CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN TWO-WHEELED CARRIAGES
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
JAMES BLASIUS WILLIAMS, of Half Moon Street, Piccadilly, in the County of
Middlesex, Esquire, M.D., send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-ninth day of January, in the second year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Charles James Blasius Williams, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that I, the said Charles James Blasius Williams, my
exors, adiñors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Charles James
Blasius Williams, my exors, adiñors, 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
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN TWO-WHEELED CARRIAGES;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Charles James
Blasius Williams, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled
in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, 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
Charles James Blasius Williams, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully
described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference
being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters
marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My improvements in two-wheeled carriages consist in modes of hanging
them, whereby the weight of the carriage shall as much as possible hang on
the axle, and not press on or under the horse, except when its so pressing may
assist his action, or be convenient to the driver, whereby also the body of the
carriage is rendered less liable than those of common construction to be affected
by roughness or irregularities in the motion of the horse, or from shocks or
impediments on the road, whereby its equilibrium is better preserved, and it is
less liable to be upset, whereby therefore the carriage is rendered light to the
horse and safe and easy to the rider. In two-wheeled carriages, as hitherto
constructed, the springs or the prolongations of the shafts bearing the springs,
are firmly bolted to the axletree; consequently, the springs must be one with
the shafts, and partake of their up and down movements and changes of
position, and the body of the carriage which rests upon the springs is through
them affected more or less by the same movements. The bad effect of this
fixed connection between the axle, the springs, and the shafts is twofold.
First, it causes the riders to feel all the regular motions of the horse, and
any shock to the wheels, only diminished in suddenness and often even
increased in extent by the springs, and always augmented in proportion
to the height of the seat from the axle; second, the whole carriage being
fixed upon the axle, its centre of gravity or point of balance can fall upon
the axle only in one position of the shafts. When these are either raised above
or depressed below this position, the weight is thrown either behind or before,
and causes the shafts to press under or upon the horse. Thus, in going down
hill the weight is thrown forward on the horse's back in a manner tending
to throw him down in case of a false step; in going up hill the weight presses
back and bears under the horse, so as to impair that firmness of step which is
then most needed to draw the weight increased by the ascent. My improve-
ments are calculated to remove these evils, and the chief principles through
which they are carried into effect may be enumerated as follows:-First, to
suspend the springs from or on the axle or the body of the carriage from the
springs, by an attachment permitting a limited extent of motion, which to an
equal extent renders the carriage independent of the shafts and wholly
dependent on the axle; second, to limit this motion by stays, which, by

page_text: making the weight to bear on the shafts from under instead of from above
the axle, reverses what takes place in common two-wheeled carriages, and throw
the weight on the horse's back in going up hill, and take it off the back in
going down; third, to balance the weight of the carriage at the axle, and
when from a variable position of the weight which the carriage bears its
balancing point is not fixed, to make this point moveable by a sliding attach-
ment of the body to the carriage, which permits it to be shifted a little back-
wards or forwards. There are many and various means of working out these
principles. It will be sufficient to describe the mechanism of a few which
answer well. Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, show a form of my improvements
applied to a carriage of the gig or cabriolet kind. This mode of hanging I
call the "chain hung under poise." The body of the carriage rests on three
springs like those of a three-spring dennet. The side springs F hang from the
axle A by the chains C, which pass in the groove of a brass pulley block B,
and are attached to the springs by the hooks of the irons E, which receive the
terminal links D of these chains C. The pulley block B is firmly fixed to
the axle, and so is the inverted T-iron G, which acts on the stay to the
swinging motion of the chain C. The attachment of the chain C, D, to the
iron E on the spring F is more plainly shown in Figures 2 and 3. The
last portion of the chain consists of a hook received by the link above, and a
staple d, d, attached by nuts and screws to a cross piece of the hook; the
lower part of the staple receives the hooked ends of the spring iron E, and its
legs embrace the arm of the T-iron G. The springs F, which thus hang by
the chains C, can swing forwards and backwards in the direction Y and Z, as
far as the arms of the T-iron G will permit them. This iron prevents them
entirely from moving sideways, and limits their forward motion by the manner
in which the ends of the iron E bear on its lower curved edge. The shafts
from the bar I (Figure 1) to the axle (A) are made of iron, bent so as to suit
the entrance to the carriage, and are strongly bolted to the axletree at H.
The horse, therefore, draws directly from the most effective point; the axle and
the chains can play forwards and backwards enough to prevent the irregu-
larities of his motion from being communicated to the spring, and to break
greatly the force of any shock to the horse, shafts, or wheels. In going up hill,
the shafts being lifted causes the weight of the carriage to bear on the under
edge of the posterior arm Z on the iron G, which being one with the axle
and the shafts, throws this portion of weight on the horse's back.
In going
down hill the converse takes place; the weight presses under the arm Y, which
transfers the pressure of the shafts to under the horse's belly. The stay iron
G also prevents the carriage from tilting on stepping in and out, and enables

page_text: the driver at pleasure to press on or under the horse by throwing his weight
forwards or backwards in the carriage. The carriage should be so hung that
when loaded its weight shall be nearly balanced at the axle, because if there
be much more weight before or behind, the chains will not hang perpendicularly,
and some weight will be thrown behind or before accordingly. When the
weight which the carriage has to bear is not equally distributed, as in the case
of one with a seat behind or before, and this either not used or bearing
different weights, it is necessary to have means of adjusting the weight so that
it shall be balanced or nearly so at the axle. Figure 4 represents such a
contrivance, and the mode in which the body of the carriage is fixed on the
springs. K is a piece of wood strengthened with iron, and with the springs
forms the frame of the carriage; one end is firmly fixed on the middle of the
bind spring T. Its two arms in front terminates in scroll irons, which are
received by the loops of the side springs E at W; on this frame the body of the
carriage rests by the sliding attachment M, L, in front, and P, Q, behind.
In front the irons N, N, are attached to beneath the footboard, their straight
part M sliding in the eye L of the frame K, behind. O, P, are prolongations
from the curved iron which supports the back part of the body, and they
also pass through eyes Q, which are attached to the frame K. R is a screw,
with a winch S, by turning which the body of the carriage may be brought
forwards or backwards to the extent permitted by the sliding irons P, Q,
and L, M. By thus shifting weight forwards when the seat V is to be
used or when a person is to stand on the footboard U, the balance is sufficiently
preserved, and the weight is thrown wholly on the axle.
Figures 5, 6, and 7 represent another mode of hanging two-wheeled
carriages, which I term "double pivot hung underpoise." The letters are
applied as far as possible to corresponding parts in all the Figures. On
the axle A is strongly fixed a collar of iron B, having perforated projections
D, D, to which are attached by a pivot hinge the two rods C, C. To the
lower end of these rods are attached the side springs F by another pivot hinge
D, in the iron E. G is a perpendicular stay spring; it consists of one or more
plates of steel, firmly fixed at one end between the suspension rods C, C, in a
socket in the bottom of the iron collar B; it is thinner towards its lower end,
to which is attached a brace of strong leather X, which forms a loop receiving
the staple Y, attached to the centre of the side spring F. This perpendicular
stay spring limits the motion and regulates the weight on the same principle
as the T-iron G of Figure 1. Should it yield too far the swaying motion of
the rods C, C, will be further restrained by the projections b, b, of the iron B.
The pivotted rods C, instead of being hung from the axle with the springs

page_text: under them, may be hung from the ends of side springs, these being fixed on
the axle, and the lower ends of the rods pivotted on pins in convenient parts of
the sides of the body of the carriage before and behind, as shown in Figures
8 and 9. In this case one or two stay springs fastened to the axle restrain
the motion by acting on iron pins, projecting from the sides of the carriage
near the bottom. This modification would not relieve the horse so much as
the other kinds, but it is steadier, and better fitted for uncertain loads.
Figures 10 and 11 show the "staple hung underpoise," which is particularly
applicable to carts. The springs hang by two staples c, c, on hooks attached
to an iron collar B, which strongly binds together the axle A and the shaft H.
The stays are here the irons G, G, attached to below the shafts by pressing on
the springs in front or behind; they limit the swinging motion and distribute
the weight in the same favorable manner as the other "underpoise" carriages.
The axletree in this and other kinds may either pass through or be cranked
under the body of the carriage. It should be observed, that in many cases
the number and form of the springs of the above carriages may be considerably
varied, and different forms of body may be used, but it is always desirable to
keep as much of the weight below the axle, and as equally distributed in
relation to it, as is compatible with the other objects of the carriage.
"The X-spring underpoise."-Figures 12 and 13 represent another counter-
poise mode of hanging two-wheeled carriages, remarkable for its simplicity and
elegance. F, F, are springs made fast to the axle A. On these curved springs,
of which there are four, pass strong leathers V, V, which support the body of the
carriage by the pins B, B. The four leathers are thus prolonged obliquely
downwards to a centre under the middle of the axletree, where they are
fastened to a ring X, through which passes a perpendicular stay spring G,
which renders steady the carriage, and tends to distribute the weight favorably
as the other under underpoise carriages. The form of the springs and the mode
of attaching the carriage to them also tend to keep the weight on the axle. The
shafts are attached to prolongations of the springs P, P, bent outwards below
the level of the axle; the attachment is by pins and leather traces, which
permit a little play of the springs P, P, which protect the horse and the
carriage reciprocally from each other's violent motion.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles James Blasius Williams, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of July, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.
CHARLES J. B. (L.S.) WILLIAMS.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-seventh day of July,
in the year of our Lord 1839, the aforesaid Charles James Blasius Williams
came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the
Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
in form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Twenty-ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.
Inrolled the Twenty-ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.