Common Road Vehicles and Machines Generally.
Year: 1896

page_text: Common Road Vehicles and Machines Generally.
I, DAVID CUTLER, of 27 Cox Street, St. Pauls, in the City of Birmingham, Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the crank driving mechanism of, or means of communi-
cating motion in, cycles, common road vehicles and machines generally, and has for
its object, to obtain a mechanical advantage over a crank-driven axle as is now
commonly employed in the driving mechanism of cycles and machines generally.
My invention consists essentially of an axle-less crank or disc wheel rotated or
turned by the prime mover and supported upon a stationary disc wheel passing
through a middle clearance in the crank plate and being rigidly connected to a
framing, whilst the chain wheel or gear wheel is made a part of or formed integral
with the crank plate.
In carrying out one form of my improvements, I take a stationary disc of any
suitable diameter, and upon one side of it a centreless crank plate is disposed, with
the face opposed to the disc plate fitted near its edges with pairs of runners or
pulleys, whose axles run within suitable nests of ball bearings carried within the
said crank plate and a diametrically directed outer plate or arm, to which and the
crank plate, a pedal pin or equivalent is made fast and comes clear of the periphery
of the disc wheel.
It will be understood that the crank plate is a suspended one, and runs upon the
ledge of the disc plate when rotating, and that the clearance in the middle of the
said crank plate is sufficient to prevent any of the inner surfaces coming in contact
with the fixed bracket, shaft or equivalent made fast to the disc plate, and carried
by and made fast (in the case of a bicycle) to the bottom bracket.
The chain wheel or gear wheel or wheels is or are carried by the crank plate, or
it or they are made to form a part of the said plate.
In driving a machine other than where a fly-wheel is employed, two such sets of
mechanism are usually employed.
Instead of employing axled pulleys or runners, I may employ ball bearings
carried in nests and adapted to roll upon the periphery of the disc wheel as the
crank plate rotates.
Instead of the runners or ball bearings rolling upon the outer periphery of the
disc wheel or plate, they may be made to roll upon the inner periphery of a flange
beading or annular collar, with outside runners or ball bearings, separated from
each other and coming upon one side of the outer periphery of the disc wheel,
whilst the other side of the outer plate is made fast to the crank plate.

page_text: It may be observed that the distance between the opposite sets of runners is less
than the diameter of the disc upon which they run.
Dated this 5th day of October 1896.
DAVID CUTLER,
By Henry Skerrett,
Agent for Applicant.
Improvements in Means for Communicating Motion in Cycles,
Common Road Vehicles and Machines Generally.
I, DAVID CUTLER, of 27 Cox Street, St. Pauls, in the City of Birmingham, Manu-
facturer, 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 the driving mechanism of, or means of communicating
motion in, cycles, common road vehicles and machines generally, and has for its
object, to obtain a mechanical advantage over the ordinary crank-driven axle as is
now commonly employed in the driving mechanism of cycles, and machines
generally.
My invention consists essentially of an axle-less crank or disc wheel rotated or
turned by the prime mover and supported upon a stationary ring or disc wheel,
rigidly connected to a framing, whilst the chain wheel or gear wheel and cranks
are made in one; or bolted to one another so as to turn together.
In carrying out one form of my improvements, I take a stationary pierced disc,
or ring annulus, of any suitable diameter, and upon one side of it a centreless or
axle-less chain wheel is disposed, with the face opposed to the disc or ring fitted
near its edges with pairs of arms carrying runners, rollers or pulleys, whose axles
run within suitable fixed or adjustable bearings in the ends of the said arms. The
chain wheel carries directly or indirectly, a pair of cranks fitted with suitable
pedals.
It will be understood that the chain wheel is a suspended one, and runs upon the
outer or inner edge of the disc plate or ring when rotating.
In driving a machine, other than where a fly-wheel is employed, two such sets
of mechanism are usually employed.
Instead of employing axled pulleys or runners, I may employ ball bearings
carried in nests and adapted to roll upon the inner or outer periphery of the disc
wheel ring or annular frame as the chain wheel rotates.
It may be observed that the distance between the opposite sets of runners is less
than the diameter of the disc or ring upon which they run.
. In order to prevent twisting and increasing the rigidity of the mechanism by
providing an extended bearing two such annular frames or disc rings, laterally
separated and suitably stayed or braced together, may be employed in conjunction
with two sets of runners, the whole of which are collectively connected to the chain
wheel..
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents a safety bicycle provided with
driving mechanism or means for communicating motion, constructed and arranged
according to my invention.
Figure 2 is a vertical section of the mechanism, taken upon the dotted line,
Figure 1, but upon an enlarged scale.
The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the two figures of
the drawing.

page_text: a is the framing of a safety bicycle, the front diagonal member a', of which,
adjacent to its connection with the seat pillar a³ and at the point where the crank
axle bearing of an ordinary bicycle usually comes, carries or has brazed or other-
wise connected to it, a pierced disc, ring or annular frame b, which is also further
brazed to the main framing of the machine by supplementary ties 6', and 6. The
inner periphery 63, of this ring is preferably formed with an annular sinking
channel or race 6, within the groove of which the antifriction rollers or runners c³,
mounted in the ends cl, of opposite pairs of arms or branches c, proceeding from
and supporting an axle-less chain wheel or toothed crank plate d, run or travel
on the said wheel being driven round by pressure applied thereto through the
cranks e and pedals el, thereby communicating motion, by means of the drive
chain f, to the chain wheel g¹, of the back wheel g, which is mounted between
the back stays a³, and back forks a', of the bicycle framing in the usual way.
Instead of the annular frame or bearing ring being sunken with a channel or
race, its inside periphery may have an annular rib, and the rollers may be like
sheave pulleys and take over and run round the rib. In Figure 1 the roller
bearings are shewn as being adjustable by nuts and screws.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
First: An axle-less driving gear for cycles and other machines, or a means for
transmitting motion, comprising a rigid annular race, ring, frame or equivalent
with arms or equivalents, having anti-frictional contact ends or surfaces and
being carried by a chain wheel or equivalent (to which the driving cranks are
directly or indirectly connected) taking their bearing and making a traversing
motion in a circular path within or around the same, substantially as described
and set forth.
Secondly: The arrangement and combination of the parts of the mechanism or
gearing for driving, or communicating motion in, cycles as described and set forth
in Figures 1 and 2.
Thirdly: The improvements in mechanism or gearing for communicating
motion in, or driving cycles and other machinery, substantially as herein described.
Dated this 30th day of July 1897
DAVID CUTLER,
By Henry Skerrett,
24 Temple Road, Birmingham, Agent for Applicant.
DAVID CUTLER,
By Henry Skerrett,
24 Temple Road, Birmingham, Agent for Applicant.