Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Dec., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 7th Sept., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 12th Oct., 1888
I, GEORGE WILLIAM JOHNSTON of 18 Wilson Street, Workington, in the County
of Cumberland, Gardener do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention has for its object a bicycle which shall be safer and more comfortable
to ride than those now in use, my arrangement has also this advantage, it enables
one to use rather a higher wheel than by the ordinary means.
I place the small wheel in front of the main wheel, and instead of bringing the
backbone in a direct line to the centre of the hind wheel, I prefer to bring it in a
curve hugging the main wheel closely and bending down even below the centre of the
small wheel before forking, it then forks straight or with gentle curve to the centro
of the small wheel.
Elinged to the backbone close to the saddle I place a strap passing down on each
side of the main wheel and forming the fork thereof.
Rigidly rivetted or fixed to this where it crosses it, I place a metallic bar on each
side, on the end of which the saddle is attached. The other end is pivotted to a small
projection on the backbone near its lowest point.
The point where the strap of the main wheel is pivotted, and the point where this
sloping bar is pivotted, are preferably in a direct line tangential to the periphery of
the small wheel.
To keep the sloping bar safely in position, I prefer to bring a cross piece from the
bearings of the main wheel to a point on the sloping bar to about half-way from its
pivot to the point where it crosses the fork, and firmly rivet it at this point also. By
this means the sloping bar and the iron or steel strap forming the fork become one
solid frame.
Close to the point where the main fork swivels on the backbone, I mount the
steering handle, preferably standing in the horizontal central plane of the bicycle
at an angle nearly parallel with that of the main fork. By moving the handle to the
right or left, the back bone is tilted over to either side and the small wheel inclined
accordingly.

page_text: The advantages of this arrangement are these.-The small wheel being overhung,
has a tendency, when the weight comes upon it, to assume the vertical position, even
if standing in a very sloping direction. It is thus, as it were, automatically balanced
or self-righting.
The saddle is also a novel point in my arrangement, it being suspended on the ends of
the slanting bar. It is formed entirely of springs, namely two bow-springs or a single
ring spring attached to the two slanting bars and arching over the wheel at both
ends. This ring spring has a series of longitudinal ribbon springs attached to it at
each end parallel with each other forming the frame of the saddle. This is then
covered with leather or other upholstering in the usual manner.
The top of the saddle can thus be placed within two or three inches of the top of
the wheel, without any fear of it touching the latter, and it is exceedingly springy
as it is formed entirely of springs, and if desirable, the upper ends of the slanting
bars can be formed of spring steel, and of such shape as to act as springs themselves.
The bicycle may be driven in any ordinary manner, preferably by a crank fixed
directly upon the axle of the large wheel.
Dated this 6th day of December 1887
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: I, GEORGE WILLIAM JOHNSTON of 18 Wilson Street, Workington, in the County
of Cumberland, Gardener, 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 :-
This invention has for its object a bicycle, which shall be safer and more comfortable
to ride than those now in use. My arrangement has also this advantage, that it
enables one to use rather a higher wheel than can be employed in the ordinary
constructions of bicycles.
The invention may be understood by aid of the accompanying drawing, in which,
Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved bicycle, and Figure 2 is a diagrammatic
view illustrating a slightly modified form of the invention.
1 place the small wheel A in front of the main wheel B, and instead of bringing
the backbone C in a direct line to the centre a of the small wheel, I prefer to bring
it down in a curve (as shown), the said curve hugging the main wheel closely for
about one sixth of its circumference. Below this point it is curved round until it
joins the fork at or about the level of the small wheel centre a. The fork is made
either straight or curved slightly downwards as shown, the lowest part of the curve
being preferably on a level with or slightly below the level of the wheel centre a.
The main fork D is formed of a strap which passes down on each side of the main
wheel, and is hinged or pivoted to the backbone at some point d, close to the saddle.
On each side of the main wheel, a sloping strap or bar E crosses the main fork D
at a point preferably about one third of its length from the top. being formed in one
therewith, or riveted or otherwise rigidly attached thereto. The saddle is attached to
the upper ends of the bars E as hereinafter set forth, and their lower ends being
united beyond the rim of the main wheel as at E', they are at this point pivoted or
binged to one or more projections (2 attached to the backbone near its lowest point.
The axes of the upper and lower pivots d, e, on the backbone lie preferably in a
straight line tangent to the rear side of the small wheel.
To retain the sloping bars E securely in position, I prefer to connect their lower
parts to the main wheel bearing boxes b by means of cross bars F, firmly attached to
both bearing boxes and bars. By this means the sloping bars and the main fork
become one rigid frame.
To the upper part of the back bone and close to its pivot d, I attach the steering
handle G, which lies preferably in the vertical central plane of the bicycle, and
stands at right angles to the axis of the backbone, or if preferred, the handle may be
inclined forward, so as to stand in a plane parallel to the main fork. By moving the
handle to the right or left, the backbone is tilted over to either side, and the small
wheel turned accordingly.
The advantages of this arrangement are these -The small wheel being overhung,
has a tendency, when the weight comes upon it, to assume the vertical position, even

page_text: if standing in a very sloping direction. It is thus, as it were, automatically balanced
or self-righting..
The saddle, which is also a novel point in my arrangement, is mounted adjustably
upon the ends of the sloping bars E, preferably by means of vertical stems hand
sockets e¹, being clamped in position by screws e² or their equivalent. The saddle
consists of two how springs H (or a single ring spring) which are attached to the
stems, and of a series of parallel longitudinal ribbon springs H', which are stretched
across between the bow springs H, and are securely attached thereto, thus forming a
very elastic framing, which may be covered with leather or other upholstering in the
usual manner. The bow springs are preferably arched over the wheel, as shown.
With the above arrangement of saddle, it is possible to place the latter a very short
distance from the rim of the wheel, and this permits of a larger wheel being used for
a given distance between the saddle and wheel axis. The upper ends of the bars E
may also be formed of elastic material, and of such a shape as to act as springs for the
saddle.
In Figure 2 the pivots d, e, on the back bone are arranged in an exactly similar
manner to those in Figure 1, namely in a line tangent to the rear side of the sinall
wheel A. This construction is therefore the same in principle, and in its action, as
that before described, the only difference being the shape of the back bone, which
may be varied in many ways without departing from the principles of the invention.
The bicycle may be driven in any ordinary manner, preferably by a crank J fixed
directly upon the axle of the large wheel.
The brake is preferably worked by moving the steering handle backwards or
forwards in a vertical plane about a pivot at its lower end, the connections between
handle and brake lever being of such a nature that the handle may be moved sideways
in the act of steering without interfering with the brake.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what 1
claim is :-
1. A bicycle having the small wheel placed in front of the large wheel, and having
the backbone pivoted at or near its upper end to the top of the main fork, and at or
near its lower end to a pair of straps such as E, E, crossing the main fork and rigidly
secured thereto, the axes of the said backbone pivots lying preferably in a direct line
tangent to the rear side of the small wheel, and the saddle being suitably mounted
upon the upper ends of said straps, substantially as and for the purposes described.
2. In a bicycle, a saddle mounted in close proximity to the wheel-tyre, and consisting
of two bow springs H or their equivalent, a series of ribbon springs H¹ secured to tho
said springs H, and a pair of stems or their equivalent carrying the said springs H,
and serving as a means whereby the saddle may be adjustably attached to straps such
as E secured to the main fork on each side of the wheel, substantially as and for the
purpose set forth.
3. The improved bicycle as a whole, constructed substantially as described and
shown in Figure 1.
4. In a bicycle, the arrangement of framing substantially as described, whereby the
small wheel has always a tendency to assume the vertical when displaced therefrom.
Thated this cil
ן.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool,
Patent Agents for the Applicant.