An Improved Apparatus or Appliance to be Attached to a Bicycle for the Purpose of Assisting Beginners Learning to Ride by Preventing the Bicycle from Falling Over, thus Enabling the Novice to Readjust the Cycle without Alighting.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 28th May, 1996
Complete Specification Left, 27th Feb., 1897-Accepte1, 10th Apr., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Apparatus or Appliance to be Attached to a Bicycle
for the Purpose of Assisting Beginners Learning to Ride by
Preventing the Bicycle from Falling Over, thus Enabling the
Novice to Readjust the Cycle without Alighting.
I THOMAS PENNEY CHITTENDEN Gentleman 31 Westbourne Terrace Hyde
Park London in the County of Middlesex do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
Now my invention consists of two or more rods or bars-hereinafter referred to
as "rods," made of wood or metal or any suitable material of proper strength to
be adjusted or fixed by screw-clip-or screw vice or any other effective method,
to a bicycle so as to project on either side of bicycle with a slant of requisite angle
to desired distance of the ground but not touching the ground unless the bicycle
sways or falls to one side, in which case the bicycle is prevented from further falling
on the side on which the rod projects owing to the support it receives from the rod.
At the end of each rod next the ground is attached a wheel which on contact with
the ground (owing to sway of cycle) will revolve with the impetus gained by the
cycle and thus prevent the jerk which might otherwise result if there was no wheel
to prevent the friction of rod coming in contact with ground when preventing the
machine from falling over. This would enable the rider to readjust & right the
bicycle without being thrown off the saddle & enable him to continue the journey
on the ordinary wheels belonging to bicycle without alighting.
A convenient form of this appliance is resembling an inverted letter V shaped
apparatus consisting of two rods. At the apex of the inverted letter V shaped
apparatus is attached the clip, screw vice, or other method adopted for attaching
the apparatus to the cycle, and at the lower end of each of the rods forming the
base of the inverted letter V is attached a properly constructed axle on which
revolve the wheels before alluded to. Thus when the screw vice is attached to the
fore part of frame of bicycle under the handles of steering gear of cycle, the two
wheels hang one on each side of cycle within the desired distance off the ground
though without touching the ground and a sufficient distance apart to prevent the
cycle from falling over on the side upon which the wheel of appliance hangs, and
thus enable rider to right bicycle.
I do not confine my improved invention to being an inverted V shaped appliance
but that this is a convenient mode to explain its properties and action. For instance
it may be made like an inverted letter U, with round shoulders, or it may be made
so that the rods to which the wheels are attached depends from an arm thus forming
square shoulders, whichever is found to be the most suited & adaptable to the bicycle
to carry out the intention before mentioned to check the cycle from falling over.
The rods may be made so as to be adjusted to any required length by a screw
action or any other form of lengthening or shortening but this is not necessary to
my improved invention.
The rods may be made to fold up on hinges or any other convenient mode of
folding or they may be without folding properties.

page_text: The wheels of my appliance may revolve on ball or other well known action or
may revolve on plain axles or in any way to attain desired result, or may be of any
suitable size.
The apparatus may be a permanent fixture but the more convenient method is to
have it capable of being attached or detached to bicycle at pleasure.
It may be attached to any portion of frame of bicycle or to steering gear if
preferred, though upon the head of fork on front frame under the handles is an
effective position and clipped so as not to interfere with break or steering gear or
treadles but I do not confine myself to this position.
Dated this 28th day of May 1896.
An Improved Apparatus or Appliance to be, Attached to a Bicycle
for the Purpose of Assisting Beginners Learning to Ride by
Preventing, the Bicycle from Falling Over, thus Enabling the
Novice to Readjust the Cycle without Alighting.
I, THOMAS, PENNEY CHITTENDEN, of. 31 Westbourne Terrace, Hyde Park, in
the County of London, Gentleman, 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 means for preventing a bicycle from falling over to either
side as I shall describe referring to the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 is a side view of part of a bicycle with apparatus according to my
invention applied thereto,
Figure 2 is a transverse section shewing a rear view of the apparatus.
To the framing I fix a vertical bar A part of which A¹ projects down below the
frame and may be strengthened by a stay A2. On A¹ I fit a slide B to which are
jointed two reds or legs C C carrying at their lower ends rollers D D which may
have ball bearings. Preferably a part of each of the legs C consists of bent blade
springs C, for which springs of other forms might be substituted, so as to allow the
legs to yield a little lengthwise. To the lower end of A¹ and to the legs C C are
jointed links E E and the slide B is connected by a link F to one arm G of a lever
the other arm H of which terminates in a handle; the arm is elastic, bearing
somewhat tightly against a segment K which has at each end and about the middle
a notch into which the lever springs and in which it is held, so that it requires the
handle to be pulled a little aside in order to release the lever from the notch.
When the handle H is in the position shewn the slide B is lowered and the
legs C are spread.out so that the rollers D bear on the ground. In this condition
the bicycle can be left standing without falling over.
On pulling the handle over to the position H shewn in dotted lines, the slide B
is raised and the legs C C are drawn in so that the rollers occupy the position
indicated by the dotted lines D' some distance above the ground, in which condition
the bicycle can run in the usual way. On moving the handle to an intermediate
position the legs C C are drawn partly in so that the rollers occupy some position
such as D where they are near to but not touching the ground. In this condition
the bicycle is suited for beginners or inexperienced riders, as, should it lean over to
either side the roller D2 on that side would meet the ground and prevent the bicycle
from falling over thus enabling the rider to readjust the bicycle without having to
alight.

page_text: 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 :-
An appliance to a bicycle constructed and operating substantially as described.
Dated this 27th day of February 1897.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.