Improvements in Connecting Pedals to Velocipedes.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Nov., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 29th Aug., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 5th Oct., 1888
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Connecting Pedals to Velocipedes.
I, JOHN KEEN, of No. 3, Brookfield Villas, Long Ditton, in the county of Surrey,
Cycle Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in connecting the pedals to the cranks of
velocipedes, and consists in attaching to, or forming on, the upper side of one end of
the pedal a lug or projecting piece and connecting the pedal to the crank by means
of a pin which is passed through the said lug or projecting piece, suitable adjustable
ball bearings being arranged for the said pin to turn in.
In pedals connected as above described the body of the pedal is below the pivot,
and, amongst other advantages gained, it will be found that the overcoming of
the resistance at the dead points, when the velocipede is being driven, is greatly
facilitated.
VAUGHAN & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in Connecting Pedals to Velocipedes.
I, JOHN KEEN, of No. 3, Brookfield Villas, Long Ditton, in the county of Surrey,
Cycle 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:
My said invention relates to improvements in connecting the pedal pins to the
cranks of velocipedes. Hitherto it has been usual to connect the pedal pin rigidly to
the crank and to mount thereon a loose frame, but many disadvantages are attendant
upon such arrangement, for instance, there is always considerable danger of the
operator losing his hold on the pedal.
This invention consists in attaching to, or forming on, the inner end of a pedal pin
a lug or plate which is at right angles to the body thereof, and connecting the same
with the end of the crank by a bolt upon which it is loosely suspended. The said
bolt passes through an aperture in the lug or plate and through the slot at the end of
the crank and is secured in position by a nut. In order to reduce the wear of the
edge of the aperture on the bolt, I provide an ordinary ball-bearing, by preference,
capable of lateral adjustment.
In pedals arranged as above described, the pedal pin is situated below the centre of
the bolt on which it is pivoted, the consequence being that the same side of the pedal
pin is always uppermost, and, if the said pin be provided with a pedal frame, the same
may be fixed thereto. The suspension of the pedal pin, so that it may oscillate
on its pivot, in the manner hereinbefore described, is of great assistance in overcoming
the resistance at the dead points.
I will now proceed to refer to the accompanying drawings in which the same
letters indicate like parts in both the figures. Figure 1 is a front view of a pedal
mounted on the end of a crank of a velocipede wheel, and, Figure 2 is an end view of
the pedal and end of the said crank. A. is the pedal pin and a. the lug or plate at
the end thereof which is illustrated in the form of a ring. B. is the crank and C. is
the bolt by which the pedal is suspended from the end of the latter. c. is a nut for
securing the said bolt. d is a collar on the bolt C, between the lug or plate a, and
the crank B. In the arrangement shown in the drawings the lateral adjustment of
the ball-bearing is effected by means of the nut c. but when the ball-bearing used is
capable of lateral adjustment I may effect the desired object by arranging the
collar d. to screw on the bolt C, however, I do not desire to confine this invention to
the use of ball-bearings constructed to be adjusted laterally.

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 :-
In velocipedes, suspending the pedals loosely on the ends of the cranks by means
of bolts in such a manner that the pedal pins are situated below the centre of such
bolts which constitute pivots on which the pedal pins can oscillate, substantially as
hereinbefore described.