US466115A - Andrew j - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

A. J BROWN. SAFETY GUARD PoR GARS.

No. 466,115. Patent-ed Deo. 29, 1891.

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be under the control of the engineer or grip- Nrrnn i STATESV A'rnNT OFFICE.

ANDREW7 J. BROVN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO FREEMAN CAMPBELL, lOF SAME PLACE.

SAFETY-G UARD FOR CARS.

n"SPECIFICATION form-ing part of Letters Patentl No. 466,115, dated December 29, 1891.

Application tiled July 25, 1891.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW J. BROWN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Safety-Guards for Cars, of which the following is a specification.

. My object is to provide an attachment of improved construction for the forward ends of locomotives or grip or motor cars, to operate as a guard for the safety of the public, and to prevent persons run down by the car from falling under the wheels or being seriously injured by the concussion.

My object is, further, to provide an adjustable device for the above purpose which shall man, whereby he may lower it to the proper distance above the road-bed, raise it to override obstacles, or fold it out of the way at will.

My object is, still further, to provide a safety-guard of the nature described which shall be readily removable from and replaceable upon the car, and to so construct the device as to render it particularly light, strong, durable, and desirable for its purpose.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a broken longitudinal and vertical section of the forward end of a car provided with my improved safety-guard, which is also shown in section; Fig. 2, an enlarged broken perspective View of the safety-guard and its operating-lever, and Fig. 3 a broken sectional view ot' a detail of the construction.

The safety-guard proper is formed with a skeleton frame in two parts A A', secured pivotally together. Each frame is made, preferably, of gas-pipe or other tubing, to be as light as possible consistent with the strength required, and may be of the rectangular shape shown. Each frame vis filled with a texture or other soft or yielding material to afford the cushioned platform B and wall B. Mattresses of Woven wire may be employed for the purpose, as indicated in the drawings.

On the frame A are socket-bearings s for the lower ends of the frame A', which iit loosely into the said socket-bearings to produce a hinge connection between the frame A and A', At opposite ends of the frame A Serial No. 400,694. (No model.)

are backward-extending bars C. The bars C may be made in l telescope-sections q p, the

sections q being rigidly secured to or integral with the frame A and forming sockets to rcceive the ends of the sections p. In the sections q are longitudinal openings g, and on the sectionsp are pins or lugs p', which extend into the said openings and act as stops to prevent the sections from separating, while permitting them to move longitudinally upon each other a limited distance. In the sockets of the parts q are coiled springs q2, which bear against the ends of the sectionsp and maintain the parts normally extended.

D is a rock-shaft extending across the forward end portion of the car and mounted in bearings on the latter. Secured to the shaft D is an operating-lever D', which extends upward to be within easy reach of the engineer or gripman. At the side of the lever D is a segmental rack D2, describing an arc of which the shaft D is the center. Spring-catch mechanism o on the lever D normally engages the rack I)2 and is connected with a liever o at the handle of the lever D. Then the lever D is grasped, the lever 0 may be grasped at the same timel and pressed, whereby it operates to disengage the catch from the rack and permit the lever D to be swung in the forward direction. The ends of the shaft D are squared v and project beyond its bearings. 'lfhe free ends of the section p of the bars C are bifurcated, as shown, to receive the squared ends of the shaft D, and are held against displacement by removable pins n, which are passed through openings in the forks beyond the shaft, and stops n on the shaft, which prevent the bars C from slipping off the ends of the latter. The bifurcated ends of the bars C fit closely upon the squared ends of the shaft D, so that the frame A is swung at its fore end in the vertical plane as the shaft is turned. The frame A is connected near its upper end with the front end of the car by links E. The links E are pivotally secured at one end to the frame, A' and at their opposite ends are provided with openings to iit over pins m, which may extend horizontally beyond the opposite ends of the dash-board. The links E operate to brace the IOO frame A and maintain it some distance forward of the front end of the car, so as to clear the head light, which is usually fastened against the dash-board.

To render the frame A capable of sustaining any weight which may fall upon it, I provide chains or other preferably flexible mediums Z, which are fastened at opposite ends, respectively, to the outer bar of the frame A and upper bar of the frame A at opposite sides of the device.

In practice, while the car is making a trip the safety-guard will be maintained in the lowered position shown in Fig. l, the forward end of the frame A being an inch or slightly more above the road-bed. Should a person be run down by the car, the tendency of the guard will be to trip him up and cause him to fall upon the mattress B and against the mattress B. The cushions afforded by the spring q2 in the bars C render the guard yielding, and will thus tend to lessen the force of a blow against the feet of a person.

If desired, the forward edge of the platform A may be provided with a strip of rubber or other yielding material to reduce still further the force of its impact. The side bars of the frame A may be bent, as shown, to render the mattress B slightly concave on its upper side, and this concavity, when increased by the sagging of the mattress under the weight of a person, will tend, with the forward movement of the car, t0 prevent his rolling oif the mattress.

In case an obstacle should appear upon the road-bed which it is desirable to override, the operator may, by drawing the lever in the backward direction, swing the frame A upward, and the engagement of the pawl or catch o with the rack D2 will maintain the guard at any elevation.

Then desired, the device may be folded, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1L

The connections between the bars C and shaft D and between the links E and pins lm described render the guard readily removable and replaceable upon the car.

If desired, the cushions B B may be formed in one continuons length of the material employed therefor. lVhile the various details of construction shown in the drawings are the ones I prefer to employ, they are subject to modifications which would not depart from the spirit of my invention, and are intended to be included by the claims.

lVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination, with a car, of an adj ustable safety-guard pivot-ally secured tothe front end portion' of the car4 and extending forward therefrom over the road-bed, cornprising a cushioned4 platform B and a cushioned back B', and means upon the car for raising and lowering the guard upon its pivot to adjust it with relation to the road-bed, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a car, of a safetyguard extending forward from the front end thereof over the road-bed, comprising a cushion-frame A, pivotally secured to the car, a back cushion-,frame A', connected pivotally with the frame A at its lower end and with the car near its upper end, cushions in the said frames, and means upon the car for raising and lowering the frames upon the pivots to adjust the guard with relation tothe roadbed, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a car, of a horizontal rock-shaft D and operating-lever D therefor upon the car, and a safety-guard at the front end of the car, comprising a frame filled with cushioning material and connected rigidly with the rock-shaft, to be swung in the vertical plane as the shaft is rocked, substantially as described.

ANDREW J. BROWN.

In presence of M. J. FROST, A. DYRENFORTH.

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