Improvements in Dog-carts and other Vehicles, and in Means
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 17th May, 1887]
Specification Accepted, 17th June, 1887.
[Communicated from abroad by ROBERT W. HARE, of 523, Penn Avenue, Carriage
Manufacturer, and ROBERT SPROUL, of Union Station, Liveryman, both of
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, United States of America.]
Improvements in Dog-carts and other Vehicles, and in Means
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine Lake & Co., Patent Agents
Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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 has relation to means for Attaching Shafts to Vehicles, and has for
its object the provision of novel means for securing the shafts to the body of the
vehicle so as to do away with what is known as the "horse motion" and also to ease
the weight and pressure upon the horses back.
Our invention is particularly applicable to two-wheeled vehicles as it is only in that
class of vehicles that have the shafts rigidly secured to the vehicle that the "horse
motion is appreciable, and our invention consists broadly, in the provision of means
for pivotally securing the shafts of a two wheeled vehicle to the body thereof, and
sustaining the shafts in their proper position relatively to the body by means of spring
braces connecting the shafts to the body on either side of the pivotal point, whereby the
vertical motion communicated to the shafts by the movement of the horse when in
" of
action is taken up by the spring or springs and the disagreeable "horse motion
the vehicle entirely obliterated.
Our invention further consists in attaching the shafts to a two wheeled vehicle in
such manner that they may be readily and easily removed when it is desired to put the
vehicle in the stable or carriage house.
Our invention still further consists in the novel construction combination and
arrangement of parts herein after described and claimed.
Referring to the accompanying drawings illustrating our invention and in which
Fig. 1, is a side elevation of a portion of a vehicle and its shafts with our improved

page_text: shaft attaching device thereon. Fig. 2, an elevation of the same looking towards the
front of the carriage, B, designates the carriage body to which is secured, back of the
end of each shaft, a flat metallic plate P, having eye lugs 1, 1, and a lump or block b,
at or near its upper end.
S, S, designates the shafts the ends of which fit into rectangular boxes or sockets C, C,
and are so constructed as to be readily removable therefrom, being held in place by
pins s, s, passing through the walls of the sockets and the ends of the shafts as shown.
The sockets C, C, terminate each in an eye, which fits between the lugs 1, 1, on the
plate P, and a bolt t passing through said lugs and eye pivotally secures the socket to
the body. Between the front end and the eye, the socket C, is cut out as at c, and a
stiff spiral spring D, is inserted in the cavity c, bearing at the bottom on a beveled
surface d, and at top on the block b, being secured to both in any suitable manner,
as by bolts, staples or other well known fastening devices.
At the forward end and bottom of the socket C, are eye lugs c¹ c¹ and between said
lags fit screw-threaded sockets G, G, having eyes g,g, bolts g', g', passing through the
lugs and eyes and securing them pivotally together.
Into the screw threaded sockets G, G, are screwed bolts or rods H, H, formed with
squared portions h, h, so as to permit of the bolts being screwed into or out of the
sockets by means of an ordinary wrench or key. The bolts or rods H, H, pass through
screw caps I, I, in the ends of cylindrical casings K, K, and on the ends of said rods
are screwed collars L, L, and between the collars L L, and the screw caps I, I, are
spiral springs M, M, whose ends bear against said caps and collars respectively.
The lower ends of the casings K, K, are closed by screw caps N, N, and between
said screw caps N, N, and the collars L, L, are placed spiral springs 0, 0. The lower
ends of the casings K, K, are screw threaded on the outside and the casings screw into
the collars P¹ P¹ which are pivoted by bolts p, p, in eye lugs p¹p' on the plate P.
The shafts it should be understood are secured together forward of the sockets C, C,
by suitable braces so that when the shafts are taken out of the sockets they will not
be separated but will remain attached to each other at the proper distance apart so as
to be again readily inserted in the sockets when desired.
OPERATION.
The apparatus being constructed as described and firmly secured to the front of a two
wheeled vehicle, the shafts are placed in the sockets, C, C, and secured therein by
means of pins 8, 8, which pass through the sockets and the shafts as shown.
The shafts being then fitted in position the tension of the upper and lower springs
and the angle of the shafts relatively to the body of the vehicle is regulated by
screwing the bolt or rods H, H, farther into or out of the sockets G, G, thus elevating or
lowering the boxes or sockets C, C, and regulating the resiliency of the springs in the
cases K, K.
When operating the springs D, and M, receive the shock or jar of the upward
movement of the shafts and the springs M', M', below the collars L, L, receive the
shock of the downward motion of the same, the resiliency of these springs serving to
prevent the movement of the shafts from being communicated to the body of the
vehicle. The device also serves the purpose of saving the horses back from the constant
jarring or pounding action that necessity occurs when rigidly attached shafts are
employed.
It is obvious that the springs D, D, or the springs M, M, may be both employed or
either pair of them may be dispensed with if desired as the two pairs serve to sustain
the shaft against movement in the upward direction and hence by making one pair
heavy enough to do the work the other pair may, as before stated, be dispensed with.
One of the disagreeable features of two wheeled vehicles having rigidly attached
shafts is the dipping motion of the body that occurs when the vehicle is passing over
hilly or uneven ground. Our devices correct this tendency to dipping in a very
great degree as the shafts are capable of a certain amount of movement in a
vertical direction without imparting such motion in any precipitable degree to the
vehicle body.

page_text: Another advantage of our invention is that the shafts being easily removable from
the sockets C, C, they may be taken out when the vehicles are put in the stable or
carriage house and thus a greater number of vehicles may be stored in a certain space
than when the shafts are not readily removable from the vehicle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent I declare that what I claim is :
1st. The combination with the vehicle body B, the shaft S, and the socket C, adapted
to receive said shaft and pivoted to said body of the spring brace comprising the rod
or bolt H, the collar L, thereon the case K, and the springs M, M, therein, said rod
being secured to the vehicle body substantially as described.
2nd. In a device for securing shafts to vehicles, the combination with the vehicle
body and the shafts pivotally attached thereto, of a casing secured to the body and two
springs in said casing, a rod pivotally attached to the shafts and projecting into said
casing and a collar fixed upon said rod between said springs, whereby said casing
springs pivoted rod and collar serve as a means for relieving both the upward and
downward motion of the vehicle, substantially as described.
3rd. In a two wheeled vehicle the combination with a vehicle body and shafts
pivotally secured to the front of said vehicle, of springs set at an angle to the front of
the vehicle and bearing upon the same and upon the shafts or upon sockets in which
said shafts are secured.
4th. In a two wheeled vehicle the combination with the vehicle body and the shafts
of sockets secured to said body and adapted to receive the ends of said shafts may be
readily removed and replaced.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London,
Agents for the Applicant.