An Improved Brake for the Rubber Tyred Wheels of Bicycles and other Velocipedes and Vehicles."
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 23th Oct., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 28th July, 1894-Accepted, 15th Sept., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Brake for the Rubber Tyred Wheels of Bicycles and
other Velocipedes and Vehicles."
I, WILLIAM HENRY SMITH, of 21; Whittall Street, in the City of Birmingham,
and of Saltley Mill, Saltley,.near Birmingham aforesaid, Manager of the Cycle.
Department of Thomas Smith and Sons of Saltley Limited, do hereby declare the
nature of this ingention to be as follows:―
This invention consists of the hereindescribed improved brake, which is
constructed for use more particularly with those wheels of bicycles and other
velocipedes and vehicles which are provided with pneumatic tyres but my improved
brake can also be applied to other rubber tyred wheels. I will describe.my
invention as applied to a pneumatic tyred wheel of, a safety bicycle or other front
steering velocipede.
My said improved brake consists.of.a. vertical or inclined stem hereinafter..more
fully described connected at its upper end to the brake lever on the handle bar and
at its lower end provided with one or more rollers shaped, to fit against the, tyre
and arranged to revolve loosely on a pin or pins carried by the,stem. This roller
or these rollers may be made of wood metal indiarubber or, other, solid or suitable
substance and when made of wood the said,roller is or the rollers are each provided
with a metal bush so as to increase, the..wear on the pin. I prefer to employ, two
rollers.cach made of a truncated conical, form and mounted on the same pin the
smaller, ends of the cones being close together or a. short distance apart so as to
admit between them. the end of the stem. to which the cross pin is fixed. Or
instead of two rollers I may, employ, a single roller made of a similar double conical
shape or the roller may be slightly hollowed corresponding with the shape of the
tyre.
The said stem to which the rollers are fixed as above described is by preference
made tubular and in two parts adapted to slide one within the other so that the
length of the stem and the pressure of the rollers on the tyre can be adjusted as
desired. When the brake lever; is, grasped towards, the, handle bar in the usual
way to apply the brake the other end of the brake lever acting on the stem forces
the stem downwardly and the roller.or rollers, against the tyre, thus braking the
wheel. As the rollers revolve immediately, they touch the tyre, the latter is then
not in any way damaged. A coiled spring on the vertical stem or, a spring
otherwise arranged lifts the stem, and rollers.off the tyre immediately the brake
lever is released.
"
"The said stem is either made forked at its lower end, to embrace the roller, or
rollers the roller pin passing. through the fork,, or the stem is, made with an
enlarged end and the roller pin projects at each side..carrying a roller at each side.
of the stem.
Dated thin 7th day of October 1803

page_text: An Improved Brake for the Rubber Tyred Wheels of Bicycles and
other Velocipedes and Vehicles.
I, William Henry Smith, of 21, Whittall Street, in the City of Birmingham,
and of Saltley Mill, Saltley, near Birmingham, aforesaid, Manager of the Cycle
Department of Thomas Smith and Sons of Saltley, Limited, 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 consists of the hereindescribed improved brake which is
constructed for use more particularly with those wheels of bicycles and other
velocipedes and vehicles which are provided with pneumatic tyres but my improved
brake can also be applied to other rubber tyred wheels. 1 will describe my
invention as applied to a pneumatic tyred wheel of a safety bicycle or other front
steering velocípede.
•
On the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 is an elevation partly in section of my
improved brake and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same and Fig. 3 is a front
elevation of a modified form of the same.
The same letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in all the
figures of the drawing.
For the purposes of my invention I employ a vertical or inclined brake stem
which may be of the usual kind by preference made tubular and in two parts
adapted to slide one within the other so that the length of stem and the pressure
of the brake on the tyre can be adjusted as desired. The stem is supported by any
convenient means from the steering post of the velocipede which means being well
known require no description here. The upper end of this stem is jointed to the
brake lever on the handle bar as usual so that the stem will be forced downwardly
when the brake lever is grasped towards the handle bar in the usual way to apply
the brake and forced upwardly by the usual spring applied to the brake lever or
to the brake stem a in the way well known. At the lower end of the said stem
which is shewn on the accompanying drawing and marked a I provide a pair of
rollers B' B' which are free to turn on the pins cc formed with the upwardly
projecting part a' which is fixed to the tubular stem a. The rollers B' B' may be
made of wood metal indiarubber or other solid or suitable substance and when made
of indiarubber (which is what I prefer) or when made of other suitable substance
other than inetal, the rollers are each provided with a metal bush 61 (see Fig. 3)
or with end washers such as 66 (see Fig. 1) fitted therein so as to give a metallic
wearing surface on the pins c c. The said rollers B₁ B' are by preference made
of the truncated conical form shewn in Fig. 1 the smaller ends of the cones being a
short distance apart so as to admit between them the bottom portion a¹ of the stem
with which the cross pins c¹³ are formed; and the pins c care by preference
inclined as shewn so that the point of contact of the rollers B B on the tread of
the tyre (shewn by a dotted circle marked D) may be some little distance apart
and thus have the effect of pinching the tyre between them when they are pressed
against the tyre when applying the brake as hereinafter described. Or instead of
the rollers B¹ B' being conical as shewn in Fig. 1 they may be of the approximately
spheroidal or cylindrical form shewn in Fig. 3.
When the brake lever is grasped towards the handle bar in the usual way to
apply the brake the other end of the lever acting on the stem forces the stem
downwardly and the rollers B' B' against the tyre thus braking the wheel. As
the rollers B' B' revolve immediately they touch the tyre the latter is not then in
any way worn or damaged as is sometimes the case when a spoon brake is used.

page_text: 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 :-
The hereindescribed improved brake for the rubber tyred wheels of bicycles.
tricycles and other velocipedes and vehicles, consisting of the combination with the
sliding brake stem, which is operated by the brake lever, of the two cross pins such
as cfixed to the bottom of said brake stem, and the two rollers such as B¹ B'
arranged to revolve loosely on said cross pins to act upon the wheel tyre in the-
manner substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the accompanying
drawing.
Dated thie 27th dev of Jul 1804
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.