Novel Method of Mounting Saddles upon Cycles.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Novel Method of Mounting Saddles upon Cycles.
I, JAMES SAMUEL REYNOLDS, of 60 Darlington Street, Wolverhampton in the
County of Stafford, Surgeon, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The saddle of a cycle is mounted thereon, according to this invention, through
the medium of a pivot which allows it to tilt or rock freely to and fro on the pivot
axis and thus enables the position of the seat to follow the movement of the body
and thus automatically adjust itself to suit different gradients of road, and to suit
the leaning-forward position of the body as in racing. The movement of oscillation
or vibration in either direction is stopped preferably by means of a spring.
According to a convenient application of the invention, the seat portion of the
saddle is carried either immediately, or through the medium of springs, by a jaw
which is pivoted direct to the sliding block or clip which surrounds the horizontal
portion of the seat pillar along which it is moved to adjust the position of the saddle
endways.
Dated this 8th day of June 1896.
STEPHEN WATKINS,
Wolverhampton, Agent for the Applicant.
I, JAMES SAMUEL REYNOLDS, of 60 Darlington Street, Wolverhampton in the
County of Stafford, Surgeon, 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 saddle of a cycle is mounted thereon, according to this invention, through
the medium of a pivot which allows it to tilt or rock to-and-fro freely upon the
pivot axis. The seat will thus follow the movements of the body and automatically
adjust itself to suit different grades of road, and to suit the leaning forward position
of the body as in racing. The movements of oscillation or vibration of the saddle
are controlled by a spring, and are stopped in either direction by a projection or
projections which are carried by the portions which are capable of oscillating, coming
against a fixed stop or stops.
A convenient application of the invention is illustrated by the drawings herewith,
of which
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a saddle mounted in position upon the seat pillar of
a cycle, the leather portion of the saddle being shewn in section."
Figure 2 is a plan thereof with the leather removed; but the outline of the leather
is indicated by broken lines.

page_text: Figure 3 is a side elevation of the clip by which the saddle is held to the seat
pillar, and shews the remoter of the side levers, hereinafter described, by full lines
as in its extreme tilted position forwards and by broken lines as in its extreme tilted
position backwards, and the shouldered portion, hereinafter described, of the nearer
of such levers is shewn in section.
Figure 4 is a transverse section through the centre of the clip by which the
saddle is fixed to the seat pillar.
A A are a pair of side levers which are pivoted, by means of a transverse pin a, to
a clip B which is fixed to the horizontal portion of the seat pillar D of a cycle.
These levers A, except for the fact that they are pivoted to a clip instead of being
fixed rigidly thereto, correspond to side bars which have frequently heretofore been
employed for carrying the upper portion of a cycle saddle. The leather E of the
saddle is stretched between the ends of a bent steel wire frame F, in a manner
heretofore practised, and the wire frame F is supported by the ends of the levers A
in the usual manner in which such frames have heretofore been supported by the
ends of bars which have been fixed to a clip, that is to say, the forward ends of the
wire F are clamped down to the forward ends of the levers A, and the hinder ends of
the wires F are supported from the levers A by means of spiral springs G. The
hinder ends of the two levers A are connected together in the usual manner by means
of a piece of flat bent steel H. The usual stiffening bar J at the hinder end of the
saddle, which is directly connected with the hinder portion of the bent wire F, is
connected, by means of a spiral spring c with a clip 6 which passes around the
portion of the seat pillar. Any tilting forwards of the saddle distends the spring c,
and the spring consequently acts as a check against a too sudden tilting forward of
the saddle, and tends to cause the reverse action as the pressure which occasions the
tilting forwards of the saddle is relaxed. Each side of the clip B is formed with a
shoulder d, and a corresponding shoulder e is formed at the inner face of each
lever A. The shoulders d and e are, respectively, shaped to between them allow of
the required extent of tilting movement of the saddle, but the extent of the movement
is controlled in each direction by a portion of each shoulder e coming against a
corresponding portion of each shoulder d, respectively.
To avoid unnecessary projection below the bottom of the clip B, the clip is formed
with a diagonal slit, as shewn by Figure 4, so as to bring the ears thereof, and
bolt g which passes through the ears, well to one side of the clip.
The invention may, of course, be varied considerably in detail without departing
from its nature.
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. The novel method of mounting a saddle upon a cycle, which consists in pivoting
the same thereupon in a manner which allows of the part upon which the rider sits
being tilted, as a whole, to-and-fro upon the pivot axis, substantially as described.
2. The novel method of mounting a saddle upon a cycle, substantially as described
and shewn by the drawings herewith, for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 8th day of March 1897
STEPHEN
WATKINS,
Wolverhampton, Agent for the Applicant.