Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Dec., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 15th Sept., 1898-Accepted, 5th Nov., 1898
We, THOMAS BADGER and THOMAS WILSON, of the Telescopic Gear Case Company,
of William Edward Street, in the City of Birmingham, Gear Case Manufacturers, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to gear cases or covers for cycles and other chain geared
vehicles and machines, and is an amplification of an invention protected under
Letters Patent, No. 24571, dated the 23rd of December, 1895, which were granted
to one Edmund Powell.
The present invention is designed to improve the construction of gear case under
the said letters patent cited, and render the same more easy of detachment and also
more dust proof and neat in appearance.
The gear case is of a skeleton construction, that is to say its middle part is com-
posed of two longitudinal hollow arms or stays of a sufficient size to entirely cover
the chain and allow it to run freely therein. The said arms or stays are formed by
four longitudinal hollow branches telescoping into each other, two of the said
branches being carried upon the fore part of the gear case, and the other two upon
the rear part thereof; the said case being a two-part one. The fore and aft
extremities of the case are of a circular construction to conform to the formation of
the driving and driven chain wheels, and the outer halves of the said circular parts are
hingedly connected to the inner halves in order to fold down outwardly, when
necessary, for getting at the driving mechanism.
The branches, or one of the same, of the inner circular halves of the gear case
extremities are, or is, longitudinally binged to the said inner parts, or part, in order
to accommodate themselves, or itself, to their, or its, telescoping within or over each
other, or within or upon another rigid member; this being necessary in consequence
of the tapering figure of the gear case, and in order to make a good joint between
the branches, and also to allow of the gear case slightly lengthening out as the
driving chain is lengthened by tensioning. The jointed branches, or branch, are, or
is, so connected to the inner halves, or half, of the gear case extremities, or extremity,
as to be rigidly locked when the branches telescope into each other by the closing
hinged-down ends, or end, of the gear case extremities closing over their, or its, outer
extremities.
It is found that the hinging of one only of the branches of the stays is sufficient
and, preferably, this is one of the rear ones; the said branch being hinged upon its
lower edge to the inner half of the rear extremity to which it is adjacent, the hinged
down half upon this end closing over the hinged branch as its locking means when
the branches of the arms telescope.

page_text: We, THOMAS BADGER and THOMAS WILSON, of the Telescopic Gear Case Company, of
William Edward Street, in the City of Birmingham, Gear Case Manufacturers,
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.refers to gear cases or covers for cycles and other chain geared
vehicles and machines, and is an amplification of an invention protected under Letters
Patent, No. 24571, dated the 23rd of December, 1895. It is designed to generally
improve the construction of a two-part telescoping gear case such as is described in
the cited patent, and render the parts composing the same more easy of attachment
and detachment the one to and from the other: it also cheapens the said gear case's
production and makes it considerably more neat in its appearance.
The gear case according to this invention is a telescoping one made in two
parts, and is of a similar skeleton construction to the one set forth in the cited
patent, but one or more of the four telescoping branches of the hollow arms or
stays (which constitute the middle part of the gear case) is or are longitudinally
hinged to the case's circular extremities which carry them, so that they can,
after being unlocked or freed, swing inwardly so as to give and adjust themselves
for engagement with those of the telescoping branches which are not hinged or rigid
with the case's circular extremities.
In order to clearly illustrate the invention a sheet of drawings forms part of this
specification. In this sheet a gear case having one only of the branches of the
telescoping stays or hollow arms hinged is shown, as this is found to be sufficient, and
this branch is locked rigid by the hinged-down half of the case's circular extremity
closing over it. The gear case is shown in Fig. 1 assembled or as one piece, the
branches at this time telescoping the one into the other, whilst in Fig. 2 the
gear case is shown broken or with its two parts separated Fig. 3 being a portion
of the gear case in transverse section, the view being taken upon the broken
line F Fig. 1.
,
The middle part of the gear case a is composed of two longitudinal hollow arms or
stays c, d, of such a size as to allow the drive chain to run freely therethrough. The
said arms or stays are formed by four branches c², c³, d², d³, telescoping into each
other in pairs, two of the said branches being carried upon the fore part e of the gear
case, and two upon the rear part g. The fore and rear parts e, g, are circular chambers
wherein are situated the drive and driven chain wheels over which
the chain runs and works, and the outer halves e², g², thereof are hingedly
connected to the inner halves in order to fold down outwardly when necessary
for getting at the driving mechanism. The branches c³, d³, of the hollow
stays c, d, are rigid with the fore part. e of the case, as also is the branch d²
with the rear part g of the case, but the branch c² is hingedly connected at i
to the rear part g, so that it can, when desired, swing inwardly to any position
within the limit shown between the dotted and full lines in Fig. 2. This hinged
branch when fixed rigid with the rear part g, as shown by Figs. 1 and 3, seats
itself with the opposite sides of its curved end within pockets gå formed, on the
inner sides of the rear sides g, (shown clearly in section Fig. 3) and its termination 13
is enclosed and covered, by the part g of the outer half g² fitting over it. The hinged
half g² is the means for rigidly holding the hinged branch c² to the part g when the
said branch is in the position shown in Fig. 1, and so long as the extremity 3 of the
hinged branch is covered by the part g' the branch c² will be held rigid.

page_text: The outer ends of the branches forming the hollow stays c, d, slide one into or over
the other a fairly good fit, and as the tension of the driving chain is adjusted the
said branches slide so as to lengthen out accordingly with the hollow stays c, d. The
hinged half g² is fixed in position lying over the hinged branch c² by a screw pin h.
The purpose of the hinged branch c² will be obvious from an examination of Fig. 2,
and it will be seen that so long as the said branch is in the position shown by the
dotted lines, viz.:-closed, the branches c², c³, and d², d³, cannot engage, owing to
the differences in the distances of their terminations, but if the hinged branch c² is
opened the whole of the branches can telescope easily, and be fixed in that position
afterwards by locking the branch c².
Although the hinged branch c² is described as being fixed rigid to the part g by
the hinged half g² yet such affixment allows of the said arın springing or yielding
slightly when the gear case is lengthened out, to the extent of the amount of slack
that is taken up when adjusting the drive chain, the other branches also giving
slightly by being strained. By reason of this the more the telescoping branches are
pulled out by tightening the chain, the better is their joint; consequently the gear
case will never rattle and shake loose.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
First. In a telescoping gear case of the kind described having a skeleton middle
part, the use in the hollow stays or arms of one or more jointed or swinging branches,
which is or are capable of being swung into line with one or more rigid branches, for
the purpose of allowing the said branches easy telescoping engagement and
disengagement, substantially as described and set forth.
Second. In combination in a telescoping gear case open-ended rigid branches c³, it³,
carried by the fore part e of the gear case a, rigid and hinged open-ended branches d², c²,
carried by the rear part g of the gear case, and which are adapted to engage and
telescope within or over the branches c³, d³, (the hinged branch c² being a
compensating one for easy engagement) and a hinged rear half g², whose purpose is
to take over the extremity 3 of the hinged branch 2 for its rigid connection to the
rear half g, substantially as set forth in Figs. 1 to 3.
Third. In a gear case of the kind described and claimed the arrangement and fitting
of the various parts in combination particularly set forth in Figs. 1 to 3.
11
1
1
1000
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
11, Burlington Chambers, New Street, Birmingham.
Also of Liverpool, London, and Manchester,
Patent Agents for the Applicants.