Year: 1896

page_text: Date claimed for Patent under Sect. 103 of Act,
being date of first Foreign Application (in 16th Aug., 1895
United States of America),
Date of Application (in United Kingdom), 21st Feb., 1896.
Complete Specification Left, 26th Oct., 1896-Accepted, 19th Dec., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
I, WILLIAM ALEXANDER HAY of 18 Post Street San Francisco, County
San Francisco, State of California, U.S.A., Manufacturer, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows :-
In this invention the sliding brake rod is provided with a forked lower end in
which is carried a brake wheel having radially projecting arms or lugs.
Immediately above the brake wheel within the fork is fixed a bell the hammer of
which is actuated to sound the bell when the brake wheel is pressed down and
rotated by coming in contact with the tyre of the bicycle. The rotation of the
brake wheel and the sounding of the bell ceases when the brake rod is pressed down
hard, by reason of said wheel being embedded to some extent in the tyre. The
brake wheel is carried by its spindle in vertical slots in the fork so that when not
in use it falls down clear of the bell.
Dated this 21st day of February 1896.
THOMAS R. SHILLITO,
89 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.
I, WILLIAM ALEXANDER HAY of 18 Post Street, San Francisco, County
San Francisco, State of California, 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 following statement:-
The bell and brake mechanism of this invention adapted for use upon bicycles,
is shewn in the accompanying drawing in which
Fig. 1 is a view of a portion of the bicycle frame and wheel with the mechanism
applied thereto.
Fig. 2 is a front view of the mechanism with the bicycle wheel in section.
The object of the invention is to provide a bell for use upon bicycles and means
by which it may be easily sounded or the sound arrested.
A is a bicycle wheel turning in a fork B of a frame constructed in any well
known manner.
C is a plunger rod such as is usually employed to operate the brake by means of
Price 8d.

page_text: a lever attached to the handle bar of the machine. This plunger rod is slideable
through a guiding plate D and its lower end has fixed to it a bifurcated yoke
or frame E. Within this frame is secured the bell or sounder F. In the present
case I have shewn the bell secured to the fork of the frame by means of a screw
shank or stem G, which passes up through the centre of the bell and enters the
crown of the fork, having a suitable shoulder by which the bell is clamped in place
within the fork crown E. The lower end of this shank G forms a fulcrum point
for a bell crank lever H, upon one end of which is a hammer or striker I adapted
to strike the side of the bell when the device is operated. The other arın has a
weighted enlargement J, which normally holds it in a depressed position, the arm
being thus suspended on its fulcrum point, so that the hammer is out of contact
with the bell.
In the lower end of the fork E is journalled a wheel having one or more arms K.
The shaft of this wheel turns in slots in the ends of the fork, so that it may slide
up and down, being normally held down in the bottom of the slot by gravity or by
a spring. The arms K are of such a length as to be brought into contact with the
periphery of the wheel rim or tyre A, whenever the plunger rod C is depressed by
action of the brake lever, this depression of the plunger rod also moving the yoke
or fork E and carrying down with it the wheel until the latter comes in contact
with the tyre. The rapid rotation of the tyre then causes the wheel to revolve and
the arm or arms K carried by it will strike the knob or projection J. This action
upon the knob causes the lever H to tilt and the hammer to strike against the bell
with great rapidity thus producing a continuous sound as long as the parts remain
depressed.
The device may also be made to form a brake by a further depression of the
plunger until the wheel is pressed against the tyre so as gradually to prevent its
revolving, this occurring by reason of the space between the arms K and their
peculiar shape, which while allowing them to revolve by a light contact with
the tyre will, when they are pressed strongly against the same, prevent their
revolving and the device will then serve directly as a brake, or the arms or
an arm K may be formed in one piece with a disc on each side thereof which discs
on being brought against the tyre will carry round the arms or an arm K and with
a stronger depression also serve as a brake.
By this construction the bell may be sounded at any time by a light touch upon
the brake lever and if it be found necessary to afterwards or at any time apply the
brake, this is done by pressing the arms or the discs down strongly against the tyre
until they lock and stop rotating when their frictional action will be precisely the
same as that of any other frictional brake.
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. A bell and brake attachment for bicycles comprising a slideable rod having a
yoke shaped lower end, a bell fixed within said and provided with a hammer and a
wheel, or arms, or arm, and discs mounted in said yoke below the bell said arms or
arm being adapted to operate the hammer of the bell when forced with the discs
into contact with the tyre or rim of the bicycle, substantially as described and
shewn.
2. A bicycle bell and brake consisting of a plunger rod slideable in guides to and
from the periphery of the bicycle wheel having a yoke fixed at its lower end, a bell
fixed within said yoke and a hammer or clapper fixed upon one end of a bell crank
lever which is fulcrummed to a stem within the bell, a wheel having one or more
arms and a shaft journalled in vertical slots in the lower end of the yoke, so that
it is moveable upwardly when the yoke is depressed to bring it into contact with
the bicycle wheel rim, the arms upon the opposite side from the wheel rim striking
the other end of the bell crank lever, whereby the hammer is caused to strike the
bell, substantially as described and shewn.

page_text: 3. The general arrangement and combination of parts constituting the bell and
brake attachment for bicycles, substantially as described and shewn."
Dated this 26th day of September 1896.
THOMAS R. SHILLITO,
89 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.