mprovements in Apparatus for Transmitting an Elastic Thrust or Pull to the Pole of a Carriage and for Braking the Front Wheels.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Jan., 1899-Accepted, 11th Mar., 1899
mprovements in Apparatus for Transmitting an Elastic Thrust or
Pull to the Pole of a Carriage and for Braking the Front Wheels.
I, HANS FRIEDLAENDER, of Alt-Langerwisch, near Michendorf (Government
District Potsdam,), in the Empire of Germany, Landowner, 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:-
The arrangements of an elastic medium such as have been hitherto used,
placed between the harness and the carriage, in various kinds of conveyances have
relation exclusively to the pulling efforts of the animals that is they are essentially
arranged upon the principle that when the latter begin to pull their effort is
increased only by degrees until it reaches what is required by the weight of the
load.
For the case however where the animal has to exert a push backwards such as
when moving the carriage backwards, or as is more often the case when going
down a steep hill it has to regulate and resist the spontaneous effort of the load
to roll down, nothing has as yet been contrived. And yet such is just the
case in which an elastic medium or buffer intervening between the load and the
force is of the greater importance, as the exertion of the animal is not the most
usual one, but is of a kind for which the whole bodily structure of the animal
and its harness are quite unsuited. In fact the load is now made to bear against
the neck of the animal a part the shape and structure of which is quite unadapted
to bear it. To give sonie ease to the animal at this place, as one might say
between the action and the re-action, to insert an elastic piece or buffer is the
purpose of the present invention.
The invention consists essentially of an elastic medium for the pulling of the
conveyance a similar one for the pushing of it back and an arrangement for
bringing into action a brake against the rolling motion when the latter medium
is excessively compressed so that the animal would be no longer able to resist
the force and would be pushed forward by the load pressing behind it.
It will be fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings:-
Fig. 1, longitudinal section.
Fig. 2, ground plan.
The pole of the carriage rests in the well known way between the two
arms which are rigidly connected in any manner with the axle of the front
wheels. At the end of the pole a exactly in a line with its axis there is a bar d
attached, which carries the piston e and at its further end the disc f and the
fork g. The piston e moves in the upper open end of a cylinder h which is fast to
the axle c. Between the end plate of this cylinder, which serves as a guide to
the rod d and the piston o there is a spiral spring i and between it and the disc f
there is an indiarubber buffer k inserted. The fork 7 embraces the inner ends
of two double-armed levers 7, the outer ends of which carry the brake blocks m
and the fulcrums of which are on the ends of the stays n which are attached to
the arms b. o is the turntable of the carriage resting either upon the arms b

page_text: only or on these and the cylinder hand p are the front springs for the body
of the carriage q. The holes in the end of the pole through which pass the
bolts which are fixed through the arms b are made oval so that longitudinal
movement backwards or forwards of the pole between these bearings is allowable.
If the conveyance fitted with these arrangements is drawn forwards the movement
only begins when the compression of the buffer is equal to the intensity of the
resistance of the load while at rest and thus in a manner which is elastic to
the animal. The same thing occurs when the animal has to move the load
backwards or otherwise. When on a steep road the spontaneous rolling of the
load is to be opposed and held in check the spiral spring i comes into action and
behaves as an elastic medium between the force and the load. When its com-
pression reaches a certain point it approaches the limit of effort which the animal
can exert, then the brake arrangement comes into action and liberates the animal
from its critical position.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
1. Providing the poles a of carriages of all kinds with elastic media such as
springs and india-rubber buffers acting in a direction longitudinally of the
pole so that when the team pulls forward or when it pushes backward against
the load spontaneously rolling down a steep road an elastic pull or thrust of the
pole is produced and in case of the latter being excessive a braking of the front
wheels of the carriage in question is effected.
2. In a carriage the combination and arrangement of the several parts sub-
stantially as described and shown.
Dated this 17th day of January 1800
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
6, Bank Street, Manchester, Patent Agents.