Year: 1899

page_text: .
LUIGI TAFFURELLI, 12, Stanley Road, Fulham, S.W., Marble Mosaic Con-
tractor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:—
The brake to be back action, and working from the back of the saddle which
is a rocking one. The brake is fixed to the back springs of the saddle by a
steel plate with bolts & nuts.
The rod of brake is telescopic so that saddle can be raised or lowered to suit
rider. The brake acts on the tyre and rim. of the wheel or on either of them as
may be required and is applied by pressure of rider on saddle.
The brake on tyre is fitted with metal roller covered with rubber.
The brake on rim is fitted with rubber pad.
The brake on rim & the brake on tyre are applied by one pressure.
This brake can be fitted so as to act on the rim or on the tyre respectively as
may be desired.
LUIGI TAFFURELLI.
I, LUIGI TAFFURELLI, of 12, Stanley Road, Fulham, in the County of London, -
Marble Mosaic Contractor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer
tained in and by the following statement:-
-
This invention relates to an improved brake for cycles, motor vehicles and the
like which is adapted to be worked from the back of a seat or saddle on the
cycle to which it is fitted, and to be applied by the pressure of the weight of
the rider. The improved brake comprises a tyre brake and a rim brake.
In carrying out this invention the brake is arranged to act preferably upon the
hind wheel or wheels of the cycle, motor vehicle or the like, and the seat or
saddle from which the brake is worked is so constructed as to be capable of being
rocked or tilted in a vertical plane in order to put the brake into operation.
In normal riding the rider sits well over the pivot of the seat or saddle so as to
keep the saddle in the position in which the brake is inoperative. When the
rider desires to apply the brake, he has merely to lean back so as to shift his
weight to a suitable extent to the rear of the said pivot whereby he tilts the
seat or saddle backwards to a sufficient extent to put on the brake. To take off
the brake he has merely to lean forward again to allow the seat or saddle to
57

page_text: resume its normal position. The brake operating rod is preferably made tele-
scopic so as to enable the seat or saddle to be raised or lowered to suit the rider
without interfering with the working of the brake.
The tyre brake is preferably of the roller type, and the rim brake preferably.
consists of brake shoes or pads of suitable material acting upon opposite sides
of the wheel rim.
The tyre brake and the rim brake are applied by means of one and the same
operating mechanism and preferably in such a manner that the tyre brake will
come into operation a little in advance of the rim brake. By this means if the
tyre brake should become useless, as for example in the case of a puncture of a
pneumatic tyre, the rim brake can be relied on to stop the cycle.
Either one of the brakes can be removed without interfering with the working
of the remaining brake.
In a bicycle the improved brake is connected to the saddle preferably by means
of a plate bolted to the back springs of the saddle.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a rear end elevation and a side elevation of
one construction, and Figure 3 is a side elevation of another construction, of my
combined tyre and rim brake as applied to a bicycle of the ordinary diamond-
frame safety type.
Only so much of the bicycle is shown in cach figure as is necessary to enable
the nature of the invention to be clearly understood. In all, these figures the
brake is shown in its normal inoperative position.
Referring first to Figures 1 and 2,-1 is the saddle of ordinary construction
comprising front supporting springs 2, rear supporting springs 3, and longi-
tudinal supporting bars 4, 4. It is mounted by means of a clip 5 (hereinafter
more fully described with reference to Figures 4 and 5) on the saddle pin 6 in
such a manner that the saddle can be rocked by the rider backwards and forwards
on the clip pivot as a centre to an extent sufficient to put the brake into and out
of operation when desired. 7 is a cross piece which may form part of or, if not,
is fitted to the ordinary saddle. To it is attached, conveniently by means of a
nut and screwthread as shown, an eye piece 8 to which is connected by means of
a pin joint the upper part 9 of the brake rod or plunger 9, 10. The brake rod
is made in two parts 9 and 10 connected together by means of the screw thimble 11,
for the purpose of enabling the brake rod to be lengthened or shortened to suit
any desired height of the saddle and any required extent of movement of the
brake. 12 is a long cylinder firmly held in one set of jaws 13 of a double-
ended clip 13, 14 which is fixed by means of its other set of jaws 14, 14 to the
back forks 15 of the bicycle frame. The lower part 10 of the brake rod extends
through both ends of the cylinder 12 and carries at its forked lower end 16 a
removable roller 17 suitably shaped to act as a brake for the tyre 18 carried by
the rim 19 of the hind wheel 20 of the bicycle.
In the rear face of the cylinder 12 is formed a longitudinal slot 21. Pro-
jecting through this slot near the upper end thereof is a stud 22 which is fixed
to the brake rod 10 and which has pivoted on its outer or rear end the two upper
links 23, 24 of a toggle mechanism.
The corresponding two lower toggle links are formed by the two outwardly bent
upper arms 25, 26 of two levers 25, 27 and 26, 28 which are pivoted on a
common pivot 29 carried by the clip 13. The lower arms 27 and 28 of these
levers are curved outwardly to clear, the brake roller 17 and the tyre 18, and are
then curved inwardly to within a short distance on either side of the rim 19,
the inner ends of the arms 27, 28 are suitably enlarged to form sockets 30, 31
in which are fixed renewable brake shoes 32, 33 preferably composed of leather,
adapted to act upon and brake the rim 19. 34 is a coiled spring encircling the
brake rod 10 and enclosed in the cylinder 12; at its upper end it is attached to
the upper closed end 35 of the cylinder and at its lower end it is attached to a
sliding plug 36 fixed on the brake rod 10,

page_text: 37 is a clip fixed on the top tube 38 of the bicycle frame. It is adapted to
engage with and act as a stop for the front portion of the longitudinal support-
ing frame of the saddle so as to prevent the saddle from tilting to a dangerous
or inconvenient extent.
I shall now describe the mode of operation of this form of brake. The parts
are normally in the position shown, the rider being supposed to be seated either
forward of or over the pivot of the saddle so that the spring 34 is able to pull
up the brake rod 10 and thus keep the brake roller 17 and the brake blocks or
shoes 32, 33 out of contact with the tyre 18 and rim 19 respectively.
When the rider desires to put the brake into operation he leans back so as to
shift his weight towards the rear end of the saddle, thus causing the saddle to
tilt back and depress the brake rod 10 in opposition to the pull of the spring 34,
whereby the brake roller 17 is moved down on to the tyre 18 of the wheel 20.
The depression of the rod 10 also moves the toggle joint 21 nearer to the toggle
pivot 29 whereby the upper arms 25, 26 of the levers 25, 27 and 26, 28 are
pushed outward and the lower arms 27, 28 are moved inward to bring the brake
blocks 32, 33 firmly against the sides of the rim 19 of the wheel.
The arrangement and proportions of the several parts are preferably such as
to cause the rim brake blocks 30, 31 to take effect some little time after the tyre
brake roller 17 has become operative. The tyre braking device 16, 17 and the rim
braking device 22 to 33 may be severally removed without interfering with the
proper working of the other braking device that is left. To take off the brake
the rider has merely to lean forward again to tilt the saddle back again and allow
the spring 34 to return the brake into the normal inoperative position.
In the modified form of brake shown in Figure 3, the brake rod and its return-
ing spring are connected to separate points of the rocking saddle frame. The
adjustable brake rod, composed of an upper part 39 screwed into the tubular
lower part 40, is connected to the saddle frame bars 4 in the same manner as
shown in Figures 1 and 2, namely by means of a cross piece 7 and an eye piece 8.
41 is a suitably shaped plate pivoted at its rear end on a cross piece 42 fixed
to the forks 15, and also pivoted to the lower end of the brake rod 40. This
plate carries at its front end by means of arms 43 the pivoted brake roller 17;
it also carries on each side towards its rear end an arm 44. The two arms 44
are bent downwardly and outwardly to clear the tyre 18 of the hind wheel 20
and then curved rearwardly so as to pass between the forks 15 close to the inner
sides of the latter. The arms 44 are then bent inwardly towards the rim 19 of
the wheel 20, near to which they are enlarged to form sockets 31 for leather brake
shoes 33. 45 are clips fixed on the forks 15; they are formed with guide slots
through which the arms 44 work, whereby the said arms are steadied and supported
in their braking action.
46 is a cross piece fitted to the saddle frame bars 4, and to it is pivoted the
upper end of an adjustable plunger rod 47. 48 is a coiled spring encircling the
rod 47 and enclosed in a cylinder 49; it is attached at its upper end to the closed,
top of the cylinder, and at its other end to the lower end of the rod 47. The
cylinder 49 is connected at its lower end to a cross piece 50 on the forks 15, in
such a manner as to allow the cylinder to have a slight freedom of pivotal motion.
The principle of the operation of this modified form is the same as in the
preceding form.
-
To apply the brake the rider shifts his weight on to the rear of the saddle so
to cause it to tilt backwards on the pivot of the clip 5 on the saddle pin 6 aз
a centre.
To take off the brake the rider shifts his weight back on to the centre of the
saddle, thereby tilting the saddle forward again and thus allowing the spring to
return the brake into its normal inoperative position.
Generally the rocking or tilting movement of the seat or saddle for the purposes
of this invention may be obtained by any suitable means preferably by support-
ing the seat or the saddle frame on transverse pivots or centres,

page_text: Figures 4 to 6 of the accompanying drawings illustrate by way of example a
suitable construction of pivotal support of this nature, adapted more especially
to a Brooke's bicycle saddle of the cradle type.
In these figures,-4, 4 are the saddle-supporting bars or wires. 5 is the saddle
clip, clamped tight on the saddle pin 6 by means of the bolt 51. The clip is
provided on its two sides with two co-axial transverse pins 52 projecting from
circular flats 53 and 53ª formed on the sides of the clip.. These pins are screwed
to take nuts 54. 55 and 56 are two circular washers each formed on one face
with upper and lower Hats 57 and 58. The two washers are made an easy fit on
the pin 52 and are arranged to hold the top and bottom bars 4, 4 of the saddle
frame between their opposing flats when forced together by means of the nut 54
so that the saddle bars and the washers will rock together on the pin 52 as a
centre. A similar set of washers is provided on the pin on the other side of the
clip to hold the saddle bars on that side. The nuts 54 are screwed up to the
extent required to allow the washers on the two sides of the clip to turn with
slight friction on the pins 52 and against the flats 53, 53ª when the saddle is
Focked by the rider. 59 are split pins to secure the nuts 54.
The invention is shown as applied to a cycle saddle but as will be readily
understood, it can be made applicable to the seat of a motor car or other road
vehicle, in which case the brake is preferably arranged to be operated from the
back of the seat.
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. Cycle brake mechanism comprising the combination of a brake adapted to
act upon a wheel or wheels of the cycle, a rocking seat or saddle on the cycle,
and means for working the said brake from the back of the said rocking seat or
saddle, substantially as described.
2. Cycle brake mechanism comprising the combination of a brake adapted to
act upon the tyre of a wheel of the cycle, a rocking seat or saddle on the cycle,
and means for working the said brake.from the back of the said seat or saddle,
substantially as described.
3. Cycle brake mechanism comprising the combination of a brake adapted to
act upon the rim of a wheel of the cycle, a rocking seat or saddle on the cycle,
and means for working the said brake from the back of the said seat or saddle,
sustantially as described.
4. Cycle brake mechanism comprising the combination of a brake adapted to
act upon the tyre of a wheel of the cycle, a second brake adapted to act upon
the rim of the same wheel and means for working the two brakes together, sub-
stantially as described.
5. Cycle brake mechanism comprising the combination of a brake adapted to
act upon the tyre of a wheel of the cycle, a second brake adapted to act upon
the rim of the same wheel. a rocking seat or saddle on the cycle, and means for
working the two brakes together or in succession from the back of the said seat
or saddle, substantially as described.
6. Cycle brake mechanism, constructed, arranged and operating substantially
as described and shown in Figures 1 and 2.
7. Cycle brake mechanism, constructed, arranged and operating substantially
as described and shown in Figure 3.
Dated this 20th day of June 1900.
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London,
Chartered Patent Agents.