Improvements in Bicycles.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Dec., 1894-Accepted, 9th Feb., 1895
GUDIT DELE DI MULTICATION.
Improvements in Bicycles.
1, DANIEL HANKS DORSETT of 21 West Second Street, Jamestown, Chatanqua
County, State of New York, United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement.―
My invention relates to bicycles, and has for its object the maintenance of
rotation of the wheels by means of a specially constructed band operating device
used either in connection with the usual foot operating mechanism, or alone as
the sole agency for propelling the machine The construction of the manually
operated propelling apparatus is such, that its autonomy is preserved under all
conditions, and its functions not only allow the rider to instantly supplement the
foot power without any special adjustment, but also enable him to discard the foot
power at will and propel the bicycle by hand alone at any moment
I may further construct the hand propelling mechanism so that it may be
quickly detached from the bicycle without impaning the efficiency of the foot
propelling device
I carry out my invention in two ways, us.
1 By providing a band lever and attaching a double clutch to the rear axle
2. By providing a hand lever and attaching a single clutch to the driving shaft,
and making all the parts detachable
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bicycle arranged according to 1.
Fig. 2 18 an end elevation from the ieni.
Fig 3 is a top plan view
Fig 4 shows details of brake construction.
Fig. 5 is an elevation according to 2, ready to be operated by the usual foot
mechanism.
Fig. 6 18 the same ready to be operated by the hand propelling mechanism
Fig. 7 is a section of the rocking bar and part of the level.
Fig 8 is an elevation of the lower end of the lever and its connections.
Fig. 9 is an elevation of the head part and cap.
Fig. 10 is an elevation of the steering rod.
1. The hand lever F is carried by a rocking bai A, which has the aims B, B,
extending in different directions The arms B, B, have cone-shaped ti unnions c,
which enter similarly shaped openings in opposite side frame pieces, and nuts
secure them in position
There is a colla I brazed to the lever which has trans-
cise aims teimmating in ball heads 'Steering rods K have sockets fitting
the ball heads, and the rods extend up to the front wheel fame L The lever F
stubular and fits over a vertical portion of the rocking bar A, rotating on it.
The lever is perforated at and a bolt is used to secure the lever to the
ocking bar. The perforation 19 long enough to allow considerable rotation of
the level.
Cables C, fastened to the arms B3 by a bolt g run back to the clutches Don
the rear axle. Tunn-buckles fate provided to adjust the cables
The clutches
may be of any desned construction, and are no part of my invention. They are
provided with springs to wind the cable back on the dium of the clutch, when the
stroke of the lever has wouud them off. Oscillation of the lever F actuates first

page_text: one clutch and then the other, and thus drives the bicycle ding both the
for ward and backward stroke, while the bicycle is steered by rotating the level,
the steering rods turning the front wheel in the sleeve m, which is held by the
fiame pieces 2, 2, and a, a.
The biake iod R passes up through the tubular level aim A and lever
It
is held in its normal position (indicated by solid lines) by the tension of the
spring N, the lower end of which rests on the head of the level aim E, the upper
end bearing against the nut o secuted to the iod. It is made in sections aud
provided at s with means to vary its length The lower end is bent into a hook
which terminates in the same horizontal plane with the axis of rotation of the
locking bar A. A bolt passes through the eye O and secures the rod P, which
eutering the guides 3 and 4 is then led back and secured to the lug p to form a
strap brake. The upper end has a capt upon which tests the muer end of the
levei S eutering the interior of the baudle bai F. The tension of the spung N
exerts an upward pressure of the iod against the inner arm of the lever S. S 16
fulciumed at 5 and has the handle 6. The motion of the lover Findicated by
the dotted lines in Fig. 4, marked 7-6, causes the eye of the hook to more in
the arc of a cucle concentric with the axis of rotation of the rocking bar A, the
chord of said are being transveise to the line of the strap 1od P so long as the
brake od R is in its normal position; consequently, the lever F may be recipro-
cated to its full extent without distinbing the brake mechanism. Should the rider
desue to apply the brake he grasps the handle aim of the brake lever S, pressing
it in toward the handle bar. This action forces the other end of the lever §
down upon the upper end of the brake 1od R, compressing the spung Naud
pushing the hook or lower end down to the position indicated by the dotted lines
Fig. 4. The eye O has now been carried so far below the axis of rotation of the
rocking bai A, that the movement of said ba causes the eye O to vibrate in the
nic of a larger cncle, and the chord of this ac now approximates the line of
the strap rod P, so that the movement of the eye O along this are causes a long-
Ludinal movement of the strap tod P forcing the brake to impinge on the dium
when the lever F is thrown forward.
2. The bicycle, according to this form, has the usual tubulai fiaine, which has
coesponding pieces a, a, b, bon either sudle It also has the driving shaft c
turning in beamngs at the junction of the frame pieces and . At one end,
between its beatings the shaft c is provided with the sprocket wheel d. A chain e
communicates power from wheel d to a sprocket wheel on the rear, on driving wheel
Axle in the usual way.
The seat post 13 bifurcated at its lower extremity, each leg on its icspective
side being biazed to the frame pieces, at their point of union The driving
shaft is provided at its central portion with a clutch, and at each extremity is
the usual treadle for propelling by foot power. The clutch mechanism may be of
any desued construction With the clutch on the diving shaft c (Figs. 5, 6
and 8) the single curved od 0, connects the lever to the clutch arm P. The
ochung bai B fits in between the lugs g and has cone bearings g. To remove the
bat from the bicycle, it is merely necessary to loosen the bolts of the benings and
the bolt secuing the tod O to the clutch aim P and these parts will then be freed
from the bicycle
The lever F1s 1otatable on the rocking bat B as shown in Fig. 7. It has an
outer and inner shell, the outer shell being formed into a swivelled portion
at and continued down to the ball case The inner shell m' extends up
through the rocking bar B to which it is igidly secured and terminates in an
extremity threaded to receive the nut n'. The rocking bar B has a vertical tubular
extension o' and adjacent to the bar forms a beating for the balls p'. The ball
case 18 blazed to the outer shell A An upper ball case is also brazed to
the outer shell. The nut m' is bevelled at its lower extremity to allow 100m for
the balls p. By means of this construction the outer shell rotates on the inner
one on the two ball bearings, and the nut n' serves both to adjust the bearings and

page_text: to secure the outer shell from vertical displacement. The collar D has the
arms E, E, but instead of terminating in ball heads according to 1, they are bored
to receive the bent screws h.
The steering rod H is made of two parts connected by the turn buckle K by
means of which the length of the 1od may be altered within certain limits. The
end of the iod attached to the steering arm has an elongated eye, while the other
end, bent at an angle to properly fit the shoulder of the front wheel frame, has
also an elongated eye n.
Tightly set into the shoulder of the steering wheel frame is a post e having a
bent head extending toward the front wheel. The post e secures a bushing m,
which loosely rotates about it.
In attaching the steering rod in its proper position, it is fist merely necessary
to turn the thumb screw h until the beut head projects toward the front of the
vehicle. The elongated eye n is then slipped over the part e, the eye ovo the
screw, and the screw turned until the bent head projects toward the rear of
the vehicle in its normal position. It is of course understood that a steering lod
upon both sides of the vehicle is thus arranged, and it requires but a fraction of
a minute to detach them from the vehicle
The bolt p pivots the rod O to the clutch aim P. A stop R on O may strike
the transverse frame pieces thus preventing the clutch from reaching a dead
centre with respect to the stroke of the lever F.
The lever has the handle bat C secuned by means of the split collat t. By
loosening the collar the bat may be detached from the level.
The steering wheel post iotates in the sleeve S and the handle bai inay be
detached therefrom in a manner well known When the handle bar is detached a
cap T is provided to cover the aperture opened by the removal of the handle bai.
It will thus be seen that according to construction 2 the hand mechamsin may
be used with the foot pedals, or alone, or it may be detached from the bicycle
The brake which may be used is shown in Figs. 5 and 6. It is pivoted
vertically to the transverse frame piece Upon the rear frame piece is pivoted
a vertical foot levo 2. The lever arm of the lever has pivoted to it one end of a
od 3, the other end of which is pivoted to the upper end of the brake 1. To
actuate the brake, the foot is pressed down on levet 2. This throws forward the
lower am enying the rod 3 attached to the upper end of the brako. The lower
end of the brake is therefore caused to press upon the adjacent tire of the rear
wheel.
The handle bar C, it will be seen, is adapted to fit the head post, or the level,
and may be used in either of the two positions indicated, to steer the vehicle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declaic that what 1
claim is―
1. In a bicyclo o similar vehicle having means for both hand and foot pro-
pulsion, the arrangement of hand lever, clutch mechanism, and steering connections,
substantially as heıcın shown
2. In a bicycle or sumilai vehicle having means for both hand and foot pro-
pulsion, the detachable parts whereby the hand propelling mechanism, may be
iemoved hom the vehicle when the foot propelling mechanism is to be used, wz.:-
the hand lever, the connection between the lever and clutch, and the steering rods,
substantially as herein shown.
3. In a bicycle or similar vehicle having means for both hand and foot pro-
pulsion, the arrangement of the steering connections so that the handle bar when
attached to either the lever or head post may steer the vehicle, substantially as
herein shown.
4. In a bicycle or similar vehicle the combination with the lever, of the brake
operating mechanism normally inactive and moving with the lever, but which may

page_text: be pressed downward so that the backward stroke of the lever will actuate the
brake, substantially as herem shown.
Dated this 27th day of December 1894
WALLACE FAIRWEATHER,
Chartered Patent Agent,
62, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Agent for the Applicant.