IMPROVED APPLIANCES FOR RAISING AND LOWERING CARRIAGE HEADS OR ASSISTING TO RAISE AND LOWER THEM
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Reuben John Harrison, of the Firm of Harrison
and Son, of No. 1, Stanhope Street, Euston Road, in the County of
Middlesex, Carriage Builders, for the Invention of " IMPROVED
APPLIANCES FOR RAISING AND LOWERING CARRIAGE HEADS OR ASSISTING TO
RAISE AND LOWER THEM."
Sealed the 28th January 1873, and dated the 7th December 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Reuben John Harrison
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 7th December 1872.
I, REUBEN JOHN HARRISON, of the Firm of Harrison and Son, of
No. 1, Stanhope Street, Euston Road, in the County of Middlesex,
Carriage Builders, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVED APPLIANCES FOR RAISING AND LOWERING CARRIAGE HEADS OR AS-
SISTING TO RAISE AND LOWER THEM," to be as follows:-
:-
This Invention relates to improved appliances for raising and
lowering or assisting to raise and lower the heads of "landau" and
other carriages.

page_text: The Invention consists, firstly, in fitting a slotted lever to the top of
the upper pillar, and another slotted lever to the cantrail, a pin or stud
being arranged to work in one or other of the slots to permit of the
cantrail falling over, and taking up a position in line with the pillar
when thrown back. I form a square or other shaped end or portion on i
the prop over which the head joint is fitted, so that the knuckle bends
One of the slotted levers is in
or folds up while the head is lowering.
a piece with the prop, consequently it moves therewith.
The second part of the Invention consists in fitting a barrel spring of
The lower end of the ]
spiral form to the pillar or to a lever thereon.
barrel is stepped into the body frame, and is free to move as upon a
centre. The force of the spring is adjustable by a nut working upon
a threaded portion of the rod whose upper part is preferably hooked to
the pillar lever to allow the barrel to move in a curve.
In most cases the barrel is enclosed in a sleeve to protect the spring, 1
the sleeve being shaped at the top to receive the nut to enable it to be
turned and the spring adjusted easily.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Reuben John Harrison in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 7th June 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, REUBEN
JOHN HARRISON, of the Firm of Harrison and Son, of No. 1, Stanhope
Street, Euston Road, in the County of Middlesex, Carriage Builders, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Reuben John Harrison, Her special licence,
that I, the said Reuben John Harrison, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Reuben John Harrison, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the

page_text: term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVED
APPLIANCES FOR RAISING AND LOWERING CARRIAGE HEADS OR ASSISTING TO RAISE
AND LOWER THEм,” upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Reuben John Harrison, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Reuben John Harrison, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to improved appliances for raising and
lowering or assisting to raise and lower the heads of landau and other
carriages.
The Invention consists, firstly, in fitting a slotted lover to the top of
the upper pillar, and another slotted lever to the cantrail, a pin or stud
being arranged to work in one or other of the slots to permit of the cant-
rail falling over, and taking up a position in line with the pillar when
thrown back. I form a square or other shaped end or portion on the
prop over which the head joint is fitted, so that the knuckle bends or
folds up while the head is lowering. One of the slotted levers is in a
piece with the prop, consequently it moves therewith.
This part of my Invention will be clearly understood by the aid of the
accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and the letters and figures marked
thereon in the several Figures.
Figures 1 and 2 are detached views of the upper portion of a door or
head pillar a with a slotted lever b, the lever b being centred or pinned
by a socket c to give it freedom of action when the cantrail d or the
knuckle of the outside joint e is struck for the head to be folded down or
"lowered." The prop passes through the socket c, and the projecting

page_text: .
portion is square for the reception of the top end of the outside joint g,
it being held thereon by a nut or cap h, so that any movement of one is
instantly communicated to the other, and the proper action effected.
The lever is slotted, and in this slot the free end of an adjustable
screw pin is fitted, the distance of the pin from the socket c being
regulated according to the distance to which it is desired that the cant
rail d should be turned upon its hinge. The screw pin i is secured by a
nut jin a slot k in a bar or plate upon the cantrail, as shown in
Figures 3 and 4, which aro side and end views of the plate detached.
This plate also forms the hinge or joint upon which the cantrail turns.
The action of this portion of my Invention will be easily gathered by
referring to the side elevation of a landau body, Figure 5, where the full
lines show the position when the head is raised or closed," and the
dotted lines when the head is folded down or opened." I prefer that
the cantrail receives a motion sufficient to throw it up in line with the
pillar, so that when the head is quite open it takes up a position in line
with the face of the pillar.
6
I have mentioned the screw pin i as being secured in the slot of the
bar or plate of the cantrail, but it may instead be secured in the slot of
the lever b, that is to say, the screw pin may be fixed at any part of
either of the slots, and free to slide or move in the other for facilitating
the turn or throw up and down of the cantrail. This combination of
two slotted levers, one on the pillar and one on the cantrail, the two
acting in conjunction with the outside prop, is a speciality in my
Invention, as it enables the cantrails of landaus and carriages with
"side lights" and folding heads to operate independently of any spring
or weight arrangement of mechanism in a much easier manner than is
possible by any present method.
I therefore claim the combination of two slotted levers, one on the
pillar and one on the cantrail of carriages with an adjustable pin when
the same act in conjunction with the outside prop, as shown and
described, for the purposes of raising and lowering or assisting to
raise and to lower the heads.
The second part of my Invention consists of a method of or appliances
for facilitating the opening and closing of the heads. of carriages with
side lights and a front light. This will be understood by Figure 8,
where a is the door pillar with a spur or arm m projecting from the

page_text: inner face. This spur has a link » pinned to it whose opposite end p is
linked to a rock lever q centred to the elbow at r to allow of the proper
movement of a connections for throwing the front pillar t into a
horizontal position across the front of the body u, the connection 8
being jointed to a strap or spur for that purpose. The front pillar
is hinged to the body, and as the head is being lowered by a
pressure or force applied to say the door pillar a, the action of the
spur m upon the link n causes the door end of the rock lever to
This action compels the
into the proper position
door pillar causing the
be depressed, and its opposite end to be raised.
connections to lift and throw the front pillar
across the front body, the reverse action of the
rock lever to pull down the connection, and to thereby raise the front
pillar into a vertical position.
This second part of my Invention may be employed upon carriages
having side and front lights in conjunction with my first improvement,
herein-before described, or it may be employed alone, but I prefer to use
the two to the one carriage, as by simply striking the outside joint e
after having lowered the lights the whole of the parts move simul-
taneously. It will be understood that each side of a carriage is similarly
fitted.
I therefore claim as the second part of my Invention the arrange-
ment of appliances for facilitating the lowering of the front pillar from
the door pillar of carriages fitted with side and front lights, as described
and shown.
The landau body, shown in Figure 5, is not provided with side lights,
nor a front light, but for convenience of lowering and raising the half
heads singly and in an easy manner I have shown the spurs or arms m as
connected to barrel springs to, the barrel being in two pieces, and made
the one to overlap the other to prevent the entrance of dirt between
the coils of the spring which is enclosed within them.
The barrels also prevent any part of the trimmings getting entangled
within the coils after they become worn from usage. I am not however
compelled to enclose the springs in a barrel, but I prefer to do so. The
bottom end of the spring or the barrel is stepped into an aperture of
which there are several, y, y, y, in the body frame, into either of which it
can be shifted to lengthen or diminish the distance between the spur m
and the body frame, the curve of the body permitting this to be done

page_text: I claim as the last part of my Invention, the formation of a series of
apertures in the body frames of carriages for the purpose of facilitating
the shifting of coiled springs (barrelled or not) by which their tension
can be regulated for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Reuben John Harrison, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of June, One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
Witness,
GEO BEACH.
R. J. HARRISON. (L.S.)