New or Improved Adjustable Harness Collar.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Feb., 1889.
Complete Specification Left, 13th Nov., 1889-Accepted, 28th Dec., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Adjustable Harness Collar.
I ALFRED THOMAS RUTTER of No. 24 Darling Street Cape Town in the Colony
of the Cape of Good Hope, Saddler and Harness Maker, do hereby declare the
nature of my invention for a "NEW OR IMPROVED ADJUSTABLE HARNESS COLLAR"
to be as follows:-
:-
My invention consists in a harness collar which may be adjusted by any
unskilled person so as to fit a horse of any size or shape. One of its peculiarities
is that instead of the hames being attached to the collar, they are themselves the
frame work of the collar, to which two pads, or cushions are attached in the place
of the ordinary collar.
In place of the usual strap or joint the hames terminate at their lower extremity
in short projections downwards in the shape of a clamp through each of which is a
hole to receive a clamp screw. The hole through which the clamp screw first passes
is plain and somewhat larger than the other which has a thread to receive the clamp
screw. On the screw and between the two halves of the clamp is a nut to keep
the two halves in the position required. When being used for driving a pair of
horses in a two wheeled cart, I place on the screw between the halves of the
The
clamp a tapped eye with ring attached to which are fastened the pole straps.
upper ends of the hames are extended so that they overlap each other and project
in a curve some six inches (or more if required) above the collar itself, and terininate
in ornamental knobs. These projections are perforated with holes at intervals of
about half an inch, and are fastened together by a screw which passes through the
corresponding holes in each hame, and is secured at the back by a nut. On the
inside of each of the hames I attach a thin iron plate or frame by means of two screws
which project from their upper edge pass through corresponding holes in the hames,
and are fastened on the top by nuts. These plates are bent in the shape of a horse
collar, covered with leather and padded on the inside in the usual manner.
On the inside of the top of the collar just below the intersection of the hames is
a neck plate, bent the shape of the top of a horse's neck, made of thin sheet iron,
covered with leather and padded on the inside.
It is attached to the hames on each
side by a metal fork with a hole through each prong. The hames pass between the
prongs and are fastened to them by a screw which passes through these holes in
the prongs, and also through one of the holes in the projections of the hames above
referred to. The forks are attached to the neck-plate by means of a flange and
hinge or a ball joint, which allow the neck plate to adapt itself to the horse's
movements and thereby obviates the danger of its chafing the animal.
In order that this collar way be used for driving a pair of horses in a two wheeled
cart at the back part of the neck-plate, I fix two uprights supporting a small bar.
Through the loop thus formed runs the bugle strap which is fastened to the bugle bar
and supports the weight of the cart. Around the uprights revolve rollers which
prevent the bugle strap chafing against the uprights.
The length of the collar may be altered by fixing the screw in different sets of
The
corresponding holes in the projecting portions of the hames above mentioned.
neck-plate being moved up or down correspondingly as required and fixed by means
of the screws passing through the holes in the forks and in the hames as above
described.
The collar may be widened or narrowed by means of the clamp screw passing
through the holes in the clamp ends at the bottom of the hames and fixed by the
nut between them as before described

page_text: The pads or cushions may be instantly removed by the screws, and nuts above
mentioned and different ones substituted if required.
Dated at Cape Town this 23rd day of the month of January 1889.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Adjustable Harness Collar.
I, ALFRED THOMAS RUTTER of No. 24 Darling Street, Cape Town in the Colony
of the Cape of Good Hope, Saddler and Harness Maker, 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
-
My invention relates to a construction of harness collar, designed for the purpose
of meeting a long felt want, and supplying an article frequently enquired for from
harness makers namely a collar which may be adjusted by an unskilled person to fit
horses of various shapes and sizes.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a front view of a collar according to my
invention Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the neck pad.
A A are what are termed
the hames which according to this construction constitute the framing of the collar.
Usually these hames are connected together by a point at one end and are fastened
round the collar by a strap at the other, or sometimes they are strapped together at
both ends the collar being of fixed shape and size to which the hames have to be
adapted.
Now according to my invention I adjust the hames to the size and shape of the
animal's neck and adapt the collar to them. For this purpose the upper ends of the
haines are extended so that they project in curves R N some distance which may be
6 inches or more above the the collar crossing each other at C and terminating in orna-
mental knobs N. The curved parts R N may be in one piece with the hame or may
be jointed to the hames by sliding joints at R so that they can be more or less
extended. They are perforated with holes B B at intervals and are held together
by a screw C, having a nut at the back, which screw is passed through such of the
holes as will determine the required length and shape of the hames which have the
ordinary rings D for the reins to pass through and the eyes E for attaching
the traces.
The lower ends of the bames project downwards at Q and terminating in eyes to
form a clamp when secured together by a screw F. This screw passes through a
plain hole in the one eye which is larger than the screw, and it is screwed into the
other eye which is threaded to receive it. Between the eyes Q there is a threaded
eye H having a ring G for attaching the pole straps and there is also a nut G to
secure the screw F in the desired position.
Each of the cushions or pads I of the collar consists of a thin iron plate or frame
which is bent to the shape of an ordinary collar covered outside with leather and
padded on the inside in the usual manner.
Each of the cushion plates is secured to the hames by two screws K, the upper
screw passing through a slotted hole P to allow for adjustment.
The neck pad L consists of a thin iron or steel plate bent as shewn in Fig. 2
covered outside with leather and padded inside.
On each of its inclined sides it has fixed to it a yoke S with a setting screw. The
limbs R N of the bames are passed through these yokes, and the neck pad is secured
in position by tightening the setting screws.
Sometimes where two horses are employed for a two wheeled vehicle, the pole
passes between the horses and terminates in a cross bar, termed a bugle bar in front
of the chests of the horses.

page_text: In order to
In order to support the pole and front of the vehicle, this bugle bar is carried by
straps termed bugle straps passing over the neck pads of the horses.
provide for this, a second yoke M is fixed on each inclined side of the neck plate L,
and the bugle strap is passed through these yokes M, which may have rollers mounted
in them to allow for the play of the straps.
By passing the screw C through different pairs of the holes B the collar may be
lengthened or shortened the neck pad L being moved up and down to a corresponding
extent and fixed where required on the hames.
By tightening or loosening the screw F the collar may be made narrower or
wider.
By unscrewing the screws K the cushions may be readily removed and others may
be substituted. For farther securing the cushions they may be connected by a
strap O fixed to the one cushion and buckled to the other.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1. An adjustable harness collar consisting of a pair of hames having extended upper
ends and their upper and lower ends adjustably connected so as to fit different
sized horses, cushioned plates removeably attached to the hames by screws and a neck
pad adjustably connected to the hames substantially as herein described.
2. An adjustable harness collar consisting of hames having their lower ends
adjustably connected by a screw, while their upper ends are extended so as to cross
each other, such extension being formed with a series of holes through which a screw
is passed for securing them together, collar or cushion plates secured to the hames
by screw bolts passing through holes in the latter, said plates being suitably padded to
act as a collar, and an adjustable neck plate secured to the hames by forked pieces and
screw bolts, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.
3. In an adjustable harness collar the combination of hames A secured together
at bottom by a screw F and at top by a screw passing through holes in extensions
thereof, padded collar or cushion plates I secured to the hames by screws K and an
adjustable neck pad L also secured to the hames substantially as herein described
with reference to the drawings.
Dated this 12th day of November 1889.
ABEL & IMRAI,
Agents for the Applicant.