US1655174A - Juvenile vehicle - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 3, 1928. 1,655,174

- C. W. WHITE JUVENILE VEHICLE Filed April 16. 192a I ICLARENCEWATSON WHITE H15 ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 3, 1928.

CLARENCE WATSON WHITE, OF NORTH BENNINGTON, VERMONT,

UNITED STATES- JUVENILE VEHICLE.

Application filed April 16, 1926.

My invention relates to improvements in juvenile vehicles, and more particularly to propulsion means for cart-s for small children, such as go-carts, baby tenders and the like. I

An object of my invention is to provide propulsion means for carts for small children, which means with vchange of position may be employed for either pushing the vehicle or for drawing the same after one in the usual manner of childrens vehicles.

Another object of my invention is to provide means whereby vehicle-s for small children may be pushed or drawn by a person other than the rider, said means being designed for guiding the vehicle with equal 'etliciency when being pulled as in pushing the same.

A further object of the present improvement is to provide a propelling and guiding device of the type referred to which is strong and durable in its operable connections and may be inexpensively manufactured for use.

Other objects and applications to use will appear as the specification develops, which it will not be necessary to describe further in this connection.

My present invention, generically described, comprises a tongue-like attachment which is secured ,to a dirigible type of vehicle, either in front, as small wagons are drawn, or to the rear of the back bolster by means of a specially designed bracket or brackets to which the tongue member is readily attachable and detachable. When attached the tongue is firmly held in position and may be promptly and easily detached when cesired.

The bracket for operably attaching the push rod or tongue comprises, in the pre ferred form shown, two projecting ears spaced apart at equal distances from the central line of the bolster or other part of the vehicle to Which they are attached.

The tongue member has a T-bar firmly secured to its end, whose respective right and left hand ends areforined to enter the ear-bracket referred to, forming a hinged connection to permit the tongue member to swing vertically, but not otherwise, thereon.

The engaging ends of the T-bar, which are preferably flattened for reasons hereinafter explained more in detail, are shouldered to provide projections of; reduced Serial No. 102,438.

widtlrto enter the eyes of the brackets or ear pieces, and specially designed means may be employed to retain the ends therein more firmly in place in all operable positions.

The means employed for readily applying or detaching the tongue member may subsist in the forms of openings in the ear pieces, such as, for example, horizontally disposed slots extending from the orifices outwardly of one or both of the ear pieces through which the flattened and shouldered ends of the T-bar of the tongue may freely pass.

In its simplest form the slotted eye of the supporting brackets. may be cut through to the opening upon a line other than that at which the tongue would normally be held while the cart is being pushed or pulled, the tongue on being carried out of such introductory position being thereafter held firmly in position by the rounded bear ings internally supplied by the eyes of the bracket, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

In the preferred form of my invention, however, I introduce additional mechanism for holding the T-bar in place in all positions, which comprises a fiat spring member placed alongside of one or both of the brackets, each spring member having a closed orifice corresponding to and in alignment with the eye of the bracket to which it pertains, the eye of the bracket being slotted. as aforesaid.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrative of a preferred form of my invention,

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation upon the medial vertical plane of the vehicle with tongue member detached;

Fig. 2 is a partial sectional view on line 2--2 of Fig. 1, showing the manner of securing the tongue supporting brackets to a bolster of the vehicle, with tongue member attached; I

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view similar to the preceding figure, with an end of the tongue crossbar shown in position for entering the eye of the bracket to the side of which a spring latch is shown;

Fig. i is a vertical section of a portion of a bolster showing a modified form of bracket thereon with tongue attachment in place for propelling the vehicle.

5 is a horizontal partial section showing another modified form of my improvement with a different form of tongue attachment in place therein; and

Fig. 6 is an isometric representation of the modification shown in 5 with certain parts dissociated and others in moved positions.

The present improvements are described and illustrated in the drawings in connection with childs vehicles 1, which are of the type nsed for very small children and are variously I described as baby tenders, go-carts or otherwise, which have fixed wheels, usually at the rear, a swivelled or castor-mounted wheel or wheels at the front; and the form illustrated comprises a seat portion 2 similar to the flat seat feature of Letters Patent No. 1,220,038, granted me for childrens vchicles on March 20, 1917.

The seat board 2 is supported upon its respective front and rear bolsters 3 and 4 to which it is rigidly secured, thereby making the forward member stationary and not to turn. as in the usual wagon construction.

Upon the front and rear faces of the respective front and rear bolsters are attached by means of screws, nails or other convenient means, the angular brackets 5 and 10, which, in the preferred forni of my invention, have in the right hand member thereof the open orifices 6 and similarly in the other bracketmember the closed orifice 11.

Obviously the brackets 5, 10 could be made of a single piece, the ends of which being bent to form those members. However, in

' practice it has been found more convenient and less expensive to make the two-piece construction illustrated in the drawings, and attach them separately.

Thebrackets 5 and 10 are therefore similar in form and placed upon the same horizontal line at equal distances from the medial vertical lines of the respective bolsters to which they relate, being separated in the connections shown, it having been found serviceable to place them four or five inches one from the other.

In the preferred form now being considered the bracket 5 has the horizontal slot 7 that opens the orifice to the front, the slot portion being medially disposed relatively to the orifice, and has adjacent to its outer face the flat spring catch 8 whichhas around orifice 9 of substantially the same size as that of the bracket and inalignment therewith. The latch member 8 is formed preferably of flat spring steel to correspond to the angular shape of the bracket to which it pertains and may operably be held in place by the same screws 18 which secure 7 the bracket in place there-against.

The catch 8 has an extended end that is bent outwardly, as best shown in Fig. 3, so as to permit the end of the cross-bar 17 to pass into the slot 7 while forcing aside the less than the. distance bet-ween bracket-s 5 and 10. Hence when one reduced or attachable end with a cross member or.70

T-bar that is rigidly and permanently joined at its middle section to. the end of the tongue member by welding, or in any convenient manner.

In the preferred forms illustrated, the T- bar 17 is of flat steel having at its respective ends the reduced or shouldered extensions 18 of a width adapted freely to enter into and turn within the orifices 6 and 11 of the respective brackets 5 and 10. c

The shoulders of the T-bar 1.7 which define the length and locations of the reduced ends 18 are spaced apart at a distance slightly L vi the eai end of the tee is inserted into the orifice 11 of the bracket 10 the other end may be forced forward from the position indicated in F 3 past the latch 8 into the position shown in Fig. 2 where the latch is shown returned sarily be lifted above the plane of this slotted opening and bring the bearing'portion of the end 18 of the T-bar of the tongue against the interior of the orifice of the bracket, which is made correspondingly strong totake'the thrusts incident to being pulled thereby. Accordingly .the function of the spring latch S is to prevent the tongue from becoming. inadvertently detached when not in use, and for retaining the parts in operable position at all times, or until it is desired to detach the tongue, which may readily be done by pressing the latch back by the thumb or otherwise and pressing the end of the Ti'llill. outwardly while holding the ton I which the vehicle runs.

a The brackets 5, 1.0, itlias been seen, are intended for both forward.-and;rear attachment to the vehicle, to accomplish which these angle pieces, similar in form and arrangement, are attached to the rearward surface of the rear bolster. V I

It is thus providedthat the tongue may at pleasure be detached from its connective bearings at the forward end of the tender and in the same manner as before made to function as a pusher, the person driving the device walking in the rear.

By virtue of the. T-bar feature of the tongue member, it will, readily be seen that guc parallel with the surface over M5 the tongue, whether pulling or pushing the vehicle, forms a strong and etficient means for guiding the vehicle to the right or left. The element of strength and rigidity, it will be readily understood, is especially important in view of the fact that the vehicle for which the pusher tongue is designed may carry a relatively heavy load to he guided at times over whatever irregularities and obstructions may be encountered.

The slot '7 may obviously be changed in location and also in form, without departing from the essence of my invention. Thus, in F t the angle of the slot has been modified so that its forward trend is slightly downward, therefore .when the tongue is lying close to the surface upon which the vehicle stands, the end 18 of the T-bar 1'? will still be engaged by the forward side of the orifice 11. In this form of construction obviously there will be no need of additional retaining means, such as the spring latch 8 that has hereinabove been described in more or less detail. In attaching the tongue member 15 through a depending slot of the general type, the vehicle may require very slight elevating at the end to which it is desired to apply-the tongue memher while making the connection.

Another permissible modification is shown in 5 and 6, in which a vertically disposed slot 12 is formed at the top of the orifice 11 requiring the end 18 of the T-bar 17' to be held vertically while being inserted through. the top of the bracket. Here it will be seen that while, in all other positions excepting the vertical one, the bracket 1O will retain the tongue in operable condition; yet to enable the device to be lifted up at its forward end by means of the tongue, provision must be made to prevent the T-bar be ing lifted out of its socket.

In view of the fact, therefore, that it is often found necessary to lift that portion of the vehicle bodily upward to mount an obstacle or otherwise elevate the front of the vehicle, I have provided a sliding member 20 that has upon one or both sides of the T-bar to which it is attached, a semi-circular projecting member 21 adapted to enter and till the space of the orifice 11*. The slides 20 may be pressed into position or readily withdrawn by means of the thumb piece 22 that projects laterally from the end of the slide 20 opposite that upon which the extension or filler piece 21 is supported.

I claim:

1. In a dirigible vehicle for small children. a detachable pusher-tongue having a handle and a T-bar with flat ends, supporting means on said vehicle for said pushertongue comprising brackets having orifices adapted to receive said T-bar ends for rota tion therein, one of said brackets having a slotted opening into the orifice thereof adapted to receive flatwise an end of said T-bar, and a spring catch alongside of the slotted bracket with an orifice in alignment with the orifice in the said bracket to also receive said end of the T-bar.

2. In a dirigible vehicle for small children, a manual pushing and guiding means comprising a tongue device having a cross bar and means on the vehicle comprising orificed brackets spaced apart, one being also slotted, in combination with means for securing said cross bar in said brackets so as to permit of vertically-hinged motion but relatively immobile as to the said vehicle, said means consisting of aflat orificed spring catch adjacent to the slotted bracket.

3. In a vehicle for children. the combination with the vehicle body, of a detachable handle having a T-bar with flat ends, brackets on the vehicle body having round openings to receive said T-bar ends, one bracket having also a slot entering its round opening, and a spring catch alongside said slotted bracket, said catch having a round open ing aligned with the opening in the said bracket to also receive one end of the T-bar.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CLARENCE WATSON WHITE,

Images