US846172A - Carriage-top attachment. - Google Patents

Description

- No- 846,172. PATENTBD MAR. 5, 1907. W. 0. WILLITTS.

CARRIAGE TOP ATTACHMENT.

APP'LIOATION FILED mm: 1. 1906.

WITNESSES INVENTOH WILLIAM CHARLES WILUTTS I W A TTOHNEYS n: mamas PETERS co., wnsmnaro 0.

WILLIAM CHARLES WILLITTS, OF EGKFORD, MICHIGAN.

CARRIAGE-TOP ATTACHMENT- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 1,1906. Serial No. 319,721.

Batentea March 5, 1907.

To all w/wm, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM CHARLES WILLITTS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Eckford, in the county of Calhoun and State of Michigan, have invented an Improvement in Carriage-Top Attachments, of which the following is a specifica tion.

My invention is an improvement in the class of buggy or carriage top attachments which are removable from the carriage or buggy seat.

The object of my invention is to provide an attachment of this character which may be more easily and quickly applied and detached than heretofore and which will be held securely when so applied.

The details of construction, arrangement, and operation of parts are as hereinafter described, reference being had to accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a buggy or carriage seat provided with my improved attachment. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the seat, together with the brackets or anglebars, to which the attachment is applied. Fig. 3 is an end view of the seat and attachment, the fastening being unloosed.

In the drawing, A indicates the seat, which is provided with sloping sides and ends a, and B the shifting rail, to which in practice the buggy or carriage top proper (not shown) is attached in the usual way. The rail B comprises the back portion 1 and the side portions or ends 2, which are at right angles to each other. The rail is supported upon and secured to brackets or angle-arms C C and C C, the former being attached to the back of the seat, and the latter to the ends thereof, and projecting outwardly at their upper ends, which are provided with knobs 3 3 3 as indicated in Fig. 2. The back portion 1 of the rail B is provided at 4 with depressions or cup-like cavities in the upper side, and its end portions 2 are similarly provided with cavities 5 and 5 in the under side for the purpose of receiving the knobs 3 3 3*. A fastening D is applied to the end portions 2 and is constructed and operates as will be presently described. The shifting rail B is constructed of steel or other spring metal, so that while having great rigidity it has a due amount of elasticity. As shown in Fig. 1, the knobs 3 of the rear brackets or'arms C bear upon the upper side of the shifting railB, and, contrariwise, the side portions 2 of the rail bear upon the upper sides of the knobs 3 3 of the side arms (1.

In order to apply to the. seat the shifting rail, with the buggy or carriage top secured thereto, the operator takes hold of the side portions 2 of the rail between the cups 3 3 and elevates the front of the top and lowers the back 1 of the rail, so that the cups 4 may be adjusted under the knobs 3 of the rear brackets. Then the top is pushed forward and the cups 5 5 fall of necessityon the knobs 5 3 The arrangement is such, however, that there is no firm or close contact between the parts 3 5 until a considerable pressure is applied to the rail at the point 5" in a downward direction. The fastening device D now comes into action. It is to be understood that I purpose to employ any suitable fastening for this purpose; but that which I prefer is constructed as follows: A bar 6 is hinged to a lug on the under side of the arms 2 of the rail B and provided at its upper side with a socket adapted to receive the knob 3 of the front bracket. A bowed spring 7 is secured to the outer end of such bar and to an angular rocking lever 8, which is pivoted at its angle to a link 9, that is adapted to pass over and engage a catch 10, secured to the rail-arms 2 between the cups 5 5 In Fig. 3 the fastening is shown loose or detached and hangs pendent. In Fig. 1 it is shown applied as required to secure the rail B, the link or loop 9 being passed over the catch 10 and the lever 8 reversed or thrown backward against the tension of the spring 7 It will be observed that in the locking position, Fig. 1, the point of attachment of the link or loop 9 to the lever is in rear of the pivotal connection of the same with the spring, which forms a sort of toggle-fastening that is not liable to become unloosed by use. It is apparent, however, that by pressing downward upon the free end of the lever 8 it may be thrown forward by reason of the elasticity of the spring 7, and thus allow release of the link 9 from the catch 10. The attachment or release of the fastening may thus be very quickly effected.

It will be seen that the shifting rail B is in fact a spring-lever and that the cups 4 are held in firm contact with the knobs 3 of the rear bracket 0 by reason of the downward pressure or leverage applied to the front ends of the side-bars 2, the knobs 3 thus constituting the fulcra of the lever. The rail is thus held firmly in connection with the several knobs or brackets of which they form a part, and all possibility of looseness, rattling, or detachment is avoided, yet the rail may be detached with great ease and rapidity upon the simple release of the fastening D.

In practice the several cups with which the shifting rail is provided will be lined with leather or some other duly elastic and soft material.

, It is obvious that my invention is applicable as an attachment for many forms of vehicles.

I claim- 1. The combination, with a vehicleseat, and brackets or arms attached thereto, of a shifting spring-rail applied to said brackets for supporting a buggy or carriage top, one portion of said rail underlying certain brackets, and other portions overlying other brackets, and means .for securing the over lying portion upon its supporting-brackets, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a vehicle-seat, and brackets projecting therefrom and pro vided with knobs, of a shifting spring-rail having in one portion sockets in the upper side for receiving the knobs of the rear brackets, and arms provided in the under side with sockets for receiving the side brackets, and a fastening applied to the side arms of the rail for securing it to the front brackets, substanthe same, a link pivotally connected with said lever and adapted to engage a catch when said member is raised into engagement with one of the side brackets, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with a vehicle-seat having rear and side brackets extending outward, a shifting spring-rail adapted to lie under the rear brackets and over the side brackets, of a fastening device pivoted to the rail and adapted to engage the under side of one of the side brackets and including a device for locking it detachably, whereby the rail is secured upon the brackets, substantially as described.

WILLIAM CHARLES WILLITTS.

Witnesses:

B. L. GARDANIER, J. F. GAUss.

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