IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING AND STEERING CARRIAGES AND ALSO PLOUGHS, AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS
Year: 1861

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Hodson at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 14th March
1861.
I, WILLIAM HODSON, of Kingston Square, Hull, do hereby declare the
nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PROPELLING AND STEERING
CARRIAGES AND ALSO PLOUGHS, AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS," to be
as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in propelling and steering
carriages, and also ploughs and other agricultural implements. For this
purpose the carriage or other article to be propelled is furnished with feet on
the lower ends of inclined rods, which feet are alternately pressed down on to
the ground, and the carriage is thus forced forwards; the weight of the
carriage being by preference carried by two road wheels running on axles
connected by springs to the carriage. The rods carrying the feet are carried
by an inclined frame, the upper end of which turns on pins carried by the
framing of the carriage; the frame inclines downwards towards the back of
the carriage, and its lower end is kept a short distance above the ground by
the lower part of the frame resting on stops on the framing of the carriage;
the frame, together with all the feet carried by it, is thus free to rise should
any of the feet come in contact with any projection from the ground; the
frame carries a number of cylinders, there being as many cylinders as there
are rods having feet at their lower ends; through each of these cylinders one
of the rods passes, and on each rod there is a piston working in the cylinder ;
on the upper end of each of the rods is a crosshead, which works in guides

page_text: also carried by the frame; each crosshead is by a connecting rod connected
with a crank, all the cranks being on the same axis, and the cranks are so
arranged around the axis that the feet shall be pressed alternately on the
ground. On the crank axis is a fly wheel capable of turning freely around
the axis; the boss of the fly wheel also carries a toothed wheel, which gears
with a pinion carried by the framing of the carriage; on the axis of the
pinion is a toothed wheel gearing with a smaller toothed wheel fixed on the
crank axis, by this means when the fly wheel is turned the crank axis will be
caused to turn also, but at an increased speed; motion may be given to the fly
wheel either by hand or by the feet, or by steam or other power. The carriage
is also provided with a similar arrangement of apparatus to that above
described for propelling the carriage backwards; the rods of this second appa-
ratus, which carry the feet, inclining downwards to the front instead of to the
back of the carriage.
Motion is communicated to this apparatus from the same fly wheel which
gives motion to the first set of apparatus, and when this second apparatus is
put in motion to propel the carriage backwards, the apparatus for propelling
the carriage forwards is put out of action. The carriage is by preference
steered by two locking wheels in front of the carriage, and the locking wheels
are turned to one side or the other by a horizontal bevilled toothed wheel on
the vertical axis on which the wheels turn; into this wheel a bevil pinion
works, and on the axis of this pinion are a number of radial foot boards, in
order that the carriage may be steered by turning the axis in one or other
direction by the feet. The carriage may also be steered by one wheel in the
front turning upon a swivel, and having a cross bar upon the top with two rods
leading from each end to the feet of the driver. The rods which carry the
propelling feet can be furnished with wheels at the lower ends to avoid their
trailing upon the ground when the cylinders above described are not used.
One or more fly wheels may be placed upon the centre shaft, and thus double
the power of driving when more than two are required to ride. These driving
wheels have rims placed on each side, so as not to allow the spokes to
interfere with the driver's hands when running. Steps may also be placed
upon the periphery of these driving wheel or wheels, and thus work by the
feet, if required.