Improvements in Horse] Collars.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Mar., 1898-Accepted, 2nd Apr., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Horse] Collars.
I, EDWIN LEWIS BRUNDAGE, of 109, Main Street, in the town of East Orange,
County of Essex, and State of New Jersey, United States of America, Mechanical
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained,
in and by the following statement :—
The objects of this invention are to more perfectly, completely and uniformly
cushion the bearings of the collar upon the animal's shoulders and cause it to
conform readily and with an even pressure to the various curvatures and contours
thereof assumed in traveling; to increase the strength and durability of the collar;
to secure greater neatness of appearance; to enable the pneumatic parts of the
collar to be employed in that class of collars known as lock collars, and to obtain
other advantages and results, some of which may be referred to hereinafter in
connection with the description of the working parts.
Referring to the accompanying drawings in which like letters of reference
indicate corresponding parts in each of the several figures,
Figure 1 is a front view of a horse collar embodying my improvements;
Figure 2 is a detail view of a certain tubular frame to which the pneumatic pads
are adapted to be attached, one pad being in place;
Figure 3 is a central longitudinal section, on an enlarged scale, of the lower
portion of said tubular frame;
Figure 4 is an enlarged cross section through line x, Figure 1, showing the
detail construction more fully and clearly; and
Figure 5 is a section taken on line y, Figure 1, showing a valve for inflating one
of the pneumatic pads.
In said drawings, a represents the frame, consisting of metal tubes or pipes bent
over a suitably shaped form and made to conform to the animal's shape at the neck
or shoulders; said pipes are preferably hinged together.
Over and more or less completely around said frame a, at the longer sides
thereof are secured the pneumatic pads or cushions, b, b. These are made of
rubber sacs, vulcanized and rendered thoroughly impervious to air.
Said pads are not perforated by means for holding them to the frame and thus
are not rendered pervious and liable to a leakage of compressed air therefrom.
Where they engage the frame, the pads are, when inflated, deeply grooved to
receive said frame, so that said pads extend partly around the pipes as shown in
Figures 4 and 5, thus conducing to a broad elastic bearing surface and admitting
a greater freedom of the rolling action of the pads on the horse in
correspondence with his movements. The inflated sacs further present a smooth
even surface to the outer jacket herein described, different from the bearing surface
obtained by a series of separate springs, so that the wear on the jacket outside of
said sacs will be uniform and even, and not in strips as heretofore.
Outside of and around the thin impervious fabric of the pads, I arrange leather

page_text: jackets, c, c, which serve to reduce the liability of perforation or rupture of the
impervious pneumatic pad when pressure is brought to bear thereon.
Said jackets also serve in fastening the pads in place. With this latter object
in view, said jackets or covers extend around both the pads and the frame as shown
in Figure 4, the edges of said jackets overlapping where the frame lies flush with
the longitudinal rib-like extensions c¹, of said pads lying, when the pad is inflated,
on opposite sides of the frame-receiving grooves therein. At the exposed flush
surface of the frame, the screws f, f, pass through said overlapping portions of the
jacket and through perforations in the tubular frame a, where the said screws find
a firm hold in any suitable manner.
The screws permit a quick removal of the jacket to enable a puncture to be
mended or for other purposes.
Between the heads of the screws and the said overlapping parts, I prefer to
insert what I may call shells d, and outside of said shells, draft eyo plates g, the
latter extending longitudinally along the shells and being of metal, giving increased
strength and rigidity to the collar.
The shells d, may be of indurated fibre, papier mache or other durable material.
They are concavo-convex in cross section so as to extend to some extent around the
outer sides of the collar to prevent undue lateral expansion of the pads especially
where said pads are not under high tension or inflation. They are not intended to
serve as the frame of the collar and thus are of the light materials above referred
to, but they are adapted to receive a high finish and give the desired ornamental
effect to the collar. They also serve to some extent in giving shape to the pads
and in directing the pressure upon the animal's shoulders."
Valves c, e, are attached to the pads and are constructed, arranged and operated
in substantially the same manner as the valves applied to the pneumatic tubes of
vehicle tires.
In preparing the collar for use, the collapsed inflatable sacs are enclosed in the
jackets, in suitable connection with the valves. Said jackets are then turned over
the frame, the overlapping edges lying therein The shells are then placed in
position and also the draft eye plates, which cover said overlapping edges and
serve in clamping and holding said edges firmly and smoothly to the frame; the
screws are then inserted and hold the parts in fixed relation.
I then inflate the pneumatic sacs, forming the impervious pads and because of the
thinness of the rubber and its elasticity, the said sacs fill the space within the
jackets passing up on opposite sides of the frame to enclose or partly enclose
the said frame as shown.
The collar is then ready for service. The pads being separate and arranged on
the longitudinal parts of the frame, it is obvious that the frame sections, where
exposed at the ends, may be, and preferably are, hinged together, and at their
opposite end may be provided with catches like those of lock collars.
I prefer to cushion the rubber sacs on the outside to prevent a hard clamping
where creased at the angles c', between the frame sections a, and the jackets c.
To this end, I sew a piece of soft and thick textile fabric a¹, around each of the
frame sections a, and to it I sew a second piece of said fabric a¹¹, to the first and
arrange it so that when the sac b, is inflated said fabric will lie between the parts b,
c, as shown in the sectional views.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The improved pneumatic collar comprising a frame, a pneumatic sac or pad
extending around the sides of said frame when said sac or pad is inflated and a
jacket enclosing both the frame and sac, the said pad or sac presenting a continuous
and even bearing surface to said jacket, and a proumatic valve and draft eye plates,
all combined substantially as set forth.
2. The improved horse collar, comprising the frame, the frame enclosing jacket

page_text: of leather, the edges of which overlap upon said frame, the pneumatic pad within
said jacket, the exterior clamp plate, and screws extending through said clamp
plate and overlapping edges of the jacket and into said frame, substantially as set
forth.
3. The improved horse collar, comprising the frame corresponding in general
shape to the neck or shoulders of the animal, a leather jacket, a draft eye clamp
plate clamping the edges of said jacket, and screws, all arranged and operating,
substantially as set forth.
4. The improved horse collar, comprising the enclosed frame, the grooved inflated
pads, the jackets covering both pads and frame, and means for removably fastening
said jackets over said pads and frame, and draft eye plates, all arranged and
operating, substantially as set forth.
5. The improved horse collar comprising the enclosed frame and pneumatic
pads, a jacket for enclosing said frames and pads, concavo-convex shells, draft eye
clamp plates and screws, all combined and operating, substantially as set forth.
DL: 91 dor of Ton 1898
EDWIN LEWIS BRUNDAGE.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.