Year: 1897

page_text: I, ROBERT FREDERICK HUGHES, of 16, Westmoreland Street, High Street, Marylebone
in the County of London, Clerk, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
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The object of my invention is to make a simple stand capable of holding a bicycle
vertical with sufficient firmness to withstand the shocks in a Railway luggage van,
or the weight and strains of a rider in the saddle working the pedals. I use the
horizontal part of the L tube as a convenient means of supporting the bicycle, and of
connecting the stand to the bicycle. The stand has a short horizontal tube or rod of
size suitable to enter the said horizontal part of the L tube from behind, and to pass
three inches or thereabouts of its length within the said tube, and the portion of the
tube or rod projecting behind the said L tube is rigidly attached to two legs or struts,
which start from the horizontal tube or rod, and slant downward and outward, and are
sufficiently long to lift the back wheel from the ground when the horizontal tube or
rod of the stand is fitted to the L tube of the bicycle. For further security the
horizontal tube or rod of the stand can be split and opened by a screw wedge or cone
when in its place so as to fix the stand and bicycle firmly together, or plain wedges
or cones can be used, or a stud can be fixed to one of the tubes which can pass along
a slot with a right-angled turn in the other tube. The legs or struts can be made
variable in length by adding pieces to the lower ends, such pieces having sockets to.
fit the lower ends; or by making each leg or strut of two or more telescoping pieces
which can have a stud and slot device for fixing the pieces in the shortened or in the
extended position. To secure portability the legs or struts can be jointed to one
another, or both to the horizontal tube or rod, by a hinge joint so that the legs can
be folded into parallelism with one another when not in use. Again with the same
object the horizontal tube or rod of the stand can be made with two short rigid tubes
or rods at the correct angle for the legs or struts to which tubes or rods of correct
length can be fitted. In the above description the term "L tube" means the angular
tube to the horizontal part of which the saddle is clipped in most safety bicycles
whether such tube has the form of an inverted L of whatever angle; or the form T.
Dated this Eighteenth day of January 1897.
ROBERT FREDERICK HUGHES, of 10, Westmoreland Street, Marylebone, in the County
5 of London, Clerk, 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:-
The principal object of the invention is the construction of a simple, easily made

page_text: stand, capable of being quickly applied to a bicycle, and serving when applied to
support the bicycle with the back wheel above the ground so that the rider can sit in
the saddle and work the pedals. It is further sought to accomplish this with-
out scratching the enamel or plating of the bicycle, or crushing the tubes by clips.
.
In most safety bicycles the saddle is clamped to and supported by a horizontal
tube, which is carried by another tube clamped by the bicycle. I use the said
horizontal tube (hereinafter called the saddle support) as a ready means of supporting
the bicycle, and, when required, the rider. In order that my invention may be clearly
understood I append drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a side elevation, and Figure 2
an end elevation from behind, of the home trainer and stand, and Figures 3, 4, and 5
are elevations of the upper part of the same on a larger scale. In Figures 1 and 2 B
is a tube or rod (hereinafter called the pin) whose size and shape adapt it to pass
some inches of its length into the saddle-support from behind, and C C are a pair of
struts which, when the pin is pushed into the saddle-support as far as it can go, stand
with their lower ends on the ground one on each side of the bicycle, and which are
long enough to hold the bicycle upright, and, if preferred, with the back wheel raised
above the ground, their upper ends being rigidly connected with the rearward end of
the pin. I prefer to make the angles between the pin and the struts such that the
struts when in use have a slightly forward lean. Thus by raising the back portion
of the bicycle and passing the pin into the saddle-support not only is the back wheel
raised above the ground, and the pedals enabled to turn, but the bicycle is firmly held
against lownward, forward, backward, and side strains.
The stand may be cast, forged, brazed, or otherwise made of definite unalterable
form; or the struts may be made adjustable in length as by screwing one length into
another, as shown at D Figures 1 and 2, and may be bolted, screwed, or hinged to
the pin, or fitted or screwed on to lugs upon it; in short, fastened temporarily or
permanently to the pin in any manner, provided that, when the stand is being used, the
junction between the pin and struts is strong enough and rigid enough to prevent the
angles between the pin on the one hand, and the struts on the other, altering
appreciably. In some cases it is safer to fasten the pin in its place when it is about
to be used, or carried in situ, and I prefer the old and well known fastening shown in
Figures 3 and 4 at E, in which E is a wedge-shaped piece fastened to the pin by a
flat spring G, which allows the wedge to pass inside the saddle-support with the pin,
but presses it outwards and locks the pin when the latter is pushed home.
The home trainer and stand is made more portable and fitter for touring or
railway journeys, by forming at the rearward end of the pin two stems or lugs at a
proper angle as shown in Figures 3, 4, and 5, to which stems struts can be fitted,
screwed, or otherwise fastened, when the appliance is used. The struts can be
carried on the frame of the bicycle, or otherwise, or the cyclist may carry only the
pin with its stems, and avail himself of any tubes, sticks, or rods that may be
provided in railway vans, Hotels, or other places on his journey.
It is within the scope of my invention to allow the back wheel to rest on the
ground between the struts.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. The home trainer and stand for bicycles consisting essentially of a pin and a
pair of struts which rigidly support the pin in a nearly horizontal position when it is
passed far enough into the saddle-support of a bicycle, and which then stand on the
ground one on each side of the bicycle.
2. A pin of suitable form to enter the saddle-support of a bicycle, and having at its
rearward end two stems to which a pair of struts can be readily applied, in such
manner as to hold the pin and saddle-support approximately horizontal when the
first is inserted far enough into the other; and to then stand on the ground one on
each side of the bicycle.
3. A pin of suitable form to enter the saddle-support of a bicycle for several

page_text: inches, and provided with a device for retaining it in that position, and with a pair of
struts rigidly supporting it by its rearward end in a nearly horizontal position when
it is within the saddle-support and the struts stand on the ground.
4. A pin having struts adjustable in length rigidly fastened to its rearward end,
and in such manner that when they stand on the ground one on each side of a
bicycle with the pin inserted into its saddle-support the bicycle is held upright, with
or without the back wheel touching the ground.
Dated this Thirteenth day of October 1897