IMPROVEMENTS IN WHIPPLETREES, AND IN DEVICES EMPLOYED THEREWITH FOR READILY CONNECTING AND DISCONNECTING HORSES AND VEHICLES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International Patent
Office," Southampton Buildings, London, Consulting Engineer, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WHIPPLETREES, AND IN DEVICES
EMPLOYED THEREWITH FOR READILY CONNECTING AND DISCONNECTING HORSES
AND VEHICLES."—A communication from abroad by Edward Pugh
Jones, of Shell Mound, Mississippi, United States of America..
Scaled the 31st May 1870, and dated the 12th April 1870.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said. William Robert Lake.
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 12th April 1870, pursuant to the 9th Section.
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," Southampton
Buildings, London, Consulting Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession, of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
WHIFFLETREES, AND IN DEVICES EMPLOYED THEREWITH FOR READIly Connecting
AND DISCONNECTING HORSES AND VEHICLES," and, have petitioned Her Majesty

page_text: to grant unto me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal
Letters Patent for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that it
has been communicated to me from abroad by Edward Pugh Jones, of
Shell Mound, Mississippi, United States of America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and
seal, fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing forming
a part of this Specification:
In practising my Invention I pivot two spring levers to the whiffle-
tree in such manner that easy and sure means are afforded of not
only attaching the horse, but of releasing him at the instant when the
same owing to accident or other cause is deemed desirable. The traces
are released and the horse detached simply by drawing a strap, the
forked arms of which pass under the levers.
To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my Invention
I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a plan of my improved whiffletree; Figure 2 is a trans-
verse section on the line x-x, Figure 1; Figure 3 is a rear elevation
of a part of the said whiffletree; Figure 4 is a transverse section on
the line yy, Figure 1; Figure 5 is an end view of the said whiffle-
tree.
A represents a whiffletree which is pivotted to the cross bar of the
shafts. The ends of the whiffletree have an extension of a hooked
shape, their ends coming out even with the front of the whiffletree.
To the whiffletree are pivotted two spring levers B, B; on each of these
levers near their outer end is an extension, in the outer end of which
is a bolt or pivot a by means of which they are secured to the whiffle-
tree. C is a strap, the lower part of which is cut up some distance,
thus making two ends, which are secured to eyes b, b, in the rear edge
of the whiffletree. Its other end may be brought up to or into the
front part of the vehicle. The two lower ends of this strap pass across
the top of the whiffletree and under the inner ends of the levers B, B,
in which are recesses for that purpose. c, c, are inclined stops or pro-
jections on the top of the whiffletrec near the outer edges of the

page_text: strap C; d, d, are straps secured to the cross bar and which pass around
the ends of the whiffletree to prevent too much play of the same;
D, D, are strips or bands that pass over the levers B, B, and their ends are
secured to the whiffletrec. To fasten the traces to the whiffletree I draw
on the upper end of the strap C and the inner ends of the levers B, B, will
be raised above the stops c, c. The strap will then draw them back far
enough to allow the end of the trace to be placed on their outer ends;
I then draw the levers forward until they have passed over and are in
front of the stops c, c, and the traces are securely attached to the whiflle-
tree. In case of accident, when it is desired suddenly to detach the
horses from the vehicle, by pulling up the strap C the inner ends of
the levers B, B, are raised above the stops or cleats c, c, when the force
being exerted on the traces will immediately draw the outer ends of the
levers forward and throw the inner ends backward into the position
shown in dotted lines, Figure 1, which will allow the traces to slip from
the ends of the levers. The ends of the whiffletree may be of iron and
secured upon wood, in which case a cleat or pin should be cast on
the plate just under the top cleat which holds the lever. This down-
ward projection is to enter the wood to resist the lever and relieve the
plate and the screws holding it on the wood.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I claim, the combination of the whifile-
trec A, cleats c, c, levers B, B, and strap C, when constructed and
operating substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Eleventh day of April, One thousand
cight hundred and seventy.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.)
Witness,
HARRY WRAIGHT,
Clerk to Messrs. Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
S, Southampton Buildings,
London.