From Our U.S.A. Correspondent.
Page 15
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The Master Patent of George B. Selden.
Although the existence of the Selden patent is, of course, well known in England, it is probable that ninny readers are unfamiliar with its details, and ignorant of its effects so far as the manufacture and sale of motors in the U.S.A. are concerned. The patent is officially known as U.S.A. 549160 of 1895; the first application was actually made as long ago as the 8th May, 1879, and was kept alive, throughout the intervening sixteen years, by the unusual forms and ceremonies of the American Patent Office.
Selden, in his specification, states the object of the invention to be: " The production of a safe, simple, and cheap road locomotive, light in weight, easy to control, and possessed of sufficient power to overcome any ordinary inclination." His first claim Is: "The combination with a road locomotive . . . . provided with a propelling wheel and steering mechanism, of a liquid hydrocarbon gas
engine . . . comprising one or more power cylinders . . . . a power shaft arranged to run faster than the propelling wheel, an intermediate clutch, and a suitable body for the conveyance of persons or goods." The far-sighted knowledge of the inventor is attested by the fact that the drawings which accompany the specification slum a four-wheeled dogcart, power being applied through the front wheels, the front axle being controlled by a worm steering gear (not a tiller, be it noted), a threecylinder engine, and last, but by no means least, a ratchet clutch at each end of the driving axle, whereby either wheel can overrun the engine speed— the germ, in short, of the Hedgeland axle. The rest of the specification is taken up with a description of what seems now a truly-fearful and wonderful oil engine; it appears to have a strong flavour of the Deisel invention about it, for the nil fuel is injected into the cylinder at every stroke by a small pump, there to be vaporized by the heat of the combustion chamber only, and fired with a tube.
One quite-delightful detail of the specification, and one which is very carefully described too, is the brake ; it consists of a skid-pan fastened by a rigid radius rod to the centre of the back wheel, and hauled up out of the way by a chain and windlass when not in use. If only the invention could have been produced in large quanti
ties, and had it become general on the roads of England, what a pleasing picture this brake arrangement—to say nothing of other details—conjures up: The car getting out of hand, down, say, Dash wood I fill, the sudden appearance of a wagon and team of horses at a cross road, the sharp word of command to the friend in the back seat to " /corer a i,u y the brukcs! " There is really a nautical " smack " about it! And the probable result? Those free-wheel clutches on the driving wheels would assuredly have full scope in the gyratory exhibition which would follow upon the instantaneous locking of the wheels by the aforesaid skid-pans. But, aside from the humorous aspect, this patent must, in a country which is now building nearly a quarter of a million cars annually, have been much more farreaching in its effects than the inventor ever contemplated. The validity of this patent was naturally disputed. and nitwit litigation ensued : there will doubtless be more before it expires, but the Supreme Court, of the U.S.A. derided, last August, that Selden's claim to the invention of the motorcar would hold good, and, therefore, anyone building cars, whether touring or commercial, without his licence, until 1913, would be guilty of infringement. More than this, importers aml users of foreign unlicensed cars would in like manner transgress.
This decision has, of course, resulted in the separation of the licensed from
the unlicensed makers, the formation, of the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers (better known as the A.L.A.M.), with their very exclusive show at Madison Square every January, and the exclusion of the unlicensed makers from the same, the latter having, in consequence, to hold a show of their own at the Central Palace. Since the decision of the Courts, however, every week brings more makers " within the fold," and the time cannot be far distant when the remaining makers must " comein, or yet out," because, with such an authority, no one can dare to fight the Association. The Selden patent covers, of course, all vans and commercial vehicles as well, so the holder of the patent may expect a fairly-rich harvest in the remaining three years of its validity. It is a fine thing to. bethe original inventor of the motorcar! But, let me point out, the President of the A.L.A.M. recently gave a message to the Press warning all makers, importers, agents and users of the danger to which they exposed themselves of prosecution and tine if they persisted. The lesson, therefore, is clear. If any European maker desires to export ears into America-and there is without doubt a ready market for them—let him first make his peace with that all-powerful body the A.L.A.M., in New York City; otherwise, both he and his customers. will assuredly find themselves on the wrong side of the hedge. H.K.T.