Whiffletree. Page: 2 of 3
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UNITED
STATES
PATENT OFFICE.
LOUIS S. FLATAU, OF PITTSBURG, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO II. C. WALKER,
OF TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS.
WHIFFLETREE.
SPECIFICATION forming part of Reissued Letters Patent No. 11,157, dated April 21, 1891.
Original No. 406,207, dated July 2, 1889, Application for reissue filed February 7, 1891. Serial No. 380,675.To all wThom it mcay concern:
Be it known that I, Louis S. FLATAU, of
Pittsburg, in the county of Camp and State
of Texas, have invented a new and useful m-
5 provement in Whiffletrees, of which the fol-
lowing is a specification.
Mly invention consists in a new and im-
proved whiffletree, which will be hereinafter
fully described and claimed.
to Referring to the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a singletree
constructed according to my invention. Fig.
2 is a plan view of the metal blank or plate
out of which my new and improved whiffle-
15 tree is formed. Fig. 3 is a top view of the
singletree shown in Fig. 1, the end hooks
thereof being shown in dotted lines turned
back. Fig. 4 is a sectional view, on an in-
creased scale, at line x x of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is
20 a similar view at line y y of Fig. 3; and Fig.
6 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale,
of one end hook detached.
The same letters of reference indicate cor-
responding parts in all the figures.
25 Referring to the several parts by letter, A
indicates the metalblank out of which I form
my whiffletree, and I prefer to make it of steel.
This blank is shaped or cut of substantially
the form shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, ta-
30 pering slightly from the middle toward each
end and recessed or cut out at each end at a;
also at the outer edges near the ends small
half-circles a2 a2 are cut out of the blank.
This metal blank is then bent into shape lon-
35 gitudinally around a suitable mandrel with a
round front edge until the sides of the whiffle-
tree thus formed are parallel, the mandrel be-
ing usually three-quarters of an inch thick.
The metal blank is thus formed into a hollow
40 whiffletree, the back being open, while the
rounded front a' is next to the horse. The
semicircular recesses a- a2 at each end are di-
rectly opposite each other, as shown.
B B indicate the end hooks, and C the mid-
45 dle ring, each of the three being preferably
formed with an enlargement or boss b c at its
inner or pivoted end. The enlarged inner
ends of the hooks and the ring are formed
with perforations D, which register with holes
50 E E in the hollow tree when they are placed
in position, and they are secured in positionin the whiffletree by rivets F, passing through
the holes E in the tree and the perforation D
in the enlarged inner ends of the end hooks
and ring, respectively. The end hooks are 55
pivoted in the recessed ends of the whiffletree,
as shown in the drawings, so that to hook the
trace-rings at the end of the traces into the
end hooks the hooks are turned back until
their points are at the semicircular recesses 60o
a2, as shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 3, when
the ring at the end of the trace can be readily
slipped over the point of the hook, and after
the hooks are thus engaged they are turned
forward into their normal position, when it 65
will be seen that the points or free ends of
the hooks will stop and bear against the end
of the slot or recess a, so that no draft will
have a tendency to straighten the hooks, and
the trace-rings will be effectually prevented 7e
from coming loose or unhooked, which is a
great objection to many other singletrees.
This is a very important point.
If preferred, I can dispense with the semi-
circular recesses a2 by forming the points of 75
the hooks shorter, so that when the hook is
turned back there will be room to hook and
unhook the trace.
From the foregoing description, taken in
connection with the accompanying drawings, 8c
the construction and advantages of my inven-
tion will be readily. understood.
It will be seen that my metal whiffletree-
either single or double tree-is simple and
cheap in construction and light and very 85
strong, while the end hooks will act as auto-
matic safety-hooks to render it impossible for
the traces to become accidentally unhooked.
Having thus described my invention, what
I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat- 90
ent, is-
1. In combination with the perforated metal
plate bent to form a hollow tree, as specified,
the hooks and ring having perforated ends,
and the rivets arranged in said perforations 95
and in those of the plate, all substantially as
set forth.
2. In combination with the metal plate bent
to form a hollow tree and having its ends re-
cessed at the bent portion of the plate, as oo
specified, trace-hooks pivoted between the
parallel portions of the bent plate and ar-
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Flatau, Louis S. Whiffletree., patent, April 21, 1891; [Washington D.C.]. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth173000/m1/2/: accessed June 11, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.