Improvements connected with Brake Appliances for Wheels of Cycles and Light Vehicles generally.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Feb., 1894-Accepted, 7th Apr., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements connected with Brake Appliances for Wheels of
Cycles and Light Vehicles generally.
I, FREDERICK ROBERT SAMS, of 112 Portobello Road, Notting Hill, County
of London, Hot Water Engineer, 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 :-
The object of this invention is, first, to construct a brake appliance, the pad of
which can be easily put in and taken out, or turned about to distribute the wear
over all parts of pad at will, and second, to fit such brake appliance with a clip in
such a manner, and of such shape, that the said brake appliance in combination
with the said clip can be easily fitted to the spoon tube of a bicycle by simply
cutting off the brake spoon, and fixing the pad by means of the before mentioned
clip to the existing tube, without screwing, and without withdrawing the tube from
the brake lug.
The brake pad appliance can be fitted with a clip to suit any kind of bicycle,
the brake lug of which projects from the front fork crown, whether said brake
lug be close to or away from the front wheel without the use of any tools other
than those ordinarily comprised in a bicyclist's kit.
In order that my invention may be clearly understood, I have appended the
accompanying sheet of drawings, in which
Figure 1 is an under plan of a steel, or other stamping formed with a flange to
receive a rubber, leather, wood, or other suitable pad of the shape shown in plan
at Figure 2,
Figure 3 being a plan of the device for fixing the pad into the flanged plate.
Figure 4 a section on the line a b, Figure 1, showing the fixing device and pad
in position, and
Figure 5 is a section taken on the line C, d.
Figure 6 is an under plan of a steel, or other stamping or casting having a lip
for engaging in the recess of the circular pad, in which case only one half of the
fixing device shown in Figure 3 need be used to effectually fix the pad.
Figure 7 is a sectional perspective view of a brake pad formed of a flat piece of
rubber shown in plan at Figure 8, having a thickened portion for contact with the
wheel, the free thin ends being passed over screws and nipped and fixed between
two curved plates.
Figure 9 is a cross section of a brake pad formed of a tube with two thickened
portions which is fixed to a recessed, or stamped plate in the manner indicated in
longitudinal section view Figure 10, of which Figure 11 is a plan.
Figure 12 is a clip attachment which can be fixed to any of the above brake pad
appliances, and is especially applicable to the brake tube of bicycles, the brake lug
of which is rather close to the wheel, such as indicated by Figure 13, which is a
side elevation of the frout frame tube, brake tube, spring, and part of wheel.
Figure 14 is a plan and front elevation respectively of a clip attachment, also
applicable to any of the before mentioned brake pad appliances, and suitable for
fixing the brake pad to the brake tube of a bicycle in which there is plenty of
room between the brake lug and wheel as shown at Figure 15.
Figure 16 is a perspective view of a clip formed for use upon any of the brake
pad appliances in cases where such pad is attached to the brake by shackles, as
shown at Figure 17, or in the manner indicated at Figure 18; and
Figure 19 is a perspective view of a hinge clip for fitting various sizes of brake
rods or tubes.

page_text: :
The plate A, Figure 1, is of circular shape having ears B, B, and holes C, C, to
correspond in shape with the fixing blades D, D, Figure 3, which are preferably
made in halves, so that they may be fitted into the recess E of the pad F,
Figures 2, 4, and 5, and a bolt G, G, inserted through the holes C¹, C', of the
fixing blades D, D, and into the holes C of the plate A for firmly clamping the
flauge F of the pad F between the blades D, D, and the plate A, the turned-down
portion or lips A', of which serve to locate the pad, enclosing the upper part and
leaving the bottom or rounded surface for contact with the wheel. By making the
pad F of circular shape, I am enabled by slackening the nuts H, H, to move it
round to bring a fresh surface to bear upon the. wheel when the part already in use
has become unduly worn, or by taking the blades D, D, completely out to insert a
new pad with a minimum of trouble.
In some cases, I form the plate A with a return lip or flange A³, Figure 6, and
thereby dispense with one of the blades D, D, by inserting the said lip A into the
groove of the pad F, and then lock and securely clamp the pad in position by
bolting or otherwise fixing a blade D corresponding in shape to the half of the
plate A opposite to that of the lip A' in the manner as previously described when
two blades D, D, are used. Or in some cases, the pad F instead of being formed with
a groove may have a flange at its top part, and the pad be inserted through a hole
of a plate made in a single piece of the shape shown in Figure 3 but I prefer to
make the pad F with a groove into which the blades D, D, can be separately
fitted, as described, as it gives a greater wearing surface for a given size of
holder.
The ears B, B, through which the bolt screws, or rivets, or other fasteners are
passed for securing the pad F to the plate, are made a small distance behind the
centre of the appliance, so that the pad may be more forward from the front fork
crowns when the attaching clip is fixed to the brake tube H₁ in the manner
hereinafter fully described.
.
Figure 7 illustrates a brake pad made from a strip of rubber, or other material F,
having a thickened part I as a wearing surface. The ends of this pad are thinner,
and may be punctured as shown in Figure 8 for folding over a plate J, and hooking
upon studs K, K, standing up therefrom, and which when inserted through holes
in a back plate A can be drawn up tight by nuts H, H, for clamping the whole
appliance together. Or I may use a tube with two thicknesses of wearing surfaces,
as shown more particularly in Figures 9, 10, and 11 of the annexed drawings in
which it will be seen that the back plate A is made convex to conform to the
shape of that part of the pad that lies next to it, and it is moreover dished, as
shown in Figure 10, so that a clamping plate J can be passed through the tube
forming the pad, and be fixed to the back plate A by bolts or screws G, G, and
nuts H, H, the shoulders of the back plate preventing any end movement of the
pad. In this case when one side of the pad becomes worn, the appliance can be
turned round upon the brake tube H₁ for the other side to bear upon the wheel, or
the nuts H, H, can be slackened, and the tube turned about the clamping plate J
to bring a new surface into use, the old or worn part being then clamped between
the plate J and back plate A.
The above brake pad is more especially for use with bicycles in which the brake
lug projects from the front fork crown and moves with it when the handle bar is
turned.
The front forks of some machines are of such a length as to leave but little room
between the brake lug and the wheel, so that if a boss be formed upon, or be
attached to the back plate A of the brake pad, it cannot be inserted between the
lug and the wheel, to get over this difficulty, I construct a clip under the second
part of my invention, of the shape shown in Figure 12, that can be secured to the
back plate A of the pad by leaving the bolts G, G, long enough to pass through
the feet L, L, of the clip M, the legs N, N, of which are sufficiently wide apart to
straddle the brake lug, and be clipped upon the brake tube above it.

page_text: The boss P of the clip is split, so that by inserting a bolt through the holes Q of
the lugs R, R, it can be tightly clipped to the brake tube of an existing machine of
the kind described by cutting off the existing brake spoon from the brake tube H',
and inserting said tube through the boss P of the clip and the brake lug; a
spring S being attached to the book T of the clip, and U on the front frame tube,
so that when the brake appliance is depressed to make contact with the wheel, it
puts the spring S in tension to return the brake to its normal position when
released.
In machines having plenty of room between the brake lug and the wheel, I prefer
to use the device shown in Figures 14 and 17, either of which can be fastened to:
any of the brake pad appliances by screwing or rivetting, or bolting, as desired.
The boss P may be split, as shown in Figure 14, or hinged as at Figure 19, for
clipping upon any size of brake tube by a bolt and nut, or the boss P may be made
in two halves and be bolted together by two bolts and nuts with the brake tube
between. In either of the above cases, the brake appliance with clip fixed thereto
is especially adapted for attachment to the brake tube under the brake lug, as
shown at Figure 15, the spring being in this case in compression when the brake is
depressed which reacting upon the collar V returns the brake when same is
released.
The clip attachment shown in Figure 16, is made with two lugs, one of which is
split for gripping the brake tube, and the other left solid, and is made for attaching
the before mentioned brake appliance to machines in which the brake tube does not.
pass through the brake lug but is attached by means of shackles W, as at Figures 17
and 18, the spring S for returning the brake is expanded during the depression of
the brake, and is secured by clips or studs, or other mode of fastening to the brake
tube and front frame tube.
The clip attachment may be arranged, so that the shackles be attached to the
front of the clip boss P, as at Figure 17, or behind the same, as at Figure 18.
Although I have described and shown my brake pad and clip attachment in com.
bination with each other, and applied to machines with existing brake arrangements,
I wish it to be understood that any of the brake pad appliances may have an
ordinary screw boss attached, or formed in a piece with the back plate, or the clip
attachments referred to in connection with Figures 12, 14, 16, and 19 may be used
to fix brakes of ordinary construction to machines of the kind and in the manner
described, without in any way departing from my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A brake for use in connection with cycles, or other light vehicles constructed
as described and shown with reference to Figures 1 to 11 inclusive.
2. Constructing a brake for cycles and other light vehicles by moulding, or
otherwise shaping, or forming a pad F with a groove E around the periphery of
same, into which two blades D, D, can be inserted for clamping said pad F to a
back plate A corresponding in shape to the blades D, D, in such a manner as to
be easily turned, or reversed, or taken out therefrom, as and for the purpose
described and shown in the annexed drawings with reference to Figures 1 to 5
inclusive.
3. As a modification of an appliance described in the foregoing claim, forming
one half of the back plate with a return flange A³ for entering the groove of the
circular pad F which in combination with a single blade of a shape corresponding
to the other half of the back plate A. having holes C, C', into which, bolts can be
inserted for securely fixing said pad to the back plate, as described and shown.
4. In a brake for cycles and other light vehicles, the combination of a round
grooved pad with a back plate, on or to which a boss is formed or fixed for
attachment to the brake operating appliances, substantially as described.

page_text: 5. In or to a brake pad, the use of a clip formed with two legs for straddling the
brake lug, and the boss of which is split for attachment to the brake rod, or tube
in the manner and for the purpose as described and shown..
6. Forming a clip with a split, or hinged boss for attaching the brake pad and
holder to the brake tube or rod under the brake lug of a bicycle for the purpose
described, and as shown in Figure 15 of the annexed drawings.
7. Forming a clip with a split lug on one side, and a solid lug on the other and
of the shape, substantially as shown in Figure 16 of the annexed drawings for
attaching the brake pad and holder to shackles in the manner shown in Figures 17
and 18.
Dated this 92nd day of February 1804
H. GARDNER,
Patent Agent, 166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said Frederick Robert Sams.