IMPROVEMENTS IN DRAGS OR BREAKS TO BE APPLIED TO THE WHEELS OF CARRIAGES GENERALLY
Year: 1842

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, CHARLES
THATCHER, of Midsomer Norton, in the County of Somerset, Brewer, and
THOMAS THATCHER, of Kilmersdon, in the said County, Builder, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Thirty-first day of August, in the fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Charles Thatcher and Thomas Thatcher, Her especial licence, full power, sole
privilege and authority, that we, the said Charles Thatcher and Thomas
Thatcher, our exors, admors, or assigns, or such others as we, the said
Charles Thatcher and Thomas Thatcher, our exors, adñors, and 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 and Wales and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in the Islands of Jersey, Alderney, Guernsey, Sark,
and Man, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, our
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN DRAGS OR BREAKS TO BE APPLIED TO THE
WHEELS OF CARRIAGES GENERALLY;" in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso that we, the said Charles Thatcher and Thomas
Thatcher, or one of us, shall cause a particular description of the Oature
of our 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

page_text: recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had,
will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Charles Thatcher and Thomas Thatcher, do hereby declare the nature of our
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof,
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and
figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
Our Invention relates to the application of drags or breaks to the wheels of
carriages for the purpose of retarding the progress of the vehicle when moving
down inclined planes or upon level ground, so that the horse may, by its own
natural effort in the act of holding back, bring the break into action, and the
attendant may either assist in producing the same effect or produce it independ-
ently of the action of the horse. The manner in which our said Invention is
to be performed consists in having certain levers and parts connected therewith
so arranged that one end of the system of the levers shall be in connection with
part of the harness, and with an arm convenient of access for the hand or foot
of the attendant, and the other end caused to bear against the periphery of the
stock of the wheel, as herein-after more fully described. And in order to
explain these improvements as completely as possible, we will proceed to
describe the arrangement of levers and parts connected therewith which we
consider well calculated for carrying out our said Invention, and which will be

page_text: the purpose of causing friction when brought into contact with the hoop f, f
fixed upon the end of the stock of the wheels g, g, the other end of the lever
being connected by a chain or rope h, h, passing over pullies i, i, and hook k,
and over pullies 1, 1, fixed to the shafts of the chaise, and from thence to that
part of the harness called breeching at #, so as to connect the breeching with
the shafts at or near the point at which it is now connected, springs m, m,
being fixed at n to relieve the pressure of the levers against the stock when out
of action. In order that the driver may have the control of the break, and
also relieve the pressure from the horse, a hooked piece o (Figures 4 and 6) is
passed over the levers e, e, and acted upon by pressure of the foot against the
lever P, which will have the effect of bringing the ends of the levers against
the periphery of the stock of the wheel, as shewn at Figure 6. It will appear
evident that in descending hills the weight of the chaise pressing against the
horse will cause the animal instinctively to resist such pressure, whereby that
part of the harness called the breeching, employed ordinarily for the particular
purpose of resisting the pressure of the carriage, will be acted upon, and being
connected at its end to chains or straps will bring the levers in the position
shewn by the red lines, Figure 1, when the T piece pressing against the stock
of the wheel will cause great friction and produce the effect of an ordinary
drag, with this decided advantage, that by this arrangement the break or drag.
is rendered self-acting, the necessity of stopping the carriage dispensed with,
and the danger of accidents arising from breaking or slipping of the drag in a
great measure obviated. In Figures 7 and 8 an arrangement is shewn,
whereby the driver can relieve the horse from the pressure of the breeching by
means of a handle q, formed upon one end of the lever s, the other end being
constructed with a hook, over which the chain or rope h passes. It will
appear evident, that by moving the handle q in the direction of the arrow's
flight, the chain or rope which is made fast to one end of each of the levers e, e,
will bring them into the position shewn by the red lines (and maintain them
in such position when necessary by inserting a pin r into a hole formed in the
shaft, as shewn), thereby slackening the rope or chain connected with the
breeching, and thus enabling the horse to walk down hill with perfect ease.
In Figures 9 and 10, A represents an ordinary coach pole, upon one end of
which a casting B is fixed. This casting is furnished with pullies C, C, over
which chains or ropes D, D, are passed, one end of each being attached to the.
horse's collar, and the other to a chain. E, extending along the under side of
the pole, and connected to the chains of cords passing over the ends of the
levers e, e, as in Figures 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7. And in order that the coachman
may have the control of the break, a bell-crank lever F is attached to the boot,

page_text: having, its fulcrum at G. One end of a cord or chain H is attached to the
short end of the lever F, and passing over a pulley I is connected at its other
end to a ring K. It will appear evident that in going down hill, the backing
of the wheel or hind horses will cause the chains or ropes to be pulled in the
direction of the arrow's flight, whence the necessary locking is effected, the
ordinary pole chain still being reserved in case of accident. When required to
use the break, in the event of the horses running away, the coachman has
only to press his foot against the bell-crank lever F; motion will be com-
municated from thence by the rope or chain H to the levers e, e, the T-shaped
ends of which will be brought into contact with the stock of the wheel, and
the progress of the. horses arrested.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be and may be performed, we wish it to be understood that we
do not claim the exclusive use of any of the several parts herein-before
described and represented, except so far as they may be employed in further-
ance of or in connection with our said Invention, which we declare to. consist
in the improvements in breaks to be applied to carriages, as herein-before
described, whereby the carriage may be retarded during its progress by a break
put into action by the natural effort of the horse, either with or without the
assistance of the driver.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Thatcher, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of February, One thousand eight