Ax IMPROVED MODE OF HARNESSING HORSES TO CARRIAGES, GIGS, AND OTHER VEHICLES, AND IN THE APPARATUS OR MEANS EMPLOYED THEREFOR.
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert McHardy, of Edinburgh, in the County
of Mid Lothian, North Britain, for the Invention of "Ax IMPROVED
MODE OF HARNESSING HORSES TO CARRIAGES, GIGS, AND OTHER VEHICLES, AND
IN THE APPARATUS OR MEANS EMPLOYED THEREFOR.“
Sealed the 20th December 1870, and dated the 2nd July 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert McHardy at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 2nd July 1870.
I, ROBERT M'HARDY, of Edinburgh, in the County of Mid Lothian,
North Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVED MODE OF HARNESSING HORSES TO CARRIAGES, GIGS, AND OTHER
VEHICLES, AND IN THE APPARATUS OR MEANS EMPLOYED THEREFOR," to be as
follows, that is to say :-
This Invention, which relates to an improved method of harnessing
horses to carriages, gigs, and other vehicles, and more especially to that
portion of the harness known as the "loop," in which the shafts of
the vehicle are supported, consists in attaching a buckle to each end of
the back strap'
or band, the position of the buckles on the strap
or band being adjustable as desired. To the buckle one end of the
"belly band" or strap is also attached, and on this "belly band" the
66
"

page_text: loops by which the shafts of the vehicle are supported are formed by
passing the other end of the strap or band through the eye of the buckle,
leaving a "slack" or loop for the shaft to pass through. By this
arrangement the loops may be adjusted to suit any diameter of shaft,
and after being so adjusted they are kept in position by a clasp or clip
hinged on the buckle and provided with a pin or stud, which is passed
through a hole in the belly band or "girth." The clasp may be
retained in position by a spring or other suitable contrivance. In lieu
of passing the strap or band completely round the shafts of the vehicle,
and thereby forming the loops, as herein-before set forth, the loops may
be formed by curving the clasps or clips of the buckle, so as to embrace
the outer or inner part of the shafts, and the strap may thereafter be
passed through the buckles, as above set forth; and in lieu of forming
the buckles with clasps or clips to retain the loop at or to adjust it to
the proper size the buckles may have pins or studs formed on them for
that purpose.
It is to be understood that the "back band" and "belly band" may
be made separate or in one piece, as desired; and when in one piece
the loop is formed, as in the former case, by passing the band through
the eye of the buckle, having sufficient "slack" for the shaft to pass
therethrough; or the loop may be dispensed with, and the combined
back and belly band attached to the shafts of the vehicle by means
of pins or studs fixed to the shafts, these pins or studs being passed
through holes or openings in the band. In order to retain the band
on the pin or studs a spring clasp may be employed, or the pins or
studs may be formed with spring heads or with moveable T heads,
which on the band being passed over them are capable of being turned
round, thereby retaining the band in position. The T headed pins or
studs above set forth may also be employed in attaching the traces to
the shafts of the vehicle in lieu of existing arrangements.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Robert McHardy in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 30th December 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
MOHARDY, of Edinburgh, in the County of Mid Lothian, North Britain,
send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the 34th year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Robert M°Hardy, Her special license, that I, the
said Robert McHardy, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Robert M Hardy, my executors, administrators, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thercafter 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 "AN IMPROVED MODE OF HARNESSING
HORSES TO CARRIAGES, GIGS, AND OTHER VEHICLES, AND IN THE APPARATUS OR
MEANS EMPLOYED THEREFOR," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Robert McHardy, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and scal, 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 Robert McHardy, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
-
My said Invention, which relates to an improved method of harnessing
horses to carriages, gigs, and other vehicles, and more especially to that
portion of the harness in which the shafts of the vehicle are supported,
consists under one arrangement in attaching to the sides of the shafts
plates of metal or other material, the said plates being provided with
one or more pins or studs, which when the horse is yoked to the vehicle
are passed through holes or openings formed in the "back band" or
strap, and the said band or strap is retained in position by means of
another plate which is hinged at one end to the plate herein-before
mentioned, and when closed over the back strap or band the upper plate
is firmly held by a thumb screw or other suitable contrivance. Or the
"back band" or strap may be retained on the pins or studs by providing
these pins or studs with moveable T or crooked heads, which after the band

page_text: is passed over them are capable of being turned round, thereby retaining
the band in position, or spring headed split pins or studs may be em-
ployed for that purpose, as also may pins driven into or otherwise held
in the shaft be employed; but I prefer to use any of the foregoing
arrangements for attaching the "back band" to the shafts in lieu of
that last mentioned.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I
now proceed more particularly to set forth the system, mode, or manner
in or under which the same is or may be used or practically carried into
effect, that is to say:―
On the Sheet of Drawings hereunto appended I have illustrated several
different methods of carrying into practice my said Invention of improve-
ments in the mode of harnessing horses to carriages, gigs, and other
vehicles, and which improvements more especially relate to those portions
of the harness in which the shafts of the vehicle are supported. The
said shafts under one modification are supported by the arrangement
of clasps or holders shewn in side elevation at Figure 1 of the accom-
panying Drawings, in enlarged transverse section at Figure 2, and by the
enlarged detached view at Figure 3. This clasp or holder consists of two
metal plates a and b hinged together at one end, as shewn more
particularly at c, Figures 1 and 3. The under plates a are attached to
the shafts by means of screw bolts or rivets, and are each provided with
a pin or stud d, which is passed through one of the holes formed in the
back band e, as shewn at Figures 1 and 2. When the band is so placed
in position the upper plates 6 of the shaft holders are closed over the
band e, and retained in position by the T headed thumb bolt i, as shewn
at Figure 1, or the plates b may be otherwise retained in place. In lieu
of forming the shaft holders with a single pin or stud, as shewn at
Figures 1, 2, and 3, several pins or studs may be formed thereon, as
shewn in plan at Figure 4. By this arrangement the "back band"
may be shifted either forwards or backwards as far as may be required.
In lieu of forming the pin or stud or pins or studs in one piece with
the under plates of the shaft holders, as shewn on the annexed Sheet of
Drawings, they may be formed in one piece with the upper plates, or
they may be attached to the upper or under plates of the shaft holders
by means of a pin passed through suitable projections formed on the
said upper or under plates, and also through a hole or eye formed on
the end of the holding pin or stud, as shewn in plan at k, Figure 5.,

page_text: By this arrangement the pin or stud k is rendered movcable, so that if
the horse should run out from between the shafts of the vehicle the
pink will move into such a position that the back band will slip off the
pin. When the horse is yoked to the vehicle the pin or stud k is held in
position by the upper plate m of the shaft holder.
At Figure 6 is shewn in side elevation, and at Figure 7 in transverse
section, another method of fixing the shaft holders to the shafts in
contradistinction to the method of attaching them by means of screw
bolts or rivets, as herein-before described, Under this modification brass
or other metal plates n are fixed on the shafts, as shown. The said
plates n are formed with grooves r, extending longitudinally as shown at
Figure 6, into which dovetailed or T headed projections 8 formed on the
backs of the under plate o of the shaft holders are introduced, as shewn
in transverse section at Figure 7, and the shaft holders are therein held
firmly in position. The grooves r are made of sufficient length to allow
the shaft holders to be adjusted to any required position on the shafts
by means of screw thumb bolts, or a spring stopper may be placed at
one or both ends of the holder, which when the springs are pressed
allows the holders to slide in the grooves r, or the holders may be
retained in position by any other suitable contrivance, or they may be
allowed to slide freely in the said grooves 7.
At Figure 8 is shewn a side elevation, and at Figure 9 a transverse
section of another modification of my improved shaft holder. Under
this arrangement a ring or band of metal a, having a pin or stud fixed
thereto is caused to encircle the shaft as shewn more particularly at
Figure 9. The said rings or bands a are placed loosely upon the shafts,
and after being adjusted to any required position thereon they are firmly
fixed or secured by means of thumb bolts 6 as shewn, or they may be
otherwise fixed. This holder is also provided with an upper plate e
which is secured over the back band or strap (after the said band or
strap has been adjusted on the pin or stud) in the same manner as is
herein-before described in reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3. The ring or
band a may or may not be provided with a dovetailed or T headed
projection sliding in a groove formed for that purpose on the shaft, as
shewn at d, Figure 9.
In lieu of employing shaft holders composed of two plates hinged
together at one end as herein-before set forth, the shafts may be sup:
ported on the back band by merely providing them with pins or studs b

page_text: as shewn at Figure 10, the inner ends of each of which is tapped or
driven into the shaft as shewn at a, and the outer ends of the pins
or studs are split so as to constitute springs. When the said pins or
studs are being passed through the holes formed in the back band, the
two points c and d are pressed together as shown in dotted lines, and
being released after being so passed through they assume the position
indicated at Figure 10, thereby retaining the back band in position, or a
pin with a moveable T or crooked head may also be attached to each of
the shafts in order to support the said shaft on the back band or strap,
in contradistinction to any of the methods herein-before described.
At Figure 11 is shewn in side elevation, and at Figure 12 in transverse
section, another method of supporting the shaft on the back band or
strap. This arrangement consists in attaching a rod a to one side of
each shaft by means of pins or hinge joints as shewn at b, Figure 11.
On each of the rods a a buckle c is supported, eyes being formed on the
backs of the buckles for that purpose, as shewn at d, Figure 12. The
back band is passed through the eyes of the buckles and retained in
position therein by the finger c, and the said buckles are placed loose on
the rods a, so as to slide freely to any required position along the said
rods a.
The rods a, at the ends opposite to the hinge joints b, are held
close to the shafts by means of pins & as shewn at Figure 11, so that
by removing the pins and turning the rods through an are of a circle
in a horizontal or nearly a horizontal plane the buckles may be slipped
off when required. In lieu of attaching the buckles c to the shaft by
the arrangement now last described, T headed or dovetailed projections
may be formed on the backs of each of them, and the buckles c caused
to slide in grooves similar to those shewn at Figures 6 and 7.
At Figure 13 another method of retaining the back band a on the
pins or studs is shown applied. This arrangement consists in employing
a strap or band b, one end of which is fixed to the shaft, and after the
back band a has been adjusted on the pin or stud the other end of the
strap or band b is passed through an eye e, and after being drawn tight
is secured by a buckle d, as shewn, or the said back band may be
retained on the shafts so as to give them the necessary support in any
other suitable manner which may be a mere modification of this
Invention, as it is obvious that the shaft holders herein-before described
and shewn on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings may be still further
modified, as, for example, in lieu of hinging the upper plate of the

page_text: holder to the under one in the manner herein-before set forth, it may be
fixed thereto by a pin as shewn at a, Figure 14, so that in opening or
shutting the upper plate 6 it is moved through an arc of a circle in a
vertical direction.
It is further to be understood that I do not confine myself to employ
the said holders for the mere purpose of supporting the shafts of vehicles
as they are also applicable to other parts of harness, such, for example,
as the tracing, backing, and kicking straps.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the
system, mode, or manner in or under which the same is or may be
used or practically carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion
that although it is set forth in one part of the Provisional Specification
of this Invention that it was intended to support the shafts of the
vehicle in a shaft "loop" formed by passing the back band or by
passing a combined back and belly band around the shaft and through a
buckle of a peculiar construction, it is now preferred to support the
shafts by one or other of the arrangements herein-before described and
shewn on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed as being at once the
simpler and more complete method of supporting the said shafts, I there-
fore lay no claim to the method of supporting the shafts in a loop formed
on the back band and in conjunction with the buckle above mentioned,
but what I do consider as novel and original, and therefore claim as the
Invention secured to me by the hercin-before in part recited Letters
Patent is, the arrangement or construction of the several holders
herein-before described and shown on the appended Sheet of Drawings
or any mere modification thereof, and the employment of the said
holders for any of the purposes herein-before specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert McHardy, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of December One
thousand eight hundred and seventy.
ROBERT MCHARDY. (L.S.)