A New or Improved Self-opening or Safety Stirrup.
Year: 1899

page_text: A New or Improved Self-opening or Safety Stirrup.
I, JACOB RAPP, of Ingolstadt, Bavaria, in the Empire of Germany, Clerk, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of the present invention is a stirrup which makes it impossible for
the rider after falling or being thrown and hanging in the stirrup to be dragged
along by the horse. For this purpose the stirrup is on its upper middle part
divided into two parts which by the unavoidable pressure of the foot, hanging in
the stirrup, turn directly aside and free the foot.
The construction of the stirrup is as follows:-
The bow of the stirrup is on its upper end divided in the middle. The two
halves of the bow rotate with their pivots in sockets which are formed in the tra-
verse or foot rest of the stirrup. These pivots have on their under part sector-
shaped pieces the upper surface of which is inclined on both sides. On the under-
side of the traverse on both sides an obtuse angled tappet is arranged and at the
side of the same a stop. The sector pieces are formed roof-shaped near the tra-
verse, and rest with these parts in similarly shaped recesses between the tappet
and the stop. A spring, arranged on the underside of the traverse presses the
bow parts against the same and thereby holds fast these bow parts of the stirrup
in position when in use. Should the rider fall, his foot, by hanging in the stir-
rup, presses against one of the bow parts and the latter turn round the pivots
because this pressure is much greater than the resistance of the spring. The
sector pieces slide over the tappets whereby the spring is bent. The pressure of
the latter causes these sector-pieces to slide outwards with a sudden jerk over the
inclined faces of the tappet, so that the bow is completely opened and frees the
foot. The stops limit the rotation of the bow parts and prevent the said parts
from opening of themselves when the stirrup is in use. The holding of the two
bow-parts in the position of use as well as in the position when turned outwards
may be effected in different ways.
In another arrangement, instead of the sector pieces and tappet, discs are used
which are fastened to the under end of the pivot. These discs secure at the same
time the fastening of the pivots. By this arrangement the two parts are kept in
position of use by means of a spring that presses against the edges of the tappet.
The discs touch the rim of the traverse so that they cannot turn with the parts
in any direction.
When the parts are turned outwards by the foot the spring is bent on both ends
by the edges of the tappet in such a way, that as soon as the said parts have made
one-eighth of a revolution the same are turned completely outwards by the
springs and kept in this position by the pressure of these springs.
In a further arrangement the fastening of the bow parts is performed in the
same manner as last described but with the difference that the discs are kept in

page_text: position by two springs instead of one, because the traverse is perforated in the
middle for the purpose of making it lighter.
Dated this 21st day of August 1899.
HERBERT HADDAN & Co.,
Agents to Applicant.
I, JACOB RAPP, of Ingolstadt, Bavaria, in the Empire of Germany, Clerk, 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 follow-
ing statement:—
The object of the present invention is a stirrup which makes it impossible for
the rider after falling or being thrown and hanging in the stirrup, to be dragged
along by the horse." For this purpose the stirrup is at its upper middle part
divided into two parts which, by the unavoidable pressure of the 1oot, hanging in
the stirrup, turn directly aside and free the foot.
Owing to the special construction of this stirrup the same can be taken to pieces
and put together again rapidly and easily, a circumstance which is principally of
advantage 1or purposes of cleaning.
In the annexed drawing Fig. 1 represents a front elevation of the improved
stirrup, Fig. 2 shows, in a side view of the stirrup, the position of one of the gud-
geons against the abutment g and in the irregularly shaped recess in the under-
side of the guiding socket. Fig. 10 shows in section the abutment g, the said
recesses with the gudgeon d, and the second inclined surface at the side thereof
straightened and Fig. 3 shows the underside of the stirrup. As will be seen in
the drawings, the two halves a a obtained by the division of the bow rotate with
their pivots in sockets which are cast to the traverse or foot-rest c of the stirrup.
These pivots have on their under part gudgeons d provided with tapering pro-
jections which fit into correspondingly shaped recesses in the said sockets. In
order to facilitate the insertion of the parts aa of the bow into the cylindrical
sockets of the traverse the said sockets are provided with slots in the sides
thereof. The parts aa are passed through the said slots narrow side foremost
and then turned into the position of use, or the insertion can be effected in any
other convenient manner and the slots may be omitted.
In the position of use the irregularly tapering projections of the gudgeons d
rest in correspondingly shaped recesses in the sockets, into which they are pressed
by the spring f; thus the parts aa are secured against unintentional unfastening.
Against movement in the other direction they are secured by the abutments g.
When on the occurrence of a fall the rider's foot presses against the bow
parts aa the shorter inclined surfaces of the recesses in the sockets offer a certain
resistance to the rotation of the parts a a.
After revolving a short distance (when the projections of the gudgeons d have
passed the said shorter inclined surfaces) the longer inclined surfaces of the
gudgeons dd slide over similarly inclined surfaces in the sockets see Fig. 10 in
consequence of the pressure of the spring f, whereupon the bow-parts a a open
rapidly. The method of attaching the frame-shaped spring f to the under-side
of the traverse c is such, that only a single screw is required therefor. In one of
the longer sides of the spring f a recess is made and the spring is placed under-
neath the hook 3 in such a manner that the shank of the latter is within the said
recess. The spring f is then bent upwards at each side of the

page_text: said hook 3 so that it cannot slide past the latter. See Fig. 4 section Figs. 5
and 6 front and back view respectively. The other side of the spring is placed
over a fixed screw-bolt and screwed to the traverse c by means of the nut h. The
nut can be secured by means of a suitable safety-spring 4.
Instead of placing the spring f with a recess, underneath the hook 3, as shown
in Fig. 4, the said spring may be bent as represented in Figs. 7 and 8 and clamped
elastically to the hook 3.
Also if desired a spiral spring f can be used for the purpose of pressing the
gudgeon d into the recess in the cylindrical socket, as represented in Fig. 9.
The securing of the screw can also be effected by means of a leather cord which
is passed through a lateral hole in the screw bolt and then tied.
instead of causing the bow parts a to rotate in sockets in the traverse or foot
rest e the lower part of the bow and the traverse c can be in one piece, as repre-
sented in Fig. 11, and the bow can have upright projections, so that the stirrup
will be U-shaped. The said projections are provided with rings to which the
stirrup straps are attached.
Below the said suspending rings the bow parts a rotate on pivots in the
sides of the bow, see Fig. 12 which is a plan partly in section on line I-I of
Fig. 11.
The bow parts aa are prevented from opening in a direction towards the head
of the horse, by means or stops y in the sides of the bow, against which the bow
parts abut, see Fig. 13, which is a section on line II-II of Fig. 11. In the
opposite direction however, a spring is provided on each side in front of the
gudgeon and only permits the bow parts a a to open when the rider's foot, as
for instance in the case of a fall, exerts a certain pressure against the middle of
the bow which overcomes the resistance of the said spring f.
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:
1. A self-opening or safety stirrup, the bow of which is divided into two parts a a
which yield to the pressure of the rider's foot, when the latter is hanging in the
stirrup on the occurrence of a fall, and automatically rotate towards the sides and
thus release the foot, the said bow parts being heid in the end positions either
directly or indirectly by means of a spring or springs.
2. The form of construction of the stirrup described in Claim 1, in which the
cylindrical sockets provided at the ends of the foot-rest for the bow-parts aa are
provided with lateral openings in order to facilitate the insertion of the said
bow-parts.
3. The form of construction of the stirrup described in Claim 1 in which the
bow-parts a a rotate on supports provided at the ends of the foot-rest as described
with reference to Fig. 11.