Improvements in and relating to Self-propelled Vehicles.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Mar., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 10th Dec., 1897-Accepted, 19th Feb., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Self-propelled Vehicles.
We, EDWARD SMITH HIGGINS, Engineer, of 127, Brixton Hill, Brixton, HERBERT
ALFRED BESSEMER, Engineer, of 42, Therapia Road, Honor Oak, and WILLIAM
BOURCHIER NICHOLSON, Electrical Engineer, of Acacia Cottage, Acre Lane, Brixton,
all in the County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:―
Our invention relates to motor-cars or self-propelled vehicles and is designed to
simplify and improve the construction of the same, to diminish the weight thereof
in proportion to their power, and to facilitate access to the machinery for cleaning
and repairs.
Heretofore it has been customary to attach the motor-mechanism of self-propelled
vehicles to the framework of the body of the vehicle, or to a framework to which
the said body is rigidly secured, the whole being supported upon the axles through
the medium of the usual carriage-springs. The consequence is that the occupants
of the vehicle are subjected to excessive vibration or jolting.
or
Now according to one part of our present invention, we obviate this inconvenience
by mounting the whole of the motor-mechanism, including the engine or motor,
the levers or handles for manipulating or controlling the same, and the tanks for
fuel and water, and also the boiler when such is used, upon a separate and inde-
pendent framework which is carried by the axles of the wheels either directly or
through the medium of cushions or springs, and over which the body of the vehicle
is supported through suitable springs upon the said axles or framework. By
these means we not only obviate the inconvenience due to vibration
jolting of the body of the vehicle, but we provide for enabling the body of the
vehicle to be readily removed or raised from the said framework, when necessary,
to permit access to the machinery for cleaning or repairs, without detaching any
part or parts of the mechanism. We prefer to so construct and arrange the parts
that the body of the vehicle will cover and thus conceal and protect the whole,
or substantially the whole of the motor-mechanism, the condenser (when a com-
pound or other condensing engine is used) being so constructed and arranged that
it will substantially close and form a bottom or floor to the space or chamber in
the body of the vehicle in which the other parts of the engine or motor are
enclosed.
We find it advantageous to provide the aforesaid separate framework with screw-
jacks or other suitable devices whereby the vehicle-body, when disconnected from
the axles or from the said framework, may be easily raised and lowered. These
screw-jacks or the like are preferably situated at the four corners of such framework
and arranged to be operated simultaneously. They may be operated, for example,
by means of a crank-handle or the like, through the medium of a chain passed
around nuts in which work vertical screw-threaded rods, suitable springs being, by
preference, arranged between the upper ends of these rods and the body of the
vehicle.

page_text: The springs between the body of the vehicle and the axles of the wheels or the
separate framework, we preferably make in two parts, which we connect by readily-
removable hinge-pins or bolts, so as to facilitate the connection of the vehicle-
body to the axles or framework and its disconnection therefrom, when necessary,
to permit the raising of the said body to uncover the mechanism. The said springs 5
may, however, be otherwise suitably constructed and arranged for this purpose.
When a condenser is employed, we sometimes attach the same at its front end to
the forward axle, and pivotally connect it at its rear end to the framework that
carries the machinery, preferably slightly below the level of its point of attach-
ment to the said axle, so that the condenser will be inclined froni its rear to its |
forward end. By this arrangement, while the vehicle is travelling, the vibration or
jolting of the forward axle due to inequalities of the road, will cause a sort of
punkah-motion to be imparted to the condenser about its pivot at the rear end. A
continuous change or circulation of the air around and through the spaces between
the condenser-tubes will thus be maintained in a vertical direction, in addition to 1
the movement of the air in a horizontal direction by the wind or by the current due
to the motion of the vehicle.
We mount upon the said separate or independent framework, not only the engine
or motor, but all the adjuncts thereof, so that none of them are attached directly to
the body of the vehicle. And our said invention comprises an improved arrange-
ment and construction of the operating rods and handles or levers for starting
and stopping the vehicle, steering the same and applying the brake, whereby we
provide for the support of these parts without attaching any of them directly to the
body of the vehicle. We provide a hollow or tubular upright or standard which
we igidly run at its lower end to the said framework, and which extends upward
through suitable opening in the vehicle-maly. The several operating rods and
handles or levers, and also, if desired, any pressure or other gauges, indicators or
the like that may be required, we mount in any convenient manner upon this
apright or standard.
-
end
We find it advantageous to construct and arrange the parts as follows, ris:
For steering the vehicle, we employ a hand-lever fixed upon a vertical rod or spindle
which extends through the interior of the said upright or standard and is sup-
ported in suitable bearings. The lower end of this rod or spindle is suitably con-
nected (for example, through the medium of a rack and pinion) with a lever for
turning the front wheels about vertical axes. A hand-lever for starting and stop-
ping the vehicle, and also, if desired, for applying the brake, is fixed upon a vertical
rod or spindle mounted in suitable bearings or brackets on one side of the said
upright or standard, and is connected in any convenient manner at its lower end
with the device or devices for operating or controlling the engine or motor and
also, if desired, the brake. On another side of the said upright or standard, we
mount in suitable bearings or brackets a rod or spindle provided at its upper
with a hand-lever and connected at its lower end with the reversing-gear of the
engine or motor. When slide-link-motion, for example, is used for reversing the
action of a distributing slide-valve, we employ a pivoted lever which is suitably
connected with the slide-link and one arm of which is formed with a notch, and
we provide the lower end of the last-named, rod or spindle with a portion of a screw-
thread of coarse or rapid pitch, which engages with the notched end of the said
lever. By this means we obviate the necessity for employing locking devices for
retaining the parts in any position to which they may be adjusted. We sometimes
mount upon the top of the said upright or standard, a circular or other box or case
provided with a removable glazed cover, and in which we enclose a pressure-gauge,
a vacuum-gauge, a clock, a speed-indicator or the like, the pipes or other connec-
tions required for the same extending through the interior or down the side of the
said upright or standard.
The opening in the vehicle-body around the said upright or standard is made of
such size that the vehicle-body can be raised and lowered without coming into con-
tact with the said standard. If necessary or desirable, we provide hinged flaps or

page_text: removable pieces at opposite sides of the said opening to permit of the vehicle-body
being completely lifted off and removed from the aforesaid framework.
We find it advantageous to make our motor-car with two seats, one in rear of
and at a higher elevation than the other, so that the occupant or occupants of the
back seat can see over the heads of the occupant or occupants of the front seat. In
some instances we also provide a single seat or dicky behind the car.
We do not confine ourselves to the use of any particular kind of engine or motor,
nor to the employment of any special construction of stopping and starting gear,
brake-gear or reversing-gear, as it is evident that our improvements are applicable
to motor-cars with various kinds of engines or motors and controlling mechanism.
It is obvious also that the construction of the vehicle can be somewhat modified
without departing from the nature of our said invention.
Dated the 10th day of March 1907
D. YOUNG & Co.,
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants."
We, EDWARD SMITH HIGGINS, Engineer, of 127, Brixton Hill, Brixton, HERBERT
ALFRED BESSEMER, Engineer, of 42, Therapia Road, Honor Oak, and WILLIAM
BOURCHIER NICHOLSON, Electrical Engineer, of Acacia Cottage, Acre Lane, Brixton,
all in the County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
Our invention relates to motor-cars or self-propelled vehicles and is designed to
simplify and improve the construction of the same, to diminish the weight thereof
in proportion to their power, and to facilitate access to the machinery for cleaning
and repairs.
Heretofore it has been customary to attach the motor-mechanism of self-propelled
vehicles to the framework of the body of the vehicle, or to a framework to which
the, said body is rigidly secured, the whole being supported upon the axles through
the medium of the usual carriage-springs. The consequence is that the occupants
of the vehicle are subjected to excessive vibration or jolting.
Now according to one part of our present invention we obviate this inconvenience
by mounting the whole of the motor-mechanism, including the engine or motor,
the levers or handles for manipulating or controlling the same, and the tanks for
fuel and water, and also the boiler (when such is used) upon a separate and inde-
pendent framework which is carried by the axles of the wheels either directly or
through the medium of cushions or springs, and over which the body of the vehicle
is supported through suitable springs upon the said axles or framework. By
these means we not only obviate the inconvenience due to excessive vibration or
jolting of the body of the vehicle, but we provide for enabling the body of the
vehicle to be readily removed or raised from the said framework, when necessary,
to permit access to the machinery for cleaning or repairs, without detaching any
part or parts of the mechanism. We prefer to so construct and arrange the parts
that the body of the vehicle will cover and thus conceal and protect the whole,
or substantially the whole of the motor-mechanism, the condenser (when a com-
pound or other condensing engine is used) being so constructed and arranged that
it will substantially close and form a bottom or floor to the space or chamber in

page_text: or beneath the body of the vehicle in which the other parts of the engine or motor
are enclosed.
We mount upon the said separate or independent framework, not only the engine
or motor, but all the adjuncts thereof, so that none of them are attached directly to
the body of the vehicle. And our said invention comprises an improved arrange-
ment and construction of the operating rods and handles or levers for starting,
stopping and reversing the motion of the vehicle, steering the same and applying
the brake, whereby we provide for the support of these parts without attaching any
of them directly to the body of the vehicle.
In the accompanying drawings, we have shown how our said invention may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Figure 1 is a plan, and
Figure 2 a side elevation of a motor-vehicle with our improvements applied
thereto, some of the parts being removed to show the construction of the remaining
parts, and the body of the vehicle being shown in dotted lines.
Figure 3 is a sectional elevation of the standard supporting the starting, steering
and other operating handles or levers.
Figure 4 is a vertical section through one of the screw-jącks for raising the
carriage-body to permit access to the machinery.
Figures 5 and 6 are side elevations showing details of construction.
A is the frame or under-carriage for the support of all the machinery, including
the levers or handles for operating the same, the tanks and also the fuel and other
necessary materials for the propulsion of the car. This frame A is mounted upon
rear wheels B, and fore-carriage wheels C, being by preference supported upon the
axle B' of the rear wheels through the medium of cushions 132, Figure 5, of india-
rubber or other resilient material, and upon the axle (" of the front wheels through
the medium of carriage-springs (”, Figure 6, secured to the said axle and to the
frame A.
The front axle C¹ is made in three parts, the two outer parts, on which the
wheels C revolve, forming arms of bell-crank-levers which are pivoted at C to
the middle part of the axle C³. The other arms of these bell-crank-levers are
pivotally connected to a coupling bar or link D, through which the wheels C can
be simultaneously turned about the pivots C for steering purposes in the manner
hereinafter described.
We prefer to arrange between the carriage-body and the axles B¹, C', of the
wheels, carriage-springs E the upper and lower parts of which are connected by
readily removable pins or bolts so as to facilitate the connection of the carriage-
body to the axles, and its disconnection therefrom, when necessary, to permit the
raising of the said body to uncover the mechanism. The said springs may, how-
ever, be otherwise suitably constructed and arranged for this purpose.
We find it advantageous to provide the aforesaid separate framework A with
screw-jacks F, or with hydraulic-jacks or other suitable devices, whereby the
vehicle-body, when disconnected from the axles, may be easily raised and lowered.
The said screw-jacks Fare preferably situated at the four corners of the frame A
as shown and arranged to be operated simultaneously. They may be operated,
for example, by means of a crank-handle fitting on the spindle a of a wheel a
around which is wound a chain 6; this chain is also passed around nut-pulleys c in
which work vertical screw-threaded rods or tubes d of the screw-jacks F, as more
clearly shown in Figure 4. Suitable springs are, by preference, arranged between
the upper ends of these rods and the carriage-body. The screw-jack shown in
Figure 4 is constructed with an inner screw-threaded rode working in a nut in
the upper end of the outer screw-threaded rod or tube d, so that the inner rods e of
the several screw-jacks can be moved upward to the proper height for supporting the
carriage-body in its correct position, and the outer rods or tubes d can then be
operated simultaneously to raise or lower the said carriage-body. When hydraulic-
jacks are employed they are preferably connected by suitable pipes with a single
hydraulic pump worked by hand or otherwise.

page_text: When a condenser G is employed, we sometimes attach the same at its front end
by means of straps or the like to the forward axle C¹ and connect it at its rear
end by means of swinging bars or links to the framework A that carries the
machinery, in such a manner that the condenser will be inclined upwardly from its
rear end towards its forward end, and is free to turn about the lower pivots at its
rear end. By this arrangement, while the vehicle is travelling, the vibration or
jolting of the forward axle due to inequalities of the road will cause a sort of
fanning or punkah-motion to be imparted to the condenser about its pivots at the
rear end. A continuous change or circulation of the air around and through the
spaces between the condenser-tubes will thus be maintained in a vertical direction,
in addition to the movement of the air in a horizontal direction by the wind or by
the current due to the motion of the vehicle. The slope or rake given to the con-
denser by the above-described method of support also assists the draining of the
condensed water back to the hot-well.
The several operating rods and handles or levers and also, if desired, any pressure
or other gauges, indicators or the like that may be required, are mounted in any con-
venient manner upon a hollow or tubular upright or standard H which is rigidly
secured at its lower end to the said framework A and which extends upward through.
a suitable opening in the vehicle-body.
We find it advantageous to construct and arrange the parts as follows, viz:
For steering the vehicle, a crank or hand-lever is fixed upon a vertical rod or
spindle J which extends through the interior of the said upright or standard H
and is supported in suitable bearings. The lower end of this rod or spindle J.
is connected through the medium of a pinion J and rack J³ with a bell-crank-
lever J, which is coupled, through the bar D, to the bell-crank-levers C³ for turn-
ing the front wheels about the vertical axes C for the purpose of steering the
vehicle. The rack J is supported and kept in engagement with the pinion J³.
by means of a guide-wheel K³ running freely upon a spindle K¹ which serves for
starting and stopping the vehicle, and also, if desired, for applying the brake.
This vertical rod or spindle K is mounted in suitable bearings or brackets H' on
one side of the upright or standard H, and has fixed on its upper end a hand-lever K.
It is connected in any convenient manner at its lower end with the device or
devices for operating or controlling the engine or motor, and also, if desired, the
brake; for example, a lever-arm K³ fixed on the lower end of the spindle K¹ is
connected through a rod L' with a valve in the casing L, which valve is arranged
so that it can be operated to admit steam to the engine or motor or to shut the
same off, and then, by turning it further in the same direction, it can be made to
admit steam to a steam brake-cylinder M.
On another side of the said upright or standard H is mounted in suitable bear-
ings or brackets H³, a rod or spindle N¹ provided at its upper end with a hand-
lever N, and suitably connected at its lower end with the reversing-gear of the
engine or motor. When slide-link-motion, for example, is used for reversing the
action of a distributing slide-valve, we employ a lever P which is pivoted at PL
and is suitably connected with the slide-link Q, and one arm of which is formed
with a toothed quadrant or segment P². This toothed segment is geared with an
endless screw or worm N2 of coarse or rapid pitch, which is fixed on the lower end of
the rod or spindle N¹.
We sometimes mount upon the top of the said upright or standard H, a circular
or other box or case R provided with a removable glazed cover, and in which we
enclose a pressure-gauge, a vacuum-gauge, a clock, and a speed-indicator or the
like, the pipes or other connections required for the same extending through the
interior or down the side of the said upright or standard.
The opening in the vehicle-body around the said upright or standard is made of
such size that the vehicle-body can be raised and lowered without coming into
contact with the said standard. If necessary or desirable we provide hinged flaps
or removable pieces at opposite sides of the said opening to permit of the vehicle-
body being completely lifted off and removed from the aforesaid framework.

page_text: We find it advantageous to make our motor-car with two seats one in rear of
and at a higher elevation than the other, so that the occupant or occupants of the
back seat can see over the heads of the occupant or occupants of the front seat.
In some instances we also provide a single seat or dicky behind the car.
We do not confine ourselves to the use of any particular kind of engine or motor,
nor to the employment of any special construction of stopping and starting-gear,
brake-gear or reversing-gear, as it is evident that our improvements are applicable
to motor-cars with various kinds of engines or motors and controlling mechanisms.
It is obvious also that the construction of the vehicle can be somewhat modified
without departing from the nature of our said invention.
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:-
First. A motor-car or self-propelled vehicle in which the motor-machinery is
supported by a framework or under-carriage resting upon the axles independently
of the body of the vehicle, which is supported through the medium of suitable
springs upon the said framework or under-carriage or upon the axles, substantially
as hereinbefore described and for the purposes specified.
Second. A. motor-car or self-propelled vehicle in which the carriage-body is sup-
ported upon the axles through the medium of springs and independently of the
motor-machinery, and is adapted to be raised to permit access to the said machinery
for chaming or repairs, substantially as hesitate de scribed.
Third. The use, in combination with a carriage-buy supported on the males inde-
pendently of the motor-machinery, of supporting springs the upper and lower parts
of which can be readily disconnected or disengaged, and screw-jacks, hydraulic-
jacks or the like, for raising the carriage-body relatively to the said machinery,
substantially as, and for the purposes, above specified.
Fourth. An atmospheric condenser for a motor-car or self-propelled vehicle,
having one of its ends connected directly to the front axle and its other end
pivotally attached to or slung from the frame or under-carriage in such a manner
that its rear end is at a lower level than its front end and it is tree to turn about its
rear pivots, thus facilitating the draining of the said condenser and providing for
an increased circulation of air around the condenser-tubes, substantially as here-
inbetore described.
Fifth. The mounting of the various steering, controlling and other operating or
indicating devices, within or upon an upright or standard supported upon the
axles independently of the carriage-body, substantially as, and for the purposes,
above specified.
Sixth. A motor-car or self-propelled vehicle wherein the motor-machinery and
the carriage-body are independently mounted upon the axles of the wheels,
and the said machinery is contained in a space enclosed by the said carriage-body
and the condenser, substantially as, and for the purposes, above specified.
Seventh. The improved motor-car or self-propelled vehicle constructed substan-
tially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings and operating as,
and for the purposes, above specified.