US138087A - Improvement in thill-couplings - Google Patents

Description

UNITED "STATES PATENT QFrrcE;

GEORGE W. HOBART, OF LOWELL, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, JEROME B. MELVIN, OF TEWKESBURY, AND JAMES H. PINDAR, OF LOWELL,

MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN THlLL-COUPLINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 138,087, dated April 22, 1873; application filed August 31, 1872.

To all whom itrmay concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. HOBART, of Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented an Improved Supplementary Thill- Coupling, of which the following is a specification:

My invention relates to a safety attachment for connecting the thills of carriages to the axle-trees of the same, for the purpose of supplying the place of the ordinary coupling when the latter is accidentally broken or uncoupled and consists in a draft-rod and a loop, (either one of which is attached to the thill and the other to the axle-tree of a carriage,) said draftrod passing through said loop, and terminating in an enlarged head; or, instead of said draft-rod, another loop may be used, as hereinafter described.

The accompanying drawing represents my invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my invention, showing the draft-rod and loop attached to the thill and axletree, respectively, only a part of the thill and axle-tree being shown. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of another form of my invention, showing the two loops. Fig. 3 shows the detached loop. Fig. 4 shows the detached rod. Fig. 5 shows a draft-rod curved to adapt it to be used with the loop herein shown, the latter being dropped down from the front end of the yoke, and at a right angle to said yoke. Fig. 6 shows the loop at the rear end of the yoke, and at a rightangle to the yoke.

A is the bed piece of the axle-tree of a carriage. K is the axle-tree. B is the clasp or clip, which passes over the bed-piece A and the axle-tree K, the ends of said clip terminating in screws which pass through the yoke G.

below the axle-tree into threaded nuts, in the usual manner. From the clip B two studs project forward, and are punched or drilled to receive the bolt F, which passes also through the shaft-eye G. The shaft-eye G is secured to the shaft or thill by bolts H H, in the usual manner. I have now described the thill-coupling in common use on light carriages. I increase the length of the yoke O in front, caus ing it to reach under the rear end of the shaft, as in Fig. 1. The projecting forward end of the 'yoke O has in it a vertical longitudinal slot,

and is curved slightly downward. Through this slot or loop passes the draft-rod D, which has an enlarged head at one end, marked E, and at the other end is flattened into a plate. The flat end of the draft-rod D is secured below the shaft-eye G by the bolts H H, which pass through the thill, the shaft-eye, and said flat end of said draft-rod, into threaded nuts. The enlarged head E of the draft-rod is wider than the slot in the yoke 0, through which said yoke passes, so that if the bolt F breaks, or is lost out of place, the head E will prevent the shaft from becoming entirely disconnected from the ax1e-tree, and the carriage may be drawn safely by the draft-rod and loop until the horse can be stopped, or even until a new coupling can be obtained. Instead of the arrow-shaped head E, the draftrod may end in a T or cross bar, or any other enlargement. Instead of the draft-rod D, another loop may be used, as shown in Fig. 2, the loop being attached to the shaft in the same manner as the rod D, by the bolts H H, represented in Fig. 1, the ends of said loop L being flattened and punched for that purpose, the two loops linking into each other, or two loops, such as described, may be connected by a link.

The draft -rod and the loop may change places with each other.

The loop on the yoke 0 may be dropped down at a right angle to said yoke, and in this case may be either at the front end of said yoke, as in Fig. 5, or at the rear end of said yoke, as in Fig. 6.

The advantages of my invention are, that it furnishes a greater security against accidents (in case the thill-coupling proper breaks) than the leather safety-strap now commonly employed, because the former is less liable to be injured by exposure to the weather than the latter, and also because there is less friction of the parts of my invention, so that they do not wear out as quickly as a strap, and that the parts of my invention cannot be separated by accident, unless they are broken.

I claim as my invention- 7 The loop on the yoke O, in combination with the draft-rod D or the loop L, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

GEORGE HOBART.

Witnesses:

ALBERT M. MOORE, NATHANIEL HILL.

Images