Improvements in the Gearing of Cycles and Motor Cars.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Gearing of Cycles and Motor Cars.
JOHN HOLMES BLAKESLEY, Civil Engineer, 53, Victoria Street, Westminster, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows
The object of this invention is to be able to obtain more power when going uphill or
encountering wind or other resistance. For this purpose I employ two sets of
multiplication wheels, and by means of a lever or other such mechanism, worked from
a seat while travelling, I throw one set out of gear, and the other into gear.
This may be effected in different ways; for example by sliding one or more cog-
wheels along an axle, so that one cogwheel ceases to work one set of gearing wheels,
and either it or another cogwheel comes into contact to work another set; or the axles
on which the gearing wheels are carried may be moveable, so as to throw one set out
of working and another into working by the movement; 'or the alternative wheels may
be loose on their axle or axles, and may be fixed to rotate therewith by keys which can
be inserted or withdrawn by the said mechanism; or by another such method.. It
will be seen that the alternative sets of gearing wheels and axles need not be distinct
throughout, but that certain the same wheels or axles may form part of both sets.....
Dated this Twenty-fourth day of May 1897.
i
CUMI DEIE DIE
*J
[Improvements in the Gearing of Cycles and Motor Cars!'
I, JOHN HOLMES BLAKESLEY, of 53, Victoria Street, Westminster; in the County
of London, Civil Engineer, 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':-
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1
The object of this invention is to be able to obtain more power when going uphill
or. encountering wind or other resistance. For this purpose I employ two sets of
gearing or multiplication wheels, and by means of a lever or other simple
mechanism worked from a seat while travelling, I throw one set out of gear and the
other into gear.
In the method here illustrated I have two bevelled cogwheels working loose on the
same spindle and either can be locked to the spindle at pleasure by the external
lever. In the case of a chain-driven cycle this would be effected by throwing into
gear one or other of two alternate sprocket wheels,

page_text: And in order that my invention may be thoroughly understood, I now proceed
to describe the accompanying drawing thereof, reference being had to letters and
figures marked thereon.
Fig. 1, is a side elevation of the bicycle fitted with my apparatus, parts of which are
broken off in order to show the various parts of mechanism.
Fig. 2, is a section of the apparatus drawn to an enlarged scale.
It will be seen according to the accompanying drawing, that in carrying out my
invention I construct a bevelled wheel g on the axle of the driving wheel of the
bicycle, and to this wheel g I gear a bevelled wheel ƒ keyed to the end of the axis or
driving shaft a which revolves in bearings attached to the bicycle frame.
other end of the driving shaft a I provide in and out bevel-gear hereinafter described
to engage with bevelled wheels b and c keyed to the pedal axle h.
5
At the 1
The driving shaft a has a sleeve or cover (here shown in three separate lengths
Round the outside of
for purposes of adjustment) either soldered or brazed to it.
this cover are cut three grooves for ball races j. One of these ball races is to enable
the shaft a to rotate freely in the lug 2 of the bottom bracket i, being covered by a
cap screwed on to the said lug. The other two ball races are to enable the free
rotation of the alternative bevelled spur wheels d and e around the driving axle a.
As the friction between these wheels and the axle can from the method of working
never be considerable, other frictional bearings may be substituted for these last two
ball races if desired. Between the wheels d and e I construct a sliding collar m, this
slides over the sleeve in a fore and aft direction but there are longitudinal ridges in
the centre of the sleeve fitting into corresponding grooves in the inner face of the
sliding collar m which prevents the rotation of the collar without the sleeve; so that
while the collar can be slid fore or aft along the sleeve, one cannot rotate without
the other. I also make teeth n projecting from either side of the collar m to fit
into recesses o cut in the inner faces of the spur wheels d and e.
If then the collar is in its central position as represented in Fig. 2, both the
wheels d and e are free to rotate on the shaft a which is consequently altogether out
If the collar is slid
of gear with the spur wheels b and c and the treadle axle h.
forward (to the right in the figure) the teeth on that side of the collar engage in
the recesses of the spur wheel. d, which therefore becomes locked to the shaft a
and thereby connects this with the treadle axle h through the spur wheel c and
compels the two shafts to rotate together with fixed relative velocities determined by
the relative number of teeth in the two spur wheels c and d.
Conversely if the collar were slid aft (or to the left) the wheel e would become
locked to the shaft a and the two axles a and h would be again compelled to rotate
together, but now their relative angular velocities would depend on the relative
number of teeth in the wheels b and e.
there-
In this particular case the collar is slid from the inside as follows:-A pin or key p
fits tightly in slots in the collar and passes through similarly tight fitting slots in the
inner tube q, which it is free to work sufficiently in a fore and aft direction by larger
slots cut in the shaft a and the sleeve l. The shifting of the inner tube
fore shifts the collar. Now I place small catches in slots cut in this inner tube,
which, catching in niches cut in the shaft a for the purpose, retain the tube q
and consequently the collar m in the desired position.
Inside the tube q is a pin s with an enlarged inner end. By pushing in this
pin s, the key p is pressed aft carrying collar m with it. By pulling pin s outwards,
the enlarged inner end presses against the catches u and causes them to become
disengaged from the niches v in the shaft a whereupon a spring x at the back of the
tube q, causes this to fly forward again.
The other end of this pin s has in this case a recess turned in it, which is gripped
by the forked end of a lever pivotted on the bottom bracket and worked by the
linkwork t (Fig. 1) which is again through the wires controlled by the lever y.
It will be understood that the foregoing is given by way of illustration, and that
the various parts may be varied in many ways within the scope of my invention.

page_text: Having now particularly debed and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. In the gearing of cycles, the combination of the driving shaft a bevelled
wheels b and c in and out bevel gear d and e bevelled wheels f and g ball bearings j
grooves collars collar m teeth n recesses o pin p inner tube q slots r plunger s
clutches slots v plate w spring a, substantially as herein described and according
to the accompanying drawing.
•
2. In the gearing of cycles, the combination of a shaft with loose toothed wheels,
either of which can be alternatively locked so as to complete the gearing with the
pedal axis, substantially as described.
Ա Ա Ա ՁԱԳԵ 1030.
J. P. BAYLY,
18, Fulham Place, London, W., Agent for the Applicant.