Improvements in Velocipedes.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 9th July, 1890
Complete Specification Left, 9th Apr., 1891-Accepted, 16th May, 1891
FRUVIDIONAL DEVIFICATION.
Improvements in Velocipedes.
I, ROBERT HOWARTH of 53 Goldthorn, Terrace Penn Road Wolverhampton
in the County of Stafford Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:--
"
«
It relates to an improved arrangement or combination of parts of velocipedes,
and is particularly applicable to that class of velocipede known
as Safety
Bicycles and has for its object to construct such a machine which shall be
practically an antivibrator and whilst possessing great strength to resist fracture,
is light as regards weight, and free from complication of parts.
To carry out the purpose of my invention, I construct the frames of safety
bicycles in such a manner that the wheels can be placed as near together as desired,
without regard to clearance for cranks.
Steering being effected by means of the usual handle bar in combination with a
suitable joint, placed vertically to the plane of motion, and midway between the
two wheels or nearly so.
The vibration of the machine in motion I take up by means of a spring or
springs applied in such a manner as also to support the saddle load; that part of
the frame carrying the front wheel, being fitted with a suitable joint or hinge near
the top is arranged so as to yield when such spring or springs are elongated, the
result of shock or sudden load.
For purposes of driving instead of a chain or some such attachment, I use a
light Hexible metallic band, of suitable strength and flexibility, portions of which
being embossed or studded with cup-shaped indentations, at regular intervals, or
having one or more of its edges serrated or saw-shaped, is made to fit and engage
with suitable projections on driving drums or wheels provided for that purpose.
For the rims of the main wheels I use a light tube of suitable strength and
material, which when bent in form of a circle, has the ends secured together by
brazing, or any known means the hub is secured in position by means of light wire
spokes, looped through suitable holes in the flanges, so that each hole shall contain
and accommodate two double spokes which being attached at their several
extremities to parts of the rim diametrically opposite or nearly so, keep each other
in a state of tension, rigidity and concentricity of hub being secured by means of
straining screws which form the attachment between each spoke and the rim.
After the hub is placed in position and securely attached as described, I cover
the rim with a coat of leather or some such material, secured in position by any
known means, the object of which is to prevent slipping.
The mud guards to cover the wheels, I make of any convenient shape or
material perforated with small holes or as an alternative device, I use suitable wire
gauze, pressed in dies, or otherwise formed to the required shape, and supported
around its outer edge by a suitable frame to secure rigidity and strength.
The brake gear I so arrange that communication between the operating lever
and the brake is secured by means of light connections, wholly in tension, and
in cases where it is desirable the ordinary form of mud guard I apply also as a
brake.
The bearings or journals for all or any of the moving parts I line with any
known so called anti-friction metal thus avoiding the necessity for lubrication and
rendering the journals practically dust proof.
01
T.1 1900

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Velocipedes.
I, ROBERT HOWARTH, of 53 Goldthorn Terrace, Penn Road, Wolverhampton
in the County of Stafford, Engineer, 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 relates more especially to improvements in the construction of
safety bicycles, but is applicable or in part applicable also to other descriptions of
velocipedes.
The main object of the invention is the production of a safety bicycle which
shall be practically an anti-vibrator, and which while possessing great strength to
resist fracture shall be of a light weight and free from complication of parts.
A safety bicycle, constructed according to this invention, is illustrated in side
elevation by Figure 1, and in plan, with the saddle and seat pillar omitted, by
Figure 2. Figure 3 is a front elevation, with the front wheel, steering handle, and
the bars j, and springs k, hereinafter described, removed. The remaining views
illustrate details.
The framing of the machine consists mainly of a pair of tubular pillars a brazed
or soldered at the top into a mounting band connected at the bottom with the
bottom bearings (or brackets) c-of a pair of backwardly inclined bars d connected
at their upper ends with the mounting band at their lower ends with the hind axle
pin of a pair of tubular bars d¹ connected at their forward ends with the bottom
bearings (or bracket) c and at their hinder ends with the ends of the hinder axle
pin of a tubular pillar e carried to turn within bearings formed, respectively, in
the mounting band in a cross head ƒ fixed at each end to the pillars a, and held up
within the mounting b, as shewn to an enlarged scale, in the sectional view Figure 4,
by means of a nut g on the end of a pin which forms the pivot within such
mounting of a mounting i brazed or soldered to the pillar c-of a pair of
forwardly-inclined tubular bars j pivoted at their upper ends to the mounting i and
connected at their lower ends with the front axle pin-and of a pair of springs & one
on each side of the front wheel, connecting the ends of the front axle pin with
corresponding ends of a cross-bar 7 pivoted around the pillar e, as shewn in detached
plan view Figure 5. The cross-bar is carried to be capable of turning on the
pillar to ensure an equal strain on the springs. The pin h, Figure 4, may be
formed, as shewn, in one casting with the mounting i, and an antifriction metal
brush 62 is preferably inserted within the mounting to form the bearing for the
pin. The pair of bars d may be replaced by a fork, as also may the bars j, but in
the latter case the upper end of the fork must be connected to the forward end of
the mounting i or other provision be made for the passage of the seat pillar. The
springs may be replaced by tension bars, but in such case of course the advantage
of employing springs will be lost. The saddle is carried on a frame formed of two
pillars m, which pass down into the upper ends of the tubes a holes being formed
in the mounting b to receive the upper ends of such tubes, and of an elongated
horseshoe-shaped part n (see also detached plan Figure 6), and the pillars are held
at the desired height by clips o clipped tightly around them and resting on the
mounting b. As these pillars are lowered down within the tubular pillars
a the
horseshoe-shaped part n springs and allows them to adjust themselves to
the inclination of the latter pillars. The handle is formed of two branches p
fixed to a cross mounting 1 which is itself fixed to a single tubular pillar 7,
and this pillar is held by being clipped within the forward end of the mounting i.
The axis of the pillar e is the axis on which the forward and hinder framing
turn in relation to one another, and this axis is arranged in position, preferably
midway, between the wheels so that the effect of turning the pillar is to cause
k
both the wheels to be turned into a fresh plane. Neither of them therefore, as the
steering is effected, is turned at its inner edge appreciably away from the steering

page_text: axis, and, consequently, no clearance has to be allowed between the wheels in
respect of the driving gear, and the wheels may be placed almost close together,
space having to be left between them merely for the passage of the pillar e and the
portion of the cross-bar f through which the pillar passes. This feature is of
considerable advantage, as it facilitates the steering of the machine, besides
making it shorter and consequently more convenient in respect of the space it
occupies than the ordinary safety bicycles.
k
The springs practically convert the entire framing into a spring frame, and
reduce the vibration of the machine to a minimum, the distance between the saddle
and the centre of the driving axle remaining nevertheless constant.
If desired, the pillar e may be rigid with the hinder framing and bottom bearings
(or bracket), and the pillars a together with the mounting i and the cross-piece f be
constructed to be turned thereon, the springs k being in such case connected with
the pillars a.
The mud guards of the hinder wheel is utilized also as the brake; for which
purpose it is carried from a cross-bar t, which joins together the pairs of bars d, by
means of a link u, and is held normally out of contact with the tire by means of a
spring attached to itself and to the mounting b. The forward end of the guards
is connected by a wire w with each of the bars d', and the hinder end is similarly
connected with the hinder end of the framing. A wire (or other flexible con-
nector) a¹, connected at one end to the front of the mounting i, passes downwards
from thence up through the hollow pillar r; thence around a grooved pulley blon
the inner end of the brake handle e, thence over a pulley el carried by a bracket
projecting backwards from the mounting g, thence down through the hollow pillar e
to its connection with the forward end of the mud guard s. By arranging the wire
in the manner described, the pillar may be raised and lowered in the mounting i
without tightening or slackening the wire, as the portion between the mounting i
and the bottom of the pillar is lengthened or shortened just to the extent to
which the portion between the pulley e and the connection of the wire with the
mud-guard is shortened or lengthened. A suitable cap with a central opening
therethrough is fixed at top and bottom of the pillar r to guide the wire over and
under the edges of the pillar. The wires or ties by which the ends of the mud
guards are connected with the framing are strained tight to prevent rattling, and
are arranged in such position as to bring the whole length of the guard fairly
against the tire as the guard is moved endways by the wire a'. The mud guard of
the front wheel may be utilized as the brake, if preferred.
T
The hinder wheel is driven through the medium of metal bands f¹ passing around
band wheels g on the crank-axle and around similar wheels forming portions of
the hub of the hinder wheel; and holes or depressions are formed in the faces of
the band wheels, and corresponding inverted cups or projections are pressed inwards
from the bands to gear with the holes or depressions in the wheels. A short
length of one of the bands is shewn full size in side elevation and plau, respectively,
by Figures 7 and 8, in which h¹ are the cups. The ends of the band are joined by
riveting, as shewn also in these figures, and the head j¹ of the rivet answers the
purpose of a cup. Rivet heads may be used in lieu of cups throughout, if desired;
and the projections may be formed on the wheels, and holes or depressions formed
by pressing the cups outwards be formed in the bands, in which case, however, the
ends of the bands should be brazed together. A single band and pair of band
wheels only may be used, if desired.
The method of driving by means of a band having projections gearing into holes
in the band wheel, affords facility for reducing the wear in the holes by adopting
an arrangement of the holes which ensures that any hole shall gear with a
projection on the chain once only in two three or more revolutions of the wheel.
The arrangement will be best explained by reference to a diagram. In Figure 13
the circle represents the wheel, and the short radiating lines represent the centres
of the holes. In this instance, two sets of holes are shown, the one set being

page_text: numbered 1 and also indicated by full radiating lines, and the other numbered 2 and
also indicated by broken radiating lines. The set 1 may be taken to begin at 1",
each hole of the set advancing by the regular pitch to the hole 1b, which however
is only half a pitch behind 1. The holes of the second series are placed
intermediate between those of the first set, and may be taken to commence at 2*, 50
that on reaching 1' the projections of the band miss the holes 1 and gear with the
holes 2, until they come round to 2 when they gear again with the series 1. By
making the pitch of the projections sufficient, any desired number of sets of holes
may be used. If only two sets, as shewn, are used any hole of course gears only
once during two revolutions of the wheel.
The band wheels gl are shewn as fixed on the centre of the crank axle, and these
wheels are hollowed in as indicated by broken lines to lighten them and allow the
bottom bearings to project within the wheels. The wheels are conveniently fixed
by being both bolted through a central flange on the axle.
A
The running wheel rims are made tubular in section; as shewn by detached
view, Figure 9, which is a vertical section, to an enlarged scale, through one side of
one half of a wheel. Referring to this view, and to the hind wheel shewn by
Figure 1, four holes k¹ are formed through the flange of each end of the hub.
length of wire n to form two spokes, is passed through one of the holes in the
flange, and each end is passed sideways through the tubular rim m'. The wire is
then drawn tight and is nipped off close to the rim, the process of nipping it off
forming heads thereon which keep the spokes from drawing back; and the heads
may be further secured by solder, if desired. Five pairs of spokes are shewn as
passed through each hole in each hub flange, which makes eighty spokes for the
entire wheel. Only two of the spokes (both in one length of wire) are shewn by
Figure 9, and in Figure 1 the spokes of the further side of the wheel are omitted, to
avoid complication. These latter spokes are, of course, connected to the rim in
position intermediate with the other spokes. The method of arranging the spokes
as described and shewn results in the advantage of some of them being tangent
spokes, without any of the spokes crossing one another in side elevation of the
machine.
To enable the spokes to be fixed in the manner described, the rim of the wheel is
inserted tightly within a bored metal frame, within the centre of which the hub of
the wheel is fixed.
After the spokes have been fixed, the tubular rim is covered with a layer of
rubber or analogous material u¹ to prevent slipping and, for security of fixing the
rubber, tape is first wound tightly around the metal rim.
better to the tape than to the metal.
The rubber adheres
As portions of the drawings are somewhat complex, certain of the smaller parts
are shewn, to enlarged scale, by detached views. Figure 10 is a pian of the
mounting b, shewing the central hole within which the pin h works, holes ¹te)
receive the pillars a, and lug p¹ to receive the transverse pin by which the tubular
bars d are fixed thereto. Figure 11 is a plan of the mounting i shewing the pin h,
bosses through which and through the body of the mounting is passed the
transverse pin by which the tubular bars jare pivoted thereto, and the clip r¹ for
retaining the handle pillar r. Figure 12 is a plan of the mounting 9. The ends
of the tubes used for the framing have castings or stampings fixed thereon for the
purpose of the connections.
The general arrangement of the framing above described may be applied in the
case of a tricycle, by putting a pair of wheels outside the framing bars d, d', instead
of between them as shewn in the case of a bicycle. Of course some modification
of the framing would be necessary as will be obvious, for instance a distance bar
must be used between the hinder ends of the pairs of bars d d¹. Various other
parts of the invention are also applicable to other velocipedes than safety
bicycles, as will be obvious to persons skilled in the trade to which the
invention relates.

page_text: 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. The general combination and arrangement of parts forming a safety bicycle
or tricycle frame, substantially as described and shewn (specially for the purpose
of a bicycle) by the drawings herewith.
2. In a framing for a safety bicycle or for a tricycle, the combination of
pillars a, backwardly inclined bars d, and inclined bars d', forming the hinder
part of the framing or the main portion thereof, with the pillar e carried to be
capable of turning axially within portions of the hinder frame and with
forwardly inclined bars and tension bars or springs forming the forward frame,
all substantially as described for the purpose set forth; and also the modification
thereof, substantially as described, in which the pillars a turn about the axis of
the pillar e.
3. In a framing for a safety bicycle or for a tricycle, the combination of the
pillars a fixed at their upper ends to a mounting band connected at their lower ends
with the bottom bearings (or bracket), of backwardly inclined bars d connected at
their upper ends with the mounting band at their hinder ends with the hinder axle
pin, and of bars d' connected at their forward ends with the bottom bearings (or
bracket) and at their hinder ends with the hinder axle pin, with a pillar e carried
to be capable of turning within the mounting band within a cross-piece / fixed to
the pillars and itself carrying a mounting i, and with forwardly inclined bars j
pivoted at their upper ends to the mounting and connected at their lower ends
with the forward axle pin, and with bars or springs & connecting the ends of the
forward axle pin with a cross-head carried around the pillar e, substantially as
described and shewn, for the purpose set forth; and also the modification thereof,
substantially as described, in which the pillars a turn on the axis of the
pillar c.
"
4. The combination of the forwardly inclined bars j and springs & forming means
of connection between the front wheel axle and the main portion of the framing
of a safety bicycle or of a tricycle, substantially as described for the purpose
set forth.
5. The means, substantially as described, for effecting the steering of the front
wheel of a safety bicycle or of a tricycle, that is to say, by the aid of inclined
bars connected at their upper ends with a part at or near the upper end or apex
of the hiuder framing, and capable of being turned sideways on an axis which
down behind the front wheel, said bars j being held backwards at their
lower ends by means of teusion bars or springs & connected at their rear ends with
a part which turns around the steering axis.
passes
6. The means, substantially as described, for effecting the steering of the front
wheel of a safety bicycle, or of a tricycle, that is to say, by the aid of inclined
bars connected at their upper ends with a turning pillar or frame whose axis
passes behind the front wheel and of which one of the bearings is at or near the
upper end or apex of the hinder framing and the other at some distance below, said
bars being held backwards at their lower ends by means of tension bars or
springs connected at their rear ends with a part which turns around the
steering axis.
7. The employment of a mud guard as the brake for a velocipede, substantially
as described.'
8. The means by which the movement of the brake handle is conveyed to the
brake of a velocipede, substantially as described and shewn.
9. The means by which a flexible connector through which the movement of the
brake handle is conveyed to the brake of a velocipede is connected up so as to
allow of the handle being raised and lowered without such connector requiring to
be lengthened or shortened, substantially as described and shewn.
10. For the purpose of conveying power from the crank axle to the driving

page_text: wheel of a velocipede, the combination of a metal band or bands having cups
or projections as described with band wheels having holes or depressions
or projections, substantially as described.
11. In driving mechanism for a velocipede, in which a band (or bands) having
cups or projections is used in combination with band wheels having holes or
depressions, the meaus, substantially as described, by which the wear within
such holes or depressions may be reduced, by providing that the cups or pro-
jections shall not gear with each hole for each revolution of a wheel.
12. Metal rims for velocipede wheels formed tubular in section, substantially as
described, and preferably covered as described with rubber or analogous material
to prevent them slipping.
13. Velocipede wheels having the spokes fixed within the hubs by simply
passing them through holes therein, the ends of the wires forming the spokes being
fixed to the rims, substantially as described.
14. Bicycle wheels having the spokes arranged and fixed substantially in the
manner described.
Dated the Eighth day of April 1891
STEPHEN WATKINS,
Wolverhampton, Agent for the Applicant.