IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEELS AND APPARATUS OCNNECTED THEREWITH, CHIEFLY DESIGNED FOR FACILITATING THE MOVEMENT OF ROAD ENGINES AND OTHER HEAVY VEHICLES
Year: 1872

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Frederic George Marchant at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 9th July 1872.
I, FREDERIC GEORGE MARCHANT, of North Street, Wandsworth, in
the County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEELS AND APPARATUS OCNNECTED THEREWITH,
CHIEFLY DESIGNED FOR FACILITATING THE MOVEMENT OF ROAD ENGINES AND OTHER
HEAVY VEHICLES," to be as follows:-
My said Invention relates to apparatus which when attached to the
vehicle, as herein-after set forth, forms a very convenient and efficient
portable railway, whereon the said vehicle may always travel casily and
smoothly no matter what may be the quality or condition of the road or
ground.
In practising my said Invention I place on a suitable axle two large
wheels with broad tires. Below the said axle I place another axle which
carries two small wheels constructed and arranged to run upon the inner
surface of the tires of the large wheels, the latter forming the railway or
surface upon which the vehicle is supported and travels.
My Invention consists partly in the peculiar construction of the said
wheels, and partly in the contrivances whereby the axle of the small

page_text: wheels is so connected with the other axle that no part of the weight
of the vehicle is borne by the upper axle.
The aforesaid large wheels may be constructed with either discs or
spokes to connect the tire to the hub. The said tire is made of Bessemer
steel, plate iron, or other suitable metal, and the whole of its projecting
part is on the inner side of the discs or spokes. I make the said tire of
considerable thickness and bevel or chamfer its outer edge so that the
inner surface on which the small wheel runs is narrower than the outer
surface of the said wheel. The small wheel is also bevelled or chamfered
on either one or both edges to reduce the width of its working surface,
and thereby diminish the friction.
The axle of these small wheels is secured to the lower ends of strong
double cheeks, which extend upward and enclose the upper axle to
which they are closely fitted, but with a capability of vertical movement
thereon. The said checks are secured together at the top by strong caps,
and they are braced between the axles by bolts passed through them.
A clear space is left within these checks between the top of the upper
axle and the caps.
The vehicle may rest and be secured upon the top of these cheeks or
directly upon the lower axle, and it may be attached to either part with
or without springs. The weight in any case is borne entirely by the
said axle, the upper axle merely serving as a means for connecting the
large wheels to the lower axle, and keeping them in their proper position.
When the vehicle is drawn forward the said large wheels will turn upon
their axle, and the small wheels will run upon the tires of the said large
wheels, which thus form a continuous track or way whereon the vehicle
may travel with but little friction over any kind of road or other
ground.
To prevent the obstruction of the wheels by stones or other materials
that may be caught up by the tires of the large wheels I provide the
cheeks with clearers or sweepers which project over the said tires just in
front of the small wheels, their ends lying in the proper position to
remove from the tire any stones or other materials which might other-
wise pass under the small wheels.