A NEW OR IMPROVED LCONION DE MANRAY LAROID
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Harvey Charsley, of Beaconsfield, in the
County of Buckingham, for the Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED
LCONION DE MANRAY LAROID"
Sealed the 15th February 1870, and dated the 17th August 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Harvey Charsley
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 17th August 1869.
I, ROBERT HARVEY CHARSLEY, of Beaconsfield, in the County of
Buckingham, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for
"A NEW OR IMPROVED CARRIAGE FOR LOCOMOTION BY MANUAL LABOUR," to be as
follows:-
.This Invention consists in the construction of a carriage for self-pro-
pulsion by manual labour, the frame or body of which carriage is sup-
ported or borne on three wheels, two of which wheels are driving wheels
and precede the third or guiding wheel. The carriage is propelled by the
action of the hands on two cranks on the common axis of the two driving
wheels. These wheels (each with its crank) are independent of each

page_text: other or free to rotate separately, but both work in a loose socket placed
in the centre between them. This independence allows of the action of
the guiding wheel, which turns in a vertical socket like that of a bath
chair.
The position of the driver is as follows:-His seat is placed upon a
frame suspended by vertical rods or upright pieces from the axle of the
driving wheels; his legs pass beneath the axle and between the two
cranks, and are kept in a state of tension, as in rowing, by means of a
stretcher, which stretcher is also carried by the frame; his back rests
against a pad attached to the guiding handle, and by alternately inclining
the body to the right or the left as may be required the said wheel turns
to an extent in its vertical socket, and the guidance of the carriage is
thereby effected.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert Harvey Charsley in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 17th February 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
HARVEY CHARSLEY, of Beaconsfield, in the County of Buckingham,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent bearing date the Seventeenth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-second
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said Robert Harvey Charsley, Her special licence that
I, the said Robert Harvey Charsley, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert Harvey Charsley, my exc-
cutors, 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 "A NEW OR IMPROVED
CARRIAGE FOR LOCOMOTION BY MANUAL LABOUR," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Robert Harvey Charsley, my executors or

page_text: administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain 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..
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the. said Robert Harvey Charsley, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the Sheet of
Drawings accompanying this Specification, and to the figures and letters
of reference marked thereupon.
This Invention consists in the construction of a carriage for self-
propulsion by manual labour.
axle. Each wheel has a
can be made to rotate
The method of securing
In carrying out this Invention I provide and use three wheels, two of
which will hereafter be termed driving wheels, and the third the guide
or steering wheel. The two driving wheels precede the guide wheel, and
between these the body of the carriage is suspended in the manner
following, that is to say, the driving wheels are connected by an axle,.
which is divided in the centre between them. The wheels are keyed or
otherwise made fast at the extremities of this
crank on its portion of the axle, and thus
separately by applying the hand to its crank.
this independence of action to the driving wheels is as follows:-The
axle is divided as aforesaid in the middle; one part terminates in a spindle,
the other is drilled out to form a socket, in which this spindle may
revolve (see A, Figure II.). A nut is screwed on the end of the spindle;
the nut is provided with a washer. The guide wheel (which is like the
guide wheel of a bath chair) supports the back of the carriage on a
vertical spindle (see A, Figure I. and Figure III.), which spindle rotates
in a vertical socket connected with the body of the carriage. To the top
of this spindle is attached a handle like the tiller of a boat, with a pad
at its extremity (see B, Figures I. and II.), against which pad the back
of the driver presses. By a slight movement of the back any ordinary
deflection of the carriage is effected. When a sharp corner. is to be
turned a hand must be employed to perform the ordinary work of the

page_text: back. The tiller or handle B is kept in its place by two elastic bands
(see C, C, Figure II.), which prevent the guide wheel from turning
suddenly round through a large angle if the back of the driver should
leave the pad. The body of the carriage is suspended from the vertical
spindle aforesaid (A, Figures I. and III.) and from two bearings on the
axle of the driving wheels, see D, D, Figure II., and A, Figure IV.),
which bearings are situated as close as possible to the driving wheels,
that is to say, one to each wheel. The seat (C, Figure I., and E,
Figure II.) is supported on two springs (F, F, Figure II., and D, Figure I.)
which are attached to the back frame of the carriage (see E, Figure I).
The position of the driver is as follows:-His seat is behind the axle
of the driving wheels and below the level of this axle; his legs pass
beneath this axle and between the two cranks, while his feet rest against
a stretcher, as in rowing; his back presses against the pad, and his hands
are thus in a position to grasp the handles of the two cranks, either one
or both at pleasure. Hence the motion of the carriage. If a forward
motion is required the cranks must be turned accordingly, if a backward
motion their action must be reversed.
Having particularly described my Invention and the manner in which
it is to be performed, I wish it to be distinctly understood that I do
not confine or limit myself to the precise details herein set forth, as
the same may be variously modified and adapted without departing from
the distinguishing features of my Invention, with reference to which
I claim,―
First. The general combination and arrangement of parts constituting
my new or improved carriage for locomotion by manual labour.
Second. The particular arrangement of the driving wheels and their
crank axles in my carriage in such manner that each wheel can be
caused to rotate separately when required.
Third. The construction of the frame or body of the carriage in such
manner that the seat of the driver is suspended from the axle of the
driving wheels, and his legs passing beneath the axle press against a
stretcher, as in rowing.
Fourth. The peculiar mode of guiding by means of the back of the
driver pressing on a pad attached to the handle of the steering wheel.

page_text: And, lastly. The machine as described and all combinations and
modifications thereof for facilitating locomotion by manual labour.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Harvey Charsley, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of February,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
seventy.
ROBERT HARVEY CHARSLEY. (L.S.)