Improvements in Brakes for Velocipedes and like Véhicles.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 16th May, 1899
Complete Specification Left, 16th Feb., 1900-Accepted. 24th Mar.. 1900
Improvements in Brakes for Velocipedes and like Véhicles.
I, OLIVER CROMWELL FIELD, of 27, St. Margaret's Road, Brockley, in the
County of Kent, Clerk, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention, relates to brakes for velocipedes and like vehicles, and it con-
sists in the mechanism hereinafter more particularly specified for transmitting
motion from the operative part actuated by the rider to the brake mechanism by
the medium of hydraulic pressure.
The operative part of the brake mechanism consists of a sleeve loosely
mounted directly or indirectly on one end of the handle bar and adapted to
carry one of the handles. In this sleeve is cut or formed an inclined slot which
engages with a stud or its equivalent on the handle bar, so that the rotation of
the sleeve causes it to travel longitudinally on the bar to a greater or less extent
according to the pitch of the inclined slot. If desired both ends of the handle
bar may be fitted with similar mechanism, and as an alternative construction
the motion can be obtained by means of an ordinary screw thread.
The outer end of this operating sleeve carries directly or indirectly a plunger
adapted to slide in the hollow handle bar and engage an elastic chamber pre-
ferably formed of rubber and shaped like a cylinder placed therein and sup-
ported on the other side or end by a disc or fixed washer in the interior of the
hollow bar. The plunger may be attached to the operating sleeve but this is
not obligatory and in case it is so attached it is preferably by an adjustable
attachment.
The acting part of the brake mechanism which may consist of a spoon or any
other known device is operated by means of a piston sliding in a cylinder,
motion being imparted to the said piston by an elastic chamber preferably taking
the form of a rubber cylinder placed within the metal cylinder and supported
by the closed end thereof. The elastic chamber in the handle bar is connected
with the elastic chamber in the cylinder by a tube of any suitable form and
construction which is carried within the tubes of the frame where possible.
The two chambers and the connecting pipe are filled with water or other suit-
able fluid so that as one is emptied by being compressed the other is filled which
causes its expansion.
When the type of the acting part of the brake mechanism employed will
permit I prefer to use one of the tubular members of the frame of the machine
as the brake cylinder so as to obviate the use of an independent metal cylinder.
For instance, when the brake is a spoon adapted to act on the front wheel I use
the tubular extension of the front fork as the cylinder.
TJ 1eu
1000

page_text: Improvements in Brakes for Velocipedes and like Vehicles. -
I, OLIVER CROMWELL FIELD, of 27, St. Margaret's Road, Brockley, in the
County of Kent, Clerk, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:— ..
This invention relates to brakes for velocipedes and like vehicles, and it con-
sists in the device hereinafter more particularly described for operating the'
active part of the brake.
In the accompanying drawing which illustrates--by way of example--one form
my invention may assume
Figure 1 is a view in section of the mechanism for applying the brake.
Figure 2 is a view partly in section of the mechanism forming the active part
of the brake, and
Figure 3 is a view showing a detail of construction.
Throughout the views similar parts are marked with like letters of reference
According to my invention, I employ two elastic or collapsible chambers A
and A in communication with each other by a small pipe a. These chambers
and the connecting pipe a are so far filled with water or other suitable fluid
that they are in equilibrium, that is to say, as one chamber is collapsible or con-
tracted the other expands and vice versa. These chambers are acted upon by
plungers such as B and B', each pair of plungers and chambers being contained
in sleeves or cylinders such as C and C. In the application to velocipedes as
illustrated in the drawing the sleeve or cylinder C is arranged to fit in
the handle bar X and the sleeve or cylinder C in the tubular extension % of
the fork of the steering wheel though both these parts may be utilized as the
cylinders, thus dispensing with the separate sleeves or cylinders C and C¹. The
inner ends of the sleeves and C₁ are closed by plates which are provided
with holes for the passage of the tube a. The outer end of the sleeve C is closed
by a plate or bridge as shown by Figure 1 and the outer end of the sleeve (¹
is closed by a plate such as which is also adapted to retain the sleeve in posi-
tion in the tubular extension Z, to which end it is fixed to the members of the
fork 7 by any suitable device such as that shown in Figure 2.
The plunger B has an extension b which passes through the plate or bridge c¹
with which one of the handles D on the handle bar X of the velocipede engages,
and the plunger B₁ has an extension which passes through the plate and
operates or carries the active part of the brake which may be a spoon Y acting
on the periphery of the wheel as shown in Figure 2, or any other of the well-
known braking devices.
To actuate the plunger B the handle 3) is mounted on a sleeve E which is
loosely mounted directly or indirectly on one end of the handle bar X. This
sleeve so engages the handle bar that its rotation causes it to travel longitudi-
nally on the bar. A convenient method of effecting this is that shown in
Figure 1, in which a pin or projection c carried by the sleeve F engages a slot f
either cut in the handle bar X or in a sleeve F adapted to be, clamped or other-
wise fixed on the bar as shown. As an alternative construction the motion of
the handle on the bar can be obtained, by means of an ordinary screw thread.
To return the piston B when the brake is taken off a spring such as G¹ is
employed and a similar spring such as G may also be employed to ensure the
extension of the plunger B following the end of the handle D when it is
caused to travel back to release the brake.
The tube a connecting the chambers A and A' is preferably passed through

page_text: the hollow handle bar X and within the tubes of the frame where possible but
this is not obligatory.
If desired each end of the handle bar may be fitted with an operative handle
so as to enable the brake to be applied by either hand or by both hands at the
same time.
To provide for the adjustment of the handle bar the portion of the tube a
must be of the necessary length, and it may lie loosely either in the handle bar
or in the extension of the steering fork, but I prefer to support it by a device
such as is illustrated by Figure 3, which consists of a sleeve H which attached
to or to which the tube a is attached, a couple of depending rods h carrying a
roller over which the tube a passes, and of another roller 2 carried by a small
bracket h³ suspended from the sleeve H by an elastic connection h*.
It will be noticed that the operative ends of the plungers are reduced in
diameter so as to allow the walls of the elastic chambers to fold over when
collapsing thus avoiding all friction between the plungers, cylinders and elastic
chambers.
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:
1
(1) The improved means for operating the brakes of velocipedes and like
vehicles, as herein before described and illustrated by the accompanying drawing.
(2) Means for operating brakes of velocipedes and like vehicles, consisting of
two collapsible chambers in connection with one another and filled with liquid
so that they act in equilibrium, two plungers adapted to operate on and be
operated by the collapsible chambers, one of the said plungers being actuated by
rotating one or both of the handles on the steering bar and the other carrying
or operating the active part of the brake, as set forth.
101 1
13.1
1000
ROBERT E. PHILLIPS, Assoc.M.Inst.C.E., M.I.Mech. E.,
Chartered Patent Agent,
70. Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.