Certain Improvements in and connected with Steering Locks for Safety Bicycles and other Front Steering Velocipedes.
Year: 1896

page_text: Certain Improvements in and connected with Steering Locks for
Safety Bicycles and other Front Steering Velocipedes.
I, ROBERT WALKER SMITH, of the Eadie Manufacturing Company, Limited, of
Redditch, in the County of Worcester, Cycle Manufacturers' Manager, do hereby
declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows:-
This Invention has reference to what are known as friction band steering locks
which are used on safety bicycles and other front steering velocipedes to lock the
steering pillar in the steering head of the machine with the steering wheel in a
line or at any desired angle to the back wheel so that when thus locked the safety
bicycle can readily be supported leaning against a wall or other support.
My Invention consists of an improved construction of the said friction band or
lock and method of applying the same whereby it can very readily be applied to
any make of front steering cycle without the necessity of a special top lug or
bottom lug for the cycle head and there is no tendency to strain the steering pillar
from its true central position in the steering head of the machine which is a
serious defect in most of the band steering locks heretofore employed.
In one arrangement of carrying out my Invention I arrange for the band clip
to encircle the steering pillar where the top lug of the head meets the upper
collar of the ball head, and the meeting edges of these parts are turned so as to
form a V or other groove for the friction band to lie in so that the said friction
band when tightened up grips both the upper edge of the said top lug and the
lower edge of the ball head collar. The said steering band is by preference made
of a half round section as described in my prior Letters Patent No. 14969 of
A.D. 1894 the rounded side fitting in the said groove. In my present Invention
one end of the said friction band or clip has formed with it, or fixed to it, an
eye through which the other screw threaded end of the clip passes, this end,
having a milled nut for tightening up the band. In order to prevent the band
from turning on the said top lug the eye part of the band fits and engages in a
recess in the said lug.
When the clip friction band is tightened up as above described it tightens
equally on the to lug and on the ball head collar and has no tendency to strain
the steering tube out of its central position in the ball head.
I apply my improved friction clip band to act upon the lower edge of the bottom
ug and on the upper edge of the fork head collar, instead of and similarly as
above described with reference to the top lug, the edges of the parts clipped by
the friction band being by preference chamfered or coned for the friction band
to grip and bear against.
Dated shin 10th of Dutch 1000
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: Certain Improvements in and Connected with Steering Locks for
Safety Bicycles and other Front Steering Velocipedes.
I, ROBERT WALKER SMITH, of the Eadie Manufacturing Company, Limited, of
Redditch, in the County of Worcester, Cycle Manufacturers' Manager, do hereby
declare the nature of this Invention and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement: —
This Invention has reference to what are known as friction band steering locks
which are used on safety bicycles and other front steering velocipedes to lock the
steering pillar in the steering head of the machine with the steering wheel in a
line or at any desired angle to the back wheel so that when thus locked the safety
bicycle can readily be supported leaning against a wall or other support.
My Invention consists of an improved construction of the said friction band or
lock and method of applying the same whereby it can very readily be applied to
any make of front steering cycle without the necessity of a special top lug or
bottom lug for the cycle and there is no tendency to strain the steering pillar
from its true central. position in the steering head of the machine which is a
serious defect in most of the band steering locks heretofore employed.
I will describe my Invention by referring to the accompanying drawings on
which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the steering pillar and front fork of a safety
bicycle or other front steering velocipede with my improved steering lock applied
to the upper part of the same; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same on an
enlarged scale without the front fork; Fig. 3 is a sectional plan through line X X
of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the upper part of the steering head shewn
in Figs. 1 and 2 but with the steering lock removed; Fig. 5 is a plan and Fig. 6
is a front elevation and part section of the steering lock band and nut separate
from the cycle head; Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the steering head and steering
pillar with my improved steering lock applied to the lower part of the same; and
Fig. 8 shews the lower part of the steering head and the upper part of the front
fork crown of Fig. 7 with the steering lock removed.
The same letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in all
the figures of the drawings.
In one arrangement of my Invention as illustrated by Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6,
I arrange for the band clip A to encircle the steering pillar B where the top lug C
of the cycle head meets the upper collar D of the ball head which is fixed on
the steering pillar B, and the edges c d of these parts are turned so as to form
a V or other groove (see Fig. 4) for the friction band A to lie in so that the said
friction band when tighiened up grips both the upper edge c¹ of the top lug C
and the lower edge d of the ball head collar D and thus prevents the steering
pillar (to which the ball head collar D is fixed) from turning round. The steering
lock band A shewn separately by Figs. 5 and 6 is by preference made of half round
section as described in my prior Letters Patent No. 14969 of A.D. 1894, the
rounded side fitting in the groove between the edges d¹ c. In my present Inven-
tion one end of the friction band clip A has formed with it or fixed to it an eye E.
through which the screw threaded end a¹ of the band clip A passes this end a¹
having the milled nut F screwed on it for tightening up the band.
the boss part of the nut F is by preference reduced so as to fit in the eye E.
The front of
In order to prevent the band A from turning with the steering pillar the eye
part of the band fits and engages in the recess which I form in the top lug C
of the steering head.

page_text: When the clip friction band A is tightened up as above described it tightens
equally on the top lug C (which as aforesaid forms a part of the cycle frame)
and on the ball head collar D which turns with the steering tube B, and has no
tendency to strain the steering tube B out of its central position in the ball
head C as the tightening up of the band A imparts a slight upward movement to
the steering tube B in the direction of its axis tightening the fork crown G (which
is fixed to the bottom of the steering tube B) against the ball bearing in the
bottom lug H of the machine frame."
Instead of my improved friction band clip A being applied to the top lug Cof
the machine head as above described and illustrated by Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, I may
as shewn by Figs. 7 and 8, similarly apply my improved friction clip band to act
upon the lower edge h¹ of the bottom lug H and on the upper edge g₁ of the fork
head collar or crown G the edges h¹ g of the parts H and G which are clipped
by the friction band A being by preference chamfered or coned as shewn in Fig. 8
for the friction band A to grip and bear against. The bottom lug H has also a
recess formed in it in which the eye part E of the friction clip band A engages
and fits to prevent the friction band A from turning with the steering tube B.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:
1. The combination with the steering pillar and fixed steering head of a safety
bicycle or other front steering velocipede, of a separate gripping band which
encircles and fits in a groove formed between the lower edge of the upper collar
of the steering pillar and the upper edge of the fixed steering head, the said
gripping band having an eye at one end through which the other screw threaded
end of the band passes this screw threaded end having a nut by turning which
the band can be caused to grip the collar of the steering pillar and the steering
head thereby imparting a longitudinal thrust on the steering pillar and locking
the same in the steering head substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. The combination with the steering pillar and fixed steering head of a safety
bicycle or other front steering velocipede, of a separate gripping band which
encircles and fits in a groove formed between the lower edge of the fixed steering
head and the upper edge of the steering fork crown, the said gripping band
having an eye at one end through which the other screw threaded end of the band
passes this screw threaded end having a nut by turning which the band can be
caused to grip the steering head and the steering fork crown, thereby imparting
a longitudinal thrust on the steering pillar and locking the same in the steering
head substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. As a means for locking the steering pillar in the fixed steering head of a
safety bicycle or other front steering velocipede, the metal gripping band A made
with the eye E at one end through which the screw threaded end a¹ of the band
passes, this end having a nut F for tightening up or loosening the said band when
applied to the steering head in the manner substantially as hereinbefore described
and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 17th day of July 1897.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.