Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Mar., 1897-Accepted, 5th June, 1897
I REGINALD WALTER MAUDSLAY Civil Engineer of Holly Bush, Chertsey in the
County of Surrey do hereby declare the nature of my 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 to improvements in mud-guards for cycles and other vehicles
and has for its object to provide a simple and efficient guard which can be easily
detached and fixed in position when required.
For this purpose my improved mud-guard consists of a strip or cover made of any
suitable flexible material such as patent leather supported and fixed in position by
means of wires or bands suitably curved or hooked at one end to engage with the fork
of the wheel to which it is applied.
These wires or bands are threaded through strips of leather or other suitable
material sewn to the inner or underside of the guard upon each side of the same the
hooked ends of the said wires or bands projecting outwards for attachment to the fork
of the wheel.
In attaching the improved guard to the rear wheel of a bicycle it is caused to
assume a curved position around the wheel by means of a wire or band pivoted to or
threaded upon the side wires or bands near the outer end of the guard the other ends
of the said wire or band being hooked to the fork of the wheel upon each side of the
latter.
The guard passes through the upper part of the fork and is continued downwards to
the crank axle bearing where it is secured by a lace, strings, or tapes also securing it
further up to the saddle supporting frame. Another guard may also be attached to
the front fork by means of the side wires or bands and pivoted wire or band in a
similar manner to that of the rear wheel guard.
Referring to the accompanying sheet of drawings Figure 1 is a plan of the inner or
underneath side of one of my improved mud guards Figure 2 is a side or edge view of
the same and Figure 3 shows its application to a bicycle.
a is the flexible material forming the cover and b. b. the side strips sewn to the
same forming sheaths through which the wires c. c are threaded. These wires are
hooked at one end c' for engaging with the arms of the wheel fork. d is the wire for
attaching the guard to the lower ends of the fork and causing it to assume a curved
position around the wheel tyre. This wire is bent and formed with two loops d'
whereby it is threaded upon or pivoted to the wires c. c its two arms being formed
with hooks d² for engaging with the lower ends of the fork.
The cover a is formed with a reduced portion a¹ for passing through the upper end
of the fork and is prolonged by the portion a² which extends down the frame to the
crank axle bearing thus providing a continuous guard or shield from the said bearing
to the other side or rear part of the wheel. The said portion a² may likewise be
provided with side wires if desired in a similar manner to the portion a
the upper ends
of the said wires passing into the sheaths b and being looped at their ends to prevent
tearing the said sheaths.
In applying my improved mud-guard to a bicycle the part a' is passed through the
upper end of the fork e Figure 3 and the hooks c of the wires c engaged with the two
arms of the said fork whilst the hooks d² of the wire d are engaged with the two arms
of the fork on each side of the wheel. The lower end of the portion a² is then laced

page_text: to the crank axle bracket the said portion being likewise tied by the tapes a³ to the
frame f. A guard g may likewise be applied to the front wheel the side wires h and
the pivoted wire i being hooked to the front fork k in a similar manner to the guard
of the rear wheel..
To enable the guard to be detached from the machine the strips 6 are provided with
holes through which the wires c pass so as to leave a portion of the latter uncovered
for the purpose of threading them. through the loops d' of the wire d and in order to
remove the said wire the wires c are drawn back clear of the loops d' thus leaving the
wire free whilst for again fixing the wire.d in position the loops are placed in front of
the wires c and the latter pushed through them and the outer holes b' of the strips b.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
-claim is :-
1. In mud-guards for cycles forming the same of a strip of flexible material.in
combination with adjustable hooked wires or bands for attaching it to the wheel fork
:substantially as described and for the purposes specified.
2. In mud-guards for cycles the combination of a strip of flexible material a formed
with a reduced portion a' and a prolonged portion a³ provided with tapes a side strips
or sheaths b provided with holes & wires c formed with hooks c' and wire d formed
with loops d and hooks d² constructed and arranged substantially as described and
for the purposes specified.
3. The improvements in mud-guards for cycles or other vehicles substantially as
-described and shewn in the accompanying sheet of drawings.
Dated this 19th day of March 1897.
J. B. FLEURET;
5 Hatton Garden, London, Agent for the Applicant.