Improvements in Bicycle Saddles.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 17th July, 1896-Accepted, 22nd Aug., 1896
.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Bicycle Saddles.
I, EDGAR BEAUMONT JARVIS, of corner Jordan and Melinda Streets, of the
City of Toronto, in the County of York, in the Province of Ontario, Canada,
Architect, 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 improvements in bicycle saddles and the object of the
invention is to design a saddle in which the rider will be securely and comfortably
retained on his seat and yet will be flexible enough to allow of it following the
motion of the body sufficiently, so as to entirely relieve any friction, rubbing or
pressure being exerted upon the sensitive portions, which is so commonly incident
to saddles at present in use and it consists essentially of a saddle, which is provided
with a central depression extending from rear to front, which is formed with a
depressed truncated horn, and of side ridges to such depression extending
considerably above it and the truncated horn, the laterally extending portions of
the saddle being downwardly concaved from the ridges to the outer edges to fit the
buttocks and raised at the back to conform to the shape of the back portion of
such buttocks, the saddle being supported on the saddle bar beneath the central
depression by a peculiarly formed universal joint and supporting spring surrounding
the same, the socket of the joint being suitably secured to the bar as hereinafter
more particularly explained.
Fig. 1, is a perspective view of my saddle.
Fig. 2, is a longitudinal sectional perspective view showing the manner in which
the saddle is supported upon the saddle bar.
Fig. 3, is a cross section through the saddle and universal joint support.
In the drawings like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each
figure.
Heretofore in saddles at present in use there has been much injury caused to the
rider by the concussion, friction or pressure upon the sensitive portions of the body.
This to a great extent was caused by the saddle being provided with a raised ridge
throughout the centre and especially towards the front, which was formed in a long
horn, which was convex and had a great tendency to seriously and injuriously affect
the tender portions of the body.
It is with the intention of getting rid of this horn, produce a seat, which will
conform to the buttocks, provide free ventilation between the buttocks maintain
the parts likely to be injuriously affected entirely clear from any danger of contact
and allow of a limited freedom of movement of the body without friction, or
pressure that my invention is chiefly designed.
The saddle may be made of wood or metal, papier-mache pulp or any other
suitable material, so as to form a solid seat without any supplemental cushion
except what may be formed by covering it with leather or any other suitable
yielding or flexible material, which must be made to conform with the shape.
I shall now describe the construction of the saddle and the manner in which it
is supported on the saddle bar. A is a central depression or channel, which
extends from the rear to the front where a depressed truncated projection or
horn A is formed with a downwardly curved front end similar to the head of a
violin. A are ridges forming the sides of the depression A and curved from

page_text: front to rear to conform to the inner curve of the buttocks next the pelvis. The
front portions a of the ridges A, are slightly higher than' the major portion of
the ridges and the back of the saddle a¹ is substantially on a level with the ridges
except at the outer end a³, which is curved downwardly and forwardly. From the
ridges the laterally extending portions A³ are concaved or merged gradually
downwardly from the ridge into a concavo-depression, which has a slight rise
at the outer side, so that it will conform to the shape of the buttocks. The
saddle is then brought with a nicely rounded curve a to the bottom edge, which
will not form any ridge which will have a tendency to make it uncomfortable
under the thigh. The saddle is in reality formed from an imprint in clay taken from
the buttocks and pelvis.
B is a plate, which extends from side to side of the saddle near the rear end
thereof and is secured in position by screws b. The plate B may be a spring plate
and have the central portion at any desired distance from the central portion of
the saddle but I prefer making it a plate which lies flat against the bottom of the
saddle, which it will be noticed is flat from side to side at this point.
C is a washer, which is situated beneath the plate B and provided with a central
hole c.
D is a bolt, which has a ball-shaped end d with a shoulder d', which is
designed to abutt the washer C. The bolt D extends through a slot in the
plate B into a longitudinal slot A' made in the central depression or chaunel A of
the saddle. The bolt D has a flattened side d², which abutts corresponding flat
sides of the slot and hole c, so as to prevent the bolt from turning. D' is a nut,
which is screwed on to the top of the bolt, so as to hold the shoulder d' against the
washer C. The bolt D¹ may be of course gotten at by a key through the slot A³,
so as to loosen the nut and move the saddle longitudinally upon the washer C to
procure the proper position suitable to the rider.
E is a plate provided with a socket e into which the ball d of the bolt D fits.
The plate E is formed of suitable material preferably malleable cast iron so that
the socket may be bent around the ball to retain the ball and socket together.
The plate E is also circular.
F is a metal strap and G the saddle bar around which the strap F fits, such
strap being provided with laterally extending off-sets f. el are bolts, which are
preferably cast or otherwise have their heads securely fastened in the plate E.
The bolts el extend through holes f¹ in the off-sets and the strap is secured
tightly to the bar, so as to prevent the saddle from turning, by such bolts and the
nuts f³.
It will of course be seen that the bolts may be long enough to accommodate
different sizes of saddle bars G. It will also be seen that I preferably provide
downwardly extending projections e from the plate E, so as to form a more secure
grip upon the post E.
Although I describe the strap F with bolts f as the means for securing the
socket plate E to the bar G it will of course be understood that any other suitable
means might be employed, such as making the plate E solid with a longitudinal
hole for the saddle bar in it and securing such plate to the saddle bar by means
of a set screw extending through any suitable portion of the casting thus formed.
care teats formed in a circle beneath the plate C. are upwardly extending
teats formed in a circle on the top of the plate E directly underneath the teats c
is a teat extending from the washer into the plate B. These teats serve to
ensure the saddle always assuming its proper position, thus obviating any friction
on the leg which would otherwise occur.
His a cylindrical cushion spring made of rubber or other suitable material of
like quality, which is provided with holes at the top and bottom into which the
teats and 3 respectively fit, so as to retain the cylindrical cushion spring in
position, that is to prevent of its lateral displacement. Of course the spring H
might be made a spiral spring and securely retained in position by any suitable
means such as extending the ends of the spring through the washer and socket
plate.

page_text: By a saddle such as I describe it will be seen that the ridges A2 taken in
conjunction with a downwardly curved concavo-depression serve to maintain the
rider securely on his scat from lateral displacement, and the raised portion A³ of
the ridges A taken in connection with the raised portion 'A' at the rear serve to
retain the rider from forward or rearward displacement, the buttocks being snugly
ensconced in the concavo-depressions in the lateral extensions A³. Complete
ventilation is afforded by the depression or channel A while the tender parts are
entirely free from any contact on account of the depressed horn A¹. The body
being practically one with the saddle on account of its peculiar formation is
permitted of a limited movement as the rider operates the pedals on account of
the universal joint with the spring support surrounding the same, which I find
in practice makes the saddle much more comfortable than those at present
in use.
Although I describe the ball part of the joint as connected to the saddle and the.
socket portion connected to the saddle bar it will of course be understood that these
might be reversed without departing from the spirit of my invention.
An important advantage which cannot be over estimated in the construction of
my saddle is the fact of the peculiarly formed depressed downwardly curved
truncated horn A. It will be seen from the construction of this horn as herein-
before described taken in connection with the resiliency given to the saddle by
ineans of the spring surrounding the joint that a rider should an accident occur can
readily slip off the horn and front, which will of course give and thereby serve to
prevent such rider being injured.
Another advantage also rises from the construction of my saddle as it will be
seen that the centre of gravity of the rider will always be in the same relative
position in reference to the centre bearing of the joint, the saddle having a circular
oscillating movement in any direction to which motion is imparted to it by the
motion of the body or any movement the machine may take over uneven ground.
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 bicycle saddle having a solid top provided with a central longitudinal
depression or channel and depressed downwardly curved truncated horn, side ridgeş
for such depression and laterally extending portions provided with concavo-
depressions conforming to the shape of the buttocks as and for the purpose
specified.
2. A bicycle saddle having a solid top provided with a central longitudinal
depression or channel and depressed downwardly curved truncated horn, side
ridges for such depression, laterally extending portions provided with concavo-
depressions conforming to the shape of the buttocks, a raised front portion to the
ridges and a raised portion at the rear of the concavo-depression as and for the
purpose specified.
3. In combination with a bicycle saddle having a solid top provided with a
central longitudinal depression or channel and depressed downwardly curved
truncated horn, side ridges for such depression, laterally extending portions
provided with concavo-depressions conforming to the shape of the buttocks and a
universal joint connection between the saddle and the saddle bar and a cylindrical
spring surrounding such joint connection and suitably supported as aud for the
purpose specified.
4. The combination with the saddle and saddle-bar, of a universal joint connection
between the saddle and bar and a spring surrounding such universal joint and
suitable supports for such spring upon the saddle and saddle bar respectively as
and for the purpose specified.
5. In combination the saddle, the plate extending across the bottom of the
same, the washer situated underneath the plate, the ball portion of the joint
connected to the washer and plate, the circular socket plate, means for connecting.

page_text: it to the saddle bar and a cylindrical rubber spring surrounding the joint and
means for retaining such spring in position as and for the purpose specified.
6. In combination. the saddle, the plate extending across the bottom of the
same, the washer situated underneath the plate, the ball portion of the joint
connected to the washer and plate, the circular socket plate, means for connecting
it to the saddle bar, and a cylindrical rubber spring surrounding the joint and
teats in the washer and socket plate extending into holes in the top and bottom
respectively of the rubber spring as and for the purpose specified.
7. In combination the saddle, the cross plate secured underneath the same, the
longitudinal slot extending through the saddle, the longitudinal slot in the plate,
the washer, the bolt extending through the washer and slots in the plate and
saddle, the nut screwed on to the top of the bolt, the ball at the bottom, the
socket plate, means for securing it to the saddle bar and the spring surrounding
the joint as and for the purpose specified.
8. In combination the saddle, the plate extending across the bottom of the
same, the washer situated beneath the plate, the teat extending from such washer
into the plate, the ball portion of the joint connected to the washer and plate,
the circular socket plate, means for connecting it to the saddle bar and a suitable
spring surrounding the joint and means for retaining the spring in position as
and for the purpose specified.
9. The combination with the saddle and saddle bar, of a universal joint connection
between the saddle and har and resilient means between the saddle and bar for
maintaining such saddle normally in its proper position as and for the purpose
specified.
2000
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.