An Improved Steering Gear for Bath Chairs or the like Wheeled Vehicles.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Oct., 1891-Accepted, 28th Nov., 1891
OOMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Steering Gear for Bath Chairs or the like Wheeled
Vehicles.
1, CAROLINE ISABELL ORTON, of 71, Redcar Road, Guisborough, in the
North Riding of the County cf York, Spinster, do hereby declare the nature of
this inveution and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
My invention relates to the steering gear of Bath chairs or the like wheeled
vehicles.
Bath chairs as usually constructed are provided with a front handle by which
they are steered by the occupant of the chair or are both drawn and steered by an
attendant walking in front.
The latter arrangement is considered unsafe unless the chair is steadied from
behind by a second attendant added to which having an attendant constantly
walking in front is a source of discomfort to the occupant, whilst the former
arrangement could not be used where the occupant was too much of an invalid to
work the steering gear for himself.
The object of my invention is to improve Bath chairs and the like wheeled
vehicles by constructing them to be steered from the rear by the attendant who
propels the vehicle. This is effected by attaching a lever to the back of the chair
and connecting it directly to the axle of the front or steering wheel or to a crank
arm extending therefrom by means of a connecting rod.
And in order that my invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect, I will now proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying
drawing in which is given for the purpose of illustration a Bath chair of the usual
form and design in respect of its general construction and which is to be taken
as a representative of the class of wheeled vehicles to which my invention is
applicable.
In the drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation and Figure 2 a corresponding plan
view of a Bath chair constructed according to my invention that is to say a steering
gear is provided consisting of a lever a, working on a fulcrum b, supported in
bracket C fixed to the back of the chair; d is a crank extending from the axle of
the front or steering wheel to which the lever a is directly connected at its lower
end by the connecting rod e. The handle of the lever a is brought close to the
pushing handle g, so that the two handles can be simultaneously grasped by the
attendant. The position of the fulcrum b and consequently the relative length of
the arms of the lever a are so adjusted that a slight movement of the handle fof
the lever a is responded to by a suitable movement of the crank d which turns the
front or steering wheel to the right or left in the manner required in steering
the chair.
In Figures 3 and 4 a modification of my improved steering gear is shown in
which it will be observed that for the rigid handle as illustrated in Figures 1
and 2, I substitute a link f¹ hinged to the upper end of the lever a and to the
arm g'. The arm g¹ is fixed to the handle g so that by partially rotating the said
handle 9 on its axis the arm g' actuates the lever a and steers the chair in the
manner hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 and 2.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I would have it understood
that I am aware that the method or principle of steering Bath chairs and the like
wheeled vehicles from behind is not new as such mechanism more or less com-
plicated has been designed for this purpose, I therefore make no claim for such

page_text: method or principle broadly or otherwise than as embodied in and carried into
practice as herein before described and illustrated but I declare that what I
claim is :
Firstly-A Bath chair or the like wheeled vehicle in which the front or steering
wheel is turned to the right or left by means of a lever a working on a fulcrum at
the rear of the said chair or vehicle, a connecting rod e, and crank d, all combined
and operated together by moving the handle f, substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawing.
Secondly A Bath chair or the like wheeled vehicle in which the front or
steering wheel is turned to the right or left by means of a lever a working on a
fulcrum b at the rear of the said chair or vehicle, a connecting rod e, and crank d,
all combined and operated together by partially rotating the handle -substan-
tially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 3 and 4 of the
accompanying drawing.
Dated this 23rd day of October 1891
G J. CLARKSON,
Stockton-on-Tees, Agent for the Applicant.