Improvements in or relating to Saddles for Velocipedes and analogous objects.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Sept., 1892-Accepted, 29th Oct., 1892
Improvements in or relating to Saddles for Velocipedes and
analogous objects.
We, THOMAS GUTHRIE, Painter, of 3 Thorney Terrace, and WILLIAM
THOMAS HALL, Schoolmaster, of 1 Whitburn Terrace, both in South Shields in
the County of Durham 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 :-
This invention has reference to improvements in or relating to saddles for
velocipedes and analogous objects.
In order to make such saddles as comfortable as possible to the user it has
become a common practice to use a leather saddle inflated by means of an india
rubber bag contained within the leather case and blown out by air pressure.
Further to keep the saddle cool, it has become a common practice to have an
opening in the centre of the leather saddle seat for the free circulation of air
therethrough.
In consequence of the latter construction, a difficulty has arisen in connection
with the insertion and extraction of the internal air bag and this has been in part
met by sundry inconvenient devices for drawing the air bag into position within the
leather casing.
The leather casing is fitted at its larger end with a slit through which the
internal air bag is inserted and in order to get the latter into its position, it has
had to be made so that its ends may pass round either side of the permanent leather
cylinder forming the ventilating hole in the saddle and then these ends have been
drawn down to the opposite end of the leather case by strings or other equally
inconvenient appliances.
It is to overcome this inconvenience that we have devised the invention, the
subject of this Specification, which we will now proceed to explain with reference
to the accompanying drawings in which
Figure 1 shows a cross-section and Figure 2 a plan of the underside of a saddle,
fitted with our improvements, and throughout the following description like marks
of reference designate like parts.
Referring to the drawings c is the leather casing of the saddle and 4 (shown by
a thick black lining) is an internal india rubber inflated air bag formed with a
central ventilating hole.
This air bag may be strengthened by a canvas covering thereon, should such be
deemed necessary.
In the bottom portion of the saddle and fitted between the two thicknesses of
leather there shown, an iron plate frame is secured running all round the saddle
basal margins and the weight of the rider is transmitted from the saddle through
the iron arms to the boss g which is designed to be secured to the machine framing
in any convenient manner. The outer ends of arms fare secured to points in the
frame h by bolts h¹.
In the centre of the saddle is a ventilating opening arranged in a special manner
as follows: the leather cylinder a' which forms the ventilating hole in the saddle is
arranged so that it can be entirely withdrawn from its position within the saddle
to allow the air bag 4 to be easily placed in its position or withdrawn therefrom.
It will be observed that the casing c of the saddle terminates about the bottom
of the ventilating opening opposite the eyelet holes a² formed in the lower margin
of the leather cylinder a
Around the margin of the leather casing c of the saddle surrounding the
ventilating opening we place evelets a³ corresponding to the eyelets a² in the

page_text: leather cylinder a¹ and in ordinary working the cylinder a¹ and casing c are tightly
laced together at these eyelets by lacing 1 so as to securely retain the internal
inflated air bag.
Should it become necessary to take out the air bag 4, the lacing between the
eyelets beneath the saddle is undone, when the cylinder a' is free to be pushed
upwards above the saddle level as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, when the air bag
can be at once extracted at the slit s by undoing the lacing .
Similarly to replace the air bag, it is easily pushed into its required position
through slits and when the central hole in it comes opposite the ventilating hole in
the saddle the leather cylinder or casing a¹ of the saddle is pushed down through
the corresponding hole in the air bag.
The eyelets a² in the cylinder and a³ in the saddle casing are then securely laced
together when the saddle and its internal air bag can be inflated for use.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is
-
1. The improvement in saddles for velocipedes and analogous objects consisting
in the provision of a central adjustable ventilating opening so arranged that when
desirable the tubular or cylindrical portion of the saddle forming the opening can
be readily removed by firstly unlacing its attachment to the saddle casing and by
secondly displacing it so as to admit of the easy insertion or extraction of the air
bag used for inflating the saddle the several parts being arranged and adapted to
operate substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein described and
illustrated in the drawing.
2. The general arrangement or combination of parts forming the improvement in
velocipede and analogous saddles substantially as herein set forth.
Dated this 22nd day of September 1892.
A. CRAWHALL CHAPMAN,
3, St. Nicholas Buildings, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Patent Agent.