A Mud Flap for Bicycles and other Vehicles.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Dec., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 13th Feb., 1893-Accepted, 15th Apr., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Mud Flap for Bicycles and other Vehicles.
We, ISAAC SHIMWELL MCDOUGALL of High Bank, Didsbury, Chemist,
and RICHARD KENT HARTLEY, of Springwood House, Chadderton, Manager,
both in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
Our invention relates to means of removing mud and preventing splashing in
bicycles and other vehicles.
Our object is to prevent the splashing of mud from the revolving wheels of a
bicycle or other vehicle by collecting or removing the mud from the wheel before
or after it is thrown off by centrifugal force. We thus dispense with the mud
guards or splash boards in common use and remove the coating of mud in such
manner as to discharge it gently without splashing or sparking.
In carrying our invention into effect as applied to bicycle wheels we attach two
light arms or wires to the wheel fork and we mount upon the outer ends of the
wires a hinged flap of suitable material, which flap is so disposed as to rest by its
own weight or by a spring gently against the wheel tyre. The flap preferably lies
pointing in the direction of rotation of the wheel and as the wheel rotates the mud
is gently removed and deposited at a position where it cannot splash or spark the
rider or vehicle.
The flap may be made of any suitable material such as rubber or leather and it
may be moulded to fit closely to the wheel tyre; for this purpose vulcanized rubber
with a canvas insertion is found convenient. The hinge is preferably metallic and
may be set by a screw so that the pressure of the flap on the wheel may be varied
as desired. In practice we find, however, that a very slight pressure is all that is
required to remove the mud.
The wire supports may be attached to the wheel forks by screws or in any
other convenient manner and single rod supports or a hinged bracket may be
adopted when convenient.
The screw employed to set the hinge of the flap readily allows the flap to be
lifted off the wheel and held off or folded down or removed altogether.
When our mud flap is applied to carriages or bicycles or tricycles where the
structure of the frame permits, the flap may be carried from a swinging bracket
which bracket is pivoted to the carriage or cycle frame and is swung over when
it is desired to remove it from the wheel.
We prefer to so arrange our flap as applied to the front wheel of a bicycle
in such manner that the flap is placed under the centre of the wheel to the rear
of the fork and for the hind wheel we prefer to place it above the centre of
the wheel and also to the rear of the fork.
The flap need not actually touch the tyre of the wheel to act effectively as it
may remove the mud layer without touching. In some cases we set our mud flap
at a little distance from the wheel at the position where the mud flies off by centri-
fugal force so that the mud is collected and discharged at that point only without
actual contact of the flap with the wheel.
Dated this 9th day of December 1892.
CLERK & MARKS,
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Mud Flap for Bicycles and other Vehicles.
We, ISAAC SHIMWELL MCDOUGALL, of High Bank, Didsbury, Chemist, and
RICHARD KENT HARTLEY, of Springwood House, Chadderton, Manager, both
in the County of Lancaster, 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 :-
Our invention relates to means of removing mud and preventing splashing in
bicycles and other vehicles.
Our object is to prevent the splashing of mud from the revolving wheels of a
bicycle or other vehicle by collecting or removing the mud from the wheel before
or after it is thrown off by centrifugal force. We thus dispense with the mud
guards or splash boards in common use and remove the coating of mud in such
manner as to discharge it gently without splashing or sparking.
Referring to the accompanying sheet of drawings:
Figure 1 is an elevation of a cycle wheel with pneumatic tyre to which our mud
flap is applied at a position above the centre.
Figure 2 is an end elevation.
Figure 3 is a wheel similar to Figure 1 with the flap set under the centre.
Figure 4 is an elevation part in section of the mud flap separately drawn to a
larger scale.
Figure 5 is a plan corresponding to Figure 4.
Figure 6 is an end elevation corresponding to Figure 4 but showing a section of
the wheel.
Figure 7 is an elevation showing our invention applied to a carriage wheel.
Figure 8 is an end view and Figure 9 a plan corresponding to Figure 7.
In carrying our invention into effect as applied to bicycle wheels (Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
and 6) we attach two light arms or wires C to the wheel fork and we mount upon
the outer ends of the said arms or wires a hinged flap A of suitable material, which
flap is so disposed as to rest by its own weight or by a spring gently against the
wheel tyre D. The flap A preferably lies pointing in the direction of rotation of
the wheel and as the wheel rotates the mud is gently removed and deposited at a
position where it cannot splash or spark the rider or vehicle.
The flap may be made of any suitable material such as rubber or leather, and it
may be moulded to fit closely to the wheel tyre; for this purpose vulcanized rubber
with a canvas insertion is found convenient. The moulding to suit the wheel rim
is clearly shown at Figures 4 and 6 where F is the moulded or bent part of the
flap and D is the section of the pneumatic_tyre.
The hinge B is preferably metallic and may be set by a screw E so that the
pressure of the flap A on the wheel D may be varied as desired. In practice
we find, however, that a very slight pressure is all that is required to remove the
mud.
The arms or wire supports may be attached to the wheel forks by screws or in
any other convenient manner and single rod supports or a hinged bracket may be
adopted when convenient instead of the double arms shown at Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
and 6.
The screw E employed to set the hinge B of the flap readily allows the flap to
be lifted off the wheel D and held off or folded down or removed altogether.
When our mud flap is applied to carriages (Figures 7, 8 and 9) or bicycles or
tricycles where the structure of the frame permits, the flap A may be carried from
a swinging bracket H which bracket is pivoted to the carriage at G, or cycle frame
and is swung out when it is desired to remove it from the wheel. The screw G
allows the bracket H to be fixed in any position with the flap on or off the wheel D
and the hinge B with its screw may be retained or not as desired. We prefer,

page_text: however, to carry the mud flap by arms or wires attached to the axle or fork as
hereinbefore described.
We prefer to so arrange our flap as applied to the front wheel of a bicycle in
such manner that the flap A is placed under the centre of the wheel to the rear of
the fork as shown at Figure 3, and for the hind wheel we prefer to place it above
the centre of the wheel and also to the rear of the fork as shown at Figure 1.
The flap, need not actually touch the tyre of the wheel to act effectively, as it
may remove the mud layer without touching.
In some cases we set our mud flap at a little distance from the wheel at the
position where the mud flies off by centrifugal force so that the mud is collected
and discharged at that point only without actual contact of the flap with the
wheel.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. A mud flap for bicycles and other vehicles which removes the mud at one
position of the circumference by a gentle scraping action or intercepts it at one
position of the circumference where thrown off by centrifugal action substantially
as hereinbefore described.
2. A mud flap for bicycles and other vehicles constructed and operating substan-
tially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated at Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of
the accompanying drawings.
3. A mud flap for bicycles and other vehicles, constructed and operating substan-
tially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated at Figures 7, 8 and 9 of the
accompanying drawings.
Dated this 11th dox of February 1002
CLERK & MARKS,
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents for the Applicants.