US540894A - Car-guard - Google Patents

Description

(No ModeL) I 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.. O. A. BARRETT.

GAR GUARD Patented June 11, 1895.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Shet 4. G. A. BARRETT, GAR GUARD No. 540,894. Patented June 11, 1895 1 describe and claim.

Urtirn Erarne A-TENT Quince.

' CHARLES BARRETT, OF MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS.

CAR-GUARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 540,894, dated June 11, 1895.

Application filed February 28, 1895.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. BARRETT, of Malden, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car- Guards, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to safety appliances forstreet-cars propelled by electricity or cables or otherwise, in contradistinction to those drawn by horses, and it has for its object to, provide improved means for reducing to the minimum the danger to life and limb caused by the running of the car against a person on the track.

To this end the invention consists in the improvements which I will now proceed to.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents an end elevation'of a portion of a car provided with my improvements. Fig.2 represents a side elevation of the'same. Fig. 3 represents a section on line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 represents a view similar to Fig. 3, omitting certain parts. Fig. 5 represents a section on line 5 5 of Fig. 2 and a plan view of the parts below said line. Fig. 6 represents a section. on line 6 6 of Fig. 2, looking toward the left. Fig. 7 represents a section on line- 7 7 of Fig. 5.

v The same letters and numerals of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, it represents a guard, which is preferably composed of a stout wooden cross-bar 7, a metal frame 8 attached at its ends to said cross-bar, and parallel metal rods9 9 extending from the cross-bar to the front portion of the frame, the whole forming a basket orscoop which is connected by hinges b with a support 0 attached to a suitable part of the car. Said support may be the usual pilot-board of the car, or it may be an independent piece attached to the car. The hinged guard is located under the platform, in advance of the wheels, and is arranged so that when raised, as shown in Fig. 3, it is clear of the track; and when depressed, as shown in Fig. 2, it bears upon or is in close proximity to the track, the guard having trucks 10 adapted to run on the rails and pavement, and preferably made of rubber.

Serial No. 539,758. (No model.)

The guard is lockedin its raised position by upwardly, until the latch drops in front of the shoulder ct and thus locks the guard in its raised position, as shown in Fig. 3.

Three guard releasing devices are employed, whereby the latch .may be raised to release the guard and allow it to drop upon the track, one of said releasing devices being automatic and designed to be operated by an object such as a prostrate human body on the track in advance of the guard, while the other releasing devices are designed to be operated by an attendant on the platform. The automatic device as here shown comprises a swinging cross-bar 6 (Fig. 1) having upwardly bent ends 6' e which are journaled in hearings in a fenderf projecting forward from the endof the car, and a rod 6 connected at its forward end to said cross-bar and having at its rear portion a finger c (Fig. 4) which forces the latch 01 upwardly when the arm e is moved backwardly, the rear portion of the arm being supported by a fixed bracket e having an incline e which raises the rear end of the arm when the arm is pushed backwardly, thus causing the arm to raise the latch. Aspring e interposed between a collar 6 on the arm and the bracket a normally presses the arm and the swinging cross-bar 6 forward away from the incline e so that the arm is normally depressed below the locking position of ver and at the other end to the latch at, said chain passing over a pulley g journaled in fixed hearings on the car, thearrangement being such that when the lever is moved backwardly to the position shown in Fig. 2, the

chain is drawn forward and raises the latch out of engagement with the arm a on the guard, thus releasing the latter. A rod 9 connected with the lower end of the hand-lever 9 and passing loosely through the guard arm a has a collar 9 bearing on the front side of said arm, said rod and collar serving, when the hand-lever is moved forward, to raise the guard and cause the re-engagcment of the arm a with the latch. A spring g on the rod g bearing on the rear side of the guard-arm and on a collar 9 affixed to the rear end of said rod exertsaforward pressure on said guard-arm when the hand-lever g is moved to raisethe latch, and thus facilitates the descent of the guard after its release, said spring being compressed by the forward movement of the rod.

The third releasing device comprises a pedal k which is movable in a guide in the car platform, and a lever 7L pivoted at h to a bracket attached to the car, one end of said lever being pivoted to the pedal while the other projects under the latch cl, as shown in Fig. 4, so that when the pedal is depressed the rear end of the lever 7L raises the latch and releases the guard.

I provide a device for automatically locking the guard in its depressed position to prevent it from rebounding or rising from the track afterit has been dropped. Said locking device as here shown is a lever h pivoted at 7t to the supportingbar and having a hook k at its forward end which is caused by aspring k to engage the cross-bar 7 of the guard when the latter is depressed, so that the guard is looked just as it reaches its operative position. To enable the motor-man to release the guard preparatory to raising it by the hand lever g, I connect the locking lever h by a chain It with the rear end of the lever h, the arrangement being such that the operator by depressing the pedal. disengages the locking lever from the guard.

The fender fwhicli supports the trip 6 is a platform, preferably of yielding construction, projecting forward from the carat such height above the track as to permit said fender to pass over a prostrate human body without injury thereto. the fender supporting said trip at such height that the latter will strike and be displaced by such body and will thereby be caused to release the guard, as above described. The feuderf is further constructed and arranged so that in case its forward portion strikes a body in a standing position it will be likely to cause the body to fall backward onto the fender, and thus escape serious injury, the forward edge of the fender being preferably about twelve inches above the track, while the lower portion of the trip is preferably about five inches above the track. The fender is preferably somewhat inclined downward from its forward edge rearwardly, to more securely retain a person who may fall thereon.

The fender fas here shown is connected with a vertical cushion f, which covers the front of the usual dash-board t on the car platform, and acts as a buffer to prevent violent contact of a person caught by the fender with said dash-board. The cushion f is composed of a stout frame consisting of top and bottom cross-bars 12 13, vertical end-bars 11 14., and intermediate vertical bars 15 15 (Fig. 1), said crossbars 12 13 being curved, as shown in Fig. 5, to conform to the curvature of the dashboard, and a suitable yielding filling 16 attached to the marginal portions of the frame, said filling being preferably a wire netting, the top and bottom portions of which are connected with the cross-bars of the frame by springs 17. Any other suitable yielding filling maybe employed, however, such as a sheet of canvas or a netting of fibrous'material. The end-bars 14: 14: of the cushion frame are provided with hooks 18 (Fig. 2) which are engaged with ears 19 affixed to the fixed standards 20 which support the dash-board 'i, said ears and hooks securing the cushion and fender to the car and permitting them to be readily detached by raising the hooks out of the ears.

The fender is com posed of a frame comprising endbars 21 21 connected to the vertical end-bars 14 1a of the cushion frame; crossbars 22 22 affixed to the end-bars 21 21; and a yielding filling 23 (Fig. 5) here shown as composed of wire netting con nected by springs 24with the end-bars, although said filling may be of any other suitable construction. The front portion of the fender is preferably provided with a yielding buffer composed of a helical spring 26 extending from one of the side-bars 21 to the other and covered with a rubber tube 27. The various bars comprising the frames of the fender and extension are preferably covered with sections of rubber tubing, to minimize the injury caused by violent contact of a body with said bars.

The fender is preferably hinged to the endbars 14 of the frame of the cushion, so that it can be swung upwardly against the cushion when not required for use, the lower ends of said end-bars 14 being bent forward and formed as hinge members to which the rear ends of the side-bars 21 of the fender correspondingly formed are jointed, as shown in Fig. 7. Said hinge-members are formed so that the fender cannot swing downwardly below the position shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 7. The rod e of the automatic guard-releasing device is jointed at 6 so that its forward portion will swing upwardly with the fender.

The operation is as follows: Under normal conditions, the guard is held raised, as shown in Fig. 3. When the motor-man sees a person in dangerous proximity to the car, he pulls back the hand-lever g, or depresses the pedal 71 thus releasing the guard, which drops to the track, its motion being accelerated by the spring g. If the motor-man fails to release the guard and the fender passes over a prostrate body, the trip is operated. The

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guard is locked,'in either case, directly upon its depression, and cannot be raised until the driver depresses the pedal;

It will be seen that the permanently raised fender f provides for catching a standing body with little or no liability of injury, and that the guard adapted to be released either automatically or by hand prevents a body that has not been caught by the fender from gethorizontal direction from the cushion, so that it can readily retain a person who may fall thereon, the cushion preventing injurious contact of the person with the dasher.

I claim- 1. A safety appliance for street-cars, comprising a fender projecting in advance of the car and supported in a raised position, whereby it is enabled to avoid contact with the track, pass over a prostrate human body, and catch a person who may be encountered in a standing position, a hinged guard located between said fender and the wheels, a locking device or latch to hold said guard in a raised position, and a latch-displacing trip located below thelowest part-of the fender and adapted to encounter and be operatedby a body over which the fender has passed.

.2. A safety appliance for street-cars, com

prising a fender projecting in advance of the car and supported in a raised position, whereby it is enabled to avoid contact with the track, pass over a prostrate human body, and

catch a person who may be encountered in a standing position, a hinged guard located between said fender and the wheels, a locking sition, means such as a pedal on the car plat-- form and connections between said pedal and the locking lever whereby the latter may bedisplaced to unlock the guard and permit its elevation, and means such as an operating lever on the car and connections between said lever, the latch, and the locking arm of the guard, whereby the said lever may be caused to alternately release the guard and thus cause its depression, and raise the guard into engagement with the latch.

4. A safety appliance for street-cars, comprising a guard hinged to a support on the car and provided with an upwardly projecting arm, an operating lever on the car, a rod connected with said lever and passing through the guard-arm, said rod having a collar at the front and a spring at the rear of said arm, whereby the arm may be alternately forced backwardly to raise the guard and pressed forward to accelerate its downward movement, and a latch which automatically engages the guard-arm to hold the guard in a raised position. V

5. A safety appliance for street-cars, comprising a guard hinged to a support on the car and provided with an upwardly projecting arm, a latch which automatically engages said arm to hold the guard in a raised position, an elevated fender projecting forward from the car, a swinging cross-bar below said fender, a rod connected with said cross-bar and engaged with the latch, and an inclined guide which raises the rod and displaces the latch when the swinging cross-bar ismovedbackwardly.

6. A safety appliance for street-cars, comprising a cushion formed to cover the front of the dasher of the car, the frame of said cushion having attaching devices such as the hooks 18 adapted to detachably engage corresponding devices on the dasher, and a fender hinged or jointed to the lower end of the cushion-frame and standing substantially atv a right angle therewith, said fender beingsupported entirely by the lower end of the cushion-frame and being adapted to be folded against the cushion, the said cushion and fender being formed so that when the cushion is engaged with the car-dasher it standsvertically at the front of the dasher, while the fender when in its operative position projects horizontally forward from the dasher.

7. The combination with a car having cushion and fender supporting devices such as the lugs 19, of a safety appliance comprising the cushions engaged with the car-dasher and formed to cover the front of said dasher and to project below the same, said cushion having devices such as the books 18 for engagement with the lugs 19, the fenderhinged to the lower end of the cushion-frame and projecting horizontally forward at a sufficient distance from the track to permit it to pass over a prostrate human body, said fender being supported entirely by the lower end of the cushion-frame and adapted to swing upwardly against the cushion, a guard located behind the fender, a latch adapted to hold the guard in a raised position, and a trip located below the level of the fender and adapted to be operated by contact with an obstruction on the track to release the guard. V

8. A safety appliance for cars, comprising a guard hinged to asupport on the car, a latch adapted to automatically engage said guard and hold it in a raised position, the latchdisplacing mechanism comprising the pedal 71, movable in the car-platform and the lever 71! pivoted to the car and engaged at one end with the pedal and at the other end with the latch, and the guard-raising or setting mechanism comprising the lever g pivoted to the platform and the rod 9 engaged at one end with said lever and at the other end with an arm on the guard.

9. A street-car equipped with a substantially horizontal fender projecting in advance of the car and supported thereon in a raised position, whereby it is enabled to catch a standing body and pass overa prostrate body,

a movable hinged guard or scoop located between the fender and the wheels, said guard Witnesses:

O. F. BROWN, A. D. IIARnIsoN.

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