Improvements in the Method of Mounting Seats or Saddles for Velocipedes.
Year: 1884

page_text: Improvements in the Method of Mounting Seats or Saddles for
Velocipedes.
I DAVID ALROY SALAMON of 27 Holborn Viaduct in the City of London,
Manager of the Bicycle and Tricycle Supply Association of the same address do
hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF
MOUNTING SEATS OR SADDLES FOR VELOCIPEDES, to be as follows:-
The object of the present improvements is to enable the rider to shift the
position of his seat with reference to the pedal shaft or crank, as may be required,
whilst riding, and also to enable the saddle to be easily adjusted to riders of
different weights.
To this end the invention consists in mounting the saddle upon a carriage or
frame adapted to slide and be firmly supported in or between guides rigidly fixed
on the frame, or secured to an ordinary straight or L pin or its equivalent, the
movement of such carriage or frame in its guides while the weight of the rider is
upon the saddle, being rendered easy by means of wheels or ball or roller bearings
or a combination thereof, and the locking of such carriage or frame in its set
position being effected by means of a locking lever or spring pawl,
The seat or saddle is upheld upon its carriage by suitably placed spiral springs,
each surrounding a rod extending downwards from the shell of the saddle or seat,
or from a plate to which the saddle or seat can be affixed in the usual manner, the
ends of the several rods being threaded to receive screw nuts, by which means a
variable tension can be put upon the spiral springs, which may thus be suitably
adjusted.
This arrangement will enable the seat to be rendered easy, and well adapted to
the tastes and action of riders of varying weight.
To obtain a maximum of rigidity with a minimum of friction between the
moving carriage or frame and its fixed guides, I preferably employ two track
guides adapted to receive between them wheels of corresponding shape on each
side of the frame, but in some cases solid grooved wheels running in contact with
a series of balls contained within grooves in the guide, or other forms of rolling
contact, may be employed.

page_text: In some cases the fixed guides, may dip rearwards, so that the backward
movement of the seat, when its sliding or rolling carriage is unlocked, may be
almost automatic.
°
The invention is mainly applicable to tricycles, but it is obvious that with slight
modification, the invention can be applied to bicycles and velocipedes of various
constructions.
I, DAVID ALROY SALAMON of 27 Holborn Viaduct in the City of London,
Manager of the Bicycle and Tricycle Supply Association of the same address, do
hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD
OF MOUNTING SEATS OR SADDLES FOR VELOCIPEDES and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-.
The object of the present improvements is to enable the rider to shift the
position of his seat with reference to the pedal shaft or crank as may be required
whilst riding, and also to enable the saddle to be easily adjusted to riders of
different weights.
To this end the invention consists in mounting the saddle upon a carriage or
frame adapted to slide and be firmly supported in or between guides rigidly fixed
on the frame or secured to an ordinary straight or L pin, or its equivalent, the
movement of such carriage or frame in its guides while the weight of the rider is
upon the saddle, being rendered easy by means of wheels, or ball or roller bearings,
or a combination thereof, and the locking of such carriage or frame in its set
position being effected by means of a locking lever or spring pawl.
The seat or saddle is upheld upon its carriage by suitably placed spiral springs,
each or some surrounding a rod extending downwards from the shell of the saddle
or seat, or from a plate to which the saddle or seat can be affixed in the usual
manner, the ends of the several rods being threaded to receive screw nuts by which
means a variable tension can be put upon the spiral springs which may thus be
suitably adjusted to the weight of the rider.
This arrangement will enable the seat to be rendered easy and well adapted to
the tastes and action of riders of varying weight.

page_text: The invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing in which Fig. 1 is a
side elevation of a seat or saddle mounted according to my invention, and Fig. 2
is a horizontal section of the same on the line 1, 2 of Fig. 1.
A is the seat proper of any usual or suitable construction, and preferably of
leather drawn to tension over a curved steel shell or plate in the manner patented
by Messrs Lamplugh & Brown.
Secured to this steel shell or plate by suitable bolts and nuts are the spiral
springs B, C, whose lower ends rest in the sockets D, E carried by or formed in a
carriage or frame F, which slides and is firmly supported between parallel
guides G, G, secured to the pin H.
The sliding carriage F conveniently consists of a central bar f connecting a pair
of fixed axles g g' on which are mounted the grooved wheels h h¹.
The central bar f is prolonged in front beyond the front axle g in order to carry
the socket D, and the rear axle g' is extended beyond the wheels h¹ in order to
carry the sockets, E E, a sufficient distance apart to afford a secure basis of support
for the seat A.
The spiral spring B is secured within the socket D by a nut d, but the spiral
springs CC merely rest in the sockets E E and are prevented from rising there-
from by the tension bolts or plungers c c which pass through holes in the
sockets E E and are threaded at their extremities to receive the nuts e e.
Thus
the rear end of the seat is supported on a pair of spiral springs whose tension can
be varied by screwing up or unscrewing the nuts e e, and the seat is prevented
from lateral and longitudinal displacement by the tension bolts or plungers which
are only free to reciprocate vertically in the sockets E E of the frame or
carriage F.
The front spring B might also be fitted with a tension adjusting bolt or plunger,
but it is found to give an easier movement to the saddle when it is not thus fitted,
care being of course taken that the said spring is of a strength suitable to the
weight of the rider.
To prevent jarring of the parts, in use, I interpose washers of leather or
equivalent material between the ends of the springs and the sockets in which
they rest and also between the sockets E and the adjusting nuts e e.
The fixed frame consists of two pairs of parallel rails or guide bars rigidly
connected, and each rail or guide bar is formed with a rib or flange with which the
grooves on the wheels h h¹, engage; and thus the sliding carriage F is firmly
supported while free to slide in a longitudinal direction in the said fixed frame.
It is obvious that flanged wheels and plain guide bars or rails might be used,
instead of grooved wheels and ribbed rails.
In order to fix the position of the sliding carriage, and consequently the seat,
with respect to the fixed frame when it has been properly adjusted, I provide a
forked lever K and pivot it upon the socket D, the single arm thereof which
extends forward being turned up to form a hook by which the carriage F can be
easily drawn forward or otherwise manipulated by the rider without dismounting.
The rear ends of the forked lever terminate in stud pins k k adapted to engage
with holes formed at suitable distances apart in the upper guide bars, and a small
spiral spring serves to hold the lever in engagement with the holes into which
the stud pins have dropped. I preferably mount this spiral spring on a stud pin
carried by an extension of the socket D of the sliding carriage F, as shown in the
Drawing.
l
To facilitate the adjustment of the sliding carriage I may in some cases employ
wheels running in contact with balls contained within grooves in the guide bars or
rails, or some other form of rolling contact.
The arrangement above shown and described is of a kind suitable for roadsters,
and comparatively heavy work; but it may be made of lighter construction and
its form be slightly varied without departing from the tenour of my invention.
The fixed guides G G, instead of being carried by a steel pin as shown, might be
secured to, or form part of, the frame itself, in some velocipedes,

page_text: In some cases the fixed guides may dip rearwards so that the backward move-
ment of the seat when its sliding or rolling carriage is unlocked, may be almost
automatic.
The invention is mainly applicable to tricycles, but it is obvious that with slight
modification, the invention may be applied to bicycles and velocipedes of various
constructions.
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
1. Mounting the seats or saddles of velocipedes in the manner hereinabove
described with reference to the Drawing, for the purpose of facilitating the
adjustment of the saddle to riders of different weights, and for enabling the rider
to shift the position of his seat with reference to the pedal or crank shaft without
dismounting, substantially as set forth.
2. The combination with a velocipede seat or saddle as A, of the spiral
springs B, C, sliding carriage F, parallel guides G G, and locking lever K substan-
tially as shown and described.
3. The combination with a velocipede seat or saddle such as A, spiral springs B, C,
and fixed parallel guide rails or bars such as G, of a sliding carriage provided with
sockets for the reception of the said spiral springs; tension bolts or plungers and
nuts for varying the stiffness of the springs and preventing longitudinal and
lateral motion of the saddle with respect to the sliding carriage; and a spring pawl
or locking lever such as K for fixing the position of the carriage with respect to
the guide rails, as set forth.
4. Supporting a velocipede seat or saddle on a sliding or rolling carriage or
frame constructed fitted and operated in the manner and for the purpose herein
shown and described.