Improvements in or relating to Means for Detaching Horses and the like from Vehicles.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 20th May, 1893-Accepted, 15th July, 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Means for Detaching Horses and the
like from Vehicles.
A communication from FRANÇOIS GARCIA-CLOSA, Locksmith, and ANDRÉ
PICAZO-SORIANO, Chemist, both of 8, Rue Gaona, Albacete, in the Kingdom
of Spain.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
The apparatus forming the subject of this invention is adapted to be applied
to the fore-carriage of a four-wheeled vehicle and comprises a single or double
whiffle-tree according whether it is for a one or two-horse vehicle, constructed so
that the driver without leaving his seat may readily disengage the horses therefrom
in case they should run away or otherwise get beyond control, in which case the
horses are set free and the carriage may be stopped at once.
In order to more fully explain this invention and the manner in which it operates
reference is made to the annexed drawings in which
Figure 1. is a sectional side elevation of the fore part of a carriage or vehicle.
Figure II. is a front view, partly in section, showing the handle for working the
apparatus from the driver's seat.
Figure III. is a plan of the fore-carriage with the apparatus applied thereto,
and
Figures IV. to XIV. are details of the apparatus drawn to an enlarged scale.
In order to operate the apparatus the driver pulls the handle a, Figs. 1 and 2,
towards him and gives it half a turn and as the handle bar bis in direct communica-
tion with the toothed wheel or pinion c in gear with a wheel e, Figure VIII., the
semi-rotation of the handle is transmitted through the spindle and connecting
links 9 to a wheel / provided with teeth on half of its periphery, Fig. IV., and
situated in the hollow whiffle-tree which in the example shown in Fig. IV. is
arranged for two horses. The wheel gears with a similar wheel which is
connected to the rods or links m and n in such a manner as to move them longi-
tudinally.
The rods or links operate a bolt p which is provided with four tongues rrrr
corresponding with four openings or sockets xxxx.
The drawing shows the bolt drawn back. The openings or sockets & are each
adapted to receive a bracket o Fig. IX. to which one of the traces is fixed. Each
of these brackets o is provided with a perforated lug q which fits into one of the
holes or sockets and when in such position and the bolt p is shot forward the
In order to release
tongues r of said bolt will enter the holes of the lugs q.
the horses from the vehicle all that is necessary is to draw the bolt p back. In
conjunction with the apparatus for two-horse vehicles the pole is provided with a
detachable cap for the attachment of the pole chains or equivalent. This cap
which is provided with a hook or catch z for fastening it on the pole when the
horses are not harnessed to the vehicle is shown in Fig. V. in plan in connection.
with the front part of the pole; Fig. XI. is a front and Fig. VI. a side view of it,
while Fig. XII. shows the hook detached. The hook mainly consists of a part z
having a long slot and a projecting pins Fig. XII. which latter passes through
a hole in the cap and engages with a recess t Fig. VII. near the front end of the
pole so as to hold the cap on the pole when the horses are not harnessed to the
vehicle. The hook or catch z is pivotted to the cap by a pin k passing through
the slot z¹ Fig. XII. and when the horses are harnessed to the vehicle the hook or

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catch is turned over and pushed as far as the slot z¹ and pin will allow so that
the finger will occupy a position adjacent to k and the pins will be turned out-
wards from the pole so as to leave the cap loose thereon. In case of the horses
bolting the cap assisted by the spring y Fig. VII. is forced off the pole and hangs
on the pole chains and the traces and their brackets are detached from the whiffle
tree.
If the carriage is made for one horse only, the whiffle-tree is constructed as
shown in Fig. XIV. wherein the spindle causes a rack wheel to turn, which
engaging with holes u u Fig. XIII. in the plates 6, moves the latter and through
the medium of connecting rods c d also the bolts e' crossing the spaces or sockets fl
which receive the shafts. It will therefore be seen that the horses, when bolting,
carry with them the shafts as well as the traces and the bridles.
The detail D Fig. X. shows in section the manner in which the pivot of the
fore-carriage is arranged and shows at the same time the passage of the handle-bar
or operating rod. When turning the carriage the cylindrical piece I turns in the
slightly conical flange of the piece H. These two pieces I and H allow for the
passage of the handle-bar and thus always ensures the working of the apparatus.
Jointed to the handle-bar and under the influence of a suitable lever mechanism
is a brake handle which allows the brake to be applied to the carriage whether the
horses are or not attached; this brake apparatus is not shown in the accompanying
drawings.
The apparatus can be applied to any type of four-wheeled carriage.
The before described apparatus may be modified without departing from the
essential features of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondents, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is ;-
1. A whiffle-tree constructed substantially as described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
2. The coinbination with a whiffle-tree such as described of two toothed wheels
operated by a shaft passing through the centre of the fore-carriage and a jointed
handle bar substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3. The combination with a four-wheeled vehicle of the apparatus set forth in
the last preceding claim substantially as described and illustrated in the accom-
panying drawings.
4. In apparatus such as described the combination with the pole of a detachable
cap and hook such as Z substantially as described and illustrated in the accom-
panying drawings.
5. The combination with the apparatus claimed in Claim 2 of a pole having a
detachable cap and hook such as Z substantially as described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
Dated this 20th day of May 1893.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Of London, Manchester, Nottingham, and Liverpool,
Agents for the Applicant.