CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS ON WHEEL CARRIAGES
Year: 1827

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
FULLER, of Bath, in the County of Somerset, Coach Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Twenty-eighth day of June, in the eighth year of
His reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Thomas Fuller, His especial licence, that I, the said Thomas
Fuller, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Fuller, my exors, adñors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Inven-
tion of CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS ON WHEEL CARRIAGES;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Thomas Fuller, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and 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 two calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part reciting Letters Patent, as in and by the
samé, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Fuller, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawing hereunto, annexed, and the following
description thereof (that is to say) :—
My improvements on wheel carriages consist in the adaptation of an
apparatus to the front part of a phaeton or other vehicle running upon
four wheels, which is designed to prevent such carriages overturning, by
preserving the body nearly in a horizontal position at the time that one of
the wheels accidently passes over an obstruction or elevation in the road, and
which obstruction without this contrivance would inevitably throw the carriage
over. The principal of this Invention will perhaps be best understood by first
pointing out the difficulty with which the four-wheeled carriages now in use
are drawn over impediments or uneven roads. Stage coaches are particularly
subject to this disadvantage, as will appear from a slight view of those vehicles,
which are usually made as follows:-The body generally contains accommo-
dation for four persons inside, with continuations before and behind, forming
large receptacles for luggage, and with seats upon them for the outside
passengers and coachmen. Such body part, to bear the weight of fifteen persons
with luggage, must be very securely framed together, and consequently cannot
admit of the least flexibility. The machine, therefore, in accommodating itself
to the unevenness of roads, must frequently run upon three wheels, and thereby
be subjected to very considerable strain, for it is evident that if one corner
bearing be raised by a wheel passing over a stone or any other sudden rise
in the road, that one half of the machine will be raised at the same time,
and the whole weight of that half so lifted will be supported by the, elevated
wheel and its axle, the springs at the. corner which passes over the obstacle
being thereby greatly depressed, each wheel axle and spring are therefore
occasionally required to support double the weight that they are intended to
carry, and this being thrown upon them suddenly renders it necessary to
construct those parts of the machine of double the strength that would other-
wise be required. The present Invention is designed to remove these very
important objections, and is carried into effect in the manner shewn in the
accompanying Drawings. A circular horizontal locking wheel formed of iron
is affixed to the front part of the carriage as at a, Fig. 1 and. 2, and which is
shewn without the carriage as it would be seen from above upon a larger scale
at Fig. 3. This wheel bears upon the axletree bed b, b, and upon segments
supported by arms e, e, extending from the axletree bed, and is enabled to
turn round horizontally upon these bearings in the act of locking, the axletree

page_text: bed itself being attached to and supported by the front springs d, d. A bar e, e,
crosses the middle of the locking wheel a, and is attached to it by ears and
bolts, the centre of this bar having a circular hole through which a pin ƒ
passes for the purpose of forming the pivot or axle on which the locking
wheel a turns. The extremities of the bar e, which extend beyond the wheel,
are made truly cylindrical, and to these are attached the plummer boxes or
gudgeons 9,9, from whence the bent arms h, h, extend, for the purpose of
supporting the front part of the body of the carriage, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2.
It will now be perceived that in the event of one of the fore wheels running
over a large stone or any other elevated obstruction in the road, as at Fig. 1,
the axletree i will be thrown out of its horizontal position; but the body of
the carriage in front being supported solely upon the pivots at the ends of the
bar e, the plummer boxes g will turn upon the pivots, and cause the bent
arms I, h, to keep the body of the carriage in its horizontal position, although
one of the four wheels is raised up so considerably. A carriage with
this improvement adapted to it will be found to possess the following
advantages:-
First, the weight being at all times equally distributed upon the four corners
of each spring, &c., can only be required to support that portion of the load
immediately over it, these parts may therefore be made proportionably
lighter, and the machine altogether built of considerably less weight.
Second, the resistance in draught is much lessened, the horses having only
to exert sufficient force to draw one fourth instead of one half of the entire
load over every opposing substance. This advantage on uneven roads must be
immense.
Third, the liability of the carriage to be overturned is much lessened. In
fact, this circumstance is rendered impossible, as far as regards the front
wheels, either of which may be raised any height without disturbing the
equilibrium of the machine. The same advantage attends the bind ones,
though not to so great an extent; but it may be here remarked, the shock
from a front wheel meeting an obstacle is much greater and more likely to
overturn the machine than a similar concussion with the hind wheel. These
remarks apply generally to all four wheeled carriages, but more particularly to
the light open carriage now in such general request, some of which (with a
view to lessen the draught) have the bind and front wheels brought very near
to each other. To such carriages the present Invention is an object of great
interest. It can be introduced with good effect, there being no additional
weight in its application. On the contrary, it affords a more simple, secure,
and lighter method of construction than any heretofore adopted.

page_text: Lastly, I wish it to be understood that my Invention and claim of Patent
right consists in the adaptation of the longitudinal bar and swivels, by which
the body of the vehicle, of whatever kind, is supported and connected to
locking wheel springs and fore axletree.
Lastly, I wish it to be understood that my Invention and claim of Patent
right consists in the adaptation of the longitudinal bar and swivels, by which
the body of the vehicle, of whatever kind, is supported and connected to
locking wheel springs and fore axletree.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Fuller, have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Twenty-fourth day of August. in the year of our