Improvements in Brakes for Velocipedes and like Light Road Vehicles.
Year: 1898

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Brakes for Velocipedes and like Light Road
Vehicles.
I, ARTHUR WOOD, of 5, Church Terrace, Castlenau, Barnes, in the County of
Surrey, Cycle Manufacturer, 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 :-
My invention relates to brakes for velocipedes and like light road vehicles,
particularly those on which a straight T handle bar is used for steering purposes.
According to my invention, the brake can be operated by either hand, and may be
arranged to act on two wheels simultaneously if desired, without removing the hand
from the handle. When both hands are thus employed, enormous power can be
brought to bear upon the brake without great effort, and can be instantly released
when required. A further advantage is that the brake is practically concealed, the
upper part of the mechanism being all contained within the handle bar and steering
head. Moreover, by the use of my invention, a great deal of the vibration when
running is cut off from the hands of the rider, being absorbed by my brake
mechanism, which I will now proceed to describe.
Reference will hereinafter be made to the accompanying drawings, on Sheet 1 of
which, Figure 1 represents a side view of a bicycle with my present improvements
applied thereto. Figure 2, Sheet 2, shows, in a section through the steering head,
the chief parts of my brake mechanism, Figure 3 being a detail.
Referring to Figure 2, A shows the head tube of a bicycle, B the fork stem rising
from the crown C, D the handle bar stem fitting inside B. Through the fork crown C
works the brake plunger rod E, its lower end F being suitably shaped to prevent its
turning in the said crown. This rod E carries the brake spoon 1¹ or equivalent at its
lower end and is screw threaded from its upper end downwards for about one third
of its length as shown at G, and on this threaded portion work two adjusting nuts H
and I. Between the lower nut I and the top of the fork crown C, I may provide a
spiral spring J, enclosing rod E, while the upper nut H fits into one end of a hollow
cylinder K (shown more clearly in Figure 3) which works freely within the handle
bar stem D. The top of the stem D) carries a forwardly extending hollow portion or
chamber L, in which is rigidly fixed the handle bar tube M (see Figure 1). Inside M
works another tube or shaft N, provided at the middle of its length with a finger or
pin which may be placed in position by first introducing the shaft N within the
tube, M and then inserting the pin O (shown in section at L') and screwing through
the shaft N, as shown in Figure 2. The ends of the tube N (not shown on the
drawings), may project beyond the ends of the tube M, and may carry T shaped
pieces P and P1 (Figure 1) one or each of which is detachably secured to N, say by

page_text: means of a cotter pin, for the purpose of enabling N to be withdrawn from M when
necessary. The usual handles QQ may be fixed to P P in the ordinary way. I
may fix to the lower part of the front of the crown a small lug R to which may be
pivotted one end of a bell-crank-shaped lever S, and on the front of the brake
spoon II may provide an extension piece T, and may connect the free end of S to
the free end of T by means of a link U. To the knuckle of the lever S may be fixed
a rearwardly extending crescent piece V (Figure 1) to the horns of which may be
secured two short wires for connecting with the wire W, being the medium through
which the rear brake is operated. Instead of providing a crescent piece V for con-
necting with the rear brake, I may employ an equivalent device in the form of a
short rod passing through instead of around the fork crown.
The rear brake may be constructed as follows. Referring to Figure 1; to the
bridge a is fixed a piece b, to the upper end of which is pivotted (at about its middle)
a lever c. The brake shoe d is pivotted to the upper end of c as shown at e, while
connecting the lower ends of the levers b and c may be a spiral or other spring f.
The wire W aforesaid, is also secured to the lower end of c.
The action of my brake is as follows. Upon sufficient downward pressure being
applied to the handles QQ, the shaft N is partly rotated, the projecting end of the
pin or finger O pressing upon the upper end of the cylinder K, which, resting on the
nut H, causes the rod E, (with its brake spoon) to descend. While descending,
the extension piece T exerts a downward pull on the link U, which in turn pulls
the lever S, thus transmitting the motion to the crescent or equivalent device V and
through the wire W to the rear lever c, which being pivotted as above described,
causes the brake shoe d to be applied to the rear tyre.
I am thus enabled to apply the brake to both wheels at the same time and by the
one operation of pressing down one or both of the handles Q Q. This double brake
increases the factor of safety, but my invention may nevertheless be employed for a
front wheel or a rear wheel brake alone.
The spiral or other springs J and f, are for the purpose of returning the brake
mechanism to its normal position upon the pressure on the handles QQ being
released. The hollow cylinder K is provided for adjustment, when it is desired to
raise or lower the handle bar. For instance, supposing it is desired to raise the
handle bar a certain distance, then the nut H would be run up the screwed portion G
a corresponding distance, the cylinder K being used as a turn-key, the object being
to have the top of K always in contact with O. Similarly the nut I can be
occasionally adjusted for altering the pressure on the spring J.
In order to remove or place in position my improved brake mechanism, it is
necessary to remove the two nuts H and I and the spring J, and to disconnect the
bell crank lever, when the rod E may (after removal of the wheel) be slid through
the fork crown.
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. The improvements in brakes for velocipedes and like light road vehicles,
consisting of a plunger rod carried within the tube below the handle bar (the head
tube in the case of a bicycle), the lower end of said rod carrying the brake spoon or
equivalent, while the upper end bears a short length of tube, entering some distance
into the same, said length of tube being supported upon a nut screwed upon the rod
by means of which it may be adjusted as to height, in combination with a handle bar
containing a shaft said shaft carrying a projecting pin resting upon the short length
of tube before mentioned, for which purpose the handle bar is mounted slightly
forward of its stem, the handles being secured on the ends of the shaft so that upon
being depressed or partially turned the plunger rod may be forced downward and the
brake applied, a suitable return spring being also provided, substantially as herein-
before described,

page_text: 2. The device or mechanism claimed in the preceding claim, in combination with
the rear wheel brake and the means for operating same from the front wheel
substantially as herein before described.
STANLEY, POPPLEWELL & Co.,
61 & 62, Chancery Lane, 7 & 8, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Chartered Patent Agents.