An Improvement in Velocipedes.
Year: 1894

page_text: I ALFRED MAYHEW of 80 Windmill Street, Gravesend in the County of Kent,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows
-
My invention relates to the construction of the steering post and leading wheel
fork of bicycles, tricycles and other velocipedes, and has for its object to reduce
transmission of jerks and strains to the machine and its ride when passing over
stones and other surface mequalities, and generally to increase the resiliency of tho
machine and the comfort of inding
According to my improvement I interpose a specially constructed spring piece of
suitable strength and resiliency between the base of the steering post and tho
upper ends of the fork in the place of the usual crown, and in such manner that
perfect freedom of motion is obtained in the required vertical planes whilst the
necessary rigidity is maintained in the horizontal planes or curves of motion during
turning on swinging of the handle bar and lending wheel. The interposed spring
piece consists of a houzoutal, transversely ananged split or interrupted tube plain
or corrugated and more or less of C shape in cross section The split or interval
is of suitable width and arranged preferably on the front side. The split tube is
of such length as to carry the steering post socket or connection upon its upper
side, and the two sockets or connections of the fork upon its lower side, which are
suitably fixed to it I may in some cases insert conceutically within it a second
or more similar split tubes on other form of supplementary sping to obtain the
1 equned strength I may carry the inner steering poat tube down and through the
spring piece and secure all firmly together by a cotter or nut if desned.
By this construction the leading wheel and its fork are capable of a limited fore
and aft movement in radial dnections independently of the steering post, and the
resiliency gained is such that solid tyres may be used as effectually as pneumatic
or other more elastic tyres
Dated this 21st day of December 1894.
J C. CHAPMAN, C.P A.,
Agent
An Improvement in Velocipedes.
I, ALFRED MAYHEW, of 80, Windmill Street, Gravesend, in the County of
Kent, Engineer, 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 stateinent
-
My invention relates to the construction of the steering post and leading wheel
fork of bicycles, cycles, and other vclocipedes, and has for its object to reduce
hansmission of jerks and strains to the machine and its den when passing over

page_text: +lones and other surface inequalities, and generally to increase the Lesiliency of the
machine and the comfort of riding same.
According to my improvement I interpose a spring piece of suitable strength
and resiliency between the base of the steering post and the upper ends of the
fork in the place of the usual rigid crown, and in such manner that perfect freedom
of motion is obtained in the required vertical planes whilst the necessary rigidity
is maintained in the horizontal planes or curves of motion during turning or
swinging of the handle bar and leading wheel
I will fully describe my invention in reference to the accompanying drawing in
which Fig. 1 is a front elevation partly in section, Fig. 2 a section on line of
Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 illustrates an alternative form of sping crown with details
hereinafter referred to and further illustrated in Fig. 4
I employ an interposed spring piece forming a spring crown, which consists of a
horizontal transversely arranged split or interrupted tube more or less of a C shape
in cross section and such as is shown at A in Fig. 2. This spring crown 18 made
preferably of mild steel and may be either plain and single as in Figs 1 and 2, or
it may be two ply, the outer part of mild and the inner of spring steel, or it may
be corrugated longitudinally at certain parts as shown in Fig 3. It may be circular
as in Fig. 2, or more or less flattened or made elliptical as dotted for example in
Fig. 3
The split tube is of such length as to carry the steering post socket or
connection & проп 118 upper side, and the two sockets or connections of the fork F
upon its lower side which are suitably fixed to it in the known manner.
I may in some cases insert concentrically with the tube A a second or more
similar split tubes as shown dotted at A', Fig 2, in which case the split or splits ‹
may break Jout with each other
a
In some cases I may carry the inner steering post tube down through the
spring piece A as shown in Fig. 3, and secure all firmly together by a cotter or
nut 62, in which case a stop and washer such as is shown at baie provided so as to
admit of a suitable amount of play through the lower hole a' for the movement
of the spring crown A, at the same time preventing it from moving far enough in
either direction to strain the metal
Or for the same purpose I may employ caps such as C, Fig. 1, at either end of
the split tube A having annular grooves around their inner faces for receiving the
ends of the spht tube A and for regulating the movement of the same, such caps C
are secured in position and adjusted by a through bolt which may be secured at one
end and rendered adjustable at the other by seres and nuts such as are shown in
Fig 1
Fig 4 illustrates an alternative arrangement for controlling the movement of
the split tube A. This consists in the provision of a guide piece G externally
fixed at and to one side of the split a and having a pin g sliding in a slot g' on the
other side.
By the above described construction the leading wheel and its fork are capable
of a limited fore and aft movement nadial directions dependently of the
steering post, all vibration and rising and falling of the wheel when passing over
any irregularities being taken up by the closing and opening action of the split
crown, and at the same tune the longitudinal strength of the tube A maintains the
necessary rigidity in the horizontal planes or curves of motion during turning
or swinging of the handle bar and leading wheel, and the resiliency gained in the
vertical plane is such that solid tyres may be used as efficiently as pneuinatic or
more elastic tyres
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is.
In a velocipede the arrangement and use of a horizontal transverse split o
interrupted tube such as is above referred to interposed between the base of the

page_text: steering post and the upper ends of the fork, and mounted or adapted to
operate as a spring crown, substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein
set forth.
Dated this 10th day of July 1895
For the Applicant,
J. C. CHAPMAN,
70, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Chartered Patent Agent.