Improvemnnts in or relating to Handle Bars for Cycles.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Nov., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvemnnts in or relating to Handle Bars for Cycles.
I, FREDERICK SPENCER GUY, of 17 Lordship Park, Green Lanes, in the
County of Middlesex, General Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this
Invention, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in, or relating to, handle bars for
cycles, and it has for its object to enablo said handle-bars to lie lengthwise of the
machine, either with the handles directed upwardly, or downwardly, thereby
avoiding the disadvantages that apply to handle-bars which cannot be moved from
their normal position.
In carrying out my Invention I form the stem of the handle bar separately from
the bar itself, and I provide, at the upper end thereof, a rigid block or plug
&lapted to enter one or other of a pair of holes formed at right angles to each
other in the middle of the handle bar. This plug is split on divided, and a
suitable device is provided to enable it to be expanded to grip firmly in the said
holes.
The stem of the handle-bar is fitted in the steering head in any suitable
manner and the handle bar can be placed in any of the positions referred to, by
inserting the plug into ono or other of the holes, before the said plug is expanded.
When fixed in one position, the said handle-bar can be readily changed to
another, by withdrawing or easing the expanding device, lifting the bar off the
plug, and replacing it in the desired position, after which the plug is again
expanded.
The plug is preferably of square section, the holes in the handle bar being
also square and formed in a central solid block to which the halves or arms of
the handle bar are secured.
The expanding device may consist of a screw rod adapted to be screwed axially
into the plug, and provided with a conical or swelled portion which serves to
open the split or division in the plug and so cause the latter to grip firmly in
the holes of the handle-bar. This screw rod has a head to enable it to be turned by
means of a spanner; or to avoid the necessity for a spanner, a suitable handle
may be pivotted to the head, said handle being turned up into line with the
rod to enable the handle-bar to be put on, or taken off.
I may form at the base of the head of the expanding device, a square projecting
edge or collar of the same size as the top of the plug. When the faces of this
collar and the plug are parallel, the handle can, on the loosening of the plug, be
removed without difficulty. When, however, the collar is turned relatively to
the plug, its corners project over the sides of the latter and so prevent removal of the
handle-bar. A safeguard against the handle-bar being accidentally pulled off the
plug by a sudden strain or jerk, when in use, is thus obtained.

page_text: The above mentioned improvements can readily be applied to existing
machines.
Dated this 17th day of November 1896.
ERNEST DE PASS,
Chartered Patent Agent,
78, Fleet Street, London, and 6 Market Street,. Nottingham,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Handle Bars for Cycles.
I, FREDERICK SPENCER GUY, of 17 Lordship Park, Green Lanes, in tho
County of Middlesex, General Merchant, 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, reference being had
to the accompanying drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that
is to say:
This Invention relates to improvements in, or relating t, handle bars for
cycles, and it has for its object to enable said handle-bars to lie lengthwise of the
machine, either with the handles directed upwardly, or downwardly, thereby
avoiding the disadvantages that apply to handle bars which cannot be moved froin
their normal position.
In carrying out my Invention I form the handle bar without the usual vertical
stem, but I provide, at the centre of the bar where such stem is usually situated
a pair of holes (or sets of holes in case the bar is hollow) arranged at right angles
to each other. The upper end of the steering post has fitted in it, a rigid block
or plug adapted to enter one or other of the hales (or sets of holes). This plug is
split er divided and a wedging screw (or other suitable device) is fitted axially
in it to enable it to be expanded to grip firmly in the hole (or sets of holes). This
wedging screw has a pivotted handle for turning it, and it may conveniently havo
a square or polygonal head to serve as a locking device, as hereinafter described.
And in order that my Invention may be readily understood, I will proceed to
describe the same fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a side view, partly in section, shewing the central portion of my
improved handle bar, and the means for fixing the same.
Fig. 2 is a transverse section thereof.
Fig. 3 is a plan with the wedging screw removed.
Fig. 4 is a plan shewing the head of the wedging screw in the locking position.
a is the handle bar which, as shewn, is hollow, and has two sets of holes a¹, a³,
the set a being situated at right angles to the set a³. If, however, the central
part of the handle bar were made solid, as in some cases it may be, there would
simply be two holes or perforations passing through at right angles. b is the
plug which is fitted in the upper end of the steering post and which is divided as
indicated at 6'. c is the wedging screw which is fitted axially into the said plug,
and has a tapered or countersunk portion c adjacent to its head', which latter
corresponds exactly in shape to the top of the plug, so that its edges are normally
flush with those of the said plug. d is the pivotted handle for turning the
wedging screw. It is pivotted thereto, as shewn at d', and it normally occupies
the position shewn in full lines, but can be turned up vertically, as shewn in
dotted lines, when it is desired to take off the handle bar to change its position.
This plug is made of such a size that it forms a practically true fit in the
holes a, a, before being expanded, so that only a very slight movement, say a

page_text: quarter of a turn, of the wedging screw c will force the tapered portion sufficiently
far into the plug to give the necessary expansion for causing the latter to grip
tightly and give a rigid connection without any shaking. In the arrangement
shewn, the holes al a, are square, and the other parts, namely the plug b, and the
head of the wedging scrow, are made to correspond in shape, but hexagonal or
other forms may be adopted if desired.
The change of the handle bar, from one position to the other, is effected by
first turning back the wedging screw slightly, to withdraw the tapered part c¹
from the plug. The latter thus ceases to grip in the handle bar which can be
removed after the handle d of the screw has been placed vertically, and can be
replaced in the desired position. For example, in changing from the working
position, shewn in full lines Fig. 3, to the position lengthwise of tho machine,
indicated by dotted lines, the handle bar is taken off, turned through 90° in its
own plane, and replaced so that the same set of holes a receives the plug which
is re-expanded to fix the handle firmly in its new position. To turn the handles
up, or down, the plug is inserted into one or other of the holes a³.
The locking action, to prevent any possibility of the handle coming off the plug,
is effected automatically by turning the wedging screw to expand the plug so
that the corners of the head c³ project over the handle bar sufliciently to prevent
its removal, as shewn more clearly in Fig. 4.
The above described improvements can be readily applied to existing machines.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same may be performed, I declare that I claim:
1. A handle bar for cycles, provided with transverse holes, (or sets of holes)
En one or other of which a split or divided plug terminating the steering post is
adapted to enter, and which plug is furnished with a device whereby it can be
expanded so as to grip firmly in the holes, substantially as and for the purposes
described.
2. In combination with a handle bar constructed as described in the preceding
claim, the wedging screw (c) arranged inside the plug (b) and having the pivotted
handle () for turning it, and a head (c) of the same shape as the end of the plug,
said head serving to lock tho handle bar in position (Fig. 4) when the screw is
turned so as to expand the plug (b), substantially as described and as shewn in.
the drawings.
3. My improvements in handle bars for cycles, whereby the same can be caused
to lie lengthwise of the machine with their handles either upward or downward,
substantially as hereinbeforo described and shewn with reference to tho annoxed
drawings.
Dated this 17th day of August 1897.
ERNEST DE PASS,
Chartered Patent Agent,
78, Fleet Street, Loudon, and 5 Market Street, Nottingham,
Agent for the Applicant.