Improvements in or relating to Velocipedes and the like having Fork- carried Wheels.
Year: 1898

page_text: Improvements in or relating to Velocipedes and the like having Fork-
carried Wheels.
We, CHARLES Walter Hathaway, Works Manager, and the TRIUumph Cycle
COMPANY LIMITED, Cycle Manufacturers, both of Priory Works, Priory Street,
Coventry, Warwickshire, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Our invention relates to velocipedes and the like having fork-carried wheels,
and has for its principal object to reduce vibration arising from inequalities in,
or obstacles on, the road or other surface on which the said velocipede or the
like may be travelling.
To attain our object in the case of the well known rear-driving safety bicycle,
we construct the blades or prongs of the fork of special form as follows. The
upper end of the blade is made of oval section and the major axis is arranged
parallel to the plane of the wheel to be carried, as usual, so as to meet the great
fore-and-aft strain falling on the upper end of the fork. The lower end of the
blade is also made of oval section; but here the major axis, instead of being
arranged parallel to the plane of the wheel as at present usual, is arranged at
right angles thereto. The sectional form gradually changes from the one oval
to the other between the two ends of the blade. The blades may be straight but
are preferably curved. The sectional circumference is preferably gradually
reduced from the upper end to the lower, and in such a
way that,
rear elevation, the same width of blade is maintained from
top to bottom, the major axis of the lower end of the blade equalling the minor
axis of the upper end thereof. The said width is preferably somewhat greater
than now usual so as to increase the lateral rigidity of the fork. In other respects
the fork may be constructed in any suitable manner.
in front or
From the above description the application of our invention to other suitable
velocipedes and the like having fork-carried wheels will be readily understood. A
fork constructed in the manner above described allows the wheel carried by it to
vield in its own plane, when encountering inequalities and obstacles, much more
readily than a fork of the usual section wherein the oval or D shape form of
the blades having the major axis parallel to the wheel is maintained throughout.
IT
GOLL
T 1000
G. DOUGLAS LEECHMAN,
18, Hertford Street, Coventry, 75, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., &
9, Exchange Chambers, New Street, Birmingham.
Patent Agent for
Applicants.

page_text: Improvements in or relating to Velocipedes and the like having Fork-
carried Wheels.
We, CHARLES WALTER HATHAWAY, Works Manager, and the TRIUMPH CYCLE
Co. LTD., Cycle Manufacturers, both of Priory Works, Priory Street, Coventry,
Warwickshire, 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 velocipedes and the like having fork-carried wheels,
and has for its principal object to reduce vibration arising from inequalities in,
or obstacles on, the road or other surface on which the said velocipede or the
like may be travelling. And our invention consists essentially in making the
blades of the fork of the special form and arranging them in the manner here-
inafter described and illustrated.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure I is a side elevation and Figure II is a front elevation of a fork suitable
for a rear-driving safety bicycle.
Figure III shows transverse sections of one blade of the fork at the respective
points in Figure II connected, therewith by the horizontal lines.
Figure III is drawn to a larger scale than Figures I and II. Like letters and
numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.
The upper end 2 of each blade A is made of oval section and the major axis
is arranged parallel to the plane of the wheel to be carried, as usual, so as to
meet the great fore and aft strain falling on the upper end of the fork. The lower
end 6 of the blade is also made of oval section; but here the major axis, instead
of being arranged parallel to the plane of the wheel as at present usual, is arranged
at right angles thereto. The sectional form gradually changes from the one oval
to the other between the two ends of the blade, as shown by the sections 3, 4, 5 in
Fig. III, passing through a circular sectional form at or near the point 4.
The blades may be straight but are preferably curved more or less as shown.
The sectional circumference is preferably gradually reduced from the upper end
to the lower, and in such a way that, in front or rear elevation, the same width
of blade is maintained from top to bottom, the major axis of the lower end 6 of
the blade equalling the minor axis of the upper end 2 thereof. The said width
is preferably somewhat greater than now usual so as to increase the lateral rigidity
of the fork. In other respects the fork may be constructed in any suitable
manner.
From the above description the application of our invention to other suitable
velocipedes and the like having fork-carried wheels will be readily understood.
A fork constructed in the manner above described allows the wheel carried by it
to yield in its own plane, when encountering inequalities and obstacles, much more
readily than a fork of the usual section wherein the oval or D shape form of
the blades having the major axis parallel to the wheel is maintained throughout.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. A velocipede or like fork having the blades substantially of the form herein
described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
2. A velocipede or like fork, the upper ends of the blades whereof are of oval
section with the major axes arranged parallel to the plane of the wheel to be

page_text: carried by such fork, the lower ends of such blades being of oval section with the
major axes arranged at right angles to the plane of the said wheel, and the inter-
mediate portions of such blades gradually changing from the one form to the other,
for the purpose set forth.
3. In a fork of the kind referred to in the preceding claims, reducing the
sectional circumference of the blades from the upper end to the lower in such a
way that the same transverse width of each blade is maintained from top to
bottom.
Dated this 27th day of March 1899.
DOUGLAS LEECHMAN, M.Cy.E.I.,
Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents.
18, Hertford Street, Coventry,
9, Exchange Chambers, New Street, Birmingham, and
75, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agent for the Applicants.