IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LANDAUS AND OTHER CARRIAGES
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Offord, of 79, Wells Street, 28, Brook Street; and
92, Gloucester Road, in the County of Middlesex, Carriage Builder, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF LANDAUS AND OTHER
CARRIAGES."
Sealed the 28th February 1879, and dated the 7th September 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Offord at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th September 1878:
JOSEPH OFFORD, of 79, Wells Street, 28, Brook Street, and 92, Gloucester Road, in
the County of Middlesex, Carriage Builder. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF LANDAUS AND OTHER CARRIAGES."
My Invention relates chiefly to improvements in the construction of double or
single headed carriages or vehicles termed landaus or landaulets, and is designed to
increase the facility of opening and closing the heads, and to render the same more
secure and tight when closed, than in such vehicles as ordinarily.constructed; also
to provide improved devices for preventing 'shaking or rolling of the windows of
such vehicles, and for holding the sashes in any desired position.
.
My improvements in means for facilitating the opening and closing of the heads
are as follows, that is to say-I dispense with the unsightly and inconvenient head
joints heretofore used either outside or inside of such vehicles, these joints usually
causing much rattling, and substitute therefor, at the sides of each head between the
lining and leather, a device consisting of a rod and spring so arranged and operating
that it may be conveniently adjusted to hold the head either closed or open. The
said rod is jointed or pivotted at its lower end to a small arm or bracket projecting
from the pillar, this joint or pivot being a slight distance from the hinge which con-
nects the pillar top to the pillar, and slightly higher than the said binge. This
jointed or pivotted rod extends upward with an inclination inward or towards the
pillar top, and its upper end passes through an eye or hole in a metal plate fixed on
D

page_text: the upper part of the said pillar top; and the end of the rod above this eye or hole
is provided with a screw nut which limits the movement of the head in opening and
closing the same. Around this rod I place a spiral spring. The lower end of the
said rod has a shoulder or collar on or against which the lower end of the said spring
bears, while its upper end bears against the under side of the said metal plate.
From this arrangement of the said rod upon a centre or pivot separate from the
hinge on which the head turns in opening and closing, it follows that when the head
is closed it cannot open or turn back without compressing the spring, and therefore
the pressure of the spring tends always to keep it tightly closed; but this pressure
is not too great to permit the head to be conveniently pushed back by the occupants
or from outside when it is desired to have the carriage open; and when the head is
pushed completely back it will remain in that position until it is desired to close
the vehicle again.
The pillar top has in it a recess or groove in which, when the head is down or
open, the top of the aforesaid arm or bracket and the rod and spring enter, and
the said rod and spring are thereby concealed.
Another part of my Invention relates to a novel head lock, which is constructed
as follows, that is to say :-It consists of two parts, one of which is secured behind
the cant rail on the centre hoop stick of one head, and has a slotted lever or arm
arranged to engage or connect with a stud or button projecting from a plate fixed
on the hoop stick of the other head. This part of my Invention consists in the
combination of a feather spring with the pivot or fulcrum of the said lever and with
double surfaces at right angles or nearly so to each other in such a manner that the
lever will be capable of convenient adjustment to lock and release the heads, and
will be securely held by the said spring in either position. By this device I obviate
the necessity of forming a notch or recess in the slot of the lever to prevent the
opening or turning back of the same, and I obtain a greatly superior fastening,
as the pressure of the spring tends continually to force and keep the two heads
together.
To ensure the keeping of the cant rails properly in place when the heads are
closed, I use a device consisting of a taper stud fixed in one cant rail, and a corre-
spondingly taper socket let into the other cant rail, in such a position that the said
stud will enter the same when the heads are closed. I use two or any other con-
venient number of these devices.
In landaus and similar carriages, as heretofore constructed, it has been necessary
to let down the sashes or windows before the doors could be opened; but by my
Invention I provide means whereby the doors of such carriages may be conveniently
opened with the sashes either up or down. For this purpose I attach to the door
two fixed guides formed of iron or other suitable metal, and grooved or channelled
vertically to admit sliding bars, by which the sash frame is carried. These sliding
bars are formed with long slots or apertures for the reception of studs or pins pro-
.jecting into them from the sides of the sash frames. The said fixed guides are
provided with a small roller or rollers of india-rubber or other suitable material, which
press upon the said slotted bars, and cause just sufficient friction thereon to prevent
their working too loosely and dropping down in the guides. Each said slotted bar is
formed with a small projection at its lower ends, which serves as a stop to prevent
its rising out of the fixed guide.
The action of raising the sash consists partly of a movement of the slotted bars in
the said guides, and partly of a movement of the sash in the slots of the said bars.
The latter movement is continued until the bottom of the sash is slightly above the
fence bar, or ledge, or shoulder on the door, when it is pushed outward, and rests
on the said ledge or shoulder, and when it is in this position, or when in any
position, the door may be opened freely. and without danger of breaking the
glass.
I modify this part of my Invention by hinging on the door two grooved metal
guides, in which the sash is moved up and down; and I provide the sash with rollers

page_text: of india-rubber or suitable material to work in the said guides and support the sash
in any desired position therein. When the sash is pushed down, the said metal
guides are turned down on the hinges over the top of the fence bar.
Or I may still further modify this apparatus by providing grooved metal guide
bars, which are hung by a single pin fixed to the top of a plate, which is hinged at
its lower part to the top of the door side; the grooves in these bars are so arranged
that the ordinary glass frame will run freely up or down therein, and when raised
the said frame may be adjusted to cause its lower edge to rest on the fence bar.
I prevent the shaking and rattling of the windows of landaus and other carriages
by providing the sashes with small rollers of india-rubber or other suitable material
affixed to the top corners or both the top and bottom corners of the sashes, and
arranged to work with sufficient friction on the door frames to prevent shaking and
rattling, and to hold the sashes in any position in which they may be adjusted. I
may arrange these rollers singly at the corners of the window in a small rectangular.
frame formed of thin brass or other suitable metal, and provided at the angle or
corner with a semicircular socket for the reception of the roller, which projects from
the edge of the sash, and works against the opposite surface on the door frame. The
corner of the sash is cut away to admit this socket, and the said small frame is
screwed upon the two edges of the sash.
I may modify this contrivance by arranging a pair of rollers to project sidewise
from the sash, and work on opposite sides of the door frame. The said rollers
are fitted to turn on two studs or pins projecting from the metal plate, and properly.
arranged to cause one roller to project on one side and the other roller on the other
side. In this case I obviate the necessity of cutting away the corner of the sash,
and therefore this device may be very readily applied to existing windows.

page_text: Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the body of a landau provided
with my improvements for facilitating the opening and closing of the heads of the
same.
Figure 2 is a plair or top view of my improved head lock as applied to the hoop
sticks of a landau or similar vehicle, and shewing the same fastened.
Figure 3 is a similar view with the cover removed, shewing the same unfastened.
Figure 4 is a side elevation, partly in section, shewing my improved apparatus
for permitting the doors of landaus and similar vehicles to be opened without
lowering the sashes or windows; Figure 5 is a vertical transverse section on the
line x, x; and Figure 6 is a horizontal section on the line x¹, x', of the same.
Figure 7 is a side elevation of a modified form of the said apparatus; Figure 8 is
a vertical transverse section on the line y, y; and Figure 9 is a horizontal section on
the line y', y', of the same.
Figure 10 is a side view, partly in section, of a sash or window provided with my
improved means for preventing its shaking or rattling; and Figure 11 is a detached
view of a portion of the same drawn to an enlarged scale.
Figures 12 and 13 are similar views of a modified form of the same, herein-after
described.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawings.
My improvements in means for facilitating the opening and closing of the heads
of landaus and similar vehicles are illustrated in Figure 1, and are carried into
practice as follows, that is to say :-I dispense with the unsightly and inconvenient
head joints heretofore used either outside or inside of such vehicles, as these joints
usually cause unpleasant rattling, and I substitute therefor, at the sides of each of
the heads a, a, between the lining and leather, a device consisting of a rod b and
spring c so arranged and operating that it may be conveniently adjusted to balance
and hold the head either closed or open. The said rod b is jointed or pivotted at
its lower end, as shewn at b¹, to a small arm or bracket & projecting from the plate
d, which is secured to the pillar e by screws or other suitable means; this joint or
pivot b' is arranged a slight distance from the hinge d on the plate d, which con-
nects the top pillar or pillar top a¹ to the pillar, and slightly higher than the said
hinge, as shewn. When the heads are closed this jointed or pivotted rod b extends
upward with an inclination inward or towards the pillar top; its upper end 6*
passes through an eye or hole in a metal plate f fixed on the upper part of the said
pillar top, and the end of the rod b above the said metal plate is provided with a
screw nut b², which limits the movement of the heads in opening and closing the
same. Around this rod I place the spiral spring c, and the lower end of the said rod
is provided with a shoulder or collar b³, on or against which the lower end of the
said spring c bears, while its upper end bears against the under side of the metal

page_text: plate f. From this arrangement of the said rod upon a centre or pivot separate from
the hinge on which the head turns in opening and closing, it follows that when the
head is closed it cannot open or turn back without compressing the spring c, and
therefore the pressure of the said spring tends always to keep it tightly closed; but
this pressure is not too great to permit the head to be conveniently pushed back
from the inside or from the outside of the carriage when it is desired to have the
same open.
From the above-described arrangement of the rod b it also follows that
when the head is completely pushed back. the outer end of the said rod will lie
below a horizontal line drawn from the pivot b₁ of the said rod, and con-
sequently the spring c will tend to hold the same back until pressure is again
applied for the purpose of closing the said head.
In order to permit the pillar top to lie in a horizontal or nearly horizontal posi-
tion when opened, I form a recess or groove a² in the said pillar top, in which the
eye of the aforesaid arm or bracket d' and the rod b and spring center, as
shewn.
In order to prevent any rattling of the springs cupon the rods b I prefer to sur-
round the rods with leather or other suitable material, against which the said springs
fit when in place upon the said rods.
Another part of my Invention relates to a novel head lock for securing the heads
together when closed. This part of my Invention is illustrated in Figures 2 and 3,
in which g, gl, represent the two parts of the said head lock, one part g of which is
secured behind the cant rail on the centre hoop stick of one head, and has a slotted
lever or arm h arranged to engage or connect with a stud or button g² projecting
from the other part g', which is on the hoop stick of the other head. This part of
my Invention consists in the combination of a feather spring i with the pivot or
fulcrum of the aforesaid lever h, which is provided with double surfaces h¹, h³, at
right angles or nearly so to cach other in such a manner that the said lever will be
capable of convenient adjustinent to lock and release the heads, and will be securely
held by the said spring in either position. h³ represents a small antifriction roller,
which is arranged at the point where the two surfaces h1, h2, of the lever meet, and
against which the aforesaid spring i acts. By this device I obviate the necessity of
forming a notch or recess in the slot of the lever to prevent the opening or turning
back of the same, and by this device and the ordinary taper studs and taper sockets
on the cant rails for keeping the same in place I obtain a greatly superior fastening,
as the pressure of the spring i tends continually to force and keep the two heads
a, a, together.
In landaus and similar carriages, as heretofore constructed, it has been necessary
to let down or lower the sashes or windows before the doors could be opened; but
by my Invention I provide means whereby. the doors of such carriages may bo con-
veniently opened with the sashes either up or down. This part of my Invention is
illustrated in Figures 4, 5, and 6. represents the door, to which I attach two fixed
guides ',, formed of iron or other suitable metal, and grooved or channelled ver-
tically, as shewn in Figure 6, to admit sliding bars k, k, by which the sash frame
is carried.. These sliding bars k are provided with long slots or apertures, as shewn
at k', and through these slots or apertures I pass screws, which fit into metal
plates secured to the sash frame by screws or otherwise; or, instead of the said
screws, I may in some cases form on the said sash frame studs or pins to project
into the said slots in the bars k. The fixed guides j, j, are provided with a small
roller or rollers of india-rubber or other suitable material, as shewn at ³, which press
upon the aforesaid slotted bars k, and cause just sufficient friction thereon to prevent
their working too loosely and dropping down in the said guides. Each slotted bar
is formed at its lower end with a small projection k², which serves as a stop to
prevent its rising out of the fixed. guide j¹.
The action of raising the sash / consists partly of a movement of the said sash in
the slots k' of the slotted bars k, and partly of a movement of the said slotted bars k
in the guides The latter movement is continued until the stops strike the
bottom of the guides j; and the bottom of the sash is slightly above the fence plate

page_text: or ledge, or shoulder j* in the door, when it is pushed outward and downwards, and
rests on the fence bar j³, as shewn in Figure 5, and when it is in this position, or
when in any other position, the door may be opened freely and without danger of
breaking the glass.
Figures 7, 8, and 9 illustrate a modification of this part of my Invention.
According to this modification I employ metal plates m, pivotted to the
door j, as shown. On these plates I arrange metal guide bars m³ pivotted near
the top of the same, as shewn at m². The grooves in the said guide bars are so
formed as to permit the sash or window to slide freely up and down within the
same. When the said sash or window is raised to its highest position, the lower
ends of the said guide bars can be forced over into the position shewn in dotted
lines in Figure 8, so that, when the sash or window is slightly depressed its lower
edge will rest behind the fence bar j³.
In some cases, in order that no movement of the guide bars m¹ may take place
when the sash or window is lowered, and in order to hold the said guide bars in a
proper position for the sash to enter when it is again raised, I prefer to attach
spring arms to the top of the sash frame, as shewn. The ends 12 of the said arms,
when the sash is in its lowest position, project up into the aforesaid guide bars m',
and thereby prevent any movement of the said guide bars on their pivots m². When
the said sash is raised to its highest position the ends 12 of the said springs enter
notches cut in the cant rails, and when the said sash and guide bars m¹ are forced
over into the necessary position for the sash to rest upon the fence bar j³ when
released, the resiliency of the said spring arms will tend to force the said sash bar
downward upon the top of the same, and hold it in that position until the sash is
again slightly lifted previous to lowering it. When the said sash or window is
lowered, the metal plates m and guides m³ may be turned down over the top of the
fence bar into the position indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 7.
In order to hold the sash on the fence bar when raised, I prefer to form studs or
projections on the bottom of the said sash, the said projections being arranged to
enter holes in the fence bar when resting upon the same, and holes formed in the
bottom of the door when the said sash is lowered.
To prevent friction and allow the sash or window to be easily raised and lowered,
and to prevent its upper end projecting beyond the outer surface of the pillar tops
when raised to its highest position previous to being forced forwards on to the fence
bar, I sometimes form the said sash and its guides of a curved form; or the pivots m²
of the guide bars m' may be arranged to work in slots in the metal plates m for the
same purpose.
I may still further modify this part of my Invention by pivotting in the door two
groove metal guides, in which the sash is moved up and down, and providing the
sash with rollers of india-rubber or suitable material to work in the said guides and
support the sash in any desired position therein, the said metal guides being turned
down on their hinges over the top of the fence bar when the sash is pushed down, as
above described.
According to another part of my Invention I prevent shaking and rattling of the
windows of landaus and other carriages by providing the sashes with small rollers
of india-rubber or other suitable material affixed to the top corners or both to the
top and bottom corners of the said sashes, and arranged to work with sufficient
friction on the door frames or pillar tops; these rollers prevent shaking and rattling
and hold the said sashes in any position in which they may be adjusted. This part
of my Invention is illustrated in Figures 10 and 11, in which n, n, represent the
rollers arranged singly at the corners of the sash frame or window; these rollers are
fitted to rotate freely on a short shaft o' fixed in a small rectangular frame o formed
of thin brass or other suitable metal, and provided at its angle or corner with a
semicircular socket o² for the reception of the said roller, which projects from the
edge of the sash, and works against the opposite surfaces on the door frame or pillar
tops, as above described. The corner of the sash is cut away to admit this socket
as shewn, and the said small frame o is screwed upon the two edges of the sash.

page_text: I may modify this contrivance, as shewn in Figures 12 and 13, by arranging a
pair of rollers n midway between the top and bottom of the sash l. The said
rollers n are fitted to turn on the studs or pins o¹ projecting from the metal plate o,
and properly arranged to cause one roller to project on one side, and the other
roller on the other side of the said sash. In this case I obviate the necessity of
cutting away the corners of the sash, and therefore this device may be very readily
applied to existing windows.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and shown how the same may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practise, I claim,-
First. The improvements in and relating to means for facilitating the opening
and closing of the heads of landaus or similar vehicle, as shewn in Figure 1 of the
accompanying Drawings, and as above set forth.
Second. The improved head lock, constructed as shewn in Figures 2 and 3 of the
Drawings, and operating as above set forth, and for the purposes specified.
•
Third. The improvements relating to the doors and windows of landaus and
similar carriages, as illustrated in Figures 4, 5, 6, or in Figures 7, 8, 9 of the
Drawings, or any of the modifications thereof, as described, and which permit the
doors to be opened with the sashes either up or down, as above set forth.
Fourth. The devices for preventing the shaking and rattling of the windows of a
landau or other carriage, and for holding the same in any position, as shewn in
Figures 10 and 11, or in Figures 12 and 13 of the Drawings, and as above set
forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Offord, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-nine.
JOSEPH OFFORD. (L.S.)