Portable masts, pars, and sa
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Apr., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 24th Jan., 1900-Accepted, 3rd Mar.,
1900
Portable masts, pars, and sa
ROBERT FREDERICK HUGHES, of 16, Westmoreland Street, Marylebone, in the
County of London, Inventor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:
-
Inasmuch as sails can only be of occasional use on velocipedes, it is necessary
that the fittings, including the masts spars and sails, should be detachable, and
they should be so contrived as to be easily packed away on the velocipede. In
I construct
ny present invention I attain these objects by the following means.
the masts and spars of tapering tube, and each mast or spar may be made of
several pieces, by fitting the wider end of one on the narrower end of another till
the necessary length is attained. When the sails are to be put away they can in
some cases be rolled up inside or outside the mast or spar, or some of the sections,
and the sections, by properly arranging their size and taper, can be put one inside
the other, thus reducing the size of the bundle to be fastened to the machine.
Or, the spar that is least in the way may be used in situ, to contain or otherwise
For many cases it is con-
support the remainder of the rigging when not in use.
venient to have a mast which rises behind the cyclist, and has a spar rigidly
attached to the mast, and projecting backwards and downwards. The mast is in
the way when in situ, and it is almost impossible to carry the mast and spar, as
fitting which,
a whole, in any other way on a velocipede. In such a case I use a
in addition to means by which it can be secured to the velocipede, is provided with
short stems of the proper taper and width, and set at the proper angle, to receive,
When the mast
one the end of a taper tubular mast, and the other that of a spar.
and spar are not in use for sailing, the mast sail and spar can be taken off the
stems, leaving the remainder of the fittings attached in situ. The mast, spar and
sail can be packed on the machine, or the sail or mast or both can be packed in
or on the spar, and the latter fastened on its stem in its normal position, where it
is not much in the way, and where it is useful to extend and partly support a
light mudguard for the hind wheel (of a bicycle). Taking, for example, the case
of a bicycle, the fitting mentioned can have (1) a forward horizontal tube to be
thrust into and hold to the horizontal tube of the saddle support; (2) a downward
tube to pass between and be secured to the upper back forks; and (3) the before-
In some
mentioned stems, forming attachments for the mast and rigid spar.
cases I pass a cord along the inside of the spar and horizontal tube of the saddle-
support, to the after end of which cord the sheet of the sail may be made fast.
The forward end of the cord being made fast near the saddle peak the rider can
alter the set of the sail as occasion arises, by tightening or slackening the cord.
In order that the taper sections shall be stowable one within the other, it is
necessary that they be clear of hooks or other projections; and in order that the
sails shall roll up into small compass they should be free from hooks or other
rigid attachments. I furnish the corners of my sails with plain or eyeletted
holes or eyes, and I attach these corners to the top or bottom of the mast, and to

page_text: the ends of any tubular boom or sprit that may be required, by means of modified
Shooks, one branch of which is passed through the eye in the sail, and the other
branch hooked into the open end of the tubular support or stiffener. It is often
convenient to use, instead of one such hook, two, connected by a cord, by which
the distance between them may be varied at pleasure. The forward edge of the
sail can have a pocket to be passed down over the mast, or one or more tape loops
for the same purpose. It is evident that such a sail made of thin silk, even with
eyeletted holes and a small boom, would roll up into a small cylindrical or conical
bundle, while the hooks would go into the rider's pocket or pouch. It is clear
that the system of spreading a sail by hooks taking into the ends of open tubes
is applicable to masts, spars, booms and sprits of bamboo or other hollow cane,
and further that the hook at the lower forward corner of the sail can be tied to
the mast in such a way that a knot intervenes, and allows sufficient play for the
boom, while preventing rattling against the mast. The booms or sprits whether
in pockets or not are easily removed for packing, or when the sail is to be washed.
The sheet of a fore and aft sail rising behind the rider on a velocipede, can be
brought forward so as to be within the rider's reach, or it can be adjusted once
for all, and tied to the spar, if any, to a mudguard, or any other suitable part
of the machine, since the sail of a velocipede must be nearly always close hauled.
Dated this 24th day of April 1899.
rortable masts, Spars, and Sails for Velocipedes and the like.
I, ROBERT FREDERICK HUGHES, of 16, Westmoreland Street, Marylebone, in the
County of London, Inventor, 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:-
Taking the sprit sail shown in Figure 1 as an example, I provide the corners a,
b, c and d, with eyes or eyelets, and the boom e, sprit f, and mast g, are tubular.
At each corner I use a hook of the form shown in plan in Figure 2, and in eleva-
tion in Figure 3. The part k is passed through the eyelet, and the part is
passed longitudinally into the end of the boom, sprit, or mast, where it is kept
by the tension of the sail. The hook at c is drawn down and tied in position,
after the hook at d is inserted. The hook at engages in a loop attached to the
mast, care being taken that the sprit is long enough to always maintain a tension
in the sail. The mast may be protected from chafing where the ends of the boom
and sprit abut against it. If a cord is tied in the bend of the hook at c, and a
ng knot or knots formed before tying the cord round the mast, the boom will
have sufficient play. The sail can be provided with loops or pockets to embrace
the boom, sprit, or mast, if this is preferred. It will be seen that the eyelets and
hooks are a general means by which a cycle sail can be attached to a tubular
boom, stiffener, sprit, gaff, or mast, of proper length, whatever be the kind of sail
preferred, and that solid spars may be used if the ends are drilled longitudinally
to take the limbs of the hooks. Moreover the hooks hold firmly, and their
ends are inturned. Also, when a smaller Fail is preferred, the same spars may be
made to suit, by using one hook to pass through the eyelet, and another to hook
into the spar, the two hooks being drawn towards one another by a cord, which
can also be tied, for support, round the spar near the first mentioned hook.
The piece is the part of the fittings by which they are fastened to the bicycle.
It has a forward stem to be thrust into the horizontal tube of the saddle support

page_text: from behind, which the stem
tightly fits. It has also the downward stem 2³,
which passes between the upper back forks, and is tied on either side to them.
In addition it has the stems and i, upon which the mast section 9, and the
spar j, (to which latter the sheet is made fast) are tightly fastened when sail is
to be spread. But when the sail is not required, the mast section g can be taken
down and stowed out of the rider's way on the machine, together with the boom e,
and the sprit f, which may also be in sections. The spar may in some cases be
used in situ, where it is not in the rider's way, to hold the dismounted mast
section I, boom e, (with or without the sail rolled round it), and sprit f, or some
of them; for it is evident that by properly choosing the taper, thickness and
length, of the sections, these can be made to pass one within the other, and that
a thin sail rolled upon its boom, (the hooks having been removed), can be made
to pass within one of the sections. As an alternative, the sail can be folded up
and carried, like the hooks, in the pocket or the pouch. Another use for the
spar 1, when in situ, is to give partial support to a temporary mudguard. The
mudguard is held and spread by clips which have on their upper part grips which
fit the tapered spar j, each at the part where it is required to be, and which grip
the spar by friction, when they are pushed to those points on the tapered spar,
from the narrow end. In the case of the spar j it is specially advisable to secure
the joint at by a lynch pin, or other means, to prevent detachment by shaking.
It is evident that if the mast is secured to the bicycle in other ways, and if other
kinds of sail are used, the methods of using portable detachable hooks, and mast
and spars in detachable sections stowable one within the other, can be applied to
them. To enable the rider to adjust the sail from the saddle, the sheet should be
brought through j and i¹, as shown in Figure 1, and secured in a suitable manner
within his reach.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. In a cycle sail the hooks in immediate connection with sail, mast and spars,
substantially as described.
2. In sail supports for a velocipede the mast and spars in tapered tubular
detachable sections.
3. In sail supports for a velocipede the mast and spars in tapered tubular
detachable sections stowable one within the other, with or without the sail
included.
4. In sail supports for a velocipede a fitting having a forward stem to be held
in the saddle support, a downward stem to be secured to the back forks, or else-
where, and other stems on which a mast and a spar respectively can be secured.
5. In sail supports for a velocipede a fitting secured to the machine behind the
diagonal, and having stems on which the mast and spar can be secured, substan-
tially as described.
6. In connection with the fitting claimed in Claim a spar passing backward
and downward, and affording partial support for a bicycle backwheel mudguard.
7. In connection with the spar claimed in Claim 6 clips which jam on the spar
above and hold the mudguard below.
8. In connection with the spar claimed in Claim 6 a working sheet for the sail,
such sheet passing along the spar and out through the saddle pin forwards to a
fastening within each of the rider of the velocipede.
1
T
1000
ROBERT FREDERICK HUGHES.