Improvements in Cycles.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Dec., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Oct., 1892-Accepted, 5th Nov., 1892
Improvements in Cycles.
I, THOMAS BEAVAN SLOPER of 11, 12, 14 & 15 Brittox Devizes in the County
of Wilts do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in cycles & the first part consists of
an improved form of brake specially adapted for use with pneumatic or rubber
tyres.
Instead of the usual plunger brakes, or band brakes working on metallic drums,
I employ what I call a "mud guard brake." Instead of the usual hollow or
concave mudguard I sometimes use a flat strip or band preferably of metal. This
band is bent to about the usual crescent form of a mud guard & is so arranged near
the circumference of the wheel that it is clear of the wheel in its normal or
inoperative condition but may be straightened out more or less & when so
straightened part of its surface comes in contact with the tyre or wheel which acts
as a brake.
The band may be brought in contact with the wheel in a variety of ways. In
the case of the front wheel of a safety bicycle I prefer to secure it in about the
position usually occupied by the guard the lower part being held in place by stays
from the wheel hub in the usual manner & also stayed from about the top of
the fork in a manner to withstand the direct strain when the band is tightened.
The top of the flexible band or brake is secured to one arm of a bell crank lever
which is operated by the brake handle.
In the arrangement just described the band is tightened from the top, but if
desired this may be done from the bottom or from both ends of the band at the
same time.
A simple arrangement for tightening from the bottom is to let the bottom stays
connected near the hub take the form of levers operated by rods or other means
from the brake handle.
If desired the stay which runs more or less parallel with the band may be
hinged or jointed in such a manner that it will act similar to a toggle joint &
may be arranged to tighten the band from either end or from both at the same
time.
Cords or chains working over pulleys may be used to connect the brake handle
instead of the usual rods, either straightening the band by direct tension or by
operating a lever or toggle joint. I arrange the band in such a manner that it
returns quite clear of the wheel after use. The band in the above described
arrangement acts as a combined mud guard & brake but if desired the band can
be so made that it will retire into the hollow of a mud guard, in which case
the guard may be used to transmit the necessary power to operate the same.
The brake may be arranged so that it may be operated by foot as well as by
hand in which case very considerable power may be obtained. A great advantage
in this form of brake is that a very considerable surface of the tyre is operated
upon at the same time, thus giving more power with less tendency to tear up or
damage the surface of the tyre.
If desired instead of one flat band two bands may be used side by side, preferably
at an angle to each other in such a manner that the friction or wear comes more or
less at the sides of the tyre & not in the middle where the running wear comes.
The two bands are preferably connected together in places either rigidly or in a
flexible manner.
The second part of my invention relates to the means of inflating the pneumatic

page_text: tyres. Instead of the usual detachable air pump I prefer to use a special form
arranged upon each wheel but preferably near the hub.
This pump revolves with the wheel & at one or more parts of each revolution it
may be operated by means of a lever or equivalent device so arranged that it makes
contact with a cam eccentric or other arrangement affixed to the fork or frame of
the machine. The tyre has the usual valve and is connected with the pump by
means of a small tube. I sometimes place a safety valve in connection with this
tube & arranged in such a manner that when the pressure in the tyre is sufficient
this safety valve opens & the escaping air blows a whistle or signals by other
means, but I prefer to cause the escaping air from the safety valve to enter a small
rubber bag or pneumatic device so arranged that when it is inflated it puts the
lever (or other means for operating the air pump) out of reach of the cam or
means by which the same is worked & thus automatically stops the pumping.
Any suitable device may be used for pumping the air & if desired it may be
automatically set in action when the pressure of air in the tyre becomes low, or it
may be operated once in any number of revolutions of the wheel.
In case the tyre gets punctured on the road it will usually be possible to ride the
machine, as fresh air can be pumped in to take the place of that escaping at the
leak as the machine travels along.
To inflate the tyre it is only necessary to lift the wheel from contact with the
ground & to cause it to revolve after having set the pumping device in action.
Dated this 1st day of December 1891.
THOMAS SLOPER.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Cycles.
I, THOMAS BEAVAN SLOPER, of 14 and 15 Brittox, Devizes, in the County of
Wilts, House Furnisher, 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 und by the following statement :-
This invention relates to an improved form of brake specially adapted for use
with pneumatic or rubber tyres. Instead of the usual plunger brakes or band
brakes working on metallic drums I employ a mud-guard brake.
The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings,
in which
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a cycle with the mud-guard brake
attached.
Fig. 2 is also a side elevation showing a modified form of brake.
Fig. 3 is a back, and
Fig. 4 a front view of the brake shown in Figure 2.
Fig. 5 is a modified arrangement of brake.
Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are transverse sections of details.
Fig. 9 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section showing a
modification.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
A is the tyre, B the fork, C the frame-head, all of the ordinary construction.
D is the brake rod preferably operated from the handle-bar, its lower end being
jointed to the shorter arm of the bell-crank or angle lever E, to the longer arm of
which the brake F is jointed. This brake F may consist of a. flat strip or band of
flexible material preferably metal; and may be curved to a radius sufficiently
exceeding that of the wheel:
The other end of the brake strip or
to the extremities of the stays H I.
circumference of the wheel that it is
band may be rigidly secured at the point G
The brake band' is so arranged' near, the
clear of the tyre when in its normal or

page_text: inoperative position, but when the bell-crank lever is operated it will assume the
position shown in dotted lines, Figure 1, that is it will be brought into contact with
the tyre and act as a brake. Stays H branching from the axle and stays I
branching from the upper part of the fork B, meet the lower end of the brake band
at G and the whole are secured together by the bolt G'.
In the arrangement described above the band is tightened from the upper end,
but if desired the tightening may be effected from the lower end or from both ends
at once.
A simple arrangement for tightening from the bottom is shown in Figure 5 in
which it will be seen that the stay H is made to act as a lever by having jointed
to it at H the link H' which at H is jointed to the angle lever J pivotted at J¹
to the fork and at J' to the brake rod D.
The lever H when pushed down will turn about the wheel centre in the direction
of the arrow and will carry with it the brake band thereby pulling it onto the
wheel.
One of the great advantages of this form of brake is that a large surface of tyre
is acted upon at the same time thus giving more braking effect with less tendency
to wear the treading surface.
Instead of applying the band brake on the wearing surface of the tyre, it may if
desired be applied to the sides or edges in which case it will be necessary to form
the brake in two or more parts. This arrangement is shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4,
in which F are the two brake bands preferably set at an angle to each other
and they are carried by a central stay K secured at one end to the upper part
of the fork B. The lower end of this rod K may be spread out to form arms Las
shown in Fig. 3.
To the brake bands F are rivetted or otherwise secured lugs M M¹ the
portions M of which are fitted loosely on the arms L whereon they are secured by
nuts L' or equivalent means. The front ends of the brake bands F are connected
to the lever E in a manner similar to that in which the back ends are connected to
the stay K.
Figs. 6 and 7 are transverse sections showing in the one case a wire spring N
and in the other a flat spring to either of which the angle brake bands Fare
secured; these springs connect the two bands together and they allow of sufficient
play to admit of their movement in a forward direction.
In the place of a plain steel band for the mud-guard brake a steel band lined
with leather inside may be used to increase the friction, or if desired the whole
brake band may consist of leather. This form of brake band is shown in Fig. 8
in which F is the band of leather, the edges of which are secured to wires P by
metal, leather or other clips or strips Q passing the wires, rivetted, sewn or other-
wise secured to the leather at Q. The leather acts as a brake against the tyre
the strain being on the wires P.
Celluloid or other suitable material may be substituted for leather.
The brake bands may be used together with the ordinary mud-guard in which
case the bands may retire into the hollow of the guard when not in use and if
desired the brake band or hands may be comparatively short and may be curved
the opposite way to the guard. This arrangement is illustrated in Fig. 9 in which
the band F is almost straight and retires more or less into the hollow of the
ordinary mud-guard when not in use but when the lever E is operated the band
takes a more rounded form until the outer part thereof comes in contact with the
tyre and so acts as a brake.
Two or more bands may be used in a manner similar to that illustrated in Fig. 2
and if desired the mud-guard may be dispensed with altogether.
The bands may be jointed at a central or any other position in order to allow
greater freedom when two or more bands are used together.
Any desired arrangement of spring for replacing the brake after use to its normal
position may be used.

page_text: The brake may be arranged so that it may be operated by foot as well as or
instead of by hand.
It is obvious that the arrangement of the various parts of this mud-guard brake
may be considerably modified without departing from the spirit of this invention.
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. A brake for cycles consisting of a flexible band encircling a portion of the
tyre held in position at one end the other end being connected to a bell-crank or
bent lever operated by the brake-rod substantially as described and illustrated in
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.
2. A mud-guard brake for cycles consisting of a flexible band encircling a
portion of the tyre adapted to act as the brake through the medium of rods and
levers operated from the brake handle substantially as described and illustrated in
Figure 5 of the accompanying drawings.
3. A brake for cycles consisting of two flexible bands set at an angle to each
other and adapted to come in contact with each side of the tyre substantially as
specified.
4. The combination with a stay or stays such as K or I of one or more flexible
bands such as F connected thereto substantially as described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
5. The combination with two or more flexible bands such as F of intermediate
springs such as N or O substantially as described and illustrated in the accom-
panying drawings.
6. A brake for cycles consisting of a band of leather or other flexible material
secured to and strengthened by two or more wires substantially as described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
7. A brake for cycles consisting of one or more flexible bands arranged and
operated substantially as described and illustrated in Figure 9 of the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this 1st day of October 1802
THOMAS BEAVAN SLOPER,
W. P. Thompson & Boult,
Agents for the Applicant.