US1028144A - Lamp attachment for vehicles. - Google Patents

Description

G. S. SHERMAN.

LAMP ATTACHMENT FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2, 1909.

'1 ,028,144,, Patented June 4, 1912.

2 SHB-ETSSHBET 1.

Mi J 0.

G. s. SHERMAN; LAMP ATTACHMENT FOR VEHIQLES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2, 1909 Patented June 4:, 1912.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

GEORGE S. SHERMAN, OF GREAT NECK, NEW YORK.

LAMP ATTACHMENT FOR VEHICLESi recedes.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 4, 1912.

Application filed January 2, 1909. Serial No. 470,429.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, GEORGE S. Srmnnax, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Great Neck, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Lamp Attachments for Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to lamp attachments for vehicles and in particular to attachments for automatically swinging the head lights of automobiles with the steering wheels.

One object of my invention is to provide novel means for accomplishing the projection of the light in the direction the vehicle is about 'to take underthe guiding action of the steering wheels.

A. further object is to provide means for swinging the lamps in greater or lesser arcs than the steering wheels and for independently locking or releasing the lamp brackets to and from'the swinging mechanism without. interfering with the steering mechanism and without the necessity of disconnecting any of the parts.

A. further object is to provide new and improved means for locking and releasing the lamp brackets to and from the swinging mechanism.

A further object is to provide mechanism for directly connecting the lamp brackets to the drop arm of the steering gear.

A further object. is to provide means for causing the brackets to automatically return to their normal position when the lamp suinging mechai'lism has turned them approximately to that position and to firmly retain'them in such position irrespective of minormovementsof the steering mechanism.

A still further object is to provide certain improvements in the construction, "orm and arrangement of the various parts whereby the objects above enumerated may be obtained in a simple and ctl'cct-ivemanner. A practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which,

l igure 1 is a side view of my lamp attachment in position on the frame of an automobile, showing the connection between the steering gear and the lamp brackets. Fig. is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a front. view of the same. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of one of my lamp brackets with a portion of its-rod connections. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 6 is a topplan view of the same. Fig. 7 is a hori zontal section in the plane of the line A of l 1g. 4, looking in the dlrection of the arrows.

the plane of the line BB of Fig. 6, looki'ng in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 9 is a horizontal section of the bearing support taken in the plane of the line CC of Fig.

verted section of the lamp carrying member, taken slightly below the plane of the line central section of the locking mechanism,

7, looking in'the direction of the arrows. Fig. 12 is a plan view of the operating collar, and Fig. 13 is a side view of the locking pin. The frame of by 1. and a radiator? is shown, in the pres-- ent instance, in order toindicatemore clearly the relative positions of the parts to be described.

frame and consists of the steering post 3 and the drop arm 4, a suitable gearing connecting the two for causing the drop arm to be swung in a vertical plane on its pivot 5 drop arm +1- is shown. in the present instance. as provided with a ball (3 at its lower end for engagement with the usual rod (not shown), connecting the steering gear with the steering whccl (also not shown). bifurcated lamp carrying member is de noted by 7 and its shank by 8. The lower end of this shank may be screw-threaded and provided with a washer and nut for rem assembled position.

The lamp swinging member comprises the sleeve 10 and the arms 9 and 11. A. ball 12 is secured by a nut 13 to the arm 11. the said socket joints. lVhen in position, the sleeve 10 is loosely mounted on the lower portion of the shank 8, while the arm 11 extends at right angles to said shank and the ball 12 The bearing support for the lamp carrying member is provided with an enlarged upper portion 14 and a lower later all) extending flange 15. The upper part of the inner upper edge is beveled to form one part of a ball bearing. This part is exterlorly Fig. 8 is a vertical central section in part in 8, looking downwardly. Fig. 10 is an in- 5 C-C of Fig. 8. Fig. 11 is a detail vertical taken in the plane of the line DD of Fig.

the automobile is denoted The steering gear is supported by the 30 by the rotation of the steering post. The 5 The no taining the parts to be hereinafter described,

ball being of the kind used for ball and depends from the outer end of'the arm 11.

enlarged portion is of cup shape and its screw threaded for engagement with the hearing cap 16, and the inner under edge of the said cap is also beveled to form another part of the ball bearing, so that when the cap is screwed into position on the enlarged portion, the two beveled edges above mentioned, will fornran annular V-shaped horizontal groove. The shank 8 has a diskshaped portion 17 near its upper end, and this disk is provided with an annular, V- shaped groove. When the parts are in assembled position, the two above mentioned V-shapcd grooves lie in juxtaposition in the same plane and together form an annular race for the balls 18, thus providing the ball bearing for the antifriction support for the lamp carrying member. A locking ring 19 serves to secure the bearing cap 16 in its proper adjustment.

Secured to the shank of the lamp cariing member, intermediate the bearing support and the lamp swinging member, and forming a part of the lamp carrying member, is a sleeve 20; the means shown for securing the said sleeve to the said shank being the cotter 21, which bears against a flattened portion of the shank 8. This sleeve 20 is provided with an interiorly threaded vertical hole 22 therethrough, offset from the shank 8 of the lamp carrying member, for carrying the double ended looking bolt The bolt 23 is cxteriorly provided, intermediate its ends, with a screw thread 24 for engagement with the interior screw thread in the hole 22. This thread is of very high pitch and is provided with a channel 25, longitudinal of the b01t,'th'erethrough. The flange 15 of the bearing support and the lamp swinging member 10 are provided respectively with sockets 26, 27, for receiving the ends 28, 29, of the bolt 23. An operating collar-30 is located in the sleeve 20, transversely of the hole 22, and surrounds the bolts It is provided with a lug 31 for engagement with the channel 25, and a handle 32 for convenient manipulation of the collar.

The operation of the locking device is as follower-Tron the handle 32 is moved to the right, the collar 30 turns, and as a result ot' the engagement between the lug 31 and channel 2:), the locking bolt.v 23 also turns. As the bolt turns in this direction, the thread thereon caus s it to rise until the end engages the socket 26, thus locking the sleeve 20 on the shank 8 to the flange 15 of the hearing support. When, on the other hand. the handle 32 is moved to the left, the is withdrawn from the socket 26 and it. .nd 29 caused to enter the socket 27, thus locking the sleeve 20 on the shank 8 to the lamp swinging member. I thus provide an. extremely simple and eflective locking draice which very valuable in practice. 2. rod 33 has a ball and socket ening gear, for imparting a swinging motion to the lamp swinging member-by the turning of the steering wheel and the consequentswinging movement of the drop arm. This rod 33 has a pin and slot connection with the drop arm, which connection consists, in the present instance, of a radially elongated slot 34 in the drop arm, through which a bolt 35, carried by the connecting rod 33, extends, a nut 36 being used for adjustably securing the bolt 35 at any desired point along the said slot. The farther away from the pivot 5 of the drop arm 4 the rod is clamped, the greater will be the swing of the lamp swinging member in proportion to any given swing of the drop arm. I provide the bearing support with a plate 37 for securing the lamp bracket to the vehicle frame. The lamp bracket atthe other side of the vehicle is constructed substantially like the one hereinabove described, with the exception that the lamp swinging member does not have to have the arm 11 which is con nected to the steering gear. The arms 9 of the two lamp swinging members are connected by a cross rod 38, so that, When one of the lamp swinging members ismoved bythe operation of the steering gear, the other lamp swinging member will be swung correspondingly.

In operation, when it is desired to swing both of the lamps simultaneously, the bolts 23 are both forced downwardly, as hereinabovebescribed, into position to lock both of the lamp swinging members to their respective sleeves 20 fixed to the shanks-of the lamp carrying members. When it is desired to disconnect both lamp carrying members from their swinging mechanism and at the same time lock the said members against rotary movement, both of .the bolts 23 are forced upwardly into, position to lock the sleeves 20 of the lamp carrying members to the bearing supports, this operation of thebolts serving to release'the lamp swinging members from said sleeves of'thc lamp carrying members. If it -is desired to connect one lamp to its swinging mechanism and keep the other lamp stationary, the locking bolt of the lamp "oracle-3t, which is to be swung, may be forceddownwardly.

into position to lock its lamp swinging memberto the lamp carrying member, while the other bolt may be retained in its position for locking the bracket which is to be held statibnary, to its bearing support. In order to insure the return of the lamp -carrying n'icmber 7, 8, exactly to its normai position, when the lamp inging mechanism has brought it apgprmrnnately thereto, I provide the enlarged portion 1 101 the bearing support with one or more (in the present instance, I bali, piungers consisting of springs to, followers a l and balls 4-2. The diskportion 1? is provided on under side with a cam plate comprising, in the present iiistance, three raised-faces t3 and three notches This cam piate is so located that the balls by the springs 40.

The operation of this device is as tollows :*When the lamp carrying member is in its normal position and the'lamp swinging member is locked thereto, the halts 4-2 rest in the notches 414; but when the lamp carrying member is turned, the raised faces 13 depress the balls42, thus contracting the swings 40. hen the lamp swinging mechanism brings the brackets 7, 8, back approximately to their normal position, the pressure of the balls 42 on the sloping cam surfacescauses the balls to seek the notches 44, and this force returns the bracket exactly to its normal position, even though the lost motion in the lamp swinging linkage might otherwise permit it to remain. uskew.

til positively dislodged by the swinging mechanism. The lost motion in the lamp swinging linkage and steering gear will permit the lamp bracket to remain immovable until some pronounced turn is imparted to the steering traction wheels, thus avoidii any unnecessary wabblin'g of the lamps (lie to slight movements of the steering in ordinary travel straight roads.

Thus it will be seen that i provide a device which is perfectly adapted for the use for which it is intended, which may be quickly and effectively locked to rotate or against rotation, and in which the bracket is forced to yieldingly occupya given position in the bearing support until positively turned therefrom.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that by changing toe position of the locking pins in the lamp bra of the vehicle, either one of the b'raeke be caused to swing, by the operation of steering gear, with the steering trac wheels; and by varying the adjustn'ient of the rod 35 on the drop arm 4?, the angle of movement of the brackets can be varied at will.

The lamp brackets may be provided with any suitable or ap iroved form of lamps which may be supported by the bifurcated portions of the lamp carrying members.

It is to be understood that I do not wish to confine myself strictly to the form and arrangement of the various partsherein three) recesses 39, for receiving yielding contact therewith Furthermore, this device will hold I the bracket firmly in its normal position unllltty along comparatively;

' raised faces and notches exterior screw thread on the bolt,

on said collar for t igag' shown and described, as chai'iges may be made without departing from the spirit; and I scope of, my invention.

What I claim is:

1. A vehicle lamp bracket comprising, a iamp carrying mel'nber, a bearing support therefor having a socket therein, a iamp swinging member having a socket therein, a sleeve intermediate the bearing support and lamp swinging member fixed on s: lamp carrying member and having a hole therein, a double ended bolt mounted in said hole, a'nd means for mining-said bolt. into engagement with either the socketin the lamp swinging member 0 the socket in the bearing support, the said means comprising; an interior screw thread in said hoie, an and means for rotating the bolt.

A, vehicle lamp bracket compr sing, lamb carrying men'iber, a bearing than-for having a socket therein, swinging member having a socket a sleeve interi'nediate the bearing support and lamp swinging member fixed on iamp carrying member and having hole therein, a double ended bolt mounted in said hole, and. means for-moving said bolt into engagement with either the socket in the lan'rp swinging member orthe socket in the bearing support, the said mean alamp therein,

prising, an *nterior screw thread in t hole, e: not screw thread o,

o1 he the. through, a rotatable collar mou said sleeve and surroun having a channel, longitudinal said and a handle for rotatiu the coilar.

3. A venicie lamp, lta'acket comp lan'ip carrying member, a rin V therefor, and means for causing t lilo carryi member to yicldaigiy we I giyen position in the bearing support,

cam plate ha .reon, and sp, v. ,1 pressed plungers co-acting therewith 4:. A vehicle lamp bracket comprising lan'ip carry member, a bearing situiport thcre or and means ta can 3 the lamp carrf. ,mber to fv'ieldingiy occupy a given on Lion in the bearing siripport, the

said means comprising a said means comprising a cam plate having raised faces and notches thereon and sormg I pressed hall plunger-s (to-acting therewith.

in testimony, that I claim the for going as my invention, I have signed my name in presence of two witnesse this sixteenth d ay of December 1908. I

GEORGE S. SHlDEP/IAN. Witnesses I Bauer, HENRY ilnii mm.

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