Improvements in or connected with Seats for use on Tramway-cars, Omnibuses, and other Exposed Places.
Year: 1898

page_text: Improvements in or connected with Seats for use on Tramway-cars,
Omnibuses, and other Exposed Places.
We, ROBERT JOIN CODLING, of 41, Hargrave Park, Highgate, in the County of
London, Engineer, and WALTER HENRY GAUNT, of 23, Brighton Grove, Rusholme,
Manchester, Lancashire, Railway Carriage Builder, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
It is well understood, that seats intended for use on tramway-cars omnibuses,
and other places, and which are liable to be exposed to the effects of the weather,
should if possible, be kept dry, and therefore that when the seats are not in use,
they should be protected or covered.
It is of course, common when such seats (especially those located on the outside
of vehicles) are unoccupied, to cover same with some waterproof material, but
this is unsatisfactory in practice; with the object of providing a rainproof cover,
it has been proposed to hinge the back rest to the seat, or the supports, and allow
the said rest to be turned down & caused to lie upon and in contact with the seat
to protect same from wet. Such an arrangement is not however conveniant or
simple in construction when it is attempted to be applied to which is known as a
reversible seat, that is, seats having back rests capable of being rocked from one
side to the other, in order that sitters may face either way according to
circumstances.
Now our invention refers to a well known type of such reversible seat where the
back rest is carried by two lateral radius arms, pivotted to the frame work of the
seat at the ends thereof, and adapted to be rocked from one side to the other when
the direction of use of the seat is changed.
According to our invention we pivot the back board or rest to, and between, the
two radius arms, upon horizontal pivots about central of its breadth so that the
surface against which the sitters back is to rest, hereafter called the face of the board,
can be reversed when the radius arms are thrown over, and we connect the upper
ends of the radius arms by a longitudinal fixed bar which supports the upper-
most edge of the board which-ever way the face of the board is placed, the
bar always being at the rear part of the top edge of the board.
By this arrangement when the radius bars are thrown over, the back board
should be given a nearly complete revolution so that what was before the lower
edge of the board will then rest against the upper fixed bar.
Attached to or near each longitudinal edge of the back board, we provide a
flexible flap of suitable material (preferably waterproof) the free edges of same
being weighted by means of a spline, metal bar, or tube and when the radius arms
are in position for the seat to be used, the flaps may depend at the back of same
or be rolled up.
If the radius arms are brought to rest in a midway position, the back board
can then be turned horizontal and brought immediately over and at a distance

page_text: Figure 6, is a plan view of one end of seat shewn at Figure 4, and Figure 7, is a
front elevation of one end of same. Figure 8, is a side elevation of the seat
covered, Figure 9, a similar view of same when in use and Figure 10, is a plan
view of one end of same, these figures illustrating the application of end shields
thereto and controlling means for the lateral pivotted supports all as hereafter
described.
The seat proper A is supported on framework B all of which may be constructed
in any well known manner, and to each end of the framework the lateral
supports CC are pivotted at C', say upon a longitudinal cross-bar, and the sup-
ports CC extend upwards above the seat to carry the back rest and are capable of
being rocked from one side to the other to enable the direction of use to be changed
all as is common and well known in this type of seat.
Now according to our invention we provide the back rest D) with end trun-
nions D, D', taking into bearings on the supports CC, and so that the said back
rest is pivotted upon a horizontal axis, this axis of rotation being about central
of the breadth of the back rest so that the surface against which the sitter's back
is to rest, hereafter called the face of the rest, can be reversed, when the lateral
supports are thrown over, by revolving the back rest D nearly a half revolution
on its trunnions D¹.
A suitable stop is provided to limit the rotation of the back rest D, and such
stop is conveniently formed by a longitudinal bar C2 connecting the upper ends of
the supports CC, and the uppermost edge of the rest D is thereby supported which
ever way the face of the board is placed, the bar C3 always being at the rear part
of the top edge of the rest D.
Attached to or near each longitudinal edge of the back rest 1 we provide a
flexible flap of suitable material (preferably waterproof) the free edges of same
being weighted by means of a spline, metal bar or tube at E and when the lateral
supports are in position for the seat to be used as shewn by the full lines at
Fig. 1, the flaps E, E, may depend at the back of same or be rolled up.
If the lateral supports CC are brought to rest in a midway position as shewn
by the dotted lines at Fig. 1 and full fines at Figs. 5 and 8, the back rest 1) can
then be, or is, turned horizontal and brought immediately over and at a distance
above the seat A, and the flaps EE are then caused to depend in front and back
and effectually protect the seat A from wet.
Means are provided to maintain the lateral supports CC in the position placed
and we have found it convenient to reduce the longitudinal distance between the
tops or bottoms of the supports CC, (or both distances) and so produce frictional
contact of the supports C with end plates A' on the seats.
In some cases to ensure a proper central position of the bars C when the seat
is to be covered, the bars may have an inwardly projecting stud to spring into
corresponding central recesses on the faces A' of the seat ends, or the bars C
themselves may spring into a recess A² such as is shewn at Fig. 6.
The back rest we have found to readily maintain its horizontal position, as in
dotted lines at Fig. 1, by friction of its trunnions.
Where it is required that the back rest I should automatically assume its proper
positions when the supports C are rocked, we have found the arrangement shewn
at Figs. 4 to 10 to answer the purpose well.
At Figs. 4 to 7, we fix to the trunnion D¹ of the back rest, which projects through
one of the bars C, an arm F to the end of which latter is pivotted one end of a
lever G. This lever G is pivotted inter-medially of its length in a slotted aper-
ture H in the bar C below the trunnion D' and the lower end of the lever G is
pivotted at G¹ to the outer side of a plate J which is fixed at its ends to the end of
the seat by this construction, as clearly shewn at Fig. 6, the bar C rocks within a
slot formed on one side by the end of the seat and the other side by the plate J. By
this arrangement when the bar C is rocked over from the position shewn at Fig. 4
its intermediate pivot moves in the slot H, the arm F is operated and the back
rest has the position as at Fig. 5, when the bar C is central while when wholly

page_text: depending flexible flaps on the longitudinal edges of the back rest to cover in the
front and back of the seat, in combination with vertically moveable shutters
sliding in guides at the ends of the seat and adapted to be drawn up when
required to close in the ends of the covered space above the said seat substantially
as set forth.
5. The particular construction of seat for tramway-cars omnibuses and other
exposed places arranged and acting substantially as and for the purposes described
with reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the accompanying drawings.
6. The particular construction of seat for tramway-cars, omnibuses and other
exposed places, arranged and acting substantially as and for the purposes described
with reference to Figs. 4 to 10 inclusive, of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 11th day of October A.]). 1898.
R. J. CODLING.
W. H. GAUNT.
.