US578106A - Car-fender - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

P; JONES.

. GAR FENDER.

No. 578,106. Patented Mar. 2, 1897.

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P. JONES.

GAR FENDER. No. 578,106. Patented Mar. 2, 1897.

TMMEWEF In WITNESSES INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL JONES, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

CAR-FENDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 578,106, dated March 2, 1897.

Application filed October 31, 1896. Serial No. 610,666. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,-

Be it known that I, PAUL JONES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, in thecounty of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Oar-Fenders, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in car-fenders, and has for its object, primarily, to improve upon the actuating mechanism of the electrically actuated scoop shown and described in a certain application for Letters Patent filed by me upon the 15th day of July, 1896, bearing Serial No. 599,267, and allowed upon the 10th day of September, 1896, and, secondarily, to provide a simple and convenient method of utilizing the fender for advertising purposes.

With these ends in view this invention 'consists in the details of construction and combin ation of elements hereinafter setforth and then specifically designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand how to make and use the same, its construction and operation will now be described in detail,referring to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of one platform of a car, illustrating the adaptation of my improvement thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the fender; Fig. 3, an enlarged section of the housing in which the circuit-making latch is located; Fig. 4, a fragmental view of the actuating-solenoid for releasing the scoop-frame and giving it an initial movement downward, and Fig. 5 a section at the line m w of Fig. 4.

In carrying out my invention as here embodied I mount the buffer-frame or fender proper, A, in front of the dashboard by attaching its upper end thereto by means of the hooks B, (but one of which is shown,) in order that this frame may have a limited swinging movement at its lower end, and to the back of the buffer-frame is secured a spring 0, in such shape and resiliency as to receive and modify the impact between the fender and an obstruction with which it may come in contact.

A housing D, preferably tubular in shape,

as clearly shown in Fig. 1, and is provided with the ears E, which extend forward and form guides for the spring O, and this spring is held between the cars by the pin F, proj ectin g inwardly from the spring G, the latter being secured at H to the outside of the housing. By this arrangement it is obvious that so long as the pin F is left in its normal position the spring 0 will be retained against outward movement past this pin, yet when it becomes necessary from any cause whatever to withdraw the spring from the ears this may be accomplished by the forcing outward of the spring G, which carries said pin, thereby freeing the pin from the spring 0.

The leverI is pivoted at J within thehousing and is provided with a spring K, adapted to hold it in its normal position, as shown in Fig. 3, in which position its latch-nose Lwill be forced inward, causing the bevel-surface thereof to lie immediately in the rear of the spring O. The object of this arrangement is that when the spring C is forced backward by the impact of the fender with the obstruction, such as a person, the spring 0 will force the latch outward until the nose thereof engages with said spring, thereby retaining the spring in its altered position against the end of the housing. Now when the latch is thus forced outward and enters into engagement with the spring O the inner end of the lever I, which carries the contact-point M, will be forced inward sufficiently to bear against the contactpoint N, thus closing the circuit of which the wires 0 form a part, for the purpose hereinafter set forth, the contact-point N being supported upon the spring P in order that it may adapt itself to the contact-point M.

From the under side of the car in the rear of the housing depend the hangers Q, in which is pivoted the scoop-frame S, it being understood that there are two hangers, one upon either side of the scoop-frame. The scoopframe is of such design as to readily pick up a person when its forward end is permitted to swing downward into contact with the road- 7 bed over which the car is passing, and with the rear portion of this frame is formed an extension T, with which the latch-hook U enters into engagement and by means of which the scoop-frame is held in its normally-ele vated position. V represents a bracket depending from the under side of the platform and of such shape as to support the solenoid W and guide the core X as well as the rod Y, which is secured to said core and with which is form ed the latclrhook U. Suitable springs Z are attached to the rod Y and to the bracket in order that said rod may be held in its normal forward position, and the outer end of the rod has journaled thereon the rolls a.

Upon either side of the extension 1 are formed the inclined arms I), set at such an angle that when the rolls Ct come in contact therewith, as herein described, they will give these arms an upward movement, which will accelerate the initial downward movement of the outer end of the scoop-frame.

The operation of that portion of my invention above described is as follows: The scoopframe beingheld in its normally-elevated position by the latch-hook U engaging with the extension T will remain in this position so long as said latch-hook is retained in its normal position; but when the fender comes in contact with an obstruction with sufficient force to carry the spring 0 rearward against the resistance of the latch-nose L said nose will be forced outward, thereby carrying the inner end of the lever I inward and bringing the points M and N into contact, which will close the circuit formed by the wires 0 and in which the solenoid \V is included, thereby vitalizin g said solenoid and causing it to draw the core X inward. This inward movement of the 'core will carry with it the latch-hook U beyond the outer surface of the bracket, thereby releasing the extension T and at the same time bringing the rolls a into contact with the arms I) with the effect just described. Now since the spring 0 will be engaged by the latch-nose L and prevented from outward movement the points M and N will remain in contact, thus insuring the proper working of the scoop-frame by holding its front end firmlyin contact with the road-bed. After the person has been picked up by the scoop-frame and the car being brought to a stop said frame may be again elevated to its normal position by the retraction of the latch L and the outward movement of the spring 0, which will permit the lever I to return to its normal position, thus breaking the circuit and devitalizing the solenoid, after which the scoopframe may be elevated and there held by the engagement of the latch-hook U with the ex- 1 frame pivoted beneath the car, a latch-hook d represents an apron pivoted at f to the tension T, as before described.

fender frame and projecting downward, where it is held in a vertical position by the springs g, of sufficient tension to prevent the rearward movement of the apron withoutalso moving the fender-frame rearward sufficiently to engage the spring 0 with the latch L, but weak enough to permit its being swung by the obstruction, so as to permit this portion of the fender to pass over said obstruction without injury thereto in order that the scoop-frame may pick it up. From this it will be seen that a person struck by the fender, if thrown upon the track, will, after passing under the apron, be picked up by the scoop and there safely retained until the car may be stopped and said person removed, and also the force of impact between a person and the fender, when being struck thereby, will be greatly reduced by the action of the spring 0 after it has moved rearward sufficient to come in contact with the outer end of the housing, after which it will act as a cushion. It will also be seen that should a person be prostrate upon the track, through slipping or other cause, before being struck by the fender the action of the pendent apron will be sufficient to operate contact-points. A shield h is secured to the spring 0 and serves to shelter the nose L, thereby preventing its being clogged by snow or accumulations of dirt, and as the other operating parts of the device are so housed as to be protected from snow and dirt it will be seen that my present improvement is not liable to become disarranged or inoperative, which is of the utmost importance, since when a fender is required for use its action must be positive or the person in danger will be fatallyin j ured.

The secondary feature of my invention, which consists of means for utilizing the fender as an advertising medium, is composed of thin flexible strips t', placed upon the netting in such manner as to form two rectangular frames, the upper portions of which are open, and these strips are so bent as to permit the insertion of cards, as indicated at on. These strips are so flexible as not to interferfere with or injure a person coming in contact therewith when struck by the fender, and by this arrangement any design or card may be quickly placed within the frames or removed therefrom when others are to be substituted therefor. In practice the cards should be also thin and flexible, preferably of oil-cloth or the like.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful is 1. In combination with a car,a fender-frame supported by the dashboard of said car, a spring carried by said frame, a housing having projecting ears between which the spring is guided, an electric circuit, a circuit-closure adapted to be operated by the rearward portion of the fender-frame, means for retaining said frame in its backward position, a scoopfor retaining said frame in its normally-elevated position, a solenoid arranged to retract the latch-hook when the circuit is closed, and rolls carried by the core of the solenoid and arms on the scoop-frame cooperatin g with the rollers for giving the scoop-frame an initial downward movement, as specified.

2. In combination, an electric circuit, a solenoid included within said circuit, a core arranged to be drawn within the solenoid when the latter is vitalized, a scoop-frame pivoted beneath the car and having an extension, a

latch-hook carried by the core and adapted to engage said extension, inclined arms formed with the scoop-frame, rolls carried by a rod connected to the core and arranged to act upon the inclined arms, and means for closing the circuit when the fender meets sufficient resistance, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

. 3. In combination with acar,afender-frame carried upon the dashboard thereof,of an electric circuit, a circuit-making mechanism under control of the fender, a scoop-frame pivoted beneath the car, an extension formed with said frame, a latch-hook for engaging said extension, a rod upon which said hook is formed, a core attached to the rod, a solenoid adapted to draw the core inward When vitalized by the closing of the circuit, inclined arms formed with the scoop-frame, and rolls carried by the rod for operating upon the arms to depress the outer end of the scoop-frame, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In combination with a scoop-frame and actuating mechanism of the character described, of a housing, a lever I pivoted therein, a circuit leading from the solenoid-actuating mechanism to contact-points, one of which is carried by the lever, and the other by a suitable spring, a spring for holding the lever in its normal position, a latch nose formed upon said lever, a spring 0 carried by the fender and held in its normal position by a pin F, and a spring G to which said pin is attached, all arranged substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The herein-described combination of a fender A, supported by the dashboard of a car, a spring 0 carried thereby, a housing D having projectingears which act as guides for the spring, a spring G, a pin F carried by said spring for holding the spring 0 in its normal position between the ears, a lever I pivoted within the housing, said lever having a latch-nose formed thereon and adapted to engage with the spring 0, when the latter is forced rearward, a spring K for holding the lever in its normal position, a contact-point M carried by the lever, a contact-point N carried by a suitable spring, circuit-wires leading to and from contact-points, a solenoid included within the circuit, a suitable bracket for supporting said solenoid, a core arranged in proper position to the solenoid, a rod carried by said core, a latch-hook formed with the rod, hangers projecting downward from the under side of the car, a scoop-frame pivoted between said hangers, an extension T formed with said frame and with which the latch-hook is adapted to engage, inclined arms also formed with the scoop-frame, rolls carried by the rod for actuating said arms, and springs Z for returning the solenoid to its normal position, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

PAUL JONES.

Witnesses:

S. S. WILLIAMSON, PETER KEARN.

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