Means for Placing Coffins in or Removing them from Hearses and the like.
Year: 1899

page_text: Means for Placing Coffins in or Removing them from Hearses and the
like.
I, WILLIAM PAUL FEST, of 350, Bronson Avenue, Rochester, in the State
of New York, United States of America, Carriage Draftsman, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to means for moving coffins or burial caskets to and
from hearses or the like and the object is to provide a permanent attachment
to a hearse or similar vehicle adapted to slide underneath the vehicle body when
not in use and by means of which a person may easily lower the coffin when
removed from the vehicle so as to place it within convenient reach of pall bearers
and also to raise the coffin to the level of the vehicle floor for the purpose of
loading.
Mounted in hangers secured to the bottom of the hearse body are guide rails.
Mounted to slide relatively to the rails are plates provided with sleeves which
engage around and slide on the rails and the plates also slide in supporting
brackets secured to the bottom of the vehicle at the rear end, these brackets
being substantially L-shaped. The plates are longitudinally slotted and in
these slots lugs slide, these lugs being secured at bars having at one end bearing
blocks for a rock shaft to which a crank handle for turning it may be applied.
Mounted rigidly on the rock shaft are levers the upper portions of which have
pivotal connection with lugs attached to a bearing plate secured to a platform,
The said levers have downwardly extended portions which are connected by
links with downwardly extended portions of other levers pivoted on lugs secured
to the above mentioned bars. The upwardly extended portions of these last
mentioned levers have pivotal connection with lugs on hearing plates secured
to said platform. Coiler springs are so applied as to assist in the upward move-
ment of the platform; in other words they will be of sufficient strength to over-
come, or to a great extent offset, the dead weight of the coffin and its contents,
thus enabling a person to manipulate the platform with comparatively little
exertion.
In operation the platform and the sliding plates and bars are drawn outward
or to the rear of the vehicle, a suitable handle being provided in the rear end
of the platform. When the plates are moved outward to their extreme limit
the sliding bars, with the platform, are drawn rearward relatively thereto, then
by turning the rock shaft the platform may be elevated to receive the coffin
drawn from the hearse or to remove the coffin from the platform into the hearse.
Of course a reversed movement of the shaft will lower the platform so that the
coffin may be easily removed therefrom. When the platform is in its lowermost
position it will be in a plane below that of the bottom of a hearse or vehicle,
so that the whole device may be moved under the hearse or vehicle. The top

page_text: of the platform may be provided with suitable rollers upon which the coffin may
move.
A. M. & WM. OLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents,
53, Chancery Lane, London,
Means for Placing Coffins in or Removing them from Hearses and the
like.
I, WILLIAM PAUL FEST, of 350, Bronson Avenue, Rochester, in the County
of Monroe, and State of New York, United States of America, Carriage Draughts-
man, 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 means for moving coffins or trial-euskets to and
from hearses or the like, and it has for its object to provide a device for this
purpose of simple construction designed as a permanent attachment to a hearse
or similar vehicle and adapted to slide underneath the vehicle body when not in
use, and by means of which a person may easily lower the coffin when removed
from the vehicle so as to place it within reach of pall bearers and also to raise
the coffin to the level of the vehicle floor for the purpose of loading.
I will describe a coffin handler embodying my invention and then point out
the novel features in the appended claims.
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 is a side elevation of a coffin handler embodying my invention and
showing the same as attached to a vehicle;
Figure 2 is a bottom plan view thereof;
Figure 3 is a side elevation showing the device in operative position;
Figure 4 is a rear end view of the device adjusted for use;
Figure 5 is an enlarged detail view partly in section and partly in elevation;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of a bearing plate employed; and
Figure 7 is a perspective view of one of the operating levers employed.
Mounted in hangers 1, secured to the bottom of the hearse body 2, are guide
rails 3 preferably constructed of tubular steel so as to secure lightness with a
sufficient degree of strength. Mounted to slide relatively to the rails 3 are
plates 4, here shown as provided with sleeves 5 which engage around the rails 3
and are designed to slide thereon. The plates 4 are also designed to slide in
supporting brackets 6 secured to the bottom of the vehicle at the rear end, these
brackets 6 being substantially L-shaped. The plates 4 are longitudinally slotted
as at 7 and in these slots lugs 8 are designed to slide, these lugs being secured
to bars 9, having at one end bearing blocks 10 for a rock shaft 11, one end of
said rock shaft being extended outward and made angular in cross section, to be
engaged by a suitable tool to operate the same.
Mounted rigidly on the rock shaft 11 are levers 12, the upper portions of
which have pivotal connection with lugs 13 attached to a bearing plate 14
secured to a platform 15. The levers 12 have downwardly extended portions 13
which are connected by links 16 with downwardly extended portions 17 of

page_text: levers 18, pivoted on lugs 19 (Figure 2) secured to the bars 9. The upwardly
extended portions of these levers 18 have pivotal connection with lugs 20 on
bearing plates 21 secured to said platform 15. Springs 22 are coiled around
the bearing blocks 10 and have their ends secured to said bearing blocks. The
outer or free ends of said springs engage against offsets 23 on the levers 12 and
similar springs 24 are secured at one end to the lugs 19 and hear at their free
ends against offsets 25 on the levers 18. These springs 22 and 24 are designed
to assist in the upward movement of the platform 15. In other words, they
will be of sufficient strength to overcome, or to a great extent offset the dead
weight of the coffin and its contents, thus enabling a person to manipulate the
platform with comparatively little exertion.
In operation, the platform and the bars 4 and 9 are drawn outward or to the
rear of the vehicle, a suitable handle 26 being provided for the purpose at the
rear end of the platform. When the bars 4 are moved outward to their extreme
limit, the bars 9 with the platform are drawn rearward relatively to the bars 4,
then by placing a suitable crank on the extended end of the shaft 11 the plat-
form may be elevated to receive the coffin drawn from the hearse, or to remove
a coffin from the platform into the hearse. Of course, a reversed movement of
the shaft 11 will lower the platform so that the coffin may be easily removed
therefrom. When the platform is in its lowermost position, it will be in a plane
below that of the bottom of a hearse or vehicle, so that the whole device may be
moved under the hearse or vehicle, as indicated in Figure 1. The top of the
platform 15 may be provided with suitable rollers upon which the coffin may
move. It is not deemed necessary, however, to show such rollers in the drawings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The platform when mounted to swing by means of levers fulcrumed upon
a frame mounted to slide underneath the body of the vehicle, substantially as
and for the purpose set forth.
2. The mounting of each of the levers which carry the platform, upon a ful-
crum movable longitudinally of the bars (3) which slide under the body of the
vehicle, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
3. The connection of the downward extensions of the platform-carrying levers
by the link (16) substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
4. The springs (22, 24) engaging the platform-carrying levers to facilitate the
upward movement of the platform, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 13th day of Anril 1899
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents,
53, Chancery Lane, London.