Improvements in Brushes for Velocipedes and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Oct., 1897-Accepted, 22nd Jan., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Brushes for Velocipedes and the like.
I, CARL EDUARD FLEMMING, of Schöenheide, Erzgebirge, Germany, Brush
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
This invention relates generally to that description of brushes for velocipedes
and the like in which the bristles are secured by means of two wires helically twisted
together. In particular the invention relates to double brushes or multiple brushes,
that is to say, brushes having two or more brush-bodies.
According to my present invention, instead of, as heretofore, connecting together
those parts of the twisted wires which have no bristles by a special transverse
connecting piece, which, together with the said parts, formed a kind of handle, or
served as substitute for a handle, the said parts of the twisted wires free of bristles
are, according to the present invention, themselves formed into a kind of handle, so
that the said transverse piece can be dispensed with.
This formation of the twisted wires into a kind of handle is effected by widening
or lengthening these parts, and when the latter is the case, so that the brush has a
long handle, this may have a direction imparted to it different from that of the
brushes proper.
The latter may either be formed straight or curved, in the first named case they
are more particularly intended for cleaning the driving chains, while in the second case
they may be used either only for cleaning the wheel tyres and rims, or both for this
and for Cleaning the chain.
My said invention is shewn in numerous examples on the accompanying drawings.
The simplest constructions are those shewn in elevation at Figs. 1, 3, 5 and 7 and
in the respective top views at Figs. 2, 4, 6 & 8.
It may be stated here, that as shewn at Figs. 2 to 8, the brushes may be made of
any desired cross sectional form.
The forms shewn in these figures, as also those shewn in Figs. 10, 10, 12, 124 are
only to be considered as examples. In each of these top views the sectional form of
the two brush bodies are shewn different, but it will be evident that both brushes
might have the same sectional form, and this will generally be the rule.
In Figs. 1 and 2 a, a', are the brush bodies which are secured by the parts b, b', of
the double twisted wire 62 in the manner first above mentioned. The part of the
twisted wire b2 which is free from bristles, is bent at the middle into a loop 6³ so that
a widening is here effected, which can serve as handle, and which will facilitate the
holding and using of the brush. In place of only one loop, two may of course be
formed, as shewn at 6 in Figs. 3 and 4, and instead of making the loop extend
towards the brushes, as at Figs. 1 and 3, it may extend away from them, as
at 65, Figs 5 and 6.
The handle-like widening, instead of being formed as a loop or coil as above.
CD 071

page_text: described may also be formed by a backwards and forwards bending of the twisted
wire. In Figs. 7 and 8 is shewn such a bending, 66, of the twisted wire 62, directed
towards the brushes, while at Figs. 9 and 10 an elongated bent part 67 forming a
handle is shewn, directed away from the brushes.
This handle extends parallel with the parts b b¹ of the twisted wire carrying the
brushes, but it may also, as already stated, be directed at an angle to the latter.
Such a construction is shewn at Fig. 11, in which the handle 68 forms a right angle
with the parts b b¹, but lies in the same plane as these.
In Fig. 13 the handle 6° is directed not only at right angles to the parts 6 61 but
also at right angles to the common plane thereof.
The two constructions shewn at Figs. 11 and 13, in particular the latter, are
specially adapted for the cleaning of the chain from its inner side, while the
construction shewn at Fig. 9 is more particularly adapted for cleansing the chain
from the outer side.
With the arrangements shewn in Figs. 1, 3, 5, and 7, the chain can be cleaned
from the inside as also from the outside; and it may be mentioned here that
constructions of this kind, in which there are coils such as 63 64 65 (Figs. 1, 3 and 5),
may, if desired, be provided with a separate handle which is connected or fixed to
the double brush with the aid of a screw passing through the coil of the wire b².
In fact, it is an important feature that some constructions allow of providing a
separate handle, which is not possible in the old brushes first above referred to.
Constructions of the kind shewn in Figs. 9, 11 and 13, are particularly suited for
the arrangement of a special handle which, however, need not always be a handle
proper, that is to say, a turned wood handle, but may consist of a covering which
facilitates grasping, and which may also be utilized to aid in cleaning the cycle.
In Fig. 11 the cycle brush is provided with a turned handle proper c; but in
Fig. 13 a plaited covering c' is provided whilst in Fig. 9 the covering c² is assumed
to be made of chamois leather.
In all the arrangements herein before described, the brush bodies are wholly of
rectilinear shape, and are mainly intended for cleaning the chain, although in cases
where they are situated a little further apart (as in Figs. 3 and 7) they may also
be employed to clean the wheel rim and tyre. It is however advisable to curve
those parts of the double wire which carry the bristles, or the bristle bodies, to
correspond to the form of the rim and tyre, so that in this case the bristles will be
properly in contact over the whole tread or running surface of the tyre. An example
of this is shewn in Fig. 14, in which a² a3 are the bristle bodies which are curved
to suit the shape of the tyre. Each one of these bodies is approximately of quadrant
shape, so that both bodies together can overlap the entire tread of the tyre. The
bristle bodies a² a³ end in points at a5 by means of which the cleaning of the chain
can be effected. In cases where it is preferred to employ a separate brush for the
chain, the points a4 a5 can of course be dispensed with. In the arrangement shewn
in Fig. 14, there is provided a handle 67 of the kind shewn in Fig. 9; it may also
be bent away in the same manner as shewn in Figs. 11 and 13. An arrangement
of this kind is shewn in Fig. 15, with its handle 6º, and another arrangement is shewn
in Fig. 16 with its handle 68. In all these cases (Figs. 14 to 16) a separate handle
can be mounted as is also indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 14. It is not absolutely
necessary that the two brush bodies shall be separate from each other, or that the
handle shall be situated between them.
In fact, the brush bodies may be directly connected, and form, so to speak, one
body, if the handle portion of the double wire is shifted in the manner shewn in
Fig. 17. In this case, as is the bristle body which is now of semicircular shape and
which embraces the cycle tyre d in the same manner as is done by the two bristle
bodies a² as in Figs. 14 to 16. In this arrangement the bristle body does not end in
points, but a point a', separate from the bristle body, is placed at the end of the
handle 610. It is however only to be considered to be by way of example, as the
bristle body a7 (which is specially intended for the cleaning of the chain) may very well

page_text: be arranged on the bristle body a, that is to say, formed in one therewith, as is also
the case in the other forms of construction.
This is intended to be more particularly the case where two such semicircular
bristle bodies a are arranged side by side as shewn in Fig. 18. In this case those
parts of the double wire 62 which are free of bristles, are united to form a handle (6°)
of the kind shewn in Figs. 13 and 15.
This side-by-side arrangement of two such bristle bodies has the advantage that
the distance between the two points a' can be adjusted to suit the distance between
two chain links or the spaces thereof, so that in using the brush as a brush for clean-
ing the chain, always two adjacent chain links can be cleaned, without having to skip
a link. This is particularly the case in arrangements of the kind shewn in Figs. 14
and 16, and in order to provide a further remedy in this respect, the construction
shewn in Figs. 19-21 has been made.
Fig. 19 is substantially the same as that shewn in Fig. 14, but the two parts 67 of
the wire are shewn slightly separated from each other, and are connected together by
means of a sleeve e.
The connecting piece (projecting from the sleeve) of the wire 67 is constructed so
as to form a kind of bearing or abutment b¹¹ for the thumb.
The space enclosed between the wires 67 by the sleeve e serves for the reception of
a single brush a8 (Fig. 21), the wire 612 of which is inserted into the said space, until
it bears against or upon the abutment 611, as shewn in Fig. 20.
The wire 612 of the brush 8 forms an eye 613 in which the fore finger or the middle
finger is to be inserted, so that when the thumb of the same hand bears against 611,
not only is the brush held firmly thereby but also its two parts are held together.
When the double brush and the single brush are united in this manner, the brush
forms a chain brush by means of which alway three links can be cleaned at one time.
But when the single brush is removed, the brush forms a tyre brush of the kind shewn
in Fig. 14.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a cycle brush having two bristle bodies, the bristles of which are held by
means of a spiral double wire which also connects the said bodies, the arrangement
whereby the intermediate part of the twisted wires, which is free from bristles, is
bent away from or out of the direction of union, and is led back into the said direction
in such a manner as to form a widened part which is adapted to be used as a handle,
substantially as described.
2. A cycle brush of the kind referred to in Claim 1 in which the widened part is
prolonged to forin a shank or handle substantially as described.
3. cycle brush of the kind referred to in Claims 1 and 2, in which, the shank or
handle is bent away, and extends at a right or other angle to the direction of the
bristle bodies, such handle being situated in the common plane of the bristle bodies,
substantially as described.
4. A cycle brush of the kind referred to in Claims 1 and 2, in which the shank is
bent away, and extends at a right or other angle to the direction of the bristle bodies,
and also at an angle to the common plane of the latter, substantially as described.
5. A cycle brush of the kind referred to in Claim 1, in which the bristle bodies are
curved in the arc of a circle, substantially as described.
6. A cycle brush of the kind specified in Claims 1 and 5, in which the shank of the
brush extends in the direction of a radius of the tyre, substantially as described.
7. A cycle brush of the kind referred to in Claims 1 and 5, in which the shank of
the brush extends at or about right angles to a radius of the tyre, substantially as
described.
8. A cycle brush of the kind referred to in Claims 1 and 5, in which the curved
bristle bodies have prolongations which extend in straight parallel lines, substantially
as described,

page_text: 9. A cycle brush of the kind specified in Claims 1 and 8, in which a single bristle
body is arranged in a removeable manner between the two curved bristle bodies,
substantially as described.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.