IMPROVEMENTS IN RISING AND FALLING HEADS FOR CARRIAGES
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Thorn, of St. Giles' Gates, in the Hamlet of
Heigham, in the County of the City of Norwich, Coach Builder, for an
Invention of " IMPROVEMENTS IN RISING AND FALLING HEADS FOR CARRIAGES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Thorn at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th January 1880.
CHARLES THORN, of St. Giles' Gates, in the Hamlet of Heigham, in the County
of the City of Norwich, Coach Builder. IMPROVEMENTS IN RISING AND FALLING
HEADS FOR CARRIAGES."
This Invention has for its object improvements in rising and falling heads for
carriages.
Spring apparatus has before been applied in a variety of ways to aid in raising
and operating the heads of carriages, and usually in connection with the ordinary
head joints or some other locking instruments to retain the head when raised,
independently of the spring gear. I arrange my spring apparatus so that without
any separate locking appliance it renders the head when raised secure from falling,
and when down the head is secure from rising. I also, according to my Invention,
so arrange that when the head is up, the spring apparatus is operated on and
placed in position to admit of the head being lowered simply by raising the cant
rail or hinged top of the door frame.
As applied to the front head of a carriage, my apparatus also is so arranged as.
considerably to shorten the head as it is when folded down or lowered, thereby
enabling the front head more conveniently than heretofore to fold down behind
the coachman's box. I place close against the falling pillar top of the door frame a
telescopic rod containing a coiled spring. At its lower end this telescopic rod is
jointed to the falling pillar top at a short distance above the pillar joint (which is a
stop hinge), and at its other end the telescopic rod is jointed to one end of a small
lever. This lever is capable of rocking on a fulcrum near the centre of its length,
and it is carried by a bracket fixed to the falling pillar top near its upper end.
The same lever is jointed at its other end to a strut rod which passes down, and is
jointed to a bracket at a point immediately below, and a short distance behind the
pillar joint. When the head is raised the spring elongates the telescopic rod, and
forces the short lever into such a position that the joint at its lower end comes into
[Price 8d1

page_text: line with the fulcrum of the lever and with the joint at the lower end of the
strut rod.
In this position the head of the carriage is locked, and no pressure will have any
tendency to cause it to fall, as the strut rod is in place to offer a direct resistance,
and the short lever has no tendency to turn in the bracket which is its fulcrum.
The cant rail or hinged top of the door way is however provided with a tail
projecting to the rear of its hinge joint connecting it with the falling pillar top,
and when the cant rail is raised this tail operates upon and pushes back the end of
a lever, having its fulcrum at the upper end of the pillar top. This lever when so
acted ou presses against the upper end of the small lever, to which, at opposite ends
the telescopic spring rod and the strut rod are jointed. The strut rod is in this
way displaced from, the direct line of thrust, and brought to such a position that
it can yield further, and permit the head to be lowered. As the head descends, the
short lever turns about half round in the bracket which supports it, and folds
against the strut rod. During this movement it compresses the spring within the
telescopic rod. The head is further supported by stretchers or hoops as usual, over
which the leather or fabric of the folding head is stretched. The intermediate hoop
or stretcher is jointed in the usual way to the folding pillar top. But in the case
of a front head, which is desired to be short when folded down, the sides of the
hoop which supports the front angle of the head are shortened, and they are jointed
to levers which pivot upon the intermediate hoop. These levers at their ends on
the other side of the pivots are jointed to the strut rod, and from this arrangement
its results that when the head is lowered, the levers fold in against the sides of the
front hoop, and the front angle of the head is by so much drawn back and the head
shortened. The levers have to be slotted to receive their pivots, that the parts
may work properly together as described.
The Invention is applicable both to single and double heads, and in the case of
double heads, I so arrange them that the centre part of the roof may be raised for
ventilation in summer time, the other part remaining up for shade."

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Charles Thorn in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 5th July 1880.
CHARLES THORN, of St. Giles' Gates, in the Hamlet of Heigham, in the County
of the City of Norwich, Coach Builder. IMPROVEMENTS IN RISING AND FALLING
HEADS FOR CARRIAGES."
6
This Invention has for its object improvements in rising and falling heads for
carriages.
Spring apparatus has before being applied in a variety of ways to aid in raising
and operating the heads of carriages, and usually in connection with the ordinary
head joints or some other locking instruments, to retain the head when raised
independently of the spring gear. I arrange my spring apparatus so that without
any separate locking appliance it renders the head when raised secure from falling,
and when down the head is secure from rising. I also, according to my Invention,
so arrange that when the head is up the spring apparatus is operated on and placed
in position to admit of the head being lowered simply by raising the cant rail or
hinged top of the door frame.
As applied to the front head of a carriage my apparatus also is so arranged as
considerably to shorten the head as it is when folded down or lowered, thereby
enabling the front head more conveniently than heretofore to fold down behind the
coachman's box. 1 place close against the falling pillar top of the door frame a
telescopic rod, containing a coiled spring. At its lower end this telescopic rod is
jointed to the falling pillar top at a short distance above the pillar joint which is
a stop hinge, and at its other end the telescopic rod is jointed to one end of a
small lever. This lever is capable of rocking on a fulcrum near the centre of its
length, and it is carried by a bracket fixed to the falling pillar top near its upper
end. The same lever is jointed at its other end to a strut rod, which passes down
and is jointed to a bracket at a point immediately below and a short distance
behind the pillar joint. When the head is raised the spring elongates the telescopic
rod, and forces the short lever into such a position that the joint at its lower end
comes into line with the fulerum of the lever and with the joint at the lower end
of the strut rod.
F
In this position the head of the carriage is locked and no pressure will have any
tendency to cause it to fall, as the strut rod is in place to offer a direct resistance
and the short lever has no tendency to turn in the bracket which is its fulcrum.
The cant rail or hinged top of the door, way is however provided with a tail pro-
jecting to the rear of its hinge joint, connecting it with the falling pillar top, and
when the cant rail is raised this tail operates upon and pushes back the end of a
lever having its fulcrum at the upper end of the pillar top. This lever when so
acted on presses against the upper end of the small lever, to which at opposite ends
the telescopic spring rod and the strut rod are jointed. The strut rod is in this
way displaced from the direct line of thrust and brought to such a position that it
can yield further and permit the head to be lowered." As the head, descends the
short lever turns about half round in the bracket, which supports it and folds
against the strut rod. During this movement it compresses the spring within the
telescopic rod. The head is further supported by stretchers or hoops as usual, over
which the leather or fabric of the folding head is stretched. The intermediate hoop
or stretcher is jointed in the usual way to the folding pillar top. But in the case
of a front head, which is desired to be short when folded down, the sides of the
hoop which supports the front angle of the head are shortened, and they are jointed
to levers which pivot upon the intermediate hoop. These levers at their ends on
the other side of the pivots are jointed to the strut rod, and from this arrangement

page_text: it results that when the head is lower the levers fold in against the sides of the
front hoop, and the front angle of the head is by so much drawn back and the head
shortened. The levers have to be slotted to receive their pivots that the parts
may work properly together, as described.
The Invention is applicable both to single and double heads, and in the case of
double heads I so arrange them that the centre part of the roof may be raised for
ventilation in summer time, the other part remaining up for shade.
In order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed,
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is an elevation of a carriage head made in accordance with my
Invention; it is shown as it appears when raised, but it is without the leather
covering, so that the mechanism is exposed to view. Figure 2 is an elevation of
the head as it appears when lowered, and with the leather covering removed to
expose the mechanism. The head here shown is such as would serve for the front
head of a carriage in which the driving seat is brought close to the body. a is the
falling pillar top; b is the stop hinge forming the pillar joint. The flaps of this
hinge or joint are adapted also to receive and support various parts of the
mechanism. The flap to which the falling pillar top is fixed has also the telescopic
rod or spring box c pin jointed to it, besides which it carries the side of one of
the hoops for supporting the leather covering. The lower flap of the pillar joint
has an arm projecting from it, and the lower end of the strut rod d (which is
forked) is pinned to the end of this arm. The body of the spring box c consists of
two tubes, one entering within the other, and they enclose a strong coiled spring.
The spring is held in compression and tends to separate the tubes. The upper end
of the spring boxe is pin jointed to one end of a short lever è, the fulcrum of which
is carried by a fixing provided for it upon the falling pillar top. The other end of
the lever is jointed to the strut rod d, and it will be seen that when the head is
raised, as it is represented in Figure 1, the joint connecting the lever with the
strut rod is so placed that a straight line drawn from the fulcrum of the lever to
the joint at the lower end of the strut rod would pass through the joint connecting
daude; hence, any pressure applied against the pillar top is directly supported
and has no tendency to cause movement in the parts, or in other words the
arrangement is self locking.
Similarly, when the head is down it will be found that the joint connecting the
spring box e with the lever e falls in a straight line drawn from the fulcrum of the
lever to the joint at the lower end of the spring box, consequently the spring has
in this position no tendency to raise the head. f is the cant rail or hinged top of
the doorway; the hinge in this arrangement is a stop hinge, so that the cant rail
can only turn through a small angle, but in the case of a head at the back of a
carriage the cant rail may be allowed to fold back in the manner indicated by the
detached view, Figure 3. In either case it is by the movement of the cant rail that
the head, when raised, is unlocked previous to being lowered. The flap of the
hinge joint which has the cant rail fixed to it is provided with a tail piece f', and
when the cant rail is raised this tail acts against one end of a lever g. The lever g
is thus caused to turn upon the pin or axis g¹. The pin or axis is carried upon
the lower flap of the cant rail joint. When the head is up and the cant rail is
raised, the lever g being acted upon presses at its lower end against the upper end
of the lever e forcing it towards the falling pillar top; in this way the lever is
brought into such a position that pressure applied against the falling pillar top can
cause a further motion of the lever e and the head is able to descend. h is the
side of the intermediate hoop for supporting the leather, and i is the side of the
hoop by which the front angle of the head is supported. The part i is jointed to a

page_text: lever k, and this lever is pin jointed to the strut rod d, and also supported by a pin
passed through a slotted hole in the lever k and fixed into the side of the hoop h.
By this arrangement, as is seen at Figure 2, the angle hoop is drawn inwards as the
head is lowered, so that it passes out of the way of the driver's seat.
In the case of carriage heads which are without cant rails, and where a single
head is employed, I apply an unlocking lever g furnished with a handle, as is
indicated in Figure 4. This lever operates in the same way as the lever I, in
Figure 1, to unlock the head so that it may be lowered.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have understood that I claim,-
First. The combination of the parts a, b, c, d, and e, constituting self locking
spring supporting mechanism of a rising and falling carriage head.
Second. The unlocking mechanism consisting of a lever g actedupon by a tailupon
the cant rail, as illustrated by the Figures 1 and 2, or by a handle, as illustrated
by Figure 4, and operating to move the parts & and c from the locked position.
Third. The arrangement for carrying the angle hoop of the head by means of
levers k, so that as the head is lowered the hoop drawn inwards.
Fourth. My improved rising and falling heads for carriages, substantially as
described and represented in the annexed Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Thorn, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Third day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and eighty.
CHARLES THORN. (L.S.)