Improvements in and connected with Brakes for Cycles.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Brakes for Cycles.
I, HEINRICH LEFÈBRE, Merchant, of Uhlandstrasse, Düsseldorf, Germany, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object, to provide a brake which is automatically set
in action, as soon as the speed of the velocipede exceeds a given limit.
For this purpose I place over one of the wheels, preferably the front wheel, a
small friction wheel held by a spring, so that the friction between the tyre or cir-
cumference of the cycle wheel and that of the friction wheel will cause the latter
to revolve on its axis. The said friction wheel contains a movable weight which is
guided radially and held in place by a helical spring, so that the weight can
follow the action of the centrifugal force by compressing the spring, and that
consequently the distance of the movable weight from the axis of the friction wheel
depends on the speed of the cycle wheel. If the speed exceeds a given limit, the
weight strikes against a lever mounted radially on the axle of the friction wheel,
and causes the lever to turn, until it is stopped by a projection formed on the
circumference of the friction wheel.
The said radial arm is connected by a link with a bolt which is adapted to enter
a recess of the brake rod and held in position by a spring. The brake rod is
guided radially to the cycle wheel and carries at its free end a brake block adapted
to act on the tyre or circumference of the cycle wheel under the influence of two
helical brake springs.
As long as the said bolt remains in the recess of the brake rod, the brake springs
are under compression, and the brake block is held off the cycle wheel, but as
soon as the brake rod is released by the withdrawal of the bolt, the brake block
will be applied to the cycle wheel, so as to retard or stop the same.
The friction wheel mentioned above may be combined with a bell or other alarm
device, which is set in action by the influence of the sliding weight shortly before
the speed of the velocipede reaches its allowable limit, and thus indicates to the
rider that he should diminish the speed.
The entire apparatus is preferably placed in front of the steering fork and
secured to the same, the friction wheel and a pair of symmetrically placed alarm
bells being mounted on the same horizontal axle, which is held at its ends by the
free ends of a pair of spring-arms or levers which have their fulcrum close to the
steering fork.
The brake mechanism may be set out of action by lifting the said spring arms
by means of a small hand lever and a lifting bar. The brake may be applied
also by means of an ordinary brake handle secured to the handle bar, and adapted

page_text: to act on the brake bar, so as to press it, together with the retaining bolt and bolt
spring, towards the circumference of the wheel.
Dated this 15th day of February 1898.
FAIRFAX & WETTER,
Agents for the Applicant.
improvements in and connected with Brakes for Cycles.
I, HEINRICH LEFÈBRE, Merchant, of Uhlandstrasse, Düsseldorf, Germany, 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 has for its object, to provide a brake which is automatically set
in action, as soon as the speed of the velocipede exceeds a given limit, and which at
the same time shows by means of a movable shield or other suitable indicator,
that the allowable speed has been exceeded.
In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a brake embodying
my invention; Fig. 2 is a plan of the same; Figs. 3 and 4 are side elevations of
the brake in different positions; Figs. 5 to 11 represent details and modifications
on a larger scale, as will be hereafter described.
I place over one of the wheels, preferably the front wheel, a small friction wheel L
held by means of a spindle t, spring R and lever h or similar contrivance, so
that the friction between the tyre or circumference of the cycle wheel and that of
the friction wheel will cause the latter to revolve on its axis. The said friction
wheel contains a movable weight G, which is guided radially and held in place
by a helical spring b, so that the weight G can follow the action of the centri-
fugal force by compressing the spring b, and that consequently the distance of the
movable weight from the axis of the friction wheel depends on the speed of the
cycle wheel.
If the speed of the cycle wheel, and consequently of the friction wheel revolving
with the same, exceeds a given limit, the weight G slides out under the influence
of centrifugal force, and a small hammer m¹ fixed to the weight G strikes against
a lug m formed on the inside of the alarm bell S, thereby indicating to the rider,
that the speed should be reduced. If he fails to do this quickly, the weight G
continues to slide outward, until it strikes against a lever a mounted radially on
the axle of the friction wheel, and causes the said lever (which normally rests
against a tooth n¹ of the other cycle bell S¹ or of a cover plate to turn until it
meets another tooth n. 'The two teeth or stops n and n¹ formed on the inside of the
bell S¹ or of a fixed cover plate thus limit the motion of the lever a.
As shown by Fig. 1, the said arm a is connected by a link with a slide v¹
provided with a tooth 2, which is adapted to act on a corresponding tooth formed
on the upper arm of a two-armed lever f. This takes place, when the vehicle runs
too fast and therefore the link v is drawn downward. The said lever f has the
function of a bolt or spring-catch adapted to enter with its lower extremity a
recess o¹ of the guide rod o and pressed against the same by a spring. The collar B
of the hollow brake rod H abuts against a pair of helical springs f which tend
to press the brake block y upon the circumference of the wheel, but as long as the
extremity of the said bolt is in the recess of the guide rod-Figs. 1 and 3-the
brake is kept out of contact with the wheel, and the brake springs f1 are com-
pressed. The guide rod o is adapted to slide in the hollow brake rod x, and the
guide pins y are adapted to slide in the collar B fixed to the rod x.

page_text: If now the speed of the vehicle becomes excessive, and consequently the weight G
strikes the lever a, the link v will be drawn down, and the extremity of the bolt f
will be drawn out of the guide rod, whereupon the spring f¹ becomes free to act
by applying the brake.
As soon as the speed of the wheel L decreases, the weight G is forced back by
the spring b, so as to be out of reach of the lever a.
In order to indicate at a glance, when the speed of the vehicle has become
excessive, even after the brake has been set out of action, I provide an indicating
disc s or other optical indicating device, which changes its position according to
the speed of the vehicle, and which may be illuminated at night. For this purpose
the said disc forms the long arm of a bell-crank lever, which has its fulcrum
at and is hinged at the extremity s¹ of its short arm, to the upper end of the
link v mentioned above, the latter being for this purpose composed of two parts
hinged together.
If the lever a is set in motion by the sliding weight G, so as to draw the link v
into the position represented by Fig. 4, the said bellcrank lever is drawn down at
the same time, and renders the disc s visible. If it is desired to indicate any excess
of speed, without applying the brake, the tooth f of the spring catch is turned
aside, that is to say, out of the way of the slide 1, as indicated by Figs. 3 and 11,
for which purpose the said tooth is connected with the spring catch f by a hinge
joint, clearly shown in Figs. 10 and 11, and is held in its working position by a
spring. Instead of using a separate spring, the adjoining parts of the tooth f³
and spring catch f may be made slightly elastic in a manner well-known, one
being provided with cross-grooves and the other with ridges adapted to enter the
said grooves in certain positions of the tooth.
After the nose f has been turned aside, the slide ¹ may move up and down,
without releasing the spring-catch.
The axle 1 of the friction wheel L is held in a fork formed at the lower end of
a fork rod t, which is guided parallel to the steering fork and surrounded by a
helical spring R enclosed in a tube 2. The fork rod t is adapted to slide up and
down and is connected with a two-armed lever h by a pin t¹ extending through a
pair of slots of the tube R. The said lever h serves to lift the rod t, together with
the friction wheel L, out of contact with the cycle wheel. This is effected by
turning a short cam k held in a collar mounted on the steering fork. After the
said cam has been turned down, and thereby the spring R compressed, the friction
wheel L occupies the position represented in Fig. and is maintained in it by the
said cam. By turning the latter back, the spring R is allowed to act, so as to
press the friction wheel upon the circumference of the cycle wheel.
The friction wheel L may be combined with a bell or other alarm device, which
is set in action by the influence of the sliding weight G, shortly before the speed
of the velocipede reaches its allowable limit, and thus indicates to the rider, that
he should diminish the speed. Fig. 5 shows a pair of bells S mounted on the
axle w and provided with a tooth m, placed so that it can be struck by the sliding
weight or by a hammer connected with the same.
The brake can be set in action by means of a hand laver fixed to the handle bar
in the usual manner, in which case the brake rod, together with the collar B abut-
ting against the guide ring Hand with the spring catch f mounted on the
collar B, is pressed downward. The device for operating the brake automatically
is therefore no obstacle to the ordinary use of the brake from the handle bar.
The said hand lever also serves to set the brake out of action, after it has been
automatically applied.
For this purpose the brake roda, together with the collar B is pressed down by
neans of the brake lever-as in ordinary cycle brakes-until the pin of the bolt f
rops into the recess o₁ and thereby sets the springs f¹ out of action, while the
ordinary brake spring situated under the brake lever-begins to act. Con-
sequently, as soon as the brake lever is released, the brake block y will be drawn
up, together with the brake rod r.

page_text: In order to balance the sliding weight C, the diametrically opposite spoke of
the friction wheel L is made heavier, as shown by Fig. 6.
In the drawings, Fig. 5 is an axial section of the friction wheel and alarm
bells; Fig. 6 is a section along line A-B of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 a section along
line C D of Fig. 5; Figs. 8 and 9 show the brake block, together with the brake
springs f¹, the hollow brake rod, the collar or sleeve B mounted on the brake
rod between the two cheeks of the main collar H and having a pair of shoulders
adapted to abut against the lower face of the said cheeks, also the spring catch
or bolt f pivoted to the sleeve B, and the recess o₁, into which the extremity of the
bolt enters.
The brake springs f₁ are coiled on tubes, each of which has a sliding core y¹
fixed at the lower end to the brake block y, as shown by Fig. 9.
Figs. 10 and 11 show the spring catch f on a larger scale, Fig. 11 being a
section along line E-F of Fig. 10, after the tooth f has been turned aside.
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;-
1. A velocipede brake adapted to act automatically, when a given limit of speed
is exceeded, comprising in its construction a spring brake, a retaining device or
bolt adapted to hold the brake in the "off" position, and a sliding weight con-
trolled by centrifugal force, so as to release the bolt at a given speed of the
velocipede, substantially as described.
2. A velocipede brake adapted to be operated automatically by the aid of centri-
fugal force acting on a sliding weight, and provided with a movable disc or other
optical indicating device adapted to show by its position, when the allowable limit
has been exceeded, substantially as described.
3. A centrifugal brake for velocipedes constructed and adapted to operate sub-
stantially as described and illustrated by the drawings.
noted thi. 1011
1000
FAIRFAX & WETTER
Agents, 37. and 39, Essex Street, Strand, London.
FAIRFAX & WETTER
Agents, 37. and 39, Essex Street, Strand, London.