Improved Means for Locking the Folding Shafts of Children's Mall Carts and other Children's Carriages.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Sept., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 6th June, 1894-Accepted, 7th July, 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Locking the Folding Shafts of Children's Mall
Carts and other Children's Carriages.
I, WALTER MASON, of Bell Barn Road, Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Perambulator Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to those children's mail carts and other children's
carriages which are made with folding shafts that is to say each shaft is made in
two parts hinged together near the body so that the main portion of each shaft can
be turned up about its hinge and folded back upon the body so that the mail cart
or other children's carriage when not in use will occupy much less space than when
the shafts are extended.
This invention consists of the herein described improved means for locking the
shafts in their extended position ready for use and for permitting of the shafts being
folded back as stated above when required.
For simplicity I will describe my invention as applied to only one of the
shafts but it is to be understood that my invention is similarly applied to both
shafts.
In carrying out this invention I hinge the folding part of the shaft to the
stationary or fixed part thereof by means of two side plates which are respectively
fixed to the sides of the folding part of the shaft and project beyond the joint
where they are secured to the stationary part of the shaft by a hinge pin passing
through the latter and through the two side plates. The meeting ends of the two
parts of the shaft between these two side plates are cut off in an inclined direction
or they are stepped so as to form a stop joint which will permit of the folding part
of the shaft being turned up but which will not allow of this part of the shaft being
turned down below that position where it is lineable with the fixed part of the
shaft. In order to lock the two parts of the shaft together in this position as when
the mail cart or other children's carriage is in use I provide a turn button or a
small two armed lever which turns on a fulcrum pin fixed to the stationary part of the
shaft between the two side cheeks and is so arranged that when the shaft is in its
extended position and the turn button or lever is turned across the shaft it engages
in slots formed in projecting ears on the side plates thus securely locking the two
parts of the shaft together. To unlock the shaft the turn button or lever has to be
turned on its fulcrum pin so as to be free of the slots and then the folding part of
the shaft is unlocked and can be turned up and folded back. Instead of employing
the turn button or small two armed lever above described other means may be used
such for instance as a moveable cross pin which in order to lock the folding part of
the shaft is passed through holes in the said ears of the side plates.
Instead of the said side plates being fixed to the end of the folding part of the shaft
and jointed to the stationary part by a pin crossing therethrough as above described
this arrangement may be reversed that is to say the side plates may be fixed to the
stationary part of the shaft and the joint pin passed through the moveable part
thereof; in this latter case the turn button or small two armed lever will turn on a
fulcrum pin on the moveable part of the shaft and lock the two parts together as
above described.
Dated this 5th day of September 1902.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant,

page_text: .
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Locking the Folding Shafts of Children's Mail
Carts and other Children's Carriages.
I, WALTER MASON, of Bell Barn Road, Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Perambulator Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has reference to those children's mail carts and other children's
carriages which are made with folding shafts, that is to say, each shaft is made in
two parts hinged together near the body so that the main portion of each shaft can
be turned up about its hinge and folded back upon the body so that the mail cart
or other children's carriage when not in use will occupy much less space than when
the shafts are extended.
This invention consists of the herein-described improved means for locking the
shafts in their extended position ready for use and for permitting of the shafts being
folded back as stated above when required.
For simplicity I will describe my invention as applied to only one of the shafts
but it is to be understood that my invention is similarly applied to both shafts.
On the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a children's carriage with my invention applied to
the folding shafts of the same the shaft being shown in its turned up position;
Fig. 2 shews a portion of the front part of the said carriage with the shaft in its
locked and extended position ready for use;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the jointed portion of the
shaft with my invention applied the two portions of the shaft being shewn locked
together as when the shaft is in its extended position ready for use.
Fig. 4 shews the same parts as Fig. 3 but with the folding part of the shaft
turned up about its joint;
Fig. 5 shews one of the side plates of the joint;
Fig. 6 illustrates a modification of my invention; Fig. 7 shews a further
modification of the same and Fig. 8 is a further modification.
The same letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in all the
figures of the drawings.
Referring firstly more particularly to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. In carrying out
this invention I hinge the folded part A' of the shaft to the stationary part A²
thereof by means of two side plates B1 B2 which are respectively fixed to the sides
of the stationary part A2 of the shaft as by the screws c¹ c² and cross bolt c³ these
side plates B B projecting beyond the joint d of the two parts A' A² where the
side plates are secured to the folding part A' of the shaft by the hinge pin E
passing through the latter and through the two side plates B₁ B. The meeting
ends of the two parts A' A² of the shaft between the said side plates are by
preference cut off in an inclined direction (see Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4) or they may be
stepped (see Fig. 7) so as to form a stop joint which will permit of the folding
part A of the shaft being turned up as shewn in Figs. 1 and 4 but which will
not allow of this part of the shaft being turned down below the position shewn in
Figs. 2 and 3 where it is lineable with the fixed part A2 of the shaft. In order to
lock the two parts A' A² of the shaft together in the position shewn by Figs. 2
and 3 as when the mail cart or other children's carriage is in use I provide a turn
button or small two armed lever L which turns on a fulcrum pin F fixed to the
folding part A' of the shaft between the two side cheeks B1 B2 this turn button or
lever L being so arranged that when the portion A' of the shaft is in its extended
position shewn in Figs. 2 and 3 the turn button or lever L can be turned across the
shaft as shewn in Figs. 2 and 3 so as to engage in slots 6' formed in the projecting

page_text: ears 6 of the side plates B¹ B' thus securely locking the two parts of the shaft
together.
To unlock the shaft so that the portion A¹ can be turned upwardly the
turn button or lever L has to be turned on its fulcrum pin F to the position shewn
in Figs. 1 and 4 so as to be free of the slot b' and then the folding part A of the
shaft is unlocked and can be turned up and folded back as shewn in Figs. 1 and 4.
Instead of employing the turn button or small two armed lever Labove described
for locking the two parts A' A' of the shaft together other means may be used for
this purpose such for instance as the removable cross pin G see Fig. 6 which in
order to lock the folding part. A¹ of the shaft to the stationary part A2 is passed
through the holes 63 in the ears 6 of the side plates, this cross pin G being secured
in this position by any convenient means as by the cotter pin g' so that the cross
pin G can readily be removed when required.
Or as shewn by Fig. 8 I may employ the sliding catch H in combination with the
ears 62 of the side plates for locking the two parts A1 A2 of the shaft together; in
this arrangement the plate H is connected to the underside of the folding part A¹
of the shaft as by the cover plate I and the two screws which pass through the
cover plate I and through a slotted hole in the plate H so that the plate H can
move to and fro.
The plate H is constantly forced forward by the spring J acting
between the eye k and the plate H and the latter can be drawn back by its shank h².
By this arrangement the folding part A' of the shaft is made self-locking as when
this part A is turned into its extended position shewn by Fig. 8 the inclined front
portions of the ears 62 act upon the fore-end 2 of the sliding plate H and force
it backwardly against the spring J and then when the shaft A¹ has been turned as
far as it will go the spring J forces the plate H forward so as to engage with the
notches in the ears 62 and thus secure the two parts of the shaft together as
shewn in Fig. 8.
Instead of the side plates B' B2 being fixed to the stationary part A of the shaft
and jointed to the folding part A' by the pin E crossing therethrough as above
described with reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 this arrangement may be
reversed that is to say the side plates B' B2 may as shewn in Fig. 7 be fixed to the
folding part A' of the shaft and the joint pin E pass through the stationary part A³;
in this latter case the turn button or small two armed lever L will turn on a fulcrum
pin F on the stationary part A3 of the shaft and engage under the ears 62 and lock
the two parts A' A² of the shaft together as above described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
In children's mail carts and other children's carriages which are made with
folding shafts, the employment of means substantially as herein described for locking
the said folding shafts in their extended position ready for use and for permitting
of the shafts being folded back when required, that is to say, hinging or jointing
the one part of each shaft to and between side plates fixed to the other part of the
shaft the meeting ends of the two parts of each shaft being stop jointed together to
prevent the folding part of the shaft being turned down beyond where it is lineable
with the fixed part of the shaft in combination with means for fixing the folding
part of each shaft in this position substantially as hereinbefore set forth and
illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 5th day of June 1894
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.