IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH CARRIAGES
Year: 1878

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alexander Melville Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th January 1878. A communi-
cation from abroad by Emile Baudonnat, of Paris, France.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent. " IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH CARRIAGES."
communication from abroad by Emile Baudonnat, of Paris, France.]
This Invention relates to improvements in carriages.
[A
Carriages have hitherto been constructed with wood bodies or panels, which are
objectionable on account of their liability to rattle, to be split by atmospheric changes,
to break easily, and to warp and shrink if the wood of which they are made is
insufficiently seasoned, and also by reason that the wood absorbs the oil in the
varnish or paint, which thus becomes liable to blister under the heat of the sun.
The wood frames of carriage windows, besides having the above objections, are
also liable to rapid decay, the moisture they receive from the glass causing the frames
to swell and stick in the grooves, and also to shrink when dry, which causes them to
rattle and necessitates frequent repairs. The pieces of which these wooden panels
and window frames are made are glued together, and the glue is liable to be softened
by moisture, more especially where exposed by any defect in the paint or varnish.
The paints and varnishes also hitherto employed in coach painting are very liable
to crack and blister, and require that the surface of the wood should be previously
prepared in order to fill up the pores, and prevent the oil being absorbed, which
renders the paint or varnish brittle.
The object of the present Invention is to avoid the objections above enumerated
by the improvements hereafter described.
I make the panels of hard caoutchouc or caoutchouc composition in lieu of wood,
as panels of these materials are not liable to break or to cause the paint to crack,
do not produce any noise when under vibration, may be readily fitted in position
in a finished state, and are more durable than panels of wood.
I also make the window frames of hard caoutchouc or caoutchouc composition,
the use of window frames of this material presenting the same advantages as in
the case of the panels, besides which they are not liable to be affected by changes of
[Price 2dl

page_text: temperature, and may thus be made of such dimensions as to always slide freely in
their grooves without sticking, and yet with sufficient friction to avoid rattling.
I also substitute for the glue ordinarily used in carriage building a glue or cement
whose composition may be varied, but having invariably a base of gutta percha,
whereby the objections attending the use of ordinary glue are avoided.
In the case of carriages already made, or where it is not desired to substitute hard
india-rubber panels for wood, I apply upon the wood panels or frames a thin sheet of
gutta percha, or of composition having a base of gutta percha.
Lastly, I substitute for the paints and varnishes ordinarily employed an oil
varnish, having a base of gutta percha, which may be applied either directly to
the panels and other wood and iron work, or upon the gutta percha covering of the
wood.