_To all whom it may concern_:
Be it known that I, CHARLES E. DURYEA, a
citizen of the United States, residing at Peoria,
in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois,
have invented new and useful Improvements 5
in Road-Vehicles, of which the following is a
specification.
The object of this invention is to produce a
road vehicle which shall be self-propelled, not
unduly heavy, simple and easy of control and 10
comparatively inexpensive, together with
such minor objects as will become hereinafter
apparent.
The invention more particularly relates to
the construction and arrangement of parts for 15
constituting the driving gearing and to the
means for controlling the action thereof; to
an improved manner of mounting the front,
or steering, wheels upon the front axle, and
of mounting the said axle relative to the running 20
gear frame, and to the means for effecting
the steering; to the appliances for the support
of the motor and driving mechanism in
an advantageous and efficient manner, and,
generally, to improved and simplified details 25
of construction throughout the vehicle, all as
will hereinafter be rendered more apparent,
and the invention consists in constructions
and combinations of parts, all substantially
as will hereinafter fully appear and be set 30
forth in the claims.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying
drawings, in which--
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation from front
to rear of the improved road-vehicle. Fig. 2 is 35
a plan view of the running and driving gear,
the vehicle-body being understood as removed.
Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the vehicle. Fig.
4 is a perspective view of the support and suspension
devices for the driving mechanism. 40
Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view, longitudinally,
through the shiftable driving-gear, the
controlling devices employed in conjunction
with this mechanism being seen in side elevation.
Figs. 6 and 7 show the above-mentioned 45
controlling devices as in operative relations
differing the one from the other and
also from that of Fig. 5.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding
parts in all of the views. 50
The parts will now be described in detail
with reference to said drawings, and A represents
the body which is spring supported
on the frame, B, of the running gear. This
frame, as shown, is rectangular, and has the 55
body-supporting springs, B{2}, similar to those
found in common carriages. This frame has,
affixed thereto, at its rear ends, sleeves, _a_, _a_,
which loosely embrace the rear wheel axle, D,
which is the driven axle of the vehicle. The 60
axle, E, for the front wheels is centrally secured
to the running gear frame, B, by the
horizontal king-bolt, _b_, whereby such axle
may have a swinging movement relative to
the frame in a vertical plane, but it has no 65
swinging movement horizontally, the wheels
being swivel-mounted on the ends of this axle
peculiarly, as will shortly hereinafter be set
forth.
The body, as shown, is in the form of an 70
inverted box, the motor, H, and driving gear
being accommodated within the downwardly
opening inclosure constituted thereby, and
the body also has the upwardly open box-like
forward extension, or pit, A{2}, for the accommodation 75
of the feet of the rider, the rider's
seat being constituted by the top forward portion
of the box body. Some other suitable
design of body may, of course, be used in lieu
of this one shown. 80
The front wheels, _d_, _d_, are hung to the front
axle, E, so that the center of each wheel base
is in a line coincident with the axis of the pivotal
connection which is provided between the
journals for the wheels and the axle, which 85
arrangement practically destroys any tendency
to deflection from the course that might
otherwise arise from striking an obstacle,
and so renders the steering easier. In order
to effect this the axle is formed with yoked 90
ends, the yoke members, _f_, _f_, being above and
below the longitudinal line of the axle. The
short journal, _g_, shown for each wheel, has at
its inner end an upwardly and downwardly
extended arm, _h_, which is return-bent to be 95
loosely embraced by the axle yoke, _f_, _f_. The
cone pointed screws, _c_, passed through the
yoke members, _f_, and into sockets therefor in
the arms, _h_, of the journals, _g_, constitute the
means for the swivel connection between said 100
parts. The lock-nuts, _c_{2}, manifestly, are employed
with utility in this connection.
It will be perceived that inasmuch as in the
arrangement shown, the pivotal connections
(No Model.) 4 Sheets--Sheet 2.
C. E. DURYEA.
ROAD VEHICLE.
No. 540,648. Patented June 11, 1895.
_Fig. 2._
_Witnesses_:
J. D. Garfield
K. I. Clemons
_Inventor_,
Chas. E. Duryea
by Chaprictlo Attys.
FIGURE 28.--A DRAWING AND THE FIRST PAGE of the
specifications of the first patent issued to C. E. Duryea. It can be
readily seen that this drawing was not made after the plan of the first
vehicle.]
As the work moved nearer completion Frank realized that the final tests
would have to be conducted on roads made icy by falling snows. He had
considerable doubt whether the narrow iron tires would have enough
traction to move the phaeton. Soon he devised an expedient for this
situation, communicating to Charles on December 22 that he was "having
Jack Swaine [a local blacksmith] make a couple of clutch rims so we can
get over this snow and ice.... Our detachable rims referred to will be
of 1/8 iron 1-3/4 wide and drawn together at one point by two screws,
one on either side of felloe. It will be studded with calks in two
rows."[34]
[Illustration: FIGURE 29.--MR. AND MRS. FRANK DURYEA examining vehicle
in the Smithsonian Institution before restoration.]
January 18, 1894, was a day of triumph for Frank Duryea. Writing Charles
about his success the next day he said, "Took out carriage again last
night and gave it another test about 9 o'clock." The only difficulty he
mentioned was a slight irregularity in the engine, caused by the tiny
leather pad in the exhaust-valve mechanism falling out.[35] Speaking of
this trip, Frank recalled in 1956:
When I got this car ready to run one night, I took it out and I had
a young fellow with me; I thought I might need him to help push in
case the car didn't work.... We ran from the area of the shop where
it was built down on Taylor Street. We started out and ran up
Worthington Street hill,[36] on top of what you might call "the
Bluff" in Springfield. Then we drove along over level roads from
there to the home of Mr. Markham who lived with his son-in-law,
Will Bemis, and there we refilled this tank with water. [At this
point he was asked if it was pretty well emptied by then.] Yes, I
said in my account of it that when we got up there the water was
boiling furiously. Well, no doubt it was. We refilled it and then
we turned it back and drove down along the Central Street hill and
along Maple, crossed into State Street, dropped down to Dwight,
went west along Dwight to the vicinity where we had a shed that we
could put the car in for the night. During that trip we had run, I
think, just about six miles, maybe a little bit more. That was the
first trip with this vehicle. It was the first trip of anything
more than a few hundred yards that the car had ever made.
[Illustration: DURYEA AUTOMOBILE
BUILT BY J. F. AND C. E. DURYEA
1893
U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM CAT. #307,199
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
SEPT. 1960 A. A. BALUNEK]
Now Frank could give demonstration rides with the motor carriage, hoping
to encourage more investors to back future work. Cautious Mr. Markham
finally got his ride, though Frank had to assure him that the engine of
the brakeless vehicle would hold them back on any hill they would
descend. The carriage on which he had spent so many hours was to see
little use after that. Its total mileage is probably less than a hundred
miles. Little additional work is known to have been performed on the
carriage after January 1894; there is, however, a letter[37] Frank sent
his brother on January 19 which tells of contemplated muffler
improvements. Another message was dispatched to Charles on March 22,
mentioning the good performance of the phaeton on Harrison Avenue
hill.[38] This was possibly the last run of the machine, for no further
references have been discovered.
Frank spent the months of February and March in preparing drawings, some
of which accompanied their first patent application,[39] while others
were to be used in the construction of an improved, 2-cylinder carriage.
Work on the new machine started in April. The old phaeton, in the
absence of used-car lots, was put into storage in the Bemis barn.[40]
Later, on the formation of the Duryea Motor Wagon Company in 1895, it
was removed to the barn of D. A. Reed, treasurer of the company.[41]
There it remained until 1920, when it was obtained by Inglis M. Uppercu
and presented to the U.S. National Museum.
* * * * *