US516762A - Awning or curtain for open cars - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

B. T. BURRoWBsf v AWNING OR CURTAIN POR OPEN GARS.' 10.516,762. Patented Mar. 2o, 1894.-

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llmbvhliwwllj N UNITED STATES `'PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD fr. BURRowEs, or PORTLAND, MAINE.

AWNING OR CURTAINvFVOR OPEN CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 516,762, dated March 20, 1894.

Application tiled May 26, 1893.

To if/ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD T. BUEEowEs, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Portland, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Awnings or Curtains for Open Cars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention is especially adapted for streetand other railwaycars commonly termed open cars, such cars being constructed without sides and provided with posts for supporting the roof, and located at either end of the seats which extend cross wise of a car. Curtains are required for protection of passengers from the sun and rain upon such cars, but owing to the strong wind to which such curtains would sometimes be subjected, the difficulty heretofore has been to devise a practical and inexpensive method for properly securing the curtains at their sides without seriously interfering with theingress and egress of passengers.

The object of my invention is to produce the result desired in a curtain for cars of thel above description in as cheap and effective a manner as possible.

To this end my invention consists in the various novel features and construction of `.the attachments to a spring actuated awning or curtain adapted to shut out sun and rain from open railway cars, to be fully set forth in the following specification and claims and clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, ot' which-- Figure 1. represents a broken elevation of a portion of an open street car, having my improvements attached. Fig. 2. isa sectional plan of one of the posts supporting the roof of a car, and provided with grooves in which are shown the edges of two of my improved awnings. Fig. 3. shows those parts illustrated in Fig.2,in modified form. Fig. 4. isa cross-section of the lower edge of an awning or curtain inclosing a curtain stick to be hereinafter eX- plained, and one of -my improved pendants for operating the curtain at either side or the bottom; the latter being shown in elevation. Fig. 5. is a broken elevation of a poi-tion of a serai no. 475,620. (No man.)

curtain or awning, with its stiffening bar or .stick at its bottom and the pendants.

Like reference letters denotes corresponding parts throughout the various views.

A, is the floor of an open street car.

B, are seat supports, C, being the reversible backs, and D, are the posts supporting the roof E.

.My improved awnings or curtains F, are mounted at their top upon spring actuated rollers G, which differ from the ordinary spring curtain roller onlyin the matter of the spring which requires to be considerably stiffer or stronger.

At the bottom of the awning or curtain F, is attached a curtain stick H, which is formed hollow and contains spring actuated holding mechanism such as described in United States Letters Patent to Hall, No. 453,409, dated June 2, 1891, and No. 483,490, dated September 7, 1892, and also patents issued to myself, No. 476,783, dated June 14, 1892, and No. 493,885, dated March 2l, 1893; the extension tip h, of these curtain sticks I-l, moving in grooves d, provided in the posts D, as seen in Fig. 3.

It may behere mentioned that the various views in the drawings are not made on the same scale;-Figs. 2 and 3, for instance are on a much larger scale than in Fig. 1, and the parts shown in Figs. 4 and 5 are yet larger than Figs. 2 and 3.

The awnings or curtains F, are made double or in two thicknesses of material and between these at proper intervals are inserted exible steel strips I, which may be about one eighth of an inch thick and one half inch wide, edges rounded and galvanized to prevent unnecessary wear or discoloration of the cloth,

of whichthe curtains -are made.

The awnings or curtains F, are made wide enough to reach within the groove d, in order to exclude rain from the car, and if permitted to rub on either side of the groove when raised or lowered they would'wear too rapidly to be of practical value: ,To prevent this I pass a copper rivet J, through both thicknesses of the curtain F, and the flexible steel strips I, at a point near each end of said strip, so that the round heads of said rivets come in contact with the sides of said groove instead of the curtain material. The edges of the curtains or awnings F, would have also a' tend- IOO ency to wear ragged very rapidly it' allowed to scrape against the bottom of the grooves d, while being operated, and to obviate this difficulty I allow the ends of the exible strips 5 I, to project slightly beyond the edge of a curtain, as seen best in Fig. 2, and take the wear in that direction instead oi' the curtain. The extension tips h, maybe formed integral with or attached to the rods h', shown in sccxo tion Fig. 5, and the latter are operated by the pendants K. These pendants may be of the form shown in the patents previously mentioned herein, but as the awnings or curtains for open cars are as likely to be required 1 5 to be operated upon one side as upon the other, some such form of pendant as for instance the substantially heart shaped pendant shown in Fig. 4, will be found convenient, as the eX- tensions 7c, are handy to grasp at either side zo when the curtain is below the operator. The bars I, hold the awning or curtain F, at all times within the grooves (l, and effectively prevent its collapsing.

When building a car with a view to the z5 use of my improved awnings or spring actuated curtains, the posts D, will have the grooves cl, formed in their sides as seen in Fig. 2;--but in applying my curtains to old cars, cleats, D', are secured to the posts D, 3o which form the grooves for the curtains.

The curtains maybe made of thin material and double for their entire length, or they may be formed of thicker material, and narrow strips of the same be sewed across at proper intervals to form pockets for inclosing 35 the met-al bars I, which in either construction are not in view from either side.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. A spring actuated awning or curtain for to open cars, provided with pockets, a flexible piece of material within each pocket, the ends of which project slightly beyond the edges of the curtain, and a projection upon each side of the curtain near each end of each rod, 45 whereby the edges of the curtain are prevented from coming in contact with the posts of the car, and means for securing the curtain at any desired point, substantially as set forth.

2. A spring actuated awning or curtain for 5o open cars, provided with transverse pockets, aflexible piece of material in each pocket, the ends of which projectslightly beyond the curtain, and a rivet through the two thicknesses of the curtain forming the pocket and 55 through the piece of material, near each end, whereby the edges of the curtain are prevented from coming in contact with the posts of the car, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in 6o presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD T. BURROWES.

Witnesses:

JOHN F. A. MERRILL, ALBERT E. NEAL.

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