An Improvement or Improvements in Bicycles.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Oct., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 17th Feb., 1893-Accepted, 15th Apr., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement or Improvements in Bicycles.
I, WALTER PHILLIPS, of No. 34 Spon Street Coventry, in the County of
Warwick, Manager of Works do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
My invention has reference to bicycles which are driven by the front wheel and
are provided with "speed gear," that is, have a system of toothed gearing by which
the rate of rotation of the driving wheel is made greater than that of the pedal
shaft. Such bicycles are sometimes called front wheel driven bicycles.
In the ordinary method of constructing the said bicycles the "speed gear" is
placed between one branch of the fork and the hub of the wheel the said gear
being above the shaft of the wheel. The said gear is covered and protected by
a case.
The ordinary method of constructing the said bicycles is attended by this incon-
venience. The breadth of the tread is increased and the labour of the rider
increased in consequence of the obliquity of his pressure on the pedals.
My invention has for its object to remedy the defect referred to and consists in
applying the speed gear to the bicycle in the following manner. I prolong down-
wards one of the branches of the fork preferably the right hand branch and to
the prolongation I connect the said gear and its case the said gear being situated
below the shaft of the wheel. The gear by being placed in this position is not
between the branch of the fork and the hub of the wheel, as in the above described
ordinary arrangement, and there is consequently no increase in the breadth of the
tread, and the pressure of the rider on the pedals is free from the obliquity referred
to in the case of bicycles in which the said gear is applied in the ordinary way.
Although I prefer to apply the speed gear in the manner described to a down-
ward prolongation of the right hand branch of the fork I do not limit myself
thereto as it may be applied to the left hand branch of the fork or to both the
right and left hand branches of the fork. And although I prefer to place the gear
below the shaft and outside the fork yet it may be placed above and outside the
fork with the same or nearly the same effect.
Dated the 19th day of October 1892.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement or Improvements in Bicycles.
I WALTER PHILLIPS, of No. 34 Spon Street, Coventry, in the County of
Warwick, Manager of Works do hereby declare the nature of my 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 has reference to bicycles which are driven by the front wheel and
are provided with "speed gear," that is, have a system of toothed gearing by which
the rate of rotation of the driving wheel is made greater than that of the pedal
shaft. Such bicycles are sometimes called front wheel driven bicycles.
"
18
In the ordinary method of constructing the said bicycles the "speed gear
placed between one branch of the fork and the hub of the wheel the said gear
Price RI

page_text: being above the shaft of the wheel. The said gear is covered and protected by
a case.
The ordinary method of constructing the said bicycles is attended by this incon-
venience. The breadth of the tread is increased and the labour of the rider
increased in consequence of the obliquity of his pressure on the pedals.
My invention has for its object to remedy the defect referred to and consists in
applying the speed gear to the bicycle in the following manner. I prolong down-
wards one of the branches of the fork preferably the right hand branch and to the
prolongation I connect the said gear and its case, the said gear being situated
mainly below the shaft of the wheel. The gear by being placed in this position is
not between the branch of the fork and the hub of the wheel, as in the above-
described ordinary arrangement, and there is consequently practically no increase
in the breadth of the tread and the pressure of the rider on the pedals is free
from the obliquity referred to in the case of bicycles in which the said gear is
applied in the ordinary way.
The accompanying drawing represents in elevation, partly in vertical section, a
portion of the front driving wheel of a bicycle provided with speed gear arranged
according to my invention, the case for covering and protecting the said speed
gear being omitted.
The arrangement I have represented of the speed gear of the front driving wheel
is that which I prefer to use and answers well in practice, but the position of
the speed gear may be varied in the ways hereinafter described with nearly the
same effect.
a, a is the front driving wheel of the bicycle, and 6 is the hub of the same
turning freely on the crank or pedal shaft c passing through the said hub and
carrying at its ends the usual pedal; d, d2 is the fork supporting the front driving
wheel a, the right hand branch of the fork being marked d and the left hand
branch. The right hand branch d of the fork is prolonged downwards at d³
and the prolonged part carries the short pin or axle e on which a portion of the
speed gear is supported and turns. It will be seen by an examination of the
drawing that the speed gear is situated mainly below the pedal shaft c and outside
the prolongation d³ of the right hand branch d of the fork, instead of above the
pedal shaft and between the branch of the fork and the hub of the wheel
as usual.
The speed gear consists of the following parts. On the right hand end of the
pedal shaft c the pinion is screwed and fixed thereon by the lock nut g. The
pinion gears with the pinion below it supported and turning on the short pin
or axle e carried by the prolonged part d³ of the branch d of the fork. On the
short pin or axle e a second and parallel pinion is supported and works, the said
pinions and being secured together and constituting a double pinion as repre-
sented. The pinion i gears with the pinion above it fixed to the hub b of the
front driving wheel. By means of the speed gearing described and represented,
the rate of rotation of the driving wheel a is made greater than that of the pedal
shaft cas is well understood, and by the arrangement of the speed gearing the
advantages hereinbefore pointed out are obtained.
Although I prefer to apply the speed gear in the manner described and repre-
sented to a downward prolongation of the right hand branch of the fork, I do not
limit myself thereto as it may be applied to the left hand branch of the fork or to
both the right and left hand branches of the fork. And although I prefer to
place the gear below the shaft and outside the fork yet it may be placed above and
outside the fork with nearly the same effect.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion and the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that I
claim as my invention:-
The improvement or improvements in the speed gear of front wheel driven

page_text: bicycles herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing; that
is to say, arranging or applying the speed gear of the said front wheels outside one
or both of the branches of the supporting fork of the wheel and either below or
above the crank or pedal shaft of the wheel for the purposes and substantially as
hereinbefore described and illustrated.
Dated the Fifteenth day of February 1893.
WALTER PHILLIPS.