Improvement in Cycle Saddles.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Mar., 1894-Accepted, 23rd June, 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in Cycle Saddles.
I, THEODOR HANNEN, Hotel Keeper, of Kjerberg near Cologne, in the Province
of Rhineland and Kingdom of Prussia do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The cycle saddles hitherto in use and consisting simply of a leather seat stretched
over a metal-plate secured to the saddle-frame with variously shaped and bent
springs as a yielding support, had great drawbacks, inasmuch as the elasticity of
the springs alone did not uniformly and evenly counteract the jolting experienced
by the rider, but caused a continual swaying to and fro of the body. Besides, the
iron edge of the leather-saddle and the iron parts used in securing it, such as
springs, rivet-heads etc. produced a somewhat disagreeable pressure on the corre-
sponding muscular parts of the cyclist. It has been attempted to remedy all this
by simply discarding the leather-saddle and springs altogether and replacing them
by an air-cushion. But the air-cushion has also several disadvantages.
On the one hand the continual sitting for any length of time on the unbroken
surface of the india-rubber cushion is far more disagreeable than to sit on the
perforated leather-saddle hitherto in use, which allows of a free circulation of the
air under the seat; on the other hand the air-cushion cannot be retained within
fixed bounds as regards length and height like the leather-seat with springs.
These disadvantages are all done away with by my new cycle-saddle.
The saddle is represented in a side-view in Fig. 1, in longitudinal section in Fig. 2
and in Fig. 3 in a view from below, while Fig. 4 shows the springs in their highest
and lowest position. Fig. 5 gives a modification.
My saddle is in the main a combination of the old leather seat and an air-
cushion.
The air-cushion L is enclosed between two metal plates a and b which are
secured together by screw or clinch-bolts c. The connection however between the
upper and lower plates by the bolts c is adjustable with regard to height, as long
as the plates do not go beyond the length limited by the bolts. But they can
approach each other. This is effected by the bolts c projecting in a correspondingly
wide hole of the one plate, preferably, as in the drawing, the bottom-plate b, and
moving freely therein. Of course the bolts fastened to one plate may be guided
in telescope fashion in sockets placed in the other plate, or some other similar
arrangement may be made. The bottom-plate 6 is as usual screwed on to the
saddle-frame. The parts d and e are secured in front and behind to the top-plate a
so that the leather saddle S may be adjustably attached to them in the usual
manner. Compared with the ordinary leather saddles there is however the great
difference that the leather at the back edge is not fastened to the top of an iron rib
with rivets, the knobs of which often cause great discomfort to the cyclist, but the
leather is here bent back downwards over an india-rubber roll G and secured with
lateral rivets n n to the groover bearing the india-rubber roll. This is a great
comfort to the rider and an important improvement of the saddle.
Instead of the india-rubber roll, a roll of any other soft or elastic material may
be used, such as cork, leather, hemp, straw-rope etc., or an arrangement of spiral
or flat springs may be applied with or without a soft covering of leather, india-
rubber etc.
A saddle thus constructed offers every comfort of the leather seat improved by
the india-rubber roll G giving an elastic support to the spine, combined with the
soft elasticity of the air-cushion. The latter may be inflated more or less according

page_text: to the weight of the rider, its elasticity being thus adjustable to a very great
degree. By the use of this saddle an uncommonly gentle motion is attained,
avoiding all shocks and the troublesome swaying to and fro, so that it may be
said to be a perfect substitute for the pneumatic tyre.
Of course, as in the saddles hitherto used, an additional spring may be used
above the saddle-frame and between it and the air-cushion (Fig. 5).
It goes without saying that the air-cushion L fits in accurately to the shape
of the top or bottom plate. It may be made of any suitable stuff such as india-
rubber, linen, leather and animal membrane, with or without an exterior cover.
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:
Improvement in Cycle Saddles distinguished by:
1. The arrangement of an air-cushion L, between the saddle-frame, and the
leather-seat S such as used hitherto.
2. The attachment of an india-rubber roll G to the back edge under the leather
seat S.
3. The arrangement of the rivets n n at the back of the leather seat not in a
vertical but more or less in a horizontal direction.
Dated this Twentieth day of March 1894.
For THEODOR HANNEN,
B. Brockhues.