IMPROVEMENTS IN FOLDING CARRIAGE STEPS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Grice, the younger, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Coach Smith, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN FOLDING CARRIAGE STEPS."
Sealed the 20th January. 1865, and dated the 10th August 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Grice at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 10th
August 1864.
I, JOHN GRICE, the younger, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Coach Smith, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FOLDING CARRIAGE STEPS," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of the improvements, herein-after explained, in such
carriage steps as fold up when not in use, the said improvements being appli-
cable to carriage steps of the kind called self-acting steps, that is to say,
carriage steps which are folded up by the closing of the carriage door and
unfolded by the opening of the door, as well as to folding carriage steps which
are not self-acting. The folding steps are constructed as follows:-A vertical
plate fixed on the under side of the bottom of the carringe and underneath
the door has a plate hinged or jointed to it near its lower end, the said plate

page_text: when turned upon its joint into a horizontal plane constituting the top step.
To the free end of the said top step vertical bars are jointed, which carry at
their lower ends a second plate, the said second plate constituting when
brought into a horizontal plane the bottom step. The two steps and the
vertical bars connecting them are capable of folding up into a vertical plane
against the first-described vertical plate. The mechanism by which the folding
is effected is constructed as follows:-Underneath the top step, and at about
one-third the distance between it and the bottom step, is a horizontal bar
jointed at one end to the bottom of the first-described vertical plate, and at
its other end to a cross bar joining the vertical bars which connect the top and
bottom steps. At the back of the said vertical bars is a third vertical bar jointed
at top to the under side of the top step, and distant about one-third the
length of the said top step from the plane in which the first-mentioned bars
are situated; the said third vertical bar is also jointed at bottom to the heel
of the bottom step. The said third vertical bar crosses the horizontal bar
last described, and the two bars are jointed together where they cross. A
connecting rod is jointed to the said crossing, and passes in an oblique direc-
tion through the first-described vertical plate, and its top end is jointed to a
slide working in a dovetail underneath the carriage. As the door of the
carriage is opened and closed the said slide is operated upon by the door.
On the closing of the door the connecting rod is made to draw in the cross
bars to which it is jointed, by which motion the steps are folded up against
the vertical plate. On the opening of the door the connecting rod pushes ont
the cross bars, and thereby unfolds the steps. The extent to which the steps
can unfold is limited by stops of the ordinary kind. By dispensing with the
oblique connecting rod which connects the steps with the carriage door, the
steps may be folded and unfolded by hand. In this case a knob is fixed on
the under side of the bottom step, and by taking hold of and raising or
lowering the said knob the steps may be folded up or unfolded by one motion.
Instead of fixing on the upper surface of the steps the ribs on which the step
joints are made, I fix the said ribs on the under side of the steps, the ends on
which the joint is formed passing through holes to the upper side of the steps.
By this arrangement great breadth of step is obtained without any projection on
its surface. The last-described improvement is applicable to folding carriage
steps in general.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Grice in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th
February 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
GRICE, the younger, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Coach Smith,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Grice, Her special licence that I, the said John Grice, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Grice, 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
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FOLDING CAR-
RIAGE STEPS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Grice,
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 John Grice, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, that is to say:
My Invention consists of the improvements, herein-after explained, in such
carriage steps as fold up when not in use, the said improvements being appli-
cable to carriage steps which are folded up by the closing of the carriage
door and unfolded by the opening of the door, as well as to folding carriage
steps which are not self-acting. The folding steps are constructed as follows:
-A vertical plate fixed on the under side of the bottom of the carriage and
underneath the door has a plate hinged or jointed to the bars on its sides, the
said jointed plate when turned upon its joint into a horizontal plane constituting
the top step; the said bars are commonly called the main sides of the step.

page_text: To the free end of the said top step vertical bars are jointed, which carry at
their lower ends two other bars on which is fixed another plate, this last-
described plate constituting when brought into a horizontal plane the bottom
step. The two steps and the vertical bars connecting them are capable of
folding up into a vertical plane against the first-described vertical plate. The
mechanism by which the folding is effected is constructed as follows:-
Underneath the top step, and at about one-third the distance between it and
the bottom step; are two horizontal bars parallel with the top step, each bar
being jointed at one end to the bottom of the bars or main sides of the first-
described plate, and at the other end to the vertical bars which connect the
top and bottom steps. At the back of the vertical bars connecting the steps
together are two other vertical parallel bars jointed at top to the horizontal
bars and at bottom to the heel of the bottom step. A connecting rod is fixed
to one of the inner vertical bars, and passes in an oblique direction through
the first-described vertical plate, and its top end is jointed to a slide working
in a dovetail underneath the carriage. As the door of the carriage is opened
and closed the said slide is operated upon by the door. On the closing of the
door the connecting rod is made to draw in the vertical inner bar to which it
is connected, by which motion the steps are folded up against the vertical
plate. On the opening of the door the connecting rod pushes out the vertical
bar, and thereby unfolds the steps; the extent to which the steps can unfold
is limited by stops of the ordinary kind. By dispensing with the oblique
connecting rod which connects the steps with the carriage door, the steps may
be folded and unfolded by hand; in this case a knob is fixed on the under
side of the bottom step, and by taking hold of and raising or lowering the
said knob, the steps may be folded up or unfolded by one motion. Instead
of fixing on the upper surface of the steps the ribs on which the step joints
are made, I fix the said ribs on the under side of the steps, the ends on which
the joint is formed passing through holes to the upper side of the steps. By
this arrangement great breadth of step is obtained without any projection on
its surface. The last-described improvement is applicable to folding carriage
steps in general.
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to describe
with reference to the accompanying Drawings, the manner in which the same
is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in front elevation self-acting folding steps constructed
according to my Invention, the steps being unfolded, and Figure 2 is a
vertical section of the same; Figure 3 represents a side elevation of the steps

page_text: folded up. The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in Figures
1, 2, and 8.
a, a, are two vertical bars or main sides on either side of the vertical
plate a. The upper ends of the main sides are terminated by the flaps b,
which connect the steps to the under side of the bottom of the carriage and
underneath the carriage door. Jointed at c to the main sides a, a, near their
bottom ends are two bars d, d, to which bars the plate f is fixed; the said
plate and bars when turned on their joint into a horizontal plane, as repre-
sented in Figures 1 and 2, constituting the top step. To the free end of each
of the bars d supporting the top step of a vertical bar 9 is jointed at e, the
said. bars g carrying at their lower ends a plate h, which said plate, when
brought into a horizontal plane, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, constitutes
the bottom step. The bottom ends of the vertical bars 9 are jointed at i to
the bars or ribs v carrying the bottom step. The steps f and h and vertical
bars 9 connecting them are capable of folding up into a vertical plane against
the fixed plate a. This folding up is effected by mechanism constructed as
follows-Underneath the top step and parallel therewith are two horizontal
bars k, k; one end of each bar is jointed at to the main sides a, a, and the
other end at m to the vertical bars g, g, connecting the two steps f and h
together. The said horizontal bars k are also jointed at n to the tops of two
vertical bars p, p, the said vertical bars p, p, being situated within and
parallel to the vertical bars g, the bottom ends of the vertical bars p, p, being
jointed at 9 to the heel of the bottom step h. The extent to which the
steps can be unfolded is limited by the ends of the horizontal bars d, d, bearing
against stops or projections on the main sides at r and by the square ends of
the vertical bars g, g, bearing against the bottom step, as will be understood
by an examination of Figures 1 and 2. To one of the inner parallel vertical
bars p the lower end of a connecting rod s is fastened by the screw nut t, the
said rods passing in an oblique direction through the slot u in the plate a;
the upper end of the said rod is jointed to a slide working in a dovetail under-
neath the carriage. The said slide and dovetail are of the ordinary con-
struction, and I have not thought it necessary to represent them. As the
door of the carriage is opened and closed the said slide is operated upon by
the door and the steps f and h are unfolded or folded. On the closing of
the door the connecting rod s is made to draw in the vertical bar p, to which
it is connected, by which motion the steps f, h, are folded up against the
vertical plate a, as represented in Figure 3, the parallelism of the vertical
bars 9 and P and horizontal bars d and k being preserved during the said

page_text: folding up by the manner in which the parts are jointed to each other. On
the opening of the door the connecting rod 8 pushes out the vertical bar and
unfolds the steps f and h in the manner represented in Figures 1 and 2.
When the steps are to be folded up and unfolded by hand the connecting rod s
is dispensed with, and a knob is fixed on the under side of the bottom step h.
By taking hold of and raising or lowering the said knob, the steps may
be folded up or unfolded by one motion. Instead of employing two hori-
zontal and two vertical bars for folding up and unfolding the steps, as repre-
sented in Figures 1 and 2, one horizontal and one vertical bar, situated
midway between the outer bars 9, 9, and d, d, may be employed, as described
in my Provisional Specification. In this case the horizontal bar (acting as
the bars.k, k, Figures 1 and 2) is jointed at one end to the bottom of the
vertical plate a, and at its other end to a cross bar connecting the vertical
bars 9, 9. The vertical bar (acting as the vertical bars p, Figures 1 and 2)
is jointed at top to the under side of the top step and at bottom to the heel of
the bottom step. The vertical and horizontal bars are jointed together
where they cross, and to this joint the rod by which the steps are folded and
unfolded is connected. In all their motions the middle vertical and hori-
zontal bars remain parallel to the outer vertical and horizontal bars.
The construction and action of this arrangement or modification of my
Invention is essentially the same as the construction and action of that repre-
sented in Figures 1, 2, and 3; but as the arrangement, Figures 1, 2, and 3, is
the better form of my Invention, I have not thought it necessary to represent
the arrangement or modification last described.
Instead of employing two vertical bars or main sides for connecting the top
step to the carriage, and two vertical bars for connecting the top and bottom
steps together, one vertical bar only may be employed; in each case one
horizontal bar and one vertical bar may also be used for effecting the folding
and unfolding of the steps.
This arrangement of my Invention is represented in side elevation in
Figure 4, and front elevation in Figure 5, of the Drawings, the steps being
represented unfolded. The same letters indicate the same parts in Figures 4
and 5. a is a vertical bar (used in place of the plate a² and main sides a,
Figures 1, 2, and 3) connected to the under side of the carriage by a curved
flap a at its top; b is the top step and c the bottom step. The top step 6 is
fixed to the horizontal bars d, d, situated in the middle thereof, and the
bottom step c is fixed to the forked bar c; the horizontal bars d, d, are
jointed to the vertical bar a at d². The steps b and c are connected together

page_text: by the vertical bar e, jointed to the top step at f and to the bottom step at g.
The mechanism by which the steps b, c, are folded up and unfolded consist of
two horizontal bars h, h, and a vertical bar l, situated behind the vertical bar e,
and running parallel thereto. The bars h, h, are jointed at one end to the
vertical bar a at i, and at the other end to the vertical bare at k, and the
vertical bar is jointed at top to one of the horizontal bars h at m, and at
bottom to the heel of the bottom step cat n. The connecting rod acted upon
by the carriage door when the steps are to be made self-acting is fixed to the
inner vertical bar l. By means of the said connecting rod or a knob on the
under side of the lower step, when the steps are not made self-acting, the steps
b and c can be folded up against the fixed vertical bar a, and unfolded in the
manner represented in Figures 4 and 5.
The arrangement of my Invention represented in Figures 4 and 5 may be
modified in the following manner :-In place of the two bars h, h, one of the
said bars only may be employed, the single bar in this case being jointed
close upon the side of the bar e.
My improvement in making the ribs on which the step joints are made is
illustrated in connection with the bottom step h, Figures 1, 2, and 3, that is
to say, instead of fixing on the upper surface of the steps the ribs on which
the step joints are made, I fix the said ribs on the under side of the steps, the
said ribs being marked v. The ends w of the said ribs v, on which the
joints i, i, are made, pass through slots in the step h to the upper side of
the said step, as best seen in Figure 1. By this means great breadth of step
is obtained without any projection on its surface. This part of my Invention
may be applied to folding carriage steps in general.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not
limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated in the
Drawings, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of
my Invention; but I claim as my Invention,--
Firstly, the general arrangement or combination of the parts of folding
carriage steps, herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 5 of the accompanying Drawings, and the modifications thereof herein-
before described, that is to say, effecting the folding and unfolding of carriage
steps by means of parallel jointed bars or levers which in their motion always
preserve their parallelism.
Secondly, fixing the ribs on which the step joints of folding carriage steps
are made on the under side of the steps, the ends or parts on which the

page_text: joints are formed passing through holes to the upper sides of the steps, as
herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the accom-
panying Drawing, thereby obtaining great breadth of step without any pro-
jection on its surface.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Grice, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Third day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
JOHN GRICE, JUN. (L.S.)