Improved Means for Supporting Riders of Bicycles and other Velosipedes, to Enable Greater Power to be Exerted upon the Pedals.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Apr., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Jan., 1896-Accepted, 29th Feb., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Supporting Riders of Bicycles and other
Velosipedes, to Enable Greater Power to be Exerted upon the
Pedals.
I, ALFRED WELLS EDWARDS, of 31, Rue Bayard, Pau, Basses Pyrenees,
France, Dentist do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention consists of the herein described improved means for supporting
riders of bicycles and other velocipedes so as to enable the said riders to sit in
a more easy and graceful position than at present, and to enable them to exert
greater power upon the pedals and thus to ride long distances and up steep inclines
with less exertion than when my invention is not used..
In carrying out my invention I provide a waist band or belt made of leather or
other suitable material which is fastened loosely round the rider's waist and is made
of sufficient depth to have a good bearing against the rider's back and loins. This
band is by preference fastened at the front by means of a buckle or other fastening.
Connected to the sides or other convenient part of the said band and towards the
front of the same there are two side straps, one at each side, which are carried
forward in an inclined direction and removably connected to a combined clamp and
hook or other attachment which is fixed to some part of the frame of the bicycle
or other velocipede well in front of the rider so that the said side straps will be
tight when the rider is sitting about upright, and thus the waist band or belt will
furnish a bearing and support for the back and loins of the rider to bear against
and enable the rider to gain a great deal of power and to sit in an easy and graceful
position even whilst mounting hills.
In order to enable the rider to connect the ends of the side straps to the hook or
attachment which I provide on the velocipede and also to disconnect them therefrom
whilst the rider is mounted on the machine, I make each of the said side straps
with a metal loop at its outer end and the said hook is arranged to point forward,
so that after the rider has mounted the machine he or she can readily slip the looped
ends of the two side straps on to the hook; and also when the rider wishes to
dismount he or she has merely to lean forward a little to enable the side-straps to
be detached from the hook by the hand. The said hook is by preference made in a
piece with the clamp by which the hook is connected to the backbone of the
velocipede frame, so that by first unscrewing the cross pin of the clamp the
combined clamp and hook can be moved either nearer to or farther from the rider
until the proper position of the same has been obtained.
The ends of the two side straps which connect to the hook or attachment on the
velocipede may if preferred be connected together.
. i
i .
In a modification of my invention I employ one central strap connected to the
waist band or waist belt and to the hook or connection on the velocipedé instead of
the two side straps above described.
Dated this 15th day of April 1895
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: Improved Means for Supporting Riders of Bicycles and other
Velocipédes, to Enable Greater Power to be Exerted upon the
Pedals.
I, ALFRED WELLS EDWARDS of 31, Rue Bayard, Pau, Basses Pyrenees,
France, Dentist, 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 :-
This invention consists of the bereindescribed improved means for supporting
riders of bicycles and other velocipedes so as to enable the said riders to sit in a
more easy and graceful position than at present, and to enable them to exert greater
power upon the pedals and thus to ride long distances and up steep inclines with
less exertion than when my invention is not used.
I will describe my invention by referring to the accompanying drawings on
which Fig. 1 shews a bicycle and rider with my invention in use; Figs. 2 and 3
shew the parts of my invention separately and Fig. 4 illustrates a modification of
my invention and Fig. 5 shews another arrangement of part of the same.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
In carrying out my invention I provide a waist band or belt A made of leather or
other suitable material which as shewn in Fig. 1 is fastened loosely round the
rider's waist and is made of sufficient depth to have a good bearing against the
rider's back and loins. This band A is by preference fastened at the front by
means of a buckle 6 or other fastening. Connected as by the spring hooks f to the
sides of the band A and towards the front of the same there are two straps C¹ C³,
one at each side, which are carried forward in an incliued direction and removably
connected to a combined clamp and hook D¹ D2 d¹ (hereinafter described and shewn
separately by Fig. 3) which is fixed to the fore part of the frame of the bicycle or
other velocipede well in front of the rider so that the side straps C₁ C³ will be tight
when (as shewn in Fig. 1) the rider is sitting about upright. Thus the waist band
or belt A will furnish a bearing and support for the back and loins of the rider to
bear against and enable the rider to gain a great deal of power and to sit in an easy
and graceful position even whilst mounting hills.
In order to enable the rider to connect the ends of the side straps C¹ C*to the
said combined clamp and hook and also to disconnect them therefrom whilst the
rider is mounted on the machine, I make each of the side straps C¹C' with a metal
loop e at its outer end and the said combined clamp and hook is made with a
forwardly and upwardly inclined hook D' so that after the rider has mounted the
machine be can readily slip the looped ends e of the two side straps C¹ C² on to
the hook D as in Fig. 1 and also when the rider wishes to dismount he has
merely to lean forward a little to slacken the side straps C¹ C and detach them
from the hook D' by an upward movement of his hand. The said hook D' is by
preference made as shewn by Fig. 3 to form the hinge pin of the clamp d' by which
the hook D is connected to the backbone or other convenient part of the velocipede
frame, so that by first unscrewing the cross pin d of the clamp d' the combined
clamp and hook can be moved along the backbone either nearer to or farther from
the rider until the proper position of the same has been obtained, and then fixed
where required.
In a lady's bicycle the combined clamp and hook is conveniently fixed to the
steering socket of the machine as shewn in Fig. 5 and the looped ends of the side
straps Care then hooked on to the hook D which is shaped as shewn with the
fore part projecting forward so that the straps C'C' will release themselves when
slack as stated above.

page_text: The ends e of the two side straps C¹ C' which connect to the hook or attachment D
on the velosipede may if preferred be connected together.
:
In the modification of my invention shewn by Fig. 4 I employ one central strap C¹
connected to the waist band or waist belt A and made with a looped end e at the
outer end to attach to the hook or connection D on the velocipede instead of the
two side straps C1 C2 above described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that
what I claim is :-
1. The device hereindescribed for supporting riders of bicycles and other
velocipedes to enable greater power to be exerted by them upon the pedals,
said device consisting essentially of a waist belt provided with two side straps
(or with one central strap) in combination with the forwardly inclined hook or
like attachment on the cycle frame in front of the rider, all substantially as and for
the purposes set forth.
2. The combination with a bicycle or other velocipede of the combined hook
and clamp attachment on the fore part of the velocipede, two side straps or a
central strap made with looped ends to be removably connected to said hook,
and a waist belt connected to said side straps or central strap, said waist belt
and side straps or central strap and the hook attachment being constructed and
arranged to support the rider in the manner substantially as described and shewn
by the accompanying drawings.
3. The combined clamp and hook D1 D2 d' constructed. substantially as herein-
before described and shewn and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 22nd day of January 1896.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.