Improvements in Car Fenders.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 20th May, 1897-Accepted, 26th June, 1897
Improvements in Car Fenders.
I. SUSAN FRANCES MOORE, of No. 37 Central Street, Peabody, in the. County
of Essex, and State of Massachusetts, one of the United States of America,
Housekeeper 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 car fenders and has for its object to provide a simple,
cheap and efficient guard or fender adapted for use either upon street cars or upon
steam, passenger or freight cars, the said fender being adapted when not in use to
be folded against the dash-board in a compact manner whereby it will not interfere
with the coupling together of cars. The various objects and advantages of the
invention will appear in the course of the ensuing description.
The invention consists in an improved car fender embodying certain novel
features and details of construction as hereinafter particularly described, illustrated
in the drawing ard pointed out in the claim.
In the accompanying drawing:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved fender showing also a portion of
the car to which the fender is attached.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the same showing the folded position
of the fender in dotted lines.
Figure 3 is an enlarged plan view of the fender detached from the car.
Similar numerals designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the
drawing.
Referring to the drawing, 1 designates the scoop frame having parallel front and
rear portions 1 and 2 respectively and the forwardly converging side bars 3, thus
making the frame wider at its rear portion than at its front. This frame is of such
width at its rear portion as to extend laterally beyond the sides of the dash-board
so as to project in advance of the running boards, and at its front end is preferably
only of sufficient width to extend between and rest upon or immediately over the
rails. In side elevation the side bars 3 are of ogee-shape, causing the scoop frame
to bulge outward from the dash board or car platform at its upper portion and to
present a concaved portion at its advance end. The front bar 1 of the scoop frame
is also rolled as indicated at 4 so as to form a shoe iron lying over the road bed to
prevent the front end of said frame from becoming caught and injured. The scoop
frame is covered with wire netting as indicated at 5, the meshes of said netting
being sufficiently large not to interfere with or impede the progress of the car, the
said netting forming a yielding receptacle for the person picked up thereby and
preventing injury to said person. Extending around the scoop frame upon its
upper surface are thick strips 6 of rubber, the same intersecting at the corners of
the frame and being provided at said corners and also at intermediate points with
upwardly projecting knobs 7 of rubber adapted to contact with the dash board
when the scoop frame is folded upward against the same. The scoop frame thus
constructed may be if desired and is preferably formed from sheet metal the side,
front and rear portions thereof being rounded into U-shape in cross section as
shown in order to provide the necessary stiffness.
The scoop frame is provided at its rear edge with spaced loops or eyes 8, through

page_text: which passes a connecting bolt or pivot 9 which connects said scoop frame to a
pair of supporting arms 10. These arms 10 extend longitudinally of the car and.
parallel to each other and are connected at their front ends by a cross bar 11
having on its upper side a loop or eye 12 through which the bolt or pivot 9 passes,
said loop lying between the spaced loops 8 and the scoop frame. The advance
edge of the cross bar 11 is turned downwardly and forms a rest for the scoop frame
as shown in the longitudinal section, and the rear edge of said cross bar is turned
upward and rolled over as indicated at 13 to form a transverse stop shoulder
for taking the back thrust of the scoop frame when subjected to a sudden shock.
The arms 10 have their rear extremities reduced and extended through openings 10°
in a transverse beam 14 which is preferably constructed of metal and provided
at its upper edge with oppositely projecting ears 15 by means of which it may be
secured by suitable fasteners to the bottom of the car or to the bottom of the car
platform as may be most convenient. The openings in the beam 14 are of a
size which will allow the arms 10 to droop and at the same time limit their
downward movement so as to maintain the scoop above the road bed.
The arms 10 are provided with laterally projecting cars 16 and from the ears
. rods or braces 17 extend forward to the scoop frame and are connected thereto by
means of suitable clips 18 on the under side of the side bars 3 of said frane.
These rods or braces are detachably connected to the scoop frame so that said
scoop frame may be folded up against the dash-board when not in use and the ro's
or braces 17 are jointed about centrally of their length and connected at 19 so that
when the fender is not in use they may be folded back upon themselves and caused
to occupy a position under the car platform where they will not interfere with the
running gear. The function of the rods or braces 17 is to prevent the forward end
of the scoop frame from lifting so as to allow a person or object to pass under said
frame and get under the car wheels. 20 designates a slide frame consisting of
parallel spaced longitudinal bars connected at their forward ends to a cross bar and
slidingly arranged under the car botton. These bars may be held at any point by
set screws 21 passing through the depending hangers 22 in which the bars are
mounted to slide. This slide frame is adapted to be detachably connected to the
scoop frame for the purpose of assisting the jointed rods or braces 17 in maintaining
the scoop frame in proper working position. One or the other of said devices may,
however, be dispensed with without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of
the advantages of the invention.
The fender above described is simple and reliable, may be manufactured at a
slight cost and when not in use may be folded upwardly against the dash-board of
the car so as to admit of the coupling together of cars.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :
1. In a car fender, a pair of arms adapted to pass under the car and to be
detachably connected to the bottom of a car beneath the platform thereof, and a
cross bar connecting the free ends of said arms, in combination with a scoop
pivotally connected to said cross bar, and braces interposed between said scoop and
arms and arranged below the plane of the platform, substantially as and for the
purpose specified.
2. In a car fender, a pair of arms adapted to be detachably connected to the
bottom of a car beneath the platform thereof, a cross bar connecting the front ends
of said arms, a scoop pivotally connected to said cross bar, braces interposed
between said scoop and arms, a slide frame connected to the scoop frame and
extending beneath the car platform, bangers under the car with which said frame
has a sliding connection and fastening means for said slide frame, substantially as
-described.
3. In a car fender, the combination with spaced and substantially parallel
-supporting arms arranged beneath the car platform and connected at their front

page_text: ends by a cross bar having its forward edge turned downward and its rear edge
turned upward to form a transverse stopshoulder, of a scoop frame pivotally
connected to said cross bar on its upper side and bearing against the downturned
edge thereof, the said edge forming a rest for holding the scoop frame in proper
working position, and the upturned rear edge of said car serving to take the back
thrust of the scoop frame when subjected to a sudden shock, substantially as
described.
4. In a car fender, a transverse beam secured to the under side of the car and
provided with spaced openings, in combination with spaced parallel supporting arms.
having their rear ends reduced and removably fitted in the said openings, a cross
bar connecting said arms at their forward ends, a scoop frame pivotally connected
at its rear edge to said cross bar, and one or more braces interposed between
said arms and lateral ears on the side bars of the scoop frame, all arranged for
joint operation, substantially as described.
Dated this 20th day of May 1907
JENSEN & SON,
77 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents..
JENSEN & SON,
77 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents..