New or Improved Apparatus for Washing and Cleaning the Wheels of Bicycles, Tricycles, and other Road Vehicles.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Feb., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 27th Nov., 1896-Accepted, 23rd Jan., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Apparatus for Washing and Cleaning the Wheels
of Bicycles, Tricycles, and other Road Vehicles.
We, ALLEN WILSON, of No. 1 Church Road, Croydon, in the County of Surrey,
Manager, and ROY WILSON, of No. 14 St. James's Park, Croydon, aforesaid, of
no occupation, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to apparatus for washing and cleaning the wheels of
bicycles, tricycles, carriages, perambulators, and other road vehicles.
The apparatus consists of a trough of suitable form either embedded in the
ground or capable of standing thereon, the interior of which trough is completely
or on one or both sides provided with several brushes or one brush, so adapted and
arranged that, when a wheel is suspended in the trough and revolved, the rim,
tyre, and spokes, or one or more of them, are, or is, subjected to the action of the
brush or brushes and thus cleaned, it being understood that the trough may be
filled with water or other cleansing fluid, or not, as found most suitable, all
according to the state of the wheel to be cleansed or freed from dust.
In order to hold the wheel in the proper position to cause the brushes to have
the most beneficial effect, we provide, on one or both sides of the trough, a kind of
carriage jack or rest. When the apparatus is to be used for bicycles or for the
steering wheel of a tricycle, there is, according to one modification a rack or
perforated bar, mounted perpendicularly in a guide on each side of the trough,
and having a pin or other convenient stop to take in between two of the teeth of a
rack or into a hole in a bar so that the racks or bars may be raised to, and kept at,
any convenient height. The ends of the axle of the wheel or the nuts of said axle
rest in suitably formed recesses on the top of the bars or racks. Or instead of
these recesses, cach bar may be provided with an adjustable socket so as to suit
wheels having longer or shorter axles. This is especially convenient when the
apparatus is to be used for bicycles and the like, because the length of the axles
of different makers of cycles often varies and the apparatus is thus applicable
practically to a machine of any make. It is evident that there are many methods
of varying the distance between the sockets, for instance, the vertical bars may be
provided with holes, through which pass and in which are guided the stems of the
sockets aforesaid, the stems being clamped in position by set screws or the like
when the proper distance is obtained, or the set screws may be dispensed with and
the sockets may be pressed together, with a sufficient force to hold the wheel
centrally, by springs. When the apparatus is to be used for heavy vehicles
suitable lever or screw arrangements are used to permit of easily raising and
lowering the wheel in the trough and these jacks may either be in one with or
separate from the trough as found most convenient.
The brushes are preferably made to slide into and to be held by guides inside the
trough, and the latter may, if desired, be provided with an outlet at or near the
bottom so as to permit of the exit of the dust, dirt and water, the said outlet being
closed by a plug or other device when necessary.
JENSEN & SON,
77 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.

page_text: New or Improved Apparatus for Washing and Cleaning the Wheels
of Bicycles, Tricyoles, and other Road Vehicles.
We, ALLEN WILSON of No. 1 Church Road, Croydon in the County of Surrey,
Manager and RoY WILSON of No. 14 St. James's Park, Croydon aforesaid of no
occupation 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 :-
Our invention relates to apparation for washing and cleaning the wheels of
bicycles, tricycles, perambulators and other rond vehicles.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying sheet of drawings represents in longitudinal section
a wheel cleaning apparatus constructed according to my invention which is
particularly suitable for cleaning the wheels of such small vehicles as bicycles and
the like.
Fig. 2 is a plan of the apparatus and
Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line a-b Fig. 1.
The apparatus consists of a trough A of the form shown or of any other suitable
form, capable of standing on the ground, the interior of which trough is provided
with guides A on both sides in which slide brushes B, so adapted and arranged
that when a wheel is suspended in the trough and revolved the rim tyre and
spokes, or one or more of them are or is subjected to the action of the brushes and
thus cleaned, it being understood that the trough may be filled with water or other
cleansing fluid or not na found most suitable, all according to the state and
construction of the wheel to be cleansed or freed from dirt or dust.
It will be noticed that the brushes are mounted in a slanting direction (sec
Fig. 1) the effect of which is that the whole of a spoke of a wheel will not be in
contact with a brush or brushes at the same time, but passes the brush or brushes
gradually from end to end of the spoke or nearly so. The brushes may if desired
be provided with springs on their backs and the guides A may be made large
enough to allow a certain amount of play or spring being given to the brushes.
There may be rough brushes for cleaning and smooth brushes for polishing all
being adapted to fit in the same places in the trough.
In order to hold the wheel in the proper position to cause the brushes A' to havo
the most beneficial effect, we provide on one side but preferably on both sides of
the trough A as shown, a kind of carriage jack or rest. When as in the present
case the apparatus is to be used for bicycles and the like, there is provided a rack
or perforated bar C, mounted perpendicularly in a guide A on each sido of the
trough and having a pin C or other convenient stop to take in between two of the
teeth of a rack or as shown into a hole in such manner that the racks or bars may
be raised to and kept at any convenient beight. The ends of the axle of the wheel
or the nuts of said axle may rest in suitably formed recesses. Or instead of these
recesses, each bar may be provided with an adjustable socket so as to suit wheels
having longer or shorter axles. This is especially convenient because the length
of the axles of different makers of cycles often varies and the apparatus is thus
applicable practically to a machine of any make. It is evident that there are
many methods of varying the distance between the sockets C', for instance, the
vertical bars C may be provided with holes at their upper ends, through which
pass and in which are guided the stems of the sockets aforesaid, the stems thereof
being clamped in position by set screws C or the like when the proper distance is
obtained, or the set screws may be dispensed with and the sockets may be pressed
together with a sufficient force to hold the wheel centrally by springs. It will be
noticed tha one socket C is made. longer than the other for the purpose of

page_text: corresponding to the usual step on the axle of the hind wheel, but this is not
essential.
If it be desired to construct an apparatus to be used for heavy vehicles suitable
lever or screw arrangements are used to permit of easily raising and lowering the
wheel in the trough, and these jacks may either be in one with or separate from
the trough as found most convenient.
Although we have only shown one comparatively short brush on each side of
the trough it is evident that we do not limit ourselves to the size, there may also
be more than two brushes and if desired the bottom of the trough and ends may be
provided with a brush or brushes and instead of the trough being made as shown
suitable for standing on the ground it may be embedded therein. The trough may
further be provided with an outlet at or near the bottom for the exit of the dirt
dust or water the said outlet being closed by a plug or other device when
necessary.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. Apparatus for washing or cleaning wheels, consisting of a trough provided
with brushes mounted therein substantially as set forth.
2. Apparatus for washing or cleaning wheels consisting of a trough provided
with brushes and a jack or jacks for supporting the wheel substantially as set
forth.
3. Apparatus for washing or cleaning wheels consisting of a trough A provided
with brushes B sliding in guides A' and two adjustable jacks C C with adjustable
sockets CC substantially as described and shown.
Dated this Twenty-seventh day of November 1896.
JENSEN & SON,
77 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.