle; and e,
the screw shaft, as before; but in this case the screw e gears with a worm
wheel fixed on a short vertical screw shaft r, fitted in bearings" at top and
bottom, in which it is free to rotate. This short shaft is furnished with a screw r
fitting into a cross bar s, &, which is traversed up and down by the rotatory
motion of the screw r. t;t, are two arms of the ventilators a, a, prolonged
beyond the hinged joint 6, and furnished with 'small friction rollers, which bear
against the plate s: "The plate's is represented in its highest position with the
ventilators closed, which fall by their own weight. When the wheel and
screw r are caused to rotate so as to force the plate's down, it carries with it
the arms t, t, by pressing on the friction rollers; and so causes the ventilators
to be elevated more or less, as required, and thereby establishing more or less
communication between 'the external atmosphere and the interior of the
omnibus by the greater or less extent of the opening disclosed: The reverse
movements of the screw r and wheel 9 of course closes the ventilators.
Figure 9 represents a plan, and Fig. 10 a longitudinal vertical section, of the
top of an omnibus fitted with ventilators according to my Invention, having the
actuating gear of a much more simple construction. The ventilators a, a, are
fixed and hinged at 6, and moveable, as before, but in this case are raised or
lowered.by means of two cords, pieces of catgut, or other suitable material u, u.
The ends of these are fixed one to each ventilator a, a, from thence they are
carried up over two turning pullies v, v; and are united at'w, from thence they
proceed over another turning pulley a; and have their ends fixed to a drum or
barrél Y, around which they coil to the extent of about one turn when the
ventilators are raised, and become uncoiled therefrom when the ventilators are
lowered. The barrel y is fixed on a spindlo e, supported in suitable bearings,
and furnished' with a handle 'p, in the same position as 'before described. In
this case I fix a graduated plate behind the handle, as seen at Fig. 11. It is
furnished with ratchet notches 1, 2, 3, 4, &c., into which the handle slips, and
is held thereby in any suitable. position, and by which the position of the

page_text: ventilators is known as being one, two, three, or four, or more inches open. The
winding-up of the cord u, u, on the barrel y is effected by the turning of the
handle p to a greater or less extent. The arm of handle p is made so that it
can be sprung out of the notches to permit the return motion for closing the
ventilators, which close by their own weight. o, o, are two springs pressing on
the ventilators at all times to prevent them shaking or chattering with the
motion of the omnibus.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself to the means"
described of communicating motion to the ventilators for opening and closing
them, as the same may be varied without departing from my Invention; and
I declare that what I do claim as my Invention, to be protected by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is, the arrangement and application of
the ventilators a, a, to omnibuses, as herein-before described, and represented
in the Drawings annexed.
I also claim the use of the actuating gear described & represented with
reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 of the Drawings annexed."
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Cooke, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
Witness,
W. CLARK, Patent Agent,
53, Chancery Lane, London.
THOMAS COOKE. (L.S.)