Improved Means for Transmitting Power to the Driving Wheels of Vehicles.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Feb., 1898-Accepted, 12th Mar., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Transmitting Power to the Driving Wheels of
Vehicles.
I, ERNEST FRENOT, of 88, Rue des Boulets, Paris, in the French Republic, Electrical
Engineer, 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 :-
My invention relates to new or improved means for transmitting power and
notion to the driving wheel or wheels of velocipedes, carriages and other vehicles.
On the two sheets of drawings appended hereunto,
Figure 1 shows the improved driving means applied to a bicycle, and
Figure 2 an enlarged section of the acting portions, along line E F of Figure 1.
Figure 3 an enlarged section of the driving means shewn on Figure 4 applied to a
carriage wheel.
Figure 5 shows their application to a brougham and
Figure 6 the same in combination with electric motors.
My improvements consist in the use of a drum or pulley in elastic frictional contact
with the periphery of the tyre of the wheel or with a separate rim attached to the
side of the wheel or otherwise connected to the same, so that the wheel is rotated by
the rolling friction of the drum and wheel. Either the periphery of the wheel or rim
or that of the drum or pulley or both of them are made of a somewhat compressible
and elastic material so that by approaching the centres of the wheel and drum
to each other a sufficient friction or grip is obtained for driving the wheel and
vehicle.
In the arrangement shewn on Figure 1, a drum or pulley A with a concave rim
acts upon the periphery of the pneumatic tyre B of a bicycle. The drum A may be
mounted upon the frame G and set in rotation by any suitable means and rolls upon
the outer periphery of the driving wheel B, imparting a rotation in the direction
indicated by the arrow D to the latter by reason of its adhesion or grip thereon and
thus propelling the bicycle.
In the arrangement shewn by Figures 3 and 4, the pulley A with concave rim acts
upon the internal circumference of an annular rim B¹ fixed to the sides of the spokes
of the wheel. This rim may be made of or covered with indiarubber or the periphery
of the pulley may be made of or covered with indiarubber to secure sufficient
adhesion. Figure 5 shows the application of this arrangement to the bindwheels of
a brougham; the pulley A being driven by a motor in any convenient way.
Figure 6 shows an arrangement of an electrically driven carriage, in which the
electric motors I rotate the pulleys A which drive the pneumatic or cushion rim B
fixed to the sides of the wheel. I may apply the improved driving means herein before
described to all kinds of vehicles, and owing to these means of transmitting motion
from the motor to the driving wheels of the vehicle, I avoid a large part of friction,
as there will be only a rolling motion of one rim upon another rim, whereby I effect
a great saving of power, reducing the same to a minimum as compared with that
used in other kinds of driving gear.

page_text: 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 :-
The improved means for transinitting motion to the driving wheels of vehicles,
arranged constructed and operating substantially as herein before described and
illustrated by the drawings.
Dated this 8th day of February 1898.
R. J. URQUHART,
57, Barton Arcade, Manchester,
Harrington Chambers, 24, North John Street, Liverpool,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent.