Go-cart.

Application filed April 4, 1911. Serial No. 618,836.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, William Boyens, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, and residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings 5 and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in GoCarts, of which the following is a specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it., appertains to make and 10 use the same.

This invention relates to go-carts and the object thereof is to provide an improved device of this class which may be folded compactly together in the form of a dress15 suit-case so as to facilitate the packing thereof in a small space, and the carrying or shipping thereof from one point to another; a further object being to provide a device of the class specified which may be 20 quickly and easily set up for use and which when in use is provided with a canopy which may be adjusted into different positions and which also forms a part of the dress-suit-case.

The. invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the. separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters 30 in each of the views, and in which:—

Figure 1 is a sectional· side view of my improved go-cart and showing the parts thereof set up for use; Fig. 2 a vertical transverse section on the line 2—2 of Fig. 35 1; Fig. 3 a central longitudinal section showing the parts of the go-cart folded together in the form of a dress-suit case; Fig. 4 a bottom plan view of the go-cart as shown in Fig. 3 with the bottom of the 40 dress-suit case removed; Fig. 5 a transverse sectional view on the line 5—5 of Fig. 4 with parts omitted and parts indicated in dotted lines, and; Fig. 6 a perspective view on a reduced scale showing the dress-suit 45 case form of my improved go-cart.

In the practice of my invention, I provide an oblong rectangular box or casing a, one side, the bottom side as shown in the drawing, is closed by a fabric or other flexible 50 sheet or apron a² detachably connected with said box or casing a by means of button or ball knobs a³ connected with the box or casing, and button holes or socket members formed in or connected with the sheet a²55 and adapted to receive said button or ball knobs. The other or top side of the box or casing is closed by a cover aⁱ, and the cover a⁴ is provided at one end thereof, and on the opposite sides thereof, adjacent to said end, with button or ball knobs a⁵ similar to so those, at a³, and also adapted as hereinafter described to engage corresponding button holes or socket members a^s formed in or connected with the sheet a².

Within the box or casing a is an angular 65 frame b which is secured therein in any desired manner and which closely fits the inner side walls of said box or casing, and said frame is closer to the top of said box or casing than to the bottom thereof, and a 70 similar angular frame c is also secured in the top of said box or casing and these parts, with others as hereinafter set out, constitute the body of the go-cart.

The running gear of the go-cart is so 75 constructed as to be folded in the bottom part of the box or casing a, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, or to be extended or unfolded for use whenever desired, as shown in' Figs. 1 and 2, and said running gear in- 80 volves two. oblong yoke-shaped frames d placed longitudinally of and in the bottom of the box or casing a, and the side arms d²of which are. pivoted to the ends of said box or casing as shown at d³, and the body 85 portions d⁴ of said yoke-shaped frames are provided with keepers d⁵ arranged transversely and in pairs, at suitable intervals, and in which are secured stub spindles d^eon which the wheels d⁷ are mounted. 90

The parts /⁴ of the yoke-shaped frames d are connected centrally and transversely by means of link members e the outer ends of which are pivoted to ears e² secured to the parts d\ said ears consisting of short plates 95 given a quarter turn, and the inner ends of the link members e are pivoted together at e³, and one of said link members is provided with a curved projecting finger e⁴having a stop pin e⁵ adapted to rest on the 100 other link member when said parts are in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and this construction permits of the folding of the running gear into the bottom of the bed or body or into the bottom of the box or cas- 105 ing a as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5.

The frame part b in the box or case a is provided rearwardly of the middle thereof with a transverse bar b² to the top of which are secured backwardly directed 110 yoke-shaped springs b³ having shorter and longer arms, and the longer arm being se1,024,176 cured to the bar δ², and secured to the shorter arms of said springs is a seat δ⁴comprising a bottom seat plate δ³ and a top cushion δ⁶, and the bottom of the seat δ⁴a is inclosed at the sides and back by a flexible sheet δ^τ which is secured to the rear end portion of the frame δ. Secured to the front of the seat δ⁴ and to the transverse bar δ², and to a transverse bar δ⁸ at the 10 front of the frame c, is a flexible sheet δ⁹which is designed to form a bag or receptacle forwardly of the seat δ⁴, and which is intended to receive the feet of a child sitting on said seat, and in which various articles 15 may be placed when desired.

The front end of the go-cart or vehicle or the body thereof is also provided with a dashboard f which is hinged thereto at /²and to the opposite ends of which are 20 pivoted as shown at f², link members g which are pivoted to other link members y²which latter link members are pivoted in the top of the box or casing a at g² arid the link members g and g- are pivotally con25 nected at y⁴ and one of said link members is provided with a projecting finger g·' having a transverse stop pin y⁶ adapted to rest on the other link member, this construction being similar to that of the link members e 30 which form a part of the running gear, and by means of this construction the, dashboard f may be folded into the box or casing a as shown, at Fig. 3 or may be raised into an upright position as shown at Fig. 1.

The side, a⁴ of the dress-suit case or the top of the box or casing a as shown in Fig. 1 is adapted to serve as a canopy as shown at cd in Figs. 1 and 2, and said canopy is .supported by toggle arm members 7i composed of separate parts Id and Id· hinged together at Λ⁴, and these toggle arm members are hinged at the opposite sides of the box or casing a and centrally thereof, and the lower ends thereof are pivoted to the sides of said box or casing at A⁵, and the upper ends thereof are connected with horizontal rods i secured to the inner sides of the side flanges or walls of the canopy by means of clamping devices i² of well known construction, 50 and by means of which the upper end portions of the toggle arms h may be adjusted longitudinally of the' rods i if desired, and also by means of which the said canopy may be tilted or adjusted into different positions as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, and the hinge connection at 7i⁴ of the parts Id and 7i³of the toggle arms 7i is what is known as an ordinary rule joint, and the friction thereof and also the friction of the pivotal connec⁶⁰ tion at Λ⁵ is such as to hold the canopy in position as shown in Fig. 1, while also per. mitting the parts to be folded into the box or casing a as shown in Figs. 3 and 5. The body of the vehicle, or the box or casing a, ⁶⁵ is also provided with sideboards y which are hinged thereto at y’² and adapted to be folded inwardly, and pivoted to the sides of the box or casing a outside of the sideboards i as shown at y³ are rods k composed of two parts pivoted together at Id and these ₇₀rods are pivoted at IT to the sides m of the yoke-shaped handle device m,², said sides m being pivoted to the rear end portion of the body or the box or casing a as shown at m².

The connection of the separate parts of ₇₅the rods k at k² is made in the same manner as the link members g² of the dashboard f at y⁴, and in the same manner as the link members e of the running gear at e^s, and the sideboards j are provided with hook devices ₈₀y⁴ which are adapted to engage the rods k when the parts are in position for use or in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Hinged to the top of the rear end of the body, or the box or casing a thereof, is a §5 back plate n and this back plate is adapted to fold inwardly, and connected with the sides m of the yoke-shaped handle red is a yoke-shaped member rd which engages the plate n which passes therethrough and 90 which is provided with a hook rd adapted to engage said yoke-shaped member, and this method of constructing, connecting and operating the sideboards y, the handle m²and the back plate n enables said parts to 95 be held in position for use as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and also permits of their folding into the casing a as shown in Figs. 3 and 5.

The side cd of the suit case which forms the canopy cd is made box-shaped in form .100 and when the parts are folded together as shown in Figs. 3 and 5 said part or canopy does not rest on the box or casing a, though the side and end flanges thereof inclose the top of said box 01' casing and while the fold- 105 ing of the parts k is not indicated in Figs. 3 and 5, it will be understood that these parts fold flat on the top of the sides of the box or casing and are inclosed by the canopy or . part a⁴. 110

When the parts of the vehicle are set up for use as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the flexible fabric or other bottom a² which also forms one side of the dress-suit case is. detached from the box or casing a, and folded 115 around the back plate n, and the sideboards j as shown in Fig. 1, and connected with the canopy as shown at cd and with the box or casing a as shown at a² by means of button knobs or similar devices a⁹ connected with 120 the box or casing a, and button holes or female members connected with the flexible, member a², this connection being similar to that shown at cd. The flexible sheet or member a² is provided with slots 0 which 125 extend to the bottom edge thereof and through which the parts k and side members of the parts rd pass in the above described operation, and in this way the rear end portion of the body of the vehicle or the ISO

1,024,176 and to the sides of the box or casing forwardly of the rear end thereof, a. pivoted yoke-shaped device connected with said handle and adapted to engage the. back plate, and folding devices connected with the 70 box or casing and with the canopy, for holding the latter in an elevated position.

2. A go-cart comprising a box or casing having a movable top and a movable bottom, said box or casing being provided with an 75 internal frame which divides it into top and bottom parts, a running gear construction mounted in the bottom part of said, box or casing and adapted to be folded, thereinto and to be extended for use, a stationary spring 80 supported seat arranged in the rear end portion of the top part of said box or casing and forwardly of which is a flexible. bag construction, folding sideboards connected with the rear end part of said box or casing, a 85 folding back plate connected with the rear end of said box or casing, and means for holding said sideboards and back plate in an upright position, said top being adapted to be raised to form a canopy. . 90

3. A go-cart comprising a box or casing having a movable top adapted to be raised to form a canopy and a movable bottom, said box or casing being provided with an internal frame which divides it into top and 95 bottom parts, a running gear construction mounted in the bottom part of said box or casing and adapted to be folded thereinto and to be extended for use, a spring supported seat arranged in the rear end.portion 100 of the top part of said box or casing and forwardly of which is a flexible bag construction, folding sideboards connected with the rear end part of said box or casing, a folding back plate connected with the rear 105 end of said box or casing, and means for holding said sideboards and back plate in. an upright position, said box or casing being also provided at the front end thereof with a folding dashboard, and at the rear end HO thereof with a folding handle.

4. A go-cart comprising a box or casing having a movable top and a movable bottom, said box or casing being, provided with an internal frame which divides it into top H5 and bottom parts, a running gear construction mounted in the bottom part of said box or casing and adapted to be folded thereinto and to be extended for use, a spring supported seat arranged in the rear end portion I²⁰of the top part of said box or casing and forwardly of which is a flexible bag construction, folding sideboards connected with the rear end part of said box or casing, a fold. ing back plate connected with the rear end ¹²⁵ of said box or casing, and means for holding said sideboards and back plate in an upright * position, the movable top being also adapted ; to be raised above the box or casing and to ; serve as a canopy. ..

top part thereof, together with the side- i boards j and parts of the rod members It, ' and yoke-shaped members n²,. will all be ; inclosed when the vehicle is in use, by a g curtain formed by the sheet a². The canopy ] a¹ or the side a¹, of the dress-suit case when I used as a canopy, is preferably provided at its sides and ends with a fringe p. and this fringe is secured within said sides and ends 10 at p², and when said part is not. used as a canopy, but used to form one side of the dress-suit case, the said fringe is. folded inwardly as shown in Fig. 3.

In the accompanying drawing I have not 15 shown any means for connecting the top a⁴with the dress-suit case or with the box or casing a when the parts are. folded to represent a dress-suit case, but it will be understood that this connection can be made in the 20 usual or any desired manner. It will also lie understood that the vehicle or go-cart is propelled or manipulated by the handle m²in the usual manner, and by means of my improvements I provide a go-cart or vehicle 25 of the class specified which may be quickly set up for use whenever desired, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and which also may be quickly and easily folded together in. the form of a dress-suit case as shown in Fig. 6 30 for convenience in carrying, packing or shipping.

The use of the part a² to form, a curtain as shown in Fig. 1 is not an essential feature and any other suitable construction of this 35 kind may be employed to inclose the back part of the vehicle, but it will be understood that the folding backplate n and sideboards j may be cushioned or otherwise finished if desired, and may be connected or supported 40 when in their upright position in any desired manner.