Improvements in Brakes for Bicycles and like Vehicles.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Feb., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 10th Aug., 1897--Accepted, 2nd Oct., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Brakes for Bicycles and like Vehicles.
J
A communication from OSCAR DAVIS WOODBURY, Machinist and JOHN HENRY
WOODWARD, Machinist, both of No. 319 Troup Street, in the City of
Rochester, in the County of Monroe and State of New York, United States of
America, and EDWARD PETERS WRIGHT, Merchant, of 594 West Avenue, in
said City, County and State.
I, PHILIP MIDDLETON JUSTICE, Chartered Patent Agent, of 55 and 56 Chancery
Lane, London, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
-
This invention is applied to the crank shaft of the ordinary safety bicycle, or
of a like vehicle. The usual cranks are provided with pedals as usual.
The crank shaft near one end, is provided with a flange which may serve as
the abutment for a ball race; and to this flange is fastened a circular plate by
means of pins or rivets. I prefer to rabbet the flange and the plate together.
Near the edge of the plate are pivoted pawls by means of pins or screws, stops,
such as pins, prevent the pawls from being thrown outward too far from the crank
shaft. A suitable spring fastened upon the plate normally presses the pawl
outward against the stop pin. A plate substantially of the same outside diameter
as the plate just mentioned, is slipped upon the outer end of the crank axle and is
fastened thereto, as, for instance, by a cotter pin, as usual, fastening the crank
to the crank axle; and the plate is rigidly connected to the crank axle by pins,
rivets or screws passing through the plate and into or through the expanded end
of the crank.
A sprocket wheel is provided to engage and operate the usual sprocket chain.
This sprocket wheel is not connected to the crank axle except as hereinafter
described; but it has a flange extending inward from the rim thereof and between
the outer portions of the plates. Just within the inner edge of the flange pass a
series of bolts through the plates, whereby these plates may be clamped against
the flange. Between the plate and the flange is a ring of suitable material, such
as raw-hide, and between the plate and the flange is another ring of like material.
The bolts are provided with lock nuts so that upon screwing the bolts into threads
in the plate, the raw-hide rings are clamped against the flange of the sprocket
wheel; the lock nuts will then serve to fix the position of the bolts so that the
saine are not apt to become loose.
Upon the rim of the sprocket wheel are a series of lugs or pins which serve as
abutments for the bolts. When the crank axle is revolving in one direction, the
pawls being thrown out by the springs, engage against the lugs or pins and the
revolution of the crank axle forces the sprocket wheel to revolve with it, but if
the crank axle is stopped and the sprocket wheel, driven by the still moving
driving wheel, through the rear sprocket wheel and the sprocket chain, continues
its motion in the same direction, the lugs or pins pass the pawls by pressing them

page_text: back against the operation of their respective springs and the sprocket wheel is
free to turn against friction, while the crank axle remains stationary.
A modification shows only one plate connected with the crank axle, and the
other plate is fastened to the first mentioned plate by bolts, and is without other
attachment to the crank axle or crank hub. The sprocket wheel with its flange,
is clamped, as in the former form, between the two plates and is provided with
the same interposed rings.
In checking or stopping a moving body, it is necessary to overcome its momen-
tum and in most mechanisms brakes for so stopping or checking moving machines
operate by friction, so in my device, if the crank axle is stopped or checked, the
momentum (which has as elements the weight of the rider and of the bicycle and
the speed at which the same are moving), is overcome by the friction of the rings
against the flange. With a light rider, a certain amount of friction will be
required to check or stop the machine and with a heavier rider a greater amount
of friction will be necessary; hence the bolt is adjusted to cause a variable amount
of clamping or friction, which is adjusted to the weight of the rider and of the
machine and this is to be determined by practical test in each case. The bolt,
however, should in all cases be screwed up so tight that when the rider is travelling
at high speed, he may still be able, by throwing his entire weight upon the pedals,
to stop the revolution of the crank axle and permit the sprocket wheel to revolve
against the braking friction. As the speed becomes slower, it will be possible
for the rider not only to back pedal, but even to reverse the pedaling of his
machine and to increase the braking effect to the greatest extent. The braking
effect occurs whenever the wheel or the axle has in any degree a speed of revolu-
tion relatively to the other less than the same, as when one moves more slowly
than the other, or when one is stationary or when the two have opposite rotations.
Dated the 8th February 1897.
PHILIP M. JUSTICE.
Improvements in Brakes for Bicycles and like Vehicles.
A communication from OSCAR DAVIS WOODBURY, Machinist and JOHN HENRY
WOODWARD, Machinist, both of No. 319 Troup Street, in the City of
Rochester, in the County of Monroe and State of New York, United States of
America, and EDWARD PETERS WRIGHT, Merchant, of 594 West Avenue, in
said City, County and State.
I, PHILIP MIDDLETON JUSTICE, Chartered Patent Agent, of 55 and 56 Chancery
Lane, London, in the County of Middlesex, 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:-
In the drawings accompanying this specification:-
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of an ordinary safety bicycle having my
brake applied thereto;
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the inner side of one of my brake devices;
Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and
Fig. 4 shows a section of a modification of my device.
In the drawings A is the crank shaft. A¹ A³ are the cranks provided with
pedals as usual. The crank shaft A, near one end, is provided with the flange a
which may serve as the abutment for a ball race a¹; and to this flange is fastened
a circular plate B, as by means of the pins or rivets 6. As shown in the drawings,
I prefer to rabbet the flange a and the plate B together. Near the edge of the

page_text: plate B are pawls B₁ pivoted on pins or screws 41, stops, such as the pins 62,
preventing the pawls from being thrown outward too far from the crank shaft A.
A suitable spring B2 fastened upon the plate B normally presses the pawl outward
against the stop pin b². A plate C, substantially of the same outside diameter as
the plate B, is slipped upon the outer end of the crank axle A and is fastened
thereto, as, for instance, in the manner shown in Fig. 3, in which A¹ is the crank,
a is a cotter pin as usual, fastening the crank to the crank axle A; and the
plate C is rigidly connected to the crank axle A by the pins, rivets or screws c
passing through the plate and into or through the expanded end of the crank A¹.
D is a sprocket wheel adapted to engage and operate the usual sprocket chain E.
This sprocket wheel is not connected to the crank axle A except as hereinafter
described; but it has a flange d extending inward from the rim thereof and
between the outer portions of the plates B and C. Just within the inner edge of
the flange d pass a series of bolts F through the plates B and C, whereby these
plates may be clamped against the flange d. Between the plate B and the
flange is a ring G of suitable material, such as raw-hide, and between the
plate C and the flange d is another ring G of like material. The bolts F are
provided with lock nuts f so that upon screwing the bolts into threads in the
plate B, the raw-hide rings G and G¹ are clamped against the flange d of the
sprocket wheel D; the lock nuts will then serve to fix the position of the bolts so
that the same are not apt to become loose.
Upon the rim of the sprocket wheel D are a series of lugs or pins D¹ which
serve as abutments for the pawls B. When the crank axle is revolving in the
direction of the arrow in Fig. 2, the pawls B¹ being thrown out by the springs B³,
engage against the lugs or pins D₁ and the revolution of the crank axle forces
the sprocket wheel to revolve with it, but if the crank axle is stopped and the
sprocket wheel, driven by the still moving wheel H, through the rear sprocket
wheel H and the sprocket chain E, continues its motion in the direction indicated
by said arrow, the lugs or pins D¹ pass the pawls B₁ by pressing them back against
the operation of their respective springs and the sprocket wheel is free to turn
against friction, while the crank axle remains stationary.
In the modification shown in Fig. 4, only one plate B is connected with the
crank axle, and the other plate C is fastened to the plate B by the bolts F, and
is without other attachment to the crank axle or crank hub. The sprocket
wheel D with its flange d, is clamped, as in the former form, between the plates B
and C and is provided with the same interposed rings G and G¹.
The sprocket wheel D is thus supported on the axle A by intermediate devices
comprising, in the forms shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the plates B and C and the
flange d, and these elements are friction devices which constantly connect the
axle and the wheel whereby the wheel is capable of complete revolution with
reference to the axle but under constant friction.
In Fig. 4, the sprocket wheel 1) is supported on the axle and the wheel and axle
are constantly connected by friction devices in an exactly equivalent manner.
In checking or stopping a moving body, it is necessary to overcome its momen-
tum and in most mechanisms brakes for so stopping or checking moving machines
operate by friction, so in my device, if the crank axle is stopped or checked, the
momentum (which has as elements the weight of the rider and of the bicycle and
the speed at which the same are moving), is overcome by the friction of the
rings G against the flange d. With a light rider, a certain amount of friction
will be required to check or stop the machine and with a heavier rider a greater
amount of friction will be necessary; hence the bolt F is adjusted to cause a
variable amount of clamping or friction, which is adjusted to the weight of the
rider and of the machine and this is to be determined by practical test in each
case. The bolt, however, should in all cases be screwed up so tight that when the
rider is travelling at high speed, he may still be able, by throwing his entire
weight upon the pedals, to stop the revolution of the crank axle and permit the
sprocket wheel to revolve against the braking friction. As the speed becomes

page_text: slower, it will be possible for the rider not only to back pedal, but even to reverse
the pedaling of his machine and to increase the braking effect to the greatest
extent. The braking effect occurs whenever the wheel or the axle has in any
degree a speed of revolution relatively to the other less than the same, as when
one moves more slowly than the other, or when one is stationary or when the two
have opposite rotations.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is ;-
1. The combination of a revoluble axle, a plate attached thereto, a wheel 1
supported on said plate, clamping devices constantly connected to said plate
whereby said wheel is constantly clamped thereto, but is capable of complete
revolution under constant friction with reference to said plate, means for posi-
tively connecting said plate and wheel to cause the wheel and plate to revolve
together in one direction whereby the braking effect occurs when the axle is
stationary or revolves more slowly than the wheel or revolves oppositely to the
wheel.
2. The combination of a revoluble driving axle, a circular plate B attached to
said axle, a second plate C also attached to said axle, a sprocket wheel D having
a flanged between the peripheral portions of said plates, means for frictionally 2
clamping the plates B and C upon the flange d of the wheel D and a pawl and
ratchet connection between the wheel and said plates for driving the wheel in
one direction by said plates.
3. The combination of a revoluble driving axle, a circular plate B attached to
said axle, a second plate C also attached to said axle, a sprocket wheel D having 2
a flanged between the peripheral portions of said plates, means for frictionally
clamping the plates B and C upon the flange d of the wheel D, lugs or pins Di
on the sprocket wheel and pawls B' upon one of the plates whereby the wheel is
driven by the plates in one direction, and a braking effect occurs when the plates
are held stationary or revolve more slowly than the wheel or revolve oppositely
to the wheel.
4. The combination of a revoluble driving axle, a circular plate B attached to
said axle, a second plate C also attached to said axle, a sprocket wheel D having
a flange between the outer portions of said plates, a friction ring G and G¹ on
either side of the flange d and between the same and the plates B and C, means 3
for frictionally clamping the plates B and C upon the flange d and a pawl and
ratchet mechanism for driving the wheel by the plates in one direction..
5. The combination of a revoluble axle, a circular plate B attached to said axle,
a. second plate C also attached to said axle, a sprocket wheel D having a flange d
between the outer portions of said plates, a friction ring G and G¹ on either side 4
of the flange d and between the same and the plates B and C, means for friction-
ally clamping the plates B and C upon the flange d, lugs or pins D¹ on the sprocket
wheel and pawls 1¹ upon one of the plates for driving the wheel by the plates
in one direction, whereby the braking effect occurs when the axle is stationary
or revolves more slowly than the wheel or revolves oppositely to the wheel.
4
6. The combination of a driving axle, a circular plate B attached thereto, a
second plate C also attached thereto, a sprocket wheel D having a flange d
between the outer portions of said plates, a friction ring G and G₁ on each side
of the flange and between the same and one of the plates, means for adjustably
clamping said plates together to increase or reduce the friction upon the flange d, 5
a pawl and ratchet mechanism for driving the wheel in one direction by the plates,
whereby a braking effect occurs when the axle is stationary or revolves more
slowly than the wheel or revolves oppositely to the wheel.
7. The combination of a driving axle, a circular plate B attached thereto, a
second plate C also attached thereto, a sprocket wheel D having a- flange d 5
between the outer portions of said plates, a friction ring G and G₁ on each side

page_text: of the flange and between the same and one of the plates, means for adjustably
clamping said plates together to increase or reduce the friction upon the flange d,
pawls B upon one of said plates and pins or lugs 1 upon the sprocket wheel for
driving the wheel by the plate in one direction, whereby a braking effect occurs
when the axle is stationary or revolves more slowly than the wheel or revolves
oppositely to the wheel.
S. The combination of the mechanisms herein described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.