IMPROVEMENTS IN VELOCIPEDES AND. OTHER VEHICLES TO BE PROPELLED BY THEIR OCCUPANTS
Year: 1878

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Leander Wolcott Boynton at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 6th August 1878.
LEANDER WOLCOTT BOYNTON, of Hartford, Connecticut, United States of America,
now of 8, Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN VELOCIPEDES AND.
OTHER VEHICLES TO BE PROPELLED BY THEIR OCCUPANTS."
.
My Invention relates to vehicles to be propelled by the feet, or feet and hands, or
by the hands alone of the occupants, and is so constructed that two or more persons
may be carried thereby at the same time in such a manner that each of these
persons assists or may assist in propelling the same. The said vehicle may also be
so constructed that one or more of the occupants may propel the same, and others
may ride as passengers.
According to one method of constructing the said vehicle I provide a frame within
which a wheel is placed, the said frame being placed at right angles to the axle of
the wheel in a horizontal direction, and the ends of the axles having bearings within
the said frame or in pieces attached thereto. This frame may be constructed of a
single bar or rod of metal or other suitable material formed to enclose the wheel, or
it may be made of more than one piece joined, so that the wheel is enclosed thereby.
The said frame as herein-before stated occupies a longitudinal position, and will be
parallel with the roadway as the vehicle stands thereon, crossing the wheel at or
about its centre.
The wheel may be made of any suitable diameter, and the axle is provided with
cranks to be operated by the rider in the usual manner.
The seat or saddle upon which the person sits to drive the wheel is placed above
the latter in much the same position as is usual in bicycles as ordinarily constructed,
and this seat or saddle is supported by pieces attached to and extending upward
from the said frame, and there may be one or more of such pieces.
A bridge piece or a similar device is provided extending vertically from the centre
of the frame and has attached to its upper extremity a handle to be grasped by the
rider as is usual in bicycles.
I take two, three, or more of the complete sections constructed as above described,
that is to say, wheel, frame, and other parts united, and connect them one to the
other in the following manner, that is to say, the end of one frame is attached to
the end of another frame by a pivot or otherwise in such a manner as to allow each

page_text: wheel to stand at a different angle to any of the others when turning round
curves'
When travelling upon a straight road the wheels will follow each other in a straight
line. Any desirable number of wheels may thus be coupled one behind the other,
each of which will carry one person, so that the speed at which a vehicle so con-
structed carrying a number of riders may be propelled is very great, and such a
vehicle will be found of great utility to a large number of persons practising athletic
exercises, and will be a new source of amusement to many others witnessing such
exercises. In such a vehicle it is necessary that the guiding or directing of the
same be under the control of the first or second rider, and any suitable guiding
devices may be used for this purpose.
In some cases, if found desirable, I may provide at one or both ends of the train
of wheels so united two smaller wheels parallel with each other, and at such a
distance apart that the vehicle will stand upright when no one is upon it. These
parallel wheels will be small, and will not cause a great amount of friction in the
running of the vehicle.
In some cases I may connect the cranks of two or more of the wheels of the set
by means of a connecting rod in such a manner that a person sitting between the
wheels may also aid in propelling the vehicle.
Another method of constructing a vehicle according to this Invention is as follows,
that is to say, I place two wheels of suitable dimensions parallel to each other and
within a frame of metal or other material; each of these wheels is provided with a
crank or cranks, so that it can be propelled by the person sitting above the same
upon a saddle or seat suitably located over the said wheel. I prefer to place this
saddle upon an arm or arms projecting upwards from the frame within which the
wheel revolves.
The two parallel wheels may be placed at any suitable distance apart, and in some
instances I propose to provide seats within the space between the said wheels to
accommodate persons riding as passengera and not assisting in propelling the vehicle.
I connect two of such sets of parallel wheels, and the other parts combined there-
with, with another similar set, and to the end of the frame of the front set I attach
a lever which projects inwards between the wheels of the second set in such a
manner that the vehicle may be guided by one or more of the occupants of the second
set, either by cords or chains passing from the end of this lever to a grooved wheel
or disc below the cross bars above the wheels, or by a handle at the end of the lever,
or in any other desirable manner.
"
It will be understood that any number of these sets of parallel wheels with frame
and seats may be coupled together behind each other, so as to form a connected
train of such vehicles to accommodate any number of persons, part of whom may
assist in propelling the train and part occupy seats simply as passengers, or so that
all the occupants may take part in the work of propelling.
In some cases I may use three wheels instead of two as above described, placing
the third wheel a little in advance of or behind the other two, and equidistant from
each of the latter.
I may also construct my said improved vehicle to be worked entirely by the
lands of the occupants instead of by the feet or feet and hands jointly.
If desirable the axles of the wheels may extend to the centre of the vehicle and
have a bearing there, and a crank or cranks may be provided on this axle, so that
the persons sitting between the wheels may assist in propelling the vehicle.
Each of the driving wheels may be fitted with a brake to be operated by the
person propelling the same wheel, or I may have continuous brakes to be operated
by one person.