IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY RELEASING HORSES FROM CARRIAGES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention
of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY RELEASING HORSES FROM
CARRIAGES." -A communication from abroad by Johusa William
Glover, of Mount Savage, Carter County, State of Kentucky, United
States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville
Clark at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 16th November 1875.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
5 County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY RELEASING
HORSES FROM CARRIAGES," to be as follows:-

page_text: the horses from a carriage in the event of the vehicle being suddenly
overturned, or other cause necessitating their release.
According to this Invention a spring catch bolt is arranged to slide
at each end of the whippletree, upon which the ends of the traces are
engaged, the catch bolts being connected to cords passing over guide
pulleys to the driver's box, where a weight is attached to the cord, so
that in case the carriage overturns said weight will fall and pull the
cord so as to automatically draw back the catch bolts, and set the traces
free, and thus prevent the overturned vehicle from being dragged along
the ground by the frightened horses.
In combination with this self-detaching apparatus hold back clips are
employed, which are mounted on the shafts, and serve to free the hold
back straps at the same time.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letter Patent,
filed by the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 28th April 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in
the thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Alexander Melville Clark,
Her special license that I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Alexander Melville Clark, 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 "_IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY

page_text: RELEASING HORSES FROM CARRIAGES," a communication to me from abroad
by Joshua William Glover, of Mount Savage, Carter County, State of
Kentucky, United States of America, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, 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 Alexander Melville Clark, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say :-
This Invention consists of spring catches for detaching the traces by
a cord passing over guide pulleys and up into the carriage box, where a
weight is attached for automatically detaching in case the carriage is
suddenly overturned, and the driver prevented from pulling the cord.
Figure 1 is a transverse section of the whiffletree and shaft cross bar on
line x, x, Figure 2, and it also shows the weight for self-detaching the
traces; and Figure 2 is a plan of the shafts, and a horizontal section of
the whiffletree.
A represents the spring catch bolts in the whiffletree B for detaching
the traces by the cord D passing over guide pulleys C, and up into the
carriage box, where a weight Ę is attached, so that in case the carriage
overturns, the weight will fall and pull the cord, so as to automatically
let the traces free, and thus prevent the overturned carriage from being
dragged along the ground by the frightened horses; F represents the
hold back clips which are employed in combination with this self-
detaching apparatus to free the hold back straps at the same time.
Having described the nature of the Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to
be protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the
spring catch bolts A, cord D, pulleys C, and weight E, combined and

page_text: arranged with the whiffletree of a carriage for automatically detaching
the traces when the carriage turns over, substantially as specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of April,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
six.