IMPROVEMENTS IN TWO-WHEELED VEHICLES
Year: 1886

page_text: I, WILLIAM RUDD of the Village of Dresden, in the County of Kent in the
Province of Ontario, in the Dominion of Canada, Carriage Builder, do hereby
declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN TWO-WHEELED VEHICLES,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My Invention consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of the side
bars and springs for supporting the body, and in securing one end of the side bars
to the axle and upwardly curving the opposite end and connecting them to the
shafts by a hinged joint, and a spring having a shaft adjustment; whereby easy
access to the seat is obtained; the outer end of the shafts, elevated to suit the
height of the horse; the draft on the horse lightened, and the occupants of the
vehicle relieved from the gait motion of the horse.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my improved two-wheeled vehicle.
Fig. 2 is a plan of the vehicle inverted, and
Fig. 3 is an elevation of the axle detached from the vehicle.
A, are the wheels, and B, the axle, which preferably is cranked upwardly, and
the cranks reinforced by a tie rod 5. C, are side, bars, rearwardly diverging, the
rear ends clipped or otherwise fastened to the axle between the crank and hub of
the wheels. The forward end of the side bars curve upwardly, and have secured
to them by bolts or other means a correspondingly curved strap-iron G, the
upturned end provided with an eye H. I, are the shafts connected by the usual
cross bar J, and to the underside of the shafts is bolted strap-irons K, the rear end
terminating in an eye L, which connects with the eye' H, of strap-iron G, by a
pintle M, whereby the shafts and side bars are hinged together.
To the underside of each shaft is secured one end of a bracket N, and the other
end connects by a coupling F, with the upper end of a wave-curved spring O, the
lower end terminating in a stem P, which is screw-threaded, and inserted in a hole
in a lug Q, projecting from the strap-irons G. The threaded stem of the spring O
is provided with two nuts R, one forward and the other rearward of lug Q, to
pinch the same, so that by screwing the nuts the forward end of the shafts can be
raised or lowered to suit the height of the horse, and the flexibility of the spring
relieves the occupants of the vehicle from the unpleasant, motion incident to the
gait of the horse.

page_text: S, is a strap of leather or other flexible material to buckle through a loop on the
coupling F, and spring O, to limit the upward flexibility of the spring, whereby
the front end of the shafts will not rise higher than may be desired.
T, are three-quarter elliptical or French platform springs, the lower section of
each spring clipped to the axle above the cranks, the forward end shackled to the
ends of a cross spring U, clipped at or near the middle to the underside of the
floor V, of the vehicle, and the upper end of the other section clipped to a
bracket W, bolted to the seat frame X, so that the floor of the vehicle will ride
between the side springs T.
C, are braces, one end clipped to the axle between the cranks, and the other end
bolted to the side bar.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The combination in a two-wheeled vehicle, of the side bars C, clipped to the
axle and having an upward bend hinged to shafts I, bracket N, coupling F, spring O
having stem P provided with nuts R, lug P, and strap S, as set forth for the purpose
described.
2. In combination in a two wheeled vehicle, of the axle B; three-quarter elliptical
or French platform springs T, cross spring U, braces Z, and side bars C, having an
upturned end hinged to shafts I; and diverging rearwardly, as set forth.
3. The combination with the shafts I, and side bars C, of the strap-irons G, K,
hinged together, bracket N, spring O provided with stem P and nuts R, lug Q, and
flexible strap S, as set forth.