CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS ON WHEELED CARRIAGES
Year: 1825

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
SEATON, of Bermondsey, in the County of Surrey, Shipwright, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth did,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Seventh day of
November now. last past, in the sixth year of His reign, for Himself, His
heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas Seaton, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Thomas Seaton, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, and every of them, by himself and themselves,
or by his and their deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others as
I, the said Thomas Seaton, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within that part of His said Majesty's
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, His Dominion
of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all His Colonies
and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS ON WHEELED
CARRIAGES;" in which said Letters Patent, there is contained a proviso obliging
me, the said Thomas Seatou, by an instrument-in writing under my hand and

page_text: seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same
to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Seaton, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be used, are particularly described and
ascertained in and by the Drawing hereunto annexed, and the following
description thereof (that is to say) :-
The objects of my said improvements are to obviate the concussions, to
lessen the friction, and to save the labour of the horses; and I effect these.
said objects by an improved construction of the bodies, wheels, and other
parts of land carriages of every description.. In order, however, that I may
afford an example of a method or methods of carrying my said Invention into
effect, I shall proceed to describe the various Figures contained in the
Drawing, which, as aforesaid, is affixed to this my said Specification, and in
which Drawing Fig. 1 is a side view or elevation of a four-wheeled carriage
or waggon, the body of which is framed together in the following manner (that
is to say) I take a number of bars or other pieces of iron, steel, or wood, of
various lengths, breadths, and thicknesses, according to the degree of strength
-required-in-the-said-carriage or waggon; these I combino as follows In the
first place construct, either of wrought or cast iron, two pairs of forked
main pieces A, A, A, &c. and B, B, B, &c., in the lower parts of which are
made square holes C, C, to fit upon two hollow iron trunks or beds, one of
which is shewn endways at D, in Fig. 1, and longitudinally at D, D, in Fig. 2.
The mauner of constructing these beds will be described hereafter. Having
then laid one of the main pieces A, and one of the others B, upon their sides,
and in a proper position, I next introduce the upright bars E, E, &c., between
them, and upon the whole lay two sets of diagonal bars F, F, &c. and
G, G, &c., and the horizontal ones H, H, &c., holes having been previously
made through all these parts to receive rivets, screws, &c. into them at their
'crossings or intersections, and by which they are to be firmly united or fastened
together; upright mortises are also to be formed in the lower ends of all the
'upright bars A, B,' and E, for the reception of cross bars, one of which is shewn
at I, I, in Fig. 2, and which are intended to support the floor of the waggon.
Having thus formed one side of the body the other is to be combined in a
similar manner, both sides are then to be placed in their due situations upon

page_text: the beds D, D, and the cross bars I, I, and may be introduced into the
mortices, and be firmly secured therein by rivetting or other proper means.
The front of the body, which may either be made round, as here shewn, or in
other form, as required, may then be added and secured to the sides by
rivetting or otherwise; and lastly, the floor or bottom be laid upon and be
firmly secured to the cross bars I, I, by rivetting, &c. The beds D, D, &c.,
are formed in the following manner:-I take for each bed four bars or
plates of iron, steel, or other fit and proper material, and of a sufficient length,
breadth, and thickness to sustain the load which the carriage is intended to
convey; these said bars or plates I put together in such a manner as to form
a square hollow tube, trunk, or bed, as shewn endways in Figs. 1 and 3, at
D, and lengthways at D, D, &c., in Fig. 2. Around these four plates I
place square bands or hoops of metal at proper distances apart, in order to
strengthen and hold them together; and within them I put square blocks of
metal to support and retain the said four plates of metal in their places, and
I secure them in their proper situations within the trunks or beds by means
of bolts or screws passing through the plates.
Having thus described the manner in which I construct the body of the said
carriage, I shall next proceed to shew the method or methods of forming the
spring wheels, which form another part of my Invention. These wheels are of
two kinds, and which I term single or double, according to the manner of
placing or applying the springs to them. I shall first describe the construction
of the single ones. In Fig. 1, J, J, represent two of these wheels viewed in
front, and Fig. 4 is a vertical section of one of the large wheels. The rims or
felloes of these wheels K, K, &c., are to be made either of cast or wrought
iron, and in one entire piece, and to have a web, fin, or flanch L formed
within them, as shewn in the vertical section, Fig. 5, and instead of spokes I
substitute springs M, M, &c., made of steel or other suitable elastic material,
in the following manner-Fig. 6 is a front view, and Fig. 7 an edge view of
a pair of these springs, from which it will be seen that they are formed of
one piece of metal bent in the middle so as to form an eye or loop N,
Fig. 6, they are then expanded or opened in the middle to a sort of oval
shape, and their ends being brought together are secured by riveting them
or otherwise, as shewn at O in the said Figure. Theso springs are secured
to the rims or felloes, and to the naves of the wheels, in the following
manner: A gap or slit P, Fig. 7, is made through the middle of the eye
or loop N of the springs to admit the fin L into it, and the holes are made
through the fin, at equal distances apart, around the rim; through these holes,
and through the eyes or loops in the springs, bolts. or pins, with the heads to

page_text: them, are passed, one of which is shewn separately in Fig. 8; these bolts like-
wise pass through holes made in loops or ears, which have stems to them, and
which are passed through conical holes made through the rims, and firmly
secured by riveting them. Fig. 9 is a front view, and Fig. 10 an edge view
of these ears, and in Fig. 4 the several parts are represented as put together,
the bolts being also secured in the loops by riveting. The naves are made of
cast or wrought iron, brass, or other suitable metal, and consist of a central
piece Q, shewn in front at Fig. 11, and in section at Fig. 12. Around this piece
Q, gaps R, R, &c., are made at equal distances apart to receive the other ends of
the springs into them, and corresponding with the holes made around the rims
of the wheels. On each side of the inner ends of the springs a gap S is made, as
shown in Fig. 7, and on each face of the central piece Q a circular channel
or groove is formed to receive within them metal rings T, T, shewn in Fig. 13,
and which also lodge or rest in the gaps S, S, made in the ends of the springs
as before said, and the whole are enclosed between two flat circular plates
U, U, Figs. 14 and 15, holes being made through the central piece Q, between
the gaps R, R, and corresponding holes likewise through the rings T, T, and
plates U, U, to receive bolts or pins with screwed nuts by which the whole
are bound firmly together. In case of affixing the axles to the naves of the
wheels, as shown, the axle is united to the nave either by casting the nave
upon it or otherwise securing it. In the double spring wheel I apply the
pairs of springs. M, M, &c. .alternately on the opposite sides of the fin L,
as shewn in Figs. 16 and 17, no gaps being in that case made through the
eyes or loops in-the-spring,-as-before_described, and the gaps, in the navè
being also made alternately on each side of it partly through the nave; there
are also only one notch or gap made in the inner end of each pair of springs
instead of two, as in the single spring wheel. The axles, when affixed to the
naves of the wheels, turn in round holes made in several of the square blocks,
which, as aforesaid, are placed within the hollow beds D, D, in Fig; 2; the
"blocks V, V, V, V, are so formed, and the axles are secured in their places by
the contrivance known by the name of the garter piece, that is, a groove.is
formed around the inner end of each axle, as shewn at W, in Fig. 4, into
which groove a staple similar to that shewn at X, in Fig. 18 is fitted, and
after passing through holes made in the bed to receive it, is secured from
coming out by screws and nuts, as shewn at Z, Z, in Fig. 3. The holes are
shewn at a, a, in Fig. 19, which is a plan of the lower fore bed D, D, shewn
in section in Fig. 2.
In Fig. 19 the circular locking-plate is also shewn, together with the
bars c, c, &c., through the ends of which the bolt d passes which connects

page_text: the shaft with the carriage. The section of the locking-plate is shewn b, b₁
in Fig. 2, which also exhibits two hooks e, e, affixed to the upper fore bed of
the carriage, and which pass beneath the locking plate b, b; and serve to
prevent the carriage from rocking upon the lower bed.
Fig. 20 exhibits one of the hind main pieces A, A, &c. separately, to give
a better idea of the Figure.
Having thus shewn and described a four-wheeled carriage constructed on
the principles of my said Invention, I shall proceed to mention that I expect
the springs in the wheels will have the effect of very greatly lessening the
shocks and concussions to which carriages are unavoidably exposed in use, and
also of reducing the friction upon the axletrees, and consequently the labour
of the horses. I further expect that the whole carriage will be much stronger,
weight for weight, than those built in the usual manner. Although I have
here described a four-wheeled carriage, yet it is evident that my improvements
are equally applicable to those with two or three wheels, and likewise to
carriages of other forms, the proportions of the different parts being varied
accordingly; and also that I can employ spring wheels with holes in their naves
to turn upon any of the axles now in common use in place of affixing the axles
to the naves as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Seaton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Sixth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
THOMAS (L.s.) SEATON.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Sixth day of May, in
the year above mentioned, the aforesaid Thomas Seaton came before our
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written.
And
also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute in that case made and provided.