Improvements in or relating to the Prevention of Unauthorised Movement or Theft of Cycles and similar Vehicles.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Apr., 1896.
Complete Specification Left, 18th Jan., 1897-Accepted, 17th May, 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION:
Improvements in or relating to the Prevention of Unauthorised
Movement or Theft of Cycles and similar Vehicles.
I, FITZ-HARDINGE ROBERT BAYFIELD LIEBENROOD of Red House, Halfway Street,
Sidcup in the County of Kent, Barrister-at-Law, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-..
The underlying feature of this invention is that the proprietor of the bicycle or
other vehicle sets an alarm when he leaves the machine, so that if any person
endeavours to move it, the alarm will go off, the noise of course attracting attention
and preventing the theft. The details of the mechanism may be very greatly varied
without departing from the spirit of the invention, but the following is one way in
which it may be carried into effect.
I provide one or more bells, gongs, or equivalent inside which or in connection
with which I have an alarm mechanism which may be similar to that employed for
alarm clocks at present, or it may be of a specially strong description. The
mechanism and gongs may be carried in any part of the machine desired, for
example in any suitable part of the frame-work, in or upon the crank axle bracket or...
the hub of one or both of the wheels or behind the saddle. The alarm mechanism
may be operated in a variety of different ways, as for example by a spring or by
electric, pneumatic or other power, pneumatic being peculiarly suitable as a charge
can be pumped by a pump in the frame of the machine or in the mechanism itself
sufficient to ring the alarm, and if desired to apply a brake.
The starting of the alarm may be accomplished by a trigger mechanism so
arranged. as to release or start the mechanism according as the balance of the
machine was altered, or by reason of the rotation of the wheels or cranks or axles,
etc., or in any other convenient manner, by the force of gravity or otherwise. The
turning of the hardle bars for example might be employed to release the trigger.
Where pneumatic or similar agent is employed a. syren whistle or similar device.
may be used..
Dated this 17th day of April 1896.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant..
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Prevention of. Unauthorised
Movement or Theft of Cycles and similar Vehicles.
I, FITZ-HARDINGE ROBERT BAYFIELD. LIEBENROOD, of Red House, Halfway
Street, Sidcup in the County of Kent, Barrister-at-Law, 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 apparatus for preventing the theft of cycles and other..
vehicles, and the unauthorised interference therewith.
The underlying feature of this invention is that the proprietor of the bicycle or
other vehicle sets an alarm when he leaves the machine, so that if any person
endeavours to move it, the aların will go off, the noise of course attracting attention

page_text: and preventing the theft... The details of the mechanism may be very greatly varied
without departing from the spirit of the invention, but the following is one way in
which it may be carried into effect.
I provide one or more bells, gongs or equivalent inside which or in connection
with which I have an alarm mechanism which may be similar to that employed for
alarm clocks at present, or it may be of a specially strong description. The
mechanism and gongs may be carried in any part of the machine desired, for
example in any suitable part of the framework, in or upon the crank axle bracket or
the hub of one or both of the wheels or behind the saddle. But for the purposes of
the mechanism hereafter described the hub of the front wheel will be generally
found the most convenient.
The alarm mechanism may be operated in a variety of different ways, as for
example by a spring or by electric, hydraulic, pneumatic or other power, pneumatic
being peculiarly suitable as a charge can be pumped by a pump into the frame of
the machine or in the mechanisin itself sufficient to ring the alarm.
The starting of the alarm may be accomplished by a trigger mechanism so
arranged as to release or start the mechanism according as the balance of the
machine is altered, or by reason of the rotation of the wheels or cranks or axles or in
any other convenient manner, by the force of gravity or otherwise. The turning of
the handle bars for example might be employed to release the trigger.
Where pneumatic or similar agent is employed a syren whistle or similar.device
may be used:
In the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example one construction
of apparatus according to this invention,
Fig. 1 is a side view thereof, in section on the line 1-1 of
Fig. 2 which is an end view; in section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;
Fig. 3 is a side view; in section, on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a sectional view of a rotatable spring-casing M bereinafter referred to,
with the train of gearing in connection therewith shown in elevation, all apart from
the casing A so as to facilitate comprehension of their general arrangement.
Figure 5 is an end elevation of a frame comprising the three discs J J1 J2, of
Figure 2 apart from the case which contains them, and from the gearing which
they support;
Figure 6 is a view of the framing shown in Figure 5, as seen from the side
towards which the outer face of the disc J2 is presented;
Figure 7 is a view of the disc J as seen from the side thereof at which the lug J5
projects;
Figure 8 is an end elevation partly in section of the pendulum K hereinafter
referred to.
Figure 9 is a section of the spring casing M on the line of its axis;
Figures 10 and 11 are views at right angles to each other of an escapement and
hammer lever Q;
Figure 12 is a plan view of the nut E hereinafter referred to;
Figure 13 is an elevation of a rocker R forming part of Figure 2; and,
Figure 14 is an elevation of the key by which the apparatus is controlled as
hereinafter described.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
A is the casing of the device, which is closed, but furnished with suitable sound
holes. A¹ is a projection fixed upon the casing and shaped as at A2 to seat itself
upon the surface of say the hub of the wheel represented by the part B in the
drawings. A³ are lugs to receive a hinge pin A which is encircled by one end of a
metallic band C, the opposite end of which is provided with straps C₁ to retain
apin D, the head D of which is pivotted in the strap C, and the stem D² of
which is screw-threaded and provided with a milled nut E. The milled nut E has a
collar 'E' extending from its underside and arranged to fit a segmental recess As in a
jaw A forming part of the projection A' aforesaid. By placing this collar in the
recess A³ and rotating the nut E in the proper direction the T piece D can be moved

page_text: so as to tighten or slacken the band C about the part, such as B to which it is
applied. The inside face of the nut is provided with a series of sockets E' to receive
the end of the locking device hereinafter described, and serving to prevent the
rotation of the nut after the latter has been adjusted; the locking dovico is under
the control of a key, in order that the nut cannot be rotated by any unauthorised
person, thus the device cannot be removed from the part to which it is attached,
without the consent of the holder of the key.
In the example illustrated the locking device consists of a rol F arranged to slide
end wise in holes bored in the projection A and in a lug on the plate J hereinafter
referred to the end F of the rod F is so disposed that by the endwise movement
of the rod it may be brought into engagement with or disengaged from any one of
the sockets E' in the nut E which may happen to he above it at the time it is
operated. The opposite end of the rod is brought into proximity to a key hole A'
formed in the casing A; G is a spring secured in a recess in the projection A' so as
to bear upon the bent end of the rod F and to tend always to keep that rod in the
position in which it is shown in Fig. 1, that is to say in position in engagement with
the nut E. By means of a key inserted through the key hole A' the rod can be
moved out of engagement with the nut E against the resistance of the spring G.
H is a gong which, with the whole of the mechanism for sounding it, and the
automatic starting device for such mechanism, is enclosed within the casing A so that it
cannot be tampered with. J J and J are discs connected together by pins such as J³
and kept at the desired distance apart by distance pieces J; the disc J' is secured to
the interior of the casing A, and the several discs support the alarm mechanism, as
will hereinafter appear. J is a perforated lug extending from one face of the disc J
and serving to support the gong H. Fig. 7 is a view of the same face of the disc J,
which with the projections upon it is conveniently formed of a piece of stamped
sheet metal.
In the example illustrated a spring-driven alarm mechanism is employed, controlled
by an escapement which normally is locked, but which is automatically unlocked and
started upon the movement of the casing A either in rotation with the part to
which it is secured, or in a movement of translation or by some force automatically
transmitted.
The starting device is a heavily weighted pendulum K pivotted between the
perforated lug J and the disc J. If the casing be moved, it and the pendulum
will have motion relatively to each other, and the parts are so arranged that a very
slight amount of such motion will result in the starting of the alarm. Je Je (Fig. 7)
are projections from the disc J for the purpose of limiting the movement of the
pendulum relatively thereto. L is a central spindle journallel in the central per-
forations of the discs J J J, lug J and socket Mhereinafter referred to, the
reduced end L of this spindle L extends across the gap between the perforated
lug J and disc J and serves as a support upon which the pendulum K oscillates,
the boss K' of the latter being fitted upon it.
Within the casing A and hetwn the dises J and J is the rotatable spring.
casing M, which is journalled in a central perforation J of the plate J2, Figure 6
and in a coincident perforation in the adjacent wall of the casing A, being prevented
from having endwise movement towards the interior of the casing by the flange M
on a thumb nut M2, which is fixed to its spindle and extends to the outside as shown
in Figs. 2, 4 and 9, so that the spring casing can be rotated from the exterior.
M, Figure 9, are slots in one wall of the spring casing; N', Figure 6, is 'a spring
detent secured to one of the distance pieces J and arranged so as to bear upon the
exterior of the spring casing M and engage with the slots M³ therein.
In the centre of the spring casing is a cavity M which forms a bearing in which
the reduced end L' of the central spindle L can rotate. N (Figure 4) is a spiral
spring contained within the casing M and connected at one end to that casing and at
the other end to the hook L on the spindle L. L is a spur wheel fixed on the
spindle L and gearing with a pinion O integral with another spur wheel O', fixed upon
a short shaft, the opposite ends of which are supported in bearings in the two

page_text: discs JJ as at J Fig. 3. The spur wheel O' in turn gears with a pinion P, which
together with an escapement wheel P concentric with it, is fixed upon a short shaft P2,
the opposite ends of which are journalled in the plates J J₁ in bearings as at J
Fig. 3.
21.
From the foregoing it will be evident that when the thumb nut M2 is rotated, it will
carry with it the spring casing M, which will tend through the medium of the spring N
to rotate the spindle and the train of gearing terminated by the escapement wheel P¹.
This train of gearing is controlled by an escapement lever and normally is locked by
the pendulum K; under such circumstances the rotation of the thumb nut M2 causes
the spring N to be wound up about the spindle L; the detent N' by engaging with the
slots M³ prevents the spring barrel, when the thumb nut M² is released by the hand of
the operator, from being reversely rotated by the spring N, and so keeps the spring
wound up in readiness to operate the alarm.
Q(Figs. 3, 10 and 11) is a lever fixed to a long pivot Q', the reduced ends Qof
which are journalled in perforations in the discs J J. Q3 are portions of the lever Q
bent to engage with the teeth of the escapement wheel P and constituting pallet of an
escapement such as is well known in clocks; another projection Q is provided upon
the lever for a purpose hereinafter explained, and a fourth projection therefrom
carries a hammer Q to strike upon the interior face of the flange of the gong H.
The part Q oscillates in the gap J10 in the disc J between the projections J.
R is a rocking piece pivotted upon a pin extending from the disc across to the
disc J. Three notches R' are provided in the edge of a portion of this rocking piece,
and with one or other of these notches a spring S fixed to the disc J, Fig. 7, engages
by means of its bent end S', so as to retain the rocker in any one of the three positions
to which it is adjustable. R2 is a recess which is adapted to receive the projection Q
on the lever Q. R3, Fig. 3, is an arm extending from the rocker R into the path
of a projection K2 from the pendulum K aforesaid, the arm being curved so that
the projection K2 on the pendulum will come into contact with it whether the said
projection moves to the right or to the left about its pivot.
RR are projections from the rocker with an opening Re between them, which
is in aligument with the end of a tube T which extends from the key hole A' and
the corresponding opening in the disc J2 almost into contact with the disc J
(see Fig. 5) being slotted along one side as at T¹. In the slot T¹ is a notch T2
opposite the end of the rod F, (see Figs. 1 and 2). The position of the slot T', the
disposition of the tube T with regard to the plate J and the size and disposition
of the notch T2 depend upon the key employed to control the apparatus. A key
suited for employment with the construction now being described is shown in
Figure 14 it is provided with a gib U, which can enter the notch T when the
key is pushed part of the way through the tube T as far as the mark U' on the
barrel and can turn in the clearance between the end of the tube T and the opposite
face of the disc J when the key is pushed further along. If when the gib U reaches
the notch T2 the key be rotated, it will act upon the upper end F2 of the rod F
and depress the latter against the action of the spring G, so as to disengage the
projection F from the nut E and allow the latter to be adjusted as may be desired.
If the key be pushed further along and the gib U be turned in the clearance
between the tube T and the disc J, it will operate the rocker R so as to give the
latter a slight angular movement about its pivot out of the middle position, in which
the bent portion S' of the spring S engages with the middle one of the three
notches R see Figure 3. The key can be operated so as to move the rocker in
the direction of the arrow in Figure 3 or reversely. If it be moved in the direction
of the arrow, the extension R³ will be drawn out of the path of the projection K² on
the pendulum, which will therefore be unable to start the alarm but if the rocker
be moved by the key in a direction opposite to that which is indicated by the arrow,
the extension R³ will be brought within the range of the projection K² which thereby
will be rendered inoperative. In either of these extreme positions to which the rocker
is moved by the key, it is retained by the engagement of the portion S' of the spring
with one or other of the end notches R', and in those positions the recess R³ is out of

page_text: the path of the projection Q on the lever Q, which therefore will bear against the
circumference of the rocker on either side of the said recess so as to cause the escape-.
ment wheel P¹ to be locked by the projection Q. But assuming the rocker to have
been moved so that the extension R³ is brought into the path of the projection K' on
the pendulum the rotation of the pendulum in either direction will cause that projection
to act upon either the extreme or intermediate portion of the extension, and move the
rocker into such a position that the recess R2 comes opposite the projection Qof
the iever Q and the end S of the spring S engages the centre one of the notches R',
whereupon the lever Q becoming unlocked is operated by the escapement wheel P' and
sounds a loud alarm for one two or three minutes, say, according to the strength of
spring N employed.
If it be desired that the automatic starting-device of the alarm-apparatus should be-
operatively connected to a movable part of the machine otherwise than in the manner
herein before described, this may be effected by linking the extension R³ of the
rocker R, or the pendulum K to such part, or by arranging a link or rod or other
device in such a manner that upon movement of the said part the rocker R or
pendulum Qor equivalent shall be so moved as to start the alarm.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I
claim is
1. The combination with a cycle or other vehicle of a device of the nature describedi
for prevention of theft, or unauthorised interference therewith.
2. An alarm-apparatus with an automatic starting-device for the purposes described.
3. An alarm-apparatus with an automatic pendulum or weighted starting-device,.
adapted to operate substantially as described.
4. In a cycle an alarm-apparatus with an automatic starting-device operatively
connected to a movable part of the machine.
5. An alarm-apparatus with an automatic starting-device adapted to be operated by
rotation of the apparatus, for the purpose described.
6. A pneumatically electrically or hydraulically operated alarm-apparatus with an
automatic starting-device for the purpose specified.
7. In an alarm-apparatus of the kind described a locking device releasable only by
a key for the purpose described.
8. In an alarm-apparatus the combination with a band such as C of a nut such as E.
and a lock therefor substantially as and for the purpose described.
9. In an alarm-apparatus of the kind described the combination with a vibrating
part such as Q of a recessed rocker such as R adapted to be operated by the automatic.
starting-device substantially as and for the purposes described.
10. In an alarm-apparatus of the kind described the combination with a vibrating.
part such as Q of a recessed rocker such as R adapted to be operated by the automatic-
starting-device and by a key substantially as and for the purpose described.
11. In an alarm-apparatus of the kind described the combination with a rod such.
as F of a slotted and notched tube T substantially as and for the purpose described.
12. In an alarm-apparatus of the kind described employing the same key for setting
or putting out of action the automatic alarm device and for releasing a locking device.
which holds the apparatus in place.
13. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete automatic
alarm-apparatus substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying.
drawings.
Dated this 16th day of January 1897.
FITZ-HARDINGE R. B. LIEBENROOD..
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicant.