Improvements in Automatic Life Guards for Railway, Tram, and like Cars.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Sept., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 17th June, 1896-Accepted, 22nd Aug.,
1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Automatic Life Guards for Railway, Tram, and
like Cars.
I PERCY RICHARD JULIUS WILLIS of 55 Chancery Lane, in the County of
London Manager, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication
to me from abroad by Clara Maria Beebe of Elmira, New York State, U.S.A.,
Gentlewoman,) to be as follows :— .
"
The object of this invention is to provide simple and effective means whereby
persons knocked down by railway, tram, and the like cars are caught by a cradle
or basket without injury.
The invention comprises two parallel beams or arms which are suitably sus-
pended from beneath a car in such manner that they can reciprocate when meeting
an obstruction. A suitable cradle or basket is suspended by springs over the front
projecting ends of the beams (which are supported by wheels adapted to run upon
the rails), and is shaped most suitably toi trip into it a person overtaken by the
car its forward part being suitably cushioned.
...
A second set of parallel arms are adapted to reciprocate upon friction rollers in
brackets depending. from the first-referred-to. beams or arms, and are connected at
the rear by stay-bars, and in front by a preferably cushioned board or the like.
A spring, in tension, extending between the axle of the front supporting axles and
a cross-stay serves to extend these arms forwardly of the "catcher" when it is
released by a hooked lever operated by the foot of an attendant upon the car
platform.
•
This mechanism serves to push a person or limb of a person (who may become
jambed beneath the "catcher,") forwardly so that the person shall be tripped' into
the basket or other receptacle. When the last-referred-to arms are extended
forwardly they are held in that position till again..withdrawn, by rods which,
resting upon them when drawn back, fall behind them by gravity, when projected
forwardly.
Dated this 17th dar of Sentember 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Automatic Life Guards for Railway, Tram, and
like Cars.
I, PERCY RICHARD JULIUS WILLIS, of 55 Chancery Lane, in the County of
London, Manager, do hereby declare the nature of this invention. (a communication
to me from abroad by Clara Maria Beebe, of Elmira, New York State, U.S.A.,
Gentlewoman) and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:!
דיו.
My invention relates to improvements in car fenders and similar devices which
are attached to the ends of cars to prevent people from being injured or killed;
and the object of my invention is to produce a simple, durable and easily applied
27

page_text: contrivance which, when in position on the front end of the car, is a sure preventive
of accidents, which is provided with a wire basket which is hung so elastically as
to safely catch and hold any person whom the car might run down, which also is
provided with a pneumatic buffer adapted to strike the limbs of a person on the
track and deposit him-iu the basket without injury, and which may be easily shifted
from one end of the car to the other.
A further object of this invention is to provide an improved life guard for street
cars, and one in which a shelf will be normally located under the basket, and the
forward part of the car, and which will be capable of projecting forwardly when a
person is thrown down by a passing vehicle in front of a car, or has been from any
other cause than contact with the car thrown' down, or to prevent an arm or limb
of the person from being dragged.beneath the buffer."
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this
specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts
in all the figures.
Figure 1 represents a vertical, longitudinal section of my invention.
Figure 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a similar view on the line 3-3 of the same figure.
Figure 4 is an inverted plan view of the invention, showing the catcher drawn
rearwardly.
Figure 5 is a similar view with the catcher extended.
Figure 6 is a detail view shewing the basket in perspective.
Figure 7 shews the means for supporting the basket.
Figure 8 shews alternative ineans for operating the catcher.
The apparatus is provided with a buffer 10 which has forwardly curved arms 11
at the ends of a pneumatic cushion 12 across the front which prevents the buffer
from injuring the limbs of a person whom it strikes, while the shape of the buffer
causes a person struck by it to be deposited in the basket forming a portion of the
life guard, as hereinafter described.
The buffer 10 connects by means of semi-elliptical springs 13 with the buffer
arms 14 which are held parallel with each other and extend beneath the car, these
arms being braced by cross arms 15, 16, the latter of which is placed near the
front ends of the buffer arms and serves as an axle for the guide wheels 17 which
are journalled loosely on the axle and run on the track in front of the car. On
the rear ends of the buffer arms are hooks 18 and 'these hooks engage the loop like
bangers 19 which depend from the car and which are secured to a transverse swivel
plate 20 which has a central bearing plate 21 fastened in a suitable manner between
the car timbere, the plate being. pivoted in the centre, as shewn in Fig. 4, so that
in rounding a curve the plate may turn and the apparatus carried by the buffer arm
have a free movement in front of the car.
The buffer arms 14 have uprights 22 secured to them which are placed in front
of the dash board of the car, and the uprights carry a suspending rod 23 from
which is suspended, by means of springs 24, a cross bar 25 which has forwardly
curved ends 26 and this cross bar is secured to the frame 27 of the wire basket 28,
and thus supports the basket in a very yielding manner, so that a person thrown
violently into the basket will not be injured. The basket 28 has a curved or dishing
bottom 29 and vertical sides 30 and has also an apron 31 at its front edge which
is provided with eyes 32 to receive the free ends of the springs 33, which are
fastened to the buffer arms 14, and, by means of these springs a yielding connection
is made with the lower end of the basket, but the connection is sufficiently strong
to hold the basket ifirmly in place.
At the sides of the basket and secured to the cross-bar 25 are metal ornaments 34
which give to the basket an attractive appearance.
r
The buffer arms are provided with handles 43, see Fig. 1; which may be grasped
when the device is to be shifted from one end of the car to the other, and by
grasping these handles the arms may be lifted from the loops or hangers 19. and
the life guard be thus detached from the car.

page_text: If the apparatus comes in contact with a person on the track, the cushioned
buffer trips the person, who is then caught by the wire basket 28 and is thus hung
elastically as specified, uninjured, and may be removed as soon as the car is
stopped.
Depending from the arms 14, and two for each of the same, are the brackets 37,
each of which has journalled therein the anti-friction rollers 36 and these rollers
are two for each bracket and arranged in vertical alignment so that the plates 35
may have sliding movement between them.
The plates 35 are two in number and are arranged respectively beneath the
arms 14, they being rigidly connected to each other by means of cross bars 39
and 40, and by the shelf 50, which latter is rigidly bolted to the front extremities
of the plates 35. Connected to the axle 16 of the wheels 17 are two retractile
springs 38 which are extended parallel with the plates 35 and which are connected
with the cross bar 39, so that the plates 35 will be given a ten lency to extend
forward, as shewn in dotted lines in Figure 1 and in full lines in Fig. 5.
In an alternative form however springs 38 are compressed between the stay 40
and screw eyes 51 projecting from arms 14 and through which pass the rods 52
projecting rearwards from cross stay 40 and carrying said springs. In this form it
will be understood that when the cross stay 40 is released, as hereinafter described,
the springs will extend and push the catcher outwards.
A lever 41 is fulcrumed to the rod 15 and the said lever is pressed by a spring 45
which encircles the rod 15 and which is connected thereto and to the lever. The
forward end of the lever 41 is provided with a hook 42 which is adapted to engage
the bar 40 and by said engagement to hold the plates 35 against the tendency of
the springs 38. The rear end of the lever 41 is extended upwardly and provided
with a transverse plate 46 upon which bears the vertical movable trip bar 47
passing through the platform of the car. This trip bar is spring pressed, as shewn
in Figure 1 of the drawings.
Vertically movable in passages formed in the respective arms 14 is the bar 48
the arms 49 of which project below the arms 14 and are normally supported by
engagement with the respective plates 35 upon which they rest. When however
the plates are projected forward, as will be hereinafter explained their rear
extremities will be moved forward of the bar 48, and the arms 49 thereof will drop
below the plates 35 and operate to prevent their return, thereby positively
sustaining the catcher or shelf.
In the operation of my invention, when the car has run upon a person or other
obstruction and when parts of the obstruction or the arms or limbs of the person
become wedged under the fender, the attendant on the platform of the car should
press the trip pin 47 downwards, which will release the lever 41 and permit the
springs 38 to project the shelf 50 forward of the buffer 11 thereby forcing the
wedged part out and preventing the dragging of the same.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
(1.) The combination, with the car and its pendent hangers of the buffer mounted
on wheels and provided with rearwardly extending arms to engage the hangers on
the car, and a basket yieldingly supported on the buffer arms, substantially as
described.
(2.) An automatic life guard for cars, comprising a buffer for cars, having a
pneumatic cushion thereon, rearwardly extending arms on wheels, hangers sus-
pended from the car and adapted to support the buffer arms, a suspending rod
carried by the buffer arms, and a basket yieldingly suspended from the suspending
bar and having a yielding connection with the front ends of the buffer arms
substantially as described.
(3.) A buffer having a pneumatic cushion thereon, arms having a spring con-
nection with the buffer, supporting wheels for the buffer arms, hangers beneath

page_text: .
•
the car to support the arms, a suspending rod supported on the arms, a basket,
a spiral spring connection between the basket and the suspending rod, a spring
connection between the front portion of the basket and the buffer arms,
substantially as described.
(4.) An automatic life guard, comprising a pneumatic buffer having curved
springs on its back, buffer arms secured to the said springs and journalled on
wheels, hangers to connect the arms with the car, and a basket carried by the
arms, substantially as described.
•
(5.) The combination with a car, of the swivel plate thereon, the hangers
secured to the plate, the arms hung in the hangers and projecting forwardly
therefrom, the buffer on the ends of the arms, wheels to support the front ends of
the arms, and a basket carried by the arms, substantially as described.
(6.) The combination with a car, of the swivel plate thereon, the looped shapad
hangers on the plate, the arms having hooks thereon to engage the hangers, a
buffer on the ends of the arms, wheels to support the front ends of the arms, and
a basket carried by the arms, substantially as described.
(7.) The combination with the buffer arms, of the uprights thereon, the cross bar
carried by the uprights, the suspending rod hung by spiral springs on the cross bar,
the springs on the front portions of the buffer arms, and the basket having its rear
ends secured to the suspending rod and its front end connected to the springs on
the buffer arms substantially as described.
(8.) The combination with the buffer arms, the basket, and means for attaching
the arms to a car, of the cushioned buffer at the front end of the arms, the buffer
having an incurved front edge, substantially as described.
(9.) The combination with the fender, of the spring pressed shelf held beneath
the fender, a device to hold the shelf against the tension of its springs, and a pedal
.operated mechanism for releasing the shelf substantially as described.
(10.) The combination with the fender and its buffer arms, of the shelf having
slide bars supported on the buffer arms, springs to throw the 'shelf forward, a hook
to hold the shelf against the springs, and a pedal operated mechanism for releasing
the hook substantially as described.
(11.) The combination with the buffer arms of the shelf beneath the same, the
slide bars of the shelf, the guide rolls supporting the slide bars, the springs to
throw the shelf forward, the hook to hold it back, and the mechanism for releasing
the hook, substantially as described.
(12.) The combination with the spring pressed. shelf of the lever having a hook
to engage the cross bar of the shelf, the striking plate on the lever, and the trip
pin mounted above the lever and adapted to engage the striking plate, substantially
, as described.
:
(13.) The combination with the buffer arms, the spring pressed shelf and the
slide bars of the shelf, of the drop pins on the buffer arms to engage the slide
bar, substantially as described.
(14.) The combination with a fender, of a shelf below the same and capable of
projection forward of the fender substantially as described.
(15.) The combination of a fender, buffer arms on which it is supported, and a
shelf slidable on the buffer arms, and capable of projection forward of the fender,
substantially as described.
(16.) The alternative construction for operating the catcher substantially as
described with reference to Fig. 8.
D
1000
PERCY R. J. WILLIS.