Improvements in Air Pumps for Bicycles.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Aug., 1895-Accepted, 23th Sept., 1895
Improvements in Air Pumps for Bicycles.
We, AQUILA BOLTON MARSHALL and CHARLES BLISS BOYNTON, Gentlemen,
hoth of 207-209 Water Street, New York, in the County and State of New York,
United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of our invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :—
Our invention relates to improvements in air pumps such as are adapted for use
in filling pneumatic tires. It is customary to pump the tires full of air, either by
the means of push pumps or by hand pumps which are carried in the tool bag of the
machine, and in either case the filling of the tires is a good deal of a nuisance.
The object of our invention is to produce an extremely simple and easily operated
pump which is dust-proof, which is carried on the machine in position for use and
is always ready for use, also to construct the pump so that connections may be easily
made between it and either tire of the machine, and further to provide a detachable
crank for working the pump, and means for covering the crank axle with an air
tight cover when the pump is not in use.
To these ends our invention consists of certain features of construction and
combinations of parts, which will be hereinafter described and claimed.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this
Specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding
parts in both the figures.
Figure 1 is a broken side elevation of a bicycle frame provided with my improved
pump; and
Figure 2 is a vertical cross section of the pump.
The pump is provided with a suitable cylinder 10 which is held by means of metallic
straps 11 to the head 12 of the bicycle frame 13, but other means of fastening the
pump may be used and it may be attached to other parts of the machine if desired,
although it is preferably secured to the head, as in this position it is entirely out of
the way and may be conveniently used. The cylinder has preferably a detachable
bottom 14 which is provided with an ordinary inlet valve 15 and with a nipple 16
to which a pipe 17 may be coupled, which pipe is adapted to connect with the
ordinary air valve of a pneumatic tire. When not in use the pipe 17 is removed
and the nipple 16 is covered by a screw cap 18 which excludes the dust.
In the cylinder 10 is a reciprocating piston 19 which works in the usual way to
suck in the air at one stroke and expel it on the return stroke, and the piston connects
by a rod 20 with the crank 21 connecting the two discs 22 which are secured to the
axles 25 and 25, and the axle 25 is squared at one end, as shown at 26, to receive a
crank handle 27 by which it and the discs may be turned and the pump operated.
The crank handle is detachable and may be carried in the tool box or pocket
when not in use.
The box 28, in which the axle 25 of the crank disc 22 turns, is screw-threaded, so
that when the crank handle is removed the axle may be covered by a cap 29 which
screws on the box 28 and thus excludes the dust. The crank dises 22 are mounted
in the reduced or flattened upper end 23 of the cylinder 10 and this part of the
cylinder is covered by a removable cap 24 which enables the parts of the pump to
be easily reached when necessary.
When the pump is to be used the caps 18 and 29 are removed, a hose or pipe 17
coupled to the nipple 16 and to the tire to be filled, the crank han.ile 27 is applied

page_text: to the axle 25 and is then turned, thus turning the crank discs 22 and reciprocating
the piston 19 which acts in the usual way to force the air through the pipe 17 and
into the tire.
It will be seen that when this pump is not in use it is absolutely dust proof, and
that, when coupled to the tire, it is also dust proof and can be very quickly connected
with the tire and very easily operated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is,-
1. The combination, with the bicycle, of the air pump strapped to the bicycle
frame, a nipple at the discharge end of the pump, a cap to cover the nipple, a
detachable crank handle for working the pump, and a cap to cover the crank axle,
substantially as described.
2. The combination with a bicycle, of a pump secured thereto and comprising a
cylinder having a reduced upper end and an inlet valve and discharge nipple in its
bottom, crank discs mounted in the reduced upper end of the cylinder, a piston in
the cylinder and connected with the crank discs, and a crank handle detachably
secured to the axle of the crank discs, substantially as described.
3. The herein-described air pump, comprising a cylinder reduced and flattened
at one end and provided at the other with an inlet valve and discharge nipple, a
cap for the nipple, a piston in the cylinder, crank discs journaled in the flattened
portion of the cylinder, and operatively connected with the piston, a detachable
crank handle for the axle of the crank discs, and a cap to cover the crank axle,
substantially as described.
4. An improved air pump for bicycles, comprising a cylinder having a flattened
upper end, and provided in its bottom with an inlet valve and a discharge nipple,
the flattened portion of the cylinder being provided with bearings one of which is
externally screw threaded to receive a cap, crank discs, each provided with an axle
fitting in said bearings, the axle of the screw threaded bearing projecting there-
through, a piston in the cylinder, a rod connecting the piston with the crank discs,
and a crank handle adapted to fit upon the projecting axle of the crank discs,
substantially as herein shown and described.
Dated this 27th day of August 1895.
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
53 Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.