IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CARRYING LUGGAGE ON A BICYCLE OR SIMILAR VEHICLE
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Wallace Richardson Bull, of Angell Road, in the County
of Surrey, for an Invention of IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CARRYING
LUGGAGE ON A BICYCLE OR SIMILAR VEHICLE." Partly a communication
from abroad by Henry Francis Kimber, of St. John's Road, in the County of
Surrey, now residing at Solnhofen. Germany.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Wallace Richardson Bull
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th August 1880.
«
WALLACE RICHARDSON BULL, of Angell Road, in the County of Surrey.
IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CARRYING LUGGAGE ON A BICYCLE OR SIMILAR
VEHICLE." [Partly a communication from abroad by Henry Francis Kimber, of
St. John's Road, in the County of Surrey, now residing at Solnhofen, Germany.]
This Invention is designed to provide means for conveniently carrying clothes or
other articles on vehicles wherein it is very important to economize space and to
avoid any addition to the weight carried thereby. The said Invention is chiefly
designed for use in a bicycle or other velocipede, to which it will form a very useful
adjunct.
The said Invention consists chiefly in a frame or hanger which, when applied to
a bicycle, forms an extension of the fork below the shaft, and is provided with
means for the attachment and support of a box or other receptacle for the luggage
below the same.
The said hanger is formed of steel or other suitable metal by bending a light
rod or bar thereof into the form of an oblong or oval frame, which is designed to
hang below the shaft or axle of the vehicle, and which converges upwardly to a
circular loop or eye which is provided to permit the said frame to enclose the axle
bearing.
The said frame or hanger may be constructed independently or separately, and
provided with means for securing it upon the fork. In this case the said hanger
has its two sides extended above the part which encloses the axle bearing, and
these extended sides are formed to embrace the part of the fork just above the said
bearing, and are secured thereon by screw clips or other suitable devices.

page_text: But if desired the said hanger may be forged solidly upon the fork of the
bicycle.
In either case the said hanger must be provided with means for the attachment
of the box or other receptacle on its lower part, so that the weight will be carried
below the shaft or axle of the vehicle. For this purpose I provide the said frame
with hooks or similar devices, which permit the said box or receptacle to be con-
veniently attached and removed.
Any suitable receptacle may be used, but this Invention provides one which will
be found very convenient for the above purpose, that is to say, I construct a folding
or expanding and contracting case or box formed of tin plates or other thin metal
or other suitable material; this case or box has its back and front sides hinged or
jointed to its bottom, and at the top to two or more narrow strips, its two ends
being jointed to one of the said sides, the whole being so arranged that the said
sides and ends with the bottom can be adjusted to expand the box, or can be
folded back to contract the same. At the top above the said narrow strips the box
is provided with a lid or cover, which is hinged to one side, and which when the
said box is contracted will fold down over the other side. The back of the said
box is provided at its ends with clips, which when the box is empty and contracted
are turned over upon the front side of the box, and hold the same securely in this
position. Moreover, the back of the box is provided with holes, into which the
hooks of the hanger are inserted when the said box is placed on the same.
It will be obvious that by providing means for carrying luggage below the shaft
of the large wheel of a bicycle the extra weight thereof will be carried in the most
advantageous position, as it will tend to increase the tractive power of the said
wheel, and will moreover relieve the rider of the inconvenience resulting from other
arrangements hitherto adopted for carrying luggage in these vehicles.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Wallace Richardson Bull in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
18th February 1881.
WALLACE RICHARDSON BULL, of Angell Road, in the County of Surrey.
"IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CARRYING LUGGAGE ON A BICYCLE OR SIMILAR
VEHICLE." Partly a communication from abroad by Henry Francis Kimber, of
St. John's Road, in the County of Surrey, now residing at Solnhofen, Germany.
This Invention is designed to provide apparatus or means for conveniently
carrying clothes or other articles on vehicles wherein it is very important to
economize space and to avoid as much as possible addition to the weight. The said
Invention is chiefly designed for use in a bicycle or other velocipede, to which it
will form a very useful adjunct.
The said Invention consists chiefly in providing or arranging a frame or hanger
on a bicycle between the driving wheel and the crank to carry the load below the
axle of the vehicle. This hanger is provided with means for the attachment and
support of a box or other receptacle for the luggage below the said shaft.
The said Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which,―
Figures 1 and 2 are views of the opposite sides of the aforesaid hanger, and
represent the box attached thereto as it appears when opened out; and
Figure 3 is a front view of the said hanger and box.
Figure 4 is a side view; and
Figure 5, a front view of part of the hanger, and represent the box attached
thereto as it appears when closed.
Figure 6 is a side view; and
Figure 7, a front view drawn to a reduced scale shewing the said Invention
applied to a bicycle.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
In these Figures a represents the frame or hanger, which is formed of steel, or
other suitable metal by bending one or more light rods or bars, either tubular or
otherwise, into the form of an oblong, oval, or other shaped frame, which is designed
to hang below the shaft or axle 6 of the vehicle, as shewn in Figures 6 and 7, and
whose sides preferably converge upwardly and enclose the axle bearing.
The said frame or hanger may be constructed or forged in one piece with the
fork c of the vehicle, or may be made separately therefrom, and provided with
means for securing it upon the said fork. In the latter case I prefer to so form the
portions of the two sides e of the hanger, which extend above the axle bearing, as
to embrace the part of the fork just above the said bearing, the said hanger being
secured to the said fork preferably by clips f and screws and nuts g, as shewn, or
by other suitable devices."
If desired, the said hanger may be secured to or formed on the bearings of the
front wheel of the bicycle or other vehicle.
In either case the said hanger must be arranged between the crank and the
wheel, and must be provided with means for the attachment of the box, bag, or
other receptacle at its lower end, so that the contents of such receptacle will be
carried below the shaft or axle of the vehicle. For this purpose I provide the said
frame or hanger with hooks, pins, buttons, or similar devices, which permit the
bag, box, or receptacle to be conveniently attached thereto or to be removed there-
from without necessitating the removal of the said frame or hanger.
Any suitable box or receptacle may be used, but this 'Invention provides one
which will be found very convenient for the above purpose, that is to say, I
construct a folding or expanding and contracting case or box h formed of tin plate
or other thin metal or other suitable material; this case or box has its back and

page_text: front sides i, j, hinged or jointed to the bottom k, and connected at the top by two
or more narrow strips 7, shewn in dotted lines in Figure 4, the two ends m of the
said box being hinged to the back of the same. By this construction the said
sides i, j, the ends m, and the bottom k can be adjusted to expand the box, as
shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, or to fold up to contract the same, as shewn in
Figures 4 and 5. At the top of the box above the narrow strips the same is
provided with a lid or cover n, which is hinged to the back i, and which when the
said box is contracted will fold down over the side j, as shewn in Figure 4. The
back of the said box is provided with clips o, which when the box is empty and
contracted are turned over upon the front side j and lid n of the said box, and hold
the same securely in the position shewn in Figures 4 and 5. Moreover, the back
of the box is provided with loops or eyes p, into which the pins or hooks q on the
hanger pass, or with holes into which hooks or buttons on the said hanger are
inserted when the said box is placed upon the same.
In applying this Invention to a bicycle two of the said frames or hangers are
preferably attached to the same, one on each side of the driving wheel, as shewn in
Figure 7; and in some cases I provide on each of the boxes means for holding a
lamp.
It will be obvious that by providing means for carrying luggage below the shaft
of the large wheel of a bicycle the extra weight thereof will be carried in the most
advantageous position, as it will tend to increase the tractive power of the said
wheel, and will moreover relieve the rider of the inconvenience resulting from other
arrangements hitherto adopted for carrying luggage upon these vehicles.
Having thus fully described the said Invention and the manner of performing
the same, I wish it understood that I claim,
First. Providing a bicycle or similar vehicle with a frame or hanger extending
down from the fork or bearing between the driving wheel and crank, and furnished
with means for carrying the load below the axle of the vehicle, substantially as
above set forth and for the purposes specified.
Second. The combination with a frame or hanger, arranged as set forth, of the
adjustable box constructed as above described, substantially as and for the purposes
specified.
In witness whereof, 1, the said Wallace Richardson Bull, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty one.