AND CONNECTED WITH TRICYCLES AND OTHER VELOCIPEDES."
Year: 1877

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by George Singer at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 13th October 1877.
GEORGE SINGER, of Coventry, in the County of Warwick.
AND CONNECTED WITH TRICYCLES AND OTHER VELOCIPEDES."
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
The first part of my Invention has reference to the steering apparatus. For this
purpose I place the handles in the same position for the rider's arms as the handles
of a bicycle, that is, about 10 inches from the centre of, and about 4 inches above
the saddle, or sufficiently high to allow the knees to work underneath the handles,
if desired, and in such a position that the rider can pull the handles in an upward
direction without effecting the steering apparatus or changing the position of the
wheels; and the rider is thus enabled to exert his fullest pressure on the treadles;
this has been done in a bicycle, but a similar arrangement has never been applied
to my knowledge to a velocipede having two front guiding wheels, and one or two
rear driving wheels; the handles are also equally available for steering when
pressure applied to them horizontally. The ends of the steering handles are
about sixteen inches apart, in order to obtain room for the knees to work between
to facilitate mounting and dismounting, and also to admit of a straight pull from
the shoulders. The handles are connected to bent levers or rods curved outwardly
to obtain sufficient leverage to operate other levers or rods underneath same, the
latter being attached to the forks which carry the wheels. The bent levers afore-
said, and the levers or rods operating the forks, are rigidly connected together at
their ends, which come just below the line of the seat; and these two levers may
be connected together by joints under the saddle; or a cross bar linked to the ends
of the two levers aforesaid may connect the steering frames together, so that the
wheels shall move simultaneously when operating the handles on the bent levers in
the manner before described.
According to another arrangement I fix the steering handles upon the top of the
forks in a line with each other; the position, height, and mode of working being as
already described, but the means of connecting the wheels being beneath the
framework, a bar or lever being fixed upon the inner side of each fork projecting

page_text: backwards about 9 inches, a cross rod either jointed at each end only, or having
also a joint in the centre connecting the two wheels.
Other modifications may be made, but the improvement claimed consists of an
arrangement by which the handles are placed, so that the steering is accomplished
as effectively as that of a bicycle, i. e., by moving the handles horizontally the
tricycle is steered, by pulling upward a power of resistance against the pressure
of the feet upon the pedals is secured, while the two operations may be combined.
By these arrangements of steering apparatus I am enabled to bring the two front
guiding wheels and the driving wheel close together, so that the total length of the
velocipede may, if desired, be less than the total diameter of two of its wheels, and
by this means I produce a compact apparatus capable of being turned in a short
space, and possessing other properties closely resembling those of a bicycle, without
its disadvantages.
The next part of my Invention refers to the employment in machines of this class
of the seat placed on a line with the driving wheel, and so as to throw the weight
of the rider as much as possible on the large wheel, and capable of being moved up
or down; a convenient way of doing this is by mounting it on a spindle, which
may be raised or lowered in its socket to adjust its position to the height required
for the rider; a flat spring is fixed on the spindle to carry the seat, and so arranged
that the latter may be moved backwards or forwards, as may be required; this
class of velocipede having two front guiding wheels or two rear driving wheels.
Instead of the ordinary seat I prefer to employ a seat or saddle of the shapes
now used upon bicycles, i. e., of a shape which allows the legs of the rider to be
moved in a similar position to that of walking without coming in contact with the
seat, the weight of the body being meanwhile supported by the seat.
By using a saddle of this description I am able to obtain for the rider the
position, in this class of velocipede, which is now obtained on an ordinary bicycle.
The frame supporting the seat, and carried by the guiding wheels is of a V shape,
the apex to which the spindle carrying the seat is fixed being at a point
immediately in front and in a line with the driving wheel, while the two ends
are supported by the forks; a stay connecting the two arms keeps them in
position.
"
The propelling power is produced or obtained by means of treadles worked by
the feet, connected by levers and rods to the driving wheel, as in the "safety
bicycle, or by rotary movement obtained from a spindle supported by a framework,
and driven by cranks between the guiding wheels, the crank pins or pedals being
connected by rods with the crank pins of the driving wheels or other suitable
means.
My Invention further consists in the application to velocipedes of brake power
by the action of the foot of the rider, and a convenient way of carrying this part of
the Invention into effect is by placing a bar or lever between the driving levers,
upon which the foot may be pressed, so as to operate a cord or rod connected to a
roller or other brake, thereby pressed against the tyre of the driving wheel. By
a similar or somewhat modified arrangement the brake power may be applied to
the ground.
Another part of my Invention consists in the employment of means whereby the
distance between the guiding wheels may be reduced, so that the velocipede may be
packed in a smaller compass. I carry this out by hinging the sockets on centres
carrying the forks of the guiding wheels upon the front ends of the V shaped
framework, so that they may be moved inwards and outwards at pleasure, being
maintained in position either by tightening a nut upon the hinge or by other
suitable means. The connection between the wheels is also similarly hinged. I can
also carry out this object by moving the sockets and forks carrying the wheels
laterally in slots in the framework, or by jointing or hinging other parts of the
framework.
The tricycle may be taken apart for facility of packing; for example, one part

page_text: consisting, say, of the driving wheel, and the other, say, of the guiding wheels and
parts connected therewith. I effect this by connecting the V shaped framework by
ineans of a hole in its apex, which is fitted to a corresponding projection upon the
framework carrying the driving wheel, or vice versa. A pin passing through both
maintains the two parts in position, or a nut or screw may constitute the means
of holding the two parts.