IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEELED VEHICLES FOR RAILS AND FOR COMMON ROADS to be as follows:
Year: 1885

page_text: I THOMAS EDWARD KNIGHTLEY of 106 Cannon Street in the City of London
Surveyor, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
WHEELED VEHICLES FOR RAILS AND FOR COMMON ROADS to be as follows:-
"
My Invention relates to vehicles intended to be run on rails only or on common
roads only or on both rails and common roads.
to it.
I support the vehicle on pairs of wheels mounted on axles, each axle being
capable of locking or pivotting round a central vertical axis and the axles I couple
together by crossed rods or otherwise in such manner that when the vehicle is
passing round a curve the axles are made to radiate from the centre of the curve.
Any number of axles may be thus connected two only of them being pivotted to
the vehicle. All the axles are controlled radially and the rolling position for each
wheel is maintained tangential to the curve. The control of the front axle I effect
by its connection with a bar which I call an adjusting bar which is pivotted in the
same manner as the axle but in rear of it and is always parallel or nearly parallel
The axle and adjusting bar are connected by an adjusting rod or link one
end of which is attached to the axle or bar at a fixed distance from its pivot and
the other end of the adjusting link may be attached at a variable distance from the
pivot of the bar or axle so that the angular motion imparted to the axle may be
greater or less than that of the adjusting bar. The adjusting bar is connected
rigidly by a frame or otherwise to a shaped bar which I call the traversing bar in
front of the vehicle; this bar is shaped to part of a circle (of which the pivot of
the adjusting bar is the centre) and which can be made to traverse the width of
On the traversing bar are fixed lugs eyes or hooks for
attaching horses or other tractive power and prefer to attach a pole or shaft as
may be required which in the case of a tram car or other reversible vehicle may be
attached at either end forming the front.
the front of the vehicle.
The front of the traversing bar is pressed against a similarly curved bar fixed
under or in front of the vehicle and extending its whole width and I sometimes as
in the case of a tram car shape the front of vehicles to the same curve.
In the case of a vehicle intended for use on both rails and on common roads in
addition to using a pair of wheels at each end as above described I support the car
or vehicle at the middle of its length on a pair of wheels of large diameter each

page_text: mounted on a short fixed axle carried in bearings which can play up and down in
guides. A fork embracing the wheel and carried vertically upwards from its axle
may conveniently be used to carry the weight of the vehicle. Any convenient
spring may be used but I prefer to use a flat bladed steel spring of one or more
plates as generally used for carriages. The middle of this spring which is placed
over the wheel is attached to and bears on the fork and from the ends of the spring
depend links or rods the lower ends of which are screwed and fitted with nuts. The
screwed ends of the rods are passed through lugs or eyes fixed to the side of the
vehicle and by means of the nuts may be made to sustain any proportion of the
weight of the vehicle.
In the case of a vehicle to run both on rails and also on common roads I prefer
to use wheels constructed as described in the Specification of my former Patent
dated the 25th day of July 1884 N° 10602 and for the larger wheels I prefer to use
wooden spokes, and in place of the ordinary wooden felloes I employ a metal rim
with yielding sockets to fit close on to the ends of the spokes and to follow any
shrinkage which may take place in them, such wheels being otherwise constructed
as described in the Specification of my former Patent dated the 22nd day of
August 1884 N° 11,550.

page_text: I THOMAS EDWARD KNIGHTLEY of 106 Cannon Street in the City of London
Surveyor do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
My invention relates to vehicles intended to be run on rails only or on common
roads only or on both rails and common roads.
I support the vehicle on pairs of wheels mounted on axles, each axle being
capable of locking or pivotting round a central vertical axis and the axles I couple
together by crossed rods or otherwise in such manner that when the vehicle is
passing round a curve, the axles are made to radiate from the centre of the curve.
Any number of axles may be thus connected two only of them being pivotted to
the vehicle. All the axles are controlled radially and the rolling position for each
wheel is maintained tangential to the curve. The control of the front axle I effect
by its connection with a bar which I call an adjusting bar which is pivotted in the
same manner as the axle but in rear of it and is always parallel or nearly parallel
to it. The axle and adjusting bar are connected by an adjusting rod or link one
end of which is attached to the axle or bar at a fixed distance from its pivot and
the other end of the adjusting link may be attached at a variable distance from
the pivot of the bar or axle so that the angular motion imparted to the axle may
be greater or less than that of the adjusting bar. The adjusting bar is connected
rigidly by a frame or otherwise to a shaped bar which I call the traversing bar in
front of the vehicle; this bar is shaped to part of a circle (of which the pivot of the
adjusting bar is the centre) and which can be made to traverse the width of the
front of the vehicle. On the traversing bar are fixed lugs eyes or hooks for
attaching horses or other tractive power and I prefer to attach a pole or shaft as
may be required which in the case of a tram car or other reversible vehicle may be
attached at either end forming the front.
The front of the traversing bar is pressed against a similarly curved bar fixed
under or in front of the vehicle and extending its whole width and I sometimes as
in the case of a tram car shape the front of vehicles to the same curve.
In the case of a vehicle intended for use on both rails and on common roads in
addition to using a pair of wheels at each end as above described I support the car
or vehicle at the middle of its length on a pair of wheels of large diameter each
mounted on a short fixed axle carried in bearings which can play up and down in
guides. A fork embracing the wheel and carried vertically upwards from its axle
may conveniently be used to carry the weight of the vehicle. Any convenient
spring may be used but I prefer to use a flat bladed steel spring of one or more
plates as generally used for carriages. The middle of this spring which is placed
over the wheel is attached to and bears on the fork and from the ends of the spring
depend links or rods the lower ends of which are screwed and fitted with nuts.
The screwed ends of the rods are passed through lugs or eyes fixed to the side of
the vehicle and by means of the nuts may be made to sustain any proportion of the
weight of the vehicle.

page_text: In order that my said invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect I will proceed to describe the drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side elevation.
Figure 2 is an underside view of a tram car constructed in accordance with my
invention.
a a are wheels running on the tram rails, they are mounted on axles a¹ a¹ which
are pivotted at a¹x beneath the body of the vehicle. b bare crossed rods connecting
the axles a' in such manner as to cause them when inclining to do so equally and
in opposite directions so that they may be set themselves radially to a curve round
which the vehicle is passing.
cc are the adjusting bars or levers; these are pivotted beneath the bottom of
the body of the vehicle at c c. d d are the adjusting rods or links which connect
the axles a¹ with the adjusting bars or levers c.
ee are the traversing bars connected with the adjusting bars or levers and
supported by the curved bars f and f fixed to the base frame or side of the body of
the vehicle. h is the pole fixed to the traversing bar and ii are the whipple trees
for the attachment of the horses.
The body of the vehicle is further supported centrally by a pair of large wheels kk
which do not run on the tram rails.
The short axles of the wheels are carried in bearings at the lower ends of
forks and these bearings are able to slide in guides m m. The stems of the
forks abut upon blade springs o and these at their ends are secured to rods p p
which pass through eyes on the sides of the vehicle and are secured by nuts at their
lower ends. qq are levers provided for lifting the wheels when required.
In the case of a vehicle to run both on rails and also on common roads I prefer to
use wheels constructed as described in the specification of my former patent dated
the 25th day of July 1884 N° 10602 and for the larger wheels I prefer to use
wooden spokes, and in place of the ordinary wooden felloes I employ a metal rim
with yielding sockets to fit close on to the ends of the spokes and to follow any
shrinkage which may take place in them.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
(1.) The combination substantially as described of wheels a, radiating axles a¹
adjusting bar c and traversing frames e to which the horses are attached.
(2.) In combination with the above the large wheels kk supporting the body of
the vehicle centrally substantially as described.
(3.) Wheeled vehicles substantially as described and represented in the annexed
drawings.
Dated this 19th day of February 1886