Untitled record

<img file="US40422A_D0001.tif" />

United States Patent Office.

OREN E. MILES, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN WAGON-STANDARDS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 49,422, dated October 27, 18(i··.

carrying safely and conveniently very different kinds of loads.

In the usual mode of constructing the main uprights and securing them to the bolsters ot wagons the wooden stakes or standards are mortised through the bolsters at their ends, thus greatly weakening them, and are secured thereto by several wrought-iron braces, which are attached by bolts and rivets. Besides these a band is usually required around the end of the bolster to prevent it from splitting. This, from its complicated nature, is expensive and troublesome. When the wood shrinks, it becomes more or less loose, and if the parts are broken, an expensive job of repairing is· involved, aud one which requires wrights and smiths, very difficult to command in many situations.

To enable others skilled in the arts to which my improvement relates to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe it by the aid of the drawings and of the letters of reference marked thereon.

.- A is a body having a foot, a a¹ e, with a 'shouldered recess in its under side, which, when the bolster B is dressed to a proper form and tbe end rounded to a compass-mark, as will be readily understood, is easily and quickly fitted thereto, so as to be secure against slipping either endwise or laterally. The flange e, which projects down from the under edge of the foot, keeps the stake in position and prevents water from getting under the casting, and the part a¹ of the foot is let into the bolster, as indicated by the dotted line in Figs. 1, 2, and 7, and in the section Fig. 5, so as to hold the casting very firmly against slipping endwise. The clip c passes around the under side of the bolster B and up through the foot «, on each side secured by nuts c' c. A countersunk bolt, d, also passes down through having a nut, d', on the under side of the bolster. These, with the aid of the. devices before described, hold the casting very stiffly and strongly. This structure is so shaped and applied that it weighs even less than the ordinary wooden stake of equal strength with its wrought-iron work attached.

The opening seen at h furnishes convenient means for securing a binding-rope when one is used. In case of the casting getting loose by the shrinkage of the bolster B, it may be tightened with the greatest facility by an orTo all whom it may concern:'

Be it known that I, Ο. E. Miles, of Aurora, iu the county of Kane, in the State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in the Construction of Uprights for Wagons and other Vehicles; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, prepared with a view to the obtaining of Letters Patent therefor.

Tbe accompanying drawings form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a side view, Fig. 2 an end view, and Fig. 3 a plan view, of one of my stakes or uprights, together with a portion of the bolster or cross-timber, to which it is secured. Figs. 1 and 2 show also a part of an additional piece of wood inserted to lengthen tbe upright, and Fig. 2 shows a part of a binding-rope properly inserted. Fig. 4 is a side elevation, Fig. 5 a longitudinal section, and Fig. 6 half of a plan view, of a different form of casting, which may be secured to a boltser in a similar manner, and made to realize a paitof the conditions attained by the one shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The form shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6 is intended mainly for trucks and sleds for drawing logs and the like articles which are loaded and unloaded by rolling or otherwise moving them sidewise over the tops of these short castings. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of my invention in very nearly the same form as is shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the same casting shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures. ..

In carrying out my invention I employ in lieu of the ordinary stout wood braced by slender wrought-iron rods a cast-iron part peculiarly locked and secured upon the bolster or cross-timber.

The objects accomplished by my invention, when fully and properly developed, are very importaht. Among them are an increase in the strength of the structure as compared with the devices usually employed, a decreased expense for construction and repairs, a facility for repairing with little skill and simple tools, a means of making-the connection of these important parts perfectly rigid after the wood has shrunk considerably, and ncreased facility for adapting the vehicle for

40,422 dinary wrench applied to the nuts in the manner which is obvious. In the event'of the casting A a a' e, or either of the fastenings cnr d, getting broken, a new one, which may be made in large quantities, so as to involve slight expense, may be substituted by the same simple means. Such an adjustment or substitution is beyond the skill of teamsters with the ordinary mode of construction.

The socket/, with which the casting terminates at its upper end, furnishes an ever-ready means of lengthening the upright to any height desired by the insertion of a suitable extension-piece, which may be a wooden bar, G. This will be found desirable when very bulky loads are carried—such as rails, sugarcane, &amp;c. The opening g admits a kev to confine the top, if desired. . '

Wagons are sometimes constructed with an extra piece or box to be used on the top of the other when the loading requires it. Such an upper box is ordinarily secured to the lower one by cleats screwed to the upper one and passing through staples inserted in the lower box, but these cleats and staples are very liable to get out of repair. With my invention a set of extra stakes may be screwed to such upper box, (not represented,) with their lower ends fitting into these sockets/ so as to be readily applied and removed, and by the aid of keys passing through the holes g the whole may be united very rigidly.

In the shorter form of my upright, (shown in Figs. 4, 5, G, and 7,) intended for drawing logs, &amp;c., the foot and fastenings are the same as before described; but I prefer to make the casting A only about four inches in height and provide it with a simple rectangular socket. This casting admits of a log being easily rolled over it when required, and is capable of receiving a wooden stake of suitable form and height for holding the load.