Improvement in Mud-guards for Velocipedes.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd July, 1897-Accepted, 8th Jan., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in Mud-guards for Velocipedes.
GEORGE FISHER, 3159 South Park Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., Gentleman,
FGBERT WARREN GILLETT, 9 River Street, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., Manufacturer,
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 follow-
ing statement:—
The present invention has for its object to provide a simple, cheap and effective
construction of mud guard for velocipedes which can be easily placed upon the
machine and removed therefrom and which when removed from the machine can
be folded into small compass so as to be conveniently carried. With this object
in view, the invention consists in the novel construction of mud guard herein-
after described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and particularly defined
in the claims at the end of this specification.
Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a bicycle having our mud guard applied
thereto. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view of the mud guard detached. Fig. 3 is
a plan view of the mud guard, the rear leaf being shown by dotted lines in folded
position. Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation of a mud guard detached, the rear leaf
being shown in folded position. Fig. 5 is a plan view showing the forward end
of the form of mud guard adapted for the front wheel of the machine. Fig. 6
is a view in side elevation of the part shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a detail per-
spective view of a clamp for retaining the rear mud guard in upturned position.
The frame of the wheel which may be of the usual or any suitable construction,
has its rear fork A provided as at a with the usual cross-strut or rung at a slight
distance above the periphery of the rear wheel. It is to this cross-strut or rung of
the rear frame that the mud guard for the rear wheel is preferably connected.
The frame of the wheel shown in Fig. 1 has its front wheel sustained within the
usual fork and to the crown of this fork as at a¹, the front mud guard will be
attached.
The mud guard designed for the rear wheel is shown in detail in Figs. 2, 3 and 4
of the drawings, and while the precise details of construction may be varied, we
prefer to construct the guard as illustrated in these views. The rear mud guard
is formed of the front and rear leaves or sections B and B that are hinged
together as at b. Any suitable material may be employed in the manufacture of
our improved mud guard, but we prefer to form the front leaf B of sheet metal
preferably soft steel, and to form the rear leaf B' of the mud guard of thin sheet
The front leaf or section B of the rear mud-guard
metal, preferably aluminium.
is preferably formed from a single sheet or blank, the side edges of which are
or section B, thereby serving to give
folded on to the body of the leaf
the ends
thereto and preferably
increased strength and rigidity
of the folded edges b' will be extended rearwardly across the hinge joints 6 at

page_text: At
Preferably
which the sections B and B¹ are united, these extended ends 63 thus serving to
more effectively limit the downward movement of the rear leaf or section Bí of
the guard. The end of the section B of the rear mud guard is bent to form a
hook 63 that will engage with the rung or strut a of the rear fork A of the machine
and this hook 63 is of such size as to fit between the arms of the rear fork A.
each side of the hook 63 are formed shoulders adapted to bear against the arms
of the fork A and thus limit the downward movement of the mud guard and
prevent its coming in contact with the rear wheel of the machine.
the shoulders 6 at each side of the hook will be covered with rubber cloth b5
(see Fig. 4) or other soft material, this rubber cloth being clamped between the
body B of the front leaf and the overturned ends 6 that are formed at the
shoulders 6. Manifestly, however, the precise manner of attaching the rubber
cloth or cushion 65 may be varied without departing from the invention. The rear
leaf or section B₁ of the rear mud guard is adapted to be folded upward and on to
the section B and the rear section B is preferably of such length that when it is
thus folded on to the section B as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1 and Fig. 3
and by full lines in Fig. 4, the extreme rear end of the section B¹ will spring
beneath and will be retained by the back part of hook b³.
When in use, the rear mud guard will be attached to the machine frame as
shown in Fig. 1, the leaves or sections B and B being in the extended position
shown by full lines. When not in use, the rear section B will be folded on to
the section B and the two sections will then be turned upward and folded to the
position seen by dotted lines in Fig. 1. When the sections of the mud guard are
thus folded to the position shown by dotted lines, they will be preferably retained
in place by a suitable catch. Any convenient form of catch may be employed, but we
have shown a catch for this purpose comprising a simple ring of spring wire C
that encircles the seat-post adjacent the top of the frame, this wire catch having
downwardly bent ends c that will engage and retain the mud guard when in its
upturned position. If desired, the rear mud guard can be readily removed from
the machine simply by springing the hook 63 off the rung or strut a and when it
is detached, the sections of the mud guard can be folded and it can be conveniently
carried in the pocket.
The preferred construction of mud guard for the front wheel is that.illustrated
more particularly in Figs. 1, 5 and 6 of the drawings. This front mud guard com-
prises the front section D) and rear section D¹, these sections being hinged together
as at d in the same manner that sections B and B¹ of the rear mud guard are
hinged together, and the manner of constructing the front mud guard is the same
as that of the rear mud guard, except as to the front end of the section D which is
especially adapted for engaging the crown of the front fork of the machine, being
provided with hooks d¹ that set over and clasp the crown of the front fork. The
hooks are separated a sufficient distance to permit them to engage the crown of
the front fork at each side of the steering-post or neck and at the outside of each
of the hooks are formed shoulders that will bear against the depending arms
of the front fork and thus limit the downward movement of the mud guard and
prevent its contact with the wheel. The front section D of the front mud guard
will have its side edges overturned, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 5, the over-
turned edges d being extended beyond the hinge so as to form a rest or support
to prevent the downward sagging of the section D¹. The shoulders d will be
covered with rubber cloth or like soft material, that will be held between reverted
flanges that are formed at the shoulders d (see Fig. 6). From the foregoing
description, it will be seen that when the front guard is to be placed upon the
machine, the hook d¹ will be caught over the crown a¹ of the front fork at each
side of the steering-post or neck, the sections D and D¹ of the guard being in the
extended position seen in Fig. 1. When the front mud guard is to be removed,
the hooks d will be withdrawn from the crown of the front fork, after which the 5
sections D, DI of the guard will be folded one upon the other and the guard can
be conveniently carried in the pocket.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. A mud guard for velocipedes formed of sections hinged together and adapted
to be folded one upon the other, one of said sections being provided with means
whereby it may be connected to the machine, substantially as described.
2. A mud guard formed of sections hinged together and adapted to fold one upon
the other, one of said sections being provided at its forward end with a hook to
engage a part of the machine and being laterally extended at the base of said hook
to limit the downward movement of the guard, substantially as described.
3. A mud guard for velocipedes comprising front and rear sections hinged
together and adapted to fold one upon the other, the front section being provided
with means whereby it may be pivotally connected to a rung or strut of the
machine, and a catch adapted to retain the sections in upturned position, sub-
stantially as described. .
4. A mud guard for velocipedes comprising front and rear sections hinged
together and adapted to fold one upon the other, the front section being provided
with a hook adapted to engage a rung or strut of the machine and the rear section
being of sufficient length to catch beneath the hook at the front end of said front
section substantially as described
Dated this 22nd day of July, 1897.
For the Applicants,
W. LLOYD WISE,
46 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.; Chartered Patent Agent.