US1269488A - Fender mechanism. - Google Patents

Description

E'. R'. MOUDY.

FENDER MECHANISM.

APPLICATION, FiLED MAR. l5. 9l8.-

Patented J une 1, 1918.

lbtowml u E. R. MOUDY.

FENDER MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED MR. I5. IHIS.

1 ,269,488. Patented 11111611, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 amm JIIIIIIII @.9

@IIIIII EARL'R. MOUD'Y; QFCHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA.

FENDERn :MECHANISM Specica-tionof LettersPa-tent. PatentedJ'llllelLlQlS.;

Application filed March 15,1918. Serial No. 222,758.

` Be itknownthatl, EARL R. MoUDLa citizen` of the United States,` residing vat Chester,Iv in the county of Delaware and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new anduseful VImprovements in Fender Mechanism, of which the followingi's a specification. l

This invention relates to fender mechanism which is principally designed for use on selffpropelled. vehicles although the'k principles may be utilized generally for the lfront fenders of'. moving bodies.l n

My main object is toV provide ai fender which is collapsible to fold around a person', cattleor other objects which it maystrike during travel4 ofY the vehicle to which4 it is attachedin combinationwith ajnet or receivingstructure intowhich the captive may fall and be savedfrominjury;

Serviently, If aim to .devise the various ,features of. construction, arrangement, and combination ofthe parts, as will 'be minutely described hereinafter, with reference toV accompanyingv drawings, showing one preferred4 embodiment, and among which objects may be briefly mentioned pivoted armswithl 'aY sprin gcontrolledmeans to normally" maintain t 4em spread;` with means t'o automatically lock'themz'throu'gh engagement' with an object; with fender sections' (preferably padded) to directly strike the object and: fold inwardly; ywith `a net means having a frame ,operable through movement of'thesaid arms to move the net proper'to attaching position, and a spring-controlled. means to normally retract the net.

, Inthe drawings y v Figure 11' iszav plan view showing my im'- proved fender mechanism associated with the front of an automobile;

Figj2 is aview ofthe parts o-fFig. 1in vertical centrali section Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the net-extending'frame; 'f

Fig. 4s i'sl aJ fragmentary verticalr sectional viewjthrough the net casingandspringcontrolled rollermeclianism; l. y

Fig. 5' isra cross-sectional view on the line 5 5 of'Fig. i; i

F'g. 6 is a viewmostly.- in vertical section,ofthe1neans for pivotally mounting the fender arms and driving `the" suspending means ofthe-net; j I' j "Figa 7 is a sideelevation'ofthevmeans Ifor mounting' the fender'arms taken ata different angle to Fig, 6,: l Fig.v 8v isa plan view ofl the meansfr mountingthe fender arms andv driving the net-extendingl means g Fig.y 9-is a detail side-'elevationoffene of the gear members-used? in connection Awith the net-extending means; l Fig. 10 isan enlarged, fragmentary-view', shiwingthe fenderv proper intop. or plan, an l Y 'y Fig. 11 isa front" elevationA of the-'parts of Fig. 10: f

`Referring specifically' tothe drawings, vthefender proper is provided at A, being made preferably in -aplurality offcollapsible sections, las will be-J later` specifically* de'- 5 scribed and beingcarried and mountedby angularly disposed'arms 12' which swing inwardly from pivots of" attaching and mounting devices B', y' V Each attachingv and mountingI device' B preferably comprises twosections, namely 'a stationary section 13` and a" movable-seotion 14'.V These sectionsliave overlapping `flanges at. 1'5. In any suitablemanner,` as by means of U-bolts 16,? passingj through lateral extensions: or lugs-'17 ofsection 13, the devices-B'may be rigidlysecured to` and atV the front end of the usualsidebeams-B, as suggested at 17 v, ofY anautomobile chassis. Beneath the beams 17,' the armsfwoff the lbolts may pass through a clamp plate-[18,1 `and beyond said plate, the armsl may-receive fastening nuts 1,9. Rising fromy and: centrally within the sectionl 13* isak bolt20 which servesv vas* the bearingf orI pivot for arms12. This bolt` is securedtothe 'bottom wall of section 13 in any desiredf manner, and for instance. bymeans of the 'particu- .larly shaped head 21 as shown. The Abolt 2'0Y eXtends'loosely through thetopfwall of 'are disposed within the sections 13Iand'14, jand normally` urge .the arms 12 toward'each other and outofthe position shown inFig.

11 vTo this end, the spring is atvopposite ends, secured to the sections 13. and/14', preferably by lextending the ends into sock'- ets 25 and f 26, respectively, ofl said sections.

` Arms 12 l at their. outer] extremities, terminate in upwardly and forwardly projecting studs 27 which have screw threads so as to detachably ent-er the sockets provided with screw threads in heads or blocks 28, preferably ornamentally finished. Suitably fastened to the rear of each of the blocks or heads 28, are hinge leaves 29, which by means of pintles 30 are hinged to fender bars orsections 31. Sections 31 are bridged or joined by a fender bar or section 32. Sections 31 and 32 are pivotally or hingedly connected together in any suitable manner as by means of the pintles 33. Outward movement of these fender sections 31 and 32, is limited, by inwardly extending lugs or stops 34 provided on the sections 31 and 32 adj acent the pivots 33 and which stops abut when the fender sections are in their normal position as shown in Fig. 1.

The device collapses into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1, as will be later specifically described, and the parts are automatically locked in this position by a suitable means. One form of such means is best shown in Figs. 7 and 8. Referring thereto, a dog 35 is pivotally connected to the section 26 by means of a removable set screw 36. The dog at its lower end has a beveled wall 37 which coperates with the top of one of the lugs 38 so as to tilt in passing one of the lugs and then fall between the lugs into the locked position as Fig. 7 shows. The dog 35 cannot unduly tilt in the opposite direction since a bevel gear rack 39 is disposed in the path of movement.

Said bevel gear rack 39 is formed integrally with and extends laterally from the movable section 26. Meshing with the teeth of the bevel gear raclr 39 are segmental bevel gears L40, preferably mounted from the sections 13 by means of bolts 41. Intermediate the sections 13 and the segments 40, sleeves or collars 42 are preferably disposed. Said segmental bevel gears 40 are screwed tightly onto the bolts 41 of a net-extending frame. The frame is preferably made in a single piece as shown in Fig. 3. From the ends 41, this frame has downwardly and rearwardly inclined arms 42 which lead to horizontal arms 43 joined by a bridge or transverse arm 44. To the bridge 44,- a net 45 of any suitable width and material is connected. This net is flexible and by way of example, may be made from canvas.

The opposite end and surplusage of the net is wound around a roller or shaft 45 (see Figs. 2, 4 and 5) mounted in a cylinder or casing 47 and one end of which, 48, is removable to facilitate insertion and removal of the parts. This end 48 may be screwed to the casing proper shown. At the bottom of the casing an opening 5() is provided through which the net 45 passes. A spiral spring 51 is fastened to shaft 45 as at 52 and also to the casing as at 53. This spring is used to normally wind the shaft 45 to wrap the net around it and rewind the net after operation of the fender mechanism. In order .to prevent interference between the net and the spring 51, a removable disk or plate 54 may be interposed between them, surrounding the shaft 45 as shown in Fig. 4.

The casing 47 may be mounted at any desired location and from any approved part of the vehicle.` However, it is preferably mounted in the present instance from the front axle of the automobile, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, by the means of U-shaped hangers or brackets. The axle is designated 55 and the hangers are designated 56. Set screws or bolts 57 may clamp or fasten the hangers in place. The lhangers of course are rigidly secured to the casing in any approved manner.

In order that the construction involved in this invention may not be confused with the present automobile structure, I have shown the automobile structure for the most part in dot-dash lines. VThere will be no confusion therefore with the dotted lines representing positions which my improved apparatus may take. The automobile parts of course are also merely diagrammatic and shown to enable a better understanding of the invention to be had. To thisv end, it may be mentioned that the front wheels are shown at 58 and the propelling engine at 59.

It may be statedv too that I prefer the top of the fender sections 31 and 32 to be disposed at a distance of two feet and ten inches in most instances above `the ground. At this height, the fender will; engage an adult below the hips and a child around the waist.l To minimize the impact and injury to captive persons, the sections 31 and 32 on their outer faces are preferably padded as at 60, in any approved manner. j

As the automobile or other vehicle travels and it strikes a person orfother object, ysection 32 of the fender will move directly backward in the direction ofthe arrow to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1. Sections 31 will move in' the direction of their arrows into the dotted line position of the same ligure and armsr 12 willv also move to the dotted line position as shownr in this view. Sections 31 and 32 move from the pivots 30 and 33, while the arms 12 move from the bearings 14 on flanges 15. Springs 24 are not strongly tensioned and hence the apparatus will not injurethe captive during movement of the fender to the dotted line position. The folded parts assume the shape substantially of a trianglev and surround the person or other object. As the parts described fold, the teeth of bevel gears 39, turn the bevel gears 40 and accordingly swing the frame 41-44 outwardly to. the ,v

may extend under the feetof'the captive After the parts move to the dotted line positions of Figs. l and 2, they automatically lock in that position by reason of the engagement of the dogs 35 intermediate the pins or lugs 38. In order to release the object or captive,7 the set screws 36 are're-moved or loosened so that the dogs 35 may 'be'moved from between the lugs 38. After such removal, the operatormay restore 'the arms`12 to the position of Fig. 1 and these arms will of course movethe fender Vsectionsto the usual position and the gear members 39 and 40 Will restore the frame @fl-#14: to

its normal position, While the springs '51 Will rewindthe net.. Lugs 34 prevent collapse of the fender until it again engages an object. r

I have shown merely one preferred embodiment of the invention, in view Vof which fact it is to be understood that I reserve the many changes in the details of construction and arrangement and combination of the parts as maybe made, Within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim l. A fender mechanism having foldable fender sections to abut an object, and means mounting said sections and foldable therewith.

2. A fender mechanism having a plurality of fender sections to abut an object With the outermost section foldable inwardly to move the object substantially toward the center.

3. A fender mechanism having a plurality of fender sections to abut an object, one of said sections being movable rearwardly, and the remaining sections being movable kinwardly relatively theretothrough its rear- Ward movement.

et. A fender mechanism having a plurality of pivotally connected sections foldable through abutment against an object, said sections having stop mechanism to limit their extent of outward movement, means suspending the sections, means to pivotally mount said suspending means, and means associated With the second mentioned means to urge the second mentioned means to fold during folding of the sections.

5. A fender mechanism having a plurality of arms, spring means to urge folding of the arms, foldable fender sections mounted by said arms to abut an object, and means on the sections to prevent operation of the spring means until abutment with an obj ect.

6. A fender mechanism having a plurality of arms, operating spring means for the arms, foldab-le fender sections, and said sections being pivoted to each other and to said arms.

7 A fender mechanism having a plurality of arms, operating springs therefor, heads on the arms, hinge leaves extending from the heads, foldable fender sections, and

' means 'positively driven through movement initiated loyI the fender' to engage the object in aldifferentplane from tlr'e'plane of move- `ment of I the fender.`

10. Afender lmechanism yhaving an lout,-

`Wardly movable* net, mean'sto normally 'maintain the "net'r retracted and. to autonr'atically retract the net after jop'eratio'n, and

means to project'the net acting' counter to the ii'rst 'mentioned 'inealsl 11, A fender mechanism having an out- Wardly `mov`a`ble "net, a 'framle'to which the net is connected, said frame having side arms, gears secured to said side arms, means on which the gears are pivoted to mount the frame, and means to drive the gears to project the net.

12. A fender mechanism having a collapsible fender, pivotal mounting means therefor, having a xed section and a movable section, an object supporting device, a gear member-associated With the device and turnably mounted from the fixed section, and a gear member meshing With the first mentioned gear member and movable With the movable section.`

13. A fender mechanism having a collapsible fender, pivotal mounting means therefor having a fixed section and a movable section, an object-supporting net,and means mounted from said sections and positively operable by movement initiated by the movable section to project the net.l

14. A fender mechanism, having a collapsible fender, pivotal mounting means therefor, means to urge folding of the fender, means to normally prevent folding of the fender, a net, means to project the net through movement of the fender, and means to retract the net.

15. A fender mechanism, having a fender comprising a plurality o-f sections, means to limit the outward movement of the sections, pivotal mounting means for the sections having a fixed section and a movable section, means to urge movement of the movable section inwardly to fold the fender sections, stop means on the fender sections,fa net,l gearing means operable by movement of the movable section to project the net, and means to retract the net after projection.

16. A collapsible fender having a pivotal mounting means comprising a xed section and a movable section, a bolt adjoining the sections, a spring surrounding the bolt and at opposite ends being `seeurerl to the re- Spectlve sections, and cooperating iastening means on the sections engageable to fasten ying means therefor, said mean having a. fixed section and a movable section, a plv- `oteclclog on one of the sections, and keeper means fory the dog on the other section.

. 18. A collapsible fender having a pivotal mounting means comprising a plurality of sections, one of said sections being movable, a. clog pivoted to said movable section, keeper means on the othei section for said dog, and abutment means on the movable section for the dog to prevent undue movement in the improper direction.

19. A collapsible fender having an arm, pivotal mounting means therefor, comprising a vfixed section and a movable section, one section resting on the other section, and the sections at the junction having overlapping anges, a bearing joining the sections, a spring surrounding the bearing and connected to each section, a gear member extending laterally rom the movable section, an object supporting means operable from the said gear member, a dog pivotecl to the movable section, said gear member lying in the path of movement of the clog in one direction, and keeper means on the iXefl section engageable by the clog.

In testimony whereof, I have a'liixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

EARL R. MOUDY.

TWitnesses:

CLAUDE W. REIDER, EUGENE E. HARRAR.

Copievs of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G."

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