Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 9th July, 1895
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Dec., 1896-Accepted, 20th Feb., 1897
JOHN WILLIAM RICHARDSON Cycle Engineer of 6 Sandweil Crescent West
Hampstead London N.W. do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
A seat to be comfortable aud non-injurious must be exactly adapted to the contour
of the body of each rider.
The saddle the subject of this application will be as comfortable as a well padded
cushioned seat. It will be large enough to support the whole of the surface of the
body resting on the seat. It will consist of a rigid frame of suitable material-
preferably of wood-divided into two lateral balves almost identical in outline with
the blades of two tennis rackets inclining towards each other at the necks, and
merged in front, but presenting horizontally a slightly concave border forward.
These two lateral halves of the frame will be concave from side to side above, the
concavity forming a segment of a circle (broken, however, by a slight convexity in
the middle) adapted to the curve of the gluteal region. A crossbar will join the
frames behind, and the front sides will have a sufficiently concave form, both
horizontally and perpendicularly, to allow the leg to be extended straight
downwards.
A sheet of leather or other suitable material will be stretched on the frames
taking the same curves, and the surface will be padded and will provide the necessary
depressions for the comfortable reception of the prominences of the seat of the body
-i.e. the ischial tuberosities, and will be adapted in the front centre to the exigencies
of the perineal cleft. The saddle will be constructed in various sizes to suit all
persons, and will be connected with the cycle by any ordinary system of springs.
Dated this 8th day of July 1896.
I, JOHN WILLIAM RICHARDSON, Engineer, of No. 6, Sandwell Crescent, West
Hampstead, London, N.W. 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 :-
My invention relates to saddles for cycles and the like, and comprising the
improvements herein set forth.
It has been found, in practice, that the majority of saddles, as usually constructed,
give rise, during use; to friction and injurious pressure, principally at the following
points :-
1. At the sides of the forepart of the saddle, where they are in contact with the
Pain i

page_text: thighs, and where, by reason of the saddle's excessive width, it unduly forces the
thighs apart, and produces pain from pressure and soreness due to friction;
2. Along the central longitudinal line of the upper surface of the saddle, where,
owing to the downward lateral curving convexity, the weight of the rider, concen-
trated on each side of this line, forces the saddle upwards, with injurious effect,
against the central line of the pelvic outlet-a pressure to which most medical men
attribute injurious results, especially in the case of women.
3. At the parts supporting the ischial tuberosities where the unyielding surface,
and the concentration of nearly the whole weight of the rider at those points causes
painful callosity-a fault not overcome by the device of cutting a hole in the
leather, which has the effect of transferring nearly the whole of the weight of
the body to the outer edge of the saddle, and so cutting into the muscles
which are largely involved in the act of pedalling, thus reducing their mechanical
energy;
4. At the posterior margin of the saddle, where, by reason of its insufficient
antero-posterior diameter, the frame comes in contact with the coccyx, or terminal
portion of the spinal column, and with the soft parts in front of it, sometimes causing
ischio-rectal abscess;
5. And, finally, at the outer margin of the body of the saddle, where, owing to
its insufficient breadth, and to its convexity, it cuts into the gluteal muscles, and
produces impairment of action as well as painful inflammation.
The object of my said invention is to provide an improved saddle so shaped and
formed that the above injurious pressures and frictions will be obviated, or practically
80.
For this purpose I prefer to employ a skeleton frame in combination with an
upper or outer covering or seating, which frame and covering are exactly adapted
to the normal anatomical curvatures of the gluteal regions and pelvic outlet in every
position assumed by a cycle rider, thereby permitting of a complete and physio-
logical distribution of the weight of the body, a free and frictionless movement of the
lower limbs in the act of pedalling; a complete, or practically complete, immunity
from injurious pressures, and the application of all the muscular power of the rider
to the prepulsion of the cycle-which has hitherto been largely wasted in
balancing the body and iu endeavouring to avoid the evils of pressure and
friction.
In the accompanying drawings I have shown how my said invention may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Fig. 1 is a plan of my improved saddle frame;
Fig. 2 is a side elevation;
Fig. 3 is a frout elevation;
Fig. 4 is a rear elevation, showing one form of my improved saddle frame;
Fig. 5 is a section on line a x of Fig. 1 ;
Fig. 6 is a section on line y y of Fig. 1 with dotted lines indicating the outer
covering;
Fig. 7 is a section on line z z of Plan 1 looking towards rear, with dotted lines
indicating the outer covering;
Fig. 8 is a similar section looking forward, with similar dotted lines.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
According to my said invention I provide a complete and rigid frame A, Fig. 1,
large enough to support the whole of the seat portion of the human body, curved
and shaped to conform to the normal curvatures of the gluteal regions and pelvic
outlet. The frame is constructed of any suitable material, preferably, however,
of wood, on account of lightness and adaptability. to the purposes required. When
constructed of this latter material, it may consist of two separate frames or lateral
halves, joined or connected together, as more clearly shewn in Fig. 1 by interposed
pieces or blocks a¹, a², a³, so as to form a single frame with a central longitudinal
space or opening.
A convenient method of constructing this traine is as follows:-Two strips of
wood, or other suitable material, are taken and bent each in the form of a loop

page_text: leaving one end of several inches in length free. They are then so 'cut away and
shaped as to conform in curvatures to the gluteal regions and pelvic outlet of the
normal human body in the several positions assumed by these parts when the rider
is in the act of pedalling. The outer or projecting ends are placed in juxtaposition,
and are united at their extremities by means of the block a³, so as to form the front
or peak of the saddle as shewn in Fig. 1. The loops are joined up by means of the
strip a', and block a³, at such distance from each other that they will correspond to
the two gluteal regions.
In the angle formed between the loop and the free end on each side, is inserted a
wedge-shaped block a', the anterior or free edge of which is then hollowed out so
as to form with the immediately adjacent portions of the loop a segment of several
circles; that is to say, of (1) an anterior concave circle formed by the anterior
surface, b, (2) a concave circle formed at the junction of the upper and anterior
surfaces, c, (3) a convex circle formed by the superior surface transversely, d; and,
finally, (4) a convex curvature formed on the upper surface from the angle to the
centre of the base of the block, e.
J. Figs. 2, 5 and 6 indicates a concave curvature in the central longitudinal line of
the saddle frame.
9. 9 Figs. 3, 4 and 8 are concave curves, one in the anterior portion of each loop
or lateral half of the complete frame, adapted to the curvature and shape of the
gluteal fold.
hh Figs. 2 to 6 inclusive are convex curves on the outside margins of the loops
of the complete frame, each sloping downward and forward from a point near the
rearward or posterior margin of the frame (following the outer margin of the gluteal
regions), and becoming continuous with the concavity 9 g at the anterior portion of
each loop or lateral half; and continuing downward and rearward to i Figs. 1, 4
and 7 at which point is formed a concavity to avoid contact with the coccyx.
It will be seen that each lateral half of the complete frame, at its anterior part, gg,
is so concaved and shaped as to adapt it to the surfaces of that portion of the body
of the rider coming in contact with its different parts in each and every position
assumed by the limbs in the act of pedalling.
To complete the saddle with the defined curvatures I stretch over and secure to
every part of the above described frame, a covering or coverings, preferably of
slightly yielding material (in some instances it may be found convenient to pad it
with pneumatic, india rubber, or other suitable padding), so that the completed or
covered saddle will be in each lateral half of its upper surface, concave both trans-
versely and longitudinally as shewn in dotted lines in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, the said
transverse concavities rising slightly, inwardly, towards the central longitudinal
line, and, outwardly, to a higher level at the side margin of the frame, thus
producing a general concavity from side to side, and, with the covering, of a double
concavity, with a slightly convex elevation in the centre, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8,
whilst the longitudinal concavity of the body of each half slopes or falls from back
to front as shewn in Fig. 6.
The inner margins of each loop or lateral half from the centre line Figs. 1, 2, 5
and 6 rise concavely forward following the contour of the perineum, and eventually
become merged in the peak.
It will further be seen that the central anterior portion of the complete frame
forms a lozenge-shaped body, having a central longitudinal opening, and corre
spending to the anatomical form of the skeletal pelvic outlet, giving support
anteriorly by its upper surfaces to the region of the pubic arch, or anterior portion
or the bony pelvic outlet.
By constructing the frame and its covering in the form hereinbefore described,
the whole of the weight of the body is physiologically distributed, whilst the
separation of the two lateral halves, and the absence of any material other than the
soft or padded covering above, will relieve the central line of the pelvic outlet of
greater pressure than the support it is intended to receive.
My saddle is made in various sizes to suit all riders, and is insulated from the

page_text: cycle by any suitable system of springs, or their equivalent; and although an
advantageous method of carrying my invention into practice, it is not absolutely
necessary to adopt the above described construction of the frame, as it might be cast
or stamped in metal or other material, or carved or formed out of the solid, so long
as the shape and curves are formed in the manner described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A saddle or seat for cycles and the like wherein the upper surfaces are formed
or shaped in the manner hereinbefore specified, so as to avoid injurious pressure to
those parts of the rider coming in contact therewith, whilst at the same time
affording a firm and stable seat whilst riding.
2. 'A saddle or seat for cycles and the like, having a frame constructed in two
distinct and anatomically curved or shaped parts or portions or lateral halves, the
forward extensions of which form a suitable peak when the said parts or portions
or lateral halves are connected together by blocks or connecting pieces; with a
central longitudinal space from front to rear dividing the said two parts or portions
or lateral halves, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
3. The improved saddle or seat for cycles and the like constructed substantially
as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 21st day of December 1896.
J. W. RICHARDSON.