Improvements in and relating to the Propulsion and Braking of Rubber Tyred Road Vehicles.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 16th June, 1896
Complete Specification Left, 15th Apr., 1897-Accepted, 16th June, 1997
PROVISIONAL SIMCITIVATION.
Improvements in and relating to the Propulsion and Braking of
Rubber Tyred Road Vehicles.
I, FRANK EMEDORFF WALKER of 11 and 12 Cheap Street, Newbury, in the
County of Berkshire, Gun Maker do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in tricycles and other road vehicles
having solid, cushion, or pneumatic red wheels, propelled by motive power
derived from an electric, steam, oil, gas or other motor, carried upon the machine
or vehicle, and consists, firstly, of an improved method of and means for conveying
the motion of the high speed shaft of such a motor directly to and upon the tyres
of the hind or driven wheels of the vehicle, instead of to and upon the shaft, by
the use of intermediate reducing gearing, as hitherto, the object being to save the
loss of power absorbed by the friction of such gearing, and obtain a greater
leverage upon the driven wheels. Secondly, of an improved method of arresting
the progress of such vehicles by applying a brake to the tyres of the wheels
through the same medium as that by which the motive power is conveyed thereto,
such brake and the means of applying the same being also applicable for use in
connection with single, tandem, and sociable safety bicycles propelled by human
energy or power.
For the purposes of the first portion of my invention I arrange that the high
speed shaft of the motor is in such a transverse position upon the vehicle, that one
or both ends of this extend beyond the side or sides of the vehicle, a suitable
distance from, and in advance of, the tyre or tyres of the hind or driven wheel or
wheels, and upon either or both ends of such shaft, I mount and fix a grooved
wheel or wheels or pulleys, the periphery or peripheries of which, is or are faced
with rubber, rubber composition, or other resilient material, the outer surface
whereof would be concave in cross section to correspond with the convexity of the
tyre or tyres of the vehicle wheels, the diameter of which said grooved wheel may
vary according to the speed required, but always such as to be in frictional contact
with the said tyre or tyres, that the motion of the former may be imparted to the
latter and so propel the vehicle, and as I purpose braking or arresting the speed of
the vehicle through the medium of the said grooved wheel or wheels, I prefer to
construct these as follows.
I prefer to construct the said wheel or pulley in two parts or discs of wood,
metal or other material, each so formed that when placed together face to face,
they constitute a wheel having a deep groove in its periphery, and before bolting,
screwing or otherwise connecting the said dises together, I mount in the said
groove the before mentioned rubber or other resilient ring. Upon the outer
surface of either or both discs, I form a circular shoulder of suitable diameter, and
when the said grooved wheel is mounted upon its shaft, I cause to engage with and
partly surround the said shoulder or shoulders, a thin metallic band or bands
connected to a lever mounted upon the machine, the said lever being so arranged,
that when operated by hand or other power, the said band or bands is or are
tightened upon the said shoulder or shoulders, and so forin a band brake for
arresting the progress of the said grooved wheel (or wheels if two is mounted

page_text: upon the said high speed shaft) which being, as stated, in frictional contact with
the driven wheel or wheels of the vehicle, arrests the progress of these without
slip or injury to the tyre or tyres.
As a means for braking or arresting the progress of bicycles propelled by
manumotive human energy or power, I mount one of the said resilient faced
pulleys or grooved wheels upon a spring lever fixed upon the frame of the machine,
in such a position as to operate upon the tyre of the front or hind wheel, the
normal position of such lever being, that the face of the said grooved wheel is out
of contact with the tyre of the wheel of the machine, and the said metallic band
or bands is or are idle, but by depression or otherwise of the said lever (to effect
which suitable means would be provided) the said grooved wheel would be brought
in contact with the tyre of the wheel of the machine, and the said metallic band or
bands being thereby tightened, would brake the said pulley or grooved wheel and
consequently the wheel of the machine.
Dated this 16th day of June 1896
GEO. THOS. HYDE,
No. 1, Broad Street Buildings, Liverpool Street, E.C., Agent for Applicant.
Improvements in and relating to the Propulsion and Braking of
Rubber Tyred Road Vehicles.
I, FRANK EMSDORFF WALKER of 11 and 12 Cheap Street, Newbury, in the
County of Berkshire, Gun Maker, 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 improvements in bicycles tricycles and other road
vehicles having solid cushion or pneumatic tyred wheels, propelled by human aid or
motive power derived from an electric, steam, oil, gas or other motor carried upon
the machine or vehicle, and consists, firstly-of an improved method of, and means
for, conveying the motion of the high speed shaft of such a motor, directly to and
upon the tyre or tyres of the hind or driven wheel or wheels of the machine or
vehicle, instead of to and upon the shaft of the same by the use of intermediate
reducing gearing as hitherto, the object being to save the loss of power absorbed
by the friction of such gearing, and to obtain a greater leverage upon the driven
wheel or wheels. Secondly of an improved method of arresting the progress of
such machines or vehicles by applying a brake to the tyres of the said driven
wheel or wheels through the same medium as that by which the motive power is
conveyed thereto, such brake and the manner of applying the same, being also
applicable for, and in connection with single, tandem, and sociable safety bicycles
propelled by human energy or power.
For the purposes of the first portion of my invention, I arrange that the high
speed shaft of the motor is placed transversally upon the machine or vehicle, and
in such a position, that one or both ends thereof extend beyond the side or sides
of the vehicle at a suitable distance from, and in advance of the tyre or tyres of
the said driven wheel or wheels, and upon either or both ends of the said high
speed shaft, I mount and fix a grooved wheel or wheels, pulley or pulleys, sheave or
sheaves, the periphery or peripheries of which is or are faced with rubber, rubber
composition, or other resilient material, the outer surface of which would be concave
in cross section to correspond with the convexity of the tyre or tyres of the said
driven wheel or wheels, the diameter of which said wheel, pulley or sheave, or each
of them, may vary according to the speed required, but always such as to be in

page_text: frictional contact with the said tyre or tyres, that the motion of the former may be
imparted to the latter and so propel the vehicle, and by the means of a suitable
band brake arranged to operate upon, and brake the said wheel, palley, or sheave,
or each of them, I brake or arrest the progress of the vehicle or machine.
By a slight modification in the construction of the said wheel, pulley or sheave,.
and according to the second portion of my invention, I employ the same as a brake
only, in connection with bicycles and like machines and in order that my said
invention, and the manner in which I intend to employ the same, for the purposes
stated, may be fully understood, I have hereunto appended two sheets of drawings
of which:-
Fig. 1 Sheet 1 is a vertical central section of the said wheel, pulley, or sheave
substantially as I prefer to construct it for use as a brake for cycles.
Fig. 2 is a like section of the same as I prefer to construct it for use in the
propulsion and braking of the rear wheels of motor driven cycles, and other road
vehicles.
Fig. 3 is a diagramatic view illustrating the manner of using the same, singly or
in duplicate, for both propelling and braking the hind or rear wheels of the said
motor driven vehicles.
Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are side and front elevations, and plan respectively, of a portion of
the front fork and steering wheel of a bicycle, tricycle, or like machine, illustrating
the manner in which I employ my invention in connection therewith as a brake
therefor.
I will first describe my invention and the manner of its use as a brake for cycles,
as illustrated by Figs. 1, 4, 5, and 6. Keferring to Fig. 1, I prefer to construct
the said wheel, pulley, or sheave, in two parts or discs A and B, of wood, metal, or
other suitable material, upon the inner face of each of which is provided, at suitable
intervals, lugs or projections C as shewn, or an annular flange in liea thereof, and
when these are rigidly connected by bolts, pins, or screws a, the two said parts
constitute a wheel, pulley, or sheave having a deep groove in its periphery, in which
I mount a rubber, rubber composition, or other resilient ring D. The outer faces
of A and B are each recessed and receive metallic or other plates E and F, screwed
or otherwise connected thereto, the said plates being each provided with a boss G,
which serve as hubs for mounting the said wheel or sheave upon a spindle or axle H,
the ends of which said axle are borne in the upper ends of a pair of arms J and J',
connected to, or formed integrally with, and extending upwardly from, a compound
plate K, pivotally connected at a point b, to the upper portion of the crown of the
front fork L. (Figs. 4, 5, and 6). To the outer face of the plate F, or the plate E,
as at Fig. 1, or both as at Figs. 5 and 6, (according to whether one or two brake
bands are to be employed) I screw or otherwise fix a hollow plate M, provided with
a boss N for the passage of the axle H, and partly surrounding the periphery of M
I mount a steel or other band O, one end of which is connected at a point c with
the plate K, while its opposite end is connected at a point d with a bifurcated curved
piate or fork P, the lower ends of which are pivotally connected at points e with
the plate K, while its upper end is pivotally connected to the lower end of a curved
rud R, the upper end of which, f, is adapted for connection with the lower end of
the usual brake rod of the machine.
The normal position of the said wheel or sheave would be above, and a short
distance from, the steering wheel S of the machine, the concave formation of the
periphery of the former being such as to correspond with the convex formation of
the latter, and by operating the brake red in the usual way the arm R and the
upper end of the plate P would be lowered, thereby placing the resilient periphery D
of the wheel or sheave, in frictional contact with the periphery of the wheel S, the
same operation serving to tighten the brake band or bands O, upon the plate or
plates M, and so arrest the progress of the machine.
In adapting my invention for the purposes of propelling and braking the hind
wheel or wheels of motor driven machines or road vehicles in which the periphery
of the tyres are assumed to be wider and more massive than those of the wheels of

page_text: cycles, I prefer to construct the said wheel or sheave as at Fig. 2, which is only a
slight departure from that shewn at Fig. 1, and also consists of two parts A and B
connected together in like manner as at C, and provided with a like concave
periphery carrying a like resilient surface D, the said parts A and B being in like
manner adapted to either receive plates E and F having a plate or plates M
connected thereto as at Fig. 1, or the said plates M may be, and preferably would
be, provided with broad flanges g so that these may be connected directly to and
upon the parts A and B as at Fig. 2, thus dispensing with the plates E and F, the
bosses N of the said plates M being adapted to fit, and be keyed or otherwise fixed
upon, the high speed shaft T of the electric, steam, uil, or other motor, by which
the machine or vehicle is to be driven or propelled.
For the purposes of this portion of my invention I arrange that the said high
speed shaft T, is as long as, or may be slightly longer than the axle h, carrying the
back or driven wheel or wheels m of the machine or vehicle (the said wheels, it is
assumed, being provided with solid, cushioned, or pneumatic tyres n) and placed in
horizontal level with the said axle, and in front of the said wheel or wheels, and
upon either or both ends of the said high speed shaft T, I mount and fix a wheel or
sheave M, (constructed as at Fig. 2) so that the resilient tyre or tyres D of this or
these is or are in close, firm, and frictional contact with the tyre or tyres n, as at
Fig. 3, so that motion imparted by the said high speed shaft T, to the said wheel or
wheels, sheave or sheaves M, in the direction of the arrow would impart motion to
the wheel or wheels m in the opposite direction and so propel the machine.
The said wheel or sheave, (or each of them if more than one be employed) would
have a brake band O partly surrounding the periphery of the plate M, (or each of
them if two be used) one end of the said band being connected to a plate such as K
pivotally connected in auy convenient way to the frame of the machine or vehicle,
and suspended by arms J and J' upon the shaft T, while its opposite end may be
connected to a bifurcated plate such as P connected to a bar or rod R adapted to
be operated from any convenient part of the machine or vehicle the downward
pressure upon R operating to tighten the band brake O upon the periphery of Min
the same way as described in connection with the previous arrangement, and by
thus braking the wheel or wheels sheave or sheaves by the plate or plates M,
and arresting the motion of the means of communicating motion from the shaft T
to the track wheels m, the progress of the machine itself would be thereby
arrested.
I may in heavy vehicles or for other reasons find it convenient to mount a second
wheel or sheave, or a pair of them, upon a shaft or spindle T', parallel with T, but
at the opposite or back side of the wheel or wheels m as shewn at Fig. 3, this or
these being also in frictional contact with the tyre or tyres n of the wheel or
wheels m and receive motion from a band belt or chain p operated by and from the
shaft T as shewn.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1st. In combination with motor driven elastic tyred machines or vehicles, the us
and application of the herein described wheel, sheave, or pulley, for the combined
purposes of conveying motion from the high speed shaft of the motor, directly to
and upon the periphery of the hind or driven wheel or wheels of the machine or
vehicle for the propulsion of same, and for operating as a brake for arresting
the progress of the said machine or vehicle substantially as herein described and
shewn.
2nd. In the propulsion and braking of motor driven elastic tyred machines or
vehicles, the combination of a wheel, pulley, or sheave, composed of two parts or
discs A and B, connected by bolts, pins or the like a, engaging with lugs or rims C,
the said wheel, or pulley having a concave periphery occupied by a resilient
surface D, with a hollow plate or plates such as M, g fixed upon either or both

page_text: sides, the periphery or peripheries of the said hollow plate or plates M being
a lapted to receive a steel or other band brake O, connected to a bifurcated plate
or fork P, and a compound plate K, the latter pivotally connected to the frame of
the machine, and the former connected to a rod R, adapted for connection with a
rod or lever operated from any convenient part of the machine or vehicle.
substantially as herein described and shewn by Figs. 2 and 3 of the appended.
drawings.
3rd. In the propulsion and braking of motor driven clastic-tyred machines or
vehicles, the combination of a wheel or wheels, sheave or sheaves, pulley or pulleys,
as set forth in the preceding claim, mounted upon either or both ends of the high.
speed shaft T, of the said motor, the motion from the said shaft. being conveyed
through the said wheel or wheels, pulley or pulleys, sheave or sheaves directly to
and upon the tyre or tyres periphery or peripheries n of the hind or driven wheel
or wheels m of the machine or vehicle for the propulsion of same, the said wheel or
wheels, sheave or sheaves, pulley or pulleys also serving as a brake for arresting the
progress of the machine or vehicle, when the band or bands O is or are tightened
upon the periphery or peripheries of the plate or plates M, by downward pressure
applied to the rod R, substantially as herein described and shewn by the accom-
panying drawings, especially by that of Fig. 3.
4th. In an improved method of and means for braking bicycles, tricycles, and the
like, the combination of a pulley, wheel, or sheave, and its attachments, as set forth
in the second claim hereunto, mounted upon the machine with its plate K in pivotal
connection at a point b with the front fork of the machine, and with the rod R of
its plate P connected at fwith the brake rod of the machine, the whole constructed,
connected, and operating substantially as herein described and shewn by Figs. 1, 4, 5-
aud 6 of the accompanying drawings.
יות
GEO. THOS. HYDE,
1 Broad Street Buildings, Liverpool Street, London, E.C.,.
Agent for the Applicant.