US472934A - Hitching device - Google Patents

Description

(No Moae1.) 2 sheets-sheet 1..

J. E. PARKISON. HITGHING DEVICE.

No. 472,934. Patented Apr. 12, 1892.

TEE-

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-*Sheet 2.

J. E. PARKISON. HITCHING DEVICE.

No. 472,934. Patented Apr. 12, 1892.

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN ELMER PARKISON, OF DENVER, ASSIGNOR OF TVVO-THIRDS TO WILL S. PARKISON, OF GLENYOOD SPRINGS, AND SILAS BERTENSHAW, OF

DENVER, COLORADO.

HITCHING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 472,934, dated April 12, 1892.

Application led July 13, 1891.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN ELMER PARKI- SON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Denver, in the county of Arapahoe and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Hitchin g Devices; and

I do declare the following to be a full, clear,

and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which ro it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a device for hitching horses wherein the necessity of carrying the bitching-weight inside the vehicle-body and of lifting it therefrom when thehorse is to be hitched is avoided and wherein the zo horse may be hitched before the driver leaves the vehicle and unhitched after the driver enters the vehicle, the whole being effected by simple means in an easy and expeditious manner.

2 5 The invention consists in the construction and also the combination of parts hereinafter par-ticularly described, and then specifically -defined by the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part 3o hereof.

Figure l is a side View of aportion of a vehicle, showing a hitching device suspended therefrom in front of the forward axle. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the hitching device suspended back of the forward axle. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan, on an enlarged scale compared -with Figs. l and 2, of part of a vehiclebottom, showing the locking device therein and illustrating the spring-cushion.

4o Fig. et is a vertical section with parts in full y and in dotted lines, showing the arrangement of the several operative parts of the hitching device when the weight is suspended. Fig. 5 is a similar View showing the position of the parts when the weight is lowered for hitching the horse. Fig. 6 is a planview showing the sliding plate moved back from over the opening containingthe eccentric casing. Fig.

7 is a perspective of the locking-eccentric. de- 5o tached from the other parts.

Serial No. 399,372. (No model.)

In the drawings the letter A designates a portion of the vehicle having a hole or opening B formed in the bottom thereof at the forward portion of the vehicle vimmediately in front of the seat, as illustrated in Fig. 2, or in 5 j the front extension or foot-rest, as illustrated, in Fig. l, if it be used on a heavy express wagon, and designed to receive a portion. of the hitching device. This portion of the hitching device may consist of a boxing or casing 6o C, having at its upper edgea ange D, adapted to rest upon the bottom of the vehicle around the opening formed therein, so that the boxing or casing may thus be suspended from the bottom and be held securely in place by suitable meansf-for instance, by bolts or screws E passed through the flange or ears E and into the bottom of the vehicle.

Within the boxing or casing C there is pivoted or journaled a wedge F, in this instance 7o being in the form of an eccentric, the axle or journal G of which has its bearings in the side of the boxing or casing C. This wedge or eccentric is so mountedl that when turned in one direction the irregularface :thereof will come sufficiently close to one'- side `of the boxing or casing as to bind between' its face and said side a strap that may be passed between the two,so as to holdthe strap irmlyand tightly in place, and thereby suspend a weight that 8o may be attached to said strap. The wedge or eccentricis preferably weighted orhas its parts so proportioned-for instance, as illustrated in the drawings-that when it is moved far enough in the other direction to release the strapits weight will carry it beyond its center, so that it maydrop farther' away from the binding side of the box, thereby leaving the strap free to be moved up or down without liability of being caught or bound bythe wedge or eccen- 9o tric. I prefer to form the boxing or casing C with a recess H in one side thereof to receive theirregular face of the eccentric when moved from its binding position. When so constructed, the inside walls I of the boxing or casin g next to said recess constitute shoulders, against which ears or lugs J, which may be formed on the eccentric, will strike when the eccentric is' thrown back in said recess, and the eccentric will thus be prevented from fallroo ing too far back and will be held in the best position for quick and ready action when nec.- essary.

' I provide the top of the boxing or casing with a slide-plate K, which will work in suitable guides or ways for instance, in guides L-formed in the top of the boxing or casing, whichlies inside the vehicle-body. It is formed with a slot M for the passage ot the strap to which the weight will be attached. It serves as a cover to the opening B and prevents the loss of small articles through said opening and at the same time prevents any obstruction coming in contact with the eccentric from above. It also serves as a guide to the strap to which the weight is attached, so as to prevent it from lying against the periphery of the eccentric when it is not desired to have contact, and it keeps the strap straight and always in position; A s the strap which suspends the weight is moved either forward or backward by the hand the slide-plate is moved with it, at all times keeping the opening B covered and acting as a guide to the strap.

The strap which carries the hitching-weight Nis designated by the letter O, and it passes upthrough the boxing or casing C and then through the slot in the slide K, and it is provided (unless fastened to the seat or other portion of the vehicle) at its upperl end with some suitable device-for instance, with a ring or buckle P-that will prevent itvfrom slipping downward all the Way through the slide. For the purpose of guiding the strap from the under side through the boxing or casing I provide a rod Q, passed through the casing preferably at its lower end and adja-l cent to the side of the boxing, against which the eccentric will bind or clam p the strap, leaving enough space for the passage of the strap. ping around the cam or eccentric and will guide the strap in its movement and serve as a scraper to remove adhering mud from the Strap. l

A bitching-strap (designated by the letter R) will extend from thebridle-bit back to the vweight N and be connected therewith in any suitable manner, preferably by binding it to the end of strap O, although it may be a continuation of said strap. y

In order to hold up and guide the bitchingstrap 0,1 secure a ring or loop S to the thill or poleA of the vehicle and pass the strap th rough it, the strap being entirely free to slide in it.

The preferred manner of attaching the weight N to the'strap O is to form a recess T in the top of the weight and to extend across said recess a cross-pin U. The strap O is then looped under said cross-pin, as shown,

` and a block U', preferably wedge-shaped, in-

serted in the loop of the strap, so as to prevent t-he strap being pulled back again from under the cross-pin. f

The heft of the weight suspended by the strap causes the strap to be clampedvbetween This rod prevents the stra-p from lapthe block and the cross-pin, so that the two are held securely together. This construetion admits also of the weight being adjusted on the strap by simply loosening the wedgeblock and then slipping the strap and then tightening the strap, as before. It also permits the weight to be drawn up closer to the casing containing the eccentric than could be done if the fastening device was above the top face of the weight instead of below it.

I prefer to use a spring or elastic cushion between the weight and the bottom of the vehicle or the eccentric-casing, so that when the weight is suspended the spring will exert a pressure thereon, ythereby -tending to steady the same and hold the same against lateral movement. For that purpose I have forpurposes of illustration shown one form of spring which I find very efficient for the purpose. This spring V, as illustrated, is made of stiff wire and bent into coils at d to give it greater resiliency and has its two ends l) carried downward and formed into hooks c, in which will lie the arms d, said arms at apoint under the casing being formed into an eye or loop e for the passage of the strap O. This spring is secured to the bottom of the vehicle by staples for otherwise. When the weight Nis lifted in the operation of suspending it, the spring is struck by it and pressed up to the position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig.

, 4 of the drawings, and when the weight falls back slightly (say about one inch in actual practice) the spring and weight assume the position shown in f ull lines in Fig. 4, in which position the spring exerts an elastic pressure on the weight and serves to hold the same against lateral -movement, although such movement would be very slight if the spring were not used, as there would. be only about IOO one inch of the strap between the lower edge of the eccentric-casing and the top of the weight. The spring therefore is not a necessity, although when used it has the advantage stated. I do not restrict myself to the particular form of' spring illustrated. When the weight is upon the ground and the horses hitched, the springhas the position indicated in Fig. 5 of the drawings.

I usually prefer to use a leather washer WV between the weight and eccentric-casing, as

IIO

illustrated, so as to prevent battering of the edge of the casing by the weightbeing drawn up hard and suddenly against it. This washer is slipped over the strap O and slides thereon; but its employment is not essential to the device.

In operation when it is desired to suspend the weight beneath the vehicle and thereby unhitch the horse the occupant of the vehicle pulls up the 'strap until the weight is lifted tothe height at which it is to be'suspended, when the strap is pushed forward by hand in the direction of the front of the vehicle, so that it will be carried over and in contact with the periphery of the eccentric. Then if the strap is allowed to slack the weight will draw it slightly downward, and, being in contact with the eccentric, it will turn the eccentric so as to cause its irregular or elongated diameter or face to press the strap against the wall of the casing or boxing and clamp it thereagainst, as illustrated in Fig. Ll. The weight pulling down on the strap holds the eccentric in the binding position in which it has been moved, and the heavier or harder the weight pulls on the eccentric through the strap the tighter the strap will be clamped against the boxing or casing, and thus the weight will be suspended beneath the vehicle.

The movement of the strap to bring the eccentric into its binding position is very little, so that practically the weight is suspended at the point at which it is raised previous to the clamping of the strap. When it is desired to drop the weight for the purpose of hitching the horse, it is necessary only to pull vertically upward on the strap, which movement turns the eccentric away from the binding side of the boxing or casing, and thus releases the strap, so that it is free to be carried downward by the weight as it is allowed to fall to the ground'. The eccentric being heavier on its elongated diameter, as hereinbefore described, a very slight movement of the eccentric is necessary to bring it into the position where its weighted or heavier side will pull it over and away from the strap, so that the strap in being drawn down by the hitching-weight will exert no iniiuence upon the eccentric, it being held away from the eccentric by the guiderod Q. As soon as the weight rests upon the ground it instantly hitches the horse, as the hitching-strap is already attached to it and the other end to the bridle-bit, as previously mentioned. In unhitching, the strap is pulled upward to lift the weight and is pushed across the upper face of the eccentric by the`forward movement of the hand that is raising the strap, so that as soon as the slack is made in the strap the eccentric will by frictional cont-act of the strap therewith be drawn back into its binding position, as before described, and the weight suspended from the bottom of the vehicle.

It will be observed from the foregoing description that the eccentric is brought into its locking position and also into its unlocking position by simple manipulation of the hitching-weight strap alone, it being only necessary when the horse is to be hitched to lift up the strap sufficiently to release the eccentric and then to let the weight drop, while to unhitch the horse it is only necessary to pull up the strap until the weight is lifted the desired height and then press slightly forward and then allow a little slack in the strap, when the strap will pull on the eccentric by reason of the weight below and automatically carry it into its locking position.

No arms or levers are necessary to effect the operation of the eccentric, it being automatic in the manner described. The slide illustrated and described is desirable as a matter of convenience for the purposes before mentioned of keeping the strap. away from contact with the eccentric when the weight is to be dropped; but its use is not absolutely essential to the operation of the invention, although it greatly facilitates its operation.

I have described with particularity the details of construction and arrangement of several parts; but I do not mean to restrict myself thereto, as it is obvious that changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit 'of the invention. I-Iaving described my invention and set forth its merits, what I claim isv 1. `In a hitching device, thecombination, with the boxing or casing, of the eccentric mounted on said casing or boxing, the hitching-weight strap passed through said boxing or casing between one side thereof and said eccentric, and the slide-plate having said strap passed through the same, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. g

2. In a hitching device, the combination,

with the boxing or casing and the eccentric mounted thereon, of the hitchingweight strap passing through said boxing or casing between one side thereof and 'said eccentric, and the guide-rod for `holding said strap awayfrom the lower surface of said eccentric, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a hitching device, the combination, with the boxing or casing and the weighted hitching-strap passing through the boxing, of the weighted eccentric constructed substantially as described, with the heft of the eccentric above its axis and mounted in said boxing, substantially asshown, whereby it may be thrown to one side or the other of a line running vertically through its axis and moved in either direction solely by the strap engaging the same with frictional contact, substantially as described.

Al. In a hitching device, the combination, with a hitching-weight strap and a bearing for the same to be clamped against, of an eccentric for clamping the strap against said bearing, said eccentric adapted to be moved into a locking or unlocking position by frictional contact of the hitching-weight strap therewithV and when not clamping the hitching-weight strap to lie out of action atapoint back of a vertical line drawnthroughthe axis of the eccentric, a stop on said eccentric, and a shoulder for said stop to strike against to limit the movement of the eccentric beyond said vertical `line in its unlocking position, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. In a lhitching device, the-combination, with the boxing or casing having the recess in one side thereof, of an eccentric mounted in said boxing orcasing and adapted in one position to have a portion thereof to tit in said recess and provided vwith -a stop extending from its end to bear against the casing toone side of said recess, and a hitching-weight strap passed between said eccentric and one side of the boxing or casing and held in place by said Iso eccentric clamping it against said side, subsaid Weight to steady the same, substantially stantially as and for the purposes set forth. as and for the purposes set forth. 1o

6. In a bitching device, 'the combination,` In testimonywhereof Iatfixmy'signaturein With the bitching-Weight and its suspendingpresence of tWo Witnesses.

5 strap, of means fol' suspending said. Weight JOHNl ELMER PARKISON.

under the Vehicle-bod y and an elastic cushion Witnesses: interposed between the bottom of the Vehicle SILAS BERTENSHAW,

and the Weight `-and exerting a, pressure on S. W. SPRAGUE.

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