Improvements in Supporting the Seats or Saddles of Bicycles, Tricycles, and other Velocipedes.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Dec., 1890.
Complete Specification Left, 9th Sept., 1891-Accepted, 31st Oct., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Supporting the Seats or Saddles of Bicycles,
Tricycles, and other Velocipedes.
I JAMES ALFRED LAMPLUGH of the firm of Lamplugh and Brown of Great
Colmore Street Birmingham in the County of Warwick Manufacturers do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention consists of the construction and combination of parts hereinafter
described for supporting the seats or saddles of bicycles tricycles and other
velocipedes.
My invention consists principally in supporting both the front and rear ends of
a saddle by a double spring arrangement which besides giving great elasticity to
the seat also prevents the canting or tilting of the saddle when a weight is put
upon it both ends of the saddle descending at the same time and thereby preserving
the saddle in its normal horizontal or nearly horizontal position.
I will describe my invention in connection with a safety bicycle or tricycle.
I apply to the front end of the frame or foundation of the saddle a double spring
consisting preferably of two vertical parallel flat coils or spirals the said coils or
spirals being made from a single wire bent at its middle the bend between the two
flat parallel coils or spirals forming a loop by which by means of a screw clip or
otherwise the double spring is connected to the fore end of the underframe or bar
of the saddle the said underframe or bar carrying a socket in which the pin of
the safety bicycle or tricycle is fixed. The coiling of the wire to form the flat
double coil or spiral proceeds from the middle of the spiral the said spirals
terminating at top in nearly horizontal branches or arms the extreme ends of
which are bent into eyes. This double spring is fixed to the underframe or bar
with its nearly horizontal arms or branches turned towards the front of the saddle
and the eyes described at the ends of the said arms are attached by means of screw
pins to the ends of a cross bar at the fore end of the upper frame or foundation of
the saddle:
The front of the saddle is thus supported by a spring or elastic connection
consisting of a double parallel coil or spiral.
I support the rear of the saddle by an elastic connection consisting of a double
parallel coil or spiral of the kind employed at the front of the saddle the nearly
horizontal arms or branches of the second or rear double coil or spiral being
turned in the same direction as those of the front double coil or spiral the eye
ends of the arms of the rear double spring being secured to the rear end of the
upper frame or foundation and the loop or bend of the rear double spring being
connected to the lower frame or bar in the manner described with respect to the
front double spring.
It will thus be understood that the front double spring projects some distance in
front of the saddle and is in a lower plane than the seat of the saddle; the rear
double spring being situated nearly under the middle of the saddle and at the
same level as the front double spring; the parallel coils or spirals and the arms or
branches of the rear spring being at such a distance apart that the upper frame or
foundation can descend between the said parallel coils or spirals.
The result of this arrangement is that the arms or branches of the two double
springs at-the-front and rear of the saddle are coupled together by the upper frame
or foundation so that the said arms of the coupled springs when the saddle yield's
by the weight of the rider move in the same direction and preserve their parallelism
the front and rear ends of the seat simultaneously descending thereby compressing
the springs and putting them into a state of tension. The rocking or tilting of the

page_text: saddle by the weight of the rider when sitting in the normal position on the saddle
is thus practically avoided although the saddle will automatically tilt in going up
or down hill and the seat is made highly elastic. Although I prefer to support the
saddle at its front and rear ends by double springs of the kind and arranged as
described yet springs of other kinds may be employed; for example V shaped
plate springs may be used the arms or free upper ends of the two double springs
being coupled together by the upper frame or foundation of the saddle as described
with respect to the double springs consisting of parallel vertical coils or spirals.
Dated the 19th day of December 1890.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Supporting the Seats or Saddles of Bicycles,
Tricycles, and other Velocipedes.
I JAMES ALFRED LAMPLUGH, of the firm of Lamplugh and Brown of Great
Colmore Street Birmingham in the County of Warwick, Manufacturers do hereby
declare the nature of my invention and in what manner the same is to be performed
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:
My invention consists of the construction and combination of parts hereinafter
described for supporting the seats or saddles of bicycles tricycles and other
velocipedes.
My invention consists principally in supporting both the front and rear ends of
a saddle-by-a-double-spring-arrangement, which-besides-giving-great-elasticity-to-
the seat also prevents thie canting or tilting of the saddle when a weight is put
upon it both ends of the saddle descending at the same time and thereby preserving
the saddle in its normal-horizontal or nearly horizontal position.
I will describe my invention in connection with a safety bicycle or tricycle.
I apply to the front end of the frame or foundation of the saddle, a double
spring.consisting-preferably-of-two-vertical-parallel-flat-coils-or-spirals,-the-said-
coils or spirals being made from a single wire, bent at its middle, the bend between
the two flat parallel coils or spirals forming a loop by which, by means of a screw
clip or otherwise, the double spring is connected to the fore end of the underframe
or bar of the saddle, the said underframe, or bar carrying a socket in which
the pin of the safety bicycle or tricycle is fixed. The coiling of the wire to
form the flat double coil or spiral proceeds from the middle of the spiral, the said
spirals terminating at top in nearly horizontal branches or arms, the extreme ends
of which are bent into eyes. This double spring is fixed to the underframe or
bar with its nearly horizontal arms or branches turned towards the front of the
saddle, and the eyes described at the ends of the said arms are attached by means
of washers to the ends of a cross bar at the fore end of the upper frame or
foundation of the saddle.
The front of the saddle is thus supported by a spring or elastic connection
consisting of a double parallel coil or spiral.
I support the rear of the saddle by an elastic connection consisting of a double
parallel coil or spiral of the kind employed at the front of the saddle the nearly
horizontal arms or branches of the second or rear double coil or spiral being
turned in the same direction as those of the front double coil or spiral, the cyc
ends of the arms of the rear double spring being secured to the rear end of the
upper frame or foundation and the loop or bend of the rear double spring being
connected to the lower frame or bar in the manner described with respect to the
front double spring..
It will thus be understood that the front double spring projects some distance in
front of the saddle and is in a lower plane than the seat of the saddle; the rear-
double spring being situated nearly under the middle of the saddle and at the same,

page_text: level as the frent double spring; the parallel coils or spirals and the arms or
branches of the rear spring being at such a distance apart that the upper frame or
foundation can descend between the said parallel coils or spirals.
The result of this arrangement is that the arms or branches of the two double
springs at the front and rear of the saddle are coupled together by the upper
frame or foundation so that the said arms of the coupled springs when the saddle
yields by the weight of the rider move in the same direction the front and rear
ends of the seat simultaneously descending, thereby compressing the springs and
putting them into a state of tension. The rocking or tilting of the saddle by the
weight of the rider when sitting in the normal position on the saddle is thus
practically avoided although the saddle will automatically tilt in going up and
down hill and the seat is made highly elastic.
Although I prefer to support the saddle at its front and rear ends by double
springs of the kind and arranged as described, yet springs of other kinds may be
employed; for example, V shaped plate springs may be used, the arms or free
upper ends of the two double springs being coupled together by the upper frame
or foundation of the saddle as described with respect to the double springs consisting
of parallel vertical coils or spirals.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying drawings the
manner in which my invention is to be performed.
Figure represents in side elevation and Figure 2 in plan of upper side (the
leather and some other parts being indicated in dotted lines) a seat or saddle for a
safety bicycle or a tricycle constructed according to my invention;
Figure 3 represents a cross section of a portion of the same taken at the front
of the saddle on the dotted line indicated.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2 and 3.
a is the leather of the seat and the upper metallic frame or foundation to the
ends of which the double springs at the front and rear ends of the saddle are
connected; c is the tension screw fixed at the front of the leather seat and taking
into a small bracket at the front of the frame or foundation for tensioning the
said leather seat. The frame or foundation also carries at its front end the
cross bar and at its rear end the plate e to which bar and plate the upper arms
or branches of the double springs at the front and rear of the saddle are secured
as bereinafter described. The front double spring consists of the two vertical
parallel flat coils or spirals f, which are made from a single wire or rod bent at
its middle, the bend between the two flat parallel coils or spirals f, ƒ forming a
loop g by which, by means of the screw clip at h, the said front double spring is
connected to the fore end of the underframe or bar i carrying the socket
which the pink of the safety bicycle or tricycle is fixed. It will be seen by an
examination of Figure 1 that the coiling of the wire, after the loopy has been bent,
to form the flat double coil or spiral ff, proceeds from the middle of each spiral,
the said spirals terminating at top in the nearly horizontal arms or branches, f
the extreme ends of which are bent into eyes f³, which are placed on the ends
or pivots of the cross bar d and fixed on the said ends or pivots by the rivetted
washers or collars 1, 1.
in
The front of the saddle is thus supported by a spring or elastic connection
consisting of a double parallel coil or spiral f,f the said front double spring
projecting some distance in front of the saddle and being situated at a lower level
than the leather part of the seat as represented.
The rear spring is constructed and connected to the underframe i carrying the
socket, and to the rear end of the upper frame or foundation & substantially in
the same manner as the front spring ff, g. That is to say, the said rear
spring consists of the parallel coils or spirals m, m of the kind employed at the
front of the saddle but slightly wider apart, the loop or bend of the rear spring
being connected to the lower frame or bar i by the screw clip p and the nearly
horizontal arms or branches m³, m³ of the rear spring (which arms are turned in
the same direction as those of the front spring) are secured by their eyes m³,
m³ to

page_text: the pivot ends of the plate e on the upper frame b by the collars or washers P, P.
The arms or branches m², m² and parallel coils or spirals m, m of the rear spring
are at such a distance apart that the upper frame or foundation can descend
between the arms or branches and parallel coils or spirals when pressure is put on
the saddle. It will be seen that the arms or branches of the two double springs f
and m, m are coupled together by the upper frame or foundation so that the
said arms of the coupled springs, when the saddle yields by the weight of the
rider, move in the same direction and descend to the same distance, the eyes of
the said arms swivelling on the pivots of the bar d and plate e as the saddle makes
its movement. By this construction and combination of parts the sent is made
highly elastic and the rocking or tilting of the saddle by the weight of the rider
when sitting in the normal position on the saddle is practically avoided, although
the saddle will automatically tilt in going up or down hill.
Instead of making the double flat spiral spring at the front and the same kind
of spring at the rear of the saddle, each from a single rod or wire, one of the
spirals of the front spring and one of the spirals of the rear spring on the same
side of the saddle may be made from a single wire or rod.
This modification of my invention is represented in side elevation in Figure 4;
plan of underside in Figure and cross section, of a portion of the same taken
through the socket on the underframe, in Figure 6; Figure 7 represents in
horizontal section the connection of the arms of the front spring with the front end
of the upper frame and Figure 8 represents in horizontal section the connection of
the arms of the rear spring with the rear end of the upper frame.
6
The coil or spiral of the front double spring and the coil or spiral m' of the
rear double spring on the same side of the saddle are made from one piece of wire or
rod, the two spirals and m having between them the nearly straight piece f
which is clamped at and to the under frame i carrying the socket. The
upper parts of the coils or spirals and m terminate in the arms-or-branches
and m for connecting them in the manner hereinbefore described with the front
and rear ends of the upper frame & Similarly-the-coil-or spiral marked of the
front double spring and the coil or spiral marked m' of the rear double-spring on
the opposite side of the saddle -are-made and connected. The piece between the
_two_coils and m* for clamping them to the lower frame i is marked and the
upper arms or branches for connecting them to the-front-and-rear-of_the_upper_
frame are marked respectively and m². The action of this modified saddle is
the same as that-of-the-saddle-first-described.
Instead of springs consisting of flat coils or spirals as represented in the drawings,
springs in which the convolutions are all of the same diameter may be employed
with like effect and in place of the double front and rear springs of either of the
kinds described and represented, V shaped parallel plate springs may be substituted
therefor. In this case the lower arms of the front and rear parallel V shaped
plate springs are connected by clamps or otherwise to the ends of the socket piece
or underframe and the ends of the upper arms of the said plate springs are made
into eyes which are secured to the cross bar and plate at the front and rear of the
upper frame substantially as described and represented with respect to the springs
having flat coils or spirals, or convolutions all of the same diameter.
I apply my improvements to the supporting of the seats or saddles of velocipedes
other than safety bicycles and tricycles substantially as hereinbefore described
and illustrated with respect to the seat or saddle of a safety bicycle or tricycle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention
and the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that 1 claim as
my invention;—
The construction and arrangements or combinations of parts herein before
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings for supporting the seats
or saddles of bicycles, tricycles and other velocipedes; that is to say, the use at
the front and rear of the saddle of double springs each double spring consisting of

page_text: two flat parallel coils or spirals of the kinds described and represented, the double
springs being clamped or otherwise fixed to the under frame of the saddle and the
upper arms or branches of the said double springs being coupled together by the
upper frame or foundation of the saddle so that the said upper arms or branches
when the saddle yields to the weight of the rider move in the same direction and
descend to the same distance for the purpose and substantially as described and
illustrated also the use of coupled front and rear double springs in which the
convolutions are all of the same diameter and double V shaped plate springs for
obtaining the same action substantially as herein before described.
Dated the 7th day of September 1891.
JAMES ALFRED LAMPLUGH.