Improvements in Saddles, more especially adapted for Velocipedes and the like.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application (in United Kingdom), 22nd June, 1895
Compete Specification Left, 22nd June, 1895-Accepted, 26th Oct., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Saddles, more especially adapted for Velocipedes
and the like.
I, WILLIAM ISAAC BUNKER, Manufacturer and Engineer, of 508 Spring
Avenue, La Grange, Cook County, Illinois, United States of America, 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 particularly to flexible saddles that may be used in connection
with any kind of vehicle, machine, &c., especially to saddles for use in connection
with bicycles; and it is intended to be an improvement upon the saddle shown,
described and claimed in former Letters Patent No. 5653, dated March 22, 1892.
The object of my invention is to provide a simple, economical and efficient
saddle or seat for bicycles, machines, &c.; and the invention cousists in the
features and combinations hereinafter described and claimed.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved saddle attached to the supporting
or binding post of a bicycle;
Fig. 2 a transverse section, taken on line 2 of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 a transverse sectional view of a modification showing the method of
attaching the saddle directly to the supporting or binding post;
Fig. 4 a sectional view of another modification of my improvement;
Fig. 5 a detail view of the supporting or binding post;
Fig. 6 a plan view of the saddle and its base portion looking at the same from
the bottom;
Fig. 7 a detail view of the base portion of the saddle detached from the body
portion;
Fig. 8 shows my improved saddle arranged in a longitudinal manner, illustrated
in connection with a portion of a bicycle frame; and
Fig. 9 shows the saddle illustrated in Fig. 3 and attached to a bicycle frame,
with the means for raising, lowering or adjusting the parts of the saddle.
In making my improved saddle, I make a hollow crescent-shaped body
portion, A, which is preferably formed of an interior elastic portion, a, of any
desired material, and an outer portion, a', preferably formed of leather or of
comparatively inelastic material, so as to hold fluid pressure when desired.
To support the body portion upon the saddle or binding post, B, I provide a base
plate, C, preferably made in two parts somewhat segmental in shape, and provided
with lugs, c, which overlap or rest against each other, and with perforations for the
purpose of attaching them together and to the supporting rod D. The body

page_text: portion is secured to the leather nortion of the seat by means of rivets, c', though
these rivets may be omitted and the leather portion of the seat and supporting
plates sewed, laced or otherwise secured together. The flexible body portion
has its cushioned ends, a³, projecting beyond the comparatively non-flexible or
rigid base to protect the rider from injury in getting in or out of the saddle.
To attach the saddle to the binding post, I provide a clip, E, which is provided
with two holes, e and e', at right angles to each other, and adapted to pass over
the T-shaped portion, b, of the binding post. This clip is provided with an upward
projecting portion or lip, e, which is passed over the supporting rod of the
saddle, and secured directly against the binding post by the action of the set
screw, e³,
As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the saddle is attached to the binding post, so that it
is transverse to the wheel, and the rider may sit in the crescent-shaped portion or
upper surface of the body portion of the saddle, as at a³. When desired, however,
to use the saddle in the ordinary longitudinal position, the clip is released and the
upper portion of the binding post passed through its hole, e', see Fig. 8, thus
securing the saddle in a longitudinal manner and enabling it to be used in the
straddle position.
In order to hold the saddle firmly in its longitudinal position, as shown in Fig. 8,
the lower portion of the supporting rod should be slightly flattened or "spotted,"
so that the same may be more securely held in such position to sustain the weight
of the rider thereon.
In Fig. 8 a portion, D, of a bicycle frame is used, which is provided with a
hollow post, d², and split clamp, d³, to receive the binding post and hold it in any
desired position.
In the modification shown in Fig. 3, I omit the clip and attach the body
portion, G, with the supporting plates, g, directly to the binding post, y', so that
all that is necessary to enable the saddle to be used, either transversely or
longitudinally, is to turn the supporting or binding post in the hollow portion of
the frame and bind or secure it firmly in that position. In Fig. 9, I have shown
this modification secured to a portion of a bicycle frame, G2, having hollow
supporting posts, g², and a split clamp, g, to receive the binding post, gl. By
loosening the bolt or set screw, g', the saddle may be adjusted, either longitudinally
or transversely with the bicycle frame and raise and lower it, so that by retightening
the set screw it may be secured in position.
In the modification shown in Fig. 4, I make the body portion, H, of a somewhat
different shape than is shown in the previous figures. Secured to it, or forming an
integral portion of the supporting plate, h, is a projecting portion, ', and the
leather portion, H', of the body portion is brought forward and secured to the
projection, so as to make flaps, thus forming a larger longitudinal seat for the rider
when the saddle is used in one of its transverse positions.
Some of the advantages of my improved saddle are that it can be easily reversed
or changed from a transverse to a longitudinal saddle or vice versa, to suit different
conditions or requirements in use; that it prevents or minimizes the tendency of the
saddle to chafe the rider in up and down motions; that the crescent-shaped body
portion provides against slipping off sidewise, and thus imparts a feeling of security
to the rider, and that it is simple, cheap and economical in construction and
durable in use.
Although I have described my improvement as applied to a safety bicycle, it will
be understood that I intend to use it in any and all positions to which it may be
applicable; and although I have used the term "saddle" it will be understood that
I use it in a general sense and as meaning a rest, seat or saddle.
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. In a bicycle saddle, the combination of a body portion adapted to be used in

page_text: longitudinal and transverse positions, a supporting or binding post, and means for
securing the saddle to the binding post in its longitudinal or transverse position,
substantially as described.
2. In a saddle, the combination of a body portion adapted to be used in
longitudinal and transverse positions, a clip provided with transverse holes adapted
to support the saddle in either a longitudinal or transverse position, and means for
securing the saddle to the clip, substantially as described.
3. In a saddle, the combination of a body portion crescent-shaped longitudinally
tapered from the center to each end thereof and adapted to be used in longitudinal
and transverse positions, a supporting or binding post, and means for securing
the saddle to the binding post, substantially as described.
4. In a saddle, the combination of a hollow crescent-shaped body portion,
presenting in cross section circles of varying diameter, a supporting post, and
means for securing and sustaining the body portion upon the supporting post,
substantially as described.
5. In a saddle, the combination of a body portion crescent-shaped longitudinally
symmetrically tapered from the center to each end thereof and adapted to be used
in a transverse position a clip provided with transverse and longitudinal holes,
and means for securing the body portion and clip together, substantially as
described.
6. In a saddle, the combination of a hollow body portion crescent-shaped
longitudinally and symmetrically tapering from the center to each end thereof, a
concave supporting base plate, a supporting clip, and means for securing the
different parts together, substantially as described.
7. In a saddle, the combination of a hollow crescent-shaped body portion adapted
to hold fluid pressure, adapted to be used in longitudinal and transverse positions,
rigid base plates secured to the body portion, a supporting rod secured to the base
plates, and a supporting clip adapted to secure the supporting rod in position and
provided with transverse holes arranged at right angles to each other to support
the body portion in either of its longitudinal or transverse positions, substantially
as described.
8. In combination with a bicycle saddle, a supporting clip provided with a hole
for engaging the supporting or binding post, and an upwardly extending lip or
hook forming a portion of the clip adapted to secure the supporting rod or spring
of a bicycle saddle rigidly in engagement with the supporting or binding post,
substantially as described
Dated this 22nd day of June 1895.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.