Improvements in, or connected with, Break Mechanism of Velocipedes.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 8th July, 1897
Complete Specification Left, 7th Apr., 1898-Accepted, 20th May, 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in, or connected with, Break Mechanism of
Velocipedes.
I, JOHN HARRINGTON, of Claremont, West Street, Ryde, in the Isle of Wight,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Heretofore it has been proposed to construct and combine driving and break
mechanism of velocipedes in such manner that the machine can be propelled in
the usual way by forward pedalling, can run free when the pedals are held still
by the feet of the rider, and can have the break applied thereto by a slight back-
pedalling action.
In this arrangement of driving and break mechanism, a friction clutch has been
proposed to be used for communicating motion to the driving chain wheel, and a
similar clutch, but acting in the reverse direction, for communicating motion to
the break mechanism.
Now according to my invention I dispense with the last mentioned friction
clutch, and in lieu thereof I employ a toothed wheel fixed rigidly with the driving
spindle and acting in combination with a pull bar or rod connected with the
break mechanism, such pull bar or rod being provided with a hook at its end, or
being in the form of a toothed rack. The said toothed wheel may have one or
several teeth, preferably the latter; when employing a hook at the end of the pull
rod or bar, this latter is formed at such end as a light spring, and is suitably
guided so as to keep the hook thereon normally in position to be caught by the
tooth, or by one of the teeth, of the said wheel when the latter is reversed in its
motion by back pedalling; in forward pedalling the tooth or teeth of the said wheel
will pass the said hook without operating the break. This spring end of the pull
bar or rod also enables it to bend round the said toothed wheel when engaged
therewith.
When employing a number of teeth on the pull bar or rod, I form the said
rack part rigid and mount it in suitable guides, whilst it is kept in, and returned
to, its normal position by a spring, or by the action of the band break when the
latter is used. I provide such rack bar with means whereby it is always ready for
use and at the same time avoids any chattering of the toothed wheel against the
teeth of the rack during forward pedalling. One method of effecting this is to
mount a toothed pinion on an axis carried by the rack portion of the pull bar,
so that such pinion is always in gear with the toothed wheel during forward
pedalling, and in connection with such pinion I employ a noiseless stop or pawl
which, in the forward pedalling, will permit the pinion to revolve freely, whilst
when back pedalling to apply the break, it acts as a stop to the pinion to prevent
rotation thereof, when such pinion will act as a portion of the rack and permit the
action of the break.
The pull bar or rod may be connected to any suitable form of break mechanism,

page_text: but I prefer to connect it with a break band acting on a break drum, the fixed
end of such break band being pin-jointed to a link pin-jointed to a fixed bracket.
Dated this 8th day of July 1897
HARRIS & MILLS,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.
Improvements in, or connected with, Break Mechanism of
Velocipedes.
I, JOHN HARRINGTON, of Claremont, West Street, Ryde, in the Isle of Wight,
Manufacturer, 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:-
Heretofore it has been proposed to construct and combine driving and breaking
mechanism of velocipedes in such manner that the machine can be propelled in
the usual way by forward pedalling, can run free when the pedals are held still
by the feet of the rider, and can have the break applied thereto by a slight back-
pedalling action.
In this arrangement of driving and break mechanism, a friction clutch has been
proposed to be used for communicating motion to the driving chain wheel, and a
similar clutch, but acting in the reverse direction, for communicating motion to
the break mechanism.
Now according to my invention I dispense with the last mentioned friction
clutch, and in lieu thereof I employ a toothed wheel fixed rigidly with the driving
spindle and acting in combination with a pull bar or rod connected with the
break mechanism.
In order that my invention may be more clearly understood, I will proceed,
aided by the accompanying drawings, more fully to describe the same.
Fig. 1 is an elevation of part of a safety bicycle seen from the right hand
side of the machine.
Fig. 2 is an elevation of the same seen from the left hand side of the machine.
Fig. 3 is a detail view of the clutch mechanism for driving the bicycle, part
being broken away, to a larger scale than that shown in Fig. 1, and
Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views to a large scale of the toothed wheel and pull bar
for operating the break mechanism.
1 *.
In all the figures like parts are indicated by similar letters of reference.
The bicycle, as shown at Figs. 1 and 3, is provided, with clutch mechanism
of a well known type, enabling the machine to be driven forwards by pedalling,
and enabling the cranks to be held stationary when the machine is running
down hill. As seen in Fig. 3, the teeth of the chain wheel a are attached to a
ring a¹.
The crank b is keyed or fixed to the spindle c in any convenient manner,
and a disc b', having a number of inclines 62 on its periphery, is attached to the
crank or direct to the spindle c. The disc b and the ring a¹ are held in a
straight line by the discs 63 attached to the ring a¹. Clutch balls or rollers b₁
are placed between the inclines 2 and the ring a¹ and connect the said parts
rigidly when the machine is being driven forward, and enable the cranks to be
kept still or moved in the opposite direction, when desired. To the other end
of the spindle c is keyed or fixed the crank * and a toothed wheel d.
In some
cases the toothed wheel d may be attached to the crank b*, but in either case it
assumes the same position, namely, between the crank and the bottom bracket.
The dotted circle ², shown in Figs. 2, 4 and 5, represents a shield to keep the 5

page_text: clothes away from the teeth d. The toothed wheel d, as shown in Figs. 2, 4 and 5,
has two teeth d, but it may have only one tooth or any other number of teeth as
desired. The brake mechanism at the centre of the back wheel is of similar
construction to that shown and described in my Specification of British Letters
Patent No. 5426 of the year 1897. The brake rod e passes through a bearing f
attached to one of the tubes of the back fork, and is formed at its end as a spring
to keep the hook e¹ thereon normally in position to be caught by one of the
teeth d of the toothed wheel d when the latter is reversed in its motion by back
pedalling; in forward pedalling the tooth or teeth of the toothed wheel d
will pass the hook e¹ without operating the brake and practically without noise,
owing to the shape of the teeth and the light character of the spring end of the
This spring end of the pull bar or rod also enables it to bend round the
toothed wheel d when engaged therewith. In Fig. 4 I have shown the spring end
of the pull bar or rod e slightly depressed by one of the teeth d¹. In Fig. 5 I
have shown the tooth d as having passed the hook e and in position to engage
the same when the cranks are moved by back pedalling.
rod e.
It will be understood that my invention is equally applicable to velocipedes
driven by bevel gearing, the bevel gear wheel on the crank spindle being
connected to said spindle by means of a clutch.
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:
1. A velocipede having its chain wheel or bevel toothed wheel connected to the
crank spindle by means of a clutch, said crank spindle being provided at its
other end with a toothed wheel, the teeth of which engage with a hook on the end
of the pull bar attached to the break mechanism, substantially as herein shown and
described.
2. In a velocipede, the combination of a crank spindle having at one end a
clutch for communicating motion to the driving chain wheel or bevel gear wheel,
and at the other end a toothed wheel for engaging with a hook on the pull bar or
rod of the brake mechanism, substantially as herein shown and described.
3. In a velocipede, the combination of a toothed wheel, clutch mechanism, and
crank spindle, with a toothed wheel engaging a hook on the end of a spring
pull bar attached to the break mechanism, substantially as herein shown and
described.
Dated this wil 1
.. 1000
HARRIS & MILLS,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.
HARRIS & MILLS,
23, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents.