CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PUBLIC CARRIAGES FOR THE CONVEYANCE OF PASSENGERS
Year: 1851

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPHI
BUNNETT, of Deptford, in the County of Kent, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-third day of
January, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, in the fourteenth year of
Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Joseph Bunnett, my exors, adñors, and assigns, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege, and authority, that I, the said Joseph Bunnett, my
exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Joseph Bunnett, my
exors, adiñors, or 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,
Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN PUBLIC CARRIAGES FOR THE CONVEYANCE OF PASSENGERS ;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said Joseph
Bunnett, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
eing thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph Bunnett, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being had to
the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
My improvements in public carriages for the conveyance of passengers
consists,―
Firstly, in the arrangement of the inside and outside seats of omnibuses
with a view to the greater convenience and protection of the passengers, and
to make the outside seats more easily accessible.
Secondly, in the application of leather for the bearing parts of the axle
boxes of omnibus and other carriage wheels.
Thirdly, in a mode of compensating for the wear, and preventing or lessening
lateral motion in the axle bearings of railway carriage wheels.
My first improvement in the arrangement of the seats of omnibuses is shewn
at Figures 1, 2, and 3, Figure 1 being a side elevation of an omnibus con-
structed agreeably to one of my said improvements to carry ten outside and
twelve inside passengers. Figure 2 is a plan of the roof showing the arrange-
ment of the outside seats, which comprise-four seats in front beside the driver,
as usual, and two curved seats for three passengers on each immediately
behind the former, access to which is easily obtained by the steps a, b, c, d.
Figure.3 is a plan of the twelve inside seats. Figures 4, 5, and 6 shew
another improved mode of arranging the outside seats so as to conveniently
accommodate ten outside passengers, four seats being placed in front, as usual,
and six seats, three on each side, between the front and hind wheels, to which
access is obtained by the steps e, f, g, h, between suitable guards i, i. The
twelve inside seats are disposed in the usual manner.
Figures 7, 8, 9, and 10 shew another of my improved arrangements, in
which four outside seats are placed in front-beside the driver as usual, and six
outside seats at the hinder part of the omnibus, three on each side, easy of
access by the steps k, l, m, n, guarded by the handrails A, A. Figure 7 is a
side elevation of this omnibus; Figure 8, a plan of the roof; Figure 9, a plan
of the inside seats, and Figure 10 an end elevation, shewn partly in section.
The centre of the roof is shewn as raised, to afförd head-room for the inside
passengers when entering or quitting the vehicle, and a hand rail is carried
along each side to hold on by. The sides and ends of the raised portions of
the roof are fitted with wood or glass louvres, or other ventilators capable of
being adjusted, so as to regulate the quantity of air passing through, according

page_text: to the requirements of the season. The additional seats for the outside pas-
sengers are in each of these cases obtained by slightly recessing or cutting into
the upper part of the sides and roof of the omnibus (as shewn at Figures 3
and 10, and by the dotted lines in Figures 6 and 9,) in such a manner as not
to interfere with the comfortably seating of the required number of inside
passengers. In the end section; Figure 10, B shows one of the guards, which
is also shewn detaclied and upon a larger scale at Figures 11 and 12, Figure 11
being a side elevation, and Figure 12 a plaii thereof. This guard consists of
à light metal frame, fitted up with a perforated zinc or other panel, hinged to
the side of the omnibus at E, E, ivhile a curved rail comes down in front of
the seat, and terminates in an eye f, which slidės backward and forward upon
a short rod or spindle G, affixed to the front of the seat, so as to give suffi-
cient play to accommodate passengers of different sizes, the full limit of sixteen
inches (at the least), as required by Act of Parliament, being allowed for each
passenger. P is a pad for the arms. The omnibüs is divided by these guards
into the exact number of sittings for which it is licensed, thereby preventing
overcrowding or undue encroachment upon the appointed spaces, and effec-
tually preventing robbery by cutting off the communication between each pas-
senger. Note. I do not confine myself to the exact number of seats, nor to
the precise arrangements herein shewn, as many of the details admit of being
varied according to circumstances, without prejudice to the character of iny
Invention.
What I claim as new, and of my Invention, under the first head of my
improvements in public carriages is, the mode of providing additional and
easily accessible seats for outside passengers on omnibuses (without elevating
them above the roof) by slightly recessing or cutting into the sides and roof of
the vehicle, as herein-before described and shewn in the accompanying
Drawings, Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.
I also claim the use of guards or partitions for dividing the seats of omni-
buses, and separating the passengers from each other, in the manner and for
the purpose herein-before described, and shewn by Figures 10, 11, and 12.
My second improvement consists in the application of leather (which I prefer
to be prepared by immersion in melted tallów or other similar substances,
and by compression;) for the bearing surface of the axle boxes of omnibus
or other carriage wheels. Figure 18 is a longitudinal section of an axle box
and axle for a carriage: wheel, constructed agreeably to this my improvement.
As is the axle; B³ the axle box; L the linch pini nuts; M the external front
cap; Ñ a series of leather discs or washers connected together by sewing or
rivetting (having been previously soaked in tallow) and forcibly compressed intó

page_text: the recess formed in the axle box for their reception. Although I prefer to
use the leather edgeways, I do not confine myself to that mode of application
as it will answer nearly as well when used in the flat or in the form of a band
forcibly compressed, as is shewn in one of the bearings N°; O is a cavity in
the axle box for oil or grease by which the axle and leather, bearings are
lubricated. Figures 14 and 15 are longitudinal and end sections of the axle
and axle box of a railway carriage wheel, fitted with my improved leather
bearings. As is the axle; B the axle box; N³, N³, are a series of leathers
prepared by immersion in melted tallow and by compression, and connected
together by sewing or riveting, which encircle the upper part of the axle upon
which the bearing rests; 0, 0, are spaces for oil or grease which passes
down openings at p, p, to the axle; n, n, are leathers placed below the axle to
confine the grease and keep the axle steady under its bearings.
What I claim under this head of my improvements as new, and of my
Invention, is the application of leather (with or without being prepared by
immersion in melted tallow or other similar substances and by compression).
for the bearings of the axles of omnibus and other carriage wheels, as herein-
before described and shewn in Figures 13, 14, and 15.
My third improvement consists of a mode of compensating for the wear and
.preventing or lessening lateral motion in the axle bearings of railways carriages
wheels, and is shewn in Figures 14, 15, 16, and 17. P³, P; Figure 14-are
two segmental plates of metal inclined on their inner surfaces by which the
leathers N³, N³, are divided into two portions. Q is a metal wedge suspended
from the end of a screw R, which works through a tapped plate affixed to the
upper part of the axle box, or the screw R may be shouldered and the:
wedge Qmay be tapped. The wedge Q has a rib or feather q, q, on each side
which work in vertical grooves cut in the axle box so as to keep the wedge
always central. Whenever the outer ends of the leathers N³, N³, become
worn, and allow of lateral notion, the screw Ris to be turned, which raises the
wedge Q, and, forcing the plates P, P³, asunder, drives the leathers N³, N³, to
the ends of the axle, and end play is prevented. Figures 16 and 17 shew
another modification of this my improvement, in which the same effect is
produced by forcing down instead of raising up a wedge. Figure 16 is a
longitudinal section of a railway carriage axle and axle box, and Figure 17 an
end view of the same. A is the axle; B' the axle box; T; T, are bearing-
brasses formed in two parts, with inclined inner sides; Q is a metal wedge
placed between the bearing brasses T, T, and capable of being forced down by
the screw R. When the wearing of the brasses T, T, induces end shake or
lateral motion, the screw R² is to be turned which forces down the wedge Q³

page_text: and drives the brasses asunder, until they are in contact with the inner and
outer shoulders of the axle. Either of these methods of preventing end shake
may be applied to railway carriage axles, whether the bearings are of metal,
leather, or other material.
What I claim is the mode of adjusting the bearings of railway carriage
axles (whether of metal or other material) by means of a wedge interposed
between them and acted upon by a screw or other mechanical power for the
prevention or lessening of lateral motion, as herein-before described and shewn
by Figures 14, 15, 16, and 17.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Bunnett, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-one.