Improvements in or connected with Shelters or Covers for the Exposed Seats of Tramcars, Omnibuses, and Carriages, or for Goods on other Vehicles.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Nov., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 17th Aug., 1893-Accepted, 28th Oct., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Shelters or Covers for the
Exposed Seats of Tramcars, Omnibuses, and Carriages, or for
Goods on other Vehicles.
MATTHEW FISHLOCK 2 Woodfield Place Harrow Road Paddington London, W.
Stage Carriage Conductor do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The shelter can be constructed any size or height to be fixed to any vehicle.
The framework consist of expanding trellis work at the front and back the bottom
parts of which are fixed to top of vehicle. Two bars or rods runs along each side
of vehicle The top one being fixed at each end to the top outside corners of trellis
The under or lower bars being fixed to top of vehicle at back ends but runs along
to the front and slightly bent round the corners then down and fixed to bottom part
of vehicle or as deep as shelter requires. Perpendicular bars are placed in sockets
fixed to each corner of vehicle the top ends being fixed to top corners of trellis
work and raises or sinks in the sockets when raising or lowering the shelter.
Two short bars are fixed to each corner of vehicle, one end by a sliding ferrule
attached to the perpendicular bars the other end being fixed in a slide to top of
vehicle so that when the shelter is closed down they lay flat on top of vehicle, but
when raising the shelter they draw up and are fixed up tightly by pins thus
supporting the perpendicular bars, one middle bar runs from back to front trellis
work but lays flat along roof of vehicle when the shelter is closed if required say
when on tram or omnibus and is raised and fixed at each end to the trellis work a
few inches above the level so that the roof of shelter is higher in the middle the
shoot the rain off.
The shelter is made of stout waterproof material, the roof the side sheets and the
front are all joined. The back end being seperate, the roof is joined at the front
end to the top of trellis work.
The front ends of side sheets are joined to the front part of shelter by means of
a grooved spring socket to which the side sheets are attached. The socket being
grooved so as to allow the edges of the front part of shelter which is bound
round curled spiral springs to slide up and down when raising or lowering the
shelter the socket being made to open loose for the creases of the edges of the
front when the shelter is lowered but closing spring tight to the front when the shelter
is raised open thus excluding rain or draught six small strips of glass are inserted in
the shelter for windows two in front and two each side and are protected in the
folds of the shelter when closed. When the shelter is closed down the side sheets
are straped round the side bars running down the front of vehicle thus forming
little or no incumbrance: The shelter can be raised or lowered when necessary say
when fixed to tram or omnibus by means of a handle at back of vehicle attached to
a bar running along the roof of vehicle, and fixed by a lever to the trellis work in
front and can be drawn back or forward by cords attached to top and bottom
corners and passing round pulley wheels at back of vehicle. The front sheet of
shelter is divided in two so that either side can be drawn open if necessary when the
shelter is raised.
Dated this 14th day of November 1892.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Shelters or. Covers for the
Exposed Seats of Tramcars, Omnibuses, and Carriages, or for
Goods on other Vehicles.
I, MATTHEW FISHLOCK of 2, Woodfield Place, Harrow Road, Paddington,
London, W., Omnibus Conductor 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 relates to folding covers or shelters for the top of omnibuses,
tramcars, or other carriages, and may be adapted also for goods on other vehicles to
which same may be applicable-my object being to provide for such omnibuses or
vehicles a cover or shelter capable of being easily and quickly opened and fixed
ready for use and again readily closed and folded out of the way when not required
.in use.
For the purpose of illustrating the character of my invention I will proceed to
describe same as applied and fixed to an ordinary London omnibus of the well
known pattern having garden seats or cross benches on the roof thereof.
My invention consists essentially of a waterproof cover or shelter having roof,
end and sides thereto, a rod or bar down each side capable of being raised and
carrying with it the said shelter-a second and fixed side rod or bar attached to
each side and carried round the front at each corner and downwards and there fixed
to the body of the vehicle, transverse rods or crossbars fixed to and carried by lazy
tongs at back and at front of vehicle perpendicular bars held in sockets at cach
corner of vehicle, one (or more) supporting bar or strut at each corner which at one
end is attached to the perpendicular bar by an eye or sliding ferrule the other end
moving in a horizontal slide or guide way on the rail and means to lock and hold
said strut in the open position, a central longitudinal rod capable of being raised to
support the roof down the middle at a higher point than elsewhere so as to throw
off the rain and lie on one side out of the way when the shelter is closed and folded,
means to pull out tight the shelter and so hold it while in use and means to fold
and fasten down the shelter and its supports tightly and snugly while out
of use.
And in order that my present invention may be easily understood and readily
carried into practice I will proceed to fully describe same with reference to the
drawings hereunto annexed.
Fig. is an end view in elevation of the front of an omnibus having my
improvements applied thereto-the shelter or cover being.shown closed.
Fig. 2 is a side view in elevation of Fig. 1 with the shelter or cover unfolded and
in position ready for use.
Fig. 3 is a back end view in elevation of Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a plan of Fig. 1.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding. parts throughout.
a is a fixed rod bar or guide rail along each side of the omnibus at or near the
ordinary rail of such vehicle. This bar is carried. along a, little past the front of
the body of the vehicle in a curved direction and then turned downwards.at.a, and
rigidly fixed to the front of the vehicle at b.
c is a second rod or bar capable of being raised up and down as hereinafter
described.
d is a transverse bar across the back of the vehicle formed telescopically so that
the part of such transverse bar may be slid within the part d when the shelter is
closed so as not to obstruct the gang-way or stair-way.

page_text: A corresponding transverse bar is connected at the front ends of c such front
transverse bar having a bend or set-back therein so as to clear the place for the
driver when the shelter is lowered.
e is lazy-tongs (or as I have termed it expanding trellis work) fixed at back of
vehicle at the top to the cross bar d and at the bottom to the back rail of the
vehicle.
Similar expanding trellis-work fis arranged at the front of the vehicle on both
sides of the driver and similarly connected at the bottom to the front rail of the
vehicle and at the top to the front crossbar aforesaid (not shown).
99 are perpendicular bars or rods capable of moving vertically in slides sockets
or guideways h h provided for same-each such rod or bar g travelling in a socket h
and being connected and permanently affixed to the top frame consisting of the
longitudinal bars c and crossbars d back and front.
is the cover formed of any suitable material such as oiled canvas, tarpaulin or
other suitable waterproof material. This material i is formed or joined with the top
or roof and sides all in one piece-the front being also joined along its top edge to
the said roof but down its sides arranged and mounted as hereinafter described.
The bottom edges of the sides are suitably connected to the said rails a
advantageously by means of eyes or travelling rings sewn or secured to i travelling
on the said rail a.
The front edge of this material i is mounted or secured to a split or hinged
tube j this latter having a spring or springs so arranged and combined therewith so
as to normally keep same clasped together. These two hinged tubes j (one at each
front corner of the vehicle) are attached at their upper ends to the aforesaid top
frame.
The side edges of the front of the material i have rings or travellers thereon
which are free to travel within the aforesaid hinged tubes j. Thus when it is
desired to close the shelter (i.e. to change the position of same from that shown in
Figs. 2 and 3 to that shown in Figs. 1 and 4) the top and sides of the material i are
all slid along towards the front of the vehicle and the travelling rings along the
bottom edge of the sides of the shelter will travel along the guide rail a turning the
corner at the front of the vehicle and passing down the front part a¹ of said guide
rail a.
At the same time the front of the shelter will come down lying in a folded state
just behind the driver's seat the hinged tube j descending with the sides of i while
the front edges of the cover will be gathered or creased up in a bunch within the
said hinged tubej which will spring open or expand sufficiently to allow for the
creasing that will take place in the folding of the front of the shelter.
Further at the same time the supporting frame for the said material i (consisting
of the perpendicular rods g and top frame c and d) will all be lowered so as to lie
snugly around the top rail or top edges of the vehicle while the telescopic part d'
of the crossbar d will be released from the rod or bar c on the off side and slid back
within d so as not to impede the passage to and from the stair-way.
The sides of the cover i which will now hang in folds at the front corner of the
vehicle as shown in Fig. 1 are (advantageously) there secured in position by a strap
or straps or other convenient means to secure same and similarly the top and front
of the cover may be snugly secured into position (as indicated in Fig. 4) along the
front rail of the vehicle and clear of the place for the driver.
11 are struts or supports (see Fig. 3) which at their upper ends are connected to
the vertical rods g by means of a sliding ferrule or socket m while the lower end of
each such strut has a guide piece or foot thereon moving in a guideway affixed in
the top rail of the vehicle with a clamping screw or other means to clamp these
struts in position when the shelter is open.
I may use one or two of these struts on each corner pillar 9 as may be found
necessary and when two of such struts are used one may be made to work in a
guide on the rail across the vehicle and the other in a guide on the side rail of the
vehicle.

page_text: For the purpose of raising and lowering the frame constructed as above for
supporting material i as above described I may use any suitable mechanism, for
instance a pinion n running from back to front of the vehicle gearing with a vertical
rack o affixed to the lazy tongs at each end of the vehicle so that on revolving said
pinion n by means of crank arm and handle p the said lazy tongs e and will be
expanded and thereby carry up the whole structure and thereafter the material i is
drawn backwards and secured at the back if desired in any suitable manner.
In order to raise the middle part of the roof higher than the rest a rod q is placed
down the centre and supported at a height above the rest by means of a support or
prop at each end or mounted in any other suitable manner, or instead of having
independent vertical supports for this rod 7 same may be carried in the crossbars
at back and front which crossbars would be curved so as to give the desired shape
to the roof as shown in Fig. 3.
It will be obvious that there are many details in carrying out this invention
which could be varied and modified without departing from the true nature of this
invention for instance instead of using the split or hinged tube and travellers
therein fixed to the vertical edges of the front of the shelter-said tube j may be
dispensed with and the vertical edges of the front part made to overlap down the sides
of the shelter and firmly secured in such overlapped position by any suitable means
such as hooks and eyes or buttons or straps and buckles or these vertical edges of
the front may be readily secured to and released from the sides in any other suitable
manner.
I would here remark that in Figs. 2 and 4 of the drawings hereunto annexed the
rearmost seat shelter and means for supporting same at the rear of the vehicle have
been placed further back than would be the usual case in practice. In most
omnibuses the seats on top and my shelter would terminate on the front side of the
vertical line of the back of the vehicle body z so that the back corner posts g and
slide or guide-way h for same would lie flush and close to the back corner of the
said vehicle body x.
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 :-
1. In a shelter or cover for the exposed seats of tramcars omnibuses or the like
or for goods on other vehicles for which same may be applicable-the combination
with the body of such vehicle of a vertical pillar or upright at each corner thereof
adapted to slide up and down in a socket or guideway fixed at each said corner, a
top frame consisting of two side rods or bars and a front crossbar of a shape to
clear the driver of the vehicle and a back crossbar one part of which is adapted to
slide telescopically within or upon or fold upon the other so as to leave a clear
passage to and from the stair-way when the shelter is lowered this top frame being
connected at its four corners to the top of said four corner posts and such top frame
being adapted to move up and down with said vertically moving corner posts and a
waterproof cover adapted to be slid backwards over same substantially in the
manner and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.
2. In a shelter or cover for the purposes described the combination with the
body of the vehicle of a sliding perpendicular post or upright adapted to slide in a
guideway or socket at each corner, a top.frame consisting of two sides and two end
crossbars or rods attached to the top of said four corner posts and adapted to move
up and down with said posts means to slide fold or remove a part of the back cross
bar clear of the stairway passage when the shelter is closed and means to support
and hold the upright corner posts when raised above the rail of the vehicle such as
by a strut or short bar attached at the upper end to the upright or corner post the
lower end or foot being adapted to travel in a guideway on the rail'with' means to
firmly clamp, and fix said strut in any désired: position and a waterproof cover
adapted to be slid backwards over the frame thus formed'substantially in the manner
and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

page_text: 3. I claim the arrangement and combination with an expansible and collapsible
shelter or cover-for the top of omnibuses tramcars or the like vehicles having a
stairway leading to said top-of a telescopic or other sliding or folding crossbar
adapted to extend or unfold and become a rigid bar or support entirely across the
back end of the shelter when the latter is in use and capable of being slid or folded
upon itself so as only to partially extend across the back of the vehicle and thus
leave the gangway and stairway clear when the shelter is closed substantially as and
for purposes herein before set forth.
4. In a shelter or cover for the purposes described-I claim the arrangement and
combination therewith of a fixed bar or rail such as a with the front end thereof
carried round the front corner and then downwards as at a so as to form a
continuous horizontal and vertical guide rail acting in conjunction with rings eyes
or travellers on said bar a a' fixed to the lower edge of each side of the shelter and
means to readily join and release the front of the shelter from the sides thereof
down the front vertical edges substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
5. The improved arrangement construction and combination of parts constituting
an expansible and collapsible shelter or cover for the exposed seats of tramcars
omnibuses and other like vehicles for which same may be applicable substantially
in the manner and for the purposes herein before described and illustrated by way
of example in the drawings hereunto annexed.
Dated this 17th day of August 1893.
TONGUE & BIRKBECK,
34, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.