Improved Means or Appliances for Supporting and Holding Cycles in Vehicles or other Places.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Mar., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 5th Nov., 1898- Accepted, 28th Jan., 1899
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means or Appliances for Supporting and Holding Cycles in
Vehicles or other Places.
I, HENRY ALFRED IVATT, of Regent Square, Doncaster, in the County of York,
Locomotive Superintendent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:
The object of my invention is to provide simple economical and efficient means
for supporting and holding cycles, as for example in vehicles such as railway
or other vans or in ships for transport and in rooms such as cloak rooms or
store rooms for storage.
For this purpose near a wall or equivalent I fix by brackets or otherwise a
horizontal bar or tube (hereinafter called a bar) so as to leave a small space between
the bar and the wall. On this bar I place devices such as I will now describe
for supporting the wheel or wheels of one end of a cycle. I will assume, for
brevity, that the machine to be carried or stored is a bicycle, and that the rear
wheel is to be supported by a device carried by the bar above mentioned. Such
a device as seen in side view is of approximately | shape, the horizontal portion of
the being shorter than the vertical part. The device in one form resembles
two shaped rods (or they may be tubes) connected by a cross connection at
or near the upper end of the vertical part of the Land by a second cross connection
at some distance from the end; these cross connections being adapted to form
supports for the cycle wheel, which rests upon them so that then the vertical parts
of the L shaped rods (which in use occupy a horizontal position) are located one
at each side of the wheel in the plane of the chord of an arc formed by the lower
part of the wheel. The horizontal part of each L shaped rod (which at such
time is in a vertical position or approximately so) terminates in a hook that points
towards the vertical part of the L. These hooks are adapted to rest upon the fixed
horizontal bar when the device is out of use at which times it will be hanging
with the vertical part of the L downward at such an angle to the vertical that the
end thereof corresponding to the top of the L will (or may) rest against the
wall. In this attitude the device will extend but a short distance from the wall
and thus will not interfere seriously with the use of the van or room for purposes
other than the carriage or storage of cycles. When the device is in use its
attitude is (as already indicated) such that the horizontal part of the L is vertical
or nearly so and is between the wall and the fixed bar, against both of which it
bears, the other part of the L then occupies a horizontal or approximately
horizontal position, so that it can support the wheel. Such a device may be
formed of iron or steel bar or tube or otherwise, the precise shape depending upon
requirement.
To support the other end of a cycle I provide an arrangement as follows:-
Parallel to the first mentioned fixed bar, but at some distance from it and higher
up, (for example, just under the roof in the case of a van) I fix a second similar

page_text: bar or tube (hereinafter called a bar) on which I hook one end of a suspender
made with hooks at both its ends, the hooks at one end having (by preference)
a reverse direction to those at the other. In side view the suspender may be of
S shape or approximately so. It is designed to hook at its upper end as already
indicated on to the fixed bar, and at its lower end to receive and support the handle
bar of the cycle to be carried or stored. It is convenient to make these suspenders
reversible. In such cases each end resembles a bifurcated hook, or a connected
couple of hooks with sufficient room between them for the passage of the steering
post or part that carries the steering handle of the cycle.
It is advantageous to make the suspenders of two lengths and to arrange them
alternately on their bar so that the steering handle of a cycle may clear those of
other cycles placed next to it.
Devices such as I have hereinabove described may be variously constructed;
they may be cast, stamped, or pressed to shape or constructed of parts suitably
fastened together.
The ends of the hooks and the cross pieces on the L shape rods may be covered
with leather, india rubber or other material to prevent injury to cycles.
It will be understood that the supports and suspenders can be slidden along
their respective bars thus affording access to attendants besides admitting of
ready adjustment of position to suit requirements.
Improved Means or Appliances for Supporting and Holding Cycles in
Vehicles or other Places.
I, HENRY ALFRED IVATT, of Regent Square, Doncaster, in the County of York
Locomotive Engineer, 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:---
The object of my invention is to provide simple, economical and efficient means
for supporting and holding cycles, as, for example, in vehicles such as railway
or other vans, or in ships for transport, and in rooms, such as cloak-rooms or
store-rooms for storage.
For this purpose I provide appliances as I shall now proceed to describe with
reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings wherein Figs. 1 and 2 are
sections taken at right angles to each other of a van body or room embodying my
improved appliances and Figs. 3 and 4 are perspective views respectively of a
wheel support and a handle bar suspender.
Figs. 5 and 6 are perspective views showing modified forms of wheel supports.
Very near and parallel to a wall 1 or equivalent (hereinafter called the abut-
ment) I fix by any convenient means, such as by a bracket 2 and
sockets 2", or otherwise, a horizontal bar 3 SO as to leave a Small
space between the bar 3 and the abutment 1. On the bar 3 I place a series
of wheel supports A such as I will now describe, each for supporting a cycle wheel,
so that in case a tricycle is to be carried, two such supports may be used for it.
In the illustration, however, I indicate bicycles as the machines being carried
or stored, and I show the rear wheels 4 on my wheel supports A and the front ends
suspended by suspenders B.
Referring to Fig. 3, the wheel support, as seen in side view is of approximately

page_text: Lshape. In the example it resembles two L shaped solid or tubular rods 5-6
connected by a curved cross connection 7 at or near the ends of their longer limbs 5
and by a second cross connection 8 at some distance from said ends; these cross
connections are adapted to support a cycle wheel 4, which will rest upon them
when the limbs 5 are in the horizontal or approximately horizontal attitude
(see Fig. 1) and then there will be one of said limbs at each side of the wheel.
The supports are retained in position for use by means of the limbs 6 bearing
at 1 against the abutment 1 and at 3° against the bar 3. Each limb 6 terminates
in a hook 9. These hooks are adapted to rest upon the fixed horizontal bar 3
when the device is out of use, at which times it will be hanging with the limbs 5
downward and out of the way as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1. In this
attitude the support A will not interfere seriously with the use of the van or
room for purposes other than the carriage or storage of cycles.
My supports may be formed of iron or steel bar or tube or otherwise the precise
shape depending upon requirement. The whole of a support A might be made
integral of plate cut and pressed to shape or of cast metal. The space between
the limbs 6 and even between those portions of the limbs 5 extending from the
connecting part 8 to the elbow or bend might be filled up with metal integral with
the limbs; thus the one end of the wheel support would represent a single broad
structure terminating in a single broad hook of a more or less flat cross sectional
form as shown in Fig. 5. One limb 5, or part of one limb might be omitted as
shown in Fig. 6, and the ends 9 of the limbs may be connected by a cross 9"
shown also in Fig. 6.
11 is a solid or tubular bar fixed parallel to the bar 3, but at some distance from
it and higher up (for example, in the case of a van, just under the roof 10 Figs. 1
and 2). On this higher bar 11 are arranged a suitable number of suspenders B
each adapted to support a cycle handle bar. Such a suspender B is (as represented
in Fig. 4) made with hooks 13 at both its ends, the hooks at one end having (by
preference and as shown) a reverse direction to those at the other, although both
might have the same direction. Between the two hooks 13 at both ends or, it
may be, only at the end which, in use, receives the handle bar 14 of the cycle
to be carried or stored, there is a gap or space 13ª so that the device there resembles
a bifurcated hook, or a connected couple of hooks with sufficient room between
them for the passage of the steering post 15 or part that carries the steering handle
of the cycle.
It is advantageous to make the suspenders B'of two lengths, and to arrange them
alternately on their bar 11 so that (as shown in Fig. 2) the handle-bar 14 of a
bicycle may clear those of other cycles placed next to it.
Suspenders such as I have hereinabove described may be variously constructed;
they may be cast, stamped, or pressed to shape, or constructed of parts suitably
fastened together.
The cross pieces 7 and 8 of the wheel supports and the suspender hooks 13
intended to carry the handle bars of cycles are or may be covered as indicated in
Figs. 3, 4, and 6, with leather, india-rubber, or other suitable material to prevent
injury to the cycles. It will be understood that the wheel supports and suspenders
can be slidden along their respective bars, thus affording access to attendants
besides admitting of ready adjustment of position to suit requirements. In
the right-hand of Fig. 2, three wheel supports A and an equal number of sus-
penders B are shown thus slidden to one side and out of the way.
Although I have only described the supporting and holding of bicycles by my
combination of devices, it is obvious that the same can be used to support and
hold tricycles and quadricycles, two side by side wheels of which would be
supported by iwe of the wheel supports A and the handle bar by one of the suc-
penders B.
When the supporting and holding devices in a van, are all occupied with evcles
there is, owing to the raised position in which the cycles are suspended, space for
a considerable amount of luggage to be placed on the floor beneath the cycles.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that I do
not claim broadly the use of a lower wheel support adapted to be held in the
operative position by an abutment for supporting one end of a cycle or an over-
head suspender for supporting the other end of the cycle but that what I do claim
is:
-
1. In a cycle supporting and holding arrangement, a wheel support comprising
limbs arranged side by side sufficiently far apart to allow a cycle tyre to be
introduced between them, transverse connecting parts between said limbs adapted
to support a cycle wheel, and, at right angles or thereabout to said limbs, a limb
or limbs adapted to enter between and to be kept vertical or thereabout by a
horizontal bar and an abutment parallel thereto and to then support and hold
the first mentioned limbs in a horizontal attitude or approximately so, and a hook
or hooks at the free end or ends of said secondly mentioned limb or limbs,
adapted, when the device is not in use, to hook on to said horizontal bar, and
to then support the device with the first mentioned limbs hanging down in an
out-of-the-way position as and for the purpose set forth.
2. In a cycle supporting and holding arrangement, wheel supports constructed
as hereinbefore described with reference to and shown in Fig. 3; in Fig. 5;
and in Fig. 6; of the drawings annexed.
3. The hereinabove described improved means or appliances for supporting and
holding cycles in vehicles and other places comprising wheel supports and sus-
penders, transverse bars and abutment, constructed, arranged and operating as
hereinbefore described with reference to and shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive of the
drawings annexed or modified according to Fig. 5, or to Fig. 6; of the drawings
annexed.