Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Mar., 1837
Complete Left, 9th Dec., 1887
Complete Accepted,, 27th Jan., 1888.
I, JAMES EDWIN THORPE of 35 Fetter Lane, Fleet Street, City of London,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is io so combine the wheels and crank appliances,
similar to those used as the front wheels of bicycles to a frame (skeleton or other)
that either wheel, or any two, or all three wheels can be operated by the riders who
act as drivers, the frame being arranged to carry, say two other persons who are not
necessarily drivers, but if the required appliances be fitted they may assist to drive
either with their hands, or with their feet or by both hands and feet.
Each wheel is provided with a fork seat and a short back bone, the lower end of
the back bone of the leading wheel is attached to a horizontal or spread out frame to
which the short back bones of the other wheels are connected by droop or other lugs
in which the axles rotate, said axles having cranks like those of an ordinary
bicycle.
The frame is provided with seats in which the extra riders can sit facing each other
or they may be turned about as desire:i.
The frame is capable of easy connection and of disconnection to facilitate the
carrying of each wheel and its portion of frame as separate parts through narrow
passages or for stowage or otherwise.
The frame is also arranged for extensions to which other similar wheels can he
fitted, said extensions being unlimited to suit the number of riders.
The apparatus is intended to be called "The Excursionists Safety Multicycle" and
can be made to carry from one person in its simple form to a thousand or
persons in an extended form.
Dated this 9th day of March 1887.
more
H. GARDNER,
166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said J. E. Thorpe.

page_text: I, JAMES EDWIN THORPE, of 35 Fetter Lane, Fleet Street, City of London,
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:―
The object of this invention is to so combine the wheels and crank appliances
similar to those used as the front wheel of bicycles to a frame (skeleton or other)
that either wheel or any two or all three wheels can be operated by the riders who act
as drivers, the frame being arranged to carry, say, two other persons who are not
necessarily drivers but if the required appliances be fitted they may assist to drive,
either with their hands or with their feet, or by both hands and feet.
According to my invention, which is represented at Figures 1 and 2, each
wheel A, A, A, is provided with a fork seat B and a short back bone C, the lower
end of the back bone C of the leading wheel is attached to a horizontal or spread out
frame D, to which the forks E of the other wheels are connected, by droop or other
lugs F in which the axles rotate, said axles having cranks G like those of an ordinary
bicycle.
The frame is provided with seats H, H¹, on which the extra riders can sit facing
each other, or they may be turned about as desired.
The frame D is capable of easy connection and of disconnection to facilitate the
carrying of each wheel and its portion of frame as separate parts through narrow
passages or for stowage or otherwise.
The frame D is also arranged for extensions, to which other similar wheels can he
fitted, said extensions being unlimited to suit the number of riders.
The apparatus is intended to be called the "Excursionists Safety Multicycle," and
can be made to carry from one person in its simple form to a thousand or more
persons in an extended form.
1, 1, are rest bars for the feet of the riders and are screwed into the inner sides of
skeleton frames and also used for hanging on the luggage box for carrying small
articles for use on the road.
Any number of frames constructed like D, D, and having bicycle wheels arranged
within compartments as shown at Figure 2 may be connected by the bolt eye J to
constitute a train of velocipedes articulated one to the other and capable of being
guided.
If for one rider only the backbone C of the front wheel A would have an extension K
attached with small wheel L as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 1.
The middle riders seated at H, H' respectively and facing each other operate by the
pedals M, M the chain gear mechanism N, N', for communicating motion to the
middle wheels A', A", the chain gear N by means of the intermediate wheel P
(preferably a toothed wheel), gears into a corresponding wheel on the axle of the

page_text: drive wheel A but the riders seated at H' operate the axle and wheel A¹ by the
chain N¹.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
Arranging spider or like wheels A' A" within compartments formed by the
framing D, D for operation like ordinary bicycle wheels, said frames being connected
by transverse bars 1, I, to enable motion to be transmitted by separate pedals through
chain or other gear to snid wheels A', A", by riders seated at H, H', said frame being
independent of but attachable to the back bone of ordinary bicycles as described.
The 0th day of December 1987
H. GARDNER,
166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said James Edwin Thorpe.