Improvements in the Saddles or Seats of Bicycles, Tricycles, and other Velocipedes.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Aug., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 13th May, 1892-Accepted, 18th June, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Saddles or Seats of Bicycles, Tricycles, and
other Velocipedes.
I EDWARD LYCETT of No. 115 Kingston Road Birmingham in the County of
Warwick Commercial Traveller do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
In bicycles tricycles and other velocipedes as ordinarily constructed the vibratory
motion produced by obstacles or asperities in the road or surface on which the
vehicle is travelling is transmitted to the seat of the vehicle to the great discomfort
of the rider.
My invention has for its object to prevent wholly or in part the transmission to
the rider of the vibratory motion hereinbefore referred to and consists of the
improvements hereinafter described in the saddles or seats of the said vehicles.
My invention consists essentially in the employment of a hollow air tight cushion
preferably of vulcanized india rubber between the foundation of the saddle and the
leather seat of the saddle the said hollow airtight cushion being charged with
compressed air.
I carry my invention into effect preferably in the following manner. I make an
air tight hollow cushion of a tube of vulcanized india rubber or other air tight
elastic or flexible material which said tube has approximately the configuration of
the outline of the saddle. The said airtight tube has an opening and valve by which
it can be charged with compressed air. I protect the said cushion by a covering of
canvas or cloth and enclose it between two paraliel plates of sheet steel or iron of
nearly the same configuration as the said cushion and I fix or bind the said plates
and cushion together by webbing or canvas or otherwise. The lower plate is fixed
to the foundation frame of the saddle by screws and screw nuts at three points one
at the front and two at the rear. The upper plate is fixed to the leather part of
The con-
the seat or saddle at three points one at the front and two at the rear.
nection at front is effected by means of a tension screw pin on the underside of the
leather the said screw pin passing through the turned up end of the plate the tension
of the leather being determined by a screw nut on the said screw pin. The con-
nection is effected at back by two screw pins carried by a curved plate on the
underside of the rear of the saddle. These screw pins pass through holes at the
rear of the upper plate and are fixed by screw nuts.
Dated the 20th day of August 1891.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Saddles or Seats of Bicycles, Tricycles, and
other Velocipedes.
I, EDWARD LYCETT, of No. 115 Kingston Road, Birmingham in the County of
Warwick Commercial Traveller, do hereby declare the nature of my invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
In bicycles, tricycles and other velocipedes as ordinarily constructed the vibratory
motion produced by obstacles or asperities in the road or surface on which the
vehicle is travelling is transmitted to the seat of the vehicle to the great dis-
comfort of the rider

page_text: My invention has for its object to prevent, wholly or in part, the transmission to
the rider of the vibratory motion hereinbefore referred to, and consists of the
improvements hereinafter described in the saddles or seats of the said vehicles.
My invention consists essentially in the employment of a hollow air tight cushion,
preferably of vulcanized india rubber, between the foundation of the saddle and
the leather seat of the saddle, the said hollow air tight cushion being charged with
compressed air.
I carry my invention into effect preferably in the following manner.
I make an
air tight hollow cushion of a tube of vulcanised india rubber or other air tight
elastic or flexible material, which said tube has approximately the configuration of
the outline of the saddle. The said air tight tube has an opening and valve by
which it can be charged with compressed air. I protect the said cushion by a
covering of canvas or cloth and enclose it between two parallel plates of sheet steel
or iron of nearly the same configuration as the said cushion and I fix or bind the
said plates and cushion together by webbing or canvas or otherwise. The lower
plate is fixed by rivetting to the foundation frame of the saddle. The upper plate
is fixed to the leather part of the seat or saddle by rivetting. The connection at
front is effected by means of a tension screw pin on the underside of the leather the
said screw pin passing through the turned up end of the frame, the tension of the
leather being determined by a screw nut on the said screw pin.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing represents in side elevation partly in
longitudinal section; Figure 2 in end elevation and Figure 3 in plan, of underside
a saddle or seat of a bicycle, tricycle or other velocipede constructed according to
my invention.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the
drawing.
a is the leather seat of the saddle supported by the spring frame c, c and d, d the
said frame being attached to the L pin of the seat post by the usual clamping
attachment at e on the lower part of the supporting frame. The front ends of the
branches of the upper and lower parts c and d of the supporting frame are secured
to the screw box working on the tension screw for tightening the leather seat of the
saddle. The ends of the arms or branches c, e of the upper part of the supporting
frame of the saddle are riveted to the curved sheet iron or steel plate g at the cantle
or rear of the saddle and the ends of the arms or branches d, d of the lower part of
the supporting frame of the saddle are riveted to the sheet iron or steel plate h at
the rear or cantle end of the saddle and parallel with the upper plate y.
The shape of these plates which are both alike is best seen in the plan of one of
them in Figure 3.
Between the said sheet iron or steel parallel plates g, at the rear or cantle end
of the saddle is the air tight hollow cushion i made of vulcanized india rubber
or other air tight elastic or flexible material. The said hollow air tight cushion
has the general figure of the rear end of the saddle and is preferably cylindrical in
cross section. The said hollow air tight cushion is protected by a covering of
canvas or cloth and in order to prevent the metal plates g, h between which the
air cushion is situated, from injuring the material of which it is made, the inner face
of each plate has fixed to it by cement or otherwise, a thin protecting layer of cork,
leather or the like represented in Figure 1 and marked k.
The air tight cushion is fixed or bound between the two plates g, h by bands of
webbing canvas or the like marked p fixed to the lower plate and encircling the
cushion i and upper plate g. Or leather straps provided with buckles may be used
for the same purpose.
At the underside of the air cushion is a tube by which it is charged with
compressed air by means of a small air pump or syringe of the ordinary kind, the
tube 7 being closed by the ordinary pinch cock or valve m.
When the rider seats himself on the saddle the charged air cushion is slightly
compressed and besides giving an agreeable elasticity to the saddle at its rear end
also prevents wholly or in part the transmission to the rider of the vibratory motion

page_text: produced by obstructions or asperities on the road or surface over which the
velocipede is travelling.
Although I prefer to support the hollow air cushion between two parallel plates
at the rear of the saddle carried by the supporting frame of the saddle, yet
equivalent arrangements for supporting the air cushion may be employed with the
same or nearly the same effect.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion and the manner of performing the same I declare that I claim as my inven-
tion of "Improvements in the saddles or seats of bicycles tricycles and other
velocipedes'
The addition to or combination with the rear or cantle end of the saddle of a
hollow elastic or flexible cushion charged with compressed air, the said hollow air
cushion being situated under the cantle end of the saddle and preferably between
two parallel plates carried by the supporting frame of the saddle for the purposes
and substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawing.
T
101
י
1000
EDWARD LYCETT.