IMPROVEMENTS IN PERAMBULATORS, BATH-CHAIRS, AND SIMILAR VEHICLES."
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Steen, of Ripley, in the County of Derby, for
an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PERAMBULATORS, BATH-CHAIRS, AND
SIMILAR VEHICLES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Steen at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 25th November 1881.
THOMAS STEEN, of Ripley, in the County of Derby. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PERAMBULATORS, BATH-CHAIRS, AND SIMILAR VEHICLES."
This Invention relates to improvements in perambulators, bath-chairs, and the
like vehicles.
Serious accidents to children have happened owing to their perambulators
having been left on inclines, as by the movement of the child, by the wind, or by
other causes, the perambulator has moved off and been overturned.
This Invention consists in the construction of perambulators and bath-chairs
with a locking apparatus for one or both of the carrying wheels, by the use of
which the said wheel or wheels will be prevented from moving, thus securing the
vehicle from moving down an incline.
In carrying this Invention into effect, I place on the boss of the wheel a plate
perforated with one or more holes, and on the axle I place guards in which a bolt
moves freely; this bolt is connected to a lever pivotted to the frame work of the
vehicle. To the frame work I attach a catch plate with a recess into which the
lever can be entered and in which it will be held secure. In connection with the
lever I employ a spring which will act on it to force the bolt into a perforation in
the plate on the wheel boss, the spring acting on the lever as soon as it is released
(by the band of the operator) from the catch plate.
As a modification the spring can be so placed in connection with the lever as to
keep the bolt clear of the hole in the wheel boss, and the bolt be forced into the

page_text: hole in the boss by the operator and retained there by the lever being inserted in
the recess in the catch plate, thus reversing the operation, as firstly above
described.
As a further modification for use with bath-chairs the lever can be connected
with a treadle, and the bolt be slid into its place by the foot of the rider instead
of by the hand of the attendant, as in the case of perambulators above described.
As a further modification the plate on the boss may be a plain disc, and a plain
disc be employed instead of a bolt, which would act as a break to retard the wheel
or wheels only unless sufficient pressure be applied to the lever to stop the wheel
or wheels entirely.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Thomas Steen in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th May
1882.
THOMAS STEEN, of Ripley, in the County of Derby.
PERAMBULATORS, BATH-CHAIRS, AND SIMILAR VEHICLES."
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
This Invention relates to improvements in perambulators, bath-chairs, and the
like vehicles.
Serious accidents to children have happened owing to their perambulators
having been left on inclines, as by the movement of the child, by the wind, or by
other causes, the perambulator has moved off and been overturned.
This Invention consists in the construction of perambulators and bath-chairs
with a locking apparatus for one or both of the carrying wheels, by the use of
which the said wheel or wheels will be prevented from moving, thus securing tho
vehicle from moving down an incline until the wheel is unlocked by the attendant.
In carrying this Invention into effect, I place on the boss of the wheel a plate
perforated with one or more holes, and on the axle I place guards in which a bolt
moves freely; this bolt is connected to a lever pivotted to the frame-work of the
vehicle.
To the frame-work I attach a catch plate with a recess into which the lever can
be entered and in which it will be held secure.
In connection with the lever I employ a spring which will act on it to force the
bolt into a perforation in the plate on the wheel boss, the spring acting on the lever
as soon as it is released (by the hand of the operator) from the catch plate.
As a modification the spring can be so placed in connection with the lever as to
keep the bolt clear of the hole in the wheel, boss, and the bolt be forced into the
hole in the boss by the operator and retained there by the lever being inserted in
the recess in the catch plate, thus reversing the operation as firstly above
described.
As a further modification for use with bath-chairs, the lever can be connected
with a treadle and the bolt be slid into its place by the foot of the rider instead of
by the hand of the attendant, as in the case of perambulators above described.
As a further modification the plate on the boss may be a plain disc, and a plain
disc be employed instead of a bolt, which would act as a break to retard the wheel
or wheels only unless sufficient pressure be applied to the lever to stop the wheel
or wheels entirely.
The accompanying Drawings illustrate my Invention.
Fig. 1 to Fig. 4 inclusive illustrate a perambulator to which my Invention is
applied; Fig. 1 is a side view in elevation; Fig. 2 is a plan; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal
section as taken through the dotted line W, X, (Fig. 2), and Fig. 4 is a transverse
section as taken through the dotted line Y, Z, (Fig. 2). A is the boss of the
wheel; B is a metal ring with seven bolt holes; H is the axle; D, D, are guards
or guides for the bolt fixed to the axle; C is the bolt; E is the hand lever having
a longitudinal slot for the pivot G to allow for the rise and fall of the carriage
body on the springs; G is the pivot for the hand lever E fixed to the frame of the
carriage; J is a guard to preserve the lever E in position; K is a catch plate with
recess L into which the lever E is placed, the said lever being retained therein by
a spring catch, spring, or other ordinary and convenient appliance.
Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, illustrate my Invention as applied to a bath-chair in
which the brake is applied by the foot of the rider as well as or instead of the
arrangement shown in Figs. 1 to 4 above described.

page_text: Fig. 5 is a side view in elevation showing the break with the bolt clear of the
boss; Fig. 6 is a plan; Fig. 7 is an end view as taken through the dotted
line T, V, (Fig. 5), looking from right to left; Fig. 8 is an end view as taken
through the dotted line T, V, (Fig. 5), looking from left to right; Fig. 9 is a side
view in elevation of that part of Fig. 5 to the right of the dotted line T, V, showing
the break apparatus as it appears when the bolt is shot into the boss and the
break thereby applied.
M is the pedal; N is a rod connecting the pedal with the bolt levers; 0, 0¹, are
the bolt levers; Ć is the bolt; D; D, are the bolt guards or guides; B is the metal
ring on the boss A, having eight bolt holes; P is the pedestal carrying the pedal
lever M; Qis the spring acting on the pedal to force it outwards when the
spring catch R is released; R is an ordinary spring catch which retains the
pedal M in position when the carriage is being propelled and the brake not
required. The locking bolt C actuated by the foot of the rider is shown fixed to
the underside of the axle and fitted to tho left wheel, and to the upper side thereof
is shown a similar locking bolt to be actuated by the arrangement of mechanism
shown in Fig. 1 to Fig. 4, and fitted to the right wheel.
In locking the wheel with the hand lever E the lever (shown by the dotted line
in Fig. 4) is disengaged from the slot L in the catch plate K, tho spring F will
then force the lever E into the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4, and the bolt Cinto
one of the holes in the metal ring B by which the wheel will be prevented from
turning, and the perambulator will be secure even on a steep gradient.
In locking the wheel by the foot of the rider by the arrangement of mechanism
shown in Fig. 5 to Fig. 9, the spring catch R will be moved from right to left by
which the pedal M will be released, the spring Q will then force the pedal into the
position shown in Fig. 9 by which the bolt C will be shot into one of the holes in
the metal ring B on the boss A, by which the wheel will be locked and the bath-
chair or other vehicle will be secure even on a steep gradient. To unlock the
wheel the pedal is forced back past the spring catch R, and it is retained in the
position shown in Figs. 5 and 8 by the said spring catch R.
The rod N is so pivotted to (or so connected to) the pedal lever M as that it will
accomodate itself to the varying positions of the radius links O, O¹, and bolt C.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I will observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original,
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent is,-
Improvements in perambulators, bath-chairs, and similar vehicles by locking
the wheel or wheels with a bolt or bolts, disc or discs, applied to the side of the
boss or bosses by a hand lever or pedal lever, substantially as hereinbefore described
and illustrated in Fig. 1 to Fig. 9 of the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Steen, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Eighteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.