Improvements in Bicycles.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 17th July, 1896
Complete Specification Left, 20th Mar., 1897-Accepted, 3rd July, 1897
Improvements in Bicycles.
I, ARTHUR BENJAMIN CRUICKSHANK, of 62, Chancery Lane, in the County of
London, Mine Proprietor, do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in bicycles, and it has for its object to
provide such machines with an attachment or means for giving lateral support thereto,
so that a rider shall be able, at any moment, to bring the machine to a standstill in
an upright position, and to remain mounted thereon.
To this end, I provide an arm, say on the off-side of the driving wheel, and a similar
arm on the near side of the steering wheel, both these arms carrying at their lower or
free extremities, a roller or wheel, or a plate. The said arms may be fitted on the
axles of the wheels, or to any suitable part of the frame, and they are so shaped as to
project outwards (say to the same extent as the handle bar) to give the required
support to the machine. They are connected to any suitable system of levers, so that
they can be lowered, or raised, simultaneously by means of a lever handle in connec-
tion with the said system of levers. This handle may be arranged in proximity to, or
be connected with, the handle bar of the machine.
The arms with their rollers, or plates, are kept normally raised by springs, and
means are provided for locking the lever handle to secure said arms when in their
lowered position.
ERNEST DE PASS,
Chartered Patent Agent,
78, Fleet Street, London,
and 5A, Market Street, Nottingham,
Agent for the Applicant.
provements
сустев.
I, ARTHUR BENJAMIN CRUICKSHANK, of 62, Chancery Lane, in the County of
London, Mine Proprietor, 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, reference being had to the accompanying drawings
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to improvements in bicycles, and it has for its object to pro-
vide such machines with an attachment or means whereby a rider shall be able, at
any moment, to bring the machine to a standstill, in an upright position, while
remaining seated thereon.
To this end, I provide, at each side of the machine, an arm having at its lower or
free extremity a roller, wheel, plate, or shoe which projects to about the same extent
as the handle. bar, so as to give a firm support to the machine. These arms are

page_text: preferably fitted to the frame of the machine in such a manner as to be normally
kept raised by a spring, or springs, and be capable of being lowered by means of a
suitable system of levers, and of being secured in such lowered position by a suitable
locking device.
And in order that my Invention may be readily understood, I will describe the
same fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 is a front view, of a bicycle with my improve-
ments applied thereto, the arms being shewn in their normal or raised position, in
full lines, and in their lowered position in dotted lines.
Fig. 3 is a detached view of the supporting arms.
Figs. 4 and 5 are an end view, and plan, respectively, of a form of locking device
for securing the support or attachment, when lowered.
In carrying out my Invention, I provide a pair of arms or supports a, a, curved
outwardly at their lower ends, and preferably provided with plates or shoes a' to
afford, a suitable bearing surface on the ground. If desired, however, I may fit, in
place of the plates or shoes, rollers or wheels. These arms or supports are pivoted
at their upper ends to a collar b (secured to the frame of the machine) in such a
manner as to enable them, when not in use, to be swung forwards and upwards so as
to be out of the way. The said arms are preferably retained in their normal or raised
position by a spring c, having one of its ends secured to said arms, and the other to a
clip c¹ on the frame of the machine.
.
Although I have shewn the two arms or supports a, a, opposite each other, and
connected together, it is obvious that they may be arranged separate from each other,
and be attached to different parts of the machine.
For the purpose of lowering the arms or supports when it is required to steady or
support the machine, while stationary, I provide an extension as on the arm a¹, and
connect to this extension, preferably by a pin joint, an adjustable rod d, whose other
end is similarly jointed to a bell crank lever e, pivoted at el, to a collar f on the
steering head. The other arm of this bell crank lever is connected by a ball and
socket joint e² (or other suitable joint) to the rod g whose opposite extremity is con-
nected, also by a similar joint h, to the hand lever h which is pivoted at h² to a clip
or collar i secured to the handle bar of the machine. Said hand lever is bent to suit
the curve of the handle bar, and is so arranged thereon that the rider can readily grip
its free end h³, without releasing his hold on the handle bar.
The purpose of the ball and socket joints e² and h¹, on the rod g, is to prevent the
working of the lever mechanism being affected by the steering of the machine.
The rods & and g are each advantageously constructed in two parts, connected by
nuts, d, and g, respectively, having right and left hand screw threads, so as to permit
of the ready adjustment of said rods to suit the machine, or to allow of the position
of the hand lever being altered.
In order to prevent the arms going too far backwards, I provide a stop, which may
be secured to the frame of the machine by means of a clip l, having a projecting
pin, which pin is arranged to engage the extension a³ of the supporting arm a¹.
It may sometimes be desirable to retain the supporting arms in their lowered
position, without keeping the hand on the lever h. To this end, I fit a collar on
ring loose on the handle bar, near the handle thereof, and I provide said ring j
with a hook or catch j¹ which is ordinarily kept free of the lever h, but which can be
turned round so as to grip the same and thereby keep the supporting arms a, a¹, in
their lowered position. The ring j is advantageously provided with a handle j² to
enable the rider to turn the catch into its operative position by a simple movement
of the thumb, after having first raised the handle h³. I also form a pin or projection
upon the ring j to strike against a stop on the handle bar, and so prevent the
ring from being pushed too far back.
Fig. 6 shews a modified arrangement in which the supporting arms are raised, or
lowered, by means of a chain m leading up to the handle bar over pulleys o and p,
and provided with a hook 'n by means of which the same can be operated by the
finger of the cyclist.

page_text: Although I have shewn the parts arranged in such a manner that by lifting the
hand lever the arms are lowered, while the spring raises them, it is obvious that I
may reverse this action, and use the spring to lower the arms, while the hand lever
raises them; but, in this case, the rod d will be connected to the supporting arms at
a suitable point below that at which they are pivoted, and the lower end of the
spring c will be connected to the extension a³ of the arm a¹.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my Invention, and
in what manner the same may be performed, I declare that I claim:
1. The improved attachment or means for supporting a bicycle in an upright
position, consisting of arms pivoted at either side of the machine and adapted to be
raised, or lowered, a spring for raising said arms, and lever mechanism for lowering
them, or lever mechanism for raising and a spring for lowering them, substantially as
described.
2. The combination, with the above claimed supporting attachment or means, of
the locking device or catch j, j', fitted to the handle bar of the machine and adapted
to engage the hand lever h so as to keep the supporting arms in their lowered
position, substantially as described and shewn.
3. My improvements in bicycles, substantially as herein before described and
shewn with reference to the annexed drawings, and for the purpose set forth.
ERNEST DE PASS,
Chartered Patent Agent,
78, Fleet Street, London,
and 5A, Market Street, Nottingham,
Agent for the Applicant.
Dated 20
100
ERNEST DE PASS,
Chartered Patent Agent,
78, Fleet Street, London,
and 5A, Market Street, Nottingham,
Agent for the Applicant.