[1]0 2 @ 9 0 2 , 6 7 1 United States Patent Office Patented Sept. 1, 1959 2 of the same general diinensi ons and shape as spacer 34 is placcd on top of washer 36, and serves to space a fiber plug 42, from washer 36. The upper end of rod 24, is dispose d centrally of the opening 38 and washer 36. A contact 44 is fixed to the upper end of rod 24, and serves to enlarge the upper end of this rod. A coil spring 46 is attached to. the upper end of contact 44, and is interpos ed between the latter and the head of a terminal bolt 48, which is dispose d through aperture 50 10 located centrally of the fiber plug 4Z. It is to be noted that aperture 50 and plug 42, opening 38 in wa@,he r 36, and bore 22 in plug 20, are all in alignme nt. A washer 52 is dispose d about plug 48, on the upper surface of fiber plug 42. A nut 54 is then threade d down on bolt 15 48 and serves to rigidify the bolt 48 so that washer 52 will be held in place as well as spring 46. An electric conduct or 56, has one end connect ed to terminal 48, and is dispose d between nuts 54 and 58, which are threade d on bolt 48, the nut 58 bein-, threade d down toward the 20 nut 54, so as to hold electric conduct or 56 firmly in place. A bottom plate 60 is conne cted to the bottom of casin.- 14, by weldiii g 62 or any ot'lier sui@ta ble means. The bottom plate 60 has an openi ng 64 forme d theret hroug h, 25 larger than and ali,- ned with bore 22. This opeilin g 64 is define d by a down wardly depen ding flange 66, which is space d from and conne cted to rod 24. The mounti iig brack et 63 is co@- uiecte d to bottom plate 60, and at an angle theret o. This plate may be constr ucted integr ally 30 with the bottom plate 68. Plate 68 has an openi ng, or pair of openi ngs so as to accom modat e a bolt 70 to be passed theret hroug h, and into a flan,-e portio n 72 of a car fender 74. A mounti ng plate 68 would then be held fixedt o flange 72 of the fender , by passin g a washe r 76 35 onto the shank or bolt and thread ing nut 78 thereo n. At the oute r free end of rod 24, is conn ecte d a rubb er kno b 80, wwc h serv es to kee p the actio n of this feel er quiet so as to elimi nate hars h and anno ying noic es. In the use of this devi ce, it woul d be conn ecte d to the 40 fender of an autom obile, and exten d down wardly and outwar dly theref roni as may be seen in Figure 1, so as to be capabl e of contac ting a curb when the autom obile is being parke d. Upon contac t with the curb, the knob 80 will move therea long, and serve to bend rod 24, which 45 -,Nrill pivot about a point in plug 20, and move contac t 44 into engag ement with washe r 36. This will serve to activat e a siglialli ng device locate d inside the autom obile, so that the detecti on of the curb by knob 80, will be indicat ed to a driver inside the autom obile. 50 A signalli ng bulb 82, is locate d near the driver of an autom obile, and is conne cted to electri c condu ctor 56. A switch 84 is conne cted to bulb 82, and the switdh 84 will be conne cted acrosst he ignitio n switch, so that whene ver the ignitio n is on, the switch 84 will be closed . A 55 batter y 86 is conne cted to s@wit ch 84 at one end, and is groun ded as at 88 on the other end. The batter y 86, switch 84, bulb 82 and bolt termin al 48, are all conne cted in series. The b,Lttery 86 is groun ded at 88 to the autom obile itself. The casing 14 is groun ded throug h plate 6o 60, to mounti ng plate 68, thence to flane 72 and then to the fender 74 of the autom obile 12. Thus, the washe r 36 is also groun ded to the autom obile, and when contac t 44 touche s washe r 36, the circuit is closed thus lightin g up bulb 82, and indicat ing to the driver of the autom obile 65 that he is in close proxi mity to the curb. It may now be seen that I have here in sho wn and desc - ribe d a new and impr ove d type of curb feel er whic h has num erou s adva ntag es over feel ers used prev iousl y in the art. 70 The fore goin g is cons ider ed as illust rativ e only of the prin ciple s of the inve ntion . Furt her, sinc e num erou s 2,902,671 CURB FEELER Olas Pitt, Paducah, Ky. Application November 12, 1957, Serial No. 695,734 2 Claims. (Cl. 340@61) Th@is invention relates generally to attachments for motor 'vehicles, and more particularly to a curb feeler. The primary object of this invention is to provide a curb feeler for vehicles which may be attached to a vehicle and indicate to the motorist, his proximity to a curb when parking, or his proximity to othe@r objects which he may desireto park close to. Another object of this invention is to provide a curb feeler, which has a signalling device inside the vejhicle, so that the driver in parking may quickly detect the signalling devices. A f@rthcr object of this invention is 'Lo provide a curb feeler which is a defini@te improveniont over the conventional, scraping types of feelers, which emit harsh and annoying noises when they are iii contact widi a curb. This object is accomplished by the use of a resilient knob on the end of the feeler, and the use of an electric circuit for actuating the sigiiallin- device, instead of depending on the driver's listenin.- to scraping sounds, as is the case with the coliventional type of feeler. An even further object of tlais invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which is exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed. These together with other objects and advantages whicn will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation ts more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forn-,dng a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which: Figure I is a perspective view of the curb feeler comprising the presedt invention, illustrating its use when connected to tl-ie fender of an automobile; Figure 2 is a sectional view, considerably enlarged, taken substantially along the plane defined by reference line 2-2 of Figure 1 illustrating details of construction thei-eof; and Figure 3 is a partial sectional view taken substantially along the pla-.ic defined by reference line 3-3 of Figure 2. Referring now more specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates the curb feeler comprising the present invention, illustrating the same as connected to the rear fender of an automobile 12. This feeler is -enerally co-@istrlicted of a cylindrical, electric conducting casiiig, havi-@ig an ODen bottom, and inwardly extending flan,-es 16, Nvhich define an opening 18. A rubber plug 20 is inserted into the casing, and is located at the bottoin portion thereof. A floor 22 is formed to the central portion of plug 20. A feeler rod 24, of a flexible metallic construction, is inserted into bore 22, and is fixed -therei-@i by means of washers 26 and 28 which are connerted to rod 24 at the upper and lower surfaces respectively of plu- 20. These washers 26 and 28 are further held to rod 24 by means of nipples 30 and 32. A hollow substantially cylindrical spacer made of rubber 34 is placed on top of plug 20, and serves to space washer 36 therefrom. This washer 36 has a central open ing 38 formed therethrou,-h. A second rubber spacer 40,
[2]3 modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed. vvhat is
