US293291A - Street oak curtain fixture - Google Patents

Description

J. A. WATT. STREET GARVGURTAIN FIXTURE.

(No 'Model.)

"No. 293,291. Patented Feb. 12, 1884.

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JOHN ALEXANDER WATT, or BOSTON, ASSIGNOR or ONE-FOURTH TO HENRY B. sELLoN AND JAMEs L. WHITAKER, BOTH or soMEEvmLE, MASS.

STREET-CAR-CURTAIN F-IX TURE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 293,291, dated February,12,'1884.

' Application filed July 3, 1883. (No model] To all whom it may concern.- I

Be it known that I, JOHN A. WVATT, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Street-Oars, of which the following; is a specification. I

This invention has for its object to enable the side curtains of an open street-car to be raised and lowered by an attendant at one end of the car; and it consists in the combination, with an open street-car or other open-sided covered vehicle, of curtains suspended at the sides of the vehicle and an operating device for each curtain extended to one or both ends of the car, whereby an attendant at an end of the car can raise or lower said curtains, as I will now proceed to describe and claim. A

Of the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a longitudinal section of a car provided with my improvement. Fig. 2 represents aperspective view of a portionof the roof, one of the supports thereof, and a portion of the curtain provided with my improvement. Figs. 3 and 4 represent views of modifications.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, a represents the roof, 6 b the roof-supports, and c the floor, of anordinary open street-car.

d represents one of the curtains, which are suspended at the sides of the car, so that they can be lowered to protect the occupants from rain or sun. Heretofore these curtains have been gathered or rolled up when not in use and held by loops attached to the roof of the car. The conductor in raising or releasing the curtains has always been obliged to commence at one end of the curtain and raise or release the same by degrees until he reaches the 0pposite end, the operation being necessarily slow and therefore distracting the attention of the conductor from his ordinary duties, and

' often subjecting him to annoyance from water while he is performing said operation.

In carrying out my invention I provide an operating device adapted to raise the entire In the embodiment-of my invention shown inFigs. 1 and 2, said operatingdevice is a cord, f, extending horizontally over roller 9 g, or other suitable supports, from one end of the car to the other, and a seriesof clew-lines, 71, secured to the said cord and extending downwardly to the lower portion of the curtain to which they are firmly secured at their lower ends. The clew-lines h pass between rollers t i, j ournaled in brackets attached to the standards Z2. Rings are attached to the curtain, and the clew-lines pass loosely through saidrings, the latter keeping the curtain against the clew-lines when the curtain is lowered and causing it to gather or fold properly when raised.

It will be seen that when the curtain is lowered, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, theconductor or the driver can, by pulling on one end of the cord f, draw the clew-line over the pulleys z, and thus raise the curtain from end to end. When the curtain is raised it may be held by making fast that end of the cord f that was pulled to raise the curtain. WVhen it is desirable to lower the curtain it is only necessary to release the cordf, the curtain then falling by its own weight. The pulleys it enable the cord f and its clew-lines to be pulled with 7 tains supported by a roller, ,2, which is j0urnaled in brackets attached o the end of the standards 22. The roller has a one orboth ends a ratchet, m, aflixed to it, with which engages a dog, 12, pivoted to a standard, I). The roller also has at one or both ends a crank,o,by which it may be rotated to wind up the curtain. The

dog or dogs a holdthe roller when the curtain is wound up, and when it is desirable to lower the curtain the roller is released by raising the dogs from their ratchets. Each dog,when

two are employed,may beprovidedwith a cord,

2, running over a roller, q, to the opposite end of the car, so that both dogs can be raised by an attendant at one end of the car.

To prevent the central portion of the roller [from sagging, I provide an arm, 1, attached to the car andhaving a rubber roller, 5, projecting under the central portion of the roller Z and supporting the latter. (See Fig. 4.)

t represents an awning or rain-guard, composed of a strip of canvas, attached to the roof of the car at one edge and having a stiff bar, 2, attached to its free edge. The bar 2 is connected by pivoted links 3 with the standards I). The strip 16 may be lowered, as shown in Fig. 3, to prevent rain from passing into the car over the roller Z, or may be raised, as shown in Fig. 4, when not required for such use.

I claim- 1. The combination,with an open street-car or other open-sided covered vehicle, of ourtains suspended at the sides of the vehicle, and an Operating device for each curtain extended to one or both ends of the car, whereby an attendant at an end of the car can raise or lower said curtains, as set forth.

I 7 JOHN ALEXANDER WATT. Witnesses:

O. F. BROWN, A. L. WHITE.

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