Year: 1888

page_text: 1 JAN AUGUST HEMS of the town of Meran in the Austro-Hungarian Empire do
hereby declare the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is
to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:.
My invention relates to an improved brake device for the rear wheel of bicycles and
consists of a brake block operating on the rear wheel of the bicycle which, when
necessary, can be readily operated by means of a lever on the steering rod. The
braking of the rear wheel in driving the bicycle can be employed even during the
most rapid driving or the quickest braking without throwing the rider over the handle
and ensures the safety of the bicyclist so that he is enabled to descend the steepest
roads without danger.
In the accompanying drawings;
Figure 1 is a top view of the device for operating the brake.
Figure 2 represents the same in elevation.
Figure 3 is a detail of the pulley on an enlarged scale..
Figure 4 is the elevation of the bicycle with the complete brake device.
Like letters indicate like parts in all the Figures.
If the lever a, which turns around the fulcrum o' and is held in its extreme position
by the weak spring f, is pressed towards the lever b, which turns around the fulcrum o,
the lower end of the pawl c connected to the same will gear into the toothing of the
rope drum d arranged on the same axle with the lever but moving independent of the
said lever b. If now both levers a and b are pressed against the volute spring f' and
towards the steering rod, the rope or chain drum d is moved on its axle by means of
the pawl c and the cords ropes or chains, the ends of which are fixed to the drum, are
wound onto the same.
The cord rope or chain e is, at its opposite end, fixed to the head of the bicycle. The
brake block g is arranged above the small rear wheel and has its bearings in the frame
rail, said brake block being held in normal condition that is out of contact with the
rear wheel by means of a spring h,

page_text: A strong cord wire or chain i runs from the eye of the brake block g through the
hollow backbone upwards, passes beneath the saddle or thereabouts, through an
opening and is so connected to the eye of the pulley that when the rope drum dis
rotated and the cord chain etc. of the same begins to be wound onto the said drum, the
wire cord or chain i will be put under tension and the brake block g applied to the
wheel with a force proportionate to the original tension of the cord e and the wire i for
which the two levers a and b are pressed two or three times against the volute spring f¹
in the direction of the steering lever or rod.
1
The cylindrical part of the rope drum d is divided into two parts by a toothed wheel
or flange which is preferably made of one piece with the drum cylinder, one of such
said parts serving to receive the cord rope or chain to be rolled up on the said drum,
whilst a good cord or a very thin conically twisted wire rope s is laid around the other
half and is fixed at its thicker end to the bearing of the rope drum at p, the other
thinner end being led over a small roller m on the lower side of the spring 7 and then
firmly connected to the steering rod.
In order that the conically twisted wire rope s may retain its tension so that when the
rope or chain e has been repeatedly wound on to the rope drum by operating the
levers a and b and the tension of the wire rope therefore successively increased, a
retrograde movement of the toothed flange or the whole drum is prevented when the
pawl c is operated, a second spring n of sufficient strength is inserted between the leaf
spring and the handle bar in such manner that the wire ropes will be held con-
tinuously under tension by the pressure exerted on the roller m.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:
If the levers a and b are pressed together and then against the spring in the
direction of the steering rod the rope or cord e will, according to the number of times
the levers are operated, be wound onto the drum d and consequently the wire rope or
chain attached to the pulley & be subjected to increasing tension and the brake block
firmly pressed against the tyre of the wheel to be braked. A premature retrograde
movement of the brake block y cannot take place in consequence of the friction of the
coils of rope on the drum d, and the conically twisted wire s being firmly held under
tension by the operation of the springs and n.
A slight pressure on the springs and n will release the wire rope s from tension
and its friction with the rope drum d and release the brake block from its grip on the
rear wheel of the bicycle.
Should by any emergency one of the parts of the apparatus break during the
braking or not act promptly, the bicyclist can apply the brake block g by treading on
the same.
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. In brakes for bicycles the arrangement for braking the small wheels in bicycles,
substantially as described in the foregoing specification and shown in the accompanying
drawings.
2. In brakes for bicycles, the arrangement whereby the brake block has its bearing
between the end of the backbone and the rear wheel of the bicycle, substantially as
described in the foregoing specification and shown in the accompanying drawings.
3. The arrangement by means of which the wire rope or chain fixed to the brake
block mentioned in claim 2 is guided in the hollow backbone of the bicycle, substan-
tially as described and shown.
4. The arrangement by means of which the wire mentioned in claim 3 is so attached
to a pulley that the same can be put under tension and the brake block applied by
means of the rope or chain which is, at the one end, fixed to the head of the bicycle
and at the other end wound onto a rope or chain drum, substantially as described and
shown.
5. The arrangement by which the drum, which is provided with the toothed flange
or wheel, can be operated by means of the pawl c of the lever a, the levers a and t

page_text: being arranged on the axle of the rope drum so as to wind the rope or chain onto the
same and put the brake wire under tension, substantially as described and shown.
6. The arrangement by which the rope drum is prevented from making any
unintended retrograde movement through the conically twisted wire rope wound
several times round the said drum, said wire rope being fixed at its thicker end to the
bearings of the drum whilst the thinner end after passing over a small roller arranged
on the lower side of a spring, is fixed to the handle bar and is furthermore held under
continuous tension by a spring inserted between the aforementioned spring and the
handle bar, substantially as described and shown.
7. The arrangement by which the action of the brake can be rapidly stopped by
exercising and slight pressure on the levers mentioned in claim 6, substantially as
described and shown.
8. The combination of the parts mentioned in the foregoing claims 2 to 7, substan-
tially as described in the foregoing specification and shown in the accompanying
drawings.