US532649A - downey - Google Patents

Description

(No Mode 1;) 4 Sheets-:Sheet 1.. W. P. DOWNEY.

, CARRIAGE. No. 532,649. Patented Jan. 15, 1895.

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W. P. DOW'NEY. CARRIAGE.

Patented Jan. 15,- 1895.

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CARRIAGE.

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' a citizen of the United States, residing at Unitas STATES- rrrca.

CARRIAG E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 532,649, datedJ'anuary 15, 1895. I Application filed December 30. 1893. Serial No. 495,195. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. DOWNEY,

Washington city, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Carriages; and I do hereby declare the following to be a-full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in carriages, particularly to that kind known as close carriages, .landaus, &c., the bodiesof which are spring-supported, and which, as

now constructed, are made Very heavy, by reason of the present mode of construction, making it necessary in order to give the sufficient strength. t

The object of this invention is primarily to make it possible to build such carriages much lighter in weight without sacrificing strength, and also to lighten the draft.

It is a further object of my invention to so construct a carriage that the length of the carriage over all may be coupled up from twenty-two (22) to thirty (30) inches shorter than has heretofore been possible, yet still retaining the graceful lines which must 'be present in close carriages, lan'daus, and carriages of similar types.

My invention further consists in so constructing the carriage that when vthe horses exert the pull or draft they will not be required to expend unnecessary energy,- and to this I accomplish not only lightening the weight considerably, but by so distributing the fweight of the body of the carriage, that a proportionate part thereof shall be borne by the front and rear axles, which at present is not the case. As new built, the rear axle sustains about seven-eighths (if) of the entire weight. This I have found from long use and repeated experiment causes a Very heavy drag which I have succeeded in overcoming by placing the king bolt at such a point that it will act as a fulcrum, the carriage body being hung as a lever. The

foot-board, drivers seat, and boot, instead of being rearward of the king bolt and bolster are placed forward thereof, so that the weight of these parts, together with that of the driver and footinan, which have heretofore been all thrown on the rear axle are removed therefrom, and at the same time act as a counterbalance for the weight of the body and its occupants. The long neck connecting the drivers seat, boot, the, with the body has always been a weak point, and not unfrequently has given way under the strain to which carriages are subjected, notwithstand ing the fact the bodies were constructed of such heavy material, which was necessary owing tothe long coupling.

In my construction all long reaches are avoided, and thereby I am enabled to make the whole structure much lighter thus saving the drawing of unnecessary dead weight.

An improved construction of rocker is one of the essential features of my invention in order to make the foregoing results'possible. By using my improved form of rocker I can reduce their size, and at the same time retain all the necessary strength and the graceful lines which it is necessary to preserve.

The invention further consists in so arrang- I ing and constructing the springs supporting the body that the pull exerted on them shall not be from the top of the springs only but along their mean axes. Such construction of the springs on the front axle causes the pull to be equally divided between the springs on front and rear axles respectively. By this arrangement of the springs and carriage body the pull is through the middle line of the springs and the body, and thereby the effect of a perch pole is obtained. This cannot be accomplished where the pull is on the top of the springs only.

A further object of this invention consists in providing means for closing the doors to a point at least within. theline of the hubs, after they have been opened, so as to prevent breakage which is so common; and further to provide said doors with vertically sliding counterbalanced sashes and means forsupporting the window in an elevated position which shall effectively prevent the weather from entering the carriage on the inside of the door and at the same time make a neat finish.-

My invention finally consists in certain features of construction and combination of parts as will be more fully pointed out in the claims.

In connection with the carriage I have shown an improved brake mechanism and a horse detaching device, but I do not make claims thereto in this application, but I have filed applications simultaneously herewith covering said improvements, the brake mechanism being numbered 495,196; the horse detacher being numbered 495,197.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 is a side elevation. Fig. 2 is a cross section. Fig. 3 is a detail of the receptacle for holding the front lights. Fig. at is a detail of one of the windows. Fig. 5 is a detail of the'hinged front top section. Fig. 6 is a plan View of one of the rockers. Fig. 7 is a side view of one of the rockers. Fig. 8 is a detail of a portion of the rocker. Fig. 9 is a cross section of the rocker. Fig. 10 isa detail perspective view of the drivers seat boot. Fig. 11 is a detail perspective view of the holder for front lights. Fig. 12 is a detail of one of the front springs. Fig. 13 is a detail of the pole. Fig. 14v is a detail of the door closing device.

Like figures of reference indicate like parts wherever they occur.

1, 1, are the wheels of the carriage.

The body 2, of the carriage, is supported by the springs 3, upon the axle 4., and the springs 5 upon the rear axle 6. The springs 3, 5, are clipped to the axles in the usual manner. I arrange both the front and back springs in line with each other, and I construct the front spring in a different manner than those in common use. \Vhile the spring 3 is closed and performs the function of an elliptic spring, I turn the front end up slightly above point of hinging of the rear portion of said spring. To the front upturned portion 7, I attach a tongue or tang 8, preferably of spring, metal, and this tang is clipped to the stay bar 9. The spring 3 is clipped to the bolster 10 and the front axle 4 in the usual manner. The lower half of the rear springs 5 terminates in a C end and to it the upper half is shackled, and the upper portion is clipped to the rear side bars 11 which are preferably composed of metal, and are securely bolted to the rocker 12. The rocker 12 is made much lighter than has been possible heretofore owing to the fact of the long coupling which has been practiced, and also owing to the doing away with the angles found in the rockers now in use. I have entirely dispensed with angles, and have constructed the rocker forming it by uniting curves in such a way as to give much stronger effect to the materials used. Alongside of the wooden rocker 12, is a metallic rocker 13 of the same configuration, which can be made quite thin, yet sustaining much weight because the strain is upon the edge of the metal. At suitable intervals where the side bars 11, 11* are bolted to the wooden rocker12,lips are formed upon the metallic rocker 13, which extend across the wooden rocker and receive the end of the securing bolts 12, thereby imparting much strength to the wooden rocker 12. The front side bars, 11, are bolted to the rockers 12, 13, in a similar manner to the rear side bars and extend forward to the bolsters to which they are united in any suitable manner. The fifth wheel is of the usual construction,but its location forms an important part of this invention, as the possibility of lightening the weight of the entire carriage is dependent upon this as will fully hereinafter appear. The king bolt and fifth wheel are brought into close proximity to the body of the carriage. The side bars, 11, from the point of their attachment to the bolster extend upwardly in a graceful curve to form the brace for the foot board, and another branch forms the seat sup port. The seat 14 which is directly over the king bolt, because of the rearward direction of its support being united with the other branch of side bar 11 forward of the king bolt throws all of its weight infront of said king bolt and bolster. This construction takes a very great weight off from the rear axle 6, which heretofore has sustained about seven-eighths of the weight of the carriage.

The effect of a reach or perch pole in long coupling, as heretofore practiced, has almost entirely failed to supply that much needed strength. It will be observed that the line of pull in my carriage is through the mean line thereof and of the springs, 3 and 5. The springs together with the side bars 11 and 11 and the rockers 12, 13, form a very still": and effective perch pole, as the pull is through the major axes of the elliptic springs, and not from the top only as is the case with an ordinary elliptic spring. The peculiar construction of the front springs 3 causes them to-pull equally with the rear ones. The king bolt being situated at a point rearward of where the weight of the driver, footman, the drivers seat, boot, and foot-board rests, said springs 3 and the axle 4, are thereby caused to bear their share of the weight of the body. It is on account of this change that I am enabled to so much reduce the weight of all the parts while still retaining all the strength needed. By elevating the foot rests 15, and the drivers seat 14, I am enabled to couple up from twenty two to thirty inches shorter than has been possible heretofore. The king bolt, owing to the fact that the bodyis spring-supported, and the weights as heretofore stated are distributed on either side of it acts as a fulcrum, the weight forward tending to take the weight of the carriage and its occupants off from the rear springs 5, and rear axle 6, which has heretofore not been the case. The drivers seat 14; is provided with a hinged cover and is designed to take the place of the usual boot. The seat may be tilted over in order to lower the front section of the top in the usual way.

The carriage body is framed upon the rockers 12, 13, having its sides, ends, and general construction the same as usual, but as I have heretofore stated its weight is much reduced. The doors 2 are constructed hollow as is generally the case. but I propose to use a counterbalance sash 17, which slides in vertical ways 18, and has cords 19 which pass around pulleys 20, and to the end thereof is secured the counterbalance weight 21. A pair of hinged covers 22, 23 support the window. in an elevated position, while a portion of the frame of the window remains in. the door to steady it when the door is opened. A handle 24 havinga cam'25 adapted to open the hinged covers 22, 23, is located inside the door. These covers form a uniform finish in the inside and outside and completely protect the inside of the door from anything dropping into it, as well as excluding the weather completely shedding rain.

Among the most annoying and expensive accidents which happen to carriages is the frequent breaking of the doors which often is caused by their striking an obstruction when the doors are open. To obviate this, I have devised a means whereby this is efiectively prevented, which consists in attaching to the door, by means of a suitable eye 26, a strap 1 27, having its other end fastened to a suit- 1 the strap 27 in a line with the seat to which 7 able extension spring 28, said strap being passed through an eye 29, secured to the corner of the frame of the carriage adjacent and the hinged side of the door, thereby making the pull in the spring direct, and confining the springs 28 are secured: The spring yields readily when the occupant of the car riage desires to open the door, but is sufficiently strong to wholly or at least partially close the door, bringing it within the line of the hubs thereby protecting it from liability of being caught so as to break it. The above strap 27 acts as a stay strap when the door has been opened to the desired distance, and a stop may be secured at the proper point on the strap which will engage the eye-'29 and effect this result, releasing the strain from the hinge.

The floor of my improved carriage is formed by a removable receptacle 30 which is so built as to receive the front lights of glass when the top is down. If desired the case may be lined with any suitable material.

The rear portion of the top is held in its elevated position by the usual props when construoted-according to the form shown in the drawings, Fig. l.

I have so constructed the front top hinged section as. to obviate the great difficulty there is in fastening said top section to the posts. This I accomplish by securing the top section 31 by a tapered pin 33 carried thereby which engages a spring 34 secured in a socket 35 in the posts "32 so that the pin will readily find itself and the notch in the pins 33'wil1 be held in locked engagement with the springs 34, and the top section and post will be locked, except when force is applied from beneath, when the springs will yield readily to said force. Heretofore the springing of the posts from their normal position have made it Very difficult and often impossible to fasten the hinged section to the posts, as the catch and dowel pin would not register.

The carriage is provided with the usual lamps, fenders and steps, &o.

The operation of the various parts of my invention is obvious from the foregoing explanations in regard to the same.

It is obvious that slight changes in construction may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is i 1. In alandau or a similar type of carriage, a drivers seat, consisting of a reoeptaclehaving a hinged cover, said cover forming the seat, and said receptacle the boot, and a foot rest elevated so that the foot rest is above the back of the horse or horses, and the distance between them and the vehicle is shortened, a body, a king bolt situated so that the front wheels come into close proximity to the well of the carriage body, a receptacle adapted to receive the front lights when they are removed, a hinged front top section having taper pins adapted to register with taper sockets in the front corner posts, securing same in locked position, except when force is applied, said pins engaging a spring in said socket, substantially as described.

2. In a landau or similar type of carriage having a spring supported body, side bars attached thereto extending upwardly from the bolster, each of said side bars being forked, a seat comprising a boot or receptaole,provided with a hinged cover supported by one member of said fork, and a foot rest supweight of said parts to tend to counterbalance.

the weight of the body, said body being provided with a removable receptacle, adapted to receive the front lights of glass when the top is lowered, said top being hinged and provided with taper pins having notches, engaged by a spring confined with sockets formed in the front corner posts, said pins and sockets uniting the top section detaohably to the posts substantially as described.

3. In a carriage, a drivers seat comprising a receptacle and a hinged cover, an open work seat support formed by the front side bars of the carriage, said receptacle forming the boot substantially as described.

4. In a carriage a removable receptacle adapted to receive the front lights of glass when the top islowered said receptacle forming the floor of the well of said carriage when formingthe floor of the well, having suitable supports, said supports. separating the several parts comprising the front lights of the carriage, said receptacle being provided with suitable straps, or handles, whereby said receptacle may be removed substantially as described.

6. In a carriage door, a pocket formed therein a window frame sliding in said groove, a counterbalance weight secured to said window, a pair of hinged covers oppositely disposed to each other one upon either side of the pocket, said covers supporting the window when elevated and closing said pocket when the window frame is lowered into said pocket and means for operating said hinged covers substantially as described.

7. In a carriage door, a pocket formed therein, a window frame sliding in said groove, a counterbalance weight secured to said window, a pair of hinged covers oppo' sitely disposed to each other and parallel to each other one upon either side of the pocket, said covers supporting the window when elevated upon their meeting edges and closing said pocket when the window frame is lowered into said pocket, and means for operating said hinged covers substantially as described.

8. In combination with a carriage, a door having a pocket provided with grooves, a window sliding in said groove, a sash cord, a counterbalance weight attached thereto, a pair of hinged covers, a handle having arms provided with cam shaped ends adapted to engage said hinged covers, thecovers supporting the window when elevated, and closing the pocket when lowered, substantially as described.

9. In a carriage havinga spring supported body, having front and rear side bars, said side i bars being secured to the rockers by means of bolts passingthrough said rockers at the side bars, said rockers comprising a wooden and metallic rocker placed side by side and said metallic rocker being provided with lips, extending over said wooden rocker at intervals and receiving one end of the securing bolts substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

\VILLIAM F. DOWN EY.

\Vitnesses:

FLOYD V. BROOKS, WM. U. PRENTISS.

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