Improvements in or relating to the Lubrication of the Driving Parts of Cycles.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 10th July, 1895
Complete Specification Left. 11th May. 1896-Accepted. 20th June. 1896
Date of Application, 10th July, 1895
Complete Specification Left. 11th May. 1896-Accepted. 20th June. 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Lubrication of the Driving
Parts of Cycles.
I, WILLIAM JOSEPH GODDARD, of 136 Great Saffron Hill, in the County of
London, Secretary to a Public Company, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows :---
This invention relates to the lubricating of chains gear wheels or the like of
cycles, and to gear cases adapted to the carrying out of the invention. The
lubrication is effected by means of a cotton wick or the like to which the oil is
applied, the wick serving to collect the oil after it has been used and reapply it to
the working parts. A convenient way of carrying the invention into effect is to
have a perforated cover forming a chamber in the bottom of the gear case,
in which the cotton wick, saturated with the oil lies, the wick being brought round
to the upper portion of the chain or wheels and there delivering the oil. In the
first instance the oil is applied to the wick in any convenient manner, preferably
through an opening or oil-cup provided for the purpose in the gear case, and drops
from the wick on to the chain or other part to be lubricated, falling off below,
and passes through the perforated cover and so reaches the wick, which by
capillary attraction raises the oil and re-delivers it as above explained.
I prefer to apply spring pressure to a portion of the wick for the purpose of
expressing the oil at that particular part but this is not essential to the working
of the invention. The perforated cover of the wick chamber may be arranged in
as close proximity as convenient to the chain so as to collect the oil from it and
thus provide continuous lubrication without the necessity for having an oil bath in
which the chain runs as is now usually employed with ordinary gear cases, and the
churning of the oil into thick grease or wax, as frequently occurs at present, is
avoided.
A convenient gear case adapted to cover in the chain and chain wheels and to
provide the necessary accommodation for the wick lubrication already described
may be made of sheet tin steel or other such material and lined with felt or other.
material or not as desired and formed in sections, an upper and a lower, the lower
being attached in any convenient manner, as by clips and stays, to the frame of
the machine, and the upper one being divided into two. The two portions of the
upper section fit on to the lower section, one over the front part of the gear and
the other over the back. One or both of these portions may be hinged or jointed
to the lower section and they may be secured together in any convenient manner,
as by grooving, screwing, or the like. The upper and lower sections may be secured
together in any convenient manner which will serve to keep out the dust and
prevent the lubricant from escaping. The previously described wick chamber may,
extend along the length of the bottom section, and clips or equivalent may be
provided to carry the wick around the front gear wheel so as to bring its end over
the top, or the wick case itself may be carried round. An oil hole and oil cup
may be provided in one or both of the upper sections. The wick preferably
terminates underneath the oil hole so that the oil introduced through the oil hole
falls on to the end of the wick and drops from it on to the chain.
With this arrangement the oil is kept in a constant state of circulation and
although only a sinall quantity is applied at each time to the chain it is sufficient.
to keep it well lubricated.

page_text: Bristles fibres or the like may be added to the wick to facilitate the passage of
the oil.
Dated this 10th day of July 1805
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in or relating to the Lubrication of the Driving
Parts of Cycles.
I, WILLIAM JOSEPH GODDARD, of 136 Great Saffron Hill, in the County of
London, Secretary to a Public Company, 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 :-
This invention relates to the lubricating of chains gear wheels or the like of
cycles, and to gear cases adapted to the carrying out of the invention. The
lubrication is effected by means of a cotton wick or the like to which the oil is
applied, the wick serving to collect the oil after it has been used and reapply it to
the working parts.
The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings
which represent in longitudinal section two gear cases provided with different
lubricating devices constructed according to. this invention.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
A convenient way of carrying the invention .into effect is as shown in Fig. 1. to
have a perforated cover A. forming a chamber in the bottom of the gear case B, in
which the cotton wick C, saturated with the oil lies, the wick being brought round
to the upper portion of the chain or wheels and there delivering the oil. In the
first instance the oil is applied to the wick in any convenient manner, preferably
through an opening or oil-cup D provided for the purpose in the gear case, and
drops from the wick Con to the chain or other part to be lubricated, falling off below,
and passes through the perforated cover A and so again reaches the wick C,
which by capillary attraction raises the oil and redelivers it as above explained.
1 prefer to apply spring pressure to a portion of the wick for the purpose of,
expressing the oil at that particular part but this is not essential to the working
of the invention.. The perforated cover A of the wick chamber may be arranged
in as close proximity as convenient to the chain so as to collect the oil from it and
thus provide continuous lubrication without the necessity for having an oil bath in
which the chain runs as is now usually employed with ordinary gear cases, and the
churning of the oil into thick grease or wax, as frequently occurs at present, is
avoided.
The previously described wick chamber may extend along the length of the
bottom section, and clips or equivalent E may be provided to carry the wick around
the front gear wheel so as to, bring its end over the top, or the wick case itself
may be carried round. An oil hole and oil cup may be provided in one or both of
the upper sections. The wick C preferably terminates underneath the oil hole or
cup D as shown so that the oil introduced through the oil hole falls on to the end
of the wick and drops from it on to the chain.
The foregoing is an example of one manner of carrying my invention into
practice, but after considerable experiments I find the most satisfactory results are
to be obtained from an arrangement such as that shown in Fig. 2.
In this example I employ a tubular wick C and longitudinally through this I pass
a long and normally flat blade-spring F. The two ends of this spring are perforated
and held in position within the gear case B by screws which may conveniently be.
oil-cups D D as shown in the drawing, the wick Cat the upper and lower parts
of the case being perforated to admit of the screwed stems of the oil cups engaging

page_text: with the spring F. Into the upper end of the tubular wick C Fig. 2 I prefer to
secure as by sewing a small portion C¹ of sponge or equivalent with or without.
a few bristles or fibres for accelerating the flow of the lubricant, this sponge being
adapted to drop the oil directly on to or bear lightly upon the chain.
In some forms of gear case such for example as those formed with only an upper
and a lower section it is somewhat difficult by reason of the inaccessibility of the
spring to adjust the latter so that the stem of the oil cup D may readily engage
with the screwed hole in the end of the spring to attach the spring to the upper
section, and I consequently find it necessary to form a hole in this upper section
which admits of free access being had to the spring F, and to close this by a removable
cover which is perforated to allow the stem of the oil-cup D to pass through it.
into the spring F and also to admit of screws or equivalent being passed through
it to secure it to the said upper section.
To lubricate the chain gear within the case B Fig. 2 the oil cup D is opened and
oil poured into it and consequently on to the sponge C₁ or wick C. The oil then
drops on to the chain and afterwards from the chain to the bottom of the case B
where it is absorbed by the wick which therefore becomes charged with oil. The
oil rising by capillary attraction maintains the wick fully charged throughout its
length. The spring F which partly surrounds the front chain-wheel (not shown
in the drawing) by its tendency to straighten presses the wick C firmly against the
inner surface of the gear case and consequently expresses the oil from the wick
which is therefore again caused to drop on to the chain so that the oil is kept in a
state of constant circulation, being caused to ascend by the capillarity of the wick
and to descend by being expressed from the wick.
The upper end of the wick C becomes more heavily charged with oil than the
lower end and the variations in the tightness of the driving chain usually resulting
from unequal pedalling or inequalities in the road cause the chain to occasionally
come into contact with the sponge so as to facilitate the re-application of
the oil.
I find that the wick applied in the last described manner causes a considerable
reduction in the rattling frequently produced by the chain coming into contact with
the bottom of the gear case (which is generally the case when the chain is slack)
as with my invention the chain comes into contact with the wick which emits no
sound; if desired for this especial purpose the wick may extend throughout the
entire length of the bottom of the gear case.
A convenient gear case adapted to cover in the chain and chain wheels and to
provide the necessary accommodation for the wick lubrication already described,
may be made of sheet tin steel or other such material and lined with felt or other
material or not as desired and formed in sections, an upper and a lower, the lower
being attached in any convenient manner, as by clips and stays to the frame of
the machine, and the upper one being divided into two. The two portions of the
upper section fit on to the lower section, one over the front part of the gear and
the cther over the back. One or both of these portions may be hinged or jointed
to the lower section and they may be secured together in any convenient manner,
as by grooving, screwing, or the like. The upper and lower sections may be
secured together in any convenient manner which will serve to keep out the dust
and prevent the lubricant from escaping.
With the foregoing arrangements the oil is kept in a state of constant circulation
and although only a small quantity is applied to the chain at each time, it is
sufficient to keep it well lubricated.
The above described system of lubrication may be applied to gear cases of any
desired constructions besides those herein before particularly referred to.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is;-
1. For lubricating the driving gear of cycles the combination with a case

page_text: containing the gear of a perforated cover or chamber such as A at the lower part
thereof and a wick extending from that chamber to the upper part of the case and
with or without an oil cup for the upper end of the wick substantially as described
and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
case
2. For lubricating the driving gear of cycles the combination with a
containing the gear and a wick extending from the lower to the upper part of the
case of a spring for pressing on the wick substantially as and for the purpose
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3. For lubricating the driving gear of cycles the combination with a tubular wick
of a spring within the wick substantially as and for the purpose described.
4. For lubricating the driving gear of cycles the combination with a tubular wick
and a spring within the wick of a pad of sponge and bristles or fibres at one end
of the wick substantially as and for the purpose described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
5. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete lubricating
apparatus for use on cycles substantially as described and illustrated in Figure 1 or
Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 11th day of May 1896
WM. J. GODDARD.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicant.