Automatically Locking the Wheels of Luggage Trucks or Trolleys.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Automatically Locking the Wheels of Luggage Trucks or Trolleys.
I, FRANCIS JOSEPH JAMES GIBBONS, of St. John's Works, Church Lane,
Wolverhampton, Lock Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:--
This invention relates to a means of automatically locking the wheels of trucks or
trolleys as used to convey passengers' luggage at railway stations, and the object of it
is to prevent accidents which otherwise might occur, through it starting in
motion by the vibration of a passing train, down a slight incline, or by mischievous
children playing with it, for instances, and in fact the intention is that it shall not be
inovable unless and until purposely and deliberately unlocked.
According to my invention the mere raising of the handle of the trolley in the
action of drawing it along effects the unlocking of the wheels, and merely dropping
it again locks them.
The mechanism I employ to obtain the above result is as follows:-
The handle is in two parts hinged together and so that normally the front or
forward end of it drops down at an angle to the other part but may be easily lifted
up and the two parts are then in alignment. At or near the extremity of the front
part of the handle is mounted a small pulley wheel, and another small pulley is also
mounted upon the axle or transverse beam between the two front wheels. Over
these pulleys passes a chain, not endless, having one of its ends attached or connected
to the handle near its pulley and the other to a hooked bolt. The said hooked bolt
is mounted slidably in a suitable guide plate attached to the said transverse beam,
and pivoted beneath the hook-like end of the said bolt is a weighted lever having its
nose protruding into the hook of the bolt and so weighted as to throw the other end
of the bolt between the spokes of the wheel nearest to it, or there may be a flange
on the hub of the wheel and the said flange provided with one or more holes or
notches into which the end of the bolt is shot by the said weighted pivoted
lever.
The raising up of the fore part of the handle causes a pull on the chain which pulls
the bolt out of its place between the spokes or from the hole in the hub flange
against the counter action of the weighted lever.
A modification of the above would be to notch or tooth the periphery of
the hub and provide corresponding notches or teeth on the weighted lever to
engage therein.
Dated the 19th day of Sentember 1808
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
Agents for the Applicants

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Automatically Locking the Wheels of Luggage Trucks or Trolleys.
I, FRANCIS JOSEPH JAMES GIBBONS, of St. John's Works, Church Lane, Wolver-
hampton, in the County of Stafford, Lock Manufacturer, 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 a means of automatically locking the wheels of luggage
trucks or trolleys as used to convey passengers' luggage at railway stations, and the
object of it is to prevent accidents which otherwise might occur through the truck
being started in motion down a slight incline, for instance, by the vibration from a
passing train or by mischievous children playing with it, and in fact the intention is
that it shall not be movable unless and until purposely and deliberately unlocked.
According to my invention, the mere action of raising the handle in drawing
the trolley along effects the unlocking of the wheels, and dropping it again locks
them.
I will now proceed to describe my invention in detail with the aid of the
accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is a front elevation of the truck or trolley with the front wheels in
section, fitted with the locking arrangement.
Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a plan of the fore part of Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a detail of the arrangement when handle is whole.
Figures 5 and 6 are details showing the bolt as fitted for spring and weight
movement respectively.
Figure 7 is an elevation of the fore part of the truck shewn fitted with a modified
form of locking device.
Figure 8 is a plan of Figure 7 with the platform or body of the truck removed to
expose the locking device.
The mechanism I employ to attain the object of the invention is as follows:-
The handle a, a¹ of the truck or trolley is made in two parts hinged together at b
in such manner that normally the front or forward end a of it drops down at an angle
to the other part, as shewn in Figures 1 and 2, but may be easily lifted up and the
two parts are then substantially in alignment. It is preferable but not indispensable
that the outer end of the part a should be curved, as shewn in Figure 2. At or near
the front part a of the handle is mounted a small pulley wheel c, and two other small
pulleys d, d' are mounted at the end of brackets e, e¹ rigidly secured to the axle or
transverse beam f between the two front wheels g, g¹. Over all these pulleys passes
a chain or cord, not endless, but having one of its ends attached or connected at i
to the front part a near to the pulley e and the other which is branched into two, to
bolts j, . The said bolts are mounted slidably in sleeve-guides k, k¹ rigidly secured
to the transverse beam f. Also firmly secured to this transverse beam are brackets l, l¹
carrying at their ends weighted levers m, m¹ which when the cord or chain is pulled
by raising the handles, are thereby tilted up turning on their pivots or hinge pins,
the intermediary devices for effecting this being the rod-like prolongations j² of the
bolts and the studs s, s¹ on the said prolongations which studs are engaged in the
eyes n, n¹ formed in the weight-levers m, m¹; thus, on the release of the handle

page_text: the weights m, m³ assist to draw and hold the bolts in their sockets or sleeves k, k¹ and
beyond them into the holes o in the hubs or naves of the wheels and so keep the
wheels locked, that is, incapable of turning in either direction until the handle is
raised to release the bolts.
Instead of this duplicate set of pulley wheels and bolts and their supports as above
described, they may be single, and the bolt instead of projecting, when shot, into
holes in the nave of the wheel or wheels, inay shoot between the spokes of the wheel;
and, further, there may be a flange on the hub of the wheel or wheels and the said
flange provided with holes or notches into which the bolt is shot and held by the
weighted lever.
From the above it will be understood that the raising up of the fore part of the
handle causes a pull on the cord or chain which in turn draws the bolts out of the
holes in the nave or from between the spokes of the wheels against the counter action
of the weighted levers.
In Figure 4 is illustrated a modification wherein the handle of the truck is made
in one piece bent forwards at the front or upper end to a right angle with the lower
part and the cord or chain is connected to a lever p pivotally supported at q by the
handle, so that on raising this lever which may easily be done by the fingers of the
hand used as in gripping while the thumb rests on the handle a.
The bolt as constructed to work with a weighted lever is shewn detached in
Figure 6, and in Figure it is shewn as constructed to be normally held retracted
by means of a spring r under tension; one end of the said spring being attached to
the bracket which supports the bolt socket and the other to a stud n² on the exten-
sion of the bolt.
In Figures 7 and 8 is illustrated a modification of the locking device, wherein the
bolts are replaced by pivoted notched levers 2, 1, and the hubs or naves of the wheels
are provided with a circular row of ratchet teeth or bevelled notches y, y¹; the said
notched levers being so over balanced or weighted at the notched end that the
notches are thereby held normally engaged in the teeth on the hub of the wheel.
The opposite end of the said notched lever extends beyond the point of pivot and
the handle a, 1 of the truck is bifurcated at its lower end a¹ which is rotatably
supported in guide-sleeves x, ¹ and its extremities situated over the rear end or
extension of the notched levers z, z¹. In this arrangement the cord and pulleys are
dispensed with and the unlocking is effected by simply raising the handle a, a¹ which
causes its lower ends to press upon the notched levers, ¹ beyond their pivot point
and so tilt them upwards out of engagement with the teeth or notches on the
wheels.
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. A device for automatically locking the wheels of luggage trucks, trolleys and the
like, consisting of the combination of handle in two parts hinged together, the flexible
connecting cord or piece attached by one end to the handle and by the other end to a
bolt or bolts, the guides for said cord and bolts, weighted levers or springs connected with
said bolts, and the holes in the vehicle wheel to receive the bolts, all constructed,
operated and working substantially as described and set forth.
2. In a device for automatically locking the wheels of luggage trucks, trolleys and
the like, constructed substantially as claimed in the preceding claim, the combination
with the upper end of the flexible connecting piece of a lever pivoted to a lug rigidly
secured to the under-side of the handle which latter is in one piece, as described and
illustrated in Figure 4.
3. A device for automatically locking the wheels of luggage trucks, trolleys and the
like, consisting in the combination of notches or teeth on the periphery of the hub of
the wheel, a pivoted notched lever normally engaged therein and a handle pivoted so
as when raised to press with its lower end on the notched lever to raise it out of the

page_text: notches on the hub, substantially as described and illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 of
the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 10th day of Lun 1800
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
No. 22, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.