Year: 1898

page_text: A communication from VINCENT WISNIEWSKI, of 16, Unterden Linden, Berlin,
in the Empire of Germany, Architect.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of 111, Hatton Garden, in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:
This invention relates to an improved cycle and driving gear for cycles.
The invention chiefly consists in arranging the driving gear so that the force
produced by the feet of the rider always acts on the pedals below the axis of
rotation of the driven road wheel and that the pedals act by means of connecting
rods, on toothed wheels engaging with pinions arranged below and secured to the
axle of the cycle wheel.
The new gear thus ensures a very great stability to the machine so that it is
scarcely possible for the rider to fall and the cycle is completely under control.
By this means the new device may be used not only for ordinary cycles (such as
bicycles and tricycles) but also for a new kind of cycle which may permissibly
be called a monocycle.
Each pedal is mounted on the end of a rod. The other end of the rod is pivotted
on a crank pin on a wheel supported in the frame of the machine. This wheel
is provided on its circumference with teeth with which engage the teeth of a pinion
below it secured to the axle of the road wheel. It will thus be evident that when
the rod which is guided in the cycle frame by small rollers or the like, is caused
to reciprocate vertically or substantially vertically the wheel will be rotated whereby
the road wheel will be caused to rotate through the intermediary of the pinion.
The axle is of course provided at each side of the road wheel with a pinion and the
other parts must be also provided on both sides of the cycle.
It is important to arrange the pinion in the vertical line directly under the
toothed wheel, so that the point of application of the force is always below the
axle of the road wheel.
The cycle frame consists simply of a plate bent in a U-shape, on which are sup-
ported the toothed wheels already mentioned. The axle is supported in the lower
the hub
part of the plate. There may be provided a pin on which, in that case,
supporting the pinions would rotate.
There may be also connected to the frame-plate a fork supporting a small back-
wheel or a small steering front-wheel.
There have already been attempts to construct cycles in which the pedal has been
connected to a rod, operating the driving wheel like an ordinary connecting rod.
In such cases, however, the lower point of the connecting rod has been guided
either by ordinary guides or by a series of rods in such manner that the motion of
this point took place in a straight line. If, however, as in the present case, the

page_text: pedal is mounted directly on the lower point of the rod and the latter is guided
near the axis of rotation of the road wheel, the consequence will be that the pedal
will be caused to describe an elliptical curve. This circumstance is of great
importance in this invention, for, first, the whole frame of the machine is con-
siderably simplified thereby, owing to the suppression of a special rectilinear guide;
secondly, the motion of the pedals does not differ substantially from ordinary
rotary motion, and thirdly, which is the most important point, the feet of the
rider always (except at the dead point) have resting points one of which is in front
of and the other behind the vertical axis of the road wheel. This circumstance
enables the rider to overcome the tendency of the cycle frame to fall forwards or
backwards so that the cycle according to the present invention may be constructed
either as a monocycle, or as the so-called high cycle in which case there will be
a supplementary small wheel which either does not bear any load, or only very
little.
The saddle can be mounted by means of a spring on the frame plate and may
also carry the handle bars. In order to prevent the rider from sliding forwards
or backwards on the saddle and at the same time to enable the legs to move easily
up and down, the saddle may be formed with a curve-shaped projection.
Instead of two intermeshing pinions I may of course employ two pinions and an
endless chain.
Brake, mud-guards, lamp and the like can be mounted on the machine in the
usual manner.
1
A
1 1000
BOULT & WADE.
Agents for the Applicant.
A communication from VINCENT WISNIEWSKI, of 16, Unterden Linden, Berlin,
in the Empire of Germany, Architect
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of 111, Hatton Garden, in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by tlie following statement:-
This invention relates to an improved cycle and driving gear for cycles.
The invention chiefly consists in arranging the driving gear so that the force
produced by the feet of the rider always acts on the pedals below the axis of
rotation of the driven road-wheel and that the pedals act by means of connecting-
rods on toothed wheels engaging with pinions arranged below and secured to the
axle of the cycle-wheel. The new gear thus ensures a very great stability to the
machine, so that it is scarcely possible for the rider to fall and the cycle is com-
pletely under control. By this means the new device may be used not only for
ordinary cycles, (such as bicycles and tricycles) but also for a new kind of cycle
which may permissibly be called a monocycle."
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a side view of a bicycle according to this invention,
Fig. 2 is a view on the rear side, the rear wheel being omitted.
Each pedal a is mounted on the end of a rod A. The other end of the rod A is
pivotted on a crank pin g' on a wheel G, supported at g in the frame C of the

page_text: machine. This wheel G is provided on its circumference with teeth, which will
engage the teeth.of a pinion H below it, secured to the axle of the road-wheel K.
It will thus be evident that when the rod A, which is guided in the cycle frame by.
small rollers bb or the like, is caused to reciprocate vertically or substantially
vertically the wheel will be rotated, whereby the road-wheel will be caused to
rotate through the intermediary of the pinion. The axle & is of course provided
at each side of the road-wheel with a pinion H, and the other parts A and G must
be also provided on both sides of the cycle.
It is important to arrange the pinion H in the vertical line directly under the
toothed wheel, so that the point of application of the force is always below the axle
of the road-wheel.
The cycle-frame C consists simply of a plate bent in U shape, on which are
supported the toothed wheels G already mentioned. The axle & is supported in
the lower part of the plate. There may be provided a pin, on which in that case
the hub supporting the pinions would rotate. There may be also connected to the
frame-plate a fork B, supporting a small back wheel or a small steering front wheel.
There have already been attempts to construct cycles in which the pedal has
been connected to a rod operating like an ordinary connecting-rod the driving-
wheel. In such cases, however, the lower point of the connecting rod has been
guided either by ordinary guides or by a series of rods in such manner that the
motion of this point took place in a straight line. If, however, as in the
present case, the pedal is mounted directly on the lower point of the rod and the
latter is guided near the axis of rotation of the road-wheel, the consequence will
be that the pedal will be caused to describe an elliptical curve such as shown in
dotted lines. This circumstance is of great importance in this invention, for,
first, the whole frame of the machine is considerably simplified, thereby owing to the
suppression of a special rectilinear guide, secondly, the motion of the pedals does
not differ substantially from ordinary rotary motion, and thirdly, which is the
most important point, the feet of the rider always (except at the dead point) have
resting-points, one of which is in front of and the other behind the vertical axis of
the road-wheel. This circumstance enables the rider to overcome the tendency
of the cycle-frame to fall forward or backward, so that the cycle, according to
the present invention, may be constructed either as a monocycle or as a so-called
high cycle, in which case there will be a supplementary small wheel which
either does not bear any load or only very little.
"
The saddle can be mounted by means of springs I) on the frame-plate and may
also carry the handle-bars. In order to prevent the rider from sliding forward or
backward on the saddle and at the same time to enable the legs to move easily
up and down, the saddle may be formed with a curve-shaped projection.
Instead of two intermeshing pinions my correspondent may of course employ
two pinions and an endless chain.
Brake, mud-guards, lamp and the like can be mounted on the machine in the
usual manner.
The rods A can be made out of sheet metal, such as steel-band or other flexible
material, in which event the elliptical curve is not fully such as shown; but the
rider can modify it by his feet.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention as communicated to my by my foreign correspondent and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is:-
1. In a cycle the combination of the main wheel, a frame mounted on the axle
of said wheel and provided with a guiding-slot, a driving-disc for the main wheel,
a pin on said disc, à pitman suspended from said pin, passing through said guiding-
slot, and a pedal secured to the lower end of said pitman, substantially as described.
2. In a cycle the combination of the main wheel provided with a gear-wheel
on its axle, a frame carrying a seat mounted on said axle and having a guiding-

page_text: slot provided with rollers, a gear wheel mounted on said frame and engaging the
gear wheel on the axle, a pin attached to the gear wheel which is mounted on the
frame, a pitman suspended from said pin and passing through the guiding-slot on
said frame and between said rollers, and a pedal secured to the lower end of said
pitman, substantially as described.
3. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete driving
gearing for cycles substantially as described or illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
4. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete cycle
substantially as described or illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 10th day of January 1899.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.