Improvements in and relating to Combined Mud-guards and Wheel Scrapers for Cycles.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Aug., 1893-Accepted, 9th Dec., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Combined Mud-guards and Wheel
Scrapers for Cycles.
I, SAMUEL BARRINGTON, of Glovers Buildings, Mansfield Road, Aston, in the
County of Warwick, Tool Maker and Machinist, 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:-
Mudguards for cycles are usually arranged to encircle the wheels to which they
are applied to the extent of say one half or one third of the circumference of
the wheels, and are secured to the hub of the wheel by one or two pairs of wire
side stays, the whole adding considerable weight to the cycle. This serious
drawback is aggravated by the weight of mud, which always accumulates inside
the guard when running on muddy roads and is retained therein by the encircling
form of such guard.
Now the object of my invention is to provide an efficient mud guard for a cycle,
that shall be of light weight and adapted to act also as a wheel scraper to arrest
the travel of mud with the wheel tyre, and to remove from the tyre thorns, nails,
and other sharp bodies that frequently become embedded therein so that, in the
case of pneumatic tyres, such tyres will be less liable than heretofore to be
punctured to an extent sufficient to cause them to collapse.
For this purpose I employ a mud guard or shield made of thin but strong
material and only a few inches in length so that it will be of light weight and
can be effectually held in place adjacent to the periphery of the wheel tyre by
a single pair of side stays, and I provide such guard with one or more scrapers
so formed and arranged that when placed in close proximity to the periphery of
the wheel tyre it or they will act to scrape and remove mud or other matter
adhering to the tyre and cause much of it to fall, whilst the guard will throw
down any mud which may be projected against it either by centrifugal action or
by the action of the scraper-so protecting the pedals and the rider's legs. The
scraper may be formed of any suitable material such as wire or strip metal or
india-rubber coated wire, but preferably of metallic wire and it may be either
straight or concave on the side or edge next the wheel tyre to which it is applied.
The upper extremity of the guard is placed, when in use, in close proximity to
the tyre, and so may act as a second additional scraper.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing a combined mud guard and scraper according
to this invention applied to a cycle wheel.
Fig. 2 is a plan to a larger scale showing the combined mud guard and scraper
detached, together with the pair of stays and clips by which the same is held
in place.
Fig. 3 is an end or outside view of the guard and stays.
Figs. 4 and 5 are elevations at right angles to each other of one of a pair of
sheet metal clips by which the stays can be held in place.
Figs. 6 to 9 inclusive show in cross section various forins of metal bars of which
the stays may advantageously be made.
1 is a mud guard bent to the shape shown for the purpose hereinbefore
mentioned, and formed of a short length of suitable sheet material. In order
that this guard may be made as light as possible, consistent with the necessary
rigidity, I prefer to make it of high quality sheet steel. 2, 2, are side stays to
which the guard 1 is connected in any suitable manner, as for example by brazing
or riveting so that it can be held in place by such stays. In order that the stays
may be made light and yet sufficiently rigid, they may advantageously be formed

page_text: of metal rods of channelled sections such as either of those shewn in Figs. 6 to 9
inclusive, or they may be made of tubes, or of channelled bars similar in section to
ordinary umbrella ribs. They may, however if desired, be made of solid rods.
3 is a scraper, consisting, in the example shown, of a piece of metal wire
connected at its ends to the side stays 2 and arranged so as to be in close proximity
to the outer periphery of the wheel tyre when in use. This wire may be made
straight from end to end, but it is preferred to bend the central portion thereof, as
shewn, so that such portion will conform more or less to the rounded form of the
periphery of the wheel tyre to which it is applied, and thereby effect a more
efficient removal of mud therefrom when moved into close proximity thereto. The
upper end of the guard 1 is also shown bent towards the wheel tyre, its edge being
made concave so that when moved into close proximity to the tyre it will arrest
the further travel of mud and may if desired act as an additional scraper.
The ends of the stays 2 may be attached to the hub spindle in any convenient
manner. In the example shown, cach stay is, for this purpose, provided with a
clip 4 of sheet metal, bent to fit the stay to which it is to be applied, and formed
with upwardly extending oppositely arranged eyes 4* adapted to pass over the hub
spindle and be secured thereto by a nut 5, the arrangement being such that by
loosening the nuts of both elips, the stays can be caused to slide through the clips
sufficiently to move the combined guard and scraper away from the wheel tyre to
render the scraper inoperative, when desired. When upon the hubs, the stays 2
should be placed at an angle of about 45 degrees from the horizontal, to obtain the
most effective action of the guard and scraper.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. For a cycle, a combined mud-guard and scraper comprising a mud-guard
made of short length and so curved and arranged as to arrest mud thrown off
by centrifugal force from the wheel to which the combined mud-guard and scraper
is applied and one or more scrapers adapted to remove mud and nails or other
bodies adhering to the periphery of the wheel tyre before the same reaches the
upper end of the guard, the said guard and scraper or scrapers being carried by
suitable stays substantially as herein described for the purpose specified.
2. The combined mud-guard and scraper constructed supported and operating
substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and shown in the drawing
annexed, whether the scraper 3 be curved or straight at the side next the
wheel rim.
Dated this 17th day of Angust 1802
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham,
46. Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.