US494159A - Horse-weight - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

M. S. ONEIL.

HORSE WEIGHT.

No. 494,159. (gratented Mar. 28, 1893;.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MICHAEL SAMUEL ONEIL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

.HORSE-WEIGHT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 494,159, dated March 28, 1893.

' Application tiled December 18, 1891. Serial No. 415,488. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MICHAEL SAMUEL ONEIL,of Chicago,Cook county,Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Im provements in Horse-IVeights, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The object of my invention is to provide a hollow horse-weight within which the hitching strap automatically winds when released, and which always keeps the strap taut when attached to the horse, so as to prevent the horse stepping thereon and getting tangled up in the same. This horse-Weight is more particularly to be considered as an improvement upon the subject-matter of the applicationfor Letters Patent of the United States led by me July 3, 1891, Serial No. 398,360, whereby the construction of thesame is greatly improved and simplified, and a more practical horse-weight produced substantially as hereinafter fully described, and as illustrated in the drawings, in which:-

Figure I is a transverse vertical section through myimproved horse-weight. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the base plate thereof. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the coverlooking at the interior of the same. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the drum upon which the hitching strap is Wound looking at it from underneath, and, Fig. 5 is a plan view of said drum looking at it from above.

In the drawings A represents a base-plate, and B represents an inverted bowl-shaped cover. This cover is provided with a suitable bail or handle a, and its annular edges are of such diameter as to correspond with the diameter ot the base plate and rest upon the marginal edges thereof. In said annular edges is one or Inore recesses b, into which the lugs c arising from the base plate with reference thereto enter so that when said base-plate and the cover are locked together, neither said base-plate or cover will have an independent motion. I secure said base-plate and cover together by means of an inclined bolt C, the upper end or square head of which can be inserted into a suitable socket K made therefor in a boss d located, as shown, in the angle made by the meeting of the side and top of the cover. The4 lower screw-threaded end of this bolt C passes throughv a suitable opening o made in the inclined side of the mound -m arising from the base-plate, and has a nut n on the underside of the same, which is sheltered in the depression caused by the making of said mound, and which, when tightened securely holds said base-plate and cover together.

The socket K in theboss d, into which thek head of the bolt C enters, is made by making a transverse rectangular chamber in said boss of the same Width as said bolt head and about twice as long. The bolt head is inserted into said chamber through an opening which is the obverse of the surface dimensions of said head, and then said bolt is moved laterally into a slot leading from said opening so that its head catches and is prevented from being withdrawn by the shoulders t. The manner ot' placing this bolt prevents the exposure of either of its ends, and prevents extraneous objects getting caught thereon. Journaled on the cylindrical barrel of this bolt is adruin E, which is provided with a iiange on its upper side, and is provided With-a longitudinal opening r therein, through which the looped end of the hitching strap e may be passed so as to surround the boss of said drum substantially as shown in Fig. 4. After having its inner end secured on the boss of said drum the hitching strap is passed through the openin'g in the same and is wound around and upon the sanne, and has its outer end passed through the opening F in the cover, which is located opposite boss d at the angle of said cover so that as said strap is paid out or wound within said horse-weight the plane of the strap will be parallel to the plane of the revolution of the drum and in alignment therewith. r

In order to cause the hitching strap to automatically rewind upon the drum, when pulled out of the horse-Weight and then released, I secure the inner end of a spiral spring G to the bolt above the drum, and secure the outer end thereof directly to said. drum or to a stud or a pin arising therefrom. The outer end of the bitching strap is generally provided with a snap-hook, or with some other enlargement,

IOO

which prevents it from passing through the opening F, in the cover; thus, when the strap is wound upon the drum with the outer end thereof bearing against the Side of the opening F, and with the Spring G tightened, if the strap is pulled outward and then released, the expansion of the spring causes the drum to revolve so as to rewind the strap thereon.

As the fianges of the drum are not of sufficient length to bear against the upper surfaces of the base-plate, and as it is desirable that there should be no lateral movement thereof I provide the base with one or more lugs g, g, which are placed an equal distance on either side of lthe vertical plane of the bolt, and are of such height that they prevent the lateral movement and serve as a guard to prevent the strap from slipping downward oif the drum and getting tangled within the horse-weight.

By the construction of the horse-weight as thus Vdescribed I greatly reduce the cost of manufacturing thehorse-weightto a minimum while, at the same time, simplifying and perfecting its operation.

What I claim as new is- The combination with a base-plate and having a mound arising therefrom having an opening therein, and an inverted bowl-shaped cover having a boss in its upper part with a suitable socket therein, of a bolt having its head secured within said socket and its lower screw-threaded end extending through the opening in said mound in the base, a nut on the lower end thereof, the drum journaled on said bolt, a hitehing strap wound thereon and having its outer end passing through an opening in said cover, and a spring for automatically returning said drum to its original position so as to rewind said strap, as set forth.

MICHAEL SAMUEL ONEIL.

Witnesses:

TIMOTHY STEBBINS, FRANK D. THoMAsoN.

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