IMPROVEMENTS IN CARRIAGES AND WAGGONS WITH FOLDING HEADS OR COVERINGS, AND CARRIAGE SPRINGS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Rock, the younger, of Hastings, in the County
of Sussex, Carriage Builder, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
CARRIAGES AND WAGGONS WITH FOLDING HEADS OR COVERINGS, AND
CARRIAGE SPRINGS."
Sealed the 7th August 1866, and dated the 9th February 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Rock at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 9th February
1866.
I, JAMES ROCK, the younger, of Hastings, in the County of Sussex, Carriage
Builder, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN CARRIAGES AND WAGGONS WITH FOLDING HEADS OR COVERINGS, AND IN
CARRIAGE SPRINGS," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists, first, in applying springs made of steel, india-rubber,
or other suitable material, either separately or in connection with hinges or
joints, to the heads or coverings of landaus and other carriages and waggons
made to open and shut (whether such carriages or waggons be used for the
conveyance of passengers or goods on common roads or on railroads), for the
purpose of raising or closing such heads or coverings, or assisting to raise or

page_text: close them, and whether such raising or closing be done simply by hand or
with the aid of weights, levers, screws, or other machinery. I place these
springs, made of any convenient shape, so that the moving parts of the heads
or coverings draw, press, or rest upon them when lowered, the springs thus
counterbalancing the weight of those parts, and giving them a tendency to rise
when required.
My Invention consists, secondly, in making carriage springs of triangular,
elliptical, or semi-elliptical form in such manner that the strongest part of the
springs shall be at the part farthest from the points of support, and of
attachment to the weight to be supported contrary to the method hitherto
followed..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Rock in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th
August 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
Rock, the younger, of Hastings, in the County of Sussex, Carriage Builder,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said James Rock, Her special licence that I, the said James Rock, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Rock, 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
CARRIAGES AND WAGGONS WITH FOLDING HEADS OR COVERINGS, AND IN CARRIAGE
SPRINGS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Rock,
iny executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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 months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Rock, 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 thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say:-
My Invention consists, first, in applying springs made of steel, india-rubber,
or other suitable material, either separately or in connection with hinges or
joints, to the heads or coverings of landaus and other carriages and waggons
made to open and shut (whether such carriages or waggons be used for the
conveyance of passengers or goods on common roads or on railroads) for the
purpose of raising or closing such heads, or coverings, or assisting to raise or
close them, and whether such raising or closing be done simply by hand or
with the aid of weights, levers, screws, or other machinery. I place these
springs, made of any convenient shape, so that the moving parts of the heads
or coverings draw, press, or rest upon them when lowered, the springs thus
counterbalancing the weight of those parts and giving them a tendency to rise
when required.
I show one method of applying these springs in Figure 1 of the annexed
Drawings, which represents the framework of a carriage called a landau.
a, a', are springs made of steel fixed to the elbow framing of the body; b, b',
are cranked levers working on pivots or centres c, cl, also fixed to the elbow
framing; d, d, are connecting rods, which connect the springs with the
shorter arms of the cranked levers, causing the longer arms of those levers to
open. The
press against the pillars.e, e¹, of the head when the head is thrown
cranks of these levers are so arranged that. when the head or half-head, as the
case may be, is thrown quite open the cranks are so near to the dead point
that the weight of the head framing overcomes the strength of the springs,
and the head remains open until it is required to be closed, when a slight
upward pressure or force applied to the frame of the head brings the springs
into action and the head closes. In order to close the two pieces marked f,f',
which when they meet form the upper part of the door, as shewn by dotted
lines, I make the hinge at g, g¹, as shown at h, Figure 2, with a square hole
in the eye of that half of the hinge which is fixed to f, f'; into this hole I
insert a pin or prop i, shewn in Figure 3, to serve as the upper prop or
centre for the usual outside sustaining joint used to support such heads when
closed, shewn by dotted lines at 7, Figure 1; the part of the prop i, which
receives the eye of the outside joint is made with an angle tooth or
feather, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the eye of the joint outside being
made of corresponding shape, and when more motion is required in the

page_text: parts ff, than would be given by the motion of the joints g, g', and l, in
lowering the head so as to let them fall flat, the eyes of the outside joints
may be made as shown by the dotted line at k, Figure 4. I do not confine
myself to the use of one angle tooth or feather, nor to the particular form
shown in Figure 3; but I make the prop i of any form that will communicate
motion from the joint g¹ to the part f, and at the same time by allowing space
in the eye of the outside joint 7 allow the part f the additional motion before
described.
In order that a person sitting inside the carriage may most easily raise the
head, I make or fix handles, holders, pulls, or tassels to the middle hoop
sticks of the head, or the hoop sticks next to them; by pulling these handles,
holders, pulls, or tassels the head may be easily raised, and when so raised
the outside joints may be set or fastened on the inside by means of the props
and framework in the manner before described, or by means of levers attached
or fitted to the props, such props being made of sufficient length and of proper
shape to receive such levers inside. In some cases I use weights instead of
or in addition to springs to counterbalance the weight of the moving parts of
carriage heads or coverings, attaching the same to the shorter arms of the cranked
levers before described. By connecting two of these levers by means of a
cross bar passing under the seat of a carriage, the weight of the person or
persons sitting on the seat may be used for raising the head.
My Invention is adapted alike for carriage heads covered with flexible
material and for any kind of folding head, whether of solid or jointed wood-
work and panelling, or with open framework filled in wholly or in part with
fixed or movable glasses.
My Invention consists, secondly, in making carriage springs of triangular,
elliptical, or semi-elliptical form in such manner that the strongest part of the
springs shall be at the part farthest from the points of support and of attach-
ment to the weight to be supported contrary to the method hitherto followed.
Figure 5 shows the application of such a spring to the hind part of a
carriage. a is the body of the carriage; b, the spring; and c, the axle.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-
First, the employment of springs or weights, substantially as herein-before
described and represented in the accompanying Drawings, to counterbalance
the movable parts of folding carriage or waggon heads or coverings, in order
to raise or close, or to assist in raising or closing, such heads or coverings, and
the means of allowing additional motion to certain parts when opened, as
hercin-before described.

page_text: Second, constructing carriage springs, substantially as herein-before described
and represented in Figure 5 of the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, 1, the said James Rock, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourth day of August, One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-six.