Improvements in or relating to Brakes for Cycles.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Oct., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 29th Aug., 1895-Accepted, 12th Oct., 1895
Improvements in or relating to Brakes for Cycles.
I, JAMES SAMUEL FOLEY of 5 Clifton Villas, High Street, West Bromwich,
in the County of Stafford, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
:-
This invention relates to brakes for cycles and may be carried out in the
following manner:
The brake which I prefer to employ is of the kind usually known as a spoon
brake applicable to the rim of the wheel or the tyre, but I wish it to be understood
that I can use this invention in connection with other forms of brake, say for
example a band brake if necessary. An important feature about this brake is that
no special brake lever and fittings are required, the brake itself being applied by
the depression of the handle-bar or by a suitable movement of the handles so
as to depress the brake; I will describe it as applied by depressing the whole
handle-bar.
In this case the brake itself consists of any suitable form of brake--hoe, spoon or
equivalent adapted to engage with the tyre or rim of the wheel; this spoon is
For
applied by pushing it on to the tyre by pushing the whole handle-bar down.
this purpose the stem of the handle-bar is made to slide up and down to the
requisite extent, suitable means such for example as ribs and channels being
adopted so as to cause the hollow stem of the steering-fork to turn about its axis
when the handle-bar is turned for steering-purposes, but yet to allow sufficient
freedom of independent movement of the handle-bar in an up and down direction.
A simple way of carrying this out is to let the handle-bar stem fit inside the stem
of the fork and provide one or more longitudinal grooves on the exterior of the
handle-bar stem to engage with interior ribs upon the fork stem; both of these
may be produced by rolling.
The brake-spoon may be provided with a stem screwed so that it could screw
into a block or nut in the inner end of the handle-bar stem; this nut may be a long
one and split so as to take a firm grip upon the stem of the spoon when screwed
into it and thus prevent the latter from turning after it has been adjusted to the
proper height. Manifestly other means may be employed for connecting the spoon
with the handle-bar stem. I prefer to insert a socket in the lower end of the fork
stem so as to fit closely around the stem of the spoon and thus prevent the admission
of dirt. This socket or equivalent may be provided with any suitable form of
packing. A suitable spring, say conveniently a helical spring may surround the
stem of the spoon for the purpose of holding it and the handle-bar in their highest
position, that is with the brake off the wheel. By screwing the spoon-stem further
into the handle-bar stem the level of the handlebar will be lowered and vice versa,
whereby a ready means of adjusting the height of the handle is provided.
If desired the handle-bar inay be fixed and the brake locked out of use by a
sliding clip or collar which can be fixed at any desired position; or other means
may be used say for example a tongue cut in one tube to engage with the end of a
slot in the other tube being pressed in by a screw from outside or the lamp-bracket-
screw may be used for this purpose. Also any convenient means may be used to
fix the brake in its operative position hard upon the wheel to prevent the machine
being taken away in the owners absence.

page_text: In case it' be desired to operate this brake by turning the handle-bar or a portion
thereof instead of pushing it bodily down this may be done by means of an eccentric
or cam, crank or the like.
It will be evident that this invention may be applied to operate a band or other
brake upon the hub of the wheel or the axle by means of suitable connecting
devices.
Dated this 29th day of October 1894.
improvements in or relating to Brakes for Cycles.
1. JAMES SAMUEL FOLEY, of 5 Clifton Villas, High Street,' West Bromwich,
in the County of Stafford, Engineer, 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 :-
My invention relates to brakes for velocipedes.
The brake which I prefer to employ is of the kind usually known as a spoon
brake applicable to the rim of the wheel or the tyre, but I wish it to be understood
that I can use this invention in connection with other forms of brake, say for
example a band brake if necessary. An important feature about this brake is that
no special brake lever and fittings are required, the brake itself being applied by
the depression of the handle-bar or by a suitable movement of the handles so as to
depress the brake.
In order that my said invention may be clearly understood I will now proceed to
describe the same with reference by way of example, to the accompanying drawings,
wherein
Fig. 1 is a vertical central section of as much of the steering-head front fork and
front road-wheel of a bicycle as is necessary to the proper understanding of my
invention.
Fig. 2 is drawn to a larger scale and is a horizontal section on the line 2, 2 of
Fig. 1.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
A is the steering head, B is the front fork, B¹ is the fork stem, which is hollow,
C is the tyre of the front road wheel, D is the handle-bar which is not, as is usual,
attached directly to the fork-stem B' but is attached to a spindle E. The spindle E
is adapted to slide end wise in a guide B formed by the interior of the fork
stem B.
G is the brake-shoe, attached to a brake-stem E' screwed centrally into
the lower end of the spindle E so as to lie normally, immediately above the tyre C
of the road-whcel. By screwing the brake stem into or out of the spindle E by
means of the always-accessible shoe G the level of the bandle bar can be altered
as desired. In the lower end of the spindle E is fixed a long but E' which is split
lengthwise as at E' and takes a firm grip upon the brake stem to prevent it from
turning accidentally after adjustment.
In the drawing the spindle E is shown at almost the extreme upper limit of its
adjustment, to enable the split nut E to be clearly seen; but it must be understood
that the mean or average position of that nut would be about midway of the length
of the screw E from which position it would have together with the stem E a
great range of adjustment up or down.
In the fork-stem B' feathers or ribs B are formed; they enter grooves E³
formed in the spindle E and prevent rotation of the spindle relatively to the fork
stem, whilst permitting movement of the spindle in the direction of its own length
and not interfering with the rotation of the fork-stem for steering.

page_text: The brake-stem E¹ is screw-threaded throughout the greater part of its length.
Near its lower end just above the brake-shoe is a washer E preferably of leather
which encircles the stem just below the socket H secured in the lower end of the
fork stem by a screw or other fastening. This washer prevents the passage of dirt
to the interior of the fork-stem. E is a nut screwed on to the brake stem E
above the socket H. I is a helical spring which encircles the brake stem and is
retained between the socket 'H and nut E*; it serves to keep the brake-shoe
normally at the upper end of its stroke. J is a strap adjustable upon the spindle E;
it serves to limit the downward movement.of the spindle to the desired extent.
To put the brake on all that is necessary is to depress the handle-bar D and
with it the spindle E and stem E¹ thus forcing the brake spoon G directly into
contact with the tyre C against the pressure of the spring I, which latter acts as
soun as permitted by the rider, to restore the handle-bar D to its original position and
take off the brake.
If desired the handle-bar D can be fixed and the brake locked out of use by the
strap which can be fixed at any desired position on the spindle E; for instance
when the spindle is at the upper extreme of its travel, if the strap J is moved
down as far as the nut immediately below it (in Fig. 1) and there fixed it will
prevent the spindle E and handle-bar D from being depressed at all. Or other
means such for example as a lamp-bracket screw may be used for this purpose.
Also any convenient means may be used to fix the brake in its operative position
hard upon the wheel to prevent the machine being moved in its owner's absence.
In case it be desired to operate this brake by turning the handle-bar or a portion
thereof instead of pushing it bodily down this may be done by means of an eccentric
or cam, crank or the like.
It will be evident that this invention may be applied to operate a band or other
brake upon the hub of the wheel or the axle by means of suitable connecting
devices.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is;-
1. In a cycle a brake operated by movement of the handle-bar or steering
handles substantially as described.
2. In brake-apparatus for a cycle the combination with the steering head A of a
handle-bar spindle such as E and brake stem both sliding in the fork-stem and
a brake-shoe or equivalent substantially as and for the purpose described.
3. In brake-apparatus for a cycle the combination with a fork-stem of a handle-
bar spindle sliding in the fork-stem a brake-shoe or equivalent G and means for
preventing the spindle from rotating without the fork stem substantially as and
for the purpose described.
4. In cycle brake-apparatus operated by a handle-bar spindle movable endwise
in the fork-stem the combination with the grooves such as E2 in the spindle of the
indented feathers such as 133 in the fork-stem substantially as and for the purpose
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
5. In brake apparatus for a cycle the means whereby the vertical position of the
bandle-bar may be altered without altering the normal position of the brake-shoe
or equivalent consisting essentially of a screw clamp such as the split nuit E and
screwed brake stem E the adjustment being effected by turning the brake-shoe
which is always accessible substantially as described and illustrated in Figure 1
of the accompanying drawings.
6. In brake-apparatus for a cycle the combination with apparatus such as is
described in the last preceding claim of a spring such as I and nut such as E*
whereby the screwed stem E' of the brake is enabled to serve the double purpose
of adjusting the position of the handle spindle with reference to the brake and
carrying the adjustable nut by which the strength of the spring I is regulated
substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

page_text: 7. In brake-apparatus for a cycle the combination with the handle-bar spindle E
of an adjustable stop to enable the brake to be kept out of use substantially as
described.
8. In brake-apparatus of the kind herein before claimed a spring I substantially
as and for the purpose described.
9. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting a complete brake-
apparatus for a cycle substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying
-drawings.
Dated rais 28th day of August 1895.
J. S. FOLEY.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicant.
J. S. FOLEY.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicant.