Improvements in Cycle Saddles.
Year: 1899

page_text: Improvements in Cycle Saddles.
I, LUDWIG MANDL, of No. 14, Zelinka Gasse, Vienna I, in the Empire of
Austria, Dector of Law, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in cycle saddles and has for object to
construct a saddle which, upon being loaded with the weight of the rider, is made
to automatically enlarge its seating surface.
The types of cycle saddles now in general use present too small a seating surface;
they can not very well be enlarged without making the saddle clumsy and
ungainly in appearance in comparison to the other parts of the machine, and
would furthermore, by their increased dimensions, obstruct the rider in mounting.
The aforesaid disadvantages are specially noticeable in saddles of cycles ridden
by women and broadly built and corpulent men, who, on account of having a
wider pelvis, do not find on the ordinary saddle a seating surface corresponding
to their anatomical dimensions.
The new or improved saddle forming the subject of the present invention has,
when not loaded with the weight of the rider, the size and general conformation
of the ordinary saddle, but is adapted to automatically enlarge its seating surface
at the moment of being loaded, and to maintain the said enlargement as long as
the rider retains his seat. Upon the rider dismounting the saddle automatically,
assumes it normal size and shape.
This effect is produced in the following manner:-
The clamp by means of which the saddle is secured to the L piece, is made to
support in the usual manner the carrier spring device, the fore part of which forms
the peak frame, while the rear portion is secured to the usual crescent shaped back
rail. The piece of leather forming the seat proper is stretched from the peak to a
second crescent shaped back rail which is normally held in position at suitable
distance above the first named back rail by means of a conveniently curved spring
extending from the clamp in a backward direction. Three or any other suitable
number of metal lappet pieces are so hinged to the outward edge of the lower
crescent shaped back rail as to form double armed levers, and are so contrived that
one of the arms of each lever lappet extends into the space between the two
back rails, while the outer arms hang down under the saddle by their own weight.
When the rider puts his weight on the saddle the upper back rail is depressed
towards the lower one, whereby the lever lappets are turned on their pivots causing
the outer arms to swing into the plane of the seating surface and to form exten-
sions of the latter, while upon the rider dismounting and thereby allowing the
upper back rail to be again raised into its normal position by the aforesaid
curved spring, the lever lappets will automatically fall back, their outer arms
hanging down under the saddle.
The lever lappets may be made extensible by means of being constructed in
two separate pieces adapted to be displaceable upon each other by the aid of slots
and screw nuts, or in other suitable manner, and their outer arms may be bent

page_text: upwards in order to form, in the case of female riders, a sort of dress supporting
device.
For the purpose of regulating the relative movement of the two superposed
back rails, the upper one may be provided with guide studs or similar contrivances
adapted to engage in corresponding slots or the like in the lower rail. Or, instead
of the whole of the upper portion of the saddle rising or descending as the case
may be, only the rear portion serving as support for the pelvis bones may be
made moveable.
CAMBIE & WINCKELSETT,
Warwick Buildings, 40, High Holborn, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.
I, LUDWIG MANDL, of No. 14, Zelinka Gasse, Vienna I, in the Empire of
Austria, Doctor of Law, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in cycle saddles and has for object to
construct a saddle which, upon being loaded with the weight of the rider, will auto-
matically enlarge its seating surface.
The types of cycle saddles now in general use present too small a seating surface;
they can not very well be enlarged without making them clumsy and ungainly in
appearance in comparison to the other parts of the machine, and would furthermore
by their increased dimensions, obstruct the rider in mounting.
The aforesaid disadvantages are specially noticeable in saddles of cycles ridden
by women and broadly built and corpulent men, who, on account of having a
wider pelvis, do not find on the ordinary saddle a seating surface corresponding
to their anatomical dimensions.
The new or improved saddle forming the subject of the present invention has,
when not loaded with the weight of the rider, the size and general conformation
of the ordinary saddle, but is adapted to automatically enlarge its seating surface
at the moment of being loaded, and to maintain the enlarged surface as long as
the rider retains his seat. When the rider dismounts the saddle automatically
resumes its normal size and shape.
This effect is produced by means of an arrangement of lever lappets which are
pivoted or hinged below the saddle in such manner that one of their arms will
be turned upwards by the weight of the rider pressing down the other arm; the
first mentioned outer arm of the lever lappet is thereby made to rise to the level
of the seating surface of the saddle, enlarging the same to the extent of its own
surface area.
When the rider dismounts the dead weight of the outer arms of
the lever lappets will force the latter back into their normal position, i.e. hanging
down under the saddle.
The present invention does not interfere with the general construction of saddles
now in use, and any existing saddle can easily be altered and provided with the
characteristic improvements of the invention, the supporting capacity and
resiliency of the saddle being in no way impaired thereby.
A method of carrying out the invention in practice is hereinafter described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The said drawings, throughout the
figures of which like letters indicate like or corresponding parts, show a cycle

page_text: accordance with this vention, the saddle being shown by
Fig. 1 in longitudinal section,
Fig. 2 in top view, the seat leather being partly removed,
Fig. 3 shows the leather seat and the spring maintaining the same in its
raised position when not loaded.
Fig. 4 the crescent shaped lower back rail, supported by the bearing spring, and
the lever lappets.
Fig. 5 is a plan view of the lower back rail.
It will be seen in the drawings that the leather seat d is attached to bearing
spring which is secured to the clamp a, by means of a hook or hinge e at the
peak, end c of spring b. The rear ends of spring b are fastened to the crescent
shaped back rail f. A part corresponding to the rail f has hitherto been rigidly
connected with the leather of the seat d, so that the latter and bearing spring b
were made to form a whole. According to this present invention the leather seat
is provided with a similar crescent shaped rail g, at the part formerly occupied by
rail f, and is held expanded or stretched by a separate spring p. The ends of a
second suitably curved spring h, also held by clamp a, are secured to rail g, the
said spring having the tendency to raise the broad rear portion of the seat d, so
that the two rails f and are normally held at a certain distance-say 1.1/2 to 2 cm.
from each other, while, upon the saddle being loaded with the weight of the
rider, the spring his overcome and the seat is turned down around the pivot or
hinge e at the peak end c of spring b, until rail is made to lie on rail f, whereby
the saddle assumes the exact appearance and resilient condition of an ordinary
saddle, as the whole of the load is made to rest upon bearing spring b.
This downward movement of rail is utilized, for turning moveable lever
lappets i, pivoted or hinged preferably below the rail f, in such manner that their
surfaces are raised into the plane of the seating surface of the saddle, thereby
enlarging the extent of the latter.
The said lever lappets i made in suitable dimensions, are turnable on pivots or
in hinges mounted on rail f, and have a lever arm which engages with a boss
or projection m provided on rail g, as soon as the seat is pressed down by the
loa; the outer arm of lever lappet is thereby raised into the plane of the
seating surface enlarging the latter in the manner indicated in dotted lines in
Figs. 1 and 2.
2
Upon the load being removed from the saddle the spring h again raises the seat,
and the lappet i owing to the greater weight of the outer arm, resumes its former
position and hangs down below the saddle.
It is to be pointed out that it is not necessary to raise the whole of seat d but
that only a part of it may be made to rise, or that a separate part, adapted to be
raised and lowered, may be provided and made depressible by the load for the
purpose of operating the lever lappets in the manner described.
In order to enable the seating surface to be still further enlarged when required,
the lever lappets i may be made to consist of two separate parts displaceable upon
each other, for instance by means of slots and screw nuts or in other suitable
manner, so that the displaceable portion of it may be utilized for elongating the
outer arm of the lever lappet: the latter or the displaceable portion of it may be
slightly curved upwards so as to provide a support rail, or, in case of lady riders,
a support for the garments.
The said lappets i are provided only at the broad rear end of the saddle where
the body of the rider finds its principal support, while the narrow front portion
or peak of the saddle retains its original shape in order not to interfere with the
free movement of the legs of the rider.
It is obvious that the inherent resiliency of the saddle is not impaired, as, upon
the rider having taken his seat, the spring alone is made to support the full
load, the same as in the ordinary type of saddles.
For the purpose of ensuring regularity in the relative movement of the displace-
able portion of the saddle, and preventing lateral displacement, guides may be pro-

page_text: vided, represented in the drawings by pins qq attached to rail which
9,
pass through
slots s in the lower rail f and so form a reliable guide and also limit, by means
of nuts t, the turning movement or throw of the seat and its supports upon hinge
or pivot e.
In order to increase the weight of the saddle as little as possible, the aforesaid
lappets are made very light, and of tough material, but the selection of suitable
One or
size, weight, and material does not affect the nature of the invention,
both sides of the outer arms of lappets i may have a covering of fabric, leather or
other convenient material.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1) A new or improved cycle saddle having a convenient number of lever lappets
provided below the saddle frame, which lappets are adapted to be turned upwards
upon the saddle or a portion of it being loaded with the weight of the rider, sub-
stantially as set forth and shown in the accompanying drawings.
2) A method of constructing a saddle as claimed under 1), wherein the seat d
kept stretched out by a special spring and supported in a raised position by a
second spring h, is adapted to be moved downwards by the weight of the rider,
and to turn the outer arms of lever lappets i, pivoted or hinged to rail f of bearing
spring b, into the plane of the seating surface of the saddle by means of bosses
or projections m. provided on rail g and engaging with the inner arms of lever
lappets, substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3) In cycle saddles as claimed under 1) and 2), the employment of lever lappets i
consisting of two separate portions displaceable upon each other for the purpose
of elongating the outer arms of said lappets and thereby increasing the extent of
the seating surface, substantially as described and shown in the drawings.
4) In cycle saddles as claimed under 1), 2), and 3), the employment of lever
Jappets in which the extremity of the outer arm is slightly curved or bent upwards,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
5) In cycle saddles as claimed under 2), the application of pins q, slots s, and
nuts for the purpose of preventing lateral displacement of the seat when mounting,
and disconnection of the component parts of the saddle when not loaded, substan-
tially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 28th of February 1899
CAMBIE & WINCKELSETT,
Warwick Buildings, 40, High Holborn, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.