Untitled record

Application filed June 6,1892. Serial No. 435,614. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Arthur D. Cochran, of Indianapolis, county of Marion, and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and 5 useful Improvements in Street-Car Curtains; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals refer to like io parts.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in the construction of street-car curtains and to one that is adapted for use on open or summer cars and will be understood i5 from the following description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a side view of a part of a car, showing one of the curtains drawn down and parts of two others. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same on the 2o line x x, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view showing a part of one of the guide-rods of the curtain and the bracket at its upper end. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view on the line y y, Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section on the 25 line z z, Fig. 4.

In detail, 1 is the framework of a street-car, 2 the seats, and 3 the connecting uprights, these having, as shown in Fig. 5, semicircular grooves 4 on opposite sides, and at the bottom 30 of each the lower end of the vertical guiderod 5 is supported and retained in position in any suitable manner. The rods 5 have pivoted ends and extend upward and nearly to the top of the uprights and about half-way 35 through the slotted brackets 6. These brackets are rigidly secured to the uprights 3 and their upper and lower ends are flared, as shown in Fig. 3, the central part of the brackets being slightly larger in diameter than the rods 5. 40 7 represents the curtain, which is attached to an ordinary spring-roller 8 within the car and is in line with the vertical rods 5.

are rings with flat shanks thereon secured in the outer edges of the curtain, so that they 45 will always remain in a horizontal position, a stiffening rod or wire 10 being secured in the lower end of the curtain and havingaringon either end, which fits around the guide-rods 5 below the brackets 6. The lower end of the 5 c curtain when drawn up, as shown in the left in Fig. 1, is prevented from passing through the brackets 6 by the stiffening-rod at its base, and at this point none of the rings which are secured to the sides are around the guiderods. If the curtain be drawn down, the edges 55 of the curtain being in or about in line with the slotted brackets on each side, the rings secured in the sides of the curtain will always slip into the flared top of the brackets, as shown in Fig. 5, their shanks working in the 60 slots, and the bracket being at its smallest diameter a little larger than the ring the latter will always slip over the pointed head of the vertical guide-rod 5. The rings 9 always remain in a horizontal position around the rods 65 and have but a slight bearing upon them. Through the construction and operation of the curtain there is very little friction, and if at any time the spring-roller refuses to work, as is often the case with the ordinary curtains 70 in wet and windy weather, and also without operating the roller at all, the entire curtain can be readily raised up by lifting the stiffening-rod at the lower end.

An important feature of my invention is to 75 provide a roller-curtain for street-cars which passengers can readily raise when entering or leaving the car, and after being so raised the curtain will at once by its own weight drop down in its former position. No curtain, so 8c far as I am aware, is adapted for the successful accomplishment of this object. Owing to their construction the curtains can be made very loose, so that in wet weather, when they will naturally shrink, it can never interfere 85 with their proper working, for the rings will always be drawn down into the slotted bracket, and thereby be slipped over the ends of the guide-rods.

What I have herein shown and described 90 is a simple, cheap, and effective curtain for street-cars for all purposes and one that is not liable to wear out readily or get out of order from any cause.