IMPROVEMENTS IN BICYCLES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BICYCLES." A communication from abroad by William Rennyson, of Norris
Town, Montgomery County, State of Pennsylvania, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 26th July 1881.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of. Middlesex,
Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN BICYCLES." A communication from abroad by
William Rennyson, of Norris Town, Montgomery County, State of Pennsylvania,
United States of America.
This Invention, relating improvements in bicycles, has for its object preventing
the rider from being thrown head first from his seat when the driving wheel
meets with an obstruction, liability to this accident, which is termed a "header,"
being one of the main objections to the bicycle as at present constructed.
The main cause of the accidents known as "headers" is that when the large or
driving wheel meets with an obstruction and causes the perch to tip up, the rider
is thrown forward from his seat, his thighs or knees are thus brought into violent
contact with the laterally projecting handle bar, and consequently the rider is
thrown head foremost onto the earth in advance of the machine.
According to this Invention in order to prevent the liability to this description
of accident in lieu of the usual practice of securing the handle bar rigidly to
the upper end of the steering yoke or fork, the handle bar is constructed and
combined with the said yoke in such a manner that it can yield when pressure is
exerted upon it.
In carrying out this Invention according to one modification thereof a stem of
square or other angular cross section (and preferably tapered) is provided on the
upper part or head of the yoke, and is adapted to an opening of corresponding
shape formed in a central hub or enlargement of the handle bar.

page_text: This method of construction permits the efficient control of the steering yoke by
the handle bar when riding, whilst the first impulse of the rider on being thrown
from his seat is to lift said handle bar, and which by not being fixed to the stem
of the steering yoke becomes readily detached, and thus presents no impediment
to the rider's forward movement, he being free to leap in advance of the machine
so as to alight on his feet; if however his hold upon the handle bar is released
when the machine tips up the said bar when struck by any part of the rider's
person will be at once detached from the steering yoke and will not offer sufficient
resistance to the rider's forward movement to cause him to be thrown forward on
his face or head.
It occasionally happens however in bicycle riding that it is desirable to exert an
upward pull or lift upon the steering yoke, hence the importance of some provision
for locking the handle bar to the upper end of the steering yoke under such
circumstances.
This object is attained by providing the hub of the handle bar with a short
lever, one arm of which carries a pin engaging with an opening in the head of yoke
whilst the other arm is acted upon by another lever centred to the handle bar so
that it can be readily operated by one hand of the rider, a spring being provided
which acts upon the short lever in such a manner as to cause the pin to be drawn
outward and become disengaged from the head of yoke when pressure is removed
from the other lever. When however the outer arm of the latter lever is depressed
by the hand of the rider it causes such movement of the short lever as to thrust
the pin through an opening in the hub and into the opening in the head of the
steering yoke, and so long as this pressure is maintained the handle bar is firmly
locked to the yoke, but immediately the pressure is removed from the levers the
pin is withdrawn as before described by the action of the spring, and the handle
bar is free to be removed from the yoke.
Instead of employing two levers one only may be used, or a spring bolt may take
the place of the lever, suitable means being provided for retaining said bolt in its
retracted position except when it is necessary to lock the handle bar to the steering
yoke.
According to another mode of carrying out this part of the Invention the yoke
is provided in front with a sleeve having a central opening adapted for the
reception of the handle bar, the latter being introduced into the sleeve through a
contracted slot in the upper portion of the same, it being flattened or reduced on
'one side to permit its passage through said slot.
Under ordinary circumstances the position the handle bar occupies is with the
flattened portion of the bar in line with the slot so that the handle bar is free to
be lifted from the sleeve, a spring secured to the bar bearing upon the front of
the yoke and tending to retain the bar in this position. When it is desired to lock
the bar to the sleeve it is turned round about 45° so as to cause the full diameter
of the bar to be presented to the slot and thus prevent the passage of the bar
through said slot, an effort against the spring being required to move and retain
'the bar in this position.
According to another modification of this Invention a lug on the handle bar is
adapted to a slot in the yoke instead of the handle bar passing on to a stem in the
yoke as in the previously described arrangements.
The detachability of the handle bar from the steering yoke is not absolutely
necessary in carrying out this Invention; for example, the opposite projecting arms
of said bar may be pivoted to the upper end of the yoke so that they are free to be
thrown upward but not capable of being depressed below a horizontal line, a
sliding bolt, or a turnbuckle, or other means of locking the arms to the upper end
of the yoke being provided in order that the yoke may be subjected to a lifting
action when desired.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25th
January 1882.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN BICYCLES." A communication from abroad by
William Rennyson, of Norris Town, Montgomery County, State of Pennsylvania,
United States of America.
The object of this Invention is preventing the rider of a bicycle from being
thrown head first from his sent when the driving wheel meets with an obstruction,
liability to this accident, which is termed a "header," being one of the main
objections to the bicycle as now constructed.
In the accompanying Drawing, Figure 1 is a side view partly in section of a
bicycle constructed in accordance with this Invention; Figure 2, a perspective
view of part of the same; Figure 3, a sectional view of part of Figure 1 on a
larger scale than that Figure, and Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7, views showing various
modifications of the Invention as hereinafter described.
The main or driving wheel of the bicycle is marked A, the small hind wheel B,
the curved reach or back bone D, and the steering yoke E, which yoke carries the
axle of the front wheel, and is pivotted to the front end of the reach D in the
usual manner.
The steering bar or handle F is in an ordinary bicycle secured to the upper end
of the steering yoke, and it is this handle bar which is mainly the cause of the
accidents known as "headers," for the reason that when the wheel A meets with
an obstruction, and the perch tips up and the rider is thrown forward from his seat,
the thighs or knees being brought into violent contact with the laterally projecting
handle bar, and the rider is thrown head foremost to the ground in advance of the
machine.
In order to overcome this difficulty, according to this Invention, the usual
practice of securing the handle bar rigidly to the upper end of the steering yoke is
discarded, and the said handle bar is constructed and combined with the yoke in
such a manner that it can yield when pressure is exerted upon it.
The yoke E, as shewn in Figures 1, 2, and 3, has a stem a of square or other
angular cross section, and preferably tapered with the lesser part at top, this stem
being adapted to fit into an opening of corresponding shape in a central hub or
enlargement b of the handle bar, as shown in the Drawing.
While this method of construction permits the efficient control of the steering
yoke by the handle bar when riding, the first impulse of the rider on being thrown
from his seat is to lift said handle bar from the stem of the steering yoke, so that
the latter presents no impediment to his forward movement, the rider being free to
leap in advance of the machine so as to alight on his feet; or even if the handle
bar is released when the machine tips up the said bar when struck by any part of
the rider's person, will be at once detached from the steering yoke, and will not
offer sufficient resistance to the rider's forward movement to cause him to be
thrown forward on his face or head.
It occasionally happens, however, in bicycle riding, that it is desirable to exert
an upward pull or lift upon the steering yoke, hence the importance of some
provision for locking the handle bar to the upper end of the steering yoke under
such circumstances.
This object is attained according to this Invention by providing the hub b of the
handle bar F with a lever d, one arm of which carries a pin c, the other arın being

page_text: acted upon by a lever f hinged or jointed to the handle bar, so that it can be
readily operated by one hand of the rider, a spring g acting upon the lever d in
such a manner as to throw the pin e outward when pressure is removed from the
leverf. When however the outer arm of the lever fis pressed towards the handle
bar, it so acts upon one arm of the lever d as to cause the pin e at its other end to
be thrust through an opening i in the hub b, and into an opening m in the stem a
of the steering yoke, so that as long as pressure is exerted upon the outer arm of
the lever f, the handle bar is firmly locked to the yoke E, the instant release of
said bar from the yoke being effected however by the action of the spring g as soon
as pressure is removed from the lever f.
The duplex lever arrangement is not necessary for the carrying out of this part
of this Invention, as the lever d alone may be used, or a spring bolt may take the
place of the lever, suitable means being provided for retaining said bolt in its
retracted position, except when it is necessary to lock the handle bar to the
steering yoke.
Figures 4 and 5 of the Drawing show a modified plan of locking the handle bar
to and releasing it from the steering yoke.
In this case the yoke has in front a sleeve J, the central opening w of which is
adapted for the reception of the handle bar F, the latter being introduced into the
sleeve through a contracted slot x in the upper portion thereof, and being flattened
or reduced on one side to permit its passage through said slot. Under ordinary
circumstances the handle bar occupies the position shown in Figure 4, that is to say,
with the flattened portion of the bar in line with the slot x, so that the handle bar
is free to be lifted from the sleeve. When it is desired to lock the bar to the
sleeve, it is turned to the position shown in Figure 5, the full diameter of the bar
being thus presented to the slot x, and the passage of the bar through said slot
prevented. A spring secured to the bar bears upon the front of the yoke, and
tends to retain the bar in this position, shown in Figure 4, an effort being required
to move the bar to the position shown in Figure 5, and to retain it in that
position.
One of the advantages of this locking device, as well as of that shown in
Figures 1, 2, and 3, is that pressure must be exerted upon some part of the device
as long as the handle bar is locked to the yoke, for by this means the locking of
the two together must necessarily be done designedly, and accidental locking is
prevented.
In Figure 6 is shown another modification of this Invention, in which a lug on
the handle bar is adapted to a slot in the yoke, as will be readily understood by
reference to the said Figure 6.
The detachability of the handle bar from the steering yoke is not absolutely
necessary in carrying out this Invention, for instance, the opposite projecting arms
of said bar may be pivoted to the upper end of the yoke, as shown in Figure 7,
so that they are free to be thrown upward or outward, but cannot be depressed
below a horizontal line, a sliding bolt such as shown, or a turnbuckle or other
means of locking the arms to the upper end of the yoke being provided in order
that the yoke may be subjected to a lifting action when desired.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original,
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein before in part
recited Letters Patent is,
First. A bicycle, the steering yoke of which is furnished with a steering bar or
handle connected to the yoke as described, whereby it is capable of yielding in the
direction of the length of the yoke when subjected to pressure, substantially as
herein before described.
Second. A bicycle in which the steering yoke is combined with a steering bar or
landle which rests in or upon the yoke, but is not fixed thereto, whereby it

page_text: is capable of being instantly detached therefrom, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
Third. The combination of the steering yoke of a bicycle with a yielding or
detachable steering bar or handle capable of being readily locked to or released
from the steering yoke, all substantially as hereinbefore described.
In witness whercof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this my Speci-
fication set my hand and seal, the Twenty fifth day of January, One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)