Improvements in Driving Gear for Bicycles and other Velocipedes.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Dec., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 14th Sept., 1896-Accepted, 7th Nov., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Driving Gear for Bicycles and other Velocipedes.
We, GEORGE JOHN STEVENS, of 95, Falmouth Road, West Newington, and
JAMES HIX, of 2, East Hill, Wandsworth, both in the County of London, Engineers,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows
-
Our invention relates to driving gear for velocipedes and has for its object to provide
improved means for transmitting the motion of the driving cranks to the driving
wheel whereby we are enabled to materially increase the size of the chain pinion upon
the driving wheel (which chain pinion is now of very small diameter in high speeded
machines) without unduly increasing the diameter of the other wheels of the driving
gear.
In carrying out our invention we make use of an epicyclic train of gear wheels of
the kind wherein a pinion attached to a driving crank or arm revolves between two
gear wheels one of which is internally toothed and fixed and the other of which is
externally toothed and rotates.
According to our invention the rotating wheel which is arranged on one side of the
crank bearing is provided with a sleeve which extends partly through the bush
carrying the bearing so as to engage with another sleeve inserted in the opposite
side of the bush and carrying a chain or band wheel from which a chain or band
extends to the pinion or pulley on the driving wheel. It will be obvious that, the
wheels of the epicyclic train may be so proportioned that the chain or band wheel
hereinbefore referred to may have a speed of rotation corresponding with the size of
the pinion desired on the driving wheel.
The hub or centre of both the rotating wheel of the epicyclio train and of the
chain or band wheel are formed with ball races or cups on both the front and rear
sides, the balls on the rear sides running in cups in the bush of the bearing and
the balls on the outer side in cups on the back of the crank and of an adjustable
collar on the chain or band wheel, the said adjustable collar being so arranged that
it serves to adjust the races for the four sets of balls simultaneously, the connection
between the two sleeves within the bush permitting of this adjustment.
Instead of employing sleeves united within the bush as herein before described, we
may use a continuous sleeve the wheel on one end of which may be adapted to slide
relatively with the wheel on the other end to permit of the adjustment hereinbefore
referred to.
D
1007
Improvements in Driving. Gear for Bicycles and other. Velocipedes.
We, GEORGE JOHN STEVENS, of 95; Falmouth Road; West Newington, and JAMES
Hix, of 2 East Hill, Wandsworth, both in the County of London, Engineers, 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:-
Our invention relates to driving gear for velocipedes and has for its object to

page_text: provide improved means for transmitting the notion of the driving cranks to the
driving wheel whereby we are enabled to materially increase the size of the chain
pinion upon the driving wheel (which chain pinion is now of very small diameter in
high speeded machines) without unduly increasing the diameter of the other wheels
of the driving gear.
In carrying out our invention we make use of an epicyclic train of gear wheels
of the kind wherein a pinion or pinions attached to a driving crank or disc revolves
' or revolve between two gear wheels one of which is internally toothed and fixed
and the other of which is externally toothed and rotates.
According to our invention the rotating wheel which is arranged on one side
of the crank bearing, is provided with a sleeve, which extends partly through the
bush carrying the. bearing, so as to engage with another sleeve inserted in the
opposite side of the bush and carrying a chain or band wheel from which a chain or
band extends to the pinion or pulley on the driving wheel. It will be obvious
that the wheels of the epicyclic train can be so proportioned that the chain or band
wheel, hereinbefore referred to, may have a speed of rotation corresponding with the
size of the pinion desired on the driving wheel.
The hub or centre of both the rotating wheel of the epicyclic train and of the chain
or band wheel are formed with ball races or cups on both the front and rear sides,
the balls on the rear sides running in cups in the bush of the bearing and the
balls on the outer side in cups on the back of the crank or disc and of an adjustable
collar on the chain or band wheel, the said adjustable collar being so arranged that
it serves to adjust the races for the four sets of balls simultaneously, the connection
between the two sleeves within the bush permitting of this adjustment.
To enable our invention to be fully understood we will describe it by reference to
the accompanying drawing, in which,-
Figure 1 is a sectional plan of bicycle driving gear constructed according to our
invention.
Figure 2 is a plan of a detail.
Figure 3 is a side elevation of the adjustable collar, and,
Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 of a slight modification of our invention.
Similar letters of reference refer to the same or corresponding parts in all the
figures.
a is the bush which carries the crank bearing. is the crank axle, and c, c
the cranks.
d is the internally toothed gear wheel which is fixed to the frame of the machine,
and e, e are the pinions mounted on the driving disc f which rotates with the crank
axle b, the said pinions engaging with the internally toothed gear wheel das clearly
shewn in Figures 1 and 4. There may be any suitable number of these pinions e, e.
9 is our rotating wheel arranged, as shewn, so as to be driven by the pinions e, e
and h is the sleeve formed on the wheel 9 and extending partly through the
bush a.
i is the sleeve inserted in the opposite side of the bush a, and j is the band
wheel attached to the same. With this construction it will be obvious that as the
band wheel rotates at a higher speed than the crank axle b, the band wheel on the
driving wheel of the bicycle can be of considerably larger diameter than with driving
gear of ordinary construction without making the wheel; larger than ordinarily.
The two sleeves are so constructed that they engage with one another so as to rotate
together but also so that they can be adjusted longitudinally one with the other. In
the arrangement shewn in Figures 1 and 2, the ends of the said sleeves are formed
with projecting arms h' and adapted to engage with one another after the manner
of an ordinary clutch coupling. In the arrangement shewn in Figure 4 the sleeve his
reduced in diameter at its inner end so as to adapt it to pass into the inner end of the
sleeve i and the said reduced end is provided with a number of teeth or feathers h³
which engage in slots formed in the inner end of the sleeve i so that the two sleeves
rotate together but can be adjusted longitudinally as in the previous construction.
k, kare the ball races or cups on the rear sides of the sleeves hi, the said
races or cups being attached to the bush a carrying the bearing. 1, 1 are the cups

page_text: on the outer side of the sleeves h and i respectively, the two cups being in the form
of bushes on the crank axle b and the cup being formed conically on its outer end
as shewn at Figures 1 and 4.
m, Figure 3, is our adjustable collar the said collar being formed of a split
ring through the split ends of which passes a screw m' provided with a shoulder m
and a milled head m³, by means of which the said screw can be turned so as to
cause the split ends of the ring to approach, or recede from, one another. The
inner face of this split ring is tapered outwards, as shewn clearly in Figures 1
and 4, so as to fit on the conical part of the cup . When in position the inner
face of this ring is in contact with the conical surface of the cup whilst the
outer face of the same bears against the inner surface of the crank as shewn. It
will, therefore, be obvious with this construction of bearing, that, after all the parts
have been placed in position, the bearings can be adjusted by screwing up the split
ring m so that it forces the cup slightly inwards in such a manner that the races
for all the sets of balls are simultaneously adjusted, the two sleeves h and i sliding
on one another so as to admit of the necessary adjustment.
It will be obvious that instead of our split ring we can employ a nut working on
the screwed end of the crank axle.
Instead of employing sleeves united within the bush as herein before described,
it will be obvious that we may use a continuous sleeve, the wheel on one end of
which can be adapted to slide relatively with the wheel on the outer end to permit
of the adjustment herein before referred to.
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. In driving gear for bicycles and other velocipedes of the kind wherein the
motion of the crank axle is transmitted to the driving wheel through the medium
of a chain, mounting the chain wheel upon the crank axle loosely and communicating
the motion of the axle to the said wheel by an epicyclic train, substantially as,
and for the purpose, herein before described.
2. In driving gear for bicycles and other velocipedes of the kind wherein pinions
attached to a driving crank or disc revolve between two gear wheels one of which
is internally toothed and fixed and the other of which is externally toothed and
rotates, providing the externally toothed wheel with a sleeve adapted to engage
with a second sleeve carrying a band or chain wheel, substantially as, and for the
purpose, described.
3. The employment in the driving gear of bicycles and other velocipedes of an
adjustable split ring or nut for simultaneously adjusting all the ball races of the
bearing, substantially as, and in the manner, hereinbefore described.
4. The manufacture and use of the improved driving gear for cycles hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicants.