Improvements in Variable Speed or Speed and Power Driving Mechanism for Velocipedes.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Oct., 1890
Complete Specification Lefr, 1st July, 1891-Accepted, 29th Aug., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Variable Speed or Speed and Power Driving
Mechanism for Velocipedes.
We, JOHN CLOUGH, of 4, Rose Bank, Manningham, Bradford in the County
of York, Manager, and GEORGE CARTER, of Howard Street, Bradford aforesaid,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in that class of variable speed or speed
and power driving mechanism for bicycles, tricycles and other velocipedes in which
a portion of the mechanism is at one speed locked to the chain wheel or driving
wheel so as to revolve therewith and at the other speed is held stationary by being
locked to a fixed part of the velocipede such as the mechanism for which Letters
Patent were granted to us on the 30th day of April A.D. 1889 numbered 6,320.
And the object of the invention is to simplify the means or method of locking and
unlocking the above mentioned portion of mechanism and also to facilitate its
operation.
For this purpose we preferably employ a locking bolt fitted in a radial slide and
pressed to its outward limit by means of an internal spring to lock the whole of
the mechanism to the chain wheel similar to that described in the Specification of
the above cited Letters Patent, but for the purpose of unlocking certain parts
of mechanism from the wheel and locking them to a stationary part of the
velocipede we employ a cam or tappet on the wheel in advance of a projecting
portion of the radial bolt and fit a stout spring or spring lever on the velocipede
in any convenient manner so that it is capable of being brought into position to
engage and be compressed or bent by said cam or tappet as it revolves past and
be suddenly released therefrom. The said cam and the projection on the bolt are
so relatively arranged that immediately the spring or spring lever is released from
the cam it springs with the full force of its recoil against said projection forcing the
bolt inwards so as to disengage it from the wheel and move it to and hold it in the
position required to fix the portion of the mechanism to which it is attached
stationary.
The said spring or spring lever may be arranged to be operated by the hand or
foot of the rider and in either case is arranged that the cam can pass the spring
without compressing it if the motion of the wheel should be reversed.
Dated this 30th day of September 1890.
DRACUP & NOWELL,
Bradford, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Variable Speed or Speed and Power Driving
Mechanism for Velocipedes.
We, JOHN CLOUGH, of 4, Rose Bank, Manningham, Bradford in the County
of York, Manager and GEORGE CARTER of Howard Street, Bradford aforesaid,
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 :-
This invention relates to improvements in that class of variable speed or speed
and power driving mechanism for bicycles, tricycles and other velocipedes in which
a portion of the mechanism is at one speed locked by a radial bolt to the chain
wheel or driving wheel so as to revolve therewith and at the other speed is held

page_text: stationary by being locked by said bolt to a fixed part of the velocipede, such as
the mechanism for which Letters Patent were granted to us on the 13th day of
April A.D. 1889 numbered 6,320. And the object of the invention is to simplify
the means or method of locking and unlocking the above mentioned portion of
mechanism and also to facilitate its operation.
The said improvements consist in the employment of a spring or spring lever so
arranged that it is compressed or bent when required by a cam or its equivalent
on the chain wheel and is afterwards released in such a manner that the force of
the recoil is utilised to instantaneously operate said locking bolt.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 is a cross section through the crank axle and bearing box of a cycle
showing the side view of a variable speed chain wheel, adapted to be mounted on
the left side of a cycle, and such other parts as are necessary to illustrate our
invention.
Figure 2 is a plan view of the same.
The chain wheel A is of the same construction as that described in the
Specification of the above cited Letters Patent, but a cam B projects from such
wheel on the face immediately in advance of the radial bolt C. A bracket D
preferably fixed to the bearing box E is provided with a lug a at its extremity to
which the curved spring F is pivoted by means of the screw i having a counter-
sunk head. A spring G fixed to the bracket D bears against the heel d of the
spring F and tends to keep such spring in the position shown by the broken
lines F Figure 1. The spring F is however normally held by the wire H attached
to it in the position shown in full. Said wire may be operated in any convenient
manner but we preferably attach the other end to a lever similar in construction to
a brake lever pivoted on the left hand side of the handle bar and not long enough
to interfere with the handle. This lever is pivoted on an approximately vertical
pivot so as to be capable of being moved horizontally and the wire is secured to
the inner end. A spring clip is provided at the outer end to hold such end
close to the handle bar and keep F in the position shown. When this spring
clip is released however the spring F moves under the influence of the spring G,
into the position shown by F' with its shank resting against the shoulder e on the
bracket D. Then as the cam B comes round it engages the free end of such
spring thus bending or compressing it until the cam has passed to the position
shown by the broken lines B Figure 1 when it is immediately released from said
cam and as it springs back to its normal form it engages the bolt C and instan-
taneously drives it inwards to the position shown by the broken lines C' so that it
enters the slot formed in the bearing box E and is locked in that position. When
required F is disengaged from the bolt C and brought back to its original position
by the wire H as above described, and the bolt is moved out by an internal spring
as described in the above cited Letters Patent.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare what we
claim is:
In variable speed driving mechanism for cycles, the use of a spring adapted to
be brought into such a position that it is compressed or bent by a cam on the chain
wheel and released to operate the locking bolt of said mechanism, substantially as
herein shown and described.
Dated this 30th day of June 1890.
DRACUP & NOWELL,
Bradford, Agents.