Improvements in or relating to Motor Cycles.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Nov., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 19th Aug., 1898-Accepted, 29th Oct., 1898
Improvements in or relating to Motor Cycles.
We, ALEXANDER CRAIG, Chief Engineer, and WALTER PHILLIPS, General
Manager, both of Messrs. Humber & Company Limited, Coventry, in the County
of Warwick, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows;
-
This invention relates to motor cycles particularly the tandem bicycle type and
we will describe the invention as applied to such a machine.
This machine is of a standard tandem pattern with the back wheel replaced
by a motor wheel and carrying the necessary oil tank, battery and sparking
coil fixed to the frame. The motor wheel consists of a geared hub shell preferably
of aluminium on which the wheel is built and having the motor fly-wheel re-
volving inside it. The fly-wheel is mounted on the crank shaft of the motor.
Flanged sleeves on the motor shaft which are bolted up to the crank chamber and
form its bearings, extend right into the hub to the boss of the flywheel. They are of
hardened steel, and the side plates of the hub, whose centres are provided with
ball races, run on them. By this means the hub rotates on a fixed spindle instead
of on the quickly running shaft, and so the wear is materially reduced.
Turning now to the gear. A toothed wheel is fixed to the side place of the
hub and an opposite wheel forms the dead wheel of the epicyclic train. The boss
of this is carried as a sleeve to the outside of the hub where it may be held by
a preferably detachable clip or catch which can be removed in case of accident
and the back wheel driven by the chain without the motor. Corresponding
pinions form the second and third wheels of the train and running ball-bearings
in a boss of the fly-wheel, which is of the disc type. These wheels are duplicated
at a point diametrically opposite in order to preserve the balance. A roller clutch
is fixed on one side of the hub next the driving sprocket which permits the
chain to drive the machine from the pedal axle, or the pedals and chain to remain
at rest, while the motor is driving.
This machine can be very readily altered from a motor to a man driven cycle
by changing the driving road wheel and removing the other attachments which
are suitably secured for this purpose.
Dated this 18th day of November 1897.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: of Warwick, 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 motor cycles particularly the tandem type and
we will describe the invention as applied to such a machine.
This machine is of standard tandem pattern with the back wheel replaced
by a motor wheel and carrying the necessary oil tank, battery and sparking
coil fixed to the same. The motor wheel consists of a geared hub shell, preferably
of aluminium, on which the wheel is built and having the motor fly-wheel re-
volving inside it. The fly-wheel is mounted on the crank shaft of the motor.
Flanged sleeves on the motor shaft are bolted up to the crank chamber and form
bearings for the shaft extending right into the hub to the boss of the fly-wheel. They
are of hardened steel, and the side plates of the hub, whose centres are provided with
ball races, run on them. By this means the hub rotates on a fixed spindle instead
of on the quickly running shaft, and so the wear is materially reduced.
Turning now to the gear. A toothed wheel is fixed to the side plate of the
hub and an opposite wheel forms the dead wheel of the epicyclic train. The boss
of this is carried as a sleeve to the outside of the hub where it may be held by
a preferably detachable clip or catch which can be removed in case of accident
and the back wheel driven by the chain without the motor. Corresponding
pinions form the second and third wheels of the train and run in ball bearings
in a boss of the fly-wheel, which is of the disc type. These wheels are duplicated
at a diametrically opposite point in order to preserve the balance. A roller clutch
is fixed on one side of the hub, next the driving sprocket, which permits the
chain to drive the machine from the pedal axle, or the pedals and chain to remain
at rest, while the motor is driving.
The machine can be readily converted from a motor to a man driven cycle
by changing the driving road-wheel and removing the other attachments which
are suitably secured for this purpose.
In the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1 is an axial section of the geared cycle-hub, and
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a motor tandem with the geared hub applied.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the accompanying drawings.
With reference first to Fig. 1, A is the crank shaft of the motor having
cranks A A' and mounted centrally upon it a disc shaped fly wheel B. Flanged
sleeves C, on the motor shaft are bolted by their flanges C₁ to the respective
crank chambers of the motor and form bearings for the shaft. The sleeves C
are of hardened steel and provided on their outsides with ball races C² upon
which the side-plates D D¹ of the hub, whose centres are provided with corre-
sponding ball races C³, run.
The gear within the hub comprises a toothed wheel E bolted to the side plate D
of the hub and engaging, by means of pinions, with an opposite wheel E which
forms the dead wheel of the epicyclic train. The boss of the wheel E¹ is carried
as a sleeve to the outside of the hub where it may be held preferably by a detach-
able clip or catch not shown in the drawings. Pinions E2 E3 by which the
wheels EE are geared together, are mounted fast upon a common axle E* one
on either side of the fly-wheel B.
A duplicate pair of pinions E2 E3 is mounted in a similar manner in the fly-
wheel B at a point diametrically opposite the first.
The barrel 2, to which the side plates D 1₁ of the hub are attached in any
convenient manner is provided with the usual flange pieces D³ for suspension from
the spokes.
A clutch of any desirable form is provided for engagement between the hub
and the driving sprocket F
Fig. 2 illustrates the hub mounted in the back wheel of a motor tandem of
the ordinary standard pattern. Two cylinders G¹ G³ are mounted one on either

page_text: side of the geared hub to operate, by means of their pistons, the cranks A' of
the motor shaft A (Fig. 1). The cranks A¹ are enclosed in crank chambers one
of which is indicated by G³. The usual appliances necessary for a motor, such
as an oil tank G+, sparking coil G battery Go and exhaust silencer G7 are dis-
posed upon various parts of the frame to suit the convenience of the rider.
The operation is as follows:-
The motor having been started the rapidly revolving axle A carries round with
it the fly-wheel B, and consequently the pinions E2 E3 mounted on the axles E.
The pinion E is thus caused to roll round the wheel E' with which it is in gear
and the latter being a dead wheel will cause it to revolve with its axle E* in the
bearings E carrying with it the pinion E³. This in its turn will impart rotary
motion to the wheel E fixed to the side plate D) of the hub and consequently the
hub will rotate upon its bearings C³ C³.
The
The motor is started by means of pedals in the well known manner.
whole machine is pedalled forward until the motor commences to drive when the
clutch falls out of action and the pedals remain stationary.
It is of course obvious that the geared hub may be applied to any cycle and the
gears arranged to any ratio desired.
nature of the said
Having now particularly described and ascertained the
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. In a geared motor-driven cycle hub mounting the driving shaft in fixed
sleeves such as CC the outside of which form bearings for the rotating hub,
substantially as and for the purpose described.
2. In a geared motor-driven cycle hub mounting the driving shaft in fixed
sleeves forming bearings for the rotating hub the dead wheel of the epicyclic
train being attached to one of the sleeves substantially as described.
3. The complete geared hub substantially as described and illustrated in Figure 1
of the accompanying drawings.
4. The complete motor cycle substantially as described and illustrated in Figure 2
of the accompanying drawings.