Improvements in Brakes for Bicycles and other Vehicles.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 30th July, 1895-Accepted, 26th Oct., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Brakes for Bicycles and other Vehicles.
1, JORGEN CHRISTENSEN, residing at No. 1332 Sacramento Street, in the City
and County of San Francisco, State of California, U.S.A., Mariner, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what mauner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
My invention relates to an improved brake for bicycles and other vehicles. It
consists in certain details of construction which will be more fully explained by
reference to the accompanying drawings upon which,
Figure 1 is a view shewing the application of my improved brake to a bicycle
with a hand lever,
Figure 2 is a view of the brake shewing its adaptation for operation with a foot
lever,
Figure 3, a longitudinal section of one of the rollers,
Figure 4, is a view of the clamp or support.
The object of my invention is to provide a brake which is easily applicable and
is especially adapted for use upon the pneumatic tyres or the rims of bicycles, to
produce a sufficient frictional and retarding effect without unnecessary wear of the
substance of the tyre.
In carrying out my invention, I employ rollers which may be made of any
suitable material or substance, and these rollers are mounted upon each side of the
wheel rim or tyre to which the brake is to be applied, with a mechanism by which
they are forced into contact with opposite sides of the rim or tyre, or disengaged
therefrom.
This brake may be applied to either the front or rear wheel.
case I have shewn it as applied to the front wheel.
In the present
A A are the forks or frame-work between which the wheel B revolves. Upon
cach of these forks is fixed a clamp or support C, and arms D project from these
supports with sockets or slots D' through which the shafts E are slidable.
These shafts upon which the rollers F are loosely mounted converge to a point J
where they are connected with a rod or bar E¹, the upper end of which is connecte.l
with the brake-lever G which is fulcrumed upon or adjacent to the handle-bars so
as to he grasped by the hand of the rider when it is desired to apply the brake as
shewn in Figure 1.
In Figure 2 the upper ends of the converging shafts E are connected by a
yoke E with a foot lever G¹ fulcrumed and turnable at the fork-head.
The shafts E are slidable through the sleeves D, and as they converge to their
point of junction with the rod E or yoke E2, it will be seen that when the point of
junction is pressed down, the shafts will slide through the supports D, and as the
upper ends approach the periphery of the wheel, the rollers F will be drawn
towards each other by the change in the meeting angle of the shafts E.
When the brake is to be applied, by pressing upon the lever G or G' the shafts E
will slide through the sleeves D, and the triangular space between the shafts E is
made smaller and the rollers F are thus forced against the rim or tyre of the wheel,
upon each side with any desired degree of pressure.
This triangular arrangement of the shafts E and their connection at J, together
with the supports D through which they are slidable, produces a powerful
compound lever, which with a small amount of pressure upon the brake lever, will
compress the rollers against the rim or tyre of the wheel with any desired degree

page_text: of force, while the rollers turning upon the shafts, will roll upon the tyre and thus
prevent any grinding or wearing friction thereon.
The same movement may be produced by slotting the lower ends of the shaft E
so that they will slide upon fixed pins, or by slotting the upper ends of the shafts
so that the pin will slide in the slots, the lower ends of the shafts in this case
turning upon stationary pivots.
Any suitable form of returning spring may be employed to instantly withdraw
the shafts B and separate the rollers whenever the pressure upon the brake lever
has been released.
The springs H are here shewn surrounding the shafts E, between the lower ends
of the rollers F and the socket D' so that when the brake is applied the shafts
slide through the sockets and the springs are compressed. Frictional discs or
washers I hit the shafts E above the springs H, and are slidable without turning
upon the shafts. Corresponding collars J are fixed to the lower ends of the rollers
to form contact with the discs I, so that the friction between them is increased by
the resistance of the springs to compression as the rollers are forced down and
the resistance to the rotation of the rollers is correspondingly increased in
proportion to the necessity for the brake. The upper ends of the rollers are also
provided with frictional wear-plates and corresponding washers to add to the
frictional resistance in case of heavy machines or for use upon heavy grades.
In applying my invention to a tricycle or vehicle other than a bicycle I arrange
for the brake rod and lever to extend to within a convenient distance of the rider
or driver so as to be operated either by his band or foot. The support and sockets
in which the brake-shafts slide may in this case be secured upon a suitable bar or
bracket fixed upon the frame of the vehicle in a similar relative position to the
wheel tyre as in the case of a bicycle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A brake for vehicles consisting of diverging shafts upon each side of the
wheel rim or tyre, supports through which the separated ends of the shafts are
slidable, a jointed connection to which the meeting ends of the shafts are united
above the wheel, whereby the angle of the shafts to each other is increased or
diminished by moving the meeting-ends of the shafts in a line intermediate between
the two, a lever connection by which the said shafts are thus moved, and rollers
journalled to turn upon said shafts upon each side of a wheel-rim or tyre, against
each side of which they are forced when the meeting ends of the shafts are
moved toward the wheel-rim and withdrawn therefrom by the withdrawal of the
shafts.
2. In a brake for vehicles, revoluble rollers upon shafts converging upon
opposite sides of the wheel rim or tyre, a mechanism by which the shafts and
rollers are moved to or from the wheel-rim to apply or remove the brake, and
frictional discs, and compressible springs, whereby the resistance of the rollers to
revolution is increased by increased pressure upon the brake lever.
Dated this Thirtieth day of July 1895.
Dated CDIS I Dirtieth day of July 1895.
For the Applicant,
GEDGE & FEENY,
Agents.