Improvements in or relating to Gear Cases for Velocipedes and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Gear Cases for Velocipedes and
the like.
We, JOSEPH GEORGE GROSE, FREDERICK SMITH, and The GROSE GEAR CASE,
LIMITED, all of 63, Gold Street, in the Town and County of Northampton, Gear
Case Manufacturers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
Our invention relates to gear cases for velocipedes and the like and especially
those gear cases in which a covering of leather, japanned fabric or the like is
employed. In order to get such coverings to set evenly it is necessary to subject
them to tension in use and hitherto such tension has been obtained by lacing
together the edges of the cover when the same has been fitted over a practically
rigid framework. But the use of the said lacing involves the expenditure of a
considerable amount of time in attaching and detaching the covering, and the
present invention has for its principal object to provide means for tensioning the
covering otherwise than by the lacing herein before referred to. And our invention
consists, firstly, in constructing the frame so that it may be expanded to tension
the cover, and secondly, in a cover, the openings or divisions in which are adapted
to be closed otherwise than by lacing.
According to one method of carrying out the first part of our invention we
construct the frame of channel section strip metal or the like with say two trans-
verse supporting stays as usual. But instead of bolting or otherwise securing
say the lower ends of the stays to the frame in the ordinary manner, we form a
vertical hole in the said lower end or foot of the stay and opposite thereto we
provide a tapped hole in the frame. Into this tapped hole is screwed a screw
threaded bolt the point of which is of reduced diameter and without thread. The
points of the bolts are introduced into the holes in the feet of the respective stays,
and it will be obvious that when the said bolts are screwed further into the holes
in the frame, the frame will be forced away from the feet of the stays, and the
depth of the frame as a whole will be increased. The screw bolts may be provided
with nuts, spring claws adapted to engage the heads, or other locking devices.
Variations of the above described screwing arrangement may be readily devised
and any suitable equivalent giving a positive action may be substituted therefor.
To enable the frame to be expanded lengthwise, one end, preferably the rear,
may be adapted to slide lengthwise relatively to the main portion thereof, one
overlapping portion being slotted and the other being provided with a pinching
screw or bolt and nut so that the parts can be locked in position after the move-
able end has been drawn out lengthwise as far as required. Or the adjustable end
of the frame may be duplicated, and the second end part being laid over the first
and being adapted to be moved longitudinally relatively thereto by a screwing
device similar to that herein before described with reference to the frame and

page_text: stays or other suitable arrangement. In this case it may be found desirable to
guide the extremities of the second end part on the first by a stud and slot device
or the like. In a similar way the depth of the frame may be made adjustable by
duplicating the frame at the bottom or top or both.
Further, the frame as a whole may, if desired, be divided into two parts approxi-
mately in the plane of the crank axle and wheel axle, the ends overlapping and
In this case the
being guided relatively to each other in any suitable manner.
stays may each be suitably divided into two parts, and the points of the screw
bolts rivetted over so as to attach the bolts to the ends of the stays through which
they pass.
In constructing coverings suitable for use with our expanding frames, we'
prefer to make them in two parts, the division being in more or less nearly in
the plane of the wheel axle and crank axle. The adjacent edges of the two parts
may be provided with folded strips of metal, the edges of which are turned away
from each other. Separate strips of metal the edges of which are turned towards
each other are adapted to slide on the firstly above mentioned strips and, by
holding them together, unite the two parts of the cover. If preferred the longer
division in the cover at the back near the spokes of the wheel may be arranged
above or below the before mentioned plane. And this division may be adapted
to be closed by forming the edges of the two parts of the cover of a hook section
whereby they may be engaged with each other; or other means which will avoid
the use of the separate slide may be employed here and elsewhere. After the cover
has been fitted to the frame it is tensioned by expanding the frame as herein-
before set forth. Apertures may be provided in the cover through which por-
tions of the expanding devices will project or through which they may be operated
Though the above description is more particularly applicable to gear cases for
rear driving safety bicycles, gear cases may be constructed according to our inven-
tion for other suitable machines as will be readily understood. In any case
modifications may be made without exceeding the limits of our invention; and,
except as hereinbefore described, the cases are constructed in any well known or
convenient manner and are provided with the usual fittings.
OFIL
J
Octobo 1907
G. DOUGLAS LEECHMANN.
18, Hertford Street, Coventry,
75, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., and
49, Middle Abbey Street Dublin,
Patent Agent for the Applicants.
Improvements in or relating to Gear Cases for Velocipedes and
the like.
We, JOSEPH GEORGE GROSE, FREDERICK SMITH, and The GROSE GEAR CASE
LIMITED, all of 63, Gold Street, in the Town and County of Northampton, Gear
Case Manufacturers, 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;
Our invention relates to gear cases for velocipedes and the like and especially
those gear cases in which a covering of leather, japanned fabric or the like is
employed. In order to get such coverings to set evenly it is necessary to subject
them to tension in use, and hitherto such tension has generally been obtained by lac-

page_text: ing together the edges of the cover when the same has been fitted over a practically
rigid framework. But the use of the said lacing involves the expenditure of a
considerable amount of time in attaching and detaching the covering, and the
present invention has for its principal object to provide means for tensioning the
And our invention
covering otherwise than by the lacing herein before referred to.
consists, firstly, in a frame adapted to be expanded to tension the cover, and
secondly, in a cover, the openings or divisions in which are adapted to be closed
otherwise than by lacing.
And in order that our invention may be properly understood and readily carried
into effect we will describe the same with the aid of the accompanying drawings,
which are intended to illustrate without strictly limiting our invention.
Figure I is a front elevation of a gear case frame constructed according to our
invention.
Figure II is a transverse section on the line II-II in Figure I.
Figure III is a front elevation of a gear case complete with cover,
a modification in the frame.
and showing
Figure IV is a rear elevation of a gear case complete with cover, and showing
a further modification in the frame.
Figure V is a transverse section on the line V-V in Figs. III and IV.
Figures II and V are drawn to a larger scale than the other figures.
Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the drawings.
According to the method of carrying out the first part of our invention shown
in Figures I and II, we construct the frame 2 of channel section strip metal or
the like, with say two transverse supporting stays 3, 4 as usual. But instead or
bolting or otherwise securing say the lower ends of, the stays to the frame in the
ordinary manner, we form a vertical hole 5 in the said lower end or foot of the
stay and opposite thereto we provide a tapped hole 6 in the frame, (see Fig. II).
Into this tapped hole is screwed a screw threaded bolt 7 the point of which is of
reduced diameter and without thread; or the bolt may be provided with a collar 8,
as shown. The screw threaded hole 6 may be conveniently formed by soldering
or otherwise fixing a screw nut in position around a plain hole made in the frame.
The points of the bolts are introduced into the holes in the feet of the stays, and
it will be obvious that when the said bolts are screwed inwards the frame will
be forced away from the feet of the stays, and the depth of the frame as a whole
will be increased. The screw bolts may be provided with nuts 9, spring claws
adapted to engage the heads of such bolts, or other locking devices. Varia-
tions of the above described screwing arrangement may be readily devised and
any suitable equivalent giving a positive action may be substituted therefor. For
example, the hote 5 in the foot of the stay may be tapped and the hole 6 in the
frame left plain, as shown applied to the stay 3 in Fig. I. In this case the collar S
bears against the frame 2 instead of against the foot of the stay.
be
To enable the frame to be expanded lengthwise one end, preferably the rear
end 10, as shown in Figure I, may be adapted to slide lengthwise relatively to
the main portion thereof. The overlapping part 11 is slotted lengthwise and the
underlying part 12 is provided with a pinching screw or bolt and nut 13 so that
the parts can be locked in position after the moveable end has been drawn out
lengthwise as far as required. Or the adjustable end of the frame may
duplicated, as shown in Fig. III, the second end part 14 being laid over the
first (10) and being adapted to be moved longitudinally relatively thereto by a
screwing device similar to that hereinbefore described with reference to the frame 2
and stays 3, 4, or by some other suitable arrangement. If desired the extremities
of the second end part 14 may be guided on the first 10, by a stud and slot device
or the like, but in practice this is not generally necessary. In a simliar way the
depth of the frame may be made adjustable by duplicating the frame at the top
5 or bottom or both.
Further, the frame as a whole, may, if desired, be divided into two parts approxi-
mately in the plane of the crank axle and wheel axle, as shown in Figure IV.

page_text: The ends 15, 16 overlap and are guided relatively to each other by a stud and slot
device or other suitable means. In this case the stays 3, 4 may each be suitably
divided into two parts which preferably overlap to form the clips 17, and the
points of the screw bolts 7 may be rivetted over so as to attach the bolts to the
ends of the stays through which they pass. The upper and lower parts of the
stays 3, 4 will thus be connected to the upper and lower parts of the frame 2
respectively and their loss prevented.
In constructing coverings suitable for use with our expanding frames we prefer
to make them in two parts, the division being in, or more or less nearly in, the
plane of the wheel axle and crank axle as shown with respect to the front of
the cover in Figs. III and V.
The adjacent edges of the two parts of the cover 18 may be provided with folded
strips of metal 19, the edges of which are turned away from each other. Separate
strips of metal 20, the edges of which are turned towards each other are adapted
to slide on the firstly above mentioned strips and, by holding them together,
unite the two parts of the cover. If preferred the longer division in the cover at
the back near the spokes of the wheel may be arranged above or below the before
mentioned plane; it is shown below in Figs. IV and V. And this division may
be adapted to be closed by forming the edges (21) of the two parts of the cover
of a hook section whereby they may be engaged with each other as shown; or
any other suitable known means which will avoid the use of the separate slide 20
may be employed here and elsewhere. After the cover has been fitted to the
frame it is tensioned by expanding the frame as hereinbefore set forth.
Aper-
tures 22 may be provided in the cover through which portions of the expanding
and tensioning devices will project or through which they may be operated.
Though the above description is more applicable to gear cases for rear driving
safety bicycles, gear cases may be constructed according to our invention for
other suitable machines, as will be readily understood. In any case modifications
may be made without exceeding the limits of our invention, and, except as herein-
before described, the cases are constructed in any well-known or convenient manner
and are provided with the usual fittings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we would have it understood
that we are aware that it has previously been proposed to make gear case frames
adjustable in length by overlapping or duplicating the end parts thereof and we
therefore do not make any broad claim to such arrangement, but what we do
claim is
1. A gear case frame adapted to be adjusted as to depth by one or more screw
connections, or equivalent devices giving a positive action, introduced between
one or both ends of one or both stays and the said frame, for the purpose set forth.
2. In a gear case for velocipedes and the like, the combination with the herein
described means for adjusting the depth of the frame, of means for adjusting the
length of the said frame, substantially as herein described with reference to Fig. I
of the accompanying drawings, and for the purpose set forth.
3. In a gear case for velocipedes and the like, the combination with the herein
described means for adjusting the depth of the frame, of means for adjusting the
length of the said frame substantially as herein described with reference to
Fig. III of the accompanying drawings and for the purpose set forth.
4. A gear case frame having a depth adjusting device, such as referred to in
Claim 1 and having divisions made approximately in the plane of the crank axle
and wheel axle, the ends overlapping at such divisions and being guided relatively
to each other, substantially as set forth.
5. A gear case for velocipedes and the like wherein the frame is divided longi-
tudinally into two parts, and each stay is divided into two parts, the upper parts
of the stays being attached to the upper part of the frame, and the lower parts
of the stays being attached to the lower parts of the frame, substantially as set forth.

page_text: 6. In a gear case for velocipedes and the like, the combination with a trame
made adjustable for depth as herein described, of a cover the edges of which are
adapted to be connected by means of flanged strips secured to such edges and a
slide engaging therewith, or by means of hook strips adapted to engage with each
other, or by a combination of or equivalents for such means, substantially as set
forth.
7. In a gear case for velocipedes and the like, provided with means for expand-
ing the frame, and tensioning the cover, forming apertures in the cover through
which the expanding and tensioning devices may project or through which they
may be operated.
8. A gear case for velocipedes and the like, the frame whereof is adapted to
be expanded and the cover whereof is adapted to be tensioned by the means
herein described and illustrated.
ted this 25th day of July 1898.
G. DOUGLAS LEECHMAN,
18, Hertford Street, Coventry,
75, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., and
9, Exchange Chambers, New Street, Birmingham,
Patent Agent for the Applicants.