Improvements in or connected with Band Brakes and Band Brake Mechanism for Bicycles, Tricycles, Motor Carriages, or other Vehicles in which a steering handle is employed.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Band Brakes and Band Brake
Mechanism for Bicycles, Tricycles, Motor Carriages, or other
Vehicles in which a steering handle is employed.
I, CHARLES ROBERT HUTCHINGS, of Grosvenor Chambers, Bournemouth, in the
County of Hants, Solicitor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention consists of improvements in or connected with band brakes and band
brake mechanism for bicycles, tricycles, motor carriages, or other vehicles in which a
steering handle is employed, and the objects of said invention are to enable the band
brake to be easily actuated and remain in operation continuously as long as may be
desired, and also to render the same more powerful and effective than at present,
without requiring any greater exertion on the part of the user.
For the purpose of carrying out my invention, I provide an independent rod,
mounted in bearings within the hollow handle bar (or in bearings attached to the
same at any desired point) capable of being turned axially by means of handles or
knobs at the projecting ends, and thus winding up the cord or equivalent of the
band brake hereafter described.
In some types of safety bicycles and tricycles, the steering pillar is situated at a
considerable distance in front of the rider. When this is the case, I prefer to shape
the centre of the handle bar in the form of a U, the centre of the loop being the
point of attachment of the steering head, and by this means bring the main portion
of the handle bar near to the rider. The extreme ends of the handle bar, carrying
the handles, may be curved, and the remaining portions may consist of straight open
tubes, connected by the U loop aforesaid. Said tubes may contain the rod before
mentioned, the central part of the rod remaining exposed between the extremities of
the U loop. The exposed part forms the barrel upon which may be wound the cord
or strap connected with the brake proper, being secured thereto by a projecting pin
or the like.
In the case of a steering pillar being comparatively near to the rider, an ordinary
handle bar may be used, which is straight along the greater portion of its length, and
may contain bearings for carrying the rod for actuating the brake, said rod projecting
slightly through holes made at the bend of the handle bar, and carrying bandles
or knobs. The winding cord or strap is made to pass through an orifice at a
convenient point in the handle bar.
If desired, I may provide a ratchet mechanism or equivalent means for holding the
brake in action, and it will be seen that any stretching of the cord or strap can always
be taken up, so that said brake may, even after long use, be just as powerful and
as effective as at first.
My improved band brake consists of a band and lever arranged to operate in a
special manner, and I will describe the same as applied to the front wheel of a bicycle.
It may, however, be equally applicable to the back wheel of a bicycle, or to the wheels
of any other light vehicles.
I attach one end of the aforesaid brake band to the side of the fork in any well
known manner, and near to the opposite and free end, I secure upon the outside face
of said band a small projection, or may thicken it out radially at that point, and in
said projection or thickened out portion, I make a small hole for connection to the
brake lever

page_text: Said brake lever may be connected in more than one way. For instance, it may
be straight, and have one end pivotted upon the side of the wheel fork at a point
falling a little within the circumference of the brake drum, the cord or strap being
secured to the other end. At an intermediate point, preferably nearer to the hinged
end, the lever may be jointed to the band by means of a bolt passing through the
small hole aforesaid, or equivalent means may be used. It may be desirable,
however, to pass a bolt through the brake band, and cause same to work in a slot
formed within the lever.
Another arrangement may consist of a bell crank lever, with a long and a short arm,
said lever being pivotted at the outer end of the short arın to the side of the fork,
preferably at a point just outside of, or close to the circumference of the brake drum.
A connecting link or the like is attached to the lever at the angle, and extends to the
small hole before mentioned in the brake band. The cord or strap is attached to the
free end of the long arm, and the circular motion thus given produces a constant pull
in the desired direction upon the free end of the brake band.
The action of a lever, arranged in either of the ways mentioned, will cause the
brake band not only to be tightened upon the drum, but also to be drawn or forced
down upon the same.
To render my improved brake as effective as possible, the free end of the band is
extended beyond the point of connection of the lever as far as the circumference of
the brake drum will conveniently allow, and in this manner the maximum of surface
contact is obtained to produce the necessary friction.
I am enabled to bring very considerable braking power upon either one or more
wheels by my invention, without galling or cramping the hand, and can employ one
or both hands for the purpose, and at the same time be able to steer.
Dated this 6th day of August. 1896
STANLEY POPPLEWELL & CO.,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in or connected with Band Brakes and Band Brake
Mechanism for Bicycles, Tricycles, Motor Carriages, or other
Vehicles in which a steering handle is employed.
I, CHARLES ROBERT HUTCHINGS, of Grosvenor Chambers Bournemouth in the
County of Hants, Solicitor, 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 present invention relates to bicycles, tricycles, motor carriages, or other
vehicles in which a steering handle is employed, and consists firstly of a device for
operating the brake from the handle bar and secondly of an improved construction and
arrangement of band brake specially adapted for use with such device, the objects of
said invention being particularly to enable the band brake to be easily actuated and
remain in continuous action for as long as may be desired, and also to render the
same more powerful and effective than at present, without calling upon any greater
effort on the part of the user.
In order to enable my invention to be more clearly understood, I have attached to
this specification a sheet of drawings, to which I will now refer.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a complete bicycle, of diamond frame type,
furnished with my improved band brake and band brake mechanism, and
Figure 2 is an elevation of the rear portion of a dropped frame or lady's bicycle,
showing an alternative form of brake band lever.

page_text: Figure 3 is a side elevation showing the same manner of applying my invention to
a lady's machine as is shown in Figure 1 in connection with the diamond frame
ype, and
Figure 4 is a perspective view of the handle bar showing clearly its action and the
attachment of the brake cord or wire.
Figure 5 shows partly in longitudinal section another form of handle bar, which
may sometimes be preferred to the form shown in Figure 4.
Figures 6 and 7 are views on a larger scale of the band brake, showing the same in
operation and out of operation respectively, and
Figure 8 shows a convenient form of pulley and wire or cord guard (on a larger
scale).
Dealing first with the brake actuating device, I provide an independent rod or
shaft a (in place of the usual brake hand lever) mounted within the hollow handle
bar b, or in bearings attached to the same at any desired point.
In many types of tricycles and safety bicycles, the steering pillar is situated at an
inconvenient distance in front of the rider, necessitating stooping and leaning forward,
or as an alternative placing the saddle in a forward position, the objections to doing
which are, on other grounds, well known. My present invention is particularly
applicable to such a case as this, inasmuch as it enables the rider to have one pair of
the handles always within easy distance. Thus I prefer to employ a handle bar of the
shape such as shown in Figures 1 and 4, wherein the centre portion c is in the form
of a U, the bend of the loop being the point of attachment to the handle bar stem, the
two arms curving round in the direction of the saddle and carrying at their ends two
tubes b b, the latter being intended to receive the rod or shaft a aforesaid, which is
capable of being turned axially by means of handles or knobs a', and thus wind up a
cord d or equivalent, for the purpose of operating the brake proper.
The extreme ends of the handle bar carrying the handles b, b, may be curved, the
other remaining portion thereof consisting of the straight open tubes b b and the
connecting U loop aforesaid.
The exposed part of the rod or shaft a forms the barrel upon which may be wound
the cord or strap connected with the brake proper, being secured thereto by a
projecting pin or finger e, and thus enabling the slack to be taken up in half a turn or
less. It will therefore be seen that the main portion of the handle bar (as well as the
brake handles), is brought near to the rider, and a perfect position for ease and for
power (when required) is obtainable by having a choice of two kinds of handles-the
palling and the turning handles-in the two positions.
In the case of a steering pillar being comparatively near to the rider, the ordinary
type of handle bar may be used, as shown in Figure 5, which is straight along the
greater portion of its length, and may contain or form bearings for carrying the brake
shaft a, said shaft projecting a short distance through holes fmade at the bend of the
handle bar, and carrying handles or knobs a' as before. The winding cord or strap d
is made to pass through an orifice g at a convenient point in the handle bar which is
preferably enlarged as shown by h."
If desired, I may provide a ratchet mechanism or equivalent means for holding the
brake in action.
Either hand may be used alone or both hands together, for turning the brake rod
or shaft, the steering being effected at the same time. A slide j (Figures 1, 2 and 3),
of brass or other suitable material, on the tent rope principle, may be employed for
adjusting the length of cord when necessary.
My improved band brake consists of a band surrounding a drum and arranged to
operate from a two-armed, L shaped, or straight or other lever in a special manner.
It is applicable equally to the back wheel or the front wheel of a Cycle, or to the
wheels of any other light vehicles, but in the case of a rear driven bicycle, I prefer
that it should be used on the back wheel as shown in the drawing.
Referring now especially to Figures 6 and 7, I secure upon the back stay, on the
side away from the chain wheel, a bracket or plate k having a slot parallel as nearly
as possible with the slots carrying the rear wheel axle. I attach one end of the brake

page_text: band to said plate k by means of a bolt ma passing through a U shaped boss a (or the
upturned sides of a U shaped plate) secured to one end of the band o, said plate k
being in such position and the boss n so adjusted within the slot that the drum p,
of usual construction, may revolve freely when the brake is out of action. The other
or free end of the brake band is furnished with a projection q (or thickened out
radially at that point) and in said projection (or thickened out portion) is a hole
through which a pin is passed for connecting the same with the brake lever by means
of a link or links r.
The brake band lever may be L shaped or of bell crank form, consisting of two arms,
a longer a and a shorter one s¹, the shorter arm sl, being pivotted at its free end to the
boss is by means of the bolt m passing through the same as before described, and the
link or links r being hinged at the point where the arms s and a meet at an angle.
The cord or strap d is attached to the free end of the long arm a and produces a
circular motion or a constant pull in the desired direction upon the free end of the
brake band at q, which is thus not only tightened upon the drum p, but is also
drawn or forced down upon the same. The spring w causes the lever to return to its
normal position.
The brake lever may, however, as an alternative be straight as shown by Figure 2
instead of being of a bent form. In this case the brake lever », which is shown out of
operation, is pivotted at one end to the slotted plate k, the latter being mounted
somewhat within the circle of the brake drum p, the other end of the lever carrying
the cord, strap or equivalent d passing over a link as shown. At an intermediate
point a, preferably near to the hinged end, I attach the end of the band o by means
of a bolt or the like, the other end of the band being fixed to the fork at a point y.
The action of pulling the cord or equivalent d causes the band to tighten and be
forced down upon the drum p.
To render the frictional resistance produced by the band against the drum as
effective as possible, I extend the ends of the band o (or one end only) for a
convenient distance beyond the point of connection of the lever or link, as shown
clearly in Figure 7, so that when the same is in operation there may be practically
no portion of the surface of the drum which is not in contact with the band (see
Figure 6). In this manner, the maximum of surface contact is obtained to produce
the necessary friction.
I may vary the proportions of the lever arms and the width and diameter of the
drum, likewise the shape or size of the brake handles to suit varying requirements,
and my invention may be applied to more than one wheel of a vehicle if desired.
The cord d is preferably made of iron with a breaking strain of about 200lbs., but the
working strain need never exceed 60lbs., and may often be as low as 30lbs. The
cord may be guided from the bandle bar or brake shaft to the brake lever, over pulleys
in various ways, and in the drawings I have shown two convenient arrangements, one
for a gentleman's and one for a lady's machine. In the former case the cord d may
pass over a pulley t at the top of the steering tube, either fixed as in Figure 1, or
swivelled as in Figure 4, and from thence over a fixed or preferably swivelled pulley
or guide u. In Figure 3 the cord d is shown passing around or over a pulley t and
following the line of the straight upper bar of a dropped frame to the crank bracket,
at or near which is fixed another pulley or guide v.
An enlarged view of a suitable pulley with guide is shown in Figure 8.
It is obvious that in the case of a front wheel, or one not requiring any chain
adjustment, the plate k need not be slotted, and may even be dispensed with in some
cases, the end of the band and the lever being attached directly to the fork or stay.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A band brake consisting of a drum p in combination with a band o operated by
a bell crank lever 8 8', or straight lever, the ends or one end of said band being
extended so that it may when operating produce the maximum of surface contact

page_text: substantially in the manner herein described with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
2. In combination with a band brake such as claimed in claim 1, a brake actuating
mechanism consisting of a brake rod or shaft a capable of revolving axially in bearings
forming part of or attached to the handle bar by means of turnable handles a¹ capable
also of being used for steering purposes, in addition to the usual fixed handles
intended for pulling and steering purposes only, said shaft carrying a pin or finger to
which the cord or equivalent leading to the band brake proper is secured by which
means the slack is quickly taken up, substantially as hereinbefore described with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
STANLEY POPPLEWELL & Co.,
7 & 8, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, London.
Chartered Patent Agents.
STANLEY POPPLEWELL & Co.,
7 & 8, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, London.
Chartered Patent Agents.