Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 27th July, 1897-Accepted, 11th Sept., 1897
I, WILLIAM THOMAS WIIITEMAN of No. 7 Staple Inn in the County of Middlesex
Chartered Patent Agent 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 ie following statement:-
The object of this invention is an effective brake mechanism located within
the hub of a bicycle or other vehicle wheel that may be actuated by a slight
reverse movement of the means for propelling the vehicle.
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal central section of a wheel hub and the brake mechanism
therein. Fig. 2 is a cross section of the entire device on the line A-C of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line B-D of Fig. 1, parts, however, being not in
cross section and other parts being broken away. Fig. 4 is a detail of the axle in
place in the fork of a bicycle frame. Fig. 5 is a perspective of the actuating nut
and the part of the central sleeve that enters it.
Let 1 represent the hub of any vehicle wheel, that shown being a bicycle wheel
hub, and 2 the axle extending through said hub. 3 is a friction cone made of
hard rubber or any other suitable material, so mounted on the axle as to be
stationary therwith. In the form shown I square the axle to receive the friction
cone which is provided with a square central aperture. The friction cone should
preferably be so mounted as to be longitudinally adjustable on said axle. The
means for effecting such adjustment shown consists in placing threads on the axle
at each end of the cone.. I then place on the axle the nuts 4 and 5. By turning
the nuts one way or another an adjustment of the cone can be effected as only slight
adjustment is needed.
.
To engage said friction cone I provide a conical sleeve 6 placed within the hub
conc tric with the cone 3. This sleeve is so mounted within the hub that it will
rotat with the hub but not independent thereof, yet be longitudinally slidable
independent of the hub. This result is accomplished by providing one or more
grooves 7 in the interior or the end of the hub that contains the large end of the
conical sleeve 6, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2. The large end of said sleeve is also pro-
vided with one or more lugs or projecting surfaces 8 to enter the grooves 7 in the
hub. The dimensions of the hub and large end of the sleeve must be such that
said sleeve can slide longitudinally but the lugs or projections 8 cannot escape from
the grooves 7 in the hub when the parts are subjected to rotary strain.
The small end of the conical sleeve is provided with a coarse exterior thread »
and is carried in the nut 10 that has interior threads to engage the thread 9 on the
sleeve. Said nut 10 fits snugly within the hub so as to be capable of rotating
therein but otherwise having no play or longitudinal movement. In this manner
the sleeve 6 can be kept centered so that, when it is moved longitudinally toward

page_text: the friction cone, all parts of the inner surface of said sleeve will simultaneously
and equably engage the surface of the cone.
The longitudinal movement of the conical sleeve is caused by the rotation of the
nut 10, and said nut is rotated by means of the dog 11 that extends through a
circumferential slot 12 in the hub, as seen in Fig. 3. The lower end of said dog
penetrates a radial recess 22 in the nut 10, the recess being exactly the size of the
dog so that a snug fit is effected. The other end of the dog 11 extends into a
groove 13 in the inner surface of the sprocket wheel 14. The groove 13 is trans-
verse and preferably dovetailed so that when the dog 11 is put in place the sprocket
wheel can be slipped over the end of the hub and the dog. The number of dogs 11
may be one or more, two being shown. The length of the slot 12 should be greater
than the width of the dog 11 so that said dog can have a limited movement, as
shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3.
A forward rotation of the sprocket wheel 14 through the connection by the dog
with the nut 10 will cause said nut by its rotation to withdraw the conical sleeve 61
from engagement with the friction cone 3, as seen in Fig. 1. This is the position
of the parts when the brake is not in use. By a slight reverse movement of the
sprocket wheel in the direction shown in Fig. 3 by the arrow the sprocket wheel
will move the dog into the position shown in dotted lines in said figure and through
t partially rotate the nut 10 which in turn forces the sleeve 6 into engagement
with the cone 3. The parts will remain in any position placed until altered by
action on the pedal or other driving means. The effectiveness of the brake is
increased by the increase of force in reversing the movement of 'the sprocket wheel.
The result is a brake mechanism entirely within the hub that is actuated by a
reverse movement of the drive mechanism, which is a natural and often an un- 2
conscious movement when the rider discovers the need of applying the brake.
To hold the sprocket wheel steady and also to keep dust out of the mechanism.
within the hub that might enter through the grooves 13 in the interior of the
sprocket wheel, I provide a dish-shaped spring washer 15 that surrounds the hub
and bears with its outer edge against the sprocket wheel as seen in Fig. 1. It
is provided with a lug 23 that fits in a corresponding groove in the hub, as seen
in Fig. 3, to prevent the rotation of the washer. The washer is tightened bv. the
nut 16 that screws over the exterior threads on the end of the hub.
At each end of the hub I provide a ball bearing for the axle, of any desired
arrangement. However, I make the exterior diameter of the bearing cone 17;
less than the interior diameter of the small end of the sleeve 6. This is to enable
me to remove the axle and friction cone by merely removing the bearing at the end
of the hub containing the large end of the sleeve 6 and without removing the
bearing at the other end.
In view of the torsional strain brought upon the axle by this brake, I enlarge
the bearing thereof in the fork 18 of the bicycle frame by placing the washer 19
over the flattened portion 20 of the axle. Said washer is recessed or notched on
two opposite sides as seen in Fig. 1, so as to form a bearing surface or extension 21
over which the frame of the bicycle passes and is secured, as seen in Fig. 4. This
strengthens the attachment of the axle to the bicycle frame, whereby it can better
resist the torsional strain.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination of the hub of a bicycle or other vehicle wheel, an axle, a
brake mechanism within the hub, and means for actuating such brake mechanism.
2. The combination of the hub of a bicycle or other vehicle wheel, an axle, a
friction cone secured on the axle, a conical sleeve slidably mounted in the hub
concentric with the friction cone, and means for moving the sleeve into and out of
engagement with the friction cone.
3. The combination of a hub of a bicycle or other vehicle wheel, an axle, a friction

page_text: cone, means for adjustably securing it to the axle, a conical sleeve slidably mounted
in the hub concentric with the friction cone, and means for moving the sleeve
into and out of engagement with the friction cone.
4. The combination of a hub of a bicycle or other vehicle wheel, said hub having
an interior longitudinally extending recess, an axle, a friction cone secured on the
axle, a conical sleeve within the hub having a lug on its large end that can side
in said recess in the hub, and means for sliding the sleeve in said hub.
5. The combination of a hub of a bicycle or other vehicle wheel, an axle, a
brake mechanism within the hub comprising two members, one secured to the axle
and the other slidably mounted in the hub, a nut for actuating said sliding member,
and means for rotating said nut.
6. The combination of a hub with a circumferential slot in it, a sprocket wheel
on the hub, an axle, a brake mechanism within the hub, and connecting means
between the sprocket wheel and brake mechanism through the slot in the hub,
whereby the brake mechanism can be actuated by a reversal of the sprocket wheel.
7 The combination of a hub with a circumferential slot in it, a sprocket wheel
on the hub with an interior transverse groove, an axle, a friction cone secured on
the axle, a conical sleeve slidably mounted in the hub with exterior threads on
its smaller end, a radially recessed nut within the hub with interior threads to en-
gage the threads on the sleeve, and a dog that fits in the groove in the sprocket
wheel and recess in the nut and extends through the slot in the hub, the said slot
in the hub being large enough to permit a limited rotary movement of the sprocket
wheel on the hub.
8. The combination of a hub of a bicycle or other vehicle wheel, an axle therein,
a friction cone secured on the axle, a conical sleeve slidably mounted within the
hul so to te concentric with the friction cone, means for sliding said sleeve, a
ball bearing for the axle at each end of the hub, the bearing cone adjacent to the
small end of the conical sleeve having an exterior diameter less than the interior
diameter of the small end of said sleeve.
9. The combination of a slotted hub of a bicycle or other vehicle wheel, an
axle therein, a brake mechanism within said hub, a sprocket wheel mounted on
the hub with one or more transverse interior grooves therein, a dog fitting in said
groove and extending through the slot on the hub to engage and operate the brake
merianism, a dish-shaped spring washer around the hub with its outer edge en-
gaging the sprocket wheel, and a nut to force said washer towards the sprocket
wheel.
10. The combination of a hub for a bicycle or other vehicle wheel, an axle
extending through the hub flattened on two opposite sides near its end, a washer_on
such flatteneu portion of the axle with a central extension across its face, and a
bicycle or vehicle frame with a fork large enough to receive the extension on said
washer.