Improvements in Two Wheeled Vehicles.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Dec., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 7th Sept., 1889-Accepted, 12th Oct., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Two Wheeled Vehicles.
I JOHN THOMSON LANCASTER of the St. Georges Club, Hanover Square, in the
County of Middlesex, and 110 Fenchurch Street, in the City of London, Mechanical
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
These improvements relate to carriages adapted to carry three or other number of
passengers and a driver, on two bearing wheels, with a door or doors to open behind,
the driver being placed towards the front and over the upper forward part of the
vehicle.
The axle of the improved vehicle is cranked and has the wheels on its outer ends,
springs connecting it to the body of the cab. The shafts are connected to the front
of the cab much as in what are known as "Hansom" cabs of the day, by bent irons
or by equivalent means.
The driver's seat is placed on the top front of the body, and is made capable of
sliding in a recess or guide way, adjusted by catch pieces or arms readily accessible
to the hand of the user. The catch pieces take into stop holes and may be engaged
by spring arms at each side, by, for instance, a tongs action. A handle conveniently
placed serves to pull out and push in the seat as its situation is needed to be altered
to adjust balance of the vehicle.
To avoid inconvenience, especially to ladies, arising from a swing door opening
only one way at the rear of the vehicle and necessitating the intending rider. going
into the road. I arrange my door or closing means to slide parallel to its width on
guiding and supporting rods or bars held by roller bearings under the body or on or
in the lower parts of the vehicle and preferably operated by rod link or lever and
gear by the driver.
Or the door may be arranged to turn on hinge parts at each side, the one set being
disconnected in use by the operation of the.handle at the opposite side when the other
set is in operation to support and control the door in its swinging so as to allow of
access to the step of the vehicle from either near or off side without the obstacle of an
intervening door.
To suit the requirements of different owners I arrange the seats either longitudinally
or cross wise or of a combination of the two. In case of a rearward cross seat
provision is made for temporarily turning out of the way or removing the portion
across the doorway or entry.
Dated the 7th day of December 1888.
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Two Wheeled Vehicles.
I JOHN THOMSON LANCASTER of the St. George's Club, Hanover Square, in the
County of Middlesex, and 110 Fenchurch Street in the City of London, Mechanical
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:-
:-
These improvements relate to carriages adapted to carry three or other number of
passengers and a driver, on two bearing wheels, with a door or doors to open behind,
the driver being placed towards the front and over the upper forward part of the
abiala

page_text: Fig. 3 is a back view thereof.
Fig. 4 is a side view of a detail being a portion of the gear for operating the sliding
rear door.
Fig. 5 is a. front view of Fig. 4.
Fig. 6 is a side view of the sliding supports for the door.
Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view of Fig. 6 looking towards the front of the cab.
Fig. 8 is a plan view of one half of Fig. 7, taken about the line A A of that
figure.
Fig. 9 is a side view of the sliding parts for supporting the drivers seat so as to
be capable of adjustment to compensate for variations in the balance of the cab
according to the number of riders therein.
Fig. 10 is an underside view of the locking mechanism to the driver's seat.
Fig. 11 is a front view of the same parts.
a is the cranked axle. a' a' are the supporting wheels. bb are springs connecting
the axis a to the irons b¹ b¹ affixed to the body of the cab c. d d are the shafts
connected to the front of the cab c by irons d' d. de are step-irons and supports.
e is the rear door which closes to and from the rear opening in the cab by being
slidden in a direction to and from the front of the cab by the supports e¹ e¹ sliding
in anti-friction sockets e es mounted underneath the body of the cab c.
In some cases I form the door e as shown and described to slide out longitudinally
with its supporting frame, but I also form a door, say as indicated by the dotted
lines e (Fig. 3), capable of swinging open in the ordinary way, the outer portion
of the longitudinally sliding door forming the frame for the secondary door e*, the
object being to provide a door which can be opened in the ordinary way for use
under certain circumstances.
These supports el el are formed as a platform e; the bars e¹ e¹, preferably of iron,
sliding under and over anti-friction -rollers ee having their bearing surface e
covered by preference with india-rubber, or other suitable elastic material; to facilitate
noiseless operation. This platform eis drawn. to and fro by means of a cord es
attached to the eyee of the adjustable screw rod e, which is .connected by corre-
sponding screw. to the loop e, and held in position and to the platforme by the eye-
plate The loop is screwed to the rod e³ for the purpose of shortening or

page_text: lengthening the cord ", which passing around the pulley el connected to the under
body of the cab, after passing round the tension pulley el is carried up and partly
round the pulley e¹³, again passes down around another pulley at el back to the
adjustable screw rod e¹³ which has a screwed stem e¹, adjusting loop e¹s and socket els
corresponding to the parts described in reference to the rod e. 20, 20 aro elastic
rollers or stops, one on each side of the platform e, serving to control the extent of
sliding of this platform in the opening of the door e.
The pulley is mounted (see Figs. 4 and 5) on a spindle el, on which is also
mounted the handle e18 for turning the same. The corde at the part which passes
around the wheel e¹ is formed as a rack or sprocket chain e¹ the links of which
are engaged by the teeth 23 and are turned thereby, but other equivalent means
may he used. On the same axis, e17, as the wheel e2, is mounted another wheel f
the teeth of which are taken into by the clawker f1 forming part of the bell-cranked
lever centred at f³ to the arm attached to the front of the cab beside the
driver. f is an india-rubber band serving to keep the clawker f¹ to its work,
(see Fig. 4) but this band may be substituted by other form of spring. f is a
line attached to the end of the lever and passing to within the cab to enable
the passenger without the aid of the driver to release the wheel f, and enable the
door e and the parts operating it to be moved by a passenger or others without
mounting to the drivers perch g. The driver can release the clawker f by simply
pressing against the pad f7 on the lever 3. The driver's seat may be adjusted
forward and rearward by moving the handle (see Figs. 9. 10 and 11) on its centre
of motion ', connected by the plate ; to the underside of the seat. This lever is
controlled as to extent of movement by the stops ii. The seat board k runs on the
rails 1, and is kept in position adjacent thereto by the clips m connected to the board k.
Connected to the arm ½, are bent irons n n¹, which pass through loops o, bolted to the
underside of the seat. In the position of the lever shewn by full lines the outward
ends of the bent irons n n' after passing through the eyes o pass into the bolt holes p p
formed in the fixed side frame of the cab; whilst in the position of the arm h indicated
by the dotted lines (Fig. 10) these bent irons are withdrawn from the bolt holes p,
and the seat to which they are attached can be drawn to and fro to the desired extent
and the bent irons n n¹ inserted in a fresh hole. ??are springs attached to the seat
and to the arm h, so as normally to draw this lever into a position to lock the
irons n n in the bolt holes p in which for the moment they may be opposite.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. The arrangement or combination of the parts of a two wheeled vehicle so that
the rearward door may be moved so as to give facility of ingress and egress to the
vehicle from either near or off-side substantially as hereinbefore set forth.
2. In a two wheeled vehicle the arrangement or combination of a body provided
with seats for two or more persons with door capable of operation to afford means for
ingress and egress rearwardly thereof froin either near or off side, and means for
operating the door substantially as set forth.
3. In a two wheeled vehicle, a sliding adjustable seat in combination with a body
capable of holding two or more persons and having a longitudinally sliding door
giving facility of access from either near or off-side and means for operating the same
all substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.
Dated the 6th day of September 1889
WM. BROOKES & SON,
55.& 56, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.