Improvements in Velocipedes.
Year: 1885

page_text: Improvements in Velocipedes.
We CHARLES MONTAGUE LINLEY and JOHN BIGGS both of 9 Melior Street,
Southwark in the. County of Surrey Engineers, and GEORGE GRAINGER TANDY
of 43 Cedars Road, Clapham in the County of Surrey, Surgeon do hereby declare
the nature of our invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN VELOCIPEDES to be as
follows:-
The object of this invention is to obtain greater steadiness in those steering
wheels of tricycles which run on a dead axle carried by the frame.
To this end, instead of mounting, as heretofore, the dead axle upon pivots which
permit of its oscillation to change the direction of the steering wheel-we mount
the axle which is hollow, upon semi-splierical friction supports, which are mounted
excentrically upon a cross bar of the frame. These semi spheres will fit into seats
formed in the ends of the hollow axle and by means of a pressure spring they will
be held to their seats. It is by giving axial motion to these semispheres that the
steering of the wheel is effected. The semispheres are connected together by a
rock bar attached to arms pendent from the semispheres; and connected with the
rock bar is the steering rod. By giving an endway motion to this rod the
excentric semispheres will be caused to turn in opposite directions and thereby to
force forward one end of the steering wheel axle while the other is forced back an
equal distance.
Instead of using a hollow axle the same result may be obtained by mounting
the wheel on a solid dead axle formed with spherical excentric journals and
providing corresponding bearings on the framing to receive these journals. By
connecting the steering rod with the excentrics, a partial rotation may be imparted
thereto through the ordinary steering gear, the effect of which will be to "skew'
the position of the axle with respect to the frame and thereby to change the course
of the steering wheel.
"
In both these arrangements it will be seen that the same principle of action
obtains.
In order that the steering may be steadier than heretofore and to enable the
rider to get the steering wheel round with greater speed when turning sharply we
mount the pinion at the end of the handle rod excentrically and to allow the rack
on the steering rod to give we place a spring at the back of the rack or we may use
a double curved rack.

page_text: . By this means the objection to a large pinion is obviated as while the machine is
running straight practically a small pinion will be in gear which reduces the risk
of unsteadiness to a minimum but when, it is desired to turn the vehicle the
diameter of the pinion will be gradually increased in accordance with the amount
of motion it is desired to give to the steering wheel thus causing the wheel to
answer more quickly to the movement of the handle than with a small pinion and
obviating the necessity for giving the handle more than one turn to get the wheel
full over.
It will be obvious that a similar motion may be obtained by an excentric, a cam
or a crank.

page_text: We CHARLES MONTAGUE LINLEY and JOHN BIGGS both of 9 Melior Street,
Southwark, in the County of Surrey, Engineers, and GEORGE GRAINGER TANDY
of 43 Cedars Road, Clapham in the County of Surrey, Surgeon do hereby declare
the nature of our invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN VELOCIPEDES" and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
:-
The object of this Invention is to obtain greater steadiness in those steering
wheels of tricycles which run on a dead axle carried by the frame.
To this end, instead of mounting, as heretofore, the dead axle upon pivots which
permit of its oscillation to change the direction of the steering wheel, we mount
the axle, which is hollow, upon semi-spherical friction supports, which are mounted
excentrically upon a cross bar of the frame. These semi-spheres will fit into seats
formed in the ends of the hollow axle, and it is by giving axial motion to these
semi-spheres, that the steering of the wheel is effected. The semi-spheres are
connected together by a rock bar attached to arms pendent from the semi-spheres,
and pivotted to the frame of the vehicle, and connected with the rock bar is the
steering rod. By giving an endway motion to this rod, the excentric semispheres
will be caused to turn in opposite directions, and thereby to force forward one end
of the steering wheel axle while the other is forced back an equal distance.
In the accompanying drawing we have shown, at Fig. 1, a side elevation of the
steering wheel for a velocipede, with our Invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a
front view of part of a velocipede frame, with the wheel in section, and Fig. 3 is
a plan view.
A is the steering wheel, which is provided with an enlarged hub a.-This hub is
formed with an internal and central annular rib or feather a¹.
Inside the hub is mounted a hollow dead axle b, onto the opposite ends of which,
and externally, is secured an annular flange b¹-Between the rib a¹ and the
flanges b', balls 6* are placed, on which the hub of the wheel runs.
The hollow dead axle b is mounted upon semi-spherical friction supports c,
which are mounted excentrically on a cross axle & carried by the frame B of the
vehicle.
These semispheres c fit into seats formed in the ends of the hollow axle b made
to receive them.
Cast with each semisphere c is a sleeve c', to which is secured, in any convenient
manner, a pendent arm c³, and by the swinging of these arms, axial motion is
given to the spheres, which effects the steering of the wheel.-On opposite ends of
the axle or cross bar d, outside the sleeves c¹, is hung a socket piece d, to receive
the ends of the frame B of the vehicle, the said ends being secured in the sockets
by nuts d, or pins, or in any other suitable manner.
These socket pieces d¹ are held in position on the axle d by the nuts d³, or in
any other convenient manner, and are provided at their upper parts with a pin d*,
which overlies the sleeve c¹, and is intended to form a stop against which the lugs or
ears c³ on the sleeve c' strike, and by means of which the maximum amount of
oxial motion to be given to the semispheres is determined.

page_text: The pendent arms c² are connected by rods c to a rock bar f pivotted to a cross
bar B₁ of the frame B, and to one end of the rock bar f is pivotted the steering rod
(not shewn in the drawings).-By giving an endway motion to this rod, the bar f
is rocked, and the semispheres (through the rods e and arms c²) are caused to turn
in opposite directions, and (the axle d on which they are mounted being fixed to
the frame) thereby to force forward one end of the dead axle b, while the other end
is forced backward an equal distance, and the wheel is twisted or slewed in the
direction required, see the diagram plan Fig. 4.
To prevent the dead axle b rotating with the wheel, we secure inside the axle a
finger or stop g, which enters a notch or recess formed in one of the semispheres c,
see Fig. 2. This connection will necessitate a slight axial motion of the axle b
when steering, but will prevent the undue wear on the semispherical surfaces,
which would take place were the axle b to rotate with the wheel.
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. Mounting the hollow steering wheel axle bon semi-spherical supports, which
are mounted excentrically on a cross bar of the frame, and to which an axial motion
in opposite directions is imparted, as and for the purpose set forth.
2. The combination with the steering wheel of a velocipede, of a hollow axle b,
sémi spherical supports c, mounted excentrically on a cross bar of the frame, and
means for imparting axial motion in opposite directions to said semi spheres,
substantially as herein shown and described.
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