Improvements in and relating to Brakes for Bicycles, and like Vehicles.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Aug., 1897--Accepted, 18th Sept., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Brakes for Bicycles, and like
Vehicles.
We, ALEXANDER PATTERSON MORROW Mechanical Expert and HARMON HEALY
FULTON Manufacturer residing respectively at 312 West First Street and 468
West Gray Street, in the City of Elmira, County of Chemung and State of New
York, United States of America, 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 to bicycles and like vehicles, and more particularly to
means for operating a brake in this class of vehicles by backward movement of the
crauk shaft, or "back pedalling."
The primary object of the invention is to apply a brake to the rear wheel of
the machine through mechanism arranged on the driving or crank shaft.
A further object of the invention is to provide a bicycle or like vehicle with
brake mechanism operated from the crank shaft of the machine, by back pedalling,
and to provide the rear wheel of the machine with shifting devices, whereby said
wheel may be quickly thrown out of gear with the driving shaft, to permit coasting
without revolving the crank shaft.
With these main objects in view, the invention consists in the characteristic
features hereinafter more fully described and defined in the appended claims.
The construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, is one embodiment
of the invention, which we have found to be satisfactory in operation.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a bicycle with our improvements applied thereto,
the normal position of the brake shoe and its connections being shown in full
lines, and the dotted lines indicating the position of the brake shoe and its
connections when the brake is applied.
Figure 2 is a detail perspective view of a part of one of the crank arms with our
improved clutch disk applied thereto.
Figure 3 is an elevation of the clutch disk with the clutch ring provided with
a projecting arm, applied thereto.
Figure 4 is a vertical section on the line x-x of Figure 5, with the rollers of
the clutch in position.
Figure 5 is a top or plan view of the crank-arm and clutch.
Figure 6 is a detail perspective view with parts of the frame of the machine
broken away, showing the means for attaching the brake shoe and its connections
to the machine.
Figure 7 is a plan view of the parts shown in Figure 6, and
Figure 8 is a vertical section through the rear sprocket wheel and the clutch
mechanism arranged therein for permitting coasting without revolving the crank
le and nedals.

page_text: The reference numerals 1 and 2 respectively, indicate the front and rear wheels
of the machine. The rear fork 3 of the frame is provided with the usual bearings 4
for the axle 5 of the rear wheel, and the front end of said fork 3 terminates in a
forwardly projecting arm 6, joined to the bearing 7 of the crank axle.
Upon the arm 6 of the rear fork is secured a split band 8 provided with opposing
lugs 9 and 10, secured together by bolts 11, and from opposite sides of this band 8
project lugs 12, which constitute the fulcrum supports for the upper ends 13 of a
pair of levers 14 and 15, arranged one on either side of the arm 0, and connected
at their lower ends by a cross bar 16, upon which is pivotally secured the brake
spoon 17, by means of perforated ears 18 projecting from the brake, through which
the cross bar 16 passes.
The brake 17 is connected by a spiral spring 19 with the frame, the forward end
of said spring being secured to a screw 20, projecting from the frame, while its
rear end is attached to the cross bar 16.
The lever 14 is provided with a forwardly projecting arm 21, arranged at an
angle to the lever, and provided with an elongated slot 22. -This-arm 21 is
connected, by means of a headed bolt 23 anu nut 24, with the adjacent end of an
arm 25 proiecting from the clutch mechanism on the crank axle, which will now
be described.
A disk 26 is rigidly secured upon the hub 27 of the crank arm 28, and on either
side of said disk is secured a ring 29, by screws 30, said ring being concentrically
arranged on the hub 27 with relation to the disk 26, and being of greater diameter
than said disk, to form an annular seat around the periphery of the disk for the
clutch ring 31. The disk 26 is recessed preferably at diametrically opposite
points 32, to form seats or sockets for transversely arranged rollers 33. The
recesses 32 are deeper at one end than at the other, so that when the rollers are at
the deeper ends of the recesses, the crank-arm may freely revolve without forcing
the rollers into contact with the ring 31..
A reverse movement of the crank arm, however, will move the rollers into the
shallower ends of the recesses and cause them to bind tightly against the inner
face of the ring 31, thus moving the latter, and through the connection of the
arm 25 with the slotted arm 21 of the lever 14, operating the brake.
To facilitate free movement of the rollers within their seats, one wall of each
of the recesses 32 is longitudinally recessed to form a seat for a spiral spring 34,
against the outer end of which the roller bears.
As shown in Figure 8, the rear sprocket wheel 35 of the machine is provided with a
clutch mechanism similar to that on the crank shaft above described, thereby
adapting the rear wheel to be disengaged from the driving chain, for coasting
purposes.
While the functions of the several parts of the invention will be clear to those
skilled in the art from the above description, their operation may be summarized
as follows: -
Normally the spoon brake hangs in the position shown in Figure 1 in full lines,
out of contact with the rear wheel.
A slight backward. movement or stoppage of the driving chain operates to throw
the rear wheel out of engagement with the driving sprocket; through the clutch
mechanism carried thereby, thus permitting coasting without revolving the crank
shaft and pedals.
The rear wheel, of course, revolves freely as long as the pedals are revolved in'
a forward direction, but the instant the movement of the crank shaft is reversed,
the rollers move to the shallow ends, of the slots in the disk, thus binding, the
clutch ring tightly to the disk, and causing said ring to turn with the.disk. This
depresses the arm on the ring, and through the connection of. said arm with the
arm projecting from the brake lever 14, the brake is forced.against the periphery
of the rear wheel, the parts assuming the positions shown by dotted lines in
Figure 1.
While the mechanism above described has been found practicable in use
1
2

page_text: no desire to limit ourselves to the details of construction shown, but reserve the
right to make all such modifications and changes in the form and arrangement
of the parts as may fall within the scope of the following claims, it being our
purpose to cover broadly the application of a brake to the periphery of the rear
wheel of a cycle by back pedalling, through the intermediacy of clutch mechanism
arranged on the crank shaft of the machine.
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 combination with a cycle, of a brake supported adjacent to the rear wheel
of the machine, and mechanism arranged on the crank shaft for applying said
brake to the periphery of the rear wheel directly from the crank shaft, by back
pedalling.
2. The combination with the crank shaft of a cycle, of clutch mechanism
ananged thereon, a brake supported adjacent to the rear wheel of the machine,
and connections between the clutch mechanism and the brake, whereby backward
movement of the crank shaft applies the brake.
3. The combination with the crank shaft of a cycle, of clutch mechanism
arranged thereon, a brake supported adjacent to the rear wheel of the machine,
connections between the clutch mechanism and brake, whereby the latter is
applied by backward movement of the crank shaft, means for retracting the brake
when the crank shaft is revolved in a forward direction.
4. The combination with a cycle, of a brake supported adjacent to the rear
wheel of the machine, clutch mechanism arranged on the crank shaft of the
machine, and lever connections between the clutch mechanism and brake, whereby
the latter is applied to the periphery of the rear wheel by back pedalling.
5. The combination with a cycle, of a brake pivotally supported upon the
machine frame adjacent to the rear wheel, a clutch device arranged on the crank
shaft of the machine and comprising a recessed disk fixed to the shaft, friction
rollers in the recesses of the disk, and a clutch ring surrounding the disk and
provided with a projecting arm serving to connect the clutch device with the brake.
6. The combination with a cycle, of a pair of levers fulcrumed on the machine
frame in front of the rear wheel, a brake pivotally secured between said levers,
an arm projecting from one of said levers, and a clutch device arranged on the
crank shaft of the machine and provided with a projecting arm pivotally secured
to the arm which projects from one of the brake levers.
7. The combination with a cycle, of a brake supported in front of the rear wheel
by levers fulerumed on the frame, and provided with a forwardly extending arm,
a clutch device arranged on the crank shaft of the machine, and comprising a fixed
disk formed with peripheral slots or recesses each of which is shallower at one end
than at the other, rollers in said slots, a retaining ring on either side of the disk,
and a clutch ring encircling the disk and provided with a rearwardly extending
arm coupled loosely to the arm projecting from one of the brake levers.
8. The combination with the crank shaft of a cycle, of a clutch device comprising
a disk fixed on the shaft and peripherally slotted, rollers arranged in the slots of
the disk, springs seated in said slots to facilitate the movement of the rollers,
rings secured to the opposite sides of the disk to form an annular channel or seat,
and a friction ring loosely supported upon the disk, a pivoted brake located in
rear of the crank shaft, and connections between the brake and friction ring,
whereby the brake is applied by backward movement of the crank shaft.
9. In a cycle, the combination with the driving sprocket chain and the rear
vheci axle provided with a clutch device for disengaging said wheel from its
riving sprocket, a clutch device arranged on the crank shaft of the machine,
brake supported adjacent to the rear wheel, and connections between
he crank shaft, clutch device and brake, whereby a stoppage of the sprocket chain
perates to release the rear wheel from its engagement with its driving sprocket,

page_text: and back-pedalling operates to apply the brake through the intermediacy of the
crank shaft clutch.
TV 1.] shận 2nd day of August 1897.
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.