US1001472A - Car-fender. - Google Patents

Description

N. J. SPENCER.

CAR FENDER. APPLICATION FILED MAR-.19, 1910.

Patented Aug. 22, 1911.

I, gin/00m 24% W M w 0/ NORMAN J. SPENCER, OF VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA.

CAR-FENDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 19, 1910.

Patented Aug. 22, 1911 Serial No. 550,524.

f0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NORMAN .T. Senncnn, citizen of the Dominion of Canada, residing at V ancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, have invented a new and useful Car-Fender, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a car tender ha ving certain novel features designed to render it more ellectivc in saving lite and limb than such devices usually are. As connnonly constructed, although these fenders may break the fall of a person falling into them and may prevent the body from passing under the wheels, few, if any ot them, are adapted to retain the body on the :tender but will allow it to roll oil or a limb to hang, over the edge. It the car has not been stopped, this may result in severe injury it the limb is dragged under the tender itself.

My improvements have, therefore, been directed. to the provision ot a retaining member to the tender which will normally lie level with the tender but will automatically be raised when any body strikes against or falls into the fender. This raised 1e taining member will retain the body on the fender and will. prevent any part of it from hanging over the edges.

The invention is particularly described in the following specification, reference being made to the drawings by which it is accompanied, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through the tender, the dot and dash lines showing the position of the tender frame when the retaining; member is raised, and the dash and double dot lines the position of the tender when folded up; Fig. 2 shows the latch by which the retaining member is held down when released by a body in the net of the -tender; Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the fender, parts being; broken away and the car end being removed to show the parts of the mechanism of the tender, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail of one of the rubber cushions or sleeves of the trout bar.

In Fig. l, of the drawings 2 represents the front end ot the car body to which the tender is secured. The tender comprises two main parts, a fixed end frame extending vertically across the whole width of the car and curved slightly backward at the two ends. This fixed frame is composed of upper and lower rails 3 and t secured by stanchions 5 to the car 't'rame. Between these rails 3 and t beyond the width oi the car truck are vertical members (3 ol': thin llat resilient material which may be curved slightly outward. as shown in Fig. 23, so as to oppose an elastic resistance to any object they may encounter. livotally mounted on the lower rail t ol this [ixed Frame is the horizontal frame ol the tender, which is designed to receive any obstruction that may be on the track and prevent it from passing under the car and which frame is designed to lold up against the trout end of; the car when not in use. The horizontal frame comprises two angular or kneelikc side t'rames 1.0, connected together l a main trout rail 11. a back rail l2 adjacent to the rail -t on which the frame is mouuted,aud above these, near the under side of the car body. by a latch rail '1?) by which the horizontal portion of the frame is maintained at the required height from the track and which when released, will enable the horizontal frame to be folded up against the l ronti end of the car. This latch rail 1?) is retained, when not in use, in a notch 17 in the front end of a bar l-l slidable outwardly against the resistance of a spring It; into a keep or guide 17. The bar l-lis retained in any desired position of lengthwise adjustment bf a. spring pawl '18 which engages a notch ot the bar and thereby all'ords a means whereby the height of the trout rail of the tender from the track may be adjusted. 'lhis pawl. l8 may be released lrom engagement with the bar 'l-il, by a lever 40, extend ing" to any convenient position at: the outside of the car lrame. when it is desired to :told the fender up out of use.

livotally mounted at 20. see Figs. '1 and Q, on the upright portion of each side frame '10 are short links 91. the free ends oi which carry a cross bar 92. Straps Q5 of flexible material pass from the top rail 23 ot the fixed it'rame, around thebar 12 ot the movable trame ot' the tender and are connected to the pivotally supported cross bar 22. i imilarly from this same pivotally supported cross bar 22 straps Qt) a re carried forwardly and secured to the front rail 11 ol the movable. trame oi the tender. lhese straps 25 and 26 are I'Ilttlllttlllltltl at the required distance apart by cross straps 27.:1nd are drawn sutliciently tight so that the links 21 on which the bar 22 is carried will be some what above the horizontal, the normal pull of the straps being counterbalanced by springs 28 between the bar 22 and any part of the rigid frame 10. Any body which may strike against the vertical straps 25 or which may fall upon the horizontal straps 26 will thus pull the horizontal bar 22 clownwardly as represented in 2, against the resistance of the springs 28. This is an essential feature of the invention, as it effects the release of the latch members 37 and permits the elevation of the retaining member around the horizontal portion of the frame 10 of the fender, which is the'object of the invention. The frame of this retaining member is made of a supplemental front rail 30 which is connected to the side frames 10 by links 32 pivoted to each side frame. Side rails 81 are connected to the supplemental front rail 30 and have their ends forked to slide vertically on an angular brace 33 of the movable frame of the fender. The supplemental front rail 30 and the side rails '31 are connected by short straps 3st and 34* to the main and cross straps 26 and 27 of the fender.

The retaining memberis maintained in its raised position, as shown by dot and dash lines in Fig. 1 by springs 35 and is held in its downward position by latches 37 pivoted at- 38 to the side frames 10 which latches under the action of springs 39, hold he forked end of the rail 31 down. These latches are withdrawn from their position of engagement with the ends of rail 31 by the downward movement of the rail 22 which, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, engages the projecting ends of the latch members. Thus when the fender is in use the parts lie as shown by full lines in Figs. 1 and 8, but when a body falls upon the fender or strikes against the straps 25 of it, the rail 22 is drawn down by the pull of the straps 25 or 26 and as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, releases the latch members by which the retaining member is held down and the supplemental front rail 30 is drawn up by the springs 35 to the position indicated by dot and dash lines in Fig. 1. A body which has fallen into the fender or which may have struck the front end of it will thus be retained on the horizontal portion of it and the retaining member will prevent a limb hanging over the edge being dragged under it. To lessen the possibility of injury by the front rail 11, rollers, ferrules or sleeves 9 of rubber or the like material may occupy the spaces on the rail between the straps 26. These rollers, see Fig. 4, should be formed with deep circumferential grooves so as to better cushion a blow.

Having now particularly described my invention and the manner of its use, I hereby declare that What I claim as new and desire to be protected in by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a car fender, a horizontal portion that includes a front and sides, a retaining member held around the front and sides of said horizontal portion, means whereby said retaining member may be folded down on said horizontal portion, a latch for normally holding said retaining member in the folded down position, means for releasing the latch when a body strikes against or falls into the fender, and means for raising said retaining member when said retaining member is released.

2. A car fender comprising a. fixed vertical portion extending across the front of the car and including a lower rail and a horizontal portion hinged to said lower rail and susceptible of being folded up against the vertical portion or of being turned down to horizontally project forward therefrom, a retaining member comprising front and side rails mounted on the frame of said horizontal portion of the fender so as to be susceptible of elevation therefrom, means for elevating the retaining member, a latch nor mally holding it against elevation, a latchreleasing bar, and straps extending downward from the top rail of the vertical frame and backward from the front rail of the horizontal frame of the fender and connected to the latch-releasing bar.

3. A car fender comprising a fixed vertical frame extending across the end of the car and a horizontal frame hinged to the lower rail thereof, a railextending across and pivotally mounted on said fixed frame, flexible straps extending downward from the top rail of said fixed frame around a cross rail of the movable frame and secured to the pivotally mounted rail, similar straps from the front rail of the horizontal frame and secured to the same pivotally mounted rail, and means whereby the movement of said pivotally mounted rail will permit the elevation of a retaining member around the horizontal frame of the fender.

at. In a car fender including a horizontal portion, a retaining member along the front and sides of the horizontal portion and means for elevating said retaining member, cushion rollers on the front rail of the horizontal portion, said rollers being of resilient material and provided with deep annular grooves.

In testimony whereof I have signed myv name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

NOR-MAN J. SPENCER.

Witnesses ROWLAND BRITTAIN, ALEXANDER SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

, Washington, D. 0.

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