Improvements in Two Wheeled Vehicles.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 13th July, 1889-Accepted, 7th Sept., 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Two Wheeled Vehicles.
We, BORLASE CHILDS, of Liskeard, in the County of Cornwall, Gentleman, and
JOSEPH HAMLYN of the saine place coach builder, 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 :-
Our invention relates to improvements in two wheeled vehicles such as dog-carts, and
has for its object the lightening of the load on the horse's back when the vehicle is
travelling down hill and also when the brake is applied.
In the ordinary way the body of the cart or vehicle takes a position parallel to the
road and assuming that the weight of the body of the cart and its occupants is taken
entirely by the axle, when the cart is standing on level ground, it is obvious that when
the cart stands upon a declivity the centre of gravity of the body of the cart and its
load is in a more forward position than in the first case, thereby throwing an increase
and often an excess of weight upon the back of the horse and the application of an
ordinary brake to retard the vehicle further adds to such weight.
As it is customary to only use the brake when the vehicle is travelling down-hill the
horse has to bear a considerable increase of load, at a time when he is least able to
bear it and the risk of stumbling is considerably increased.
Our invention is designed to obviate these defects in construction so that when the
vehicle is descending a hill, by operating a lever (which can at the same time apply
the brake) the body of the cart is thrown in a backward direction thereby placing the
centre of gravity of the cart and its occupants or load either exactly over the centre
line of axle or before or behind it as desired.
We are aware that this has been effected previously by moving the seat within the
cart in a backward and forward direction, but such operation was effected in a totally
different manner to that of our invention and has no connection with the brake action
whatever.
In order that our invention may be the better understood we now proceed to
describe the same in relation to the drawings hereunto annexed, reference being had to
the letters and figures marked thereon. Like letters refer to like parts throughout
the drawings.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the cart standing on level ground with our improved
adjusting mechanism and brake action attached, the brake being off.
Figure 2 is a similar view showing the cart standing upon a declivity with the brake
on and the body of the cart thrown back.
Figure 3 is a back view of Fig. 1.
Our invention consists in mounting the lever A (which may be the brake lever or a
hand adjustment lever without connection with the brake,) upon a spindle B carried
in bearings hung from the floor or sides of the cart.
This said lever A has an extending arm C and upon the opposite side of the
spindle B to which the lever A is attached another arm C' (corresponding to the
extended arm C on the lever A.) is fixed. At the end of the arin C a connecting
rod D is jointed, the opposite end of this connecting rod being again jointed to a pair
of levers E F forming what is generally known as a toggle joint. The lever E is
attached at its upper end G to an attachment H on the rear end of the shaft J. The
lever F is pivotted at K upon an iron frame K' which carries the springs of the cart
and has an extending or brake arm L upon the end of which is arranged the brake-
block M. The shafts J are hinged to the body of the trap at J.
The upper end of the lever A has a projecting lip which engages in a ratchet
rack in the ordinary way or may be locked in position by any equivalent means.
It will be readily understood that when the horse and cart are standing on level
ground and the brake is off as shown in Figure 1 or the hand adjustment lever
TPS

page_text: is in the backward position, the body of the cart will be horizontal, whereas in
Figure 2 where the cart is represented as being upon a hill with the brake on,
the relative position of the shafts with the body of the cart is changed, for
when the lever A is moved in a forward direction the motion is communicated to
the toggle joint E F by the connecting rod D. from the arm C which forces the body
of the cart in a backward direction through an are, the centre of which is the
centre of the axle whereby the centre of gravity of the body of the cart and its
occupants is changed in position. As K is a fixed pivot attached to the body of
the cart, the whole of the reaction due to the motion of the toggle joint is taken up
by the lengthened distance of the joint G (upon the end of the shaft J) from the
fixed pivot K.
There is a reasonable range of adjustment of the body of the cart in this apparatus
between the point of contact of the brake block M with the wheel and the position
which the said brake block occupies when the lever bandle A is placed in the extreme
rearward position so that the trim of the cart may be altered so as to nicely balance
when travelling on a level road.
We have, for simplicity, described the adjusting mechanism (which is in connection
with the brake) on one side of the cart only but such mechanism is duplicated, one
set of mechanism with brake being on each side of the cart, the mechanism on the
other side of the cart being worked by the lever C₁ upon the spindle B.
We may equivalently use our invention in connection with agricultural carts such
as those that tip by having their shafts hinged in proximity to the axle-tree the
mechanism being worked in a similar manner as already described or in any
equivalent manner so that the weight upon the horses back can be adjusted as
desired.
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
.44.
146.
1st. In a two wheeled vehicle the arrangement of; an adjusting mechanism which
shall alter the relative position of the body of the cart with the shafts so that the
centre of gravity of the body of the cart and its load can be altered in relation to
the axle of the said cart, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
2nd. In such a two wheeled vehicle the combination of such an adjusting
mechanism with the brake, so that upon the brake being operated, the relative
position of the body of the cart is altered in relation, to the axle of the said cart
substantially as set forth.
3rd. In such an adjusting mechanism the, combination of the toggle joint arranged
on the body of the cart with the shafts, substantially, as and for the purposes set forth.
Dated this 13th day of July 1889.
FELL & WILDING,
1, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C., Agents for the Applicants.