US1408161A - Vehicle bow-top holder - Google Patents

Description

C. L. BAIR.-

VEHICLEBOW o? HO LDER. APPLICATION FILED JUNE H, 1919.

1:,408,161 Patented Feb. 28, 1922 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE.

CLARENGE L. BATE, OF ST. JOSE-PH. MECI-IIGAN, ASSIGNOB 'lO AUTO SPECIALTIES MANUFACTURING 00., CALIFORNIA.

ixTCZbCO, CALIFORNIA, -A CORPORATION OF VEHICLE BOW-TOP HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Original application filed February 21, 1917, Serial No. 150,068. Divided and this application filed June 11, 1919. serial No; 303,354.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that l, Cranmer L. BANK, a citizen of the United States, residing at tit. Joseph, in the county of Berrien and State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Vehicle Bow- Top Holders, of which the following is a specification.

This application is a division of my earlier application, Serial Number 150,068, filed February 21st, 1917.

This invention relates to vehicle bow top holders now in common use, one form of which is shown in my prior U. S Patent Number 1,010,110, and is an improvement upon my prior application, Serial Number 72,624, filed January 17th, 1916. The object of the invention is to provide means for preventing the locking link which connects the swinging arm to the stock from slipping too far down the stock so that the link can be broken.

The invention consists in a device capable of carrying out the foregoing objects, which can be easily and cheaply made, which is satisfactory in operation and is not readily liable to get out of order. It further con sists in the features and details of=construction which will be hereafter more fully set forth in the specification and claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which similar numerals indicate the same parts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a front, and

Figure 2 is a side view of mechanism illustrating this invention in its preferred form, the parts thereof being in closed position or in that position which they will assume when embracing the bows of a vehicle top.

Figure 3 is a changed position view of the device of Figure 1, showing the bow holder open ready to admit the bows of the vehicle top.

As is well understood in the art, the bow separator itself comprises a stock member 10 having pivoted to it at 12 a swinging arm 14: securable at its top to the stock by the mechanism hereafter described, there being between the stock and arm an elongated space 16 within which the bows (not shown) of the top of the vehicle to which the device is applied are adapted, when folded down,

to rest and be secured bvthe device against jumping, rubbing and chafing.

The holder is detachably securable to the vehicle body by the mechanism 18, or any other suitable mechanism. for the purpose. the same forming no part of the invention of this application, and therefore not de scribed'in detail.

Modern practice requires that the arm let be lined with a rubber cushion 20, and that this rubber cushion be provided along its length with one or more how lifts 22 adapted, as the arm 14 is closed, to lift the adjacent bow of the top into concave recess 23 which is the real bow separator, all as more clearly the link 38 passing over and locking in notch 4 or bearing 52 upon a specially formed upper end portion 10 of stock 10, said notch opening rearwardly cf the stock, as shown The lever member 3a operated on fulcrum point or pivot 36 creates a powerful pressure upon the link 38 to stretch it and thus hold the stock and arm together. As the parts are all of metal, it is essential, in order to avoid breaking of the link 38, that all the parts be in proper position, shown in Figure 1, when this stretching operation takes place. As the link 36 is made of parallel bars, as shown (see Figure 2), somewhat wider than the normal thickness of the stock 10, there is danger, under ordinary conditions, of the link 38 slipping downward on the stock 10 to a point, say 50, instead of resting in the notch 52, formed in the member 10, heretofore described, and if the link 38 should so drop down to 50 and then closing pressure be exerted on the lever 34, the link 38 would be unduly strained, with the result of breaking either the link 38 or lever 34 or attached parts. This difiiculty is overcome by placing on at least one side of the stock 10, preferably on both, a projecting stop member 54 of su'liicient length as to alwaysengage the link member 38 and elfectually prevent any part of the link moving down the stock be yond this stop, or the pair of stops it they are on both sides.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A device of the character described, comprising a stock arranged to be attached to a vehicle body, an arm hinged adjacent to one-end of said stock, an operating lever pivotally mounted upon the tree extremity of said arm, 'a link carried by said lever adapted to pass over and engage the free end of the stock to clamp the bows of a vehicle top between said stock and said arm, said link being of such a size that it could, but for a stop, pass an indefinite distance down said stock, and a stop device adjacent to the upper end of the stock adapted to prevent undue movement of the link along the stock beyond its end, for the purposes set forth.

2. A device of the character described,

comprising a stock arranged to be attached to a vehicle body, an arm hinged adjacent to one end of said stock, an operating lever pivotally mounted upon the tree extremity of said arm, a link carried by said lever adapted to pass over and engage the free end of the stock to clamp the bows of a vehicle top between said stock and said arm, said link being of such a size that it could, but for a stop, pass an indefinite distance down said stock, and a stop device adjacent to the upper end of the stock projecting from the side of the stock across the normal plane of travel of a part of the link adapted to prevent undue movement of the link along the stock beyond its end, for the purposes set forth.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a stock arranged to be attached to a vehicle body, an arm hinged adjacent to one end of said stock, an operating lever pivotally mounted upon the free extremity of said arm, a link carried by said lever adapted to pass over and engage the free end of the stock to clamp the bows of a vehicle top between said stock and said arm, said link being of such a size that it could, but for a stop, pass an indefinite distance down said stock, and a stop device adjacent to the upper end of the stock projecting from the side of the stock parallel to the axis of thepivotal mounting between the stock and arm across the normal plane of travel of a part of the link adapted to prevent undue movement of the link along the stock beyond its end, for the purposes set forth.

L In a bow-clamping device, the combination of a vertical stock equipped with body attaching means, said stock having its up:

per end provided with a rearwardlyppen" recessed bearing, a bow-clamping member having its lower end portion pivotally connected with the lower'end portion of said stock, alever carried by the upper end of said bow-clamping member and equipped with a stock-engaging member adapted to project past the upper end of said stock and engage said bearing, said link being of such a size that it could but for a stop pass an indefinite distance down-said stock, and a stop mechanism at the upper end of the stock adapted to prevent the stock engaging members ever moving downward along the stock, thus to insure the stock engaging members engaging only with said bearing on the stock. i

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

WVitnesses:

C. B. WINSLOW, W. V. TOWNSEND,

CLARENCE L. BAIR.

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