US650818A - Vehicle. - Google Patents

Description

l v .UNITED- STATE I PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES BUCHANAN, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

VEHICLE.

srnoIrIcArIoN forming part of Letters Patent no. 650,818, dated June 5, 1 960.

Application filed December 9, 1899. Serial No. 739,847. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES BUCHANAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at No. 1587 Fulton street, Brooklyn borough, New York city, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have made a new and useful Improvement in Vehicles and Similar Structuresthat is to say, my invention is applicable to wheeled vehicles of all kinds, also to cannon, ammunition-wagons, wheelbarrows, push-carts, and the likein fact, to any and all structures mounted upon rotary wheels or rollers-of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

- The characteristic feature of my invention consists in a peculiar construction of the apparatus whereby certain of the wheels are adapted to independent movement, and this construction is adapted to use in several ways, among them that in which a series of wheels (three or more) are mounted in a frame which is itself rotary, so that a result, which I denominate climbing, may be effected, as will be hereinafter explained, by which Ve hicle's -such as push-carts,wheelbarrows,cannon, ammunition-wagons, and the like'may be better adapted to pass over obstructions having considerable vertical height--for instance, in the case of push-carts or wheelbarrows mounting curbs or passing over beams or other obstructions and in the case of ammunition-wagons, &c., passing over ditches, stone walls, trunks of trees, and other obstructions, provided they be not too excessive. Referring to the drawings hereof, Figure 1 illustrates a plan view of one form of my invention as applied to an ordinary truck. Fig. 2' illustrates an elevation of that which is shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 illustrates a plan view of a truck embodying my invention in a somewhat more elaborated form. Fig. 4 illustrates an elevation of the invention as applied to a push-cart. Fig. 5 illustrates a detail, partly in section, of the form shown in Fig. i. Fig. 6 illustrates'a detail.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, A is the body of the truck; B, the front axle; C, the usual fifth-wheel; D, the usual front wheels; E E, the shafts. The rear wheels are supported upon a crossaxle F, upon which hubs G G are supported and have pivotal action on the axle.

H H are bars rigidly attached to the hubs and which extend to the front and rear thereof,

as shown. The front end is in the example shown considerably longer than the rear end, and at or near the extreme front portion of these bars are laterally-projecting studs I, which act as the axis'u'pon which-wheels J J rotate in the usual manner.

K K are braces extending, preferably, from the front portion of the bars H back to the axle, so as to give suitable rigidity to the bars H. Instead of these braces a cross-bar similar to an axle may pass directly through the side bars H near their ends and the wheels J J be supported thereon. This axle, however, would not sustain any part .of the load.

At the rear end of the side bars H (see Fig.

bars H by a vertical trunnion or axis N, and in each of these frames is pivoted a small wheel 0 upon a cross shaft or axis P. The front wheels D and these rear or caster wheels 0, as I will call them, are preferably made so small that they will readily turn under the body of the truck during its movement. on curves or when turning, 850.

In Fig. 3 I show an elaboration of'the idea V .7 2) there is a hinge-like joint resembling that of an ordinary caster-that is to say, frames 7 or forks M are pivoted to the rear ends of the disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2 that is to say, the

front wheels of the vehicle are made in all substantial respects the same as the rear wheels'shown in Fig.1, excepting that the axle'is pivoted to the fifth-wheel and has rotary movement upon it, and the shafts are attached to this axle. Also in this instance I omit the braces K, to indicate that they are not necessary under all circumstances. The other parts .are or may be identical'in' construction with that above described relative to the rear axle and its wheels in Fig. 1. In this case, however, the rear axle is provided with an intermediate set of caster-wheels, (marked Q.) They are pivoted to the side bars H, between the rear wheels 0' and the main or front wheels J, and the side bars are curved upwardly in this instance, (see Fig. 6,) so that this intermediate pair of casterwheels (marked Q) may swing under it and too the braces K during the operation of the vehicle.

The operation of the invention as thus far described is as follows: As the vehicle is propelled the front wheels, as shown in Fig. 1, operate as usual and the front pair of rear wheels (marked J operate as usual, excepting that because the axle is in rear of them these wheels have an up-and-down movement independent of the wagon, and the rear of the truck is supported partly upon the front wheels J and partly upon the rear or caster wheels 0, and the caster-wheels follow each its own course during the propulsion of the Vehicle, swinging to the right or left independent of each other, as the requirements of the road-bed or the direction in which the vehicle moves necessitate. Inasmuch as the axle is located half-way between these wheels, or substantially in that position, obviously the efieet upon the vehicle of obstructions or inequalities (depression or elevations) in the road-bed is reduced to approximately onehalf that which they would ordinarily have. For example, assume that the front wheels run over a brick. Their elevation would be two inches; but because the rearaxle engages with the framework II M half-way between the two wheels obviously the upward thrust on the vehicle would be but one inch.

The operation of the structure shown in Fig. 3 is the same in kind as that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, but to a greater degree that is to say, the above-stated operation pertains to the front axle with its four wheels, and in the ease of the rear axle the same effect is produced, excepting that a greater smoothness in the travel of the vehicle is attained, because many obstructions, particularly depressions in the road-bed, will be bridged entirely by the multiplication of the wheels, so that they will not be felt-that is to say, assume that the front wheels J encounter a depression in the roadwaya hole in asphalt pavement, for example. When this occurs, the weight of the vehicle will be carried by the two caster-wheels which are on that side, as in Fig. 3 the wheels Q and 0 will support the vehicle on that side, while the large or non-swinging wheel J is carried bodily over the depression in mid-air, and when it has reached the other side of the hole (which under ordinary circumstances it will do before the first caster-wheel'Q reaches the depression, because these holes in city pavements are usually of small area) then the weight will be taken in turn upon the wheel J and the wheel Q will pass over the depression or hole, the weight of the vehicle being supported upon the rearmost casterwheel 0' and the front large wheel J. \Vhen the rear wheel 0 encounters the depression, it may sink into it to a certain degree; but the weight of the other wheels will in most cases act as a counterbalance and partially, if not wholly, sustain the load, so that the jarring effect will be largely, if not entirely, done away with. In this way the movement of the vehicle with its load is rendered much more smooth and free from shock or jar than is ordinarily the case, and this result is so marked that in ordinary instances no springs will be needed. Thus although the presence of these wheels imposes an added expense nevertheless the saving in other respects is so great and the ease of movement of the vehicle so greatly increased that the net result is a decided gain.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5, in these views I illustrate the same invention-that is to say, the idea of a forward fixed wheel and a rear caster-wheel with an axle about midway between them so arranged and com bined with other parts that an action which I denominate climbing can be obtained, whereby obstaclessuch as a gutter or the like, or, with larger apparatus, a stone wall or similar obstruction-may be easily and quickly surmounted by a novel operation of the parts.

In Figs. 4 and 5 the invention is illustrated as applied to a push-cart; but obviously the same construction may be used in any vehiclesuch, for instance, as a dump-cart, ainmunition-wagon, cannon-carriage, wheelbarrow, the. In the event of wheelbarrows a single wheel-frame only will be required. It is also obvious that instead of having four wheels there may be three or anylarger number desired. In these figures, (t represents the body of the push-cart, b the handle, and c the usual front support. The wheels in the instance shown are four in number and designated (1. They are preferably much smaller than the ordinary push cart wheels-say about the size of the usual wheelbarrowwheel. They may, however, be larger or smaller. c is the central axle, upon which on each side of the cart there is a frame f, provided with the usual hub 9. At the extremities of the frame f are frames h, which are preferably bifurcated after the manner of a frame which supports an ordinary caster, and the wheels (I are supported within this frame upon axes i. The frames h are pivoted to the central frame f by bolt or pin connections which are headed at both ends or provided with nuts in such manner that the frames It can be pivoted upon these bolts relative to the central frame f in the same manner that the caster-wheels shown in the other drawings are pivoted relative to the main frames which support them, and in the same manner also as an ordinary furniturecaster pivots relative to its support. Adjacent to these axes k 70 are pins Z, set in recesses m, made partly within the frame It and partly within the frame f. These pins Z are smaller than the recesses m, so that they are free to move under the action of gravity through these recesses m.

The operation is obvious. Assume that the device he awheelbarrow and that the person using it encounters a curb which he wishesto pass. The front of the wheel (the part marked a: in Fig. will-strike against the curb, a slight pushing action on the handles of the wheelbarrow will cause the whole frame of wheels to rotate a quarter revolution upon the main axis 6, so that the axis i of the front wheel acts as a fulcrum upon which the entire frame works and the wheelbarrow itself pivots, and thereupon the upper right -hand wheel (see Fig. 4) will be brought down upon the sidewalk beyond the curb, and the wheel which first engaged with the curb will become the second instead of the first in contact with the ground. Because of the partial rotation of the framework and the consequent change of position in the wheels the-pin Z, which primarily was in the position shown .at the right in Fig. 5, in which it locked the caster frame or fork to the main central frame, now assumes the position shown at the left in Fig. 5, and under the action of gravity drops through the recess m quite to the lower end of it, so that it passes entirely beyond that portion of the recess which is in the central frame f. \Vhen in this position, obviously the rear wheel, as shown at the left in Fig. 5, is free'to rotate about its axis after the manner of an ordinary caster, so that corners can be turned easily. The parts will remain in this position until the next obstacle is encountered, whereupon a repetition of the movements just described takes place, and as the frame revolves in thisstep-by-step fashion the locking-pins Z continually change their position, as clearly shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, so that the forward wheel is always looked and the rear wheel is always free for pivotal movement.

Among the advantages which I secure are these: Owing to the fact that the vehicle, whatever it may be, is supported at a greater number of points than heretofore,all' inequalities in the road are compensated'for to a greater or less extent, so that it takes a small portion only of the tractive powernow necessary to effect the forward movement. It is a well-known fact that all loads upon vehicles have to be regulated, depending upon the worst part of any road-that is to say, an ordinary team of horses could upon a perfect road-sucl1 as macadamized, asphalted, or

paved city streets -pull four, six, or eight tons, provided the road be in perfect condi tion throughout the entire distance the load is to be hauled; but owing to the fact that broken pavement or holes in the asphalt, cartracks, and other obstructions are necessarily encountered the load must be reduced to onehalf the above amount or less, so that when these obstructions are encountered the team can handle it. Thereforeif anymeans can be provided whereby the effect of these defects in the roadway can be overcome loads can be made proportionately larger and a great saving effected. Precisely this result is that which is secured by my invention, not perfectly, it

is true, but to a considerable extent. Also furniture, glassware, and many other commodities, as Well as passengers, are seriously affected and sometimes injured by reason of the jolts and jars to which they are subjected during transportation. By my invention these are reduced to a large extent and in some cases avoided altogether. Also although my vehicles have more wheels than heretofore in use, yet these wheels may be smaller and relatively lighter, so that the aggregate weight of the vehicle is not materially increased and the life of the wheels is very greatly prolonged. Also, owing to the fact that in most casesfor instance, in drays, carts, and the likesprings are largely necessary, where my invention is employed the cart or wagon bodies may be made nearer the ground, thereby effecting a saving in loading and unloading and also in expense of the springwork, their weight being also avoided. Also by distributing the weight of the vehicle and its load over a plurality of points of support there is not so great embedment in mud or injury to paved streets as where the support is practically upon one or two pointsonly at one side of the vehicle.

Where my invention is employed with a ro-.

-tating frame, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, it becomes possible to transport loads under circumstances which would be utterly impossible without this construction-that is to say, the tires being made of sufficient width, cannon, ammunition, farm produce, and other heavy loads can be readily conveyed over rough fields and even over stone walls or trunks of trees withoutthe previous construction of any roadway. plied to push-carts and wheelbarrows have been already fully explained.

The advantages as ap-.

The instances I have shown are examples only of constructions in which my invention may be employed. It will be obvious to those who are familiar with this art that many modifications of the details illustrated and described may be employedwithout departing from the essentials of the invention. I therefore do not limit myself to the special instances or the special constructions shown and described.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. In the running-gear of vehicles or like structures, the combination of a side frame upon each side of the body of the vehicle and parallel wit-h it, a wheel at or near the front end of each side frame, a caster-like frame pivotally connected to each side frame, a-

wheel upon each caster-frame, and an axle engaging with the side frames between the respective forward wheels and the casterdike frames, for the purposes set forth.

2. In the running-gear of vehicles or like structures, the combination of side frames parallel with the body of the vehicle, a wheel at or near the front end of each side frame, caster-like frames hinged to the side frames, a wheel upon each caster-frame smaller in diameter than the forward Wheel of that frame, and an axle engaging with the side frames in rear of the forward wheels respectively, for the purposes set forth.

3. In the running-gear for vehicles or like structures,the combination of a pair of Wheels with their axle at the front end of the vehicle, a truck-like structure at the rear of the vehicle embodying side frames supporting at their front ends respectively a wheel maintained in parallelism with the body of the Vehicle, other wheels pivoted to the side frames and adapted to independent horizontal movement, and an axle engaging with the side frames, for the purposes set forth.

4. In the running-gear for vehicles or like structures, the combination of side frames maintained at right angles to the axle which engages with them, a wheel at the forward end of each of the side frames which is maintained in parallelism with the side frame upon which it is mounted, caster-like frames hinged to the side frames respectively, and a wheel upon each caster-frame, for the purposes set forth.

5. The combination, in a vehicle or like structure, of side frames pivotally connected to the respective ends of the axle, wheels mounted upon each of said side frames, and means whereby some of the wheels are permanently maintained in parallelism with the side frames and others allowed independent movement relative to the side frames, for the purposes set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 5th day of December, A. D. 1899.

JAMES BUCHANAN.

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