Safety Harness and Vehicles for the Instantaneous Detaching of Animals from the same whether in Motion or otherwise.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Mar., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 30th Dec., 1893-Accepted, 10th Mar., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Safety Harness and Vehicles for the Instantaneous Detaching of
Animals from the same whether in Motion or otherwise.
1, WILLIAM VERO Saddle and Harness Maker of Long Street Atherstone in
the County of Warwick do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
And has for its object the instantaneous release, of horses or other animals from
vehicles in times of danger, that is to say when they are running away, restless, or
have fallen down, & to effect this I fix an apparatus, or spring levers or bolts
made of metal or other materials to the saddle, or pad, or any other arrangement
used for the purpose of a saddle, viz., to hold the back band & tugs which carry
the weight of the shafts & traces, also the crupper dee, to which the crupper is
attached for the purpose of keeping the saddle in place, & through which the
loin strap passes to hold the breechband, also the kicking strap, or other fastenings
for backing the vehicle. The backband which is now made in one length &
passes through the trough or tree of the saddle, I make in two lengths with metal
ends, & holes made through which the levers or bolts pass as aforementioned.
The crupper dee 1 also make of metal, with a hole at one end for the levers or bolts
to pass through.
I make the ends of the backband, & crupper dee, to meet in the centre of the
saddle tree, which are held there by the levers or bolts till the same are drawn,
which releases all the parts heretofore mentioned. I also attach a spring lever
or apparatus, to the drafts of the hames or collars, to which I couple the ends of
the traces, hame tugs, or clips, so when the lever is drawn it at once disconnects the
traces from the hames or collar.
The hame drafts are usually made of metal in one piece, with a hole through or
a hook for the purpose of attaching the traces to the hames-I make these drafts
of two or more pieces of metal.
In pair horse harness the hames are fastened together at the bottom with a long
metal welded link to which the pole straps or chains are fastened & used to back
the vehicle, this metal link I make in two or more parts with an hinge or hinges,
& a spring slide, so that when the slide is drawn it causes the link to open, &
releases the pole straps or chains, & leaves the hames on the collar.
I also disconect the coupling reins by similar meaus as already described.
All this apparatus, spring levers, slides or bolts are attached & connected to an
arrangement which 1 call a safety rein & which the driver has complete control
of, so that with one sharp pull of the rein he can in a moment disconnect the
animal from the vehicle, & every part of, the harness which is attached to the
vehicle, so the animal only takes with it the bridle, collar, hames, saddle &
portion of the reins.
But it would be dangerous to detach animals from vehicles with two wheels only
when in motion, as it would let the vehicle tip backwards or forwards, & might
injure the passengers; so to prevent this & perfect my invention I place one or more
props or legs with wheels or rollers, springs, hinges, & bolts underneath the
shafts & at the back of the vehicle, so that they may be folded up underneath the
vehicle which may be loosed & set in position by the driver at any moment, &
thus prevent it tipping either ways. But while for some reasons I prefer this
arrangement, I do not bind myself to it as for instance by fixing two or more
uprights on the axil I can concentrate & balance the weight of the body of
the vehicle on the axil, so as to prevent it tipping backwards or forwards & thus

page_text: relieve the animal from all weight except that of the shafts, at the extreme ends of
which I insert or place small wheels or rollers with springs, so that when they fall
to the ground it prevents them stopping suddenly & thus makes it perfectly safe
to detach the animal from any vehicle whether in motion or otherwise.
Dated this 27th day of March 1893.
WILLIAM VERO.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Safety Harness and Vehicles for the Instantaneous Detaching of
Animals from the same whether in Motion or otherwise.
I WILLIAM VERO, of Long Street Atherstone, in the County of Warwickshire,
Saddler, 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:-
This invention has for its object, the instantaneous release of horses or other
animals from vehicles in times of danger, that is to say, when they have bolted,
or are restless, or have fallen down. This is effected by the improved safety
apparatus as hereinafter described in connection with the harness and with the
vehicle and with both combined.
In order to make this my invention to be more clearly understood, I have
appended hereunto illustrative sheets of drawings, upon which are figures and
numbers of reference similar numbers referring throughout the several views to
the same thing or part.
Fig. 1, is a general view of my safety arrangement as applied to a one horse sct
of harness.
Figs. 2, to 11, are detached detailed views of the same.
Fig. 12, shows my safety arrangement as applied to a pair horse set of harness.
Figs. 13, to 20, show details of same.
Figs. 21, and 22, show my safety apparatus applied to a vehicle.
Fig. 23, is a detail of Figs. 21 and 22.
24, is the saddle or pad, which of course may be variously shaped so long as it
performs the function of a saddle, 25 is the backband, 26 is the tug, 27 is the traces.
28 is the crupper dee, 29 is the crupper, 30 is the loin strap, 31 is the breechband,
32 is the kicking strap.
The backband (which is usually made in one piece and passes through the trough
or tree 33, of the saddle), I now make in two parts 25, 25, with metal hinged like
ends 34 and 35 (see Figs. 2, 3 and 7), having holes through which the lever bolt 36
passes. The crupper dee 28, I also make of metal having an open slot hole 37 at
one end into which passes the front end 38 of the lever 39. This lever 39, is
carried upon or jointed to the slide 40 at 41, its rear end being shaped hookwise
at 42.
Upon the saddle tree 33, are fixed two springs 43, 43, the lower part 44 of whose
front end is shaped so as to fall into the gap 45 of the crupper dee 28, whilst the
upper part 46 of the said springs are n ade to fall into the bevilled recess 47 of the
bolt 40. It will now therefore be seen assuming all the parts to be put together as
shown in Figs. 2 and 3, that if the releasing rein 48 were to be pulled, the lever 39
and slide 40, would be withdrawn from the tree a given distance (as seen in
Figs. 6 to 9), the pin 36 would be drawn clear of the hinged ends 25, 25ª, and in
so doing the springs 43, 43, would be expanded (along the sides of the bolt 40), and
thus release their ends 44, 44, from the crupper dee. Thus the backband, tugs,
crupper and breechband &c., would completely be freed from the animal.
Again. This releasing rein 48, is further continued on from the ring 49 to the
hame drafts of the collar, in order to detach at the same time the traces from the
said collar. This I effect as follows:-51, is the hame on the collar, 52 is the draft

page_text: to which the trace 27 is attached. This draft is made with a joint (sce
Figs. 10 and 11), which corresponds to fitting 53, upon the end of the trace 27, and
through this joint the pin 54 passes. It will therefore be readily seen that when
the rein 48 is drawn, the pin 54 will be withdrawn from the draft joint, and the
traces will fall away simultaneously with the other parts as herein described.
In pair horse harness it is also necessary to simultaneously disconnect the animals
from the pole of the vehicle. This I affect as follows:-See Figs. 12, 17 and 18;
55 is the pole, 51, 51%, are the hames on the collar which are coupled together at
their lower ends by the link 56, to which the pole chain 57 is connected. The front
part of this link 56, is formed by a hinged part 58, which is held in its working
position as seen in Fig. 17, by a sliding sleeve 59, being half way upon the link
proper and half way upon the hinged portion. While thus held it forms to all
intents and purposes a solid link and retains the chain 57. It will be noticed, that
the releasing rein (or cords) 48*, further extends from the draft pin 54 and is
connected to the sliding sleeve 59. Thus when the said rein 48" is pulled, the
sliding sleeve 59 is withdrawn from off the part 58, and the chain 57 is then free.
This slide 59 is preferably provided with a suitable spring whose tendency shall
be to keep it upon both parts.
In Figs. 13, 14, 15 and 16, 1 show a modified arrangement of the back strap or
trace carriers and crupper dee, detaching mechanism, in which the back strap
or trace carrier, two parts 25° and 25°, are each provided at their upper ends with
a hole through which the retaining pin 36°, passes. The crupper dee plate 28*,
has also a hole through which the said pin 36", simultaneously passes. This pin is
carried upon and actuated by the lever 60, having the right angled tail piece 61,
upon which engages the releasing rein 48". In this case I also show a modification
where it is not necessary that the back strap should be entirely withdrawn from
the saddle (as in Figs. I to 9), and hence provide that the trace tugs 26", shall be
held by a jointed loop 62, whose free end 63, lies within the tubular part 64 of the
saddle. It will now be seen however that upon pulling the rein 48", the pin 36°
is withdrawn from the backstrap, and the crupper dee, which frees the latter, and
permits the former to fall down sufficiently for the traces to fall free of the
saddle &c.
Го
I further provide that the reins, (particularly in the case of pair horses), shall be
freed from the animal when desired. At a suitable point in the reins I provide the
safety buckles 65 (see Figs. 12, 19 and 20). Upon the buckle frame is a sliding
cross bar 66, which carries the tongue 67, and which is kept in its forward position
as seen in Fig. 19, by the springs 68, 68. To this buckle the one end of the rein 69
is secured, while the other rein 70, is buckled thereto in the ordinary manner.
the cross bar 66, is secured the one end of the pull cord 71, which latter is carried
to within reach of the driver, and may be connected to or form part of the safety
rein 48 before mentioned. Upon pulling this cord 71, the bar 66, is drawn back
and with it the tongue 67, as seen in Fig. 20, when as a matter of course the rein 70
would at once be withdrawn from off the tongue, and thus only a short length left
on the animal. It will be obvious that this arrangement of slip buckle will be
useful for the sudden or simultaneous release of animals &c. under conditions other
than those of fright.
To further perfect this my safety apparatus I arrange that when the animal is
thus detached from a two wheeled vehicle the body of the said vehicle shall remain
in or
near the usual borizontal position. This I effect as follows:-See
Figs. 21, 22, and 23;-72 is the body of the vehicle, 73 is the shafts, 74 is the
wheel axle, 75 is the pivot or centre upon which the body of the vehicle swings
(that is, hung) 76, and 77, are upright posts attached to the body 72, having at
their lower ends rollers 78 and 79. In the footstep 80 I preferably make a slot
hole 81, (see Fig. 23) through which is threaded the upright 77, and thereby
making it more firm. I also provide rollers 82 at the ends of the shafts. Upon
the upright 76 I may or may not place the brake block 83, to be pressed against
the wheel 84. To the axle 74 is rigidly secured the arm or link 85 to the

page_text: lower end of which is secured the one end of the springs 86 and 87, their ends.
being secured to the body 72.
It will therefore be seen that when the animal is released as before described,
the shafts will fall to the ground, as shown in Fig. 22, but that the sudden shock
and their tendency to dig into the ground will be lessened; also that the pull of
the spring 87 will ensure the front of the vehicle leaning forward so that the
posts 77, will rest upon the ground, but without shock by reason of the yielding of
the springs 86 and 87. In case however the vehicle should from some cause be
over balanced in the reverse direction the posts 76 would similarly rest upon the
ground, with the same result. It will be further seen that in a vertical line, when
the vehicle is thrown forward as shown in Fig. 22, the centre 75 and with it of
course the body 72, is thrown forward somewhat in advance of the axle of the
wheel, and therefore the brake block 83 being rigidly attached to the said body,
it is necessarily thereby thrown or pressed against the wheel as shown, and arrests
its motion, such as when it has been released in going down a hill &c.
The details of the springs 88 and 89, and also the posts 76 and 77, and
springs 86 and 87 &c. may be variously modified without departing from the nature
of this my invention, but,
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this my
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The combination and arrangement of mechanism constituting the back band
and crupper dee releasing apparatus substantially as herein before described and set
forth upon the drawings in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9, and the modification
shown in Figs. 12, 13, 14, 15 & 16.
2. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the hame draft
releasing mechanism substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated upon
the drawings in Figs. 10 and 11.
3. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the pole chain
releasing mechanism as hereinbefore described and shown upon the drawings in
Figs. 17 and 18.
4. The combination and arrangement of rein or strap releasing buckle as
described and shown upon the drawings in Figs. 19 and 20.
5. The combination and arrangement of safety apparatus applied to a vehicle
substantially as described and illustrated upon the drawings in Figs. 21 and 22,
that is to say
-The combination with the vehicle 72, of the springs 88, and 89,
substantially as arranged of the link 85, springs 86 and 87, and posts 76 and 77,
with their rollers 78, and 79, and with or without the block 83, all arranged after
the manner described and shown.
6. The general combination and arrangement of the safety harness releasing
mechanism as applied to one horse, or as applied to two horse harness, as described
and set forth upon the drawings.
7. The general combination and arrangement of the safety harness releasing
mechanism with the vehicle safety mechanism substantially as set forth and
described.
Dated this 29th day of December 1893.
CHARLES T. POWELL,
Applicant's Agent.