IMPROVEMENTS IN VELOCIPEDES
Year: 1869

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Joseph Hampton and Samuel
Partridge at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 13th August 1869.
We, JOSEPH HAMPTON, of Wednesbury, in the County of Stafford,
Manufacturer, and SAMUEL PARTRIDGE, of Darlaston, in the County of
Stafford, Surgeon, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN VELOCIPEDES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists in the combination of parts herein-after
described for acting on the cranks of the driving wheel of velocipedes by
means of the foot, instead of applying the foot directly to the cranks as
in velocipedes of the ordinary construction. On either side of the driving
wheel, and connected with the fork or body of the velocipede, we attach
a vertical plate of metal in a plane parallel to the wheel, in which
plate we form a nearly vertical curved slot of long radius, the concave
side of the said slot being turned towards the front of the velocipede.
An arm or lever in a plane parallel to the wheel and outside the said
slotted plate is connected with the said slotted plate by means of a pin
or guide fixed near the end of the lever engaging in the said slot.
The fore end of the said lever makes an obtuse angle with the other

page_text: part, and its upper side, which is of a slight concave figure, bears against
a roller fixed on the slotted plate nearly at the same level as the bottom
of the said slot. The said roller constitutes a fulcrum under which the
upper side of the curved end of the lever bears. In the hind part of
the lever is a slot equal in length to the diameter of the circle described
by the crank of the velocipede, and the pin of the said crank engages
in the said slot. The rear ends of the levers on either side the fork of
the velocipede are immediately beneath the feet of the person seated
on the velocipede, and by pressing alternately on the said levers motion
is given to the driving wheel and the velocipede made to advance..
The action of the parts is as follows:-On the ascending motion of
the crank pin the lever is raised, but immediately on passing the upper
dead centre the foot is pressed upon the lever, which descending forces
down the crank pin with great power, the curved front end of the
lever advancing under the roller or fulcrum described. During the
descending motion of one of the cranks the other crank performs its
ascending motion, the feet only pressing on the levers during their
descending motion. When the crank is midway between its upper and
lower dead centres the pressure of the foot is multiplied largely in its
transmission to the crank. The rear end of each lever may be made to
slide so as to lengthen or shorten it at the pleasure of the person using
the velocipede.
By our Invention not only is great power obtained in driving the
velocipede, but the pressure is applied by the foot more nearly under
the body of the driver than in velocipedes of the ordinary construction.
By the sliding of the fore end of the lever under the roller of the
fulcrum during the descent of the lever by the action of the foot the
lever describes a much smaller angle than it would were its end con-
nected with the fulcrum; the foot has consequently to rise and fall less
than it would otherwise have to do, while great command over the lever
is retained.