Improvements in Driving Gear for Cycles and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Jan., 1897-Accepted, 13th Mar., 1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Driving Gear for Cycles and the like.
1, CARL MEIER of 1 Heinrichstrasse, Neu-Ruppin, in the German Empire,
Manufacturer, 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 a driving gear for bicycles and the like machines, and
its object is to so construct and arrange such gear that less power is required to
drive the machine.
In order that my invention may be more readily understood I have hereto
appended a sheet of drawings to which reference is made hereinafter.
Figure 1 illustrates the application of my improved gear to a bicycle, the lower
parts of the members of the frame being shown.
Figure 2 shows a diagrammatic representation of the motion of the pedals
and levers.
e,
In carrying this invention into effect I mount upon the driving axle of the
machine two cranks, k, k¹. The ends el of these cranks are suitably pivotted to
the levers a, a' preferably by means of ball bearings. The levers a, a¹ are
fulcrumed at d and d¹ to the ends of arms 6 and 6¹. These arms are capable of
independent movement around or partly around the pivots c which are preferably
contained in a bracket mounted upon the stay y. The free ends of the levers a
and a carry the pedals fand f¹. In the drawing, Figure 1, one of the arms b is
hidden by the other.
When the gear constructed as described is in operation the pedals follow the
curved dotted line indicated in Figure 2. In the downward movement the pedal
follows that part of the line having the greatest curve and in its upward movement
follows that part which approximates to the vertical. It will thus be seen that
the downward power stroke of the pedal is longer than is the upward or idle stroke.
The greater part of the stroke is thus effective. The levers carrying the pedals
have a combined swinging and oscillating motion and the arms 6 and 6¹ swing
to and fro.
In the ordinary rotary bicycle driving gear the rider has to perform a pushing
and a pulling motion to get the pedals past their upper and lower dead points
and a certain amount of skill is necessary to enable the rider to do this. By the
use of my improved gear the dead points of the cranks, which occupy positions in
the line xx, Figure 2, are passed whilst the pedal is moving along its downward
power stroke.
In Figure 2 the full lines show the levers a, a¹ and the arms b, & in various
positions during the downward or power stroke; the dotted lines show them in
various positions during the upward stroke.
With this gear, then, a large amount of the power which has hitherto been
required to drive a bicycle at a certain speed is saved, and, correspondingly, with
the exertion of the same power as formerly a cyclist may attain a higher speed,
and, if desired, use a higher gear.
The rotary motion imparted to the main axle may be transmitted to the wheel
or wheels of the machine in any desired manner.

page_text: 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 :-
=
1. Driving gear for bicycles and similar machines, consisting of cranks arranged
upon the main axle, levers carrying pedals at one end and connected to the ends of
the cranks, and swinging arms pivotted to the frame and having their free ends
connected to the ends of the pedal levers, all constructed and arranged substantially
as herein before described and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
2. Driving gear for bicycles and similar machines, constructed and arranged
substantially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated by the accompanying
drawings.