Improvements in or Additions to Pedals for Velocipedes.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 14th June, 1897
Complete Connification Loft And Mo
1000
tenanted
Ath Luna 1000
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or Additions to Pedals for Velocipedes.
We, REUBEN JOHN COOPER COLLINS, of 76, Church Street, Clapham Road, in the
County of Surrey, Plumber, and PATRICK O'DONNELL, of 113, Houndsditch, in the
City of London, Tailor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The said invention has for its object to preserve the pedals of a velocipede in a
horizontal plane in all positions of the cranks that is, in position to receive the
feet of the rider of the velocipede for propulsion and consists essentially in effect-
ing the said object by suspending a counterbalancing weight preferably adjust-
able, from the underside of each of such pedals or toe clips that is below the centres
of gravity of each of the said pedals.
Although the said invention is mainly designed to correct the tendency of pedals
provided with toe clips to assume a vertical position by reason of the unbalanced
greater weight on one side of each pedal caused by the said toe clips the invention
is also of utility to prevent any tendency of a pedal not provided with a toe clip
to assume other than a horizontal position.
We preferably arrange and suspend the said weight beneath a pedal by the
following means:-
Near one
We provide a clip made from a strip of thin sheet metal doubled upon itself
at or about its longitudinal centre the portions of the said strip in contact with
each other being bent or curved in the same manner and in the same direction.
The bend or elbow in the centre of the said strip is so shaped that it is capable
of seating itself around a portion of the box or middle tube of the pedal and a
short distance below the said bend a screw bolt is passed through coincident holes
in adjacent parts of the strip the said bolt being provided with a nut.
end of the said strip we provide a slot and coincident therewith in the other
end of the strip adjacent thereto we provide a hole. Through the said coincident
slot and hole a screwed stem provided at one end with a weight is passed and
adjusted and fixed therein by two screwed nuts taking upon the said screwed
stem or otherwise. The said weight is such that when adjusted and fixed in
position it counterbalances the weight of the toe clip on the pedal or preserves a
pedal not provided with a toe clip in a horizontal plane as may be desired and as
hereinafter described.
The said clip and weight are applied to a velocipede pedal provided with a toe
clip as follows:-
The sheet metal clip is sprung over and its central bend made to seat itself upon
the box or middle tube of the pedal in such a way that the curved ends of the
strip in contact or nearly in contact with each other hang from the underside of
the pedal and in a direction opposite to or away from the side of the pedal to

page_text: which the toe clip is attached. The first hereinbefore mentioned bolt is then
passed through the holes provided therefor near the central bend of the clip seated
on the box of the pedal and by means of a nut screwed on the said bolt the said
bend of the clip is tightened upon the said box and thus made to virtually form an
integral part of the pedal. The said screwed stem with weight is then passed
through and adjusted in the coincident slot and hole provided therefor and fixed
therein by means of the said two screwed nuts in such a manner that the weight
is nearer to the side of the pedal opposite to that to which the toe clip is attached
than to the last mentioned side, and correctly counterbalances the weight of the
said toe clip and preserves the pedal horizontal in all positions of the crank.
When it is desired to use the pedal without a toe clip the appliance herein before
described may be utilized to preserve the pedal horizontal by reversing the position
of the said weight with respect to the clip that is by withdrawing the screwed stem
from and replacing it through its coincident slot and hole in an opposite direction
so that the centre of gravity of the weight, by reason of the curvature of the clip
can be brought to and fixed in a position under the centre of gravity of the pedal.
Or instead of providing a separate clip we may make the toe clip and weight
clip from one piece of metal or rigidly connected together independently of the
pedal and so bent and fashioned that the said combined appliance can be fixed upon
the side plate or middle tube of the pedal to which it is to be applied or to both
by bolts and nuts or otherwise.
Although we have herein before specified somewhat in detail one method of
carrying the said invention into effect we wish it to be understood that we do not
limit ourselves thereto as the said invention may be carried into effect in various
other ways the essence of the said invention consisting in preserving the pedals
of a velocipede in a horizontal position by means of a weight suspended from the
undersides of the said pedals or from the undersides of toe clips attached to the
said pedals and below the centres of gravity of the said pedals and toe clips when
in position.
Dated this Twelfth day of June 1897.
REUBEN JOHN COOPER COLLINS.
PATRICK O'DONNELL.
Improvements in or Additions to Pedals for Velocipedes.
We, REUBEN JOHN COOPER COLLINS, of No. 76, Church Street, Clapham Road, 3
in the County of Surrey, Plumber, and PATRICK O'DONNELL, of No. 113, Hounds-
ditch, in the City of London, Tailor, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:―
The said invention has for its object to preserve the pedals of a velocipede in a 4
horizontal plane in all positions of the cranks that is, in position to receive the
feet of the rider of the velocipede for propulsion, whether the said pedals be pro-
vided with toe clips or are not so provided and consists in effecting the said object
by so constructing and supporting a weight below the centre of gravity of each
of the said pedals or pedals and toe clips that the said weight may be adjusted 4
and fixed at any distance, within limits, from the centre of the pedal in a horizontal

page_text: plane in order to balance toe clips of various weights and so that the said weight
may also be adjusted and fixed directly or nearly directly beneath the axis of each
of the said pedals in order to prevent the said pedals when unprovided with toe
clips assuming other than a horizontal position as required.
We will proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying drawing the
construction and arrangement of parts we prefer to use in carrying the said inven-
tion into effect.
The same letters and figures of reference indicate the same parts in the three
figures of the said drawing.
Figure 1 is a plan and Figure 2 is a cross section taken on the line A Figure 1
of a bicycle pedal of the ordinary kind connected to the crank (a portion only of
which crank is illustrated) and provided with a toe clip of the ordinary kind to
which pedal the said invention is applied.
In this arrangement we suspend or support the said weight by means of the
clip or appliance a a¹ a² (shown detached from the pedal in Figure 3). The said
part a a a² is made of thin sheet steel or other strong sheet metal or alloy bent
and fashioned as may be clearly seen in the said Figure 3, that is, it consists of a
flat slotted part a having projecting from one end of one of its longer edges the
strip like extension a¹ whose end is bent over in a curve to form a part a² paralle!
to the part a but having its longer edges at right angles to the longer edges of
the part a.
The portion aª is provided with a plain hole near its end for a screwed
stem 6 projecting from a spherical part 6' which acts as a counterbalance to the
toe clip, to pass through. The part a a¹ a is attached to the front plate of the
pedal by means of the bolts c passing through the slot f in the part a and nuts
which bolts and nuts also serve to attach the toe clip to the pedal as shown no
back plate for the toe clip being needed. The position of the weight b¹ with respect
to the axis of the pedal is so adjusted that the overturning tendency of the toe clip
counterbalanced. The said weight is fixed in its adjusted position by two
screw nuts de screwed on the stem 6 on each side of the part a². As seen in
Figure 1 the part a a¹ a² is so arranged on the pedal that the part a¹ a³ is as near
as possible to that side of the pedal nearest the crank so that the pedal may serve
to support the bicycle against a kerbstone as usual.
is
The weight bis of such magnitude and its stem 6 of such length that any
ordinary toe clip may be correctly balanced by means of the same weight, and
the slot f is provided, and the said slot is of such length and width, and the part a¹
is of such length, and its bend is of such radius, that the same parts a a¹ a² b b¹
may be used with pedals of various lengths and widths and having side plates of
various heights and boxes or tubes of various diameters.
In pedals for tricycles and other like velocipedes the part a may be made shorter
than as illustrated and the part a', a² may be so arranged that it is in line with the
longitudinal centre of the toe clip.
Although the arrangement and construction of parts herein before described
and illustrated in the accompanying drawing is mainly of use in counterbalancing
the unbalanced weight of a toe clip of any ordinary weight attached to the pedal
yet the said arrangement and construction may be utilized to prevent any tendency
in the pedal to which it is applied (when such pedal is unprovided with a toe clip)
assuming other than a horizontal position by passing the stem 6 through the
part a² in the reverse direction to that illustrated so that the centre of the weight 61
may be directly under or nearly directly under the axis of the said pedal.
Although we have hereinbefore specified somewhat in detail one method of
carrying the said invention into effect yet we wish it to be understood that we do
not limit ourselves thereto as the said invention may be carried into effect in various
other ways as may be readily conceived. For instance an equivalent of the
part a, a, a² may be used which is capable of being attached to the box or to the
side or end plates of velocipede pedals. Or the adjustable counterbalancing weight
herein before referred to may be fixed in or on a prolongation of the pedal.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that we are aware
that it has been proposed by others to support a weight incapable of adjustment
with relation to the axis of the pedal, beneath the said axis in order to preserve
pedals unprovided with toe clips in a horizontal plane and that it has also been
proposed to counterbalance the weight of certain heel attachments attached to
pedals by means of an adjustable weight incapable of being adjusted and fixed
beneath the axis of the pedal but we declare that we claim :-
:
First Constructing and arranging a weight beneath the axis of a velocipede
pedal in such a manner that it may be adjusted and fixed at any required distance
from the axis of the said pedal in a horizontal plane in order to counterbalance toe
clips of various weights attached to the said pedals as required and may also be so
adjusted and fixed that its centre of gravity is so situated beneath the axis of the
pedal to which it is attached as to prevent any tendency of the said pedal when
unprovided with a toe clip to assume other than a horizontal position as required.
Secondly: The construction and arrangement of the parts a, a¹, a² and b, b' as
hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing and for the
purposes set forth.
Dated this 1st day of March 1898.
REUBEN JOHN COOPER COLLINS..
PATRICK O'DONNELL.