Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 13th June, 1898-Accepted, 16th July, 1898
A communication to me from abroad by ARCHIBALD LAIDLAW BAIRD, of Sydney,
in the County of Cumberland, in the Colony of New South Wales.
I, PHILIP MIDDLETON JUSTICE, of 55 and 56, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents, 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 been specially devised for the purpose of registering, auto-
matically, the relative positions of the competitors in cycling races, when passing
the winning post.
The essential feature of the invention consists in marking the tyres of the
wheels of the cycling machines, in such a manner as to afford indisputable proof
as to the relative positions of the placed men, when passing the winning post.
This is effected by enclosing within a trench that crosses the racing track a number
of bars or rods which, while the last lap is being negociated by the racers, may
be raised slightly above the level of the of the track so as to cause a slight obstacle
to the passing of the wheels. In effect, this obstacle would amount to nothing
more than would be produced by a lath lying on the surface of the track.
The several rods lie closely behind one another and are suspended at each
end by sensitive appliances, such that when the tyre strikes the nest of rods, one
rod shall be caused to fall below the upper level of the trench. Thus assuming
that there were three rods in the nest, the first wheel that passed the winning
post would pass over and touch all three rods, causing one rod to instantly fall
and disappear. The second wheel would then only touch two rods, and the third
wheel but one.
In order that the positions of the competitors may be marked upon the tyres
of their cycles, the rods should be coated with some preparation, such as wet
paint or enamel, and thus the tyres will bear marks inversely to the position
occupied by the competitor. For instance, where four rods were engaged, the
first wheel to cross would have four marks on its tyre, the second wheel would
have three marks, the third wheel would have two marks and the fourth wheel
would have but one.
In the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a half front and half back elevation of the apparatus, the half of the
figure to the right being the front view and the half of the figure to the left being
the back view.
Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation shewing the appliances for supporting the ends
of the rods and retaining them in position..
Fig. 3 is a sectional plan taken on the line 1-2 of Fig. 1.
In Figs. 2 and 3 the bars or rods for the purpose of clearness of illustration
are shewn wider apart than they would be in actual practice.

page_text: Fig. 4 are detail views shewing the appliance that supports the rods when the
machine is set ready to judge.
Fig. 5 shews a modification.
A A¹ are the side frames of the apparatus that are connected together by the
trench B which will lie transversely across the track. Within the trench B are
placed the marking rods or bars C which when not in use lie loosely within the
trench. When the machine is set to register, the ends of the marking bars are
lifted and laid upon the foot D of the swinging bar D¹. This foot D is at one
end recessed as at d. The marking rods or bars may be round rods such as
are shewn in Fig. 2 that are connected by stiff wires c to the hinged joint c¹, or
these appliances may be constructed of light angle iron that are articulated at
the point c¹ as shewn in Fig. 5.
A retaining rod E that is articulated at the same point e with the swinging
rod D¹ lies closely along-side it and moves with it, being retained in that position
by the clip el. A spring F is provided for the purpose of pulling the swinging
retaining rod E and with it the swinging rod D₁ into contact with the marking
rods C. The retaining rod E has a special function to perform. When the
ends of the rods C are lifted and placed upon the foot D, the spring F will pull
the swing bar D forward until the backmost rod lies immediately over the notch
or recess d through which it would fall were it not that the retaining bar E, by
mere friction, will hold it in the position shewn in Fig. 2.
In actual practice the three rods or bars C would lie so closely together as
almost to touch and would not be widely separated as shewn in Figs. 2 and 3.
The friction that would retain the backmost bar in its position as shewn in
Fig. 2 would be due to the swinging bar E pressing against it.
It will be observed that the backmost bar lies right over the notch or recess d
and is not supported in any way from below, it being maintained in the position
shewn in Fig. 2 solely by the friction of the retaining bar E against it; conse-
quently the slightest touch on the upper side of the bar C will be sufficient to
cause it to drop and this will release the swinging bar D¹ and the retaining
bar E both of which will be pulled forwards with a click by the spring F until
the second bar is over the recess d where, in its turn, it will be retained retained
suspended by the retaining bar E. This operation is repeated until every bar
has fallen.
Although but three rods are shewn in the drawings, it would be necessary to
employ five in order to ensure that the first three machines in the race shall be
marked in their respective places. This is due to the fact that each machine
has two wheels and each wheel as it passes over the apparatus will be marked,
thus the front wheel of the winner would be marked by five rods, and the back
wheel by four rods, providing always, that the axle of the front wheel of the
second bicycle was in the rear of the axle of the back wheel of the first bicycle,
and so on with all the wheels in turn as they pass over the apparatus.
The actual marking is effected by wet paint or enamel with which the upper
edges of the bars or rods should be coated.
The invention is not confined exclusively to the apparatus described herein
and as illustrated in the drawings, as the means adopted to ensure the proper
marking of the tyres may be very greatly varied.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed as communicated to me
from abroad by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is:-
1. An automatic judge for registering the relative positions of cyclists at
the finish of a race, such judge consisting of suitable appliances that are laid in
a trench across the racing track, opposite the winning post, and which appliances
shall mark or number the tyres of the cycling machines in consecutive order as
the wheels cross the trench, as herein specified.

page_text: 2. An automatic judge for registering the relative positions of cyclists at the
finish of a race, consisting of a series or nest of bars laid in a trench, across the
racing track, the said bars being coated with wet paint or enamel, and so dis-
posed and supported as to be struck by the tyres of the cycling machines that
pass over them, the impact of the tyres as they pass over the apparatus in con-
secutive order causing the painted bars to fall out of sight in consecutive order
as they are struck, while at the same time the wet paint or enamel on the elevated
bars shall register marks upon the cycle tyres, as herein set forth.
3. An automatic judge for registering the relative positions of cyclists at the
finish of a race, in combination, a trench across the racing track, a nest of bars
or rods within the trench, two pivoted hangers to support the ends of the bars,
each hanger being provided with a flanged foot, one end of which is notched or
recessed, a retaining bar for holding the rearmost elevated bar, (for the time
being) above the notch or recess in the foot and a spring for governing the move.
ments of the combined hanger and retaining bar, as and for the several purposes
herein specified.
4. The general arrangement, construction and combination of parts in the
automatic judging machine for cycling races as herein specified and for the
several purposes set forth.