IMPROVED MEANS FOR RAINING AND LOWERING CARRIAGE HEADS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Rowse, of St. Giles', in the County of
Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MEANS FOR RAINING AND
LOWERING CARRIAGE HEADS."
Sealed the 20th December 1875, and dated the 23rd June 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Rowse at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28rd June 1875.
I, EDWARD ROWSE, of St. Giles', in the County of Middlesex, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS
FOR RAISING AND LOWERING CARRIAGE HEADS," to be as follows :—
My Invention relates to means for raising and lowering the heads of
carriages provided with folding heads to form an open or close carriage
at will, and it consists in an improved arrangement whereby this may be
more conveniently done by the occupant of the carriage.
.

page_text: This Invention relates to an improved arrangement of the spring
usually provided to sustain the weight of the head in the act of raising
and lowering, and it consists in a spiral spring which is arranged and
operated to be put in tension as the head is lowered, said spring being
located in a recess in the back of the "pillar top," and attached thereto
by one end at a point near the pillar hinge, and at the other end to the
extremity of an arm or lever working in a slotted plate fixed at the
upper part of the pillar top. This arm or lever works on a centro which
does not coincide with the pillar hinge but is a short distance in rear
thereof, being supported by a bracket at back of the pillar so that as the
head is lowered the spring will be elongated.
I may, however, reverse the action of the spring by fixing it to the
upper part of the pillar top and attaching it at the other end to a rod
connected to the arm or lever before mentioned, thereby causing the
spring to be compressed instead of being elongated in lowering the
head. It may also be found convenient to enclose the spring in an india-
rubber or metal case to avoid noise.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Rowse in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 21st December 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
ROWSE, of St. Giles', in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Edward Rowse, Her special
licence, that I, the said Edward Rowse, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward Rowse, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and

page_text: vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for “IMPROVED
MEANS FOR RAISING AND LOWERING CARRIAGE HEADS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Edward Rowse, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edward Rowse, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon,
that is to say:—
My Invention relates to means for raising and lowering the heads of
carriages to form an open or closed carriage at will, and it consists in an
improved arrangement of the spring usually provided to sustain, the
weight of the head in the act of raising and lowering, whereby the
greatest possible leverage and a more perfectly balanced head are
obtained.
According to my Invention a spiral spring is made to be put in
tension as the head is lowered, said spring being located in a récess in
5 the back of the "pillar top," and attached thereto by one end, and at
the other end to the extremity of an arm or lever working in the upper
part of the pillar top and extending to the uppermost extremity of the
same when the head is open. The centre of this arm or lever does not
coincide with the pillar hinge, but is a short distance in rear thereof, so
O that as the head is lowered the spring will be elongated.
I may, however, reverse the action of the spring by fixing it to the
Supper part of the pillar top and attaching it at the other end to a rod
connected to the arm or lever before mentioned, thereby causing the
spring to be compressed instead of being elongated in lowering the
5 head.

page_text: Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a part sectional side
elevation of the rear quarter of a carriage with my improvement
applied, the head being in the raised or closed position. Figure 2 is a
similar elevation with the head lowered to form an open carriage.
a is a spiral spring fitting in a recess 6 made in the pillar top b¹, as
also shown in Figure 3, which is a face view of the latter.
The spring
is designed to be put in tension as the head is lowered and is fixed at
one end in the bottom of the recess 6 at a point near the pillar hinge c,
while its upper end is attached by a connection d to the extremity of an
arm or lever e pivoted at ƒ a short distance in rear of the pillar hinge o
to a bracket g, so that as the carriage head is lowered the spring will be
elongated, as seen in Figure 2. The connection d of lever e works in a
slotted plate h, Figure 3, fixed to the back of the pillar top 6'; i is the
ordinary "outside joint."
]
Figures 4 and 5 show elevations of the carriage head in the raised
and lowered positions, with the action of the spring reversed, that is to
say its upper end is attached to the upper part of the pillar top b', and
its lower end to a rod j, passing down freely through the spring, the
upper end of the said rod being connected to the extremity of lever arm 2
in the same way that connection d is attached thereto.
Thus arranged
the spring will act by compression instead of by tension in raising and
lowering the head.
It will be understood that each quarter of the carriage head is
similarly arranged.
The springs and lever arms occupy but little room, and consequently
do not interfere with the trimmings or leather.
The springs may be enclosed in a sheath of india-rubber or leather or
in a metal case to avoid noise in working.
Having described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of 3
performing the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be
protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, fitting
the upper end of the lever arm to which the spring is attached to

page_text: work in a slot or guide in the pillar top, substantially as shown and
described, the spring being arranged in a recess in the pillar top apart
from the rod and combined therewith in such manner as to be either
expanded or compressed in the act of lowering as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Rowse, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.