Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd May, 1886.
Complete Left, 15th Feb., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 15th Mar., 1887.
I JOHN CLAY the younger of No. 18, Princess Road Birmingham in the County of
Warwick Saddler do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be as follows
My invention has for its object the production and maintenance of such an amount
of tension in the leather portion of the saddles or seats of bicycles tricycles and other
velocipedes as will give them an agreeable and lasting elasticity.
I form the metallic foundation of the saddle of a light metallic frame or plate
preferably of iron or steel the said frame or plate being composed of three branches so
inclined to one another as to have somewhat the figure of the outline of the finished
saddle or seat. One of the branches of the foundation terminates under the front of
the saddle and the other two branches terminate under the rear of the saddle.
last named branches are connected by a cross piece either straight or curved.
The
When the cross piece is straight I take a coil formed of a thin plate of hardened
and tempered steel the plate of which the said coil is formed being of a breadth nearly
equal to the length of the cross piece and of a length sufficient to form two or three
slightly distant convolutions around the cross piece. I attach the inner end of this
coil by riveting or otherwise to the cross piece and I attach the outer end of the said
coil by riveting or otherwise to the leather forming the rear part of the seat of the
saddle. The leather being stretched to the required degree and the spring being
thereby brought to the required state of tension the front part of the leather is fixed
by riveting or by a coiled spring to the front branch of the frame.
When the cross connecting piece is curved I employ four or other number of short
coils of sheet steel instead of the long coil I employ on the straight connecting piece.
The action of these separate short coils is similar to that of the long coil described.
The employment of several short coils instead of one long coil is rendered necessary
by the curvature of the connecting piece. A series of short coils instead of one long
coil may be used with the straight cross connecting piece.
Instead of connecting the branches at the rear of the saddle by a single cross piece
a short cross piece may be attached to each of the said branches the said short cross
pieces terminating some distance apart. By this construction the spine of the rider is
relieved from pressure.
Instead of having two branches at the rear of the saddle one branch only may be
employed the cross piece being attached to the single branch.
W. T. WHITEMAN
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: W444
I JOHN CLAY the younger of No. 18 Princess Road, Birmingham in the County of
Warwick, Saddler, do hereby declare the nature of my 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 has for its object the production and maintenance of such an amount
of tension in the leather portion of the saddles or seats of bicycles, tricycles and other
velocipedes as will give them an agreeable and lasting elasticity.
I form the metallic foundation of the saddle of a light metallic frame or plate
preferably of iron or steel, the said frame or plate being composed of three branches
so inclined to one another as to have somewhat the figure of the outline of the finished
saddle or seat. One of the branches of the foundation terminates under the front of
the saddle and the other two branches terminate under the rear of the saddle. The
last named branches are connected by a cross piece. I take a series of short_coils
each formed of a thin plate of hardened and tempered steel, the plate of which the
coil is formed being of a length sufficient to form two or three slightly distant
convolutions around the cross piece. I use four or other number of these short coils,
the inner end of each coil being attached by riveting or otherwise to the cross piece
and the outer end of each coil being attached by riveting or otherwise to the leather
forming the rear part of the seat of the saddle. The leather being stretched to the
required degree and the coils or springs being thereby brought to the required
state of tension the front part of the leather is fixed by riveting or by a coiled spring
to the front branch of the frame.
Instead of connecting the branches at the rear of the saddle by a single curved
cross piece, a short cross piece may be attached to each of the said branches, the said
short cross pieces terminating some distance apart. By this construction the spine of
the rider is relieved from pressure.
Instead of having two branches at the rear of the saddle one branch only may be
employed the cross piece being attached to the single branch.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents in plan of underside and
Figure 2 in longitudinal vertical section, a bicycle or velocipede saddle or seat con-
structed according to my invention; Figure 3 represents one of the coils or springs
of the saddle detached.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in Figures 1. 2 and 3..
a is the strong leather seat of the saddle maintained in the required state of tension
by the arrangement of parts constituting my invention and b, 2, 2 is the three
branched franc or plate forming the metallic foundation of the saddle. The branch b
of the said metallic foundation terminates under the front of the saddle and the two
branches, terminate under the rear part of the saddle. The extreme ends of the
rear branches 62, 62 of the metallic foundation are connected by the screw pins and
nuts at e, e to the curved cross connecting piece d, the said curved piece having nearly
the same outline as the rear part of the saddle. The curved connecting piece of the
metallic foundation of the saddle is secured to the rear part of the leather seat a by
means of the short coils or springs e, e, four of which are used in this saddle, the said
coils e being made of thin plates of hardened and tempered steel. The inner and
outer ends e, e³ of each coil are bent in the manner best seen in Figure 3. The

page_text: several coils e e are passed onto and made to surround portions of the cross connecting
piece or bar das best seen in Figure 2 and between the underside of the leather
seat a and the several coils or springs e, e a packing of leather or other packing may
be interposed. The bent outer end of each coil e is connected to the rear part of
the leather seat a by being engaged in the loop or pocket friveted to the inner side
of the said leather seat a and the inner end e² of each coil e is connected to the rear
curved piece or bar d by the said inner end e being made partly to cross and press
upon the top of the said curved piece or bar d as seen in Figure 2. The rear piece or
bar of the metallic foundation is thus connected to the rear part of the leather seat a
by the series of short coils or coiled plate springs e, e. Having fastened the metallic
foundation of the saddle to the rear part of the leather seat a in the manner described
and represented, the said leather seat is stretched to the required degree and the coils
or springs e thereby brought to the required state of tension. The front part of the
leather seat a is then fixed to the extreme end of the front branch of the metallic
foundation by riveting it thereto at y or connecting it thereto by a coiled spring.
By connecting the leather seat of the saddle to the metallic foundation in the
manner described and represented the required tension in the said leather seat is main-
tained and an agreeable and lasting elasticity given to the saddle. Figure 4 represents
in plan of underside; Figure 5 in cross section and Figure 6 a portion in longitudinal
section another saddle constructed according to my invention; Figures 7 and 8
represent one of the coils or springs detached. In this saddle the rear part of the
metallic foundation has a single branch and the said single branch is attached to a
curved upper cross piece or bar fixed to a lower cross piece or bar, the latter being
riveted to the rear part of the leather seat. The connection of the coils is also
modified.
a is the leather seat and b, the metallic foundation of the saddle having a single
broad branch 62 at its rear end to which branch the outer ends e, e of the two
coils are riveted. At the rear part of the saddle are two curved plates or
bars c, d the under one d being riveted to the rear part of the leather seat a and the
upper one c being connected to the under one by the screw pins and nuts at i, i.
Filling pieces of leather are placed in the under plate a where the upper plate is
connected to it as seen in Figure 6. Around the upper plate a the two coils or
springs e, e are placed the inner ends of the coils being connected to the said upper
plate by their bent parts e² crossing and pressing upon it as before described with
respect to Figures 1 and 2, the outer ends e of the said coils being riveted to the rear
branch of the foundation as represented.
Although I have represented in the saddle Figures 1 and 2 four coils or springs
and in the saddle Figures 4, 5 and 6, two coils or springs yet I wish it to be under-
stood that I do not limit myself to any particular number of coils at the rear part of
the saddle for maintaining the required tension on the leather seat and for giving
elasticity to the said seat.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention and
the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that I claim as my
invention of "Improvements in the saddles or seats of bicycles tricycles and other
velocipedes."-
Connecting the rear part of the leather portion of the saddle or seat to the rear
cross curved piece, bar or plate of the metallic foundation or frame by means of coils
or springs formed of thin plates of hardened and tempered steel, the said coils being
connected to the rear part of the leather portion of the saddle or seat and to the cross
curved piece, bar or plate of the metallic foundation and disposed about the said
cross curved piece, bar or plate substantially as herein before described and illustrated
in the accompanying Drawings.
JOHN CLAY, JUNR.