IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR OPENING AND CLOSING CARRIAGE DOORS."
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Vincent Fosbery of Upton House, Bitton
near Bristol Lieutenant Colonel, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR OPENING AND CLOSING CARRIAGE DOORS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Vincent Fosbery at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th January 1882.
GEORGE VINCENT FOSBERY of Upton House Bitton near Bristol Lieutenant
Colonel. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR OPENING AND CLOSING CARRIAGE
DOORS."
This Invention rolates more especially to apparatus for opening and closing the
doors of that class of carriages generally known as Hanson cabs and the improve-
ments have for their object to provide an efficient arrangement for enabling the
driver to open and close the doors without getting down from his scat at the back
of the cab.
For this purpose I attach rigidly to each door a rod which is carried downwards
through the footboard in a line with the hinge joint upon which the door turns.
On the lower end of each rod below the footboard is secured a cogged wheel. Two
horizontal bars are mounted below the footboard so that they may slide to and fro
transversely of the cab. Along cach bar at its outer end is a toothed rack, one
toothed rack is made to engage with one of the cogged wheels the other with the
other of the cogged wheels. Along each bar at its inner end is another toothed
rack, these racks are made to gear with two cogged wheels on a shaft mounted
longitudinally under the body of the cab in suitable bearings. And I so arrange
these racks that either the one on the inner end of one bar shall be above the
cogged wheel on the longitudinal shaft with which it gears and the one on the
inner end of the other bar below its cogged wheel. Or on the other hand that
the rack on the outer end of one bar shall be in front and the other in rear of the
cogged wheels which are fast with the doors, so that by these means the doors will
be turned in opposite directions whenever the longitudinal shaft is turned.
The cogged wheels on the longitudinal shaft are the one loose on the shaft and
the other fast upon it. The fast wheel carries a pin or projection to strike against
FL

page_text: pins or projections on the looose wheel by which means the loose wheel may be
compelled to follow the motion of the fast wheel after any given interval that may
be determined on. A greater or less lead may in this way be given to the opening
of the door which it is requisite to partially open first before commencing to
open the other door.
Also when closing the doors one door (vis: that one which is worked by the fast
cogged wheel) may be firmly held whilst the other one so soon as it is so far closed
as to tend to shut by reason of its own weight is free to precede it in closing by a
short interval as it must do if the doors when closed are made one to overlap the
other in the ordinary manner.
All the racks and cogged wheels are enclosed in a light casing fixed to the
underside of the footboard preferably the casing is made in two parts which
overlap one another to allow of alterations in its length so that the casing may be
applied to cabs having doors of different widths.
In order that the driver may without moving from his seat turn the longitudinal
shaft either in a direction to open or close the doors the shaft may have a
sprocket wheel fixed on its rear end. A short length of chain may be led over this
wheel and coupled at its ends to the ends of a cord or strap passed over a pulley
near the drivers seat so that by pulling it in either direction he could open or close
the doors. Or there might be a similar sprocket wheel within reach of the
driver so that the driver might open or close the doors by turning a handle on the
sprocket wheel, or other mechanical appliances might be adopted for enabling
the driver to turn the shaft.
For the fast and loose wheels on the shaft fast and loose segmental racks may be
substituted or a fast and loose key which shall fit into a slot or between two
|_ projecting teeth on the inner ends of the racks. Or one of the bars carrying the
racks may be divided at the middle into two-and the two_parts_be_connected
together by a pin on one part entering a slot in the other part.
In place also of the rods which carry the cogged wheels being rigidly affixed to
the doors they might be carried by bearings fixed to the footboard, an arm on the
rods would then be coupled to the doors in any suitable manner.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said George Vincent Fosbery in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th July 1882.
GEORGE VINCENT FOSBERY of Upton House Bitton near Bristol Lieutenant
Colonel "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR OPENING AND CLOSING CARRIAGE
DOORS."
This Invention relates moro especially to apparatus for opening and closing the
doors of that class of carriages generally known as Hanson cabs and the improve-
ments have for their object to provide an efficient arrangement for enabling the
driver to open and close the doors without getting down from his seat at the back
of the cab.
For this purpose I attach rigidly to each door a rod which is carried downwards
through the footboard in a line with the hinge joint upon which the door turns.
On the lower end of each rod below the footboard is secured a cogged wheel. Two
horizontal bars are mounted below the footboard so that they may slide to and fro
transversely of the cab. Along cach bar at its outer end is a toothed rack-one
toothed rack is made to engage with one of the cogged wheels the other with the
other of the cogged wheels.
The two bars have motion given to them in such a manner as to cause the doors
to turn in opposite directions and also in such a manner as (when opening the
doors) to cause one door to open somewhat before the other commences to open
and contrary-wise to cause the door which was the last to commence to open to
close somewhat before the other door. In this way one door may be made to
overlap the other when the doors are closed as they now do when they have to be
opened separately by hand.
Various arrangements of mechanism may be employed for enabling the driver to
give the requisite movement to the bars without getting down from his seat.
The arrangement I prefer to employ is shewn in the Drawings hereunto
annexed.
Figure 1 is a plan view of the apparatus Figure 2 is a side elevation of a Hanson
cab with the apparatus applied to it.
In Figure 1A A are two toothed pinions fixed on rods which are rigidly secured
to the doors and are carried downwards through the footboard of the cab in a line
with the hinge joints upon which the doors turn. It is not essential that the rods
should be rigidly fixed to the doors they might be carried by bearings fixed to the
foot board and an arm on each rod be coupled to a door in any suitable manner.
BB are the two horizontal bars carrying racks which gear with the pinions A.
B' are friction pulleys against which the backs of the bars B rest and by which
the toothed racks that they carry are kept in gear with the toothed pinions. The
opposite ends of the rods are connected to two lever arms C which project in
opposite directions from an axis D. The connection of one bar B with one of the
lever arms C is by a pin passing through corresponding holes in the bar and lever
arm. The connection of the other bar and lever arm is by a pin passed through
holes in the bar and an oblong slot in the end of the lover arm.
Fast on the axis D are also two lever arms E to each of which is coupled a rod F.
In Figure 2 these rods are each shewn to be jointed to one arm of a bell crank
lever G whilst from the other arm of these levers rods H pass upwards to the
drivers seat. Various ways may be adopted for enabling the driver to raise or
lower either one or other rod. They might if desired be connected to treadles or
the ends of a chain which is passed over a sprocket wheel might be attached to the

page_text: ends of the rods and either rod might in this way be raised whilst the other
was lowered simply by turning the sprocket wheel in one or other direction.
Or cords might be carried down from the ends of the chain over guide pulleys
to the rods F-in this case the bell crank levers G and rods H would be done
away with.
Other arrangements of mechanism may also be adopted for enabling the driver
to give a partial turn to the axis D whenever lie desires to open or close the
carriage doors, the above described ways are only given as examples.
The action of the apparatus is as follows.
When the cab doors are closed and a partial turn is given to the axis D the one
door which overlaps the other door first commences to open-both doors then
turn together when the doors have so far opened that their weight instead of
tending to close them tends to turn them backwards and complete their
opening the door which was the last to commence to open drops backwards a
distance by its own weight so that the completion of the opening of the two
doors occurs simultaneously.
When the doors are to be closed a partial turn is given to the axis D in the
opposite direction. As soon as the doors have been turned sufficiently far for them
to tend to close by their own weight the door which is to be overlapped by the
other door turns in advance of this door the slot above mentioned allowing
it to do so and when it has completely closed the other closes down also and
overlaps it.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner of perforining
the same I would have it understood that I do not limit myself to the placing
of the slotted connection at the junction between one of the rods and the lever arm
which moves it to and fro as the slotted connection or its equivalent might be at
other parts of the apparatus so as to allow-of-the-one- door opening before the
other door and when closing, closing after it as hereinbefore described, as for
instance motion may be communicated to a shaft carrying bevelled wheels at each
end one of which bevelled wheels shall be fast on the shaft and the other loose on
the shaft and set in action by a stop on the shaft, but what I claim is :-
The combination of apparatus fer opening and closing the doors of Hanson cabs
and other such like vehicles substantially in the manner herein before described so
that one door may be made to open somewhat before the other and to close
somewhat after it.
In witness whereof I the said George Vincent Fosbery have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Twenty eighth day of July in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.