US1298014A - One-man top. - Google Patents

Description

A. W` CURTIS.

0NE-MAN TOF. APPLICATION FILED ocT. 30. I9Is.

Patented Mar. 2

,ag VE TroR/VEY ALMON w. confus,l 0F con'rtND, NEW YORK.Y

anni/IAN roi-.

Speccatibn of Letters Patent.

Patented Ma125, 1919.

Aiiiicstion i'u'oetdter so, isis.' serial no'. 128,599;

T 0 all "wk'om t may Condomi: y

Be itf known ythatfl", ALMON W. "Confine, acit'izen of theUnited States of- Aunerica', and resident' -of Cortland,` in' the county@ of Cortland, in the State of NewY Yorkghave inventedv new andlfuseul'Improvements :in One-Man' Tops, of which the `following, taken; in connection withy -the accompanying drawings, is"af;t'ulll, clearyand exact'description. j I

This invention relates'tofcertain improvements in one-man tops `tor automobiles and like' vehicles, and refers more particularly to the means for connectingthe frontand intermediate bowsto the main *lupi-ight bow to Icause them to move in unisonand in proper relation when foldingor unfolding thetop. i e I e These connections are adapted tobel used more particularly" inf connection -with`v the system of bows shownin my pending appli/- cation, Serial No. 79,649, Eebi'uary y2l', 1916, except that thefjmeansl'for connecting the; arched sections of the 'main'upright bow and rear lbow `to"their))respective sockets is somewhat similar tthati shown npending application, Serial No. 117,269, filedAugus-28; 1916- A o Y It is evident however, that the same connections may `be us'ed yfor connecting" Iother forms of ront'a'n'd intermediate Ybows to the main bowv without departing from the spirit ofthis invention l Y Y Tops of' this "character lareV used. more extensively on touring cars having,"frontl and rear seatsv and corresponding' front and A rear sets of doors, the vfront" end ofthe'rtopfbeingV usually attached movable fastening means to theV upper ed'geoftlie wind-shield frame when extended for use sofas to leave a clear -open space at the si-'des between` the rear seat and wind-shield and from the lower edges of the side quarters of` the' top to the rails of the body,-therebypermitti ng the motorists to pass easily into and out of the doors without yinwany, way interfering with the bows ortconnectingmediums,

This arrangement necessitates the extension of thefront bow afcon'siderable distance forwardlyvyfrom the ,main supporting bow which `is secured to the body somedistance to the' rear of the rear doors, and in order to leaveftheclearopen space at the sides referred to, itis necessary vto dispose the frontV and intermediate bows and their connections Ywith *theH main supporting bow within u a comparatively narrow' vertical space between the lower edge-of the side quarters and main portion of the top when l diatebo'ws and main supporting` bow' so as to occupy-a minimum'space close to and within the vertical height of the sidequarters', and at the same' time to enable these bows to be more'casily clashed lor extended by onepersonf"without liability of injuring'the hands by vbeing cau ght bei-Weenv the shea-ring parts so common in theonefman tops now in common use. L

Opposite arms of ythefront bow 'are' made insections" pivoted to eachv otherto'forin toggle connnections with themainfsupportingl'bow, the toggle joints beingprovided withY stop shoulders yto limit their.' upward movement- Yabout a substantially horizontal po'sitionwhen the top is extended, andanother object of the invention is toA arrange theconnecting links between the fronty sectionof' the front bow and inain'supportingf bow so as to automatically lock said'sectibns inoperative position when the: top is adj usted for use. y c

Another object is to connect the interine diat'e vbow to the main supporting bow' by separate links which areso arranged as to assist the supporting links for the front bow, in automatically holding the top in its extended position.

A still further object isto arrange the bow-*supporting links in such manner that whenthe front end of the top is freed from connection with' the wind-shieldframe, it is simply necessary to depress the toggle joints of the front bow suliciently to break the toggle lock, whereupon the bows will partially collapse by their own weight.

Another obj ect is to provide simple means to Vcompensate for slight variations in the lengths of the links orbows and to utilize such compensatingY means for assuring a positive toggle lock ofthe front bow oints when the top is extended.

Other objects and uses will @be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings-fr Figure l isa side elevationof an extend! ed one-man top, showing thev various fea# tures of my invention, the dotted lines indicating, respectively, the partially collapsed position of the front portion of the top', and the linal clashing position of the entire top.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation, partly in section, of a portion of the main supporting bow and adj acent ends of the front and intermediate bow-supporting members, showing also the compensating device for the link motions.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on line 3 3, Fig. l.

y Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken in the plane of line 4 4, Fig. :2.

The top supporting frame comprises a main supporting bow -l-, a rear bow -2-, a front bow 3, and an intermediate bow -4-, together with suitable links -5- and -6- and a rocking member -7- for connecting the front section of the front bow -3- and the intermediate bow luto the main supporting bow .-1- in a man ner hereinafter described.

The main supporting bow -lcomprises a pair of socket members -S- pivotally secured at -9- to the main body, as -A-, of the vehicle some distance to the rear of the rear bars or at opposite sides of the rear seat, and an arched member 10- having its opposite ends abutting against the upper ends of the sockets --8 and secured thereto by couplings lL- similar to those shown in my pending application, Serial No. 717,269, previously referred to, and not necessary to herein illustrate or describe because the particular form of coupling forms no part of my present invention. l

The rear bow -2- is very similar to the main bow -1-, in that it comprises socket members -8- and an arched member -10- having its ends secured to the upper ends of the socket members -8- kby couplings ll-, the lower ends of the socketed members -2- being pivoted at 12- to the lower ends of the sockets 8- so as to allow both bows -1- and 2- to clash together one over the other.

The front bow S3- comprises an arched section -l0, similar to those previously described, having its ends secured to a pair of oppositely disposed toggle arms 13- in any suitable manner similar to that set forth in my pending application, Serial No. 79,649, previously mentioned, the arms -l"- being pivotally connected at 14- to the adjacent ends of another pair of arms 15- which, in turn, are pivoted at their rear ends at -16- to the socket `members -8-, or rather to the couplings -l1-, as shown in section in Fig. 3, and together with the sections l3 form opposite toggles which, when straightened out, serve to hold the top, as -B-, in its extended position.

The axes of the pivots -14- are preferably disposed within or above the plane of the sections 1S- and l5- which are formed vith abutting shoulders F7- ebelow the pivot to limit their upward flexing movement to a substantially horizontal plane. v

When the top is attached for use, the front bow -3 may be secured by any of the well-known fastening devices to the upper edge of a wind-shield frame Cw to hold such top -against undue vibration relativelyV to the body, and also to assist in retaining the top in its extended position, it being understood that the toggle sectionsA +13- and -l5-`e together with the bow section -10- will be disposed above the lower edge of the side quarters, as -b-, ofthe top when the latteris extended v The intermediate bow comprises an arched or bow section -l0- similar to that previously described and opposite arms l2/ y similar to, but somewhat shorter than, the arms *13h and having their rear ends pivoted at `-18- to the intermediate portions of the rear sections -15- of the front bow -,3-.

The links -5-, only one of which is` shown, are located at opposite sides ofthe frame and pivoted at their front ends at -20 to the front bow sections -13- some distance in front of the toggle joint or pivot -lfl-, their rear ends being pivotally connected at -2lto the upper ends of the rock arm -7 some distance above the pivots *le* for the rear sections of the front bow.

The links -6-, only one of which is shown, are also located at opposite sides of the top-supporting frame and have their front ends pivotally connected at 2Q- to the arms -13-` of the intermediate bows -18-, substantially equal to the distance rear ends of the links -6 being pivoted axial with the corresponding pivots of the links -5- so that both links 5- and -6- may swing about the same axes.

The distance between the axes of the pivots -16- and ,-21 is approximately twice the distance between the pivots -18- and 22-, or -l7- and --20,y so as to allow the front and intermediate bows, together with their respective links, to clash close to each other and to the main-supporting bow -l-, the relative positions of these parts when partially clashed being shown by dotted lines in F ig..1. y

The compensating devices or rocking members 7, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2, are pivoted at 23- to opposite sides of the main-supporting bow-l, or rather to the couplings -ll-, a short dis- Leesgoiir tance below the pivots -2land are provided with pendent arms -245- playingbetween yadjustable stops 25p and -26- for limiting the vforward and rearward movement of the upper yends thereof and links #5- and -6- connected thereto.

The links -5- and -6- are preferably straight bars of fiat steel or other suitable material and are connected and adjusted to the bow sections -1S- and -13-, respectively, so that when the top is extended for use, the pivot -lTwis slightly above a direct line between the pivots -20- and w21# so as to hold the abutting faces of the toggle oints against each other, or rather to hold the toggle joint against vertical vibration, and if for any reason, as for example through wear, there should be any tendency of the toggle joints to'break downwardly, the adjusting screws or limiting stops -25- may be tightened against the extension #-94%- of the rock arm -17- to take up the lost motion, the major portion of each rock arm being covered or protected by a v`cap* "-2T, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3.

The fabric top -B- is usually drawn tightly over the bow sections -10- and fastened to the rear end of the main body under suiiicient tension to normally hold the front end of the top or front bow section -10- some three or four inches above the points of attachment to the wind-'shield frame -C- so that in order to make the connection between the front end of the top and wind-shield, it is necessary to draw such front end downwardly until engaged with the fastening means, thus increasing the tension of the fabric top, and at the same time drawing forwardly and downwardly from the pivot -20- and link -5 to establish a more positive lock of the toggle joint by reason of the upward and rearward pull of the link -5- along a line below the axis of such joint. Y

While the toggle joint is passing through a direct line between the pivots -20- and 2las for example in locking and breaking the joint, there -is a tendency to buckle the link -5-, but this is prevented by the slight movement of the rocking member -7- which may then rock away from the stop -25- toward the stop -26-- This movement, however, is only slight under any conditions, but aids materially in the easy folding and unfolding of the bows, and at the same time provides means for assuring a positive lock at the toggle joint -17 when the top is extended for use.

The arched sections -10- of the several bows are substantially identical in construction,-in that each consists of a tubular metal bar -30- having a lengthwise channel w-3l-- in its outer face in wfhich a strip -3Q- of wood is tightly held by compressing the opposite sides of ytlhe channell against the wood, which lat-ter is adaptedk to receive the tacks by which the flaps usually' pro' vided on the inner side of the fabricftop may be easily and quickly secured to the bows, the remaining portions of the metal tubes -30- being hollow to receive tlhe adjacent end;` of the bow sections, as --13#V or l f-f.

In clashing the top from the position shown in Fig: 1 of the'drawings, it is simply necessary to loosen the connection between the front bow andl wind-shield frame -Cf, whereupon the tension of the fabric top +B will automatically lift the front end of the bow yout of engagementA with said frame, whereupon upon either of thesecti'ons -13 or 15J will break the toggle joint -17-4- downwardlyV and allow the front portion ofthe top to clash by its own weight to or beyond the position shown by dott-ed 'lines atA the frontv of the main-supportingV bow '-8-,

Fig. l. j Y Y When this portion of the top is clashed against the main supporting bow, tlhe remaining bows may be clashed downwardly and rearwardly by their own weight.

'Ihe top may also be easily extended or adjusted for use by reversing these operations.

It will be evident, however, from the foregoing description that the main features of the invention lie in the construction and arrangement of the links -5- and -6- and rocking member -7-, but I do not wish to limit myself to the use of the rocking member, nor to the specific points yof attadhment of the links.

Vhat I claim is:

l. In a folding top for vehicles, the combination of a main bow, a rocking member thereon, a front bow composed of front and rear sections hinged to each other and having its rear section pivoted to the main bow, an intermediate bow pivoted to the rear section of the front bow, and links pivotally connected at one end to the rocking member and having their opposite ends connected, respectively, to the front section of the front bow and to the intermediate bow.

2. In a. folding top for vehicles, the combination of a main bow, a rocking member thereon, a front bow composed of front and rear sections hinged to each other and having its rear section pivoted to the main bow,

an intermediate bow pivoted to the rear section of the front bow, links pivotally connected at one end to the rocking member and having their opposite ends connected, respectively, to the front section of the front bow vand to the intermediate bow, and an adjustable stop for limit-ing the rocking movement of said member in one direction.

3. In a folding top for vehicles, the combination of a main bow, a front bow coma :sligiht downward pull posed of front and rear sections hinged to each other, the rear section being pivoted to the main bow, an intermediate bow pivoted to the rear section of `the front bow, a linksupport on the main fbolw, and separate links pivoted atl one end to said support and having their opposite ends pix/Totally connected,

respectively, to the front section of the fronty bow and to the intermediate bow at substantially equal distances from the hinged joint of the front bow and the pivot of the intermediate bow.

4t. In a folding top for vehicles, the com bination with main bow sockets, a main bow lia-ving its ends abutting against the ends of the sockets, couplings connecting the adjacent ends of the bow and sockets, a. front .bow having toggle arms pivot-ally connected to the couplings, rocking members pivotall;T mounted on said couplings, an intermediate bow pivoted to the toggle arms of the front bow, links connecting the rocking member with the front bow, and additional links conbow pivoted to the toggle arms of the front bolw, links connecting the `rocking member with the front bow, additionallinks connecting `the rocking member with the intermediate bow, and adjustable stops on the couplings for limiting the movement ofthe rocking members. n

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 21st day of October, 1916.

ALMON WV. CURTIS. lVitnesses:

H. E. CHASE, ALICE M. CANNON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

Images