US106529A - Improvement in velocipede - Google Patents

Description

'7 SheetsSheet 1.

, O. WYNDHAM. IVELOOIPBDE.

No.106,529.. Patented Aug 16, 1870..

7 Shee,t'sShet 2.

0. WYNDHAM. VE-LOOIPBDE.

No. 106,529. Patented Aug. 16, 1870..

7 Sheets-Sheet 3.

O. WYNDHAM.

v VBLOCIPEDE. No. 106,529.

Patented Aug. 16, 1870.

7 Sheets-Sheet 4-. 0. WYNDHAM. VELOGIPEDE.

No 106,529. Patent-ed Aug. 16, 1870.

W 6- WW 7 Sheets-Sheet 5,

0. WYNDHAM. YELOGIPEIDE.

No. 106,529. I Patented Aug. 16, 1870.

7 SheetsSheet 6.

C. WYNDHAM. VELOUIPEDE.

No. 106,529; Patented Aug. 16,1870.

7 Sheets-$heet 7.

C. WYNDHA M. VELOGIPEDE.

No. 10 ,525 Patented'Aug. 16, 1870.

mo tam.

, CHARLES WYNDHAM, or SOUTHOVER GRANGE, NnAn'anWEs. ENGLAND.

W saw To all. whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Cannons TYXDHAM, of Southover Grange, near Lewes, in the county of Sussex, England, do hereby declare that I am in possession of an invention .for Improvements in Bicycle- Velocipc des, and in apparatus to be fitted thereto,

and-that the following is a full, true, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompan yiug drawing and to the figures and letters marked thereon; that is to say.

These improvements relatc Firstly, to the construction of parts of two-wheeled vehicles or velocipedcs, usually termedbicycles, for the reception of apparatus hereafter described, so that the rider obtains perfect command ovr the same, should he desire to stop suddenly, or otherwise Secondly, to m'cans of raising or lowering ajoiuted or a sliding leg, strut, or bar, to keep the vehicle upright when it is at a standstill;

'Ilairdly, to means or apparatus for retaining the leg, strut, bar in a raised or lowered position, or at an angle, for enabling the rider to mount and dismount without fear of the vehicle running before him r Fourthly, to the combination of step, bar, and jointed or sliding leg in one or more pieces, at the same side or at opposite sides of the vehicle; and

' Fifthly, to modifications of the above-named improvements,-as hereafter described and illustrated' In order that my invention maybe thoroughly understood, I describe the several parts, in connection with the annexed drawing,

Figures 1 and 2 represent, in side and back-end view, a bicycle-velocipcde, with one form of apparatus applied thereto, fpr retaining the vehicle in an upright position, and to enable a person to mount and dismount without fear of the vehicle running before him. I

The apparatus consists of a bar, a, which is secured to the backbone or main frame b 'of the vehicle by pins or bolts, slightly in advance of the hind wheel 0.

The bar carries astep, d, at its lower part, and terminates in ,a .half-joiut, 0, so that a leg, f, can be pinned to it in a loose manner. I The leg isspread out at the bottom, to form a bearing-surface or foot to rest upon the ground, so that, when the leg is in a; vertical position, as shown, the vehicle will stand upright.

I prefer to fit one bar, a, and leg f, to each side of the vehicle, as shown in fig. 2, to prevent it falling over to the right or left, and .tocnable a rider to mount or dismount from either side, but it is only necessary to fit them to one side. In that case it is advisable to 'make the leg of shorter length, to admit of the vehicle being inclined slightly to that side, to rest the foot upon the ground. The leg is notched or formed with ratchet-teeth a y, for the reception of a pawl or droplever, 71, the

lower endof which is looped to embrace the leg, and compellit to rise when the cord i is pulled up by the rider.

Above the joint I'attach a spring, j, to bear upon the pawl, to keep the teeth in contact when the cord 1), pinned or centercdupon it, for holding the ring secure when it has beendrawn along'tiie bar at to raise the leg, or the handle maybe fitted with a spring catch, a, figs. 2' and 2. This would happen when the rider has mounted the vehicle and got one foot upon one of the cranks of the front wheel, to propel the vehicle forward, as at the same instant he draws the ring along the bar to engage it under the claw, and raises the leg f clear of the ground" The handle-bar is free to be turned to apply the brake in the usual manner, as the application of my improvementsdoes not in any way interfere with 'the working of vehicles of the present construction.

When I lit a duplicate set of bars and legs to a vehicle, I either couuectthe two cords at the front, and then lead one cord only up to the ring, or I carry both ends up to the same ring, to be retained by a single claw; but I can, if I desire it, lead each curl up to separate rings, and arrange the rings at each end of the bar, so that they take under separateclaws. By this means the rider can lift or lower either log, according to the side he desires to dismount.

In the above figures I have represented the bar or bars a as beingstraight in themselves, but thrown out at an angle from the backbone, so that they form a strut, to prevent the vehicle falling over. M

Now, it is not essential that they should be thrown out in that way, as the bar or bars may be carried down in a direct vertical line, and by'having a bent or curved piece, q, as shown in Figure 3, the leg is kept out sufficiently far to form the strut.

In all cases it is necessary that the leg should be vertical, or nearly so, so that, when the weight of the rider is put upon the step d, a direct downward thrust isobtained.

In the foregoing description and figures I have dc-.

, spring may be made to act direct upon the leg f, as

, shown at Figure-4, and the drop of the pawl shall be such that its tooth shall always engage itself into the notches or teeth of the leg when the cord is released.

Figure 5 represents a bar, a, and leg f, without a pawl or teeth. The cord-'1', in this case, is secured to an eye of the le". The springj causes the leg to move downward, as in the previous figures.

Iprefer that; the spring j shall act either upon the leg or upon the-pawl, in the manner shown,'but in some cases, when the pawl is loose, I fit a fiat-bowed spring, 'r, to the leg, and cause it topressthe loop outward, as shown in Figure 4.

This bowed spring is used in addition to the other spring, which is of a spiral form.

The inner coil of the spiral spring is squared, to-fit; the square of the pin on which it; is slid. By this means it is attached in an easy and secure manner.

Fi'guresfi and. 7 represent a modified manner of attaching'the cord so that it. shall act upon the leg in the manner before described.

In this case I fasten the cord in the groove of a roller, and I attach the rollers to the spring j, so that, when the cord is pulled up, a partial rotation is given to the roller, and an extra strain is put upon the spring j.-

In some cases, for the sake of adding as little weight as pos ible to the.bicycle, when two legs are fitted, I

only carry one bar, a, down from the back-bone b, and I attach the legs ff to projecting pieces t it. These pieces. may be fixed and form part of the bar a, as

shown in Figure 8, or they form part ofthe leg, as

shown in Figure 9. g In that case 1 joint'the pieces t t to the bar a, and I attach springs and pawls, to be acted upon bycords, as in the previous figures.

I do not confine myself to attaching thebarorbars a. to the back-bone b by pins or bolts, as the bar may be retained on the back-bone by clips and a key, such as is shown at Figure 10, or a brace or saddle, as shown in Figure 11, and in some instances these modes would be advisable, as" the bar could be shifted and secured at any part of the back-bone, for persons of different lengths of legs,-so that the step or steps could be brought within their reach.

Another advantage to be gained by this mode would be then'ou-weakening of the back-bone by making holes in it, as would be the case when pins or bolts are employed, as before referred to. g

In the previous description I have referred to the step (I as being at the lower end of the bar a, and I.

havegiven my reasons for so making it, but, by certain modifications, I can fit two bars, a a, on each side or only on one side of the vehicle, one to carry the step d and the other to carry the leg f, as shown at Figure 12. Of course separate step-bars and separuteleg-barscan'be fitted to vehicles having any of the arrangements before mentioned arranged therewith.

In some cases the step-bar might be dispensed. with,

.or only used on one-side of the vehicle, while the legbar is'used on the other, and this would be of great; advantage to some persons, as the leg-bar could always he on the-side opposite tothat to which theat the center of the back-hone, or just infront of the hindwheel-c. Now, this is not at all compulsory, as the bar 'or bars'can be arranged at any other part of lesser hind wheel, or to someplace attached thereto.

In Figuref13 I have, shown a combined step and I leg bar as being jointed to a depending piece or bar,

a, keyed to the fork of the front wheel, 11', of a. bicycle. The bar and leg are lifted by the loop of the pawl, when the cord is drawn up, in a similar manner to the legs, as previously described; and Figure 14 represents a similar bar and leg centered upon the axle of the frontwhcel, and acted upon in a corresponding manner. I

The difference between these two last figures is, one of the legs is at right angles to the bar, which is horizontal, while in'theother the bar is at an incline. 4

Figure 15 is a front; view of a bicycle, with two combined step and leg-bars attached to the-front axle. It will be seen that the bars are suspended outside the shear-bearing, and inside of the cranks, so that the rotation of the cranks is not interfered with.

Figure 16 shows a pair of combined step andlegbars' arranged upon'the shears or forks ot' the hind wheel.

Tire bars are connected by a transverse rod-,w, in a loose manner, to enable one to be acted upon hide pendently of the other. Tire rod determines the dis tance the bars shall be apart, and serves, in a great measure, for steadying their motion. 4

In the arrangements shown in figs. l3 and 14, guides maybe fitted for the bars to slide in, to insure them working in parallel manner.

In most of these last-mentioned figures only flat I sprlngs are shown, but other-shaped springs which will perform the required functions can be used.

In Figure 17 I have shown a combined Slrp and leg bar jointed close up to the back-bone b. In this case I assist'the lifting act-ionofthe pawl by a spring, 2', so that the strain upon the riders hand is reduced .when he-is'pulliug the cord up. "I prefer,in this case, to ur'ake the pawl, soto speak, double-endsd-that is, center it; at or near its middle, so that the unluopcd end can have the cord attached to it, as shown.

1 force the tooth of the pawl into the notches or teeth of bar by the spring j, as in the former cases. The length of the barand step will caus it, to fall into a vertical position when the cord is released. It is sometimes necessary to fit a small roller to the bottom of the leg, so that, should the legtouch the ground before the vehicle is fairly at a stand-still, the

roller eases the drag or motion, and prevents a sudden jolt; or jerk that, might be given. s

In this last figure I have shown a roller, y, to fully explain how it may befixed. 1

In all the previous figures I have shown that; the legs are drawn upward, or lifted in a circular direction, by the'pull or action of the cord. N ow, in some cases, it may be found of importance to draw down the leg by the pull or action of the cord, and this could be accomplished by carrying out an additional piece, 2, from the front of the bar a, as shown at Figure 18. In this case the tendency or action of the spiral or coiled spring j is to lift thelegclcar of the grouud,instead of forcing it downward, as explained in the other figures. This plan could, however, be adapted to any or all of the previous modes, it'it, should be found desirable.

It will be seen that, in mostof the previous figures, I have showua special form of joint, and it is of great consequence to the successful working of the bar a or leg 1, as it is essential that they should only rnovea each other when the leg is in a vertical positions-and thereby insures the safety of the step and leg when the weight of the rider is upon it.

7 One or other of the notches or teeth in the bar or in the leg is engaged by the pawl at whatever angle it or they may be placed; for instance. if the vehicle stops on a portion of the road which is uneven, and

the .leg should rest upon a stone or other body higher legs, f, which can be lifted by the cord or cords i in.

the same manner as those before described.

These legs slide within guides or sockets, a, on the bars a, and they are forced toward the ground by the weight of the riders foot when he presses upon the step d, which is on the upper part of the leg, as shown.

This leg' is drawn up clear of the ground by a strained spring, j, when the pawl his released by the pull of the cord In fig. 19 the' pawl It only is notched, and the edge of the step d'is caused to engage itself into one of the notches, according to thc distance the leg is depressed. The spring employed with this leg is, preferably, of vulcanized rubber, with .eyes at itsends, so that it can easily be hooked over studs, as shown by the dotted lines."

It will be. observed that the step d forms one of the sockets to guide the leg f up and down the bar a, and this is, perhaps, the best mode of fitting it, as it prevents the leg turning into such a, position as to put the step 11 out of the reach of the riders foot, or to make it inconvenient to get at; but it is not compulsory to arrange it in this manner, as two or more sockets may he on the bar or on the leg, and the spring may be fitted in any convenient manner, so that the step should he kept as near to the side as possible.

In Figure 21 I have shown a sliding leg, with the spring j fitted under the step d, and connected to it and the lower part of the leg f, to draw the leg down when the cord is released. These legs aud'bars are shown of circular shape, but they may be'of square or other sectional form; or the leg may be circular, and the bar square, to act as a guide, as in Figure 21.

'In Figure 22 I have shown a fiat bar and a flat leg. The bar is recessed, so that the pawl It shall pass through, for its teeth to become engagedvwith the top edge of the leg f whenit is depressed. The spring'j is fastened to the leg, and its free end can be hooked onto its stud, to draw up the leg when the rider wishes to use the vehicle; but, when the vehicle is not in use, it is intended that the spring shall be unhooked,

so that the strain is removed, to save it from injury.

The leg is kept in its downward position, to retain the vehicle upright, by the pawl h. Sometimes I dispense with the loose pawl, and I make the notches or ratchettceth upon a fixed part of the bar or of the leg.

In Figure 23 I have shown a notched plate on the bar a, and I make the aperture in the step rather larger, so that, when the step. and leg are depressed, the step is caused to take into one-or other of the notches by a backward or forward action of the foot.

at the time of depressing it.

When it is necessary that the leg should he raised, the step is moved either backward or forward by the cord '6, to release it from the notch, when the spring j will cause it to slide up the bar.

I have referred to the employment of rubber, or spiral, or coiled springs, or of flat springs, for acting upon the sliding legs; but I do not limit myself to their use, as in some cases helical springs may be used; and in Figure 24 I have shown such a spring encircling the bar, and having for its abutments the socket a and the step d. This figure shows no means of retaining thestcp d in a downward position, and, with expert and bold vclocipedists, this would be preferred, as the instant the riders foot is removed ti-om thestep, the leg springs up the bar by itself. \Vitli some riders, it will be necessary to provide means of drawing up the lgg by hand, and that may be accomplished by means of the cord i.

There are many waysof retaining the leg in a downward position, either when draw-up springs are titted, or when the legs are not provided with springs, such as wouldbe the case when the leg is heavy enough to fall by its own weight, as in the one represented .in Figure 24 In Figure 25 I have shown the socket, as being fitted with a thumb-screw, a, the tightening up of which pinches or bites against the bar with sufficient force to hold the leg secure.

I do not confine myself to the depth of the'socket,

nor'to the employment of two or more of them, as in many cases-it will be found only necessary to have one, and that of such a length thatthe leg shall be steadied in its movements.

In Figure 26 I have shown a socket, a, of great depth, withthe step (I attached to it.

The socket is provided with a thumb-screw, as in the previous fights, and can be drawn up when released automatically by the spring y.

The leg .may be drawn up by means of an additional cord, 11, attached to the pawl, and the pawl may be returned to position by a flat spring, or by a. coiled spring, as shown in figs. 2l and 2S.

=In-some cases it would be advisable to dispense with thethumb-screw or screws, on account of the time it would occupy to turn and secure them, and in their stead pins or wedges could be used which are of easy adjustment.

In Figure 29 I have shown a pin, j, passed into a holein the bar, and above the step, so that the leg is prevented rising while the pin is in the hole.

The pin is attached to the free end of the rubber spring j, so that the spring is of double utility, viz: that of a pin-holder when it is unhooke-d from the stud, and of a spring when it is hooked.

Figure 29 represents the pin in the leg.

In Figure 30 I have shown such a pin passed into a hole through both the. socket and bar.

When I use a wedge-,1 prefer to attach it to the spring, as shownin Figure 31, and insert it into a hole made for its reception at the back or side of the step. It is forced in with sufiicient'pressure to hold the leg firm when a plain leg is used, but when a notched leg or a notched bar is employed, it will only be necessary to drop iii-into the hole to compel the step or some other part to take into one or other of the notches.

In cases when the bar and the leg are made of very thin metal, I connect a stay or tie-rod, c, from the bar to the frame in any convenient manner. 7

In the case of fitting a bar to the back-bone, I clip or bolt the tie-rod in place, as shown at tig. 23.

In the foregoing description, I have described the cord 1'. as being connected to a ring, it, to slide upon the handle bar m, but I do not restrict myself solely tothat mode of drawing up or letting down the leg or legs, as I can employ a sheave on the handle-bar m, or on an additional bar close to one or other of the handles.

In fig. 20 I have shown a sheave, A, connected with a tube, B, and a collar or washer, O, to form one iece.

The length of the tube is such that the sheave is put directly over the pulley-roller L, to prevent the cord being drawn out of the groove, and to serve as a means of steadyiug the. sheave in its rotation.

The collar orwasher O is formed with about four ratchet-teeth on its periphery, and a projecting button or thumb-piece, D, so that when the butt-on is lifted by the riders thumb or finger, the sheave is caused to rotate a given distance-either to draw up or release the leg. The ratchet-teeth are engaged by aspring pawl, E, and holds the sheave in the position to which it was moved.

The button is attached to a bent piece, as shown,

. to bring it within reach of the riders tlmmb or finger,

without; releasing his hold upon the handle.

The tube may be dispensed, and the collar or washer D may be. connected to. the sheave by distancing pieces or rods F F, as shown in the detachedview,

Figure 32. V V V V V V V c 7 V The diameter of'the'sheave is such that an eighth I of a revolution will be sutiicicnt to act upon thecord and leg or legs.

The spring pawl E is bent over to the inside of the collar 1), to actas a stop to prevent it moving from itsproper place.

Sometimes I make the handle bar in two pieces, and so arrange it that the turning of one handle shall rotate the sheave, and the turningof the other handle shall draw up or release the break. seated in Figure 33.

Itconsists in carrying up a bracket, G, from the handle fork, and leadiugltho inner ends of both bars This is reprem and m'into' one arm of the bracket to hold both capable of being drawn up or down by a cord or cords,l

in the manner and for the purposes bereinbetbre described and shown.

2. The spring claw or catch upon the handle or handle bar, for retaining the cord and leg, or bars and legs. in a raised or lowered position, in the manner described and illustrated.

7 6.53m construction and employment of a sliding... V 1 or leg, whether such leg be fitted with a pawl-rack or other appliance for retaining it in a raised or lowered position, in the manner and for the purposes bet'ore described and shown in the drawing,

4. The sheave or sheaves, and the parts connected therewith, for drawing up the cord or cords of the jointed orsliding legorlegs, as hereinbefore described and represented 'in the drawing I 5. The employment of a pawl or a spring or a pawl and a spring, to return the'leg or legs or bars int-o the reverse position, as hereihbetore described and represented in the several figures of the-drawing annexed.

In witness whereof, I, the said CHARLES WYND? HAM, have hereunto set my hand this 21st day of April, 1870. i

O. WYNDHAM.

Witnesses:

H. GARDNER,

' 166 Fleet Street, London. E. O. DANIEL,

166 Fleet Street. London-.'

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