Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Feb., 1.888
Complete Specification Left, 29th Oct., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 30th Nov., 1888
1, JAMES HENRY HERBERT of 79 & 80 Darlington Street, Wolverhampton in the
County of Stafford, Ironmonger & Cycle Agent do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
My invention is applicable to a rear Driving Safety Tandem Bicycle & my object
The back rider
is to construct a convertible Tandem, with but one driving chain.
driving by means of connecting rods jointed to hanging bars, pivoted behind the
saddle of said rider, the other end attached to Front riders pedal pins, or to the pedals,
or by any other suitable means to obtain my object. The pedals of Rear rider are
placed upon connecting rods at a suitable distance from front pedals. The hanging
rods at back swinging backwards & forwards when the Machine moves.
I may prefer a Bracket in place of these bars, rigidly attached to frame behind rear
wheel, the connecting rods attached to cranks rotating in this Bracket. The rear
riders pedals being attached as in the other method, conveniently between the two
bearings. By constructing the Machine in this manner the base of the machine need
not be any longer than an ordinary Rear Driver Safety Bicycle so by disconnecting
the Rods at the front Pedals & the back portion of Frame, by a suitable contrivance
at the back of front rider, the machine is instantly converted into a single Safety
(Rear driven) Bicycle.
1
1000

page_text: mprovements in Rear-uriving Safety Tandem Bicycles.
I, JAMES HENRY HERBERT, of 79 and 80 Darlington Street, Wolverhampton in
the County of Stafford, Ironmonger and Cycle Agent, 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 has for its object means whereby a rear-driving safety tandem
bicycle may be driven by both the riders through the medium of a single crank
spindle, whereby the friction is greatly reduced, and the employment of a single
driving chain only is necessary, and whereby also a wheel base may be adopted but
very little longer than that of an ordinary single rear-driving safety bicycle so that in
the case of a convertible tandem machine the part thereof essential to a single
machine is, for practical purposes, identical with an ordinary single rear-driving
safety bicycle.
According to this invention, a pair of side rods, one on each side of the
machine, is pivotted at the hinder ends of the rods to hanging bars which are
themselves pivotted at their upper ends to the rear of the framing. These side rods
are each pivotted to a pair of cranks on the ends of a spindle mounted in bearings
carried by the framing immediately in front of the hinder wheel, and from which
spindle the hinder wheel is driven by a single chain as with an ordinary rear-driving
safety bicycle. Two pedals are fixed to each side rod in positions, respectively, to suit
the forward and rear riders, and the machine is driven by the riders simultaneously
pressing down the side rods alternately.
A rear-driving safety tandem bicycle, with my improvements applied thereto, is
illustrated, so far as is necessary to make the invention clear, in side elevation by
figure 1, and in plan by figure 2 of the drawings herewith. To the rear ond of the
hinder framing A, is pivotted a pair of hanging bars a a, and to the lower end of
each hanging bar is pivotted at its hinder end a side rod b, and these side rods aro
pivotted near their forward ends to crank pins c, of cranks d fixed upon a short
spindle carried in bearings e fixed to a downwardly projecting part B of the front
framing and immediately forward of the hinder wheel C. A chain wheel fis
fixed upon the spindle, and drives the hinder wheel C through the medium of a
single chain h and chain wheel g fixed on the spindle of the hind wheel, or fixed
upon or formed with the hub of the hind wheel, as in an ordinary rear-driving safety
bicycle. On each side rod b is fixed a pedal i in position convenient for the rear
rider, and on the forward end of each side rod 6 is fixed a pedal i for operation by the
front rider, the length of the side rods being such as to make the position of the
pedals convenient for the purpose.
It will be obvious, from the foregoing description, and from an inspection of the
drawings, that, as the riders simultaneously press down the side rods alternately,
the spindle carrying the cranks d will be caused to revolve and thus drive the
machine, the hanging rods a a vibrating forwards and backwards to allow for the
endway movement of the side rods b.

page_text: The bearings by which the side rods bare pivotted to the crank pins are, preferably,
of the same character as pedal bearings.
Figure 3 is a transverse section, to an enlarged scale, of one of the pedals, shewing
the method of mounting it on the side rod b. A vertical stud carrying a cross-
piece is fixed within an eye m of the rod b. The cross-piece is reduced at each
end where it forms bearings for the sides n n of the pedal, and in putting the pedal
in place one of the sides is first put on loose and is afterwards rivetted to the end
plates.
If preferred, the spindle carrying the cranks d may be in a more forward position
than shewn, and the forward pedals be carried upon the crank pins c, in which
case the side rods b must be pivoted to the crank pins inside or outside tho pedals ².
The arrangement shewn is, however, much preferred, as it enables a shorter wheel
base to be adopted.
For the purpose of enabling the machine to be readily converted into a singlo
machine, the hinder frame A is jointed at kll to the front frame, that is to the part of
the frame essential for a single machine, so as to be readily detachable therefrom;
and the machine is readily converted into a single machine by removing the hinder
frame and the hanging rods a a, side rods bb, with the pedals fixed thereto, and
crank pins cc, and attaching a pair of ordinary pedals to the cranks d d.
As the wheel base of a tandem machine needs to be but very little longer, as
described, than that of an ordinary single rear-driving safety bicycle, the machine
when converted as described is, for practical purposos, identical with the ordinary
single machine.
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 rear-driving safety tandem bicycle (whether convertible or not) provided with
sido rods pivotted both to hanging bars and to the pins of a single pair of cranks
upon a spindle which is geared to the hinder wheel so that both riders drive the
hinder wheel through such single pair of cranks, substantially as described.
2. A rear-driving safety tandem bicycle (whether convertible or not) provided with
side rods pivotted both to hanging bars and to the pins of a single pair of cranks upon
a spindle from which the hinder wheel is driven by both the riders through the
modium of a single driving chain only, substantially as described.
3. In a rear-driving safety tandem bicycle (whether convertible or not) the com-
bination of the hanging bars a, and the side rods 6 pivotted to such bars and to the
crank pins c, with moans by which both the riders operate such rods to cause the
revolution of the single crank spindle and thereby drive the bind wheel through the
medium of suitable gear, substantially as described.
4. A rear-driving safety tandem bicycle (whether convertible or not) constructed
to be driven substantially in the manner described and shewn.
Dated this 27th day of October 1888.
STEPHEN WATKINS,
Wolverhampton and Walsall,
Agent for the Applicant.