AN IMPROVED STIRRUP BAR
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Kinton Billings, of High Cross Street,
Leicester, in the County of Leicester, for the Invention of "AN
IMPROVED STIRRUP BAR."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Kinton Billings
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 12th June 1874.
I, GEORGE KINTON BILLINGS, of High Cross Street, Leicester, in the
County of Leicester, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "AN IMPROVED STIRRUP BAR," to be as follows:-
:-
The object of the Invention is to obtain a stirrup bar which will hold
the stirrup leather safely whilst the rider is seated in the saddle, but
which will readily yield to the lateral drag of the stirrup leather on the
rider becoming unseated with his foot caught in the stirrup. For this
purpose the stirrup leather rests on a sort of saddle piece pivotted to the
stirrup bar, and having a projection standing upwards at its rear end as
heretofore, but the part for the pivot according to my improvement is

page_text: extended downwards some distance below the bearing part, say, for
about ½ an inch, thereby forming a sort of piece, with one end of
the top bar of it longer than the other, by which the action of the
retaining spring is more efficient and sensitive in holding the parts in
correct relation, until as stated in the event of the rider being thrown
with his foot in the stirrup, when the retaining spring then aids the
releasing of the stirrup leather, whilst increased strength to the parts is
obtained.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Kinton Billings in the Great Seal Patent 1
Office on the 12th December 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
KINTON BILLINGS, of High Cross Street, Leicester, in the County of
Leicester, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said George Kinton Billings, Her special
license, that I, the said George Kinton Billings, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George Kinton
Billings, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great a
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an In-
vention for "AN IMPROVED STIRRUP BAR," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said George Kinton Billings, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain a
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Kinton Billings, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say:
The object of the Invention is to obtain a stirrup bar which will hold
the stirrup leather safely whilst the rider is seated in the saddle, but
which will readily yield to the lateral drag of the stirrup leather on the
rider becoming unseated with his foot caught in the stirrup. For this
purpose the stirrup leather rests on a sort of saddle piece pivotted to the
stirrup bar, and having a projection standing upwards towards its rear
end as heretofore, but the part for the pivot according to my improve-
ments is extended downwards some distance below the bearing part, say
for about half an inch or more, with one end of the top bar of it longer
than the other, by which such pivot is in the rear of the upright or
thumb bit, and the action of the retaining spring is more efficient and
sensitive in holding the parts in correct relation, until as stated in the
event of the rider being thrown with his foot in the stirrup, when the
retaining spring then readily yields to aid the releasing of the stirrup
leather, whilst increased strength to the parts is obtained.

page_text: .
so that the whole of that portion of the saddle piece on which the
stirrup strap bears must rise in order to its moving on its fulcrum c.
d is a retaining spring, one end of which is affixed at d¹ to the frame a,
and the other end d² to the under side of the saddle piece at the part 6³,
and the effect of the axis c being carried low down, and in the rear of
the thumb bit b', is that any downward pressure exerted by the stirrup
strap on the saddle piece b when the rider is in the saddle bearing on
the stirrup tends only to keep the "saddle" piece correctly on its
seat, and thereby to aid the retaining spring d more efficiently to act in
holding the parts together, and yet when, as by the throwing of the
rider, the stirrup strap is drawn up the upright portion of the thumb
bit 6', so that that part ¹ is drawn upon in a backward direction, the
saddle will be more readily lifted to release the stirrup strap there-
from. Thus it will be seen that whilst there is the least downward
pressure on the stirrup leather produced by the rider retaining his seat in
the saddle the saddle piece of the stirrup bar cannot rise to release that
stirrup leather, and it is only when, as by the rider being thrown with
his feet in the stirrup a lateral drag is produced on the rising part of the
thumb bit that the saddle piece of the stirrup bar is readily raised
to release such stirrup strap.
"
Having thus described my Invention, and means which I adopt in
carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood that what I
claim is, the forming stirrup bars with the axis of motion of the "saddle
piece thereof placed considerably below the line of the upper or bearing
surface of such "saddle" piece, and in the rear of the thumb bit,
substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Kinton Billings, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eleventh day of December.