Year: 1886

page_text: I WILLIAM ANDREWS of 21 Victoria Road Aston in the County of Warwick
Manufacturing Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Hitherto the seats of saddles have been made of leather or other material not
capable of extension and contraction.
My invention in its relation to the saddle part of a bicycle or tricycle consists
in the use of material having these qualities inherent in itself.
I construct my seat of steel spiral or volute springs. They are stretched between
the Cantle-plate (or rear end of saddle) and the pommel (or front end of same)
and attached by suitable means to both. The seat so made presents to view a sitting
surface of elastic springs capable of extension and contraction or resilience.
When the body presses on the seat the springs yield and conform to the shape
of the part pressing upon it, thus giving a more comfortable and easy seat than any
hitherto in use and having the further advantage of keeping the part of the body cool
which is in contact with the seat owing to the free circulation of air passing
throughout the springs. When the seat is released from the weight of the body the
springs instantly contract to their normal position.
I do not confine myself to the particular method of making the seat by means
of spiral springs as I can produce the same result with strips of india rubber. These
strips may be interlaced or not as desired, or I can use a reticulated sheet of elastic
rubber pierced with holes. I can also use a number of rings of metal, or of elastic
material interlaced within each other, and in some cases combined with metal springs
or webbing in strips, or in one piece woven in a suitable shape with or without holes
or wire woven into a springing material in each case for the purpose of producing
a circulation of air.
Any kind of saddle plate now in use may be employed in combination with my
elastic seat, or brackets (adjustable or otherwise) may be attached to the back bone
and neck of a tricycle or post of a tricycle between which my elastic seat may

page_text: The springs used for making my improved seat may have any transverse section,
they may also taper from one end to the other. The metal out of which the springs
are made may have any suitable transverse section.
My invention in relation to the wheel part of a bicycle or tricycle consists in
forming and making the tyre in the following manner.
I provide or utilize a wheel such as is usually used in the construction of bicycles
or tricycles, the rim of the said wheel would be formed concave: I form a tyre to fit
in the concave periphery of the rim, such tyre would consist of a spiral spring made
by preference with the convolutions wound in a direction obliquely to the diameter of
the wheel the wire out of which the spring is made may be of a round-rectangular-
parallelogramic or any other suitable section; the spring so made is connected
together at the end, so as to form a continuous ring, it could then be expanded and
sprung into the concave rim of the wheel.
In some cases I incorporate with the continuous spiral-ring-tyre a coating
of india rubber or other analagous yielding substance: this coating may in some
cases entirely cover the spring-so as to leave the said spring inside as a core,
or it may be amalgamated with the interstices of only one half or portion of
the continuous spiral-spring-tyre either the under side or half, in contact with
the concave ring, or the top side or half that comes in contact with the earth when in
use In some cases I insert a tube or core of rubber or other suitable material inside
the hollow tube-like passage of the spiral spring to prevent the said passage filling
with dirt from the roadway.
In some cases I make the spiral spring out of which to form the continuous ring
of a D shaped transverse section.
Dated this 4th love of Contr 100%
ALFRED WILLIAM TURNER,
Cobden Hotel Chambers,
Corporation Street, Birmingham,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: I, WILLIAM ANDREWS of 21 Victoria Road Aston in the County of Warwick
Manufacturing Engineer 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 :-
Hitherto the seats of saddles have been made of leather or other materials not
capable of extension & retraction.
My invention in its relation to the saddle part of a bicycle or tricycle consists
in the use of material having these qualities inherent in itself, and also in the
construction of the pommel of the saddle in such a manner as when in combination
with my new seat to form a flap.
I construct my seat of metal, spiral, or other springs. They are stretched between
the Cantle-plate (or near end of the saddle) and the pommel (or front end of same)
and attached by suitable means to both.
The seat so made presents to view a sitting surface of elastic springs, capable
of extension and contraction.
When the body presses on the seats, the springs yield and conform to the shape of
the part pressing upon them thus giving a more comfortable and easy seat than
any hitherto in use, and having the further advantage of keeping the part of the body
cool which is in contact with the seat owing to the free circulation of air passing
throughout the springs.
The cantle plate is of a curved configuration in transverse section, and when viewed
endways it presents the appearance of an arc of a large circle, that is to say nearly flat
for a space of four inches more or less on the crown and then turning down on each
side;
this special shape enables me to attack my metal springs or other yielding
material to the cantle and to the pommel, thus forming a saddle of such a configuration
that the surface presented to the legs of a rider is suitable for presenting irritation
of the parts in contact.
Any kind of saddle plate now in use may be employed in combination with
my elastic seat, pommel & cantle-plate or brackets (adjustable or otherwise) may
be attached to the back bone and neck of a bicycle, or post of a tricycle, between
which my elastic seat may be extended.
The springs used for making my improved seat may have any transverse section,
they may also taper from one end to the other. The metal out of which the springs
are made may also have any suitable transverse section.
The drawings accompanying this specifications illustrate the method where by
I form my flexible seat.
Figure 1 represents a plan of a seat or saddle formed by connecting one end
of a series of helical springs to a cantle plate or rear end of a saddle the other
end of the springs being connected to a pominel or front end of a saddle.
Figure 2 represents a side elevation of figure 1.

page_text: Figure 3 represents a helical tapering spring.
Figure 4 represents a parallel helical spring shewing the terminal end formed into
a hook, the said hook being passed over a wire bar.
The series of helical springs shewn at figure l' is connected to the cantle plate
by means of a hooked end similar to figure 3.
In some cases I provide a wire or bar on the under side of a cantle plate to which
the springs are hooked in the manner indicated at fig. 4.
The front or pommel end may in a like manner be provided with a wire or bar
to which the springs are connected as shewn in fig. 4.
Any kind of saddle plate may be used as a rib or stretcher to connect the cantle
plate to the pommel.
The seat or saddle so put together would then be attached to the back bone
and neck of a bicycle or post of a tricycle. In some cases pass the one hook A
of each spring through a hole B in the cantle plate, and the other hook C, through
a hole D'in the pommel.
It will be observed that figure 3 represents a tapered helical spring: in some cases
I prefer to use such tapered springs which may graduate to any desired reduced
diameter by using tapered springs. I should avoid too much crowding together
at the pommel end.
When using strips of india-rubber or other resilient material in lieu of metal
springs, I attach hooks at and on each end of the said strips and by means of these
hcoks connects the strips to the cantle plate and the pommel by means of passing
the hooks through holes provided in the cantle plate and the pommel or connecting
them to wire under the cantle plate and the pommel in a similar manner to that
by which the metal springs are connected as shewn at figure 4.
The strips may lie in a similar manner to the helical springs shewn at figure 1
or they may be crossed or interlaced in any manner desired whereby a resilient seat
would be formed of such a shape and construction as to admit air through the
interstices to the body of the person using the seat.
I have not provided a sketch of the seats made out of strips or other equivalents, as
the matter is so simple that a manuscript explanation seems sufficient.
In some cases I should provide a piece of reticulated resilient substance which may
be cut into the required shape and thereafter connect to the cantile plate and the
pommel by the means hereinafter referred to or by any other suitable equivalent
means.
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
A saddle for a bicycle or tricycle having its seat made entirely of springs or
equivalent elastic material as described & illustrated.
ALFRED WM. TURNER,
Cobden Buildings, Corporation Street,
Birmingham,
Agent for the Applicant.