Improvements in the Manufacture of Back Plates for Cycle Saddles, and in Tools or Appliances to be Employed in the said Manufacture.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Aug., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 4th May, 1896-Accepted, 27th June, 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Back Plates for Cycle Saddles,
and in Tools or Appliances to be Employed in the said
Manufacture.
I, WILLIAM HENRY WHEELER, of 95, Floodgate Street, in the City of
Birmingham, Stamper and Piercer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to the curved back plates to which the leather
coverings of cycle saddles are fixed, and this invention consists in making the said
back plates in the manner herein described whereby I am enabled to reduce the
cost of their manufacture and to make them stronger and lighter thân heretofore
and of a better appearance and finish; I am also enabled to more firmly secure to
the back plates the downwardly projecting screwed studs which fix the back plate
to the spring or underframe. My said invention further consists of the herein-
described improved tools or appliances to be employed in the manufacture of the
said back plates.
In carrying out my invention I first pierce out a sheet steel or other ductile
sheet metal blank of a shape corresponding with that of the required back plate if
it were opened out into a flat state, that is to say, the said blank is curved to the
shape of the back plate and is somewhere about three times as wide as the finished
back-plate and is slightly longer than the same, and is made with one, two, three
or more swells or projections at its inner edge corresponding with the places where
the said studs are to be fixed. I provide a pair of pulling through tools consisting
of a bed or bottom tool having a slot in it corresponding in size and shape with
the required back-plate and I also provide a top tool corresponding in shape with
the bottom tool, but slightly smaller. The blank is placed in the proper position
on the bed or bottom tool and then by the descending top tool the blank is forced
through the bottom tool which has the effect of bending up the sides of the blank
and forming two ribs parallel or almost parallel with each other and also turning
up the blank round the ends and round the said bosses or enlargements where the
studs are to be fixed. The back rib is in some cases deeper than the front rib as
in other cycle saddle back plates to allow of holes being pierced in the back rib
for rivetting the leather top part thereto. By the blank being raised round the
ends of the back plate the said ends will be nicely rounded off and thus not be
liable to injure the leather top part when fixed thereto.
i
In order to fix the said screwed studs in the back plate each of the studs is made
with a head of a shape to fit in the channel part of the back plate and at the top
of the head there is a projecting pip which is by preference made of a somewhat
three sided form but with the corners rounded and this pip engages in a hole of
corresponding shape in the back plate. This form of pip and hole prevents the
stud turning and as the hole has no corners and the head of the stud extends for
some distance at both sides these side parts of the heads support the back plate
and assist in preventing its breaking through at the hole as is often the case in back
plates made in the usual way.
Dated this 31st day of Julv 1895
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Back Plates for Cycle Saddles,
and in Tools or Appliances to be Employed in the said
Manufacture.
1, WILLIAM HENRY WHEELER, of 95, Floodgate Street, in the City of
Birmingham, Stamper and Piercer, 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 reference to the curved back plates to which the leather
coverings of cycle saddles are fixed, and this invention consists in making the said
back plates in the manner herein described whereby I am enabled to reduce the
cost of their manufacture and to make them stronger and lighter than heretofore
and of a better appearance and finish; I am also enabled to more firmly secure to
the back plates the downwardly projecting screwed studs which fix the back plate
to the spring or underframe. My said invention further consists of the herein-
described tools or appliances to be employed in the manufacture of the said back
plates.
I will describe my invention by referring to the accompanying drawings on
which
Fig. 1 represents in plan and Fig. 2 in inverted plan a cycle saddle back plate
constructed according to this invention; Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the same;
Fig. 4 is a cross sectional elevation of the same on line X X of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is
a cross sectional elevation of the same on line Y Y of Fig. 1;
Fig. 6 shews the sheet metal blank from which the said back plate is formed;
Fig. 7 is an elevation and Fig. 8 is a plan of one of the studs of the said back
plate;
Figs. 9 and 10 are sectional elevations of the top and bottom tools respectively
which are used for shaping the blank as shewn by Fig. 6;
Fig. 11 is a sectional plan of the said top tool and
Fig. 12 is a sectional plan of the bottom tool.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figs.
A is the cycle saddle back plate and B B are the two downwardly projecting
screwed studs which fix the back plate to the spring or underframe.
In carrying out my invention I first pierce out a sheet steel or other ductile
sheet metal blank C such as shewn by Fig. 6 of a shape corresponding with that
of the required back plate A if it were opened out into a flat state, that is to say,
the blank C is as shewn curved to the shape of the back plate A and is somewhere
about three times as wide as the finished back plate and is slightly longer, than
the same, and is made with one, two or more swells or projections c c² at its inner
edge corresponding with the places where the studs B B2 are to be fixed.
I provide a pair of pulling through tools (see Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 12) consisting
of a bed or bottom tool D having a slot d¹ in it corresponding in size and shape
with the back plate A and I also provide a top tool E corresponding in cross
sectional shape with the hole d' in the bottom tool D but slightly smaller. The
bed D has a recess d² in its upper surface corresponding with the shape of the
blank C and in which the blank will lie in its proper position over the hole d'.
The top and bottom tools D E are mounted in a press. The blank C is placed
in the recess d² so as to be in the proper position on the bed or bottom tool D
over the slot d' and then by the descending top tool E the blank C is forced
through the bottom tool D which has the effect of bending up the sides C of the
blank and forming two ribs a¹ a² at a uniform distance apart thus making the back
plate.of inverted trough section and also turning up the blank round the ends a³ at
and round the said bosses or enlargements c¹ c² where the studs B' B2 are to be

page_text: fixed. The back rib a² is in some cases deeper than the front rib a¹ as in other
cycle saddle back plates to allow of holes being pierced in the back rib a² for
rivetting the leather top part thereto. By the blank being raised round the
ends as a of the back plate the said ends will be nicely rounded off as shewn
more clearly in Fig. 3 and thus will not be liable to injure the leather top part
cf the saddle when fixed thereto, as is the case with those back plates which are
not raised round the ends.
In order to fix the screwed studs B1 B2 in the back plate A each of the studs
is made with a head 6 of a shape to fit in the channel part, that is in the
enlargement or c² between the ribs a¹ a² of the back plate, and at the top of
the head there a projecting pip 2 which is by preference made of a somewhat
three sided form see Figs. 7 and 8 but with the corners rounded and this pip b
engages in a hole a³ of corresponding shape in the back plate and is then rivetted
over on the top as are the ordinary studs. This form of pip 62 and hole a prevents
the stud from turning and as the hole a³ has no corners and the head b¹ of the
stud extends for some distance at both sides these side parts of the heads support
the back plate A and assist in preventing its breaking through at the holes a³ as
is often the case in back plates made in the usual way.
It will be understood that when making cycle saddle back plates which are
to be provided with one or more than two of the studs B1 B2 then the blank
has to be made with corresponding projections or enlargements such as c¹ c² and
the top and bottom tools D and E have to be made to correspond.
I am well aware that cycle saddle back plates of inverted trough section
with open ends raised from sheet metal blanks by a punch acting on the blank
in a trough section die, were well known prior to my invention and therefore
I make no claim in respect of such open ended trough section back plates.
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. Making a curved back plate for a cycle saddle from a sheet metal blank
of corresponding shape by forcing the said blank by a punch through a slot in
a bed or bottom tool which punch and slot are so shaped as to raise the sides and
ends of the blank and form the back plate of trough section with closed or raised
ends substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. In cycle saddle back plates securing the downwardly projecting studs thereto
by each stud being made with a head fitting within the inverted channel of the
back plate and a projecting pip 62 of somewhat triangular section fitting in a hole
of corresponding shape and rivetted over on the top of the back plate, substantially
as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
3. In a back plate for cycle saddles, the combination of the inverted trough
section back plate A made with raised ends a³ a and the two downwardly
projecting studs B' B2 constructed and fixed thereto in the manner substantially
as described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
4. The hereindescribed improved pulling through tools for raising a sheet metal
blank into a trough section back plate for cycle saddles, consisting of the
combination of the top tool E having in cross section the shape of the trough
of the said back plate and the bottom tool D made with curved slot d' corresponding
with the outside shape of the back plate and through which the said back plate
will pass and having a recess d² in its upper surface round the said slot d', all
substantially as herein before described and illustrated by Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 12
of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 1st day of May 1896.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.