An Improvement in Bicycles and Tricycles.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Apr., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 25th Feb., 1895-Accepted, 30th Mar., 1895
An Improvement in Bicycles and Tricycles.
I, WILLIAM FREDERICK WILLIAMS of 5, Half Moon Street, London, W.
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to an improvement in bicycles and tricycles which has for
its object to enable the muscles of the rider, and particularly those of the back,
chest, and shoulders, to be brought into play with greater advantage, and to promote
the development of the rider's chest by preventing the stooping or bending forward
as at present, without resistance or support to the body, more particularly the upper
part, when making a spurt or climbing a hill, or to exercise a force for speed or
other purposes.
My invention also has for its object to enable the vehicle to be steered under
ordinary circumstances by the upper part of the body or shoulders, or with the
upper part of the body, so as to leave the hands of the rider at liberty for any other
purpose when required, or to act as a rest for the body.
My improvement consists in providing abutments for the shoulders or upper part
of the body of the rider to bear against, so as to enable the power of the muscles of
the back and other parts of the body to be more effectively applied to assist the
pedalling action without permitting of the rounding of the back or shoulders or
upper part of the body, the support or resistance afforded by these abutments
tending to produce the opposite effect, that is to say, to square the shoulders, hollow
the back, and expand the chest, and other muscles of the body.
The shoulder abutments or supports for the upper part of the body may either
be rigid with the frame, or may be combined with a steering fork or forks, if to be
used as a means of guiding the vehicle by means of the shoulders or upper part of
the body, instead of by, or in conjunction with, the hands; and they are in any case
made adjustable to suit the height of the shoulders or upper part of the body of
the rider, and the more or less forwardly-inclined position of his body. When
combined with a fork or forks for the purpose of steering the vehicle, as above
mentioned, they would be carried by a cross-bar or two upright bars so pivoted,
if required, as to enable them to move in a horizontal plane, notwithstanding that
the axis of the steering fork or forks has the usual rearwardly inclined rake.
The upper parts or pads of the abutments or supports which come in contact with
the shoulders or upper parts of the body, are jointed to the arms by which they are
carried, by ball and socket or universal joints so as to be free to move in any
direction to adjust themselves to the various movements of the body and so prevent
friction and wearing of the clothes, and springs may be applied to, or in connection
with, the joints, so as to tend to bring the pads to a normal position with regard to
the body of the rider.
Dated this 24th day of Anril 1894

page_text: I, WILLIAM FREDERICK WILLIAMS late of 5 Half Moon Street W. and now of
32 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W. Gentleman, 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:-
My invention relates to an improvement in bicycles and tricycles, which. has for
object to promote the development of the rider's chest, to enable the muscles of
the body to co-operate to greater advantage with those of the legs in the propulsion
of the machine, and to enable the machine to be steered, in ordinary straightforward
running, by the shoulders or upper part of the body, without the concurrence of the
hands, so as to leave the latter at liberty whenever desired.
The invention consists in providing supports or abutments for the rider's
shoulders to bear against in the forward direction, so as to prevent stooping or
bending forward, expand the chest, set back the shoulders, and enable the power of
the body muscles to be more effectually applied to assist the pedalling action, these
abutments being so combined with the steering fork as to enable the guiding of the
machine to be effected, in case of need, by the forward pressure of the one or other
shoulder produced by a relatively slight twisting motion of the body. The shoulder
abutments or supports are adjustable in the fore and aft direction to suit the more
or less erect posture of the rider and also to suit the breadth of the shoulders and
they are so pivoted as to be self adjusting to the shoulders.
The invention is illustrated, as applied to a bicycle, in the accompanying drawings,
forming part of this Specification, wherein
Figure 1 is a part sectional side elevation of a bicycle provided with my combined
shoulder support and steering mechanism.
Figures 2 and 3 are plan and rear elevation of the shoulder abutments and the
adjustable arms carrying them.
Figures 4 and 5 are plau views of alternative modes of coupling the spindle of
the shoulder supporting device to the steering fork so as to enable the steering of
the machine to be effected by the relatively small twisting motion of which the
rider's body is conveniently capable without disturbing the rider's position on
the saddle.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
A, A, are the shoulder supports or abutments carried by arms B, B, attached to
an inclined adjustable fore and aft rod C fitted to slide in a guide or bearing D
carried by a spindle E mounted in bearings on a bracket F carried by the machine
frame in front of the steering fork to which said spindle E is so coupled that the
angular motion of the spindle E will be communicated with increased amplitude to
the steering fork so that a relatively slight motion of the former will move
the latter to the extent necessary for steering the machine under ordinary
circumstances.
The preferred form of coupling consists of a pair of links G jointed to the
extremities of lever arms H turning with the spindle E and to corresponding, but
shorter, arms I fixed to the steering fork spindle, these links being either open, as in
Figure 4, or crossed, as in Figure 5. In the one case the angular motion of the
shoulder supports about the axis E will be in the centrifugal direction and in the
other case in the centripetal direction when the machine is made to travel in
a curve.
The rod C is fixed in its guide D so as to resist the pressure on the shoulder
supports, by any suitable means. In the example, it is shewn as provided with a
notched ribj with which engages a pawl J mounted on the bracket D, the rib j
serving also as a spline to prevent the rod turning in its guide. The guide is

page_text: continued in the forward direction, in the form of a tubular sheath K, to receive s
spiral spring acting on the lower end of the rod C for the purpose of raising the
shoulder supports automatically to the desired height after the rider has mounted,
the pawl J being adapted to lock with the rod C so as to retain the supports A in
the lowered position until the pawl is released by the rider. The pawl is made
self-engaging by means of a spring applied to it, and a convenient means of bringing
it within reach of the rider's hand, for the purpose of disengaging it, is a cord
attached to the tail end of the pawl and carried to any convenient point on the
frame of the machine, as shewn, so that, by this means, the shoulder supports may
be lowered nearly down to the handle bar when mounting and then allowed to move
upwards and backwards until they bear against the rider's shoulders in the desired
position. When thus raised, the pawl is allowed to fall into engagement with a
notch of the rod C to maintain the shoulder supports in position to act as a fulcrum
or abutment to resist the pull of the rider's hands on the handle bar.
The supports A are of curved form adapted to take a fair bearing against the
forward part of the shoulders and each is pivoted in a socket on the end of the
arm B so as to enable it to adjust itself in the circular direction, a spring coiled
about the pivot and attached thereto and to the socket tending to always bring the
support to the position shewn. The arms B are jointed at to the head of the
rod C so as to admit of an expanding or contracting motion to suit the breadth of
the shoulders, this motion being obtained by a nut or crosshead L coupled to
the arms 13 by links laud traversed along a screw M mounted to turn in bearings
on the rod C, whereby the adjustment is effected and the arms held rigidly in
position.
In order to provide for vertical adjustment of the shoulder supports to suit the
height of the rider, the spindle E is stepped upon an adjusting screw-centre at the
lower end of its bearing socket and the levers H are carried by a boss fitting on a
squared part of the spindle E or otherwise connected thereto, so as to turn therewith,
whilst allowing the spindle to slide through the boss when effecting the adjustment.
Instead of employing a pawl J and rack, the guide D of the rod C may be split
longitudinally and tightened upon the rod C by a thumb-screw, or by a cam-lever,
so as to act both as guide and clamp to secure the rod C firmly, and the cam-lever
or equivalent means of tightening may be moved into operative position by a spring
and released by a cord, as in the case of the pawl, as will be readily understood.
It will, also, be evident that other means of transmitting angular motion from
spindle E to the steering fork may be adopted in lieu of the lever and link
connections shewn, such, for instance, as sprocket wheels and an endless chain.
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 I
claim is :-
1. In a bicycle or tricycle, the combination, with the steering fork, of means,
substantially as described, whereby to both resist forward pressure of the rider's
shoulders and also to enable the steering of the machine to be effected from the
shoulders by a twisting movement of the rider's body (with or without the
concurrence of the hands) substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
2. In the herein described combined shoulder support and steering device, the
self-adjusting shoulder abutments pivoted to arms which are themselves pivoted so
as to expand laterally to suit the breadth of the shoulders, the adjustment and
locking of the arms being effected by a screw motion, as described.
Dated this 25th day of February 1895.
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.