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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.
THOMAS B. McCURDY, OF LANCASTER, TEXAS.
VEHICLE-TOP.
SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 381,630, dated April 24, 1888.
Application filed February 3,1888. Serial No. 262,883. (No model.)
To all whomn it may concern: cured the cover F, of oil-cloth, canvas, or
Be it known that I, THomiAs B. McCuatDY, other equivalent or suitable material.
a citizen of the United States, residing at Lan- The curtain-supporting frame G comprises
caster, in the county of Dallas and State of the vertical strips H H and the cross-bars II,
5 Texas, have invented new and-useful Improve- of metal or wood, as preferred. The edges of 55
ments in Vehicle-Tops, of which the follow- the side strips, H, are provided with the me-
ing is a specification. tallic tongues 1K K, which engage and operate
My invention relates to improvements in ve- in the grooves formed by the rabbets B and
hicle-tops, with a view to providing simpler, plates C, so that the curtain-supporting frame
ic cheaper, and lighter means for securing the may be raised, and, guided by the grooves D, 60
curtains in place, and, furthermore, to pro- will slide under the cover F. The frames of
vide means such that the curtains may be opposite sides of the vehicle will assume po-
readily removed and attached. sitions parallel with each other. By remov-
The invention herein shown and described ing the plates C the supporting-frames may be
15 is designed as an improvement upon the con- removed from the bows, as will be seen. 65
struction forming the subject-matter of Pat- The curtain-supporting frames are covered
ent No. 367,540, which was granted to me on with oil-cloth, canvas, or other suitable mate-
August 2, 1887; and it consists in a certain rial, which is represented in the drawings by
novel construction and arrangement of parts, the letter L, and the lower ends of the frames
20 hereinafter more fully set forth in connection are provided with the loops M Mlx, to serve as 70o
with the accompanying drawings, wherein- handles to enable the same to be operated.
Figure 1 is a side view, partly in section, of When thecurtain-supporting frameis raised,
a vehicle-top constructed in accordance with the tongues follow the grooves in the edges of
my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse section the bows, and therefore in order to enable the
25 of the same. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on frames to bend its side strips are formed of 75
the line x x, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlarged de- metal, preferably steel.
tail sectional view. The back and front of the vehicle may be
Referring by letter to the drawings, A A provided with curtains arranged in a similar
designate the supporting-bows of the vehicle- manner to that just described.
30 top, the vertical or standard portions of which IHaving thus described my invention, I 8e
are rabbeted, as seen at B. Plates C are let claim-
into the outer sides of the standard portions As an improvement in vehicle - tops, the
of the bows, so that merely grooves are formed combination of the supporting-bows having
in the edges of the. bows. These grooves may grooves in their side, the upper ends of the
35 be formed in any other suitable way, as by grooves overlapping the curtain-supporting 85
channeling the edges of the standards. Par- frames, comprising the flexible side bars, H,
allel grooves D D are formed in the horizontal provided with lateral tongues fitting in the
or upper portions of the bows, and one end of grooves of the supporting-bows, and thecross-
each of these grooves communicates with the bars I, secured to the side bars, H, and having
40 upper end of one of the grooves or rabbets B their ends fitted in said grooves, and the cov- go
in the standards, as above mentioned. Thus ering L, secured to said frame, substantially
continuous grooves are formed which extend as specified.
from the lower ends of the vertical portions of In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my
the bows to the opposite sides of the upper or own I have hereto affixed my signature in pres-
45 horizontal portions of the bows. The upper ence of two witnesses.
ends of these grooves overlap each other, as THOMAS B. McCURDY.
will be seen in Fig. 2, but they are entirely
separate. Witnesses:
Longitudinal strips E E are secured to the E. G. STUART,
5o upper portions of the bows, to which are se- War. M. GEORGE.