Improvements in Bicycle Supporters.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Sept., 1898
Complate Crocification loft 17th 4900 Accontand
17th Ont
1000
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Bicycle Supporters.
I, HENRY VANDER WEYDE, of 182, Regent Street, London, W., Artist and
Electric Light Photographer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improved means of supporting a bicycle whether when
standing idle, or when the rider is mounted thereon, and the invention has for its
object to provide a simple, light and compact appliance adapted to afford the lateral
support required to maintain the erect position, whether the machine be at rest
or travelling very slowly, and whether it be standing on level ground or a
laterally sloping surface, at the side of a road for instance.
The appliance of my invention comprises a pair of automatically extensible
supporters which, when required for the support of the machine are capable of
being instantaneously projected downwards until they bear upon the ground,
and which at other times are contracted into a very small compass. These
supporters are constructed each of a system of pairs of crossed levers on the
lazy-tongs system, terminating at the lower end in a roller wheel or shoe adapted
to bear upon the ground, the uppermost pair of levers being attached to the
frame of the machine, the one lever by a pivotal, and the other by a sliding
connection. The pivotal connection may conveniently be at or near the spindle
of the driving wheel, and with such pivotal connection is combined a coiled
spring tending to extend the lazytongs system of levers so as to bring the sup-
porter into operative position. The sliding connection of the other lever may
be conveniently made with the back leg of the frame, and with this sliding con-
nection there is combined a pawl and ratchet rack gear whereby the lazytongs
system is maintained in the extended position and prevented from collapsing
under the weight that may come upon it when it bears on the ground.
The lazytongs supporters are independent of each other as regards their amount
of extension, but they are brought into and out of action simultaneously by
means of cord or other connections attached to the detent pawls, so as either
to permit them to slip over the racks and become engaged therewith in order
to retain the supporters in their extended position, or when so extended to dis-
engage the pawls from the racks and by overcoming the operative springs, con-
tract and raise the supporters. For this purpose the said connections are united
to a single cord wound on a barrel capable of turning as a collar loose upon a
sleeve, to which one of the steering handles is attached, and which sleeve is
fitted to turn upon an inner tube fast upon the end of the handle-bar.
cord barrel is engaged by ratchet teeth with the corresponding teeth of a clutch
collar capable of sliding upon but turning with the sleeve, the two parts of the
clutch being held in engagement by a spring and a thumb lever or other device
being provided for disengaging them, so that by turning the handle upon the
handle bar the cord will be wound upon the barrel and be so maintained by a
retaining pawl and ratchet in connection with the sliding member of the clutch,
The

page_text: whilst by disengaging the two members of the clutch the barrel is free to revolve
to permit the cord to unwind and the supporters to come instantaneously into
action.
I do not however limit myself to this particular mechanism for controlling
improvements in Bicycle Supporters.
I, HENRY VANDER WEYDE, of 182, Regent Street, London, W., Artist and
Electric Light Photographer, 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 improved means of supporting a bicycle when standing
idle and the invention has for its object to provide a simple, light, and compact
appliance capable of automatically assuming the operative position for the pur-
pose of maintaining the machine in the erect position whether it be standing
on level ground or on a laterally sloping surface (at the side of a road for
instance) to which the appliance is self-adjusting.
The appliance of my invention comprises a pair of extensible supporters capable
of being normally contracted into a very small compass and of being instan-
taneously projected downwards until they bear upon the ground, these supporters
being constructed each of a system of crossed levers on the lazy-tongs principle,
the uppermost pair of levers being attached to the frame of the machine, the
one lever by pivotal and the other by a sliding connection, there being combined
therewith a coiled spring tending to extend the lazy-tongs system of levers and
a pawl and rack whereby the supporter is prevented from collapsing under the
weight that may come upon it when it bears on the ground. The lazy-tongs
supporters are independent as regards their relative amount of extension but
they are brought into and out of action simultaneously by means of cord or
other connections which either permit the detent pawls to slip over and engage
with the racks so as to maintain the supporters in the position to which they
are extended by their springs, or which disengage the pawls from the racks and
by overcoming the springs, contract and raise the supporters.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this
specification wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation and Figure 2 a partial rear
elevation of the supporters as applied to a bicycle, and Figure 3 is a side view
of one of the supporters on a larger scale.
The extensible supporter A constructed of pairs of crossed levers in the manner
of lazy-tongs, has the upper pair of levers pivoted the one A' at a fixed point a
and the other A² to a point 6 on a sliding carriage B fitted to work along a rack
bar C fixed below the compression stay D of the machine frame. For this purpose
the one end of the bar C may be attached to a clip e embracing the stay D and
the other end to a plate or washer e¹ secured by the nut on the spindle of the
driving wheel of the machine, these attachments to the frame being so set as
to give the supporter when extended such an outward inclination (about 30°
from the longitudinal vertical plane of the machine) as to ensure the necessary
breadth of supporting base. The under side of the bar C has ratchet teeth c
with which a pawl mounted on the sliding carriage B is adapted to engage,

page_text: the direction of the teeth and pawl being such as to oppose the movement of
the carriage B in the direction away from the other pivot a. The pawl is in
articulated engagement with an operating lever Falso pivoted on the carriage B
and terminating in an eye at right angles to its length, forming a guide for
the operating cord G. This cord is attached to an eye at the extremity of au
arm A³ fast with the lazy-tongs lever A¹ or its pivot so that when drawn upon,
said lever will be moved about its pivot in direction for contracting the lazy-
tongs system. The cord G also passes through a fixed guide eye h and is knotted
at g so as when pulled to act on the lever F in such manner as to cause the
pawl to be disengaged from the rack teeth and draw the carriage along the rack
bar. This movement initiated by the knot g acting on the lever F is continued
by the pull of the cord acting on the arm A³ with the effect of causing the eye
of the fever F to move faster than, and away from, the knot g the pawl being
all the time held out of engagement with the rack owing to the inclination of
the cord G up which the lever runs until the lazy-tongs system is contracted
to the utmost extent. This movement is opposed by a spring i made fast at
one end to the lever A2 and coiled about a barrel I fast with the other lever A¹
the barrel being axially coincident with the common pivot of the two levers,
so that as the lazy-tongs is contracted the tension of said spring is increased in
readiness to produce the extension movement of the lazy-tongs immediately it
is permitted to come into action. This is normally prevented by the tension of
the cord G which is applied and maintained by the following means:—The
cords G of the two lazy-tongs supporters at opposite sides of the machine are
connected to the opposite ends of a U-shaped yoke J to the bow portion of which
is attached a single cord K that passes around a guide pulley k in rear of the
bottom bracket and up behind the down tube M of the machine frame, the other
end of the cord being connected to a swivelling eye pivoted to a lever L which
is itself pivoted at 1 to a clamp embracing the tube M, the lever L being bent
or cranked so that when swung upon its pivot to the position indicated in dotted
lines (in which the lever comes against a stop 2) the swivelling eye will have
been raised from below the pivotal centre of the lever to a point above it,
thereby drawing on the cord and will also have been carried past the vertical
passing through said centre so that the lever will be maintained in the raised
position by the tension of the cord. When the lever is turned down, the cord
is slackened and the lazy-tongs supporters are immediately extended by the
action of their springs until shoes N at their lower ends meet the ground at
either side of the machine and this whether the ground at the two sides be at
the same level or not. In this movement the carriages B slide along the rack
bars Cover the teeth of which the pawls slip until on the supporters coming
in contact with the ground the cords G are so slackened that the pawls are per-
mitted to engage with the teeth and so prevent the supporters yielding under
any pressure that may come upon them.
In order to enable the shoe N to accommodate itself to the variable slope of
the ground, or the variable degree of extension of the supporter, and to prevent
slipping on smooth ground or sinking in soft ground, it is made in the form
of a cupped disc with serrated edges and is connected loosely to a pivot down-
wardly projecting from the extremity of the lowermost members of the lazy-
tongs.
Having how particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
1. A bicycle supporter consisting of a system of lazy-tongs levers in com-
bination with means of extending and contracting them and of locking the
supporter in the extended position substantially as specified.
2. A bicycle supporter consisting of a system of lazy-tongs levers in com-
bination with a rack bar the one lever of the uppermost pair being pivoted at

page_text: a fixed point and the other to a carriage sliding on the bar and carrying a pawl
adapted to engage the rack teeth for the purpose of maintaining the lazy-tongs
in the extended position substantially as specified.
3. A bicycle supporter consisting of a system of spring-actuated lazy-tongs
levers pivoted to a fixed point and to a carriage sliding along a rack bar and
carrying a pawl for engagement with the rack, the lever pivoted to a fixed point
being provided with an arm for imparting angular motion to said lever about
its pivot, and a cord connected to said arm and adapted to act on a lever in
connection with the pawl so as when pulled to first release the pawl and then
impart motion to the lazy-tongs in the direction for effecting their contraction
substantially as specified.
4. A bicycle supporter consisting of two systems of spring-actuated lazy-tongs
levers and locking mechanisms constructed and applied to operate at opposite sides
of the machine as described in combination with cords for releasing the locking
mechanisms and imparting motion to the lazy-tongs in the direction of their
contraction, the cords connected to the two mechanisms being acted on conjointly
by a single cord, as described.
Dated this 17th day of July 1899.
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.