Attachments for Velocipedes.
Year: 1896

page_text: Attachments for Velocipedes.
I, ROBERT FREDERICK HUGHES, of 16 Westmoreland Street, Marylebone, in the
County of London, Clerk, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
The object of the invention is to make use, principally, of winds blowing directly
or obliquely from the right or left of a velocipede to assist in its propulsion; without
presenting much extra surface to adverse winds or atmospheric resistance, or intercept-
ing the rider's view, or impeding the steering, and without many other inconveniences
associated with the velocipede sails at present known.
Taking, by way of example, the safety bicycle as this is now most usually made,
there is a space between the crank bracket and the handle stem through which a side
wind can blow almost unobstructed. To this space I fit a set of strips or vanes, all
preferably parallel to the steering head, and one vane behind the other at suitable
distances, and so constrained that when the wind acts upon the vanes they are all
approximately parallel, and set at an angle suitable to help in the propulsion of the
bicycle. The set of vanes is inade either adjustable by hand, by a simple movement,
or the vanes are made to set all in one plane till acted upon by a side wind, when
they open to it by turning, but with a resistance, so that that they never turn enough
to bring them parallel to the winds direction. The set of vanes can be readily
attached to the bicycle frame or detached therefrom, and is very portable and
light.
The space above the top tube of the frame, between the saddle and the handle bar'
or even higher, can be occupied without much inconvenience by another set of vanes,
or by extensions from the set first described.
Again, in many safety bicycles there is a sufficient space behind the saddle and
above the back wheel, in which to fix another set of vanes or a fore-and-aft sail or
sails, by the help of a stiff wire, light spar, or tube, temporarily fixed to or into the
horizontal tube of the T saddle-support; which wire, spar, or tube, projects backward,
and, if desired, upward, behind the saddle, and supports the top ends of the vane or
vanes, sail or sails, the mudguard of the backwheel, or an attachment thereto, holding
the lower ends.
To the wire, spar, or tube mentioned, or to the mudguard, at any suitable point some
distance behind the saddle, I fix an attachment to which the tail of a waterproof or
other cape can be detachably connected, in order to pull the back of the cape away
from the rider along the centre line of his back, so that air can circulate beneath to
prevent dampness, and so that the cape will form on each side a sloping propelling
surface, the two surfaces meeting at an acute angle along the centre line of the back
of the cape, and forming a nearly straight ridge from the tail of the cape to near the
rider's neck. The cape can be selected from those now usually sold, or be specially
made with a long back and a full lower border.
A wire, spar, or tube, temporarily fixed to or into the T tube of the saddle-support,
and having a horizontal, an upward, or a downward direction backwards, can further
be used to support a mudguard, pump or other articles.

page_text: Having now sufficiently indicated how the several attachments are applied to the
usual make of safety bicycle, I claim that one or more of the attachments are applic-
able, with or without alterations of details, to many other velocipedes including ladies'
bicycles, tandems, tricycles, and many ice-bicycles and unicycles.
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County of London, Clerk, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
The principal object of the invention is to assist in the propulsion of velocipedes by
making use of side winds, and the invention consists in the application to velocipedes
by the improved means and devices hereinafter described of sets of wind-vanes, sails,
or the like, which can be readily attached to the velocipede or detached therefrom,
and when detached are very portable.
In the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1 shows a bicycle to which sets of vanes A and B, and a sail D are applied.
Fig. 2 is an elevation of part of the frame with a set of vanes.
Fig. 2 is a detail view.
Fig. 3 is an elevation of a set of vanes attached above the frame.
Fig. 4 is an elevation of a set of vanes adapted to be adjusted by hand.
Fig. 5 is a plan of same.
Fig. 6 is a plan and
Fig. 7 is an elevation of a clip.
Fig. 8 shows a spar with vanes over the back wheel.
Fig. 9 shows a spar with a sail.
Fig. 10 shows a rider's cape made to act as a sail.
2
In Figures 2, 3, and 8 my method of applying sets of automatic wind-vanes to the. 3
available spaces on a safety bicycle is shown. The vanes G, which are preferably
flexible, with stiffeners g' at the upper and lower edges, are each made of the size and
shape suited to the space it is intended to occupy, sufficient clearance being allowed.
for its bifilar attachments, and to permit it to turn upon these when it is acted upon
by the wind. The vanes in a set are attached to one another and to the bicycle by 3
cords or wires g, which are stretched along above and below the vanes and their ends
attached to the bicycle in any suitable manner; provided that they are kept tight
enough to keep the vanes flat and the bifilar attachments g³ effective. The bifilar
attachments g³ are in pairs, a pair for each vane, and each attachment has two cords
one behind the other at a suitable distance apart. The attachments run from the 4
stiffeners g² to the cords g at points forward of the centre of area of the vane, so that
when the wind acts upon the vane from either side the vane is deflected, but, owing
to the nature of its attachments to the cords g, it always tends to return to the plane
containing them, and hence always presents an inclined propelling surface to a side
wind. The bifilars can be replaced by tapes, or single torsion strings, wires, or 4
springs, without departing from the spirit of my invention so long as the attachment
is elastic to a turning displacement of the vane.
In Fig. 24 the form of bifilar attachment I prefer is shown on an enlarged scale.
g is the cord for fastening the set of vanes to the bicycle, and g* is another cord
knotted to g at intervals.so as to form loops of the width, length, and distance apart 5
required to form the bifilar.attachments for the vanes. The vanes can be attached

page_text: to the ends of the loops in any suitable manner, and either before or after the knotting
of g with g" is completed. In Figures 2, 3, and 8 g are auxiliary fastenings for the
cord g by which its tension can be varied, and the resistance of the vanes regulated.
The cords are knotted to g, but can slide along it between the bifilars, and can be tied
in a bow round frame tubes or spar, or left loose as required. In Figure 2 the cords
or wires g are stretched from the head to the down-tube along the upper and lower
members of the frame; and in Figure 3 the upper cord stretches from the middle of
the handle bar to the saddle; while the lower cord runs along the top tube of the
fraine. In Figure 8 the upper cord g is stretched along a spar M which is detachably
fastened to or into the horizontal part N of the saddle support, and the lower cord g
follows the mudguard 0.
The vanes shown in Figure 8 need not be kept so narrow as those shown in
Figures 2 and 3 must be, and one broad vane, or a sail as P, Figure 9, can be used in
connection with the spar M (whose free part may have any suitable inclination) and
the mudguard O, instead of a set of vanes; the space available varying much with the
height of frame and saddle pin, the size of the back wheel, and the rider's manner of
mounting and dismounting.
The cyclist's cape, whether waterproof or not, can be selected, or made, of such
shape that when it is being worn it takes the place and subserves the function of the
vanes shown in Figure 8, or of the sail shown in Figure 9. In Figure 10 a point R
in the tail of the cape is shown connected to a point on the mudguard O in such
manner that a side wind will have an inclined propelling surface to act upon. Instead
of connecting the point I to the mudguard it may be connected to a point on the
spar M (Figures 8 and 9) which can be inclined sideways or downwards by revolving
it in or upon its socket N, a clip, slip nonse, or other fastening capable of being
released from the saddle being used in either case to hold the tail of the cape.
When the cyclist wishes to be able to adjust the slope of the vanes in the
forepart by hand the device shown in Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 can be attached. The
vanes G are here made of stiff material, and are supported and kept parallel to one
another by cords or wires K (preferably four in number) which stretch from the head
to the down-tube, and pass through holes y in the vanes. The cords are attached
to the head and down-tube by means of clips L (shown on an enlarged scale in
Figures 6 and 7). By turning these clips on the head or down-tube the vanes can be
adjusted through a wide range of angle. The clips are preferably formed as shown in
Figures 6 and 7, each having two parts I and I, which are held together by slots formed
in the ends of rods 3 which connect the upper to the lower clips in such manner that
they are kept parallel. Just outside the slots the clips are notched at to receive
and retain the ends of the cords K. The collar is provided to support the clip I,
and prevent it dropping. The vanes G may be continued above the frame tube a,
openings being cut in them through which the frame tube passes.
It is obvious that the above described systems of vanes, sails, or the like, or some
of them can be used in many other kinds of velocipedes than the safety bicycle
shown.
Having now particularly deseribed 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. For assisting in the propulsion of velocipedes wind-vanes attached by means of
bifilar or equivalent attachments in such manner as to automatically adjust
themselves substantially as shown and described.
2. For assisting in the propulsion of velocipedes wind-vanes attached by means of
cords and clips in such manner that the vanes can be adjusted to any suitable angle
substantially as shown and described.
3. For use in a velocipede the spar M detachably fastened to or into the
part N.
4. For assisting in the propulsion of velocipedes the use of vanes or a sail attached
between the spar M and the mudguard O substantially as shown and described.

page_text: 5. For assisting in the propulsion of velocipedes the use of a fastening to which the
cape of the rider can be attached in such manner as to form a sail substantially as
shown and described.
6. For attaching vanes to the frames of velocipedes the method of arranging the
cords substantially as shown and described.
Dated this 26th day of July 1807
ROBERT FREDERICK HUGHES.