Year: 1895

page_text: I, HENRY SKERRETT of 24 Temple Row, in the City of Birmingham, Patent
Agent, (a communication from abroad by John Boultbee Brooks, of the Hotel
St. Petersburg, Paris in the Republic of France) do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has relation principally to the seats of cycle saddles and has for
its object, a soft and efficiently supported seat which is not liable to tuck, and
consists in partly supporting the back body part of the top and primary seat upon
a supplementary and set-down and independently tensioned layer of leather or
other suitable material, and with rubber or other suitable substance interposed
between the underneath layer and the top seat, thus forming intervening supports
for the latter.
Thus, a two sided metallic underframing is taken, having a tension device at the
front to which the fore part of the primary seat is attached, whilst the rear part
of the said seat is made fast to a back plate to which the rear end parts of the
framing are connected.
Set down from the underside of the body of the seat, and connected at back to
the underside surface of the skirting plate, is a layer or stratum of stout leather
isolated from the said top seat at points where hardness would be injurious by
intervening spaces and having the middle of its fore part fitted with a hanging
bracket having threaded through it one end of a screwed rod connected at its other
end to the bracket carried at the front of the framing and constituting an
independent tension for the said underneath layer.
By constructing the seats of saddles as described, the primary top is supported
from undue deflection, and at the same time, the softness of the scat is preserved
and the pressure of a rider is kept off the peak or fore part of the seat.
The interposed rubbers which may be in the form of posts, are either carried by
sheets of material, or have shouldered ends which fit into holes or recesses in the
lower stratum and are thereby kept in their assigned positions.
Resilient supporting springs are interposed between the rear and front parts of
the seat and the base framing. At the front it is preferred to employ a combined
levering arm and coiled spring, that is to say the spring consists of two arms,
directed under the seat and terminating inwardly in a loop coil, whilst the other
and forward ends terminate in part pillar coiled springs whose axes are directed at
right angles to that of the loop coil.
Dated this 23rd day of October 1895.

page_text: provements in Cycle Saddles.
I, HENRY SKERRETT, of 24 Temple Row, in the City of Birmingham, Patent
Agent (a communication from abroad by John Boultbee Brooks, of the Hotel
St. Petersburg, Paris in the Republic of France) 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 has relation to the seats of cycle saddles and has for its object,
a soft and efficiently supported seat and consists in supporting the back body part
of the top and primary scat upon separated yielding or spring lifts resting upon
or carried by a supplementary set-down stratum or underneath support, whereby
the weight of a rider is conveyed to and indirectly borne by the said under
stratum or support leaving the top unrestrained and the fore part thereof soft and
pliant.
Thus, a suitable metallic underframing is taken, having a tension device at the
front to which the fore part of the primary seat is attached, whilst the rear part of
the said seat is made fast to a back plate to which the rear end parts of the framing
are connected.
Set down from the underside of the body of the seat, and connected at back to
the underside surface of the skirting plate is a layer or stratum of leather or other
suitable pliant or other material isolated from the said top seat at points where
bardness would be injurious by intervening spaces and having the middle of its
fore part fitted with a hanging bracket through which is threaded one end of a
screwed rod connected at its other end to the bracket carried at the front of the
framing and constituting an independent or regulated tension for the said underneath
layer.
By constructing the seats of saddles as described the weight coming upon the
primary top is conveyed to and borne by the underneath support and at the same
time, the softness of the seat is preserved and the pressure of a rider is kept off the
peak or fore part of a saddle.
The interposed rubbers may have shouldered studs or parts which fit into holes
or recesses in the lower stratum and are thereby kept in their assigned positions.
Resilient supporting springs may be interposed between the rear and front parts
of the seat and the base framing.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents, in longitudinal vertical
section, a cycle saddle provided with a supplementary under-seat support or layer
made of some pliant material, such as leather or stout canvas, and independently
tensioned, and with the back part of the primary seat supported by interposed
rubber lifts separated by intervening spaces, in accordance with one form of my
invention.
Figure 2 is an underside plan of Figure 1 with a part of the supplementary seat
support broken away in order to show the form and position of one of the rubber
lifts.
Figure 3 is a side elevation of the said saddle, and Figure 4 is a cross section of
Figure 2 upon the dotted line x.
Figure 5 shows a like saddle as Figure 1, but instead of employing rubber lifts
located between the independently tensioned seat proper and the supplementary
set-down under support, small coiled springs are used.
Figure 6 is an underside plan of Figure 5 with the metallic under-framing of the
saddle removed.
Figure 7 represents another saddle alike unto Figure 1, but with a different
framing and supporting bracket, and
Figure 8 is an underside plan of Figure 7.

page_text: In Figures 1 to 4, a is the seat proper of the saddle, connected at back a¹, by
rivetting or otherwise to a skirting plate a³, and at front to the bracket a³, carrying
the pin a', of a tension a, consisting of a fast and plain-eyed bracket aⓇ, terminating
the ends b', of each side of a double barred frame b and with the screw pin a,
passing through the said plain eye and having a screw nut a', on its end which nut,
when rotated, gives the necessary tension to the saddle seat proper.
The back end a³, of the screw pin a³, is jointedly connected by a pin a³, to a
link a, whose back end has an inside wormed and bossed eye a", wherethrough a
headed and screwed tension pin c, passing through a plain hole d', of a bracket d,
connected by jointed links, arms or equivalents d², to plates e, secured to the front
end of the split under layer or supplementary seat support e, passes.
The back boundary edge e², of this under layer or supplementary support, which
is preferably made of leather or strong canvas, secured and made fast to the back
underside edge a¹, of the seat proper by clamping the same between the back plate
and underside of the seat, although I do not limit myself to this means of securing
as the said underlayer or support may be carried directly from the back plate,
or from the rear part of the seat without the aid of the back plate.
Interposed between the supplementary seat support or layer e and the back part
of the seat proper a, are rubber or like lifts g, which expand or keep up the said
seat and prevent the same from tucking without impairing the softness of the
seat at any part, particularly at those points where hardness is to be most
avoided.
is the supporting framing and i the attachment boss.
After the top has been tensioned to the required degree then the regulating
screw c, is turned so as to adjust the tension of the underneath support which is
preferably stretched perfectly taut.
In Figures 5 and 6, g are metallic coiled springs located between the seat
proper a, and the supplementary seat support or set down and independently
tensioned layer or stratum e, of leather or the like, the whole being supported by
the framing h. is the back plate, a' the tension of the seat proper and c is the
tension of the supplementary seat support.
In Figures 7 and 8, a is the tensioned seat proper, and e the supplementary seat
support, independently tensioned by the pin c, whilst the seat itself is tensioned by
the tension a³. g are the interlocated rubber lifts for keeping up the seat. h is
the underframing and the supporting bracket carrying pillar coiled seat supporting
springs k, at front and back. i the saddle attachment boss.
The supplementary support need not necessarily be made of leather or pliant
substance but may be made of any material as may be desired.
I wish it to be understood that in seats provided with independently tensioned
supplementary or auxiliary under supports as described, the weight of a rider is
not directly and solely borne by the seat proper as is the case in ordinary saddles,
but the strain is either divided between the said flexible and independently
tensioned under support and the seat proper, or the weight is transferred from the
seat to the support through the medium of interspaced or separated resilient lifts,
stuffings, cushions, or equivalents.
Further, although the drawings show that the seat proper is tensioned, yet this
is not absolutely necessary and may, in some cases, be dispensed with.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
First. A saddle wherein the strain is divided between the top leather a and the
underneath stratum e, supporting, by means of cushions or springs in the rear, the
top leather
a, so that whilst ample firmness is given to the back part which carries
the weight of the rider, the fore part of the saddle having its tension reduced, is
rendered soft and pliant, substantially as described and illustrated.
Secondly. A saddle seat consisting of a hammock-slung top, with the back half

page_text: body part directly supported by yielding or spring lifts resting upon a supplementary
set-down or underneath support or stratum of any material, whereby the weight of
a rider is conveyed to, and indirectly borne by the said supplementary underneath
support, thus leaving the whole of the saddle top unrestrained and the suspended
fore part soft and pliant, substantially as described and set forth.
Thirdly. A saddle-seat consisting of a hammock-slung top directly supported
underneath its back body part by yielding lifts or springs resting upon or carried
by a stretched supplementary and pliant set-down stratum of leather, canvas or
other material, made fast at back and left free but suspended at front, whereby
the weight of a rider is borne indirectly by the supplementary underneath support,
leaving the whole of the top unrestrained with the fore and unsupported part
softer and more pliant than the supported back part, substantially as described aud
-set forth.
Fourthly. A saddle seat, consisting of a hammock-slung top directly supported
underneath its back body part by yielding lifts or springs resting upon or carried
by a set-down supplementary stratum of leather, canvas or other pliant material
(which may be cleft or split at its middle) made fast at back and connected at the
front or suspended at the front from an independent tension, substantially as and
for the purpose described and set forth.
Dated this 18th day of A naust 1896