Improvements in by
Year: 1899

page_text: Improvements in by
I, GEORGE HENRY NEDDERMAN, of 80, Coppice Street, Oldham, in the County
of Lancashire, Cycle Maker, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
The object of this invention is to easily effect an opening or openings in the
frame work of a rear-driven safety bicycle whereby one or both tyres may be
taken entirely away from the machine in a simple and convenient manner and
without the necessity of having to detach either the gearing (chain or otherwise)
or gear case. The desirability of this object will be apparent from the fact that
the tyres when entirely disencumbered from the machine are more easily manipu-
lated for repairing and other purposes.
The means to effect this object will first be described with reference to the
back wheel tyre.
The back fork, or part of the frame work which extends from the bottom
bracket or crank axle hub to the spindle which passes through the back wheel
hub, which is on the side of the frame opposite to that upon which the driving
gear is arranged, instead of being made up of parts brazed together so as to
form one rigid piece as in cycles at present constructed, is divided into or made
up of two shorter lengths: The ends thus formed at the point of division in the
length may be suitably shaped or may have small pieces, mounted upon them
by brazing or otherwise firmly fixing, suitably shaped so that they can be fitted
together to form a joint and firmly secured by means of a bolt or screw or bolts
or screws passing through or into them or by such means that the two parts can
be readily detached in a simple mechanical manner. Any suitable form of
joint may be adopted such as, causing the two ends to abut and securing them
to a plate, which overlaps them both, by means of bolts or screws: flanging the
two ends of the parts to be joined and securing the flanges together by a bolt
or screw or bolts or screws. The two ends may he made to overlap each other
and secured by means of a bolt or screw or bolts or screws passing through or into
the two overlaps. With regard to securing the parts of the joint together by
means of a screw or screws the following method may be adopted. The screw
or screws may pass through one piece forming the joint and into or through
the other piece the latter piece into which a screw enters being provided with
an internal screw thread for the reception of the screw. In addition to this
the hole in the piece through which the screw first passes may also be provided
with an internal screw thread of a suitable size for the screw to engage with
it and afterwards the thread with the exception of a very small portion may be
cut away by drilling out from the side opposite to that at which the screw
enters, the screw thread upon the screw (threaded from screw head to tip) being
cut away or turned off at the back or head end so as to leave only sufficient
thread upon the screw as will allow it to fully engage with the internal screw
thread formed in the latter piece into which the screw enters. By this arrange-

page_text: ment it will be seen that the screw is capable of holding the joint firmly together
when tightened, whilst upon unscrewing it the joint may be seperated without
the necessity of taking the screw entirely out of the hole in the piece into which
it first enters and the small portion of thread left in the hole provided for the
screw in this piece prevents the screw from dropping away and thus saves it
from being lost.
The division of the back fork into two shorter lengths joined together as
described may be anywhere between the back fork lug, that is the end which
carries the back wheel spindle, and the crank axle hub or bottom bracket. If
the point of division of the fork into two shorter lengths be near the back fork
lug here referred to one of the two ends to be mechanically joined in the manner
previously described may be formed upon it in which case the back fork lug
alone forms one of the two shorter lengths, previously referred to, of which the
back fork is made up.
In a large number of bicycles as at present constructed the back wheel spindle
fits into slots or forked ends formed in the two back fork lugs cach fork end
when the machine is in working position being locked between a bearing cone
and nut both of which screw upon the spindle. The back stays, being the two
upper members of the back portion of the frame work, extend either from the
back wheel spindle or back fork lugs to the seat lug to which they are secured
at their upper ends by means of a seat pin provided with a nut at one end which,
when tightened, secures, in addition to the upper ends of the back stays, the
seat pillar in position. The lower ends of the back stays are secured by various
methods as, brazing them to the back fork lugs: passing screws through them
and into the back fork lugs; or passing the lower ends, provided with holes
for the purpose, over the ends of the back wheel spindle nuts placed upon the
ends of the spindle securing them in position. In some cases the back fork
lugs instead of having slots for the back wheel spindle to fit into are provided
simply with cylindrical holes into which are inserted the ends of the spindle
and to which they are secured by nuts placed upon the ends of the spindle.
If, therefore, a bicycle, constructed on the lines of such as are referred to in
the previous paragraph be provided with an casily detached joint upon the back
fork, as previously described, on the side of the frame opposite to that upon
which the driving gear is arranged, then, on seperating the two parts at the
joint, slackening or taking off the nut, on the same side of the frame, which is
upon the end of the back wheel spindle and also slackening the nut on the seat
pin, the detached hind portion of the said back fork along with the back stay
upon the same side of the frame may be released from the back wheel spindle.
the back stay may he swung away from it about the axis of the seat pin carrying
with it, in cases where back fork and back stay are secured to each other, the
detached hind portion of the said back fork. Thus an opening is effected whereby
the tyre after being taken from the back wheel can be taken entirely away from
the bicycle.
In some cases it may be also necessary to slacken the nut on that end of the
back wheel spindle which is upon the driving gear side of the frame. In other
cases the back stay as well as the back fork on the side of the frame opposite
to that upon which the driving gear is arranged may be made up of two lengths
jointed together in the same way as previously described with reference to the
jointed back fork.
In order that the back stay on the side opposite to that upon which the driving
gear is arranged may have perfect freedom of movement about the axis of the
seat pin the bridge by means of which the mudguard is secured and which
generally extends from one back stay to the other may be fixed securely on one
back stay only, namely, the one on that side of the frame upon which the driving
gear is arranged.
In order to render it unnecessary to slacken the nut on the seat pin the collar
or head of the seat pin may have two cylindrical surfaces turned upon it concen

page_text: tric with the axis of the seat pin of different diameters; the diameter of the
inner portion, which is the smaller of the two, being larger than that of the
remaining portion of the seat pin. That portion of the head having the smaller
diameter, when in position, passes through the eye or cylindrical hole in the
upper part of the back stay on that side of the frame opposite to that upon
which the driving gear is arranged and abuts against the seat lug. The part
of the head having the larger diameter serves as a flange and prevents the back
stay from falling away from the seat lug. The end of the back stay which is
held to the seat lug by means of the seat pin head just described is sufficiently
thin that it may oscillate freely about the axis of the seat pin between the
flange or portion of the seat pin head having the larger diameter and the seat
lug even when the seat pin is tightened up in position by means of the nut. If
the seat pin be reversed, that is to say if the seat pin head be placed on that
side of the frame upon which the driving gear is arranged, then, instead of the
head being of the special form described, a stepped washer of similar form may
be used to occupy the position of the special head followed by a nut to secure
the seat pin in position. Hence, in either case upon placing the back stays in
position against the seat lug and securing the special seat pin or seat pin and
special washer as described by means of a nut on the end of the seat pin the seat
pillar is tightly held in position whilst the back stay on the side of the frame
opposite to that upon which the gear is arranged may swing freely about the axis
of the seat pin.
Next, in order that the front wheel tyre may be taken away from the frame
without the necessity of springing the forks, one of the front forks to which
the front wheel spindle is secured by means of two nuts may be made up of two
lengths jointed in the same manner as previously described with reference to
the jointed back fork. On seperating the joint and slackening the front wheel
spindle nut on the same side of the frame an opening is obtained by means of
which the object stated is attained.
Dated this 20th dar of Ianuaw 1900
I, GEORGE HENRY NEDDERMAN, of 80, Coppice Street, Oldham, in the County
of Lancashire, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:
The object of this invention is to easily effect an opening or openings in the
frame work of a rear-driven safety bicycle whereby one or both tyres may be
taken entirely away from the machine in a simple and convenient manner and
without the necessity of having to detach either the gearing (chain or otherwise)
or gear case. The desirability of this object will be apparent from the fact that
the tyres when entirely disencumbered from the machine are more easily manipu-
lated for repairing and other purposes.
The means to effect this object will first be described with reference to the
back wheel tyre.
The back fork, or part of the frame work which extends from the bottom
bracket or crank axle hub to the spindle which passes through the back wheel
hub, which is on the side of the frame opposite to that upon which the driving
gear is arranged, instead of being made up of parts brazed together so as to

page_text: form one rigid piece as in cycles at present constructed, is divided into or made
up of two shorter lengths joined together at the point of division of the length
in a simple mechanical manner which provides for easy detachment.
The ends thus formed at the point of division in the length of the back fork
may be suitably shaped, or may have small pieces mounted upon them (by brazing
or otherwise firmly fixing) suitably shaped, so that they can be fitted together
to form a joint and firmly secured by means of a bolt or screw, or, bolts or
screws, passing through or into them; or by such means that the two parts
can readily be detached in a simple mechanical manner. Any suitable form
of joint may be adopted such as causing the two ends to abut and securing them
to a plate, which overlaps them both by means of bolts or screws; flanging the
two ends of the parts to be joined and securing the flanges together by means
of a bolt or screw, or, bolts or screws, passing through or into them. The two
ends may be made to overlap each other and then be secured by means of a bolt
or screw, or, bolts or screws, passing through or into the two overlaps. · With
regard to securing the parts of the joint together by means of a screw or screws
the following method may be adopted. The screw or screws may pass through
one piece forming the joint and into or through the other piece, the latter piece
into which a screw enters being provided with an internal screw thread for
the reception of the screw. In addition to this the hole in the piece through
which the screw first passes may also be provided with an internal screw thread
of a suitable size for the screw to engage with it and afterwards the thread with
the exception of a very small portion may be cut away by drilling out from
the side opposite to that at which the screw enters, the screw thread upon the
screw (threaded from screw head to tip) being cut away or turned off at the back
or head end so as to leave only sufficient thread upon the screw as will allow
it to fully engage with the internal screw thread formed on the latter piece into
which the screw enters.
By the arrangement described with reference to the mode of securing the lap
joint by means of a screw or screws it will be seen that the screw is capable of
tightly securing the joint whilst upon unscrewing it the joint may be seperated
without the necessity of taking the screw entirely out of the hole in the piece
into which it first enters and the small portion of thread left in the hole in this
latter piece prevents the screw from dropping away and thus saves it from the
possibility of being misplaced or lost.
The back fork, jointed as described, may have the joint formed upon it any-
where along its length. When near the back hub spindle one facing of the
joint may be formed upon the lug which carries the back hub spindle the other
facing being formed on an additional lug permanently (brazed or otherwise)
fixed to the tube forming the back fork.
In a large number of bicycles as at present constructed the back wheel spindle
fits into slots or forked ends formed in the two back fork lugs each fork end
when the machine is in working order being locked between a bearing cone
and nut both of which screw upon the spindle. The back stays, being the two
upper members of the back portion of the frame work extend either from the
back wheel spindle or back fork lugs to the seat lug to which they are secured
at their upper ends by means of a seat pin provided with a nut at one end, which,
when tightened, secures, in addition to the upper ends of the back stays, the
seat pillar in position. The lower ends of the back stays are secured by various
methods as, brazing them to the back fork lugs; passing screws through them
and into the back fork lugs; or passing the lower ends, provided with holes
for the purpose, over the ends of the back wheel spindle, nuts placed upon the
ends of the spindle securing them in position. In some cases the back fork
lugs, instead of having slots for the back wheel spindle to fit into are provided
simply with cylindrical holes into which are inserted the ends of the spindle.
If, therefore, a bicycle constructed on the lines of such as are referred to in
the previous paragraph be provided with an easily detached joint upon the back

page_text: fork, as previously described, on the side of the frame opposite to that upon
which the driving gear is arranged, then, on seperating the two parts of the
fork at the joint, removing the nut which secures the said fork to the back hub
spindle and slackening the nut on the seat pin, the detached hind portion of the
said back fork along with the back stay upon the same side of the frame may
be released from the back wheel spindle, the back stay may be swung away from
it about the axis of the seat pin carrying with it, in cases where back fork and
back stay are secured to each other, the detached hind portion of the said back
fork and thus an opening is effected whereby the tyre after being taken from the
back wheel can be taken entirely away from the bicycle.
A joint, similar to such as are described with reference to the jointed back
fork, may also be formed on the back stay on the same side of the frame as the
jointed back fork. In this case on seperation of the two joints (fork joint and
stay joint) and removal of hind and lower portions of back fork and back stay,
respectively, from back hub spindle the required opening in the frame is produced.
Where a mudguard is used it may be fixed by means of a bracket to one back
stay only tiz, the one on the gear side which thus provides for freedom of
movement of the other back stay.
The back stay on the same side of the frame as the jointed back fork may be
swung freely about the axis of the seat pin without loosening the seat pin nut by
intercepting between the cylindrical hole in the back stay end and the cylindrical
surface of the seat pin on which it is placed an easy fitting bush thick enough
to stand out flush of the cylindrical hole in the back stay end. Thus when the
seat pin nut is tightened the bush is held secure whilst the back stay may swing
freely upon it.
Next, in order that the front wheel tyre may be taken away from the frame
without the necessity of springing the front forks, one of the front forks to
which the front wheel spindle is secured by means of two nuts may be made
up of two lengths joined in the same manner as previously described with refer-
ence to the jointed back fork. On seperating the joint and slackening the front
wheel spindle nut on the same side of the frame an opening is obtained by means
of which the object stated is attained.
The accompanying drawings are intended to make the foregoing matter clearer
and also to illustrate in more minute detail a few forms of the joint formed upon
or affixed to the two parts of the back fork.
Fig. 1 represents a bicycle frame having the nearer back fork divided into
the two parts and h the ends a and b, respectively, of which are suitably shaped
so that they can be firmly held together and easily detached. It can readily
be seen from the previous description that the joint has been detached and the
back stay and portion of the back fork g have been swung about the axis of
the seat pin in a suitable position to form the opening necessary for the
removal of the back tyre when the back wheel is in position and fixed by means
of the spindle and nut to the end of the unjointed, or gear side, back fork.
Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5 each represent a different form of the joint made upon the
back fork.
In each of Figs. 2 and 5 a plan, elevation and sectional side elevation are
shown.
In each of Figs. 3 and 4 an elevation and sectional plan are shown.
The same letters are used in each figure for analogous parts and referring to
all the figs. of the accompany drawings, where applicable. a and b represent
the two portions of the detachable joint the projections c and d respectively
formed upon them being for the purpose of inserting into or fitting upon the
tubes and h, respectively, which form the body of the back fork to which they
are permanently fixed by brazing or otherwise. In the accompanying drawings
the projections c and d are adapted to fit in the ends of ☐ section tubes.
In Fig. 4 a forms by itself one of the two portions of the back fork.
In Fig. 5 the portion a, which may be a steel stamping or malleable iron casting

page_text: cut to the requisite form by milling cutters and other suitable tools, in addition
to forming one member of the joint serves also as a bolt for securing the joint
together the nut f screwing upon it for that purpose.
The joint in each of Figs. 2, 3 and 4 is secured by a screw the screw being
represented by e in Figs. 2 and 4. The screw is not shown in Fig. 3.
Referring to my Patent No. 20714 dated Oct. 1st 1898 it may here be observed
on reference to Figs. 1, 2, 5 and 8 thereof that a detachable joint is formed,
between C₂ and b, for a similar purpose, connecting what is virtually two portions
of a back fork, provisions being made for the said joint by Claims 6 and 8. As
the said joint has to some extent been made subsidiary to a chain adjustment
contained within the aforesaid patent and may possibly have its application
confined within certain limits it has been thought fit to file the present applica-
tion which has, for its distinguishing features, improvements in the formation
of the joint and its manner and position of application. For, it may be applied
at any point of any existing back fork by simply cutting the back fork into two
parts and applying the joint to connect the two parts together as previously
described.
The claims hereinafter contained are made with due difference to Claims G
and 8 of my Patent No. 20714 dated Oct. 1st 1898.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
In a rear driven safety bicycle
(1). A jointed back fork substantially as described and for the purpose set
forth:
(2). The application of a joint to connect two portions of a back fork or front
fork substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.
(3). The division of an existing back fork into two parts and the formation
or fixing of a detachable joint at the point of division in a manner substantially
as described and for the purpose set forth.
(4). A joint substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.
(5). The application of a detachable joint or joints in a manner substantially
as described and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 19th day of Ociober 1899.