GB548348A - A new or improved foldable bicycle - Google Patents

Abstract

548,348. Folding cycles. RALEIGH CYCLE CO., Ltd., and BUXTON S. W. March 4, 1941, No. 2905. [Class 136 (iii)] The top and bottom tubes are divided ,thedivided parts each having half-knuckles 1 which enclose hinge pins 2. Wobbling of the divided parts is resisted by reason of the facts that (q) the sleeve 9, when slid over the joint and secured in place, places the joint under tension, and tendency for joints to separate being resisted by the sleeve, and (b) the sleeve engages each of the two parts at a point near to and at a point remote from the hinge axis. When the sleeve is slid into locking position a nut 10 secured thereto can be screwed on to a threaded collar 8 secured to the upper divided part, and the right-hand end of the sleeve abuts and pushes against a flange 7a formed on a collar 7 secured to the lower divided part, thus tensioning the joint. The sleeve engages flanges 1b and the backs of the knuckles. The hinge axis x is at right angles to the bisector y of the angle between the top and bottom tubes. Stops 11 limit withdrawal of the sleeves, to prevent exposure of the collar 8, and each stop may be associated with a spring to hold the sleeve in the withdrawn position. The stop 11 on the bottom tube may serve as a brake rod guide. The draw rod for the rear brake is articulated on the axis x. The handlebar 14 may be turned down sideways from the normal position shown in Fig. 7, to the position shown in Fig. 6; it is secured in a housing 15 pivoted at 17 on a member 16a secured to a stem extension 16, and is locked in the normal position by a wing-nut 20 which screws on a stud 18 extending rearwardly from the part 15 into an openended slot 19 in the part 16a. The wing-nut has a conical nose which enters a conical recess at the inmost end of the slot 19. The brake levers 21 are hinged bv ball-and-socket connections 24 on the axis of the pivot 17.