Improvements in Cycle Mudguards.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 31st Oct., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 21st May, 1894-Accepted, 11th Aug., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Cycle Mudguards.
1 HENRY KEYS, of 4 Livery Street, in the City of Birmingham, Cycle
Merchant do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in the manufacture and application of
mudguards for cycles, and consists as follows:-
I make the guard proper of any suitable flexible material, such as oil cloth, silk
india-rubber, leather, canvas, or other material that may be readily rolled up.
This is made of a strip form usually about 3 or 4 inches wide, (more or less as may
be required) and of any desired length. Along each side of this guard provision is
made to receive foldable springs or metallic straps, such for instance that is used
for clock springs or the like purposes. Upon the guard aforesaid, loops, or channels
are made through or into which such strips are passed from end to end. Cross
strips are also provided at each end, and may be also added at any point in its
length. Thus this as a whole may be rolled up when desired into a very small
compass. The said metallic strips may be removable from the guard or be
permanently attached thereto.
The said guard is further removably carried upon suitable stay rods attached to
the forks or frame of the cycle. These are preferably made of wire, of round or
other section, and connected or jointed at their one end to clips or brackets, which
are secured to the fork or frame, and preferably independent of the spindle or
other existing screws. Such rods are capable of being turned on their jointed ends
into the required position to receive the guard, or otherwise to lie along the fork or
frame, and there secured out of the way.
The outer ends of these stay rods are provided with studs having enlarged heads
which take into slotted holes made in the flat spring upon the mud guard, such
slots having enlarged parts through which the heads of the studs may pass.
Generally two of these studs are employed at a convenient distance apart, so that
the spring may be bent so as to permit the heads of the studs to pass through the
enlarged parts of the slots, and when loosed the necks of the studs occupy the
narrowed portion of the slots.
The other end of the said guard is secured by clips, or studs or hooks, to the top
of the fork, or in some cases where it is desired to carry the guard around still
farther, a second set of stay rods may further be provided similar as before
described.
At any time when desired the guards may be readily disconnected from the stay
rods, and rolled neatly up to and against the forks, or removed altogether, the
stay rods themselves also being secured neatly against the said fork or frame.
Dated this 30th day of October 1893.
CHARLES T. POWELL,
Applicant's Agent.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Cycle Mudguards.
I, HENRY KEYS of 4 Livery Street Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
England, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:—
My invention has for its object improvements in cycle mud guards by which I
increase their compactness and portability to such an extent that they may be
rolled into à sufficiently small compass to be put in the pocket while at the same
time when attached to the machine they follow the curve of the wheel and are in
appearance and utility equal to any ordinary metal guard. I also form my mud
guards with adjustable attachments so that the same guards will suit various kinds
and sizes of cycles.
In order that my invention may be 'clearly understood and more easily carried
into practise I have appended hereunto a sheet of drawings upon which have
fully illustrated my improvements applied to a safety, and from which their
application to other cycles will readily be understood.
Figure 1 is a general view of a machine having my guards attached thereto.
Figure 2 is a plan of part of the rear wheel guard detached from the inachine.
Figure 3 is a similar plan of the front wheel guard also detached from the
machine with a part of the material broken away to shew the spring.
Figure 4 is a view of one of the guards when detached and rolled up.
Figure 5 is a cross section through the guard shewing the top of one of the stay
rods in elevation.
Figure 6 is a similar view to Figure 5 but shewing a modification in the shape of
the stay rod.
Figure 7 is a view shewing one form of clip for supporting the stay rod.
Figure 8 is a view of a bracket for attaching the guard support to the spindle of
the wheel.
Figure 9 is a view of part of a wheel having the bracket attached thereto and
shewing the mode of adjustment.
Figure 10 is a front view of a fork shewing the mode of adjustment in ease of
varied widths.
In carrying my invention into effect I form my mud guard A of any suitable
inaterial such as muslin oil-cloth canvas silk or any other flexible material which
may be jappaned on one or both sides the guard being made in strip form of the
required width. I may form my guard preferably of two thicknesses of such
material between which I insert light steel spring bands B such as clock spring
which have been previously coiled so as to be normally curled and these bands B
are so secured in or upon the material either by sewing or other suitable means,
that when fixed the material is supported in the curved form as shewn at Figure 1
and when detached may be curled up into the coil shewn by Figure 4 cross pieces b₁
may be inserted to stiffen the material laterally and crosswise and may be inserted
as desired while the said strips or bands may be removable from the guard or
. permanently attached thereto. The guards are supported by the removable stay
rods E which are attached to the frame of the machine at e and are provided
with the stud or studs e which pass through the holes a' formed in the guard A to
to receive them a plate H being provided so that the guard A is clamped between
the stay and the plate by the screw nut K as shewn by Figures 5 and 6 and
by curving the top of the stay rod a curved section is given to the guard A. The
lower ends of the stays are attached to the fork in front and to the frame behind
and are so 'arranged as not to interfere with the bearing spindles of the machine
when they are being removed or put on and they are so arranged as to be capable

page_text: of being turned on their joint e² so as to lie parallel with the forks in which
position they are retained by any suitable fastening. Slot a³ may be formed in the
guard to enable them to be fitted centrally in between any width of fork with the
same supporting bracket N in the case of any width of fork as shewn by Fig. 10.
I may attach my stay rods by means of the metal bracket M Figure 8 the hole m²
of which fits on to the spindle of the wheel and by turning the bracket M I may
carry the guard out further as shewn by m² so as to suit a larger wheel as shewn
by dotted lines in Figure 9. Of course I do not confine myself to the exact mode
or details here described of attaching the mud guard to the machine as these must
vary to suit the various requirements to be met with and in place of the steel
bands I may insert spring wire such as pianoforte wire which would coil up in a
similar manner to that of the band B. Part of the guard such as A³ Figure 1 may
or may not be provided with the stiffeners B and I may only use one steel band in
the centre of the guard in which case it would be provided with eyelets for
attachment or I may have more than two springs in the width.
Having now particularly described & ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1st. A cycle mud guard formed of the flexible material A with a stiffening band
or bands of steel B which allow of being coiled up substantially as and for the
purpose herein set forth and shewn upon the accompanying drawings.
2nd. The mode of and means for the adjustable attachment of cycle mud guards
substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth and shewn upon the
accompanying drawings.