IMPROVEMENTS IN SPRINGS CHIEFLY DESIONED FOR CARRIAGES
Year: 1885

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & C° Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the
nature of my Invention for" IMPROVEMENTS IN SPRINGS CHIEFLY DESIONED FOR
CARRIAGES" and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-—
The object of this invention is to provide a spring for. buggies, carriages etc,
which will serve at the same time both as a compression and an extension spring,
and which will compensate for the wear or weakening of one portion by increasing
the power and tension of another portion of the spring.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a view of the improved compound extension and compression spring
detached.
Figure 2 is a view of the same attached to the buggy axle and bed, and
Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view of the axle and buggy bed showing the
manner of attaching the spring to the same.
A represents the compression portion of the spring, and B the extension portion
of the same.
C, C are brackets for attaching the spring to the different members
of the desired object; C¹ C¹ are end caps for the spring; D is a rod connecting such
end caps; E is the buggy axle, and F the buggy bed.
In making the compound compression and extension spring, I take a wire or rod
of suitable size and make a number or series of coils which stand in their normal
position apart from each other and which come into contact only when positively
compressed or forced together. After making the desired number of such coils
1 change the gauge so that the coils lie contiguously to each other in their normal
state, and can only be separated by applying a positive pulling or extending force.
After making the desired number or series of these coils I again change the gauge
and proceed to make a number or series of coils which stand separate and apart
from cach other in their normal position, so that they can only be brought into
contact by applying a positive compression force as in the first instance. These
coils are all along or around the same longitudinal axis. I then put in the
brackets C by which the spring is to be attached to any desired object, and then
Dia

page_text: place the caps C¹ in place, compressing the springs to the desired point and
fastening them in such position by the rods D which extend through the coil and
are suitably attached by nuts, or otherwise, to the end caps. In this way the ends
of the spring are prevented from opening from each other beyond the predeter-
mined distance, and the weight distributed from one end to the other. As shown
in the drawings, this rod runs through the spring, but it could also be placed on
the outside, as its office is simply to connect the two ends together, and when a
nest of springs, or a series as in figure 2, is placed on the same horizontal plane the
end caps may include all or any number of them so that a separate rod for each
spring would be unnecessary. The spring is now completed and ready for use.
In illustrating the use of my compound spring I have chosen to do so in
connection with a buggy axle and frame, though this is only one of the great
variety of uses to which the spring may be put, and in which I contemplate using
it. In describing its attachment to the axle and bed of-the buggy the principle of
its operation will be fully and clearly illustrated.
:
In thus applying it I attach the upper of the brackets C to the axle of the
buggy by a square journal as shown in figure 3, or in any other secure and suitable
manner. The spring now stands in front of the buggy axle and to make the
attachment to the buggy bed the lower of the brackets C should be turned around
to the opposite side of the spring and attached by bolts or screws to the buggy
body as shown in Figure 3. As the axle is held at a constant and invariable
distance from the ground' by the wheels, the upper brackets of the spring will be
held constantly and invariably in the same relative position. As the weight
arising from the occupancy of the buggy by one or more persons is applied, it will
press the lower of the brackets C down and away from the other bracket, thus
enlarging the distance between the two brackets and opening the coils, while at
the same time it will be diminishing the distance between the lower bracket and
the lower cap on the end of the spring and closing the coils between them. As
these coils are being thus compressed the rod will distribute the weight to the
upper cap on the spring and pull it down toward the upper bracket, thus corre-
spondingly closing the coils and diminishing the distance between them. In this
way it will be seen that as the extension portion of the spring is opened and
extended the compression portion of the spring will be correspondingly closed and
compressed together. All portions of the spring will in this way assist in receiving
and bearing the strain or weight-in the one case by opening the coils and in the
other by correspondingly closing them.
This is the principle or main idea of the invention, no matter to what uses tho
spring may be applied, whether to buggies, carriages, or other objects in which coiled
springs may be used, though modifications of this principle may be made, as for
instance one of the compression portions of the spring may be omitted and only
one compression and one extension portion of the spring be used together, or these
portions of the spring may be made to alternate with each other any number of
times desired, or the compression portion of the spring may be placed in the middle
and the extension portion of the spring at the ends, or the respective portions of
the spring may be made separately and connected at the brackets or in any other
convenient u:anner. In all these various modifications, however, the parts are
intended to operate with each other so that as the coils of the extension portion of
the spring are being opened the coils of the compression portion of the spring are
being closed.
The particular advantages of my compound compression and extension spring
over all others now in use, so far as I know, are its compensating qualities and the
safety which it affords from accidents by breakage. As the coils of the extension
portion of the spring are opened the coils of the compression portion are
Correspondingly closed so that as the one part becomes weakened the increasing
tension produced in the other parts affords sufficient compensation to preserve the
average strength and tension of the spring. If either the compression or extension
portion of the spring should become broken by a sudden strain or accident the

page_text: other portion of the spring would receive the weight and prevent the two parts of
the object connected by the spring from becoming detached and separated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is
First: A compound compression and extension spring comprising two or more
series of coils, around the same longitudinal axis, the coils of one series being
adapted to be opened or extended as the coils of the other are closed or compressed,
substantially as described.
Second A compound compression and extension spring consisting of alternating
series of coils, the coils of one series being adapted to be opened or closed or
compressed, substantially as described.
Third: A compound compression and extension spring consisting of two or
more series of coils around the same longitudinal axis, the coils of one series
approaching each other in a state of rest, and requiring the application of positive
force to open or extend them, and the coils of the other separating from each other
in a state of rest and requiring the application of positive force to close or compress
them, substantially as described.
Fourth A compound compression and extension spring consisting of two or
more series of coils around the same longitudinal axis, the coils of one series being
adapted to be extended and the coils of the other compressed, the whole being
placed between end caps, pieces, or plates whereby the ends of the spring are
prevented from being separated beyond a predetermined distance, substantially as
described.
Fifth-The combination in a compound compression and extension spring
consisting of coils approaching or lying against each other in a state of rest, and
coils opened or separated from each other in a state of rest, of end caps or pieces,
and a connector between said end caps or pieces, substantially as described.
Sixth The combination with a buggy or other carriage or machine, of a
compound compression and extension spring, consisting of coils approaching or
lying against each other in a state of rest and coils. opened or separated from
each other in a state of rest, and end caps or pieces to prevent the end coils from
separating from each other beyond a fixed, predetermined distance, and brackets or
connections for securing and holding the spring to the connected parts or pieces,
substantially as described.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
For the Applicant.