Improvements in and relating to the Driving Gear of Velocipedes.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Oct., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 12th Nov., 1892-Accepted, 14th Jan., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to the Driving Gear of Velocipedes.
I, JOHN MEEK of No. 21 Cherry Street Coventry in the County of Warwick
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the driving gear of velocipedes especially those in which
the pedals revolve round a horizontal line passing, transversely to the machine,
through the centre or a point near the centre of the driving wheel and has for its
object the rotation of the driving wheel at a higher speed than the rotation of the
cranks.
In this case, to attain my object, I attach near to or at each end of the axle or
hub of the driving wheel an externally toothed pinion wheel and mount the driving
wheel on a bearing or bearings in a fork or other convenient framework. Two
other wheels, having internal teeth or preferably studs carrying rollers on their
peripheries and larger in diameter than the pinion wheels, are carried one on each
side of the driving wheel, by studs projecting from the said fork or framework, so
as to gear with the pinion wheels on the driving wheel.
The cranks carrying the pedals are attached to the larger gear wheels. The
gear wheels may be made detachable and so fitted that others of different sizes may
be substituted. When the horizontal line round which the pedals revolve is
without the circumference of the driving wheel I mount the pinion wheels on an
axle additional to that on or round which the driving wheel rotates and connect
them to the driving wheel by any convenient means for conveying the driving
power.
In both cases the two pinion wheels and the two larger gear wheels have
preferably an equal number of teeth respectively. The gearing up of the driving
wheel effected by this gear is according to the proportion of the number of teeth
(or their equivalents) on the pinion and larger gear wheels.
Dated this 29th day of September 1892.
WILLIAM BESTWICK MAXFIELD,
Applicant's Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to the Driving Gear of Velocipedes.
I, JOHN MEEK of No. 21 Cherry Street Coventry, in the County of Warwick,
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 the driving gear of velocipedes especially those in which
the pedals revolve round a horizontal line passing, transversely to the machine,
through the centre or a point near the centre of the driving wheel and has for its
object the rotation of the driving wheel at a higher speed than the rotation of the
cranks.
In this case, to attain my object I attach near to or at each end of the axle or
hub of the driving wheel an externally toothed pinion wheel and mount the driving
wheel in a bearing or bearings in a fork or other convenient framework. Two other
wheels having internal teeth or preferably studs carrying rollers on their peripheries
and larger in diameter than the pinion wheels are carried one on each side of the
driving wheel, by studs projecting from the said fork or framework so as to gear
with the pinion wheels on the driving wheel.

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Instead of using external teeth on the pinions and internal teeth or studs and
rollers on the larger gear wheels I may use other equivalent means for causing the
pinions and larger gear wheels to engage with one another respectively. For
example I may provide the larger gear wheels with "crown." or contrate teeth,
(that is, teeth projecting at right angles to the plane of the wheel) and cause such
teeth to engage with external or internal teeth on the pinions. Or I may provide
the pinions with such crown teeth and cause them to engage with external or internal
teeth on the larger gear wheels, or again, I may provide both the pinions and the
larger gear wheels with such crown teeth and cause them to engage with one
another. The cranks carrying the pedals are attached to and rotate with the larger
gear wheels. The gear wheels may be made detachable and so fitted that others of
different sizes may be substituted.
I prefer to use a non-rotating spindle for the driving wheel as it then strengthens
the fork or framework by acting as a tie between the two extremities; this arrange-
ment also has the advantage that but one cone has to be moved in order to adjust
the driving wheel bearings, whereas where a rotating spindle is used it involves the
use of two seperate bearings each requiring an independent adjustment. When &
non-rotating spindle is used the pinion wheels are necessarily attached not to the
axle but to some revolving part of the driving wheel, preferably the hub. When
the larger gear wheels are made with internal teeth I make these teeth and the
external teeth on the pinion wheels of the usual spur shape but I prefer to use
horizontal studs carrying rollers arranged equidistantly around and projecting
inward from the peripheries of the larger wheels and to make the external teeth on
the pinion wheels similar in shape to those commonly employed in gearing with
chains of the kind. known as "open link" chains, as this instruction allows of great
freedom of action. The inner ends of the studs are secured to and supported by a
vertical ring, the said ring being so shaped or cut away at one or more points as to
allow the gearing to be conveniently fitted together and drawn apart. By carrying
the lower parts of the fork or framework from between the sets of gear wheels
outwards across the plane of the teeth between the circles of teeth and rollers
where the wheels are not in contact with one another and continuing the parts.
downward between the centres of the larger gear wheels and the teeth of the pinions
I am able to use pinion wheels of half or more than half the diameter of the larger
gear wheels. The extremities of the parts are adapted to hold the ends of the
driving wheel axle in slots so that the axle, driving wheel and pinion wheels may
be raised or lowered, thus admitting of the adjustment of the gearing or even the
substitution of larger or smaller gear wheels.
The larger gear wheels are preferably mounted on adjustable double ball bearings
on the studs, and the inner ball race may be larger than the outer. The crauks
may conveniently be made in one piece with the bodies of the gear wheels respec-
tively or may be made detachable therefrom by any of the well known methods.
When the horizontal line round which the pedals revolve is without the circum-
ference of the driving wheel, as in the well known "rear driven safety bicycle,"
I mount the pinion wheels on an axle additional to that on or around which the
driving wheel rotates and connect them, the said pinion wheels to the driving
wheel by chain gearing or any other convenient means for conveying the driving
power.
In both cases the two pinion wheels and the two larger gear wheels have
preferably an equal number of teeth or their equivalents respectively and the cranks
are set in line with one another. Covers to exclude dust and the like may be
attached to the gear.
In order that my invention may be well understood I append drawings which
show the general form and arrangement of the parts of my invention, but
modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of my invention. In
the drawings similar letters of reference refer to similar parts.
Figure 1 Sheet 1. is a front view partly in section of my improved driving gear
and Figure 2. Sheet 2 an end view of the same.
.
..

page_text: A. A are the pinion wheels having chain teeth a. a. and secured to or made in
one piece with the hub B of the driving wheel. The driving wheel rotates on
adjustable ball bearings C round the axle X, which is secured to the fork D, D.
E, E are the larger gear wheels provided with studs e and rollers thereon e¹ mounted
on the studs F, F which project from the fork or framework D, D a convenient
distance above but near to the centre of the driving wheel and provided with
adjustable ball bearings G, G of which the inner ball race g is larger than the outer
race g². The studs e are preferably of larger diameter in the centre than at the
ends, the reduced ends being rivetted or otherwise secured to the periphery of the
wheel E and the ring E'. The ring E' is cut away as indicated in dotted lines at
(see Figure 2) to allow the gearing to be easily fitted together or taken apart.
The parts of the fork D D are carried between the circles of teeth a and the rollers e¹
where they are not in contact and are continued downwards between the wheels as
before described. The fork ends, holding the axle X are slotted vertically or
approximately vertically at d. H, H are the cranks made in one piece with the
bodies of the gear wheels E.
y
The gearing up of the driving wheel effected by this gear is according to the
proportion of the number of teeth (or their equivalents) on the pinion and larger
gear wheels.
Thus, with 8 teeth on the pinions and 14 on the larger wheels as shown, a
driving wheel 36" in diameter would be geared equal to a driving wheel of 63" in
diameter.
I am aware that driving gears acting on the same general principle as my invention
herein described have already been applied to velocipedes as for example in the
tricycle known as the "Rob Roy" but I do not claim the general principle as my
invention but,
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this my
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. In a driving gear for a velocipede in which the pedals revolve round a hori-
zontal line passing transversely to the machine through the centre or a point near
the centre of the driving wheel the combination of an externally toothed pinion
wheel fixed on each side of the driving wheel to the rotating axle, a larger internally
toothed wheel gearing with each of the said pinions respectively and rotating on
studs or their equivalents projecting from each side of the fork or framework and
attached to and actuated by cranks and pedals and the fork or framework all
arranged and operating substantially as and for the purpose described.
2. In a driving gear for a velocipede of the kind referred to in Claim 1, the
combination of an externally toothed pinion wheel fixed on each side of the driving
wheel to the hub, a non-rotating spindle tying the ends of the fork or framework a
larger internally toothed wheel gearing with each of the said pinions and rotating
on studs or their equivalents projecting from each side of the fork or framework
and attached to and actuated by crauks and pedals and the fork or framework all
arranged and operating substantially as and for the purpose described.
3. In a driving gear for a velocipede of the kind referred to in Claim 1 the
combination of the pinions A, the hub B, the non-rotating spindle X, the gear
wheels E, the studs F, the cranks H and the fork or framework D with the driving
wheel all arranged and operating substantially as and for the purpose described.
4. In a driving gear for a velocipede in which the pedals revolve round a hori-
zontal line without the circumference of the driving wheel, the combination of an
externally toothed pinion wheel fixed on each end of an axle additional to that on
or around which the driving wheel rotates, a larger internally toothed wheel gearing
with each of the said pinions respectively and rotating on studs or their equivalents
projecting from each side of the fork or framework and attached to and actuated
by cranks, pedals, the fork or framework, and chain gearing or other convenient

page_text: means for conveying the driving power to the driving wheel all arranged and
operating substantially as described.
5. The improvements in the driving gear of velocipedes substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated.
Dated, this 10th day of November 1892.
WILLIAM BESTWICK MAXFIELD,
The Central" Office for Patents,
19, Bowling Green Street, Leicester, Applicant's Agent.