AN IMPROVED EXPANDING AND CONTRACTING CANOPY, APPLICABLE TO OMNIBUSES, FURNITURE VANS, AND OTHER USES
Year: 1870

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Joseph Ellisdon at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 24th October
1870..
I, JOSEPH ELLISDON, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
EXPANDING AND CONTRACTING CANOPY, APPLICABLE TO OMNIBUSES, FURNITURE VANS,
AND OTHER USES," to be as follows (that is to say).:-
This Invention has for its object certain improvements in the con-
struction of expanding, and contracting canopies for covering the roofs.
of omnibuses, furniture vans, open vehicles,, and other purposes where
temporary coverings are required..
A canopy for,, say, the roof of an omnibus constructed according to
this Invention may consist of four upright standards fixed to the corners
of the roof, which carrying, a pair of parallel horizontal rods running.
longitudinal above the sides of the roof.. The front and hinder pair of
standards being connected together by a curved or bent rod, so as with
the parallel side rods. to form a rectangular frame in plan.. A solid.or
tubular rod extends. longitudinally from the centre of one bent or curved.
rod to the other; on this centre rod is fitted a pair of sliding collars.
which encompass the rod, and to each of which slides is attached a
transverse sliding bar resembling in contour the curved or bent rods.

page_text: The ends of
The roof of
forming the ends of the fixed horizontal rectangular frame.
these sliding bars rest and 'travel on the parallel side rods.
the canopy is of canvas (by preference waterproofs) or other suitable
water repellent fabric, made by preference thuswise, take two lengths
of canvas or other suitable fabric of a width equal to about the pitch
line taken from the centre horizontal rod to either of the side rods, but
of considerably greater length than the fixed rectangular frame to which
it has to be attached. These two lengths of fabric are attached together
longitudinally by means of an intermediate strip of macintosh, cloth, or
other suitable pliable waterproof fabric cut so as to form a continuous
series of gusets, that, the whole may be folded in a series of transverse
zig-zag creases. The extremities of the upper edge of each crease on the
sheet is attached to rings sliding on the two fixed longitudinal parallel
rods, and the centre is supported by the centre or ridge rod through
rings travelling thereon, and to which the tops of the folds at the inner
edges of the cloth forming the body of the canopy roof are attached by
stirrup cords or their mechanical equivalent, the two ends are nailed or
otherwise secured to the transverse longitudinal travelling beams.
The canopy is expanded and contracted by means of an endless or
other suitable band travelling over a pulley horizontally grooved working
on a vertical axis at one end of the centre fixed rod, and over vertical
pulleys on each side of the reverse end of the said rod, and down over a
fourth grooved pulley mounted vertically and transversely on an axis,
having its bearings acted upon by a spring or springs or their mechanical
equivalent, in such a manner that there will at all times be the required
tention on the endless chain to ensure its proper action. One of the
transverse travelling beams between which the canopy cover is stretched
is made securely fast to the endless band one one side of the centre fixed
rod, and the other stretcher is secured in like manner to the endless
band at the other side of the rod; by which arrangement it will be
evident that if the endless band is in one direction the beams to which
the canopy roof is attached will be brought towards each other, thus
contracting the canopy, and that on the band being driven in the
opposite direction it will be expanded or opened out. In place of using
a solid rod for the centre longitudinal and parallel side rods hollow rods
or tubes with longitudinal grooves cut through their length may be
substituted, in which case internal travellers are substituted for the
rings, to which the outer longitudinal edges of the canopy cover are
secured.

page_text: When the canopy roof is contracted or drawn together it is in the
centre of the framework, and may be covered in from above by a
suitable narrow roof supported on standards springing from the external
rods of the framework. Or in place of the fixed protecting roof bonnet
pieces may be mounted on the transverse longitudinal travelling beams,
so that when they are brought together the said bonnets form a roof over
the contracted canopy sheet. Where the canopy is large or it may be
desirable to operate one-half of the roof thereof independent of- the other
this can be done by the use of two endless bands in place of one, as
described, that is to say, using an independent endless band for each of
the travelling beams to which the ends of the canopy cover are attached.
In some cases it is preferred to mount the two outer longitudinal
horizontal side rods on brackets springing from the vertical standards, or
to curve the heads of the said vertical standards outwards, so as to give
a greater spread to the roof for the purpose of carrying off the water
beyond the roof base. When the improved canopy roof is fully extended
the folds form a number of shallow gutters, which carry off the water
shed beyond the roof of the omnibus.
When this Invention is applied to, say, an omnibus or other vehicle
the Inventor fits a series of aprons mounted on spring rollers along the
edge of the roof of the omnibus, which rollers are enclosed in suitable
casing, and on the upper or outward edge attached to stretchers, so that
they can be drawn out of the casing and passed over a low horizontal
rail bar, and drawn obliquely over the knees of the passengers, being
held in position by being buttoned on to stud pins on each side of the
passengers. On being released from the stud pins the apron is drawn
into its casing by the action of the spring roller. Or in place of the
spring roller a plain waterproof sheet may be used, the vertical edges of
which are attached to vertical rods by means of a sliding stretcher
attached to the lower edge of the apron. The upper edge is also
provided with a horizontal stretcher, so that the same may be drawn
over a horizontal hand rail extending along the sides of the omnibus
roof, in order that the same may be readily drawn over the hand rail
towards the body of the passenger sitting opposite.