Improvements in or applicable to Velocipedes.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 9th June, 1893
Complete Specification Left, 9th Apr., 1894-Accepted, 12th May, 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or applicable to Velocipedes.
I, CHARLES RICHARD BINNEY, of 5, Hackney Road, in the County of London,
Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The object of this invention is to provide improved means for obviating the
vibration caused by rough or uneven roads to the saddles, treadles and handle bars
of cycles, apart from the construction of the wheels.
For this purpose in cycles used for military or sporting purposes where it is
important to have the rifle laid along the centre of the back-bone I place air
cushions under the ends of the back-bone, whilst for ordinary cycles I place similar
cushions above the back-bone as hereinafter more particularly described.
In the former case the forks of the hind wheel are carried up in a nearly vertical
direction to a short distance above the tyre and connected at top with a thin plate
of steel or other metal or material on which my air cushion is placed. On the
cushion rests another like plate to which the back-bone is firmly attached being
connected with the cushion by a guide rod fixed to the plate and passing through
the cushion and the plate below so as to keep the cushion in its place and fall or
rise with it as pressure is put on or removed. In front the result is produced in a
similar way allowing for the turning of the steering rod.
In the latter case, that is to say, for ordinary cycles the diagonal rod is made of
a hollow tube of rather larger diameter than usual and through the centre of this
tube I pass a smaller tube of sufficient length having the saddle at one end and the
treadle axle with gear at the other. A metal plate is fixed on top of the back-bone
over the end of the diagonal tube and the cushion laid on this with a similar metal
plate firmly secured to the saddle rod at the proper distance resting upon it so that
both the saddle and treadles are directly supported by the air cushion. In the
front the steering gear is treated in a similar manner so as to prevent shock to the
bands. In either case the air cushions may be enclosed in a sliding cover of thin
metal or other material for safety.
Dated the 8th day of June 2002
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or applicable to Velocipedes.
I, CHARLES RICHARD BINNEY, of 5, Hackney Road, in the County of London,
5 Consulting 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 :-
This invention relates to velocipedes and has for its object to provide improve.t
means apart from the construction of the wheels for obviating the vibration of the
O saddles, treadles and handle-bars which is produced when running upon uneven
roads.

page_text: In the accompanying drawings,―
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a safety bicycle having my improvements applied
thereto; and,
Figures 2 and 3 are sections drawn to an enlarged scale shewing the arrangement
of the air-cushions in connection with the saddle-standard and the front wheel
fork respectively:
Figure 4 is an elevation of a portion of a bicycle having my improvements
applied thereto and adapted for carrying a rifle for military or sporting purposes;
and,
Figures 5 and 6 are sectional elevations at right angles to each other drawn to
an enlarged scale and illustrating a detail of the arrangement shewn in Figure 4.
a is the frame of the bicycle which is of ordinary construction except that the
diagonal 6 is made of a hollow tube of rather larger diameter than usual. c is the
seat standard which is also preferably made of a tube and adapted to slide within
the diagonal b, the said standard cextending right through the diagonal and carrying
at its lower end the bearings for the treadle-axle so that the distance between the
seat and the treadle will be invariable in so far as the vibrations of the framing are
concerned. The upper part c¹ of the seat standard c is made adjustable relatively
with the lower part by a screw c² to euable the height of the saddle to be altered."
d is the front wheel fork, and e is the shank or standard to which the handle-bar
is attached; this fork and shank are not formed in one piece but are adapted to
move relatively with one another, the fork being provided with two extensions, d', d'
and the shank with two sockets e', e' sliding upon the extensions d', d', metal
springs d², d² being advantageously arranged between the sockets and shoulders on
the forks as clearly shewn in Figure 3.
ff are my air-cushions which are preferably of circular shape in plan and each
of which is provided with a central hole or aperture through which the seat-
standard c in one case and an extension e² of the stem or standard of the steering
wheel fork in the other case pass. The cushion is arranged between two
plates 9, 9 the former of which is fixed to the frame a immediately above the
diagonal b whilst the latter is fixed to the saddle-standard c, as shewn most clearly
in Figure 2, and the cushion is arranged between two plates h, h¹ the former of
which is an enlargement upon the head of the fork d whilst the latter is formed
upon or fixed to the fork-stem e. It will thus be seen that the frame a is at its
front end supported upon an air-cushion, and that the weight of the rider with the
treadles is also supported upon an air-cushion so that the vibrations imparted to the
frame from the wheels will be considerably neutralized before being imparted to
the rider.
In some cases the air-cushions f, f¹ may be enclosed by sliding covers of thin
metal or other material for protection and safety.
When my invention is applied to a military cycle in which it is necessary to
carry a rifle above the centre of the back-bone so as to avoid placing more weight
upon one side of the machine than upon the other, the rifle would interfere some-
what with the arrangement of the cushion f. In this case therefore I advantageously
employ the arrangement of the cushion f shewn in Figures 4 to 6 where it will be
noticed that the said cushion finstead of surrounding the seat-standard e is placed
in a tubular receptacle i at one side of the diagonal 6 and the tube c has fixed to
it an arm having a head or plate k which presses upon the top of the cushion f
7 indicates the rifle which at its front end is supported in a socket m upon the head
of the machine whilst the rear end is carried in a clip n supported upon an inde-
pendent standard o. The upper part c¹ of the seat-standard is carried by a
bracket p on the head of the tube c having a socket p' which projects to one side
of the machine as shewn clearly in Figure 6.
It is to be understood that I do not confine myself to the arrangement of seat-
standard shewn in Figures 4 to 6 for use upon military cycles as I might in some
cases carry the rifle upon the machine shewn in Figure 1 in a similar manner to
that shewn in Figure 4, the seat-standard c¹ being suitably bent to allow of the

page_text: rifle being carried centrally. The arrangement, however, shewn in Figure 4
I consider more advantageous, as it allows of more freedom for adjustment of the
saddle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a bicycle or other velocipede, carrying the treadle-axle in bearings upon
the lower end of a tube at the upper end of which the saddle is carried, the said
tube being arranged to slide relatively with the framing substantially as, and for
the purposes, described.
2. In a velocipede in which the seat-saddle and treadle-axle are arranged in the
manner referred to in the preceding claiming clause, an air-cushion carried by the
framing and supporting the saddle and the rider thereon, substantially as described.
3. In a velocipede the employment of air-cushions arranged between plates of
metal or other rigid material substantially in the manner hereinbefore described
and illustrated in the accompanying drawings and for the purposes specified.
4. The manufacture and use of a bicycle provided with means for minimizing
vibration substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in Figures 1 to 3.
and Figures 4 to 6 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 7th day of April 1894.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.