A COMBINED STEP COVER AND WHEEL FENDER FOR CARRIAGES AND OTHER VEHICLES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Millward, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "A COMBINED STEP
COVER AND WHEEL FENDER FOR CARRIAGES AND OTHER VEHICLES."―A
communication from abroad by John Wood Gosling, of Cincinnati, State
of Ohio, United States of America.
Sealed the 8th November 1867, and dated the 12th June 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Millward at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th June 1867.
I, JOHN MILLWARD, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A
COMBINED STEP COVER AND WHEEL FENDER FOR CARRIAGES AND OTHER VEHICLES,"
to be as follows :—
This Invention relates to a device for preventing the accumulation of mud
and dust on the steps of carriages and other vehicles, and also for guarding
the clothes of the rider from coming in contact with the wheels on entering
or leaving the vehicles, and consists in attaching to or hinging upon the door
of the carriage a flexible plate of sheet steel, leather, or other suitable material,
the lower part of which is fitted with a bar having one end hinged or coupled

page_text: to a loop formed in a flange upon that side of the step which corresponds to the
binging of the door: When the door is shut the fender or cover lies close
along the front edge of the step and curves gradually up to the lower edge of
the door, thereby forming a shield or cover to the step, and when opening the
door the lower end of the fender turns on the coupling at the step to a position,
when wide open, about at right angles therewith, and occupying a bent or
curved position between the step and door, thus forming a shield or fender to
the wheel. The flexibility of the plate enables it to bend in opening or
closing the door, and to hold the door either open or shut; the edge of the
step is furnished with an india-rubber strip or elastic cushion to prevent
rattling or scratching of the cover, the lower edge of which is curved so as to
catch over the india-rubber. In cases where the distance from the wheel to
the body is short the coupling or loop at bottom of the fender may be
modified to a slot coupling to relieve wholly or partially the fender from undue
flexion. Instead of being coupled to the step the fender may be hinged or
connected to a frame projecting from the carriage and in proximity to the
step, or the fender may be rigid with a flexible web attachment to the
carriage door.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Millward in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd December 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
MILLWARD, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Civil Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of June in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Millward, Her special licence that I, the said John
Millward, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said John Millward, 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 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 "A COMBINED
STEP COVER AND WHEEL FENDER FOR CARRIAGES AND OTHER VEHICLES," a commu

page_text: nication to me from abroad by John Wood Gosling, of Cincinnati, State of
Ohio, United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that. I,
the said John Millward, 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 John Millward, do hereby declare
the nature of the 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 accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to a device for preventing the accumulation of mud
and dust on the steps of carriages and other vehicles, and also for guarding
the clothes of the rider from coming in contact with the wheels on entering
or leaving the vehicle, and consists in attaching to or hinging upon the door
of the carriage a flexible plate of sheet steel or other suitable material, the
lower part of which is fitted with a bar having one end hinged or coupled
to a loop formed in a flange upon that side of the step which corresponds-to-
the hinging of the door. When the door is shut the fender or cover lies
lose along the front edge of the step and curves gradually up to the lower
edge of the door, thereby forming a shield or cover to the step, and when
opening, the lower end of the fender turns on the coupling at the step to a
position, when wide open, about at right angles therewith and occupying a
bent or curved position between the step and door, forming a shield or fender
to the wheel. The flexibility of the plate enables it to bend in opening or
closing the door and to hold the door either open or shut. The edge of the
step is furnished with an india-rubber strip or elastic cushion to prevent
rattling or the scratching of the cover.
'
In cases where the distance from the wheel to the body is short, the
coupling or loop at the bottom of the fender, may be modified to a slot
coupling to relieve wholly or partially the fender from undue flexion. Instead
of being coupled to the step the fender may be hinged or connected to a
frame projecting from the carriage and in proximity to the step, and the-
fender may be rigid, with a flexible web attachment to the carriage door.
"
But in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall. now
proceed more particularly to describe the manner of performing the same,.
and for that purpose shall refer to the several Figures on the accompanying

page_text: Sheet of Drawings, the same letters of reference indicating corresponding
parts throughout all the corresponding Figures.
Figure 1 is a view of part of a carriage showing the combined step cover
and wheel fender as it appears with the carriage door open; Figure 2 is a
view showing the same with the carriage door shut; Figure 3 is an enlarged
view showing the mode of connecting the lower end of the fender to the step;
Figure 4 shows a modification of this coupling and a fender having a web
attachment to the carriage door.
A represents the body of a carriage; B, one of the wheels; C, the door ;
and D, the step with flange d.
This Invention consists in the design and application of the device now
to be described. E is a yielding or flexible plate of sheet steel or other
suitable material, the upper end of which is hinged or otherwise connected
with the lower part of the carriage door, and the lower end of the said plate
'is fitted with a bar F having an eye f which engages with a suitable loop on
the flange d of the step. This arrangement of the flange d with the loop and
eye fallows the plate to turn as upon a hinge in either direction as the door C
may be opened or closed, and the flexibility of the plate E enables it to bend
in the act of opening or closing the door, and its elasticity causes it to hold the
door firmly in either the wide open or closed positions. When the door is
shut the plate E closes over the step D, as shown in Figure 2, and keeps it
clear from the mud or dust thrown from the wheels, thereby serving as a step
cover, and when opened the said plate turns on the connection with the step
and takes the position shown in Figure 1, thus uncovering the step and serving
as a fender to prevent the dress of the person entering the carriage from
coming in contact with the wheel, and also to prevent the door from striking
against the wheel when opened. To preserve the cover from scratching, and
to prevent noise, an india-rubber cushion G is provided and attached to the
front edge of the step by the strip H and rivets or screws 1, I, or other
suitable attachment. The strip H is formed with a lip to turn up the
edge of the rubber so as to form a cushion in the manner shown in Figure 3.
Instead of being pivoted to the step D the lower end of the plate E may be
binged or otherwise coupled to a frame or stay projecting from the carriage
body and passing under or near to the step; and in some cases, as, for instance,
when the distance from the wheel to the body of the carriage is short, the
coupling with the step or with the projecting stay may be provided with slots,
either in the fixed part, or moveable part, or in both, so as to relieve the plate
of the flexion incident to opening or closing the door, and the fender may have
a flexible or web attachment to the carriage door. A modification of this kind

page_text: is shown in Figure 4. The plate E may be painted or covered with leather
or otherwise finished and coated, or it may consist wholly of leather, as may
be preferred.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be carried into effect, I wish it to be understood that I
do not limit myself to the precise details of the construction of this device and
its attachments as herein-before described, as these may be variously modified
without departing from the nature of the Invention; but what I claim as
new, and desire to be secured to me by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent is,―
First, the provision in connection with carriages or other vehicles of a
combined step cover and wheel fender the upper end of which is hinged
or attached to the carriage door, and the lower end of which is pivoted
or coupled to the carriage step or other suitable fixed part of the carriage
near thereto, substantially as and for the purposes herein-before set forth.
Second, the provision of the india-rubber cushion G to the step acting in
combination with the step cover, substantially as and for the purposes herein.
before set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Millward, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
JOHN MILLWARD. (L.S.)