Improvements in
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Dec., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 11th Sept., 1895-Accepted, 19th Oct., 1895
I, PERCY RICHARD JULIUS WILLIS, of 55 Chancery Lane, in the County of
London, Manager, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication
to me from abroad by William C. Foster, of No. 1903 Kane Street, La Crosse,
Wisconsin, U.S.A., Inventor,) to be as follows:
The object of this invention is to provide a velocipede, principally for the
amusement of children, but which may also be used for business purposes, and
which can be most conveniently drawn along when going up hill, or when the rider
desires to walk.
The invention comprises a box or carriage body mounted upon an axle supported
upon wheels.
At the front end of the box is a spring made of a steel rod bent in such manner
as to support a seat, and also be attached to the fork, in the arms of which a
guide-wheel is journalled. This wheel is capable of being rotated by cranks and
pedals in the usual and well known manner.
The bearings, at the extremities of the forked arms, are elongated so as to permit
of the extremities of the arms of a second fork to be journalled upon them. This
second fork has a T-handle at its upper end to enable the velocipede to be drawn
along when desired. It also serves to guide the velocipede when raised.
can be retained in a raised position by a spring catch which is fitted thereto.
Dated this 5th day of November 1894.
It
Improvements in
I, PERCY RICHARD JULIUS WILLIS, of 55. Chancery Lane, in the County of
London, Manager, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication
to nie from abroad by William C. Foster of 1903 Kane Street, La Crosse,
Wisconsin, U.S.A. Inventor,) 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 velocipedes and is a combined velocipede and
wagon intended for children's use.
Heretofore velocipedes have been constructed with a wagon attachment at the
rear but the device could only be propelled as an ordinary velocipede.
The object of my invention is to provide a device that can be used inter-
changeably as a velocipede or wagon, and this I accomplish by making the handle
bar independent of the fork, and so arrauging the same that when held up it can be
used as a handle-bar or steering head, and when turned down can be used as a
tongue to draw the wagon along.

page_text: My invention consists also in providing a novel form of connection between the
wheel, fork and wagon body whereby a seat frame is secured, and my invention
consists further in certain details of construction and peculiarities of combination all
of which will be fully described and then designated in the appended claims.
In the drawings accompanying this Specification and forming a part thereof
Figure 1 is a sectional view of my improved device.
Fig. 2 is a front view showing the wheel and handle bar partly in section.
Fig. 3 is a detail view of the nut hereinafter mentioned.
In constructing a combination velocipede and wagon embodying my invention I
employ a front wheel A which acts as a propulsion wheel and has its axle provided
with crank pedals the same way as an ordinary velocipede wheel. This wheel is
mounted in a fork B having a shank b projecting upward a short distance and
provided with a shoulder . The wagon body C is constructed as usual and
supported at its rear end upon two wheels c, said body being supported at its
forward end upon the fork of the velocipede; a connecting frame D being employed
to connect the said parts and also provide a seat for the operator. This connecting
frame D comprises a flat spring metal bar d which at its forward end is bent back
upon itself and perforated to receive the shank of the fork so that said fork can turn
freely therein to steer the vehicle. At its rear end the bar d is rigidly attached to
the bottom of the wagon at its forward end thus making the frame D virtually a
part of the waggon in which the wheel fork turns. Connected with the bar d about
midway its length is a second flat spring bar d' the upper end of which is curved
rearward and supports a seat E while its lower end is bent at d2 and 3 in the form
of a right angle so that said bar can be rigidly attached to the front of the wagon
body and bar d. The bars d and d' shaped and connected as described form a
skeleton frame which is very strong in itself, forms a firm support for the seat and
also a rigid support for the forward end of the wagon.
The handle bar or tongue F is independent of the wheel fork B and is pivoted
upon the projecting part of that portion of the fork B forming bearings f₁. This
handle bar or tongue comprises the forked portion f which is connected near the
axle, the shank and steering head/2. When the bar is raised it is used for
steering the same as usual in an ordinary velocipede; but when lowered it is
adapted for use as a tongue so that the vehicle can be either propelled by foot
power or drawn by hand.
A nut G is secured upon the upper end of the fork shank to prevent the connecting
frame becoming disengaged. This nut is preferably hexagonal and has grooves
projecting from each face and inclined upwards to its centre.
A catch is secured to the shank f¹ of the handle bar F and may consist of a
bracket 9 having apertures at g¹ to accommodate the bolt h surrounded by the
spiral spring ¹. When the handle F is raised the bolt is adapted to slide up any
one of the grooves and enter the aperture ³ of the nut G and retain the handle F
in that position until released by withdrawing the bolt h.
While I have shown only one form of wagon it is obvious that other forms may
be connected with the wheel fork and in fact such body dispensed with and the rear
portion constructed the same as an ordinary velocipede.
The principal advantages of my invention are, that it is cheap and easily
constructed, exceedingly durable, and the peculiar construction and arrangement of
the handle bar enables it to be used either as a steering head or wagon tongue.
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.) The combination with a steering wheel and fork, of the spring bar frame
composed of the bars d and d' shaped and connected as described, the seat supported
by the bar and the wagon body connected to the rear ends of the said bar,
substantially as shown and described.
(2.) The combination with the steering wheel and fork of the independent handle

page_text: bar or tongue, the wagon body on the connecting frame, comprising the bars &
and d', the bar d' being bent at d and d³ and the seat carried upon the upper end of
the bar d substantially as shown and described.
Dated this 11th day of September 1895.
PERCY R. J. WILLIS,
Applicant.