IMPROVEMENTS IN BICYCLES AND TRICYCLES
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Illston, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BICYCLES AND
TRICYCLES."
Sealed the 13th April 1880, and dated the 12th November 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Illston at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 12th November 1879.
_GEORGE ILLSTON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BICYCLES AND TRICYCLES."
My Invention consists, first, of the construction and arrangement herein after
described of the parts of detachable handles for bicycles and tricycles, whereby the
removal of the handle from the head of the bicycle or tricycle, and its replacement
and fixing thereon are very readily effected.
I make near the top of the head of the bicycle or tricycle a cross hollow bracket
open at its ends and top. The said bracket has externally a nearly cylindrical
figure, and its ends are furnished with convex screws. The interior of the hollow
bracket is trough shaped. I make the handle bar nearly flat at its middle, the
bottom part being curved, and of size proper to seat itself in and fill the open top
of the hollow or trough bracket described of the head. The upper portion of the
flattened middle of the bar is of less length than the lower portion, the contracted
upper portion being of the same length as the unscrewed part of the hollow
or trough bracket. On each side of the middle flattened part of the handle bar is a
sliding collar milled externally, and screwed internally with a concave screw proper
to fit on the convex screw at the end of the hollow or trough bracket on the head.
In connecting the detachable handle to the head of the bicycle or tricycle the
flattened middle part of the handle bar is dropped into the hollow or trough
bracket on the head, the contracted upper part of the flattened bar filling up the
opening in the top of the trough, excepting at its screwed ends, at which parts there
is no obstruction. By sliding the screwed collars to the middle of the handle bar
and screwing them upon the screwed ends of the trough or hollow bracket, the
handle bar is securely connected to the head of the bicycle or tricycle.
By unscrewing the said screw collars from the ends of the hollow bracket the
handle bar is unfastened and may be lifted from the hollow bracket and removed.

page_text: The detachable handle is in this way readily connected to or disconnected from the
head of the bicycle or tricycle, and when connected is very secure.
By making those parts of the handle bar on which the collars seat themselves
when they are screwed up of a slightly conical figure, and giving a like figure to
the interior of the rear end of each collar, great firmness is given to the parts when
they are screwed together.
My Invention consists, secondly, in constructing the heads of bicycles and
tricycles in the manner herein after described, whereby the vertical height of the
handle on the head may be adjusted with great nicety, so as to suit the person
using the bicycle or tricycle. On one face of the head I make a vertical dovetail
or grooved seat, on or in which a slide works, the said slide being fixed in any
position on the said seat by means of a set screw. In the upper part of the said
slide the handle bar is secured. The handle bar may either be permanently fixed
to the said slide or be capable of detachment therefrom. When made capable of
detachment I prefer to construct the parts for seating and fixing the handle bar in
the manner constituting the first part of my Invention.
When it is required to adjust the height of the handle on the head, it is only
necessary to slacken the set screw of the slide, when the said slide carrying the
handle bar may be raised or lowered on its seat, and refixed in its adjusted position
by driving home the set screw. Instead of the dovetail or grooved arrangement
described, the following arrangement may be employed for adjusting the height of
the handle of the bicycle or tricycle:-In the face of the head of the bicycle or
tricycle I make a vertical slot in which a sliding socket works. This sliding
socket carries the handle bar and is fixed at the required height by a screw, bolt,
and nut.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said George Illston in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th May
1880.
GEORGE ILLSTON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturer.
[6 IMPROVEMENTS IN BICYCLES AND TRICYCLES."
My Invention consists, first, of the construction and arrangement herein after
described of the parts of detachable handles for bicycles and tricycles, whereby the
removal of the handle from the head of the bicycle or tricycle and its replacement
and fixing thereon are very readily effected.
I make near the top of the head of the bicycle or tricycle a cross hollow bracket
open at its ends and top. The said bracket has externally a nearly cylindrical
figure, and its ends are furnished with convex screws. The interior of the hollow
bracket is trough shaped; I make the handle bar nearly flat at its middle, the
bottom part being curved and of a size proper to seat itself in and fill the open top
of the hollow or trough bracket described of the bead. The upper portion of the
flattened middle of the bar is of less length than the lower portion, the contracted
upper portion being of the same length as the unscrewed part of the hollow or
trough bracket. On each side of the middle flattened part of the handle bar is a
sliding collar milled externally, and screwed internally with a concave screw proper
to fit on the convex screw at the end of the hollow or trough bracket on the
head.
In connecting the detachable handle to the head of the bicycle or tricycle the
flattened middle part of the handle bar is dropped into the hollow or trough
bracket on the head, the contracted upper part of the flattened bar filling up the
opening in the top of the trough, excepting at its screwed ends, at which parts
there is no obstruction. By sliding the screwed collars to the middle of the handle
bar and screwing them upon the screwed ends of the trough or hollow bracket, the
handle bar is securely connected to the head of the bicycle or tricycle.
By unscrewing the said screw collars from the ends of the hollow bracket the
handle bar is unfastened and may be lifted from the hollow bracket and removed.
The detachable handle is in this way readily connected to or disconnected from
the head of the bicycle or tricycle, and when connected is very secure.
My Invention consists, secondly, in constructing the heads of bicycles and
tricycles in the manner herein after described, whereby the vertical height of the
handle on the head may be adjusted with great nicety, so as to suit the person
using the bicycle or tricycle.
On one face of the head I make a vertical dovetail or grooved seat, on or in
which a slide works, the said slide being fixed in any position on the said seat
by means of a set screw. In the upper part of the said slide the handle bar is
secured. The handle bar may either be permanently fixed to the said slide, or
be capable of detachment therefrom. When made capable of detachment I prefer
to construct the parts for seating and fixing the handle bar in the manner
constituting the first part of my Invention.
When it is required to adjust the height of the handle on the head it is only
necessary to slacken the set screw of the slide, when the said slide carrying the
handle bar may be raised or lowered on its seat, and refixed in its adjusted
position by driving home the set screw. Instead of the dovetail or grooved
arrangement described, the following arrangement may be employed for adjusting
the height of the handle of the bicycle or tricycle:-
In the face of the head of the bicycle or tricycle I make a vertical slot in which
a sliding socket works. This sliding socket carries the handle bar and is fixed at
the required height by a screw, bolt, and nut.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings
the manner in which my Invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation, Figure 2 in longitudinal vertical section,
Figure 3 in plan, and Figure 4 in cross section a detachable handle bar connected

page_text: to the head of a bicycle or tricycle according to my Invention; Figure 5 represents
in front elevation the said handle and the screw collars of the same detached from
the head of the bicycle or tricycle; and Figure 6 represents a side elevation of the
said head and handle bar.
The same same letters indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.
a is the hollow bracket made near the top of and crossing one side of the head b
of the bicycle or tricycle. The said bracket a is open at its ends and top, and the
interior of the said bracket has the trough form best seen in the cross section
Figure 4 and end elevation Figure 6. On the ends of the said trough shaped
bracket a are convex screws c, c; d is the handle bar, the grips or wooden parts of
the handle being omitted. The middle part of the handle bar is flat and has a
shape proper to seat itself in and fill up the trough shaped bracket a, as seen in
Figure 4. The upper portion of the flattened part d' of the bar has the same
length as the unscrewed part of the trough bracket a, so that when the said
flattened part of the bar is fitted in the trough a, it does not project into the
screwed ends of the said trough bracket a; e, e, are sliding collars on the handle
bar. The said collars e, e, are milled externally and screwed internally with
screws proper to fit on the convex screws c, c, at the ends of the trough bracket a.
To connect the detachable handle to the head 6 of the bicycle or tricycle, the
flattened middle part d² of the handle bar d is dropped into the trough bracket a
on the head b, as seen in Figures 2 and 4. The screw collars e, e, are now moved
towards the middle of the handle bar and screwed upon the screws c, c, at the ends
of the trough bracket a. The handle bar d, d³, is thereby securely connected to the
head of the bicycle or tricycle, as illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4. The parts
d³, d, of the handle bar where they join the middle flattened part d² are made
slightly conical, and the interior of the rear parts of the screw collars e, e, are also
made slightly conical to fit upon the conical parts d³, d³, of the bar when the said
screw collars are screwed home. By making the parts d³, d³, of the handle bar d
conical and the rear parts of the collars e, e, conical, as represented, great firmness
is given to the parts when they are screwed together, as seen in Figure 2.
it is wished to remove the detachable handle, the screw collars e, e, are unscrewed
from the screws c, c, at the ends of the hollow or trough bracket a. The handle
bar d, d, is thereby unfastered and may be lifted from the hollow bracket a, as
represented in Figures 5 and 6.
When
Figure 7 represents in front elevation, Figure 8 in side elevation, Figure 9 in
vertical section, Figure 10 in side elevation partly in section, and Figure 11 in
plan an adjustable head of a bicycle or tricycle constructed according to my
Invention; Figure 12 is a cross section of the same taken on the line f, f, Figure 9;
and Figure 13 represents the dovetail slide and seat on the head detached.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in Figures 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,
12, and 13.
b is the head of the bicycle or tricycle; and g is the vertical dovetail seat on one
face of the said head. The seat g may either be made in one piece with the said
head, or connected thereto by screwing or otherwise. On the seat ga dovetail
slide h works, the said slide carrying at its upper part the socket i for connecting
the handle bar k to the said slide. Or the handle bar k may be connected to the
slide h in any other convenient way. The said slide h carries a set screw l for
fixing the slide and handle bar in any position on the seat g. In Figures 7, 8,
and 9, the slide h is represented fixed near the top of the seat g, and in Figure 10
near the bottom of the said seat.
When it is required to adjust the vertical height of the handle on the head bit is
only necessary to slacken the set screw when the slide h is released, and may be
raised or lowered on its seat and refixed in its adjusted position by driving home
the set screw 7, as represented. The slide carrying the handle bar and the seat on
the head may have a figure other than the dovetail figure represented.
Figures 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 represent an adjustable head constructed
according to my Invention, in which the sliding socket carrying the handle bar

page_text: works in a vertical slot made in the face of the head; Figure 14 represents a front
elevation of the adjustable head; Figure 15, a side elevation; Figure 16, a vertical
section; and Figure 17, horizontal sections; Figure 18 represents the inner face of
the sliding socket detached; and Figure 19 is a horizontal section of the same;
Figure 20 represents the screw bolt detached.
b is the head; and c is the vertical slot made in its face; d, d, is the sliding
socket carrying the handle bar e, e. Along the middle of the inner face of the
sliding socket is a rib d³ of a size and shape proper to work closely in the vertical
slot C, the parts d, d, on either side the middle rib d bearing against the outer face
of the head b. The shape of the sliding socket d, d², is best seen in Figures 18
and 19, and the manner in which the rib part d² works in the vertical slot c is best
seen in the horizontal section Figure 17; f is the screw bolt for fixing the sliding
socket d, d, in its adjusted position. The head f' of the screw bolt f has inclined
sides which bear against the inner face of the hollow head b.
The screwed stem f of the bolt is passed from the back of the head b through the
hole in the sliding socket d, and a screw nut g is screwed upon the said stem.
After the height of the sliding socket d, d², has been adjusted in the slot c, the
screw nut g is screwed home so as to cause the said socket to be gripped firmly
between the head f2 of the screw bolt and the nut g, as seen in Figure 17, and
thereby fix the socket and handle bar in their adjusted position. By partly
unscrewing the nut g the grip upon the sliding socket is relaxed, and the latter
may be raised or lowered in the slot c, and again fixed by screwing home the said
nut g.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I claim as my Invention
of "Improvements in Bicycles and Tricycles,"
First. The construction and arrangement herein before described and illustrated
in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the accompanying Drawings of the parts of
detachable handles for bicycles and tricycles, that is to say, making at the top
of the head of the bicycle or tricycle a hollow or trough shaped bracket open at
its top and screwed at its open ends, and making the middle of the handle bar
flat to seat itself in and fill the hollow or trough bracket, except at its screwed
ends, and fastening the handle bar securely to the trough bracket by means of
screwed collars sliding upon the handle bar, and screwing upon the screwed ends
of the trough bracket, substantially as described and illustrated.
Secondly. The improvements in constructing the heads of bicycles and tricycles
herein before described and illustrated in Figures 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13, of the
accompanying Drawings, for the purpose of readily adjusting the vertical height
of the handles on the said heads, that is to say, making on the face of the head a
dovetail or grooved seat, on or in which a slide carrying the handle bar works, the
said slide being adjusted at any desired height on the said seat, and fixed in its
adjusted position by means of a set screw or other equivalent arrangement,
substantially as described and illustrated; also, the modification described and
illustrated in Figures 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, in which a vertical slot is made
in the face of the head, in which slot a socket carrying the handle slides and is
fixed by a screw, bolt, and nut, or other equivalent arrangement, as described and
illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Illston, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight