US334908A - smith - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. D. SMITH.

- VEHICLE.

No; 334,908. Patented Jan. 26, 1886* ,(Np Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet ,2

W. D. SMITH.

VEHICLE. No. 334,908. Patented Jan. 26, 1886.

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XV. DFAN SMITH, OF BROOKLYX, NElV YORK.

VEHICLE.

$PECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 334,908, dated January 26, 1886.

Application filed September 17, 1884. Serial No. 143,315. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, W. DEAN SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicles, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a sideelevation of my invention arranged as a single-seated carriage. Fig. 2 is a side elevation arranged as a two-seated carriage. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a body enlarged and arranged as a two-seated carriage. Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line y y, Fig. 3, looking to the right. Fig. 5 is a vertical section online 00 m, Fig. 4, looking to the right. Fig. 6 is a vertical section of a panel, taken on line 2 2, Fig. '7. Fig. 7 is an elevation ofthe panel, taken from the outside of the bed. Fig. 8 is a detached view, enlarged, of a portion of the bed. Fig. 9 is a greatly-enlarged side elevation of the lower rear corner of the frame, the paneling having been removed.

The front wheels, A, the rear wheels, 13, the springs, and other parts of the running-gear may be of any usual or approved construction, and need not therefore be described in detail.

I prefer to make the frame of the body of the pattern indicated generally in the drawings known as the bracket form, and which has, as a part of its frame, two sills running lengthwise of the body, as indicated at O, and has also on each side a rearward extension or bracket, 0, which is substantially on a line with the sill C, and may be used to connect the body with the spring or other part of the running-gear; or it may consist of a rearward extension of the sill itself, which may be pro longed beyond the rear wall of the body.

The box-like part of the body is made in two sections, divided upon a vertical line which extends by preference from the sills upward to the upper line of the paneling.

The rear section of the body is by preference formed of two rectangular frames, DD D D one upon each side of the wagon, and united to the frame-work thereof by hinges located at or near the intersection of the ribs D D of these frames, one on each side of the body. By preference this hinge is of a character which facilitates its being hidden from View. The front section has also upon each side a frame, E E E", upon which the panelsection F, one on each side of the buggy, is

supported, the adjacent panel-sections F F being attached to the frames D D D D'.

' H is a seat having a molding or finishing strip, h, projecting from the lower edge of its ends, one on each end, and hinged by itsrear lower edge to one corner of the hinged section of the body, as indicated at h. The top of the buggy, when a top is used, should be permanently connected with theseat H.

By an examination of the drawings it will readily be understood that when the seat H is mounted upon the stationary section of the body and directly above the panel-section F, the hinged movable section of the body is folded down upon the sills of the frame, with its ribs or bars D parallel to and in close contact with the frame ribs or bars E of the stationary section, as indicated in Fig. 1, so as to present an unbroken appearance of the paneling upon each side of the wagon, the line of jointure between the panelsections F F being by preference covered by a molding or body, 0, there being,when desired, other molding strips or beads e 6 surrounding the other sides of the stationary section of the body, and there may be corresponding molding strips or beads, F F F*, upon the hinged section of the body.

When the hinged section and seat H are opened and folded into the positions shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the lower part of the hinged section rests upon the brackets or sill-extensions G, and I propose to form these extensions with upwardly-projecting spurs or knobs, as at c, to take into recesses or sockets formed for their reception in that portion of this section which forms thebottom thereof when used as a twoseated buggy, and the rear wall when used as a single-seated buggy. Referring particularly to Figs. 4. and 5, F is a base-board supported horizontally upon or between the frames E E E", andi i i are supporting-brackets, each hinged at its lower end to the upper end of an angle-iron, t, which may be bolted or otherwise secured to the baseboard F at its ends.

J J are seat ends attached to the brackets i i t", each being provided at its lower end with a molding or finishing strip, j.

h" is a vertical supporting-strip rising from the base-board near its center, and serving as a support for the center of the seat II, when the latter is in the position shown in Fig. 1, and also as a support for the inner ends or sides of the removable cushions K K, which are used, as indicated in Figs. 2. 3, 4, and 5, when the buggy is arranged with two seats. The frames k /c' of these cushions are provided with cleats k k", to prevent accidental displacement, and are further provided with ourtains or falls L L in front and rear. The seat H may also be provided with a fall.

To assist in further supporting the parts in position when used as a two-seated buggy, I propose to employ hooks or other braces, d, one only being shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the upper ends of the hooks being attached to the front frame bars or ribs, D", there being staples or other equivalents to receive their hooked lower ends.

G G (see Figs. 1, 8, and 6) is a panel-strip or finishingstrip, which I propose to insert between the movable section and the stationary section, one at each side of the buggy. The rib G should be about as wide as the sill O, and may have one or more dowel-pins, G to be inserted in holes in the upper faces of the sills; or other similar devices may be employed to hold these finishing-strips in place. \Vhen preferred, the outer faces of thcsestrips may have at top or bottom, or both, beads or finishing-moldings g 9, so that when in place the bead G will fitin and form acontinuation of the bead e f, as indicated in the drawings; but when the bracket form of body is used, these parts G G may be omitted without materially detracting from the beauty of design or finish of the buggy.

While I have shown my invention as applied to a buggy having a folding top applied thereto, I do not wish to'be limited thereby, because the invention is equally applicable to many other forms of vehicle, to which it can be applied without in any manner departing from its spirit.

While I prefer to hinge the front seat, H, to the removable section of the body, I do not wish to be limited thereby, because under some circumstances, particularly where no top is used above the seat, I propose to make the front seat and its cushions stationary, and use the movable cushionsK in connection with the hinged movable section of the body, and in practice I propose to employ a board or other casing-wall arranged between the ribs or bars D D, so that the hinged section may be more conveniently used as a receptacle for the storage and transportation of various articles; and under some circumstances I propose to use a similar wall between the bars or ribs D, thus more fully inclosing the space between the panels F. Of course if the angular brackets it" i be applied to the hinged or movable section, such wall would have to be placed in substantially the position occupied by the board F in order to leave room for these bracketsto fold inward when the buggy is used with but a single seat.

I am aware that a shifting-seat buggy having the rear port on of its body hinged by its rear lower corner to the frame or sills, and having also the seat hinged to the upper forward corner of the movable section, is not new with me; but I believe I am the first to combine a movable section of the body, a hinged seat, a stationary part of the body, and supports projecting rearward from the body when folded, and adapted to receive and support the body when unfolded or opened backward to convert the vehicle from a single seated carriage to a two-seated carriage.

In the prior shifting-seat carriage above referred to a part of the hinged section of the body was of reduced width, so that it shut down in beetwen the sides or panels of the stationary portion,whereby there was a groove formed between the adjacent edges of the folding portion and the stationary section on each side of the buggy, which groove opened outwardly, thus producing crevices adapted to receive and retain dirt when the carriage was used with a single seat for some length of time, which objection is entirely obviated in my construction by the use of the overlapping beads or moldings, whereby a tidy and finished appearance of the body of the vehicle is insured.

By reason of the peculiar shape ofthe movable section of the body-that is to say, it having a rear wall or panel of nearly the same height as the panel F, it is practicable to employ horizontal extensions or brackets O, which are substantially on a line with the sills G, and have the hinged section engage directly with these brackets at such distance in rear of the hinge as shall furnish a strong and\ desirable support for the seat when unfolded, thereby relieving not only the hinges,but also the hooks or braces d from undue strain.

What I claim is 1. 'In a vehicle, the seatsupporting body formed in two sections, of which one is stationary and the other is hinged by its lower rear corner, the seat hinged to the movable section and adapted to be supported alternately upon the movable section and upon the stationary section, and supports projectingv rearward from the body and adapted to support the weight ofthe seat when the vehicle is arranged with two seats, substantially as set forth.

2. In a vehicle, the seat-supporting body formed in two sections, of which one is stationaryand the other is hinged by its lower rear corner, the seat hinged to the movable section and adapted to be supported alternately upon the movable section and upon the stationary section, supports projecting rearward from the body and adapted to support the weight of the seat when the vehicle is arranged with two seats, and braces connected at their upper ends to the movable section and at their lower ends to the frame-work, substantially as set forth.

3. In a vehicle, the SQFlt-SHPIJOItlDg body formed in two sections, of which one is stationary and the other is hinged by its lower rear corner, and is provided with a substantially vertical rear wall, the seat hingedto the movable section and adapted to be supported alternately upon the movable section and upon the stationary section, and supports projecting rearward from the body and adapted to engage with the rear wall of the movable section, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination. with the stationary section of the body and the hinged section, of

the finishing-strips adapted to be interposed between these sections, substantially as set forth. v

5. The combination, of the cushions K K

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