Improvements in Bicycle Supporting-stands.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Apr., 1897-Accepted, 26th June, 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Bicycle Supporting-stands.
1, WILLIAM HENRY WALLINGFORD of 631, Washington Avenue, Newport,
in the County of Campbell, State of Kentucky, United States of America,
Contractor for Public Works, 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 invention relates to stands or racks for supporting one or more bicycles; and
it consists in the novel features of construction, comprising locking and supporting
devices, which are hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the
claims.
In the accompanying drawings-
Figure 1 is a broken, sectional elevation, showing my improvement in its
preferred form, interior views of a pair of locking-devices being illustrated with
their backs or rear-plates removed, in order to present their coin-freed apparatus
and bolt-mechanism to view, one bolt mechanism being at rest or free from locking-
engagement with a wheel catch-arm, and the other in action or locking-engagement
with another wheel catch-arm;
Figure 2, a plan view (of the top only) of one of the lock-casings, to show
the coin-slot and the peculiarly-formed opening or slot for the operating-handle of
the wheel catch-arm;
Figure 3, a front elevation of a complete supporting-stand having three locking-
stalls, and embodying my invention in a modified form;
Figure 4, a plan view of my stand, showing the manner in which the bicycles are
preferably placed in the stalls, the wheels shown being simply the fore ones of
three bicycles, one entering from one side and the other two from the opposite
side;
Figure 5, a broken, sectional elevation showing an interior view of a lock-
device, covering said modified form, and looking from the front, the lock-mechanism
being shown in engagement, and as it appears when a wheel or bicycle is secured
in the stand;
Figure 6, a transverse section of Fig. 5, (looking to the right) on a vertical
line a, 2, (with the key);
Figure 7, another transverse section of Fig. 5, on a vertical line y, y;
Figure 8, a plan view of the coin-collecting receptacle or trough, which is placed
beneath said lock-devices.
A, represents the base or bottom of the stand, having concavities or guide-ways a
for the wheels a¹, a³, a³, to rest in. Each of said wheels (shown in Fig. 4)
represents the fore-wheel of a bicycle, those a¹ and a³, being introduced from one
side (which, for convenience, may be termed the front,) and the other a³, being
introduced or placed in the stand from the other side (which, for convenience may be
termed the rear), so that the stand may be compactly built, and the handle-bars,
pedals, and other laterally-projecting parts of the bicycle may clear each other and
have ample room to conveniently enter and depart from the stand.
B, B, represent a pair of uprights, one at either side the base A, supported
thereby midway between its ends, and having an upper connecting-bar b, from

page_text: which latter, conveniently hangs a sign-board 6' containing advertising-matter, or
directions of any kind.
C, represents a flat cross-bar which binds or strengthens the two uprights B, B,
near their upper ends, and supports one or more lock-devices D, the number
corresponding to the number of bicycles to be accommodated by the stand. In the
drawings, I show two lock-stalls in Fig. 1, and three lock-stalls in Figs. 3 and 4,
but the number most popular for ordinary use is six, as that provides a stand
which is sufficiently large to come within the usual space available where the stands
are to be used, and to suit the average patronage of such fixtures.
c, represents the lid or front-plate of the lock, which is secured in place by means
of nuts engaging the threaded studs or contracted ends of the horizontal
posts C, C, and which latter project, a suitable distance apart, from the back-
plate D, within the casing. The outer ends of the studs care riveted or flattened
down when the nuts are in place, to prevent surreptitious removal of the front-
plate and tampering with the lock-mechanism within. An ordinary key-hole slot
is provided in each front-plate c for the entrance and withdrawal of the keys.
E, represents a sliding bolt or lock-bar comprising the usual bolt-plate, having a
bolt-head e and bolt-tail e, the said head and tail engaging in slots pierced in the
rear ends of the posts C1, C2, and sliding back and forth therein for operation, for
either locking or unlocking purposes.
E, E³, represent a pair of pendent lugs on the lower edge of the lock-bar,
against and between which the bit of the key F operates, to either throw or retract
said bolt.
G, represents a pivoted tumbler or gravitating-lever, mounted on the post C',
and havin a dog or lug g at one end fitting a notch d in the upper edge of the
lock-bar or bolt-plate, from which notch the dog must be released before the bolt
can be thrown. The other end of the lever G lies under a chute or race-way G¹,
which is mounted or set at an inclination from the top of the casing, said top being
provided with a transverse slot g¹ leading to the upper end of said race-way and in
which a coin is inserted, which coin passes down said race-way and falls on the
tumbler, and, as said coin over-balances the hook or dog end of the tumbler, the
said dog is released from the notch in the lock-bar, and then the latter may be shot
forward by the action of the key for locking-engagement with the slot h of a
vertical bar H. The preferred form of bar H is shown in Fig. 1, in which a book
or curved-arm h¹ is constructed at its lower end, and a manipulating or pull bar I
is pivotally-connected or hinged to its upper end. The straight portion or body of
vertical bar H passes upward through a hole in the flat cross-bar C, and thence
through a hole in the bottom of the casing, well back in the corner of said casing,
and the inner end of the pull-bar I is made flat or contracted, while the body
thereof is round in cross-section, so that said round body shall engage the enlarged
eye-portion i, and the said flat end shall engage the slot or contracted portion of
the key-bole-shaped opening in the back-corner of the top-plate of the casing.
11 is a transverse grip loop or handle at the upper or outer end of the pull-bar I,
which enables the operator to conveniently draw the bar H upward for bringing
its hook-end ¹ into locking-engagement with the fore-wheel of a bicycle placed in
the stand. Said handle also prevents the hook-bar H dropping down from the
casing, when the bolt is disengaged therefrom and the bicycle is released. When
the hook-bar is in locked-position, the pull-bar I is set at an inclination, (as
shown in the right-hand lock in Fig. 1), the lower flattened portion and its
shoulder engaging the contracted or narrow slot-portion of said key-hole-
shaped opening (the latter being best shown in Fig. 2). It will be seen that, in
Fig. 1, I show two locking-devices, side by side, one being locked and the other
unlocked, which fully illustrates the operation of my invention. It will also be
seen, in the locked device, (to the left hand,) that the tail-end of the lock-bar or
bolt lies close to the under-side of the free end of the tumbler, which relation is
intended and provided so that the coin, when it initially lodges on the said end of
the tumbler, it will not at once slide off of same before the key can be turned for

page_text: projecting or advancing the bolt forward into locking-engagement with the bar H.
In fact, the dog-end of the tumbler is not rocked upward or raised to full stroke
away from the upper edge of the lock-bar, although released from the notch therein,
untill the bolt-head enters fully into the socket or slot of the vertical bar H, and
the bolt thus shot entirely across for locking-engagement with said bar. The rear
end of the lock-bar thus prevents the tumbler descending too far until said locking-
engagement takes place, and the coin is not really released or does not fall into the
straight down-chute and the receptacle below until said locking-engagement is
effected, and the coin thus performs its intended function of enabling the operator
to lock the device and not be wasted or lost to his use before he can effect his said
purpose. In Fig. 1, I show a coin in the several lock-devices, so that the said
operation thereof can be fully understood. The slot is made in the bar H at right
angles with the handle 1', the latter being in line with the lower hook-end h¹, and
thus the operator readily determines when he shall drop his coin in the slot g¹ above,
the resting of the pull-bar in the contracted slot-portion of the key-hole opening, as
aforesaid, also assuring him that the slot in said vertical bar H is in line for the
reception of the bolt-head. This construction makes a positive and easy action of the
parts certain at all times. The key used in my lock-device is an especially safe one,
as it is made hollow practically throughout its barrel, which is unusual in keys of the
kind, and a very long pin F is provided, on which the key turns, as best seen in
Fig. 6. The casing is made deep at its lower portion, to contain the necessary
coin-freeing devices, which are extremely simple and their number of elements
reduced to a minimum, which enables them to operate readily and to be produced
quickly and at the lowest possible expense, all of which is most important in the
carrying out of an invention of this character. In order to prevent the improper
withdrawal of the key, when the lock is unlocked, I secure a stationary guard-
plate J in front of the lower lug-portion of the lock-bar, (as best seen in Fig. 5,)
which plate is stretched between the two posts C¹, C, and suitably attached thereto
at its opposite ends. The bit of the key lies between said guard-plate and the back-
plate of the casing, and the key is still further protected from improper withdrawal,
(when the lock is unlocked,) by means of a shoulder or projection e constructed at
the lower end of lug E2, which projection is disposed forwardly in the path
of the key-bit and forms an obstruction against further revolution thereof, in that
direction, (as best seen in the left-hand lock in Fig. 1).
K, represents a longitudinal tube mounted directly beneath the bottom of the
lock-casing, and just forward of the flat cross-bar C, (as best seen in Figs. 6 and 7).
This tube has a longitudinal slot L cut along its upper side, (see Fig. 8,) which
engages over a dovetail rib or formation M constructed along the bottom of the
several lock-casings, (see Fig. 6,) and is thereby detachably slid and held in
position. 1, represents each one of a number of transverse slots made in said tube,
which cross said longitudinal slot L, and each registers with a transverse opening
or slot m made in the bottom of each of the lock-casings, in line with and under
the discharge end of the race-way or chute G¹, to receive the dropping coin, said
tube K forming a trough or receptacle for the coins which are dropped into the
stand or rack in order to effect the locking-operation. A vertical guide-way or
open box N is provided within the casing, to properly receive the coin from the
tray-end of the dog-tumbler or lever G and direct it to the opening m, and thence
into the receptacle K below. One end of the receptacle or tube K is provided
with a cap k which is screwed thereto and then permanently riveted in place, (as
best seen at in Fig. 8,) and a short, shouldered plug L¹ is detachably fitted into
the other end. Plug L' is provided with a pair of holes which register vertically
with a pair of holes made in the tube K, and a staple or headed bar n is passed
through said holes and to receive a pad-lock O at its lower end, (which has a
hole therein to accommodate the bow of said pad-lock,) as best seen in Fig. 5.
Access to the coin-receptacle is readily gained by simply unlocking and removing
the pad-lock O; then removing the staple or headed-bar n; then removing the
plug L' by taking convenient-hold of its outer. flanged-end; and then slightly

page_text: tilting the stand, (which is not necessarily very heavy,) or introducing a scraper
when it is desired to remove the coin from said receptacle.
In the modified form, seen in Figs. 3 and 5, the vertical bars H are long ones
and form upright rods or pickets whose upper ends do not project through any top
openings in the lock-casing, as they do in the preferred form, and neither have
they any top handle-bars. But they have each a slot h near their upper ends for
the reception of the bolt-head, in the locking-engagement thereof, and a lateral bar
on arm which takes the place of the hook-arm of the preferred form, and
engages the felloe of the fore-wheel about mid-height, all the arms on all the
vertical bars H being shown as they appear when in locking engagement, (but with
no wheels shown therein,) in Fig. 3.
In the operation of my device, the vertical bars of the preferred form, (when
unlocked,) are dropped or remain normally down into their lowermost positions,
and hang by the handles of their pull-bars I, and those of the modified form have
their lower ends resting on the base A, free to turn a quarter of a revolution
thereon; but when locked, those of the preferred form are raised to their upper-
most positions, as seen in Figs. 1, 3 and 5. To lock a bicycle in the stand or rack,
it is placed with its fore-wheel resting in one of the grooves a in base A, the
preferred form of lock-device enabling the wheel to go clear across the base, as
seen in Fig. 4. The vertical bar H is then turned or brought into locking-
engagement with the felloe of the wheel. A coin (say a penny for convenience) is
dropped into the proper upper slot g', and finds its way, at once, to the gravitating
lever or tumbler G, which latter rocks on its bearings and releases its dog from
engagement with the notch in the upper edge of the lock-bar, at which time the
key is turned to throw the said lock-bar, whose head shoots into the slot of the
vertical-bar H, and then the key is withdrawn. The engagement of the bolt-head
with the slot of the vertical bar prevents the turning of the latter in either
direction, or disengagement from the wheel, and thus retains the bicycle duly locked
and supported in the stand, from which it can be readily released by simply
introducing and operating the key and thereby retracting the bolt, when the
vertical bar can be turned and its lock-arm released from the wheel felloe. When
the lock-bar has been retracted, the key cannot be withdrawn, nor a wheel locked
in the stand without first dropping a bolt releasing or freeing coin in the slot.
It will be seen that, the bolt cannot be fully shot or locked unless the vertical
wheel-lock bar slot is in line therewith for fastening the wheel in place, nor can the
key be removed unless a suitable coin is placed in the machine to free the dog or
detent devices. Nor can a wire or other pick be very easily introduced into the
race-way to disengage the dog or deteut devices, as the arrangement of said
race-way at the inclination shown serves to prevent any such act. The detach-
ability of the locks and coin-receptacle enables the ready repair or replacing of parts
of the device, and, in the event any one should make a duplicate key for the
purpose of taking a bicycle in future and which is not his own, the locks of one
stand could be readily exchanged for those of another and placed elsewhere, so
that he would not know where to locate the lock of which he had a duplicate key,
(as all the locks are interchangeable), and he would thereby be successfully
thwarted from his nefarious object of removing a machine not belonging to
him. The frame and vertical bars H are preferably made of hollow tubing or
gas-pipe, which gives the stand both lightness and strength, and also economy in
manufacture.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a lock-supporting stand for bicycles, the combination of an upright open
frame having a suitable base; a coin-freed lock-mechanism supported by the
vertical side-bars of said frame; a vertical rotatory bar having an outer arm which
engages one of the wheels of the bicycle for retaining the latter in said frame, and

page_text: also having a slot near its upper end within the lock-casing for the fastening-
engagement of the key-operated lock-bolt; and a coin-receptacle beneath the
lock-devices; substantially as herein set forth.
2. In a lock-supporting stand for bicycles, the combination with a grooved-base
having a pair of upright side-bars and a top cross-bar which together constitute a
suitable open frame; of an inner cross-bar supported by said side-bars near their
upper ends; one or more coin-freed lock-devices inclosed in casings and supported
by said inner cross-bar; a vertical rotatory-bar having an outer lateral arm which
interlocks with the fore-wheel of the bicycle, and also having a slot near its upper
end which lies within the lock-casing and said slot is engaged by the bolt-head of
the key-operated lock-bar for securely fastening the rotatory-bar against turning
and consequent disengagement from the bicycle-wheel; a coin-receptacle having a
longitudinal slot cut along its upper side and detachably supported beneath the
bottom of the lock-casings by means of a dovetail rib or formation constructed on
said bottom of the lock-casings and which engages the said longitudinal slot, and
a suitable locking-head or lock-entrance to said coin-receptacle, substantially as
herein set forth.
3. In a lock-supporting stand or rack for bicycles and other purposes, a coin
freed lock-device composed of an inclosing box or casing having a pair of internal
horizonal posts; a bolt or lock-bar having head and tail ends which engage rear
openings made in said posts for the reciprocating or sliding movement thereof, and
also having a pair of pendent lugs, between and against which the bit of a suitable
key operates for throwing and retracting it; a gravitating lever or tumbler
pivotally mounted on one of said posts and having a dog or detent-lug at one end
which normally engages a notch in the upper edge of the lock-bar when the lock
is unlocked; an inclined race-way or chute leading from a coin entrance-slot in
the top of the casing to the free end of the dog-tumbler, to guide the coin for
actuating it; a suitable coin receptacle; and a slotted, upright bar whose upper
end is passed upward through an opening in the lower corner of the casing
opposite to that of the coin down-chute, and is engaged by the head of said lock-
bar; substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.
4. In a lock-supporting stand or rack for bicycles, the combination of a suitable
open frame; a vertical rotatory bar having a lateral arm or hook at its lower end
which has locking-engagement with the fore-wheel of the bicycle; a coin-freed
locking-device supported by said frame above the wheel, and having an opening in
the bottom of its inclosing-casing for the upward passage or accommodation of the
upper end of said rotatory bar, which latter has a socket or slot therein for the
reception of the lock-bolt head when thrown; a pull-bar hinged at one end to
the upper end of said rotatory wheel-lock bar and having a manipulating, bar-
supporting handle at its outer end, the inner end of said pull-bar being shouldered
and contracted for engagement with the narrow portion of a key-slot-shaped
opening in the top of said casing in a vertical line with said rotatory-bar; and a
suitable coin-receptacle, substantially as herein set forth.
5. In a lock-supporting stand or rack for bicycles, the combination with a
suitable frame and a coin-freed lock-device supported thereby, of a longitudinally-
slotted coin-receptacle or trough detachably supported beneath the lock-device
casing by means of a dove-tail connection therewith, and having a cross-slot
which registers with a transverse slot or opening in the bottom of the said casing
for the downward passage and final lodging of the dog releasing or actuating coin;
a cap rigidly secured at one end of said coin-receptacle; a detachable plug fitting
the other end of said receptacle; and a suitable locking-device for said plug,
substantially as herein set forth.
6. In a lock-supporting stand or rack for bicycles and other purposes, a coin-
freed lock-device comprising a lock-bar, which latter has a pair of pendent lugs
constructed on its lower edge and one of said lugs has an extension-hook or
projection thereon; a guard-plate mounted on a pair of posts in the lock-casing
and covering the face of the opening or space between said pendent lugs at all

page_text: times, whereby a safety-device is provided which prevents the surreptitious with-
drawal of the lock-bar actuating key; and suitable coin-freeing mechanism to
permit the operation of said key for the locking-movement, substantially as
herein set forth.
Dated the 26th day of April 1897,
For the Applicant,
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
5 John Dalton Street, Manchester, Chartered Patent Agents.