IMPROVEMENTS IN PERAMBULATORS OR VEHICLES FOR CHILDREN
Year: 1884

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I, JOHN SMITH, of the Town and County of the Town of Nottingham do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN PERAMBULATORS
OR VEHICLES FOR CHILDREN," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object the improvement of perambulators or other
vehicles for children, so as to obviate the existing liability to accidents, by
rendering such vehicles incapable of moving when carelessly or otherwise left by
the attendant in charge, in a position favourable for the vehicle to be acted on
by the influence of gravitation.
In carrying out the Invention, a brake which is put into action by a spring, is
fitted conveniently to the vehicle so as to act upon the wheel or wheels, and this
spring brake is connected by a cord or other suitable and convenient means to the
shorter end of a lever handle. This lever handle is preferably L shaped and is so
centered at its angle on the rods which support the handle for propelling the
vehicle that the end of the longer arm of the lever reaches to the propelling handle
but is kept apart from it by the action of the spring of the brake and it has a
handle fitted to it so that when grasped and the lever depressed the attendant can
hold both the propelling handle and the lever handle together. When thus held
the brake is kept out of contact with the wheel or wheels of the vehicle but the
moment the attendant releases the handles, the spring causes the brake to be
applied and renders the carriage immovable, no matter in what position the
vehicle may be in at the moment of release.

page_text: I, JOHN SMITH of the Town and County of the Town of Nottingham,
Watchmaker, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN PERAMBULATORS OR VEHICLES FOR CHILDREN," and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement that is to say:-
My said Invention has for its object the improvement of perambulators or other
vehicles for children, so as to obviate the existing liability to accidents by
rendering such vehicles incapable of moving when carelessly, or otherwise left by
the attendant in charge, in a position favourable for the vehicle to be acted on
by the influence of gravitation.
In carrying out my said Invention, a brake arrangement which may be put into
action by a spring or otherwise, is fitted conveniently to the vehicle so as to act
upon the wheel or wheels, and this brake arrangement is connected by a cord or
other suitable and convenient means to one end, preferably the shorter, of a lever
handle. This lever handle may be shaped and so centered at its angle, on the
rods which support the handle for propelling the vehicle, that the end of one
preferably the longer, arm of the lever reaches to the propelling handle, but is kept
slightly apart from it by the action of the spring or it may be the weight of the
brake arrangement. The lever has a handle fitted to it so that when grasped and
the upper end of the lever depressed, the attendant can hold both the propelling
handle and the lever handle together. When thus held the brake arrangement is
kept out of contact with the wheel or wheels, or suitable parts on or connected to
the wheels, but the moment the attendant releases or leaves hold of the handles,
the spring or the weight of the brake arrangement causes the brake to be applied
and renders the vehicle immovable, no matter in what position the vehicle may be
in at the moment of release.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing the same
may be properly understood I hereunto append a sheet of explanatory drawings
and representing one modification of my improved arrangements. In these
drawings the same reference numerals are used to mark the same or like parts
wherever they are repeated.
Figure 1 on the accompanying sheet of drawings is a view looking at the back
of a perambulator fitted with one modification of my improved brake arrangements,
whilst figure 2 is a side view of the same, with one of the hind wheels removed.
In this modification the brake arrangement consists in a wrought-iron bar 3
extending across the breadth of the vehicle 4 from the inside boss of one wheel 5.
to the inside boss of the other parallel with and above the axle of the wheels.
This bar is arranged to slide up and down in two vertical guides 6 which are
fixed one at each side near the inside bosses of the wheels on the axle 7 and the
ends of the bar 3 when the bar is down pass into slots or notches formned round the
edges of metal discs 8 fixed on the inside bosses of the wheel 5 one at each side.
Near the middle of the bar 3 there is connected to it, one end of a short lever 9
which is centered at the other end to the upper end of a short upwardly curved
arm 10. This arm 10 is fixed at its lower end to the axle 7 of the hind wheels
and the lever 9. on this arm 10 is connected by a wire 11, to the lower end of a
downwardly projecting arm 12 of a handle lever piece. This arm is connected by
its upper end to a horizontal iron rod extending across the space between the
rods 13 supporting the handle of the vehicle. This horizontal rod is pivotted at

page_text: its ends in the rods 13 near the top and has near each end short upward arms
connected together by an upper rod parallel to the horizontal rod, so that the
handle lever piece forms a parallelogram having the downwardly extending arm 12
placed at a slight angle to it. The upper rod 14 is curved to correspond to the
formation of the ordinary handle of the vehicle from which it is kept about two
inches apart by the weight of the bar 3. The brake arrangement is shown in the
drawings with the bar 3 down and engaged with the discs 8 and when in this
position the lever handle 14 is lifted away from the handle 15 and the vehicle is
practically immovable and will remain in whatever position it is left in by the
attendant. When however the handle 15 is grasped by the attendant the
handle 14 of the lever piece will be grasped at the same time and by the act
brought close to the handle 15. This action through the wire 11 lifts the rod 3
up, out of contact with the holes in the discs 8 and so by releasing the wheels the
vehicle may then be moved but the moment the handles are released, the bar 3 by
its weight falls and catches in the holes in the discs 8, thus effectually stopping the
further movement of the vehicle until the handles are again brought together by
the act of grasping them.
In some cases it may be found preferable to form the bar 3 in two parts by
cutting it through its middle and connecting each part to the lever 9, so that when
that lever is acted on by the wire 11, the middle ends of the bar 3 will be raised
and the outer ends withdrawn out of contact with the slots or holes in the discs 8.
Or the discs 8 may be dispensed with and the ends of the bar 3 arranged to pass
through the spokes of the wheels and thus brake the vehicle.
It is obvious that by slight modifications the handle lever piece may be arranged
to act and apply various form of brakes, as for instance it may be arranged to
apply a brake-block to the periphery of the wheel or wheels but I prefer the
arrangement herein before described as being most certain and practicable.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
The combination with the handle of a perambulator or other similar vehicle, of a
lever handle piece which when grasped by the hand takes the brake off the vehicle,
but when released puts on the brake.
Dated this 29th day of September 1884.
Witness,
LOCK MOORE,
Patent Agent,
Nottingham.
JOHN SMITH,