Improvements in or relating to Driving or Transmission Gear and Brake Mechanism for Bicycles, Motor Cycles, Motor Vehicles, and the like.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Aug., 1899-Accepted, 17th Mar., 1900
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Driving or Transmission Gear and
Brake Mechanism for Bicycles, Motor Cycles, Motor Vehicles, and
the like.
I, OCTAVE ROBERT, of 97, Rue Saint Lazare, Paris, in the, Republic of France,
Captain of Artillery, 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:-
My invention relates to a flexible chainless transmission gear for bicycles,
motor cycles, motor vehicles and the like, the object of such gear being;
To enable the construction of a flexible, geared machine provided with inde-
pendent and simple transmission parts, the adjustment of which is automatic
whilst they may be readily mounted and dismounted.
To avoid unserewing by obviating the employment of screws, nuts, bolts and
all parts in movement.
To produce a gear in which the parts may be readily manufactured and the
gearing of the pinions always theoretically accurate; in which the driving shaft,
which is continuous and rigid, facilitates the manipulations, whilst the gear cases
(although readily opened) are absolutely tight.
To provide the machine with a brake which is progressive in its action, well
protected and powerful.
This mechanism, applied more particularly to a safety bicycle, is represented
in the accompanying drawing, in which:
Figures 1 and 2 are elevations of the front and rear halves of the mechanism
respectively.
Figures and 4 are corresponding sectional views taken upon the lines A B
of Figures 1 and 2.
Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing a modification in the construction
of the crank axle bearing and
Figure 6 is a detail view in elevation of the flexible keying device employed
in the arrangement represented in Figure 5.
Figure 7 is a view in perspective showing the method of adjusting the rear axle
in the frame of the machine.
The box a of the crank axle bearing is provided with four joints, three of
which connect it with the tubes of the frame, the fourth contains the pinion b.
The lateral apertures in the box a are closed by the cupe and the gear case lid d
which carries the bearing cone c.
Upon the driving shaft f is arranged a disc g the purpose of which is as
follows:
1. It receives in one of the apertures formed upon its faces one of the two tenons
of a powerful spiral spring h. 2. Its face opposite to the spring his cup-shaped
and serves for the reception of bearing balls. 3. Its face opposite to the cup
enables the pinion i to bear directly upon the disc g by means of the balls.
CD 077

page_text: Upon the shaft f are screwed the cone j and the bearing cup k
The spring his arranged upon the shaft f in such a manner that one of its
tenons is adapted to be engaged by hand in the disc J. It is then fixed in place
at the bottom of the box by means of the pinion which covers it and receives
its second tenon.
The pinion i is placed by hand upon the disc g and the spring h. The external
edge of the bottom of its box or hub is formed cup-shaped and also receives balls.
The pinion is thus maintained by the cup k which is itself locked by a smooth
washer interposed between it and the conej, which also serves as a counter nut.
The spring thus constitutes a flexible keying device interposed between the
shaft and the pinion i.
The crank axle bearing presents no leverage so that the effort centralised upon
the disc g, of the shaft perfectly balances the movement, the pinion i rotating
between two cups provided with balls.
The pinion transmits the movement to the lateral pinions contained in
the boxes hermetically closed by the joints m of the tube n, which are fixed by
means of the milled nuts o.
Each of the two pinions is mounted in the boxes in the same manner.
Considering the pinion which gears with the pinion i, it will be seen that,
in the box enclosing the pinion is screwed and rivetted a spindle pupon which
is screwed a tube forming a bearing cone 4. Upon this tube is screwed the cone r
which is locked by the counter nut s. The whole system is locked upon the
spindle by means of a nut which is not capable of becoming unscrewed.
By this means a groove which is capable of adjustment is obtained. A cor-
responding groove is formed in the pinion which, as it also rotates upon a circle
of balls, cannot become displaced. In addition to this the adjustment must
necessarily take place because the balls cannot be arranged otherwise than in
the grooves of the pinion, and it is facilitated by the possibility of removing
the pinion b, mounted upon its bearing, from the gear case. It is in fact only
necessary to remove the locking screw t and then to unscrew the tube r, in order
to effect the adjustment of the pinion.
Movement is communicated from the front to the rear by means of a con-
tinuous tube u rotating within the fixed tube n of the frame and of which the
extreme arms are supported upon the pinions b.
Owing to this arrangement deformations of the frame are without influence
upon the movements, each of which is supported directly upon the extremities,
that is to say at the indeformable points.
The rear pinion b communicates (through an aperture in the gear case w) its
movement to the pinion on the hub, which is screwed and brazed in position
upon the hub of the wheel and is protected by the gear case y.
The adjustment of the rear pinions and also takes place as a matter of
course, and is effected in the following manner:
In the tail of the gear case is formed an aperture into which the axle of the
hub may be introduced up to the point of final adjustment. The axle is retained
in its final position by means of the pin plate z see Figures 4 and 7, and the whole
is fixed by the locking nut I which at the same time fixes the box or gear case 16,
the saddle support 2, the gear case y, and the axle 3. The left hand portion of
the machine is fixed by means of a similar device.
The construction of the pin plate (which it may be mentioned is not abso-
lutely essential), will be understood by referring to Figure 7. Said pin plate
consists of a small rectangular piece of metal provided with a circular hole
through which the axle 3 of the rear or driving wheel can be freely passed. A
stud is rivetted or otherwise fixed upon the said plate 2, and when the rear
axle 3 has been placed in its final position between the two branches of the forked
and flattened end 6, said plate z is moved so as to engage the pin or stud into
a corresponding hole G¹ provided in the flattened portion of the forked end 6.
:

page_text: The locking nut 7 is then screwed and tightened in order to clamp the pin plate
between itself and the said end 6. Owing to this arrangement the axle 3 of the
rear wheel may be readily and accurately locked between the branches of the forked
end, and cannot accidentally become disengaged therefrom, even if the locking
nut should not be quite tightened up, or if it should become slightly loosened
by vibration or other cause.
The hub of the wheel 4 is rendered incapable of becoming displaced by means
of the counter nut of the left hand adjusting cone 5.
It should be noticed that in this device the bearing cones of the hub of the
driving wheel are inverted in such a manner that one only of the two cups, the
cup 10, need be turned down. In addition to this, the teeth are comprised between
the two rows of balls arranged at the point of application of the force and in
such a manner that they bear at the extremities of a line passing through the
primitive circle of the pinions.
Upon the left hand extremity of the axle 3 are fixed the joint or fork 6 of
the lower left hand tube of the frame, and the tube forming the step or locking
nut 7.
Around the box or hub, forming the drum or hub of the large pinion i, is
wound a flat spring 8 (Figure 3) one extremity of which is attached by means
of a nut to the box a of the crank axle bearing, and constitutes a brake operated
by means of any suitable device arranged within reach of the rider by the inter-
mediary of the rod 9.
The device represented in Figures 6 and 7 only differs from that which has
just been described in that the spiral spring constituting the flexible keying
device is replaced by a long key, that is to say by a simple open ring which
terminates at its extremities in two tenons, one of which is sunk into the disc g
(Figure 6) of the shaft f and the other into the large driving pinion i, the trans-
mission of movement taking place in the direction indicated by the arrow.
The operation of the mechanism above described is as follows:
When one or other of the cranks is acted upon, the disc g displaces the spring h
which transmits (in retarding it) the movement to the pinion i. This action
continues until the effort transmitted becoming less than the force stored up
by the spring, this latter in expanding yields up the whole of the force absorbed.
The result is a flexibility which causes the machine to yield at each stroke of
the pedal under the foot of the rider, whilst at the same time transmitting
integrally to the rest of the mechanism the effort which he exerts upon the cranks.
During this time, the pinion i communicates movement the pinion and
vibration cannot be transmitted to the cranks without passing through the flexible
part which absorbs it.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. A transmission gear for bicycles, motor cycles, motor vehicles and the like,
characterised by the application of a flexible device or spring interposed between
the driving or crank axle and the wheel transmitting the effort to the driving
pinion.
2. In a transmission gear for bicycles, the application of two conical pinions
rotating loosely upon balls arranged at the point of application of the force by
means of cones which bear upon spindles arranged in such a manner as to
eliminate the deformations of the frame by transmitting them upon the indeform-
able extremities of the mechanism.
3. In a transmission gear for bicycles, the application of a bearing which is
not capable of derangement constituted by a groove formed in the lateral pinions
and forming a ball race.
4. In a transmission gear for bicycles, the application of gear cases forming a
framework and protecting the various parts.

page_text: 5. In a transmission gear for bicycles, the application of a concealed part con-
stituted by a flat spring surrounding the hub of the large pinion and operated by
means of any suitable device arranged within reach of the cyclists hand.
Dated this 12th day of August 1899.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.