US1485038A - Vehicle buffer - Google Patents

Description

W3; 2% 197240 m s aa a I G. A: LYON VEHICLE BUFFER Filed Jan. 19. 1921 33 4 1tow% I Patented Feb. 26, 1924.

UNITED STATES GEORGE ALBERT LYON, OF PHILADELPHIA,- PENNSYLVANIA.

VEHICLE BUFFER.

Application filed January 19, 1921. Serial Not 438,295.

To all whom it may concem Be it known that I, GEORGE ALBERT LYON. a citizen of the United States, and resident of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have made acertain new and useful Invention Relating to Vehicle Buffers, of which the following is a specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, which forms part of the same.

This invention relates especially'to resilient strip automobile buffers or bumpers which may comprise end loops and connected attaching members to be clamped or secured to the vehicle, while the impact receiving or bulfer front members which may be arranged in overlapping reenforcing position'may advantageously be bent upward and downward beyond the end loops, so as to form upwardly and downwardly extending contact portions within or adjacent the double strength bufi'er' front. By bending each of the bufl'er front members alternately upward and downward beyond the eneral level of the impact receiving mem er a series of such projecting contact portions may be provided and by more or less intertwining these two bent buffer front portions, still further strength and rigidity may be secured. For-many purposes it is sufiicient to give each of the over lapping ends of the buffer front members a single downward and upward arched bend, so that whenoverlapped by the other cooperating front member the buffer front presents a generally intertwined appearance which is more or less preserved when the front members are laterally adjusted to suit different width vehicles. In some cases the ends of these buffer front members may be bent into line with the cooperating connector portions of the other front mem-. her which facilitates clamping them together by the use of the usual encircling clamping members.

In the accompanying drawing showing in a somewhat diagrammatic way various illustrative embodiments of this invention.

Fig. 1 is a perspective front view of a buffer; and A I Fig. 2 is a corresponding view when the buffer has been adjusted to lit a narrower vehicle. 1 1

Figs. 3 and 4 are similar views .of'other illustrative buffers.

The bulfermay advantageously be formed of tempered springsteel strip'which may be one quarter to three eights of an inch thick andone and three quarters'totwo and one half inches wide more or less and for many purposes two generallysimilar strips may be formed, each comprising an attaching member, end loop and overlapping impact receiving front member. 'In the buffer shown in Fig. 1 for example, the front member Q, may be integral with'the'end loop 3 and the attachingmeinber at while the other front member 1 may be integral with the end loop 5 and attaching memberfi. As illustrated the front member 2 may be formed with the alternately arranged downwardly and upwardly extending arches 7, 8 which are. alternately bent below and above the level of the end'lo'op and connector portion 9 of this buffer element. The other bufi'er element may have a correspondingly arranged downwardly bend 9, 10 and upwardly extending arch or contact portion 11 adjacent the end connectorpo-rti'on .12,

which may extend substantially in line with the end loop and cooperating connector portion 2 of the other bufier strip; Any de-. 7

sired form of clamping or connecting de vices may be used to securely connect these buffer elements at the desired points and it is usually advantageous to adjustably connect these parts so as to provide a sufiicient width adjustment of the attaching members to accommodate different width automobile frames. j For this purpose the enclosing clamping members 13, 14 may be secured around the relatively straight or aligned connector portions of the strip, so that they are firmly secured in overlapping reenforcing cooperation so that the upwardlv'and downwardly projecting contact portions are strongly supported to resist collision im-' pact. At the" same time these parts may be adjusted throughout a range of several inches or more and Fig; 2 shows such an'adjustment for a narrower automobile frame where the parts still have a generally intertwined or-in'terlooped appearance from the front, the meeting point 24 of the upper edges of thestrip in" thecenter being somewhat lower than in the symmetrical midposition shown in'Fig. 1.' r

-Fig. 3 shows another illustrative buffer in which the front'membereor strip 15 has generally similar downward and upward arched portions 17', 18, the connector-end 19 being however-deft in oblique position so as to extend diagonally acrossthe cooperating connector portion of the other front member 16. This other front strip 16 may have the bent or sinuously curved contact portions 21, 22, while its end connector portion 23 may also be angularly arranged as indicated. U-boltconnector or clamping de vices such as 20 are desirable forthis type of construction especially when the reenforcing front portions are sufiiciently bent aroundeach other orintertwined vso that both the inclined connection portions are arranged back of the other relatively straight strips 15, 16. These Ubolt clamping devices which may extend through holes in these connector ends 19, 23 may have the tighteners 25 to securely clamp the parts in adjusted position, the point of intersection 24 varying somewhat with the lateral adjustment of the parts as in .theprevious case.

Fig. 4 shows stillanother arrangement in which the sinuously bent overlapping portions of the front members are formed sepa rately and bolted or clamped to the other parts which somewhat facilitates manufacture and shipping. In this case the front connector portion 26 terminates in the end 27, while the other endloop 5 has a similar straight connector portion 27, 28. The double reenforcingfront elements may comprise substantially straight connector portions 29, 39, while the strip element may have the bent contact portionsBO, 31 extending below and above the level of its connector portions and also the end loops of the elements to which it may be connected.

\ The other sinuous element to which these parts may be connected may comprise the connectorportions 32, .35 and the bent contact portions 33, 3 these parts being preferably intertwined or twisted around each other as indicated which promotes the close engagement adjacent the point 88. Any suitable clamping or connecting devices such as 36, 37 or even wider enclosing clamps if desired may be used to securely connect all of these cooperating connector portions in desired adjusted position and with this an rangem'ent, width adjustment m'ay be secured without in any wayaltering the contour of the intertwined front portions of the buffer.

This invention has been described in connection with a number of embodiments, forms, proportions, parts, arrangements, materials, methods of connection and use, to the details of which disclosure the invention is not of course tobe limited, since what is claimed as new and what is 'desired to be secured by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. The automobile buffer consisting of two integral spring steel strips having greater vertical width than thickness and each comprising an attaching member, an

intermediate end loop and an impact receiving buffer front member arranged in overlapping reenforcing cooperation With the other front member of the buffer, each of said'bu'lfer front members being sinuously bent adjacent its ends to form two contactportions extending respectively upward and downward beyondlthe level of its end loop and having its end connector portion bent substantially into line with thecooperating connectorportion of the other bulferfront member, one of said end portions being twisted around the other buffer front memher; and encirclingclamping members rigmeans rigidly connecting said cooperating I connector portions in I a 3. The automobile buffer consisting of twointegralresilient fiat steel strips having greater vertical width than thickness and each comprising an attaching member, an

end loop and an impact receiving buffer front member arranged in overlapping reenforcingcooperation with the other member of the butter, each of said buifer' front members being formed adjacent its end with bent contact portions extending upward and downward beyond the level of its end loop and clamping members detachably and rigidly connecting said cooperating connector portions in laterally adjusted position.

a. The automobile buffer consistin of two integral resilient fl'at steel strips Traving greater vertical Widththan thickness and each com-prising an attaching member, and an impact receiving buffer front member arranged in overlapping reenforcing cooperation with the other frontmember of the butter, each of said buffer front members being formed with bent contact portions extending upward and downward beyond the level ofits end and clamping members detachab ly and rigidly connecting said :00: operating connector portions. i

5. The automobile Ibuifer formed of resilient steel strip having greater vertical width 5 portion of the other bufier front member and clamping members rigidly connecting said cooperating connector portions and provide for lateral adjustment.

6. The automobile buffer formed of resilient steel strip having greater vertical width than thickness and comprising attaching members, end loops and impact receiving bufier front members arranged in overlapping reenforcing cooperation with each other. each of said buffer front members being bent to form a plurality of contact portions extending upward and downward beyond the level of its end loop and clampating connector portions. 7

7. The automobile bufier formed of resilient steel strip having greater vertical width than thickness and comprising end loops and integral impact receiving buffer front members arranged in overlapping reenfor'cing' cooperation with each other, each of said loufi'er front members being formed with bent contact portions extending-"alternately upward and. downward beyond the level of its end loop portion and having an end portion bent substantially into line with the cooperating connector portion of the other bufi'er front member and connecting members rigidly connecting said cooperating connector portions.

GEORGE ALBERT LYON.

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