Year: 1886

page_text: We, WILLIAM SMITH Machinist and GEORGE HICKING Wine Merchant of the
town and County of Nottingham 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:—
persons, and will
This invention relates to velocipedes for carrying one or two
be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings.
Figure 1 is a side elevation and Figure 2 a plan of the machine.
In carrying out this invention we use two driving wheels 3 and 4 upon a shaft
or axle 5 which may be constructed in two parts connected by balance gear and
driven by a chain from the crank axle in the usual manner. On each side are
suitable forks 6 and 7 of ordinary construction. Each leg of each' fork having a
bearing so that each wheel is supported upon each side of the hub.
From the top of these forks are forward and downward extensions 8 and 9 like
ordinary back bones. These extensions are carried along the front of the machine
and meet at the middle, or if preferred are made in one piece and connected at the
middle to the central frame tube 10. Where these connections are joined is a frame
tube 10 extending forward and upward which carries at its end the socket 11 for
sustaining the sinall steering wheel 12 carried in an ordinary fork 13. The upper
end of this fork is a parallel spindle working in and carried through the socket 11
and fitted at the top with a small lever 14 and an extension on which a handle bar
can be placed. At the top of socket 11 is a cross bar or tube 15 extending the
width of the machine fitted at each end in a socket in which a pin works carrying
the small levers 16 and 17 and the ordinary handle bars 39 and 40. These three
levers are connected by a rod 18 and have on their undersides springs 19 Figure 1
to prevent vibrations on the handle bars.
By this means both riders or either of them can steer the machine. When there
is only one rider he is seated in the middle, the outside handles being taken off
and one of them placed on the top of the fork 13 and so steers direct. When there
are two riders they sit on the two outside saddles 20 placed on the forward exten-
sion 8 and 9 and drive the machine by.means of the crank shaft 21 carried in
bearings below the saddles on 8 and 9. This crank shaft is connected with the
shaft 5 by a chain 22 and chain wheels in the ordinary manner as shown in
Figure 1. From the inner and bottom ends of the forks are two stays 23 and 24
13

page_text: .
extending forward their front ends being fastened to 8 and 9 respectively. On
these stays is placed a cross piece 25 with an upright 26 for carrying a saddle 27
in the middle for one rider in which case the two saddles 20 are taken off and one
of them placed on the upright 26. In the latter case the machine is driven by
means of the two inner cranks on the crank shaft 21. The machine is strengthened
by means of the two stays 28 and the curved tubes or stays 29 and 30 running
from the ends of the cross bar 15 to the forward extensions 8 and 9.
Fitted on the shaft 5 is a suitable brake wheel 31 with a band 32, this band is
connected by a rod 33 to a lever 34 pivotted on the socket 11 which has a back-
ward extension or foot rest 35 for applying the brake or the brake can be worked
by a lever parallel to and pivotted on the cross bar 15 working on the upward
extension 34° of the lever 34 in the usual manner.
At the top of the fork 13 is fitted a cross piece 36 at right angles with the
direction in which the small wheel 12 runs, at the back of this cross piece 36 is a
sliding piece 37 working in a suitable slide with a spring 38 which presses the
top of the T'piece 37 on to the cross piece 36 so that when the handle bars are
released the steering wheel 12 returns to its normal position.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is
1. The complete velocipede substantially as specified.
.2. The herein described velocipede constructed for two riders seated over the
two driving wheels and convertible for a single rider seated centrally between the
driving wheels, and working the two inside cranks substantially as specified.
3. In velocipedes such as described the combination with the steering fork of
three levers such as 14, 16 and 17 connected by the rod 15 whereby the machine
may be guided by both or either of the riders substantially as specified.
4. In a velocipede a crank axle such as 21 having 4 cranks each two outside
cranks forming a pair and set opposite to one another and the two inside cranks
also forming a pair and set opposite to one another substantially as and for the
purpose specified.
5. The automatic steering mechanism consisting of the cross piece 36 T piece 37
and spring 38 constructed and operating substantially as and for the purpose
specified.