Patent GB-166683-A (GB)
Title: Anti-splash device for use on road vehicles
IPC: B62D25/18
Filed: 1920-04-17
Abstract: 166,683. Hudson, J., and Baker, A. April 17, 1920. Lateral-splash guards for road vehicles, of the kind wherein a two-part screen is suspended from a wheel axle, comprise a lower flexible screening portion 22 of chain mesh secured to an upper screening portion 17 of rigid material, this twopart screen being supported by a single bracket 6, 10 connected at its lower end to the middle point of the upper screen portion and mounted at its upper end on a pin 3 projecting from the wheel axle or axle cap, and means being provided for preventing angular displacement of the bracket in relation to the wheel axis. The bracket comprises slotted and grooved parts 6, 10 retained in adjusted position by a bolt 9 and nut 11. The screen is hinged at 14 to the bracket, and is normally maintained parallel to the wheel by a spring 26. A baffle or shield 16, extending laterally towards the wheel from the upper part of the screen, prevents upward splashing. A wire spring 25, extending along the mesh 22 and formed at its ends into coils, which are secured to the part 17, imparts stiffness to the mesh portion of the screen. As shown in Fig. 2, for a steering-wheel, the bracket is mounted upon the squared portion of a pin 3 projecting from the axle nut 2 through the dust cap 4 of the wheel. For a driving-wheel, however, the bracket is mounted on a rotatable pin and is prevented from swinging by a stay fitted with a hinge and carried round the wheel to a fixed part of the vehicle. The upper edge of the mesh 22 has rings 21, which are engaged by a rod 34 passing also through an interrupted tubular part 19 on the lower edge of the rigid portion 17 of the screen. The curtain may be extended parallel with the inner, as well as the outer, surface of the wheel; or, by the provision of extra shielding means extending upwards from the part 17 or carried by the bracket member 10, the screen may cover entirely the outer surface of the wheel. According to one of the Provisional Specifications, (1) for a rear wheel, the curtain may be resiliently suspended from a rail, which is arranged close to, and longitudinally around, the lower portion of the wheel and is supported by brackets from the ordinary mud-guard; (2) for front wheels, the two curtains are suspended from two horizontal rails surrounding the lower portions of the two wheels, and the rails may each be supported at the front and rear by a pivoted stay, or they may themselves be directly pivoted to the brackets carried by the wheel-axle bar; (3) the curtains may be divided in a plane parallel with that of the wheel so that the outer half may be swung open to allow access to the wheel; and, (4) the upper portion of the curtain may be secured to the rail by laces, rivets, bolts, wire, or other fastenings; and the mesh portion may be connected to the upper portion in a similar manner. According to the other Provisional Specifications, (1) the curtains are attached to rails wholly or partly surrounding the lower part of the wheel, the rails being supported by one or more brackets secured or connected to the hub or axle; (2) the rail is adjustable in relation to its brackets, or the brackets may be adjustably connected to the hub or axle; (3) the bracket mav be screwed on to a pin projecting from the axle of a steering- wheel, or it may be held thereon by a nut, and a second bracket may be mounted on the wheelaxle pin on the inner side of the wheel; (4) for a rear wheel, the stay for preventing swinging motion of the curtain may be connected to the spring by a pin-and-slot connection; (5) to allow for vertical adjustment of the curtain, the brackets may have a number of holes for the connection of the rail, or use may be made of rack- and-pinion mechanism, or of a system of levers, or of a nut-and-bolt device with one or more springs between the bracket and curtain rail to take up slack; and, (6) the curtain may be divided into two parts in a plane parallel with that of the wheel.