AN IMPROVEMENT APPLICABLE TO VELOCIPEDES.
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry James Timberlake, of Maidenhead, in the County
of Berks, Bicycle Manufacturer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT
APPLICABLE TO VELOCIPEDES.'
د"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry James Timberlake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th February 1876.
HENRY JAMES TIMBERLAKE, of Maidenhead, in the County of Berks, Bicycle
Manufacturer. "AN IMPROVEMENT APPLICABLE TO VELOCIPEDES."
This Invention relates to a novel arrangement of break for velocipedes, and more
particularly for that class of velocipedes which are known as bicycles.
The usual means employed for applying the break power consists of a lever, one
end of which is caused to bear upon the hind wheel of the bicycle by means of a
chain or cord attached to the opposite end of the lever, and connected with the
steering handle of the bicycle, the chain or cord being wound upon a pulley carried
by the handle. This arrangement has been found to be very inconvenient, as a firm
hold must be kept on the handle or the chain or cord will slacken, and the break
will be off.
In order to obviate this inconvenience I propose to apply my Invention direct on
to the driving wheel, and to effect this object I mount the steering handle in a
tubular bearing, which is rigidly attached to or forms part of the head of the fork,
and I fit the spindle of the handle with a pinion, which gears into teeth cut in the
upper end of a vertical rod which slides in guides carried by the fork. The lower
end of this rod terminates in a fork which carries a break roller, which is made to
bear on the elastic periphery of the driving wheel. It will thus be seen that when it
is desired to put on the break the rider will by giving an axial motion to the handle
push down the vertical rod, and hold the break roller in contact with the driving
wheel; thus the great strain on the hands and wrists of the rider caused by the
usual mode of working the break will be avoided.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Henry James Timberlake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th August 1876.
HENRY JAMES TIMBERLAKE, of Maidenhead, in the County of Berks, Bicycle
Manufacturer. "AN IMPROVEMENT APPLICABLE TO VELOCIPEDES."
This Invention relates to a novel arrngement of break for velocipedes, and more
particularly for that class of velocipedes which are known as bicycles.
The usual means employed for applying the break power consists of a lever, one
end of which is caused to bear upon the hind wheel of the bicycle by means of a
chain or cord attached to the opposite end of the lever, and connected with the
steering handle of the bicycle, the chain or cord being wound upon a pulley carried
by the handle. This arrangement has been found to be very inconvenient, as a firm
hold must be kept on the handle or the chain or cord will slacken, and the break
will be taken off the running wheel.
The object of the present Invention is to obviate this inconvenience, and to this
end I apply the break power direct to the driving wheel, and to effect this object I
mount the steering handle in a tubular bearing, which is rigidly attached to or
forms part of the head of the fork, and I fit on the spindle of the handle a toothed
pinion, which gears into rack teeth set in or formed on the upper end of a vertical
rod which slides in guides carried by the fork. The lower end of this rod termi-
nates in a fork, in which is mounted a break roller, which is made to bear on the
elastic periphery of the large driving wheel, and thereby tends to retard its rotary
motion. It will thus be understood that when it is desired to put on the break the
rider will (by giving an axial motion to the handle) cause the toothed pinion thereon
to rotate, and by acting on the rack will push down the vertical rod and hold the
break roller in contact with the driving wheel, and will retard its motion until it is
relieved from the pressure of the break roller. By this means the great strain on
the hands and wrists of the rider caused by the usual mode of working the break
will be avoided, and the break roller will remain in contact with the periphery of
the driving wheel until the handle is rotated in the opposite direction so as to lift
up the vertical rod which carries the break roller.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a side elevation of so much of a bicycle
as is necessary to understand the application of the Invention; Fig. 2 is an end
elevation.
a, a, represents part of a bicycle wheel constructed in the ordinary manner with
an elastic tyre. To the upper end of the ordinary fork b, b, (in the forked lower
end of which the axle of the large driving wheel a is mounted in the usual manner)
are adapted bearings c, c, to carry or support a vertical rod d, in the forked lower
end of which is mounted the friction roller e, which bears on the elastic tyre of the
large driving wheel a. On the back or inner side of the vertical rod d is formed a
toothed rack, as shown at Fig. 1, and in the detached sectional views, Figures 3
and 4. The cross handle or steering arm f passes through a tubular socket fl on
the top of the fork b, and on the central part of this steering arm is formed a
toothed pinion g, Figures 3 and 4, which gears into the rack on the vertical rod d,
so that by causing the steering arm f to rotate in its bearings the toothed pinion g
will raise or lower the rod d, and with it the break or friction roller e.
From the above explanation of the working parts it will be evident that by
simply turning the steering handle in its socket the friction break roller may be
made to bear on the elastic periphery of the large driving wheel to any desired
extent, and may be maintained there as long as may be required without any undue
strain on the hands or muscles of the rider.
Having now described my Invention of "An Improvement Applicable to
Velocipedes," and having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I
claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid, the adaptation
to the large driving wheel of bicycles of a friction break roller, which is capable of

page_text: being raised and lowered by means of suitable gear connected with the steering
handle, as and for the purpose herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry James Timberlake, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twelfth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
H. J. TIMBERLAKE. (L.S.)