US239218A - Sulky - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sinai; 1*

J. H. BLAGKMORE. Sulky.

No.239,-2I8. P atented March 22,1881.

"PETERSl FHHTI'LLIIHOGMPHER, WASHINGTON, D. O.

tree.

wheels being omitted.

. UNrrED STATES PAT NT Orrrcn.

JAMES H. BLACKMORE, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS.

SULKY.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent N0. 239,218, dated March 22, 1881.

Application filed November 22, 1880. (N0 model.)

,ing is a full description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a sulky constructed according to my invention, the

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the sulky without wheels. Fig. 4 is a detached view of the foot-boards. Fig. 5 is a view illustrating a modification of the footsupport. Fig. 6 is a detached view, illustratingthe form and arrangement of the single- This invention relates to sulkies or twowheeled vehicles which have a spring-seat and a platform or foot rest or support to move with the seat and relieve the feet and knees from jarring action in use. Its objects are to facilitate the balancingof the sulky withrespect to the weight of the driver, to simplify the construction of thevehicle, to enable the horse to be hitched close to the axle, and to simplify the application of springs to sulkies. In the drawings, a indicates the axle of a sulky b,connectingrod or rods c, the shafts; d, seat-arms; e, the seat; f, thumb-screws; g, the bar of the foot-rest h, cross-slats of the foot-rest; 5, spring ;.j, the whiffletree; 7c, the cross-bar; Z, stirrup; m, clip; 'n,brace; 0, pivot; p, eyes or loops.

The wheels, axle, and shafts are made in any of the usual or well-known. forms in the ordinary manner. y

The seat, which may be single or double, in the form shown, is supported upon the rear ends of the arms cl, and firmly attached to each of these seat-arms at their forward ends is a strong pivot, 0, which passes beneath the shaft 0, upon which they turn, and it is held in place by an eye orloop of metal, 19, through which it passes, which is secured to the shaft by screws or other suitable fastcnings. On the outer end of this pivot a thread is cut, and a nut screwed thereon holds it securelyin the eye or loop. Iplace and arrange two or more of these eyes or loops p on the under side of each shaft, a short distance apart, as shown, and they are preferably cut or formed into a single piece of metal. As the seat-arms are thrown forward or backward upon the shafts the weight of the seat-burden is increased or lessened upon the hack of the horse, and thus a proper and desirable poise or balance of the vehicle canbe maintained with varying burdens by shifting the pivot in the eyes, which is readily done by removing the out upon its end; and if the seat parts and the parts of the foot-rest are arranged to turn on the same pivots, which is a preferable arrangement, they are all shifted together. If thrown backward, additional room is obtained for the horse, permitting him to be hooked nearer the axle.

It is apparent that my invention will permit the vehicle to be regulated to suit the lengths or sizes of different horses. When the foot-rest is shifted or arranged backward to make room for the horse, I can still regulate and preserve the poise and balance of the vehicle bymoving the shifting or sliding seat 6 upon the arms d. These arms d have each a mortise or slot'cut in them underneath the seat e, in each of which a thumbscrew is arranged, having a shoulder against the arm, which can be moved backward and forward, and which can be readily turned into nuts secured beneath the seat-frame, and in this manner the seat is firmly held at any point within the range of the slot.

It is evident that other kinds of shifting devices might be used to secure the seat in position.

The eyes p may be of wood or other suitable material, and may be so constructed as to furnish a thin metal plate between the pivot and shaft. They may be given position on the upper surface of the shafts, or on either side, or on the seat-arm, or on the cross-bar, with a relative change in the attachment of the pivot,

which may be passed through the shaft or seat-arm, if desired.

I do not confine myself to eyes or loops p through which to pass the pivots. Two or more half eyes or staples may be placed on each shaft, and in some forms of attachment simple holes, spurs, or pins may be used to provide places for difierent points for attachment and adjustment. It is evident that various devices may be used for attaching the seat-bars to thecross-bar or shafts.

Theseat-arms d may be bent or drawn inward at their rear ends, according to the size of the seat desired, and in the form shown they pass over rubber or other suitable springs, 'i, which are supported by the shafts or frame. Suitable springs may be supported upon the seat-arms cl and be given bearing upon the shafts or other. part; or the seat may have other form of spring-support. In some forms of construction the arms 01 may be rigidly or both rigidly and adjustably secured to the shafts.

The cross-slats of the platform or foot-rest, if of wood, are preferably bent or formed so that the grain of the wood runs the full length of them, or nearly so, and they are secured upon the bar 9 by bolts, screws, or other suitable fastenings, which bar is supported upon the springs, seat-arms, cross-bar, or shafts by rods, bolts, or other usual or suitable connections. I prefer that the seat and the foot-rest be so arranged as to maintain the same relative positions to each other, or nearly the same, when in use. In the form shown the support of the cross-slats of the foot-rest is a continuous bar of wood or other suitable material, semicircular in form at the rear, and bent or curved upward at its forward ends; but it may be in two pieces, and they may be straight bars or deflected at any desired point in their length, and it may be of two or more pieces so rigidly and securely connected as to make practically a single or continuous bar. A continuous bar, or one practically so, greatly strengthens and stiifens the feet-supporting device at its rear end, and there is less liability of racking and of breakage of the parts. By giving the cross pieces or slats h a bent or curved form, as shown, I have upon the upper margins of the foot-rest suflicient room and stretch for the legs and feet of the driver, and provide additional space back of the horse, between the feet and legs of the driver, for the action of the animal, and avoid the objection of having too great length in the shafts. If straight cross pieces or slats were used, the horse would necessarily be hooked farther forward in the shafts, which would require to be made relatively longer. Several of these cross-slats are used in the construction of the foot-rest, and they are preferably placed a little distance apart, as shown; but they may be given position close together, and in this form the footrest is much stronger than when made of one or more boards havin ga concavity cut or sawed into the front board.

The foot-rest may be constructed with one or more straight cross-slats and one or more curved or bent cross-slats in combination, the latter being placed at the front end of the footrest with their concave sides toward the front of the vehicle.

The platform or foot-rest, formed and described as above, may be dispensed with in such vehicles where intended to carry but one person, and upon each seatarm (1 may be supported an individual foot-restor stirrup, I, placed at a convenient distance from the seat. These rests or stirrups I may be of any suitable shape, and of wood, iron, or other suitable material. In the form shown they are secured beneath the seat-arms d by clips m and by braces n. They may be attached, however, by any suitable device or fastening, and they may be secured and given position on any part of the seat-arms 07, either upon the top or sides of them. This form affords foot-rests or stirrups which rise and fall with the seat, and being placed at the sides of the vehicle, or nearly so, out of the way of the action of the horse, they have an advantage over other kinds of footsupports for track or speed purposes, where it is desirable and necessary to hitch the horse as near the axle as possible.

The whiffletreej is secured beneath the crossbar in the ordinary manner, and it is made of wood or other suitable material, so bent, shaped, or formed that the ends thereof to which the traces of the harness are attached are thrown forward out from under the crossbar, where its ends can be readily seen and the traces more easily attached than when covered by the cross-bar. And there is this further advantage in my form of whiffletree: The shafts of the vehicle being longer than those in use in most other vehicles, by throwing the ends of the whiffletree forward, as shown and described, I am enabled to use a harness that has been previously adjusted for the shorter. shafts of other vehicles without the labor of letting out or lengthening its traces, while I keep the cross-bar back where it cannot interfere with the action of the horse when driven at speed.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1.. The combination, with the shafts of a sulky, of the seat-arms, adjustably connected thereto and movable longitudinally thereupon, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the sulky-shafts, of the plates having loops or pivot-holes formed therein, and the seat-arms and foot-support pivoted to said plate, said foot-support being at its rear end suspended from said seat-arms, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a sulky-frame, of

the suitably-supported longitudinally-adjusted seat-supportin g arms and the adjustable, seat supported by said arms, substantially as described. 4. The combination, with the sulky-shafts and the rearwardly-extendin g seat-supporting arms secured thereto, of the adjustable seat supported by said arms, substantially as described. y

5. The combination, with the'shafts a, connected by the cross-bar lo, which has the whiffletree j attached thereto, of the suspended foot-support composed of a suitable slat-supporting frame and the rearwardly-curved slats h, the side bars of the foot-support beingattached to the shafts in advance of the whiffletree, substantially as described, whereby a 5' convenient foot-support below the shafts and on each side of the horse may be obtained.

6. The foot-support composed of a suitable slat-supporting frame and the rearwardlycurved slats h, having their ends secured to 10 said frame, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. The combination, with the shafts 0, crossbar is, and seat-arms cl, pivoted to said shafts, of the springs 6, arranged upon said cross-bar and under said seat-arms, substantially as de- 15 scribed.

JAMES H. BLAGKMORE.

In presence of FRANK M. NoBLEs, H. E. KILBOURNE.

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