Improvements in Velocipedes.
Year: 1890

page_text: Improvements in Velocipedes.
I, DANIEL HERBERT SMITH, Dentist, of 216 Walnut Street, in the City of Holyoke
and State of Massachusetts, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of
my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN VELOCIPEDES," and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My invention relates to velocipedes, and particularly to that class of velocipedes in
which the steering wheel is located in front, and in which the propelling power is
applied to the rear wheel or wheels.
It is a well known objection to such machines that, by reason of uneven ground,
crumbly or sandy surface, or the uneven balancing of the rider upon the seat, the
steering wheel is liable to be deflected to the right or left of a straight line, thereby
requiring the rider to constantly maintain a firin hold upon the handle-bar, and
detracting greatly from the safety and enjoyment of the user of such machines.
Springs and various other devices have been employed with a view to overcoming
such tendency of the steering wheel, but such devices have not only failed to secure the
desired result but have in most instances formed an unsightly and undesirable adjunct
to the machine. In all of them, so far as I am aware, it has been possible for the
steering wheel to be diverted froin a straight line by any of the causes mentioned, when
the machine is in motion, the devices employed being designed to overcome this
tendency as much as possible.
It is the object of iny invention to provide velocipedes of the class mentioned with
means for absolutely preventing the deflection of the steering wheel from a straight
line, while the machine is in motion in a forward direction, by any other means than
the handle-bar, and for immediately returning said wheel to its normal position after
being turned to the right or left by means of the handle-bar, as soon as the hold of the
rider upon the handle-bar is released.
To this end my invention consists in a velocipede in which the motive power is
applied to the rear wheel or wheels and in which the steering wheel is located in
front, the steering wheel of which is so connected to the frame of the machine
that in order to turn said wheel either to the right or the left of a straight line
a forward bodily movement must be imparted thereto in addition to its turning
movement.
My invention consists further in a velocipede having a steering wheel mounted upon
an axis the pivotal centre of which, as the wheel is turned either to the right or left of a
straight line, lies wholly outside of the plane of the wheel.
My invention consists further in a velocipede having its steering wheel connected to
the frame of the machine by means of two pivotal bearings located upon opposite sides
of the plane of movement of said wheel when the machine is progressing in a straight
line.
The invention consists, finally, in the construction and combination of parts herein-
after fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.
Inasmuch as the objections above noted to velocipedes having their steering
wheel located in front and having the power applied to their rear wheel or wheels
are particularly true of the well known "Safety" style of machines, I have berein
illustrated my invention in connection with one of said machines, and in the drawing,
in which like letters designate like parts in the several figures,
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a safety velocipede constructed according to my
invention.
Figure 2 is a view upon a larger scale, showing the steering post in cross-section,
and showing in plan viow the means devised by me for connecting said post to the back-
bone of the inachine.

page_text: Figure 3 is a vertical section through the backbone and a rear elevation of said
connecting means.
Figure 4 is a view in perspective, showing a slightly different arrangement of the
parts for connecting the steering post to the backbone.
Figure 5 is a cross-section taken upon line 5-5 of Figure 4.
Figure 6 is a cross-section taken upon line 6-6 of Figure 4.
Figure 7 is a detail view illustrating the preferred form of hinge joint.
Referring to the Figures 1, 2 and 3:
The letter a designates the steering wheel, the steering post, e the handle-bar,
d the backbone, e the rear or propelling wheel, f the saddle, and 7 the pedals, of a
well known form of velocipede.
In the adaptation of my invention to such machine, I rigidly secure to the back-
bone d, at the front end of the latter, a head-piece h, which as shown is rectangular in
shape, but which may be of any desired shape. Projecting laterally from said bead-
piece, at or near the top and bottom thereof respectively, are two arms ', which arms
are provided with tapped holes at their outer end to receive conically pointed screws .
The letter & designates a frame, which, as shown, is composed of two posts k¹² rigidly
connected together by two cross-bars k³, the post of which frame is provided with
conical depressions in its ends to receive the ends of the screws 2, whereby said frame
is adapted to swing about said screws as a center. The cross-bars are of such length
as to cause the posts ² to lie upon opposite sides of the central plane of the machine,
which term as herein used will be understood to mean the plane of movement of the
steering wheel when the machine is progressing in a straight line. Two arms b
project laterally from the steering post b, being rigidly secured thereto by means of
one or more bands encircling said post, or in any convenient manner, said arms being
provided with tapped holes at their outer end to receive conically pointed screws b³,
which enter conical depressions in the ends of post 42, thus enabling the steering post
to swing about said post as a center. I have shown the pointed screws and 2 simply
as one form of pivotal bearing having but slight friction and wear, and it will be
understood that ball bearings or other common form of bearings can be employed in
lieu thereof if desired.
It
It will be observed that the steering post is rigidly held from movement about
its own axis by the arms and that, while it is free to swing about the post k
as a center, it must, in so doing, have a forward movement in addition to its
turning movement. It will be observed also, that, while said post and the frame k
are free to swing in the opposite direction, about the screws 2 as a center, said post
must again have a forward movement in addition to its turning movement.
follows, therefore, that, while said compound forward and turning movement can be
readily imparted to said post and the steering wheel, by means of the handle-bar,
said wheel can never be turned either to the right or left when the machine is
moving forwardly, by any obstruction or unevenness, in the roadway or from any
other cause, since any resistance to its forward movement only serves to increase
the force with which it is held in its straight position. It follows, furthermore,
that should said post and wheel be turned either to the right or left of a straight
line, by means of the handle-bar, the resistance of the ground will, if the handle-
bar be released, immediately cause said wheel to return to its rearmost position
or one coinciding with the central plane of the machine. The construction
described, therefore, instead of merely tending to overcome the lateral divertion of the
steering wheel by causes other than a movement of the handle-bar, absolutely prevents
such divertion so long as the machine is propelled in a forward direction by
power applied to its rear wheel or wheels.
I prefer to curve the arms and the cross-bars k³ of frame k as shown in Figure 2,
to cause the two pivotal centers about which the steering wheel turns to lie upon
diametrically opposite sides of the steering post when the latter is in its normal
position, as I thereby gain a possible are of movement for said post about each of its
centers of substantially ninety degrees before the axis of the steering wheel is brought
to a position perpendicular to the axis of the rear wheel or wheels, but inasmuch as

page_text: the steering wheel is rarely turned in riding to a position of more than forty five
degrees from its normal position, such arrangement is not material.
It will be noted that while as stated, the steering wheel is prevented from
moving forwardly and laterally, so long as the machine is propelled forwardly by
a power applied to its rear wheel, unless positively so moved by the handle-bar,
said wheel can
move forwardly, swinging upon both of its centers, should the
machine be drawn forwardly by means of the handle-bar or the steering post as
is customary when the rider leads his machine without mounting, and for the
purpose of limiting such forward movement stops can be employed consisting of
lugs or projections on posts 12, and shoulders on the arms so located as
to permit the steering post to swing upon either center as far as is necessary or
desirable in the operation of the steering wheel when riding, and to prevent any
further pivotal movement thereof by being brought into contact with each other.
Or, if desired, any suitable form of latch can be employed to prevent any movement
of the steering wheel upon its centers when the machine is thus led by the handle-
bar or steering post, which, of course, it would be necessary to release when the rider
mounts the machine.
The means which I prefer to use, however, for securing this result are illustrated
in Figures 4 to 7 inclusive of the drawings, the same consisting of the two reversely
located, double hinges m and n connecting the steering post with the head at the,
front end of the backbone d, said head, in this instance, being shown as being tubular
in form, and the backbone as being composed of two parts instead of one. The
double hinges m and n are identical in form with that shown in Figures 2 and 3,
except that the cross-bars 3 are straight instead of curved. By referenco to
Figures 5 and 6 it will be observed that in the upper hinge m the arms and b',
on head and steering post b, project to the right and left respectively, while in
the lower hingen said arms project to the left and right respectively, or in other
words, the position of the two hinges are directly reversed. The action of said
reversed hinge connections is precisely the same as that shown in Figures 2 and 3,
so far as retaining the steering wheel in its straight position except when positively
turned to the right or left by means of the handle-bar, is concerned, and in
addition, they provent movement of said steering wheel away from the rear wheel
when the machine is drawn or pushed forwardly by means of the handle-bar, with
the rider dismounted, the action of one of the hinges in such case counteracting
the action of the other, by reason of their being reversed.
In Figure 7 I have shown one of the posts and have shown the screws h² in
section, in order to clearly illustrate the conical bearings formed thereby.
To obviate noise and jar of the parts when the steering wheel is turned to its
normal position after being diverted therefrom, I provide the cushions or buffers p,
preferably made from soft rubber and seated in sockets in the front and rear sides
of the cross-bars k³, in such position that one of the same will bear against the
head-piece and the other against the steering post, as shown in Figure 2. Said
buffers, however, can be otherwise formed and applied to secure the same result if
desired. I also prefer to provide the machine with adjusting devices by which the
means for connecting the steering wheel to the frame of the machine can be adjusted
to cause said wheel to register accurately with the central plane of the machine at
all times, when said wheel is in its normal position, and as herein shown said
devices consist of set screws passing through the cross-bars ³ and bearing against
said buffers p, see broken lines in Figure 2, by means of which said buffers can be
caused to project more or less beyond the surface of the bars. Any wearing away of
the buffers or of the pivotal centers about which the steering wheel turns, or any
slight bending of the frame k or arms from a blow or other cause, which would
tend to cause the steering wheel to stand in its normal position out of the true
alignment with the central plane of the machine, can be compensated for by
the adjustment of the buffers by ineans of said set screws to true up said wheel.
It is obvious, however, that the form of such adjusting devices, as well as those
of various other details of construction herein described, can be greatly varied

page_text: within the scope of my invention, the generic features of which have been fully set
forth.
The adaptation of my invention to other styles of velocipedes than that herein
illustrated, whether provided with two or more wheels, will be obvious to persons
skilled in the art from the foregoing description, and need not be more particularly
described herein.
By the use of the means herein described for connecting the steering wheel of
front-steering and rear driving machines to the frame of the machine, both the safety
and the comfort of the rider are greatly enhanced, since he need devote no attention
to the steering of the machine except when he desires to deviate from a straight line,
and a common cause of accident, to wit.:-unsteady movement of the steering wheel,
is entirely obviated.
As the parts are shown in Figure 2, if the handle-bar be turned to the left, the
steering post will swing upon the center 2 and the steering wheel will be given a
compound forward and curvilinear movement to the left, and if said handle-bar be
moved to the right, said post will swing upon the center and the wheel will be
given a similar movement to the right. The leverage afforded by the handle-bar
enables such steering movements thereof to be made without any appreciable
increase of effort over that required in the steering of such machines as heretofore
constructed.
Having now particularly described 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. A rear-driving and front-steering velocipede having its steering wheel connected
to its frame by means of two pivotal bearings located upon opposite sides of the plane
of movement of said wheel when the machine is progressing upon a straight line, sub-
stantially as described and for the purpose set forth.
2. A rear-driving and front-steering velocipede having its steering post rigidly
held against movement about its own axis, and having said post connected to the
frame of the machine by means of two pivotal bearings located upon opposite
sides of the central plane of the machine, substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
3. A velocipede having means for applying power to its rear wheel or wheels and
having its steering wheel located in front, said steering wheel being connected to the
frame of the machine by means of a double hinge-joint comprising two pivotal centers
located upon opposite sides of the central plane of the machine, substantially as
described, whereby said wheel in turning from a straight line is given a forward as
well as a curvilinear movement.
4. A rear-driving and front-steering velocipede having its steering post connected
to the frame of the machine by means of an intermediate part which is pivotally
secured at one end to said post and similarly connected to the frame at its opposite
end, said pivotal points being located upon opposite sides of the central plane of the
machine, substantially as and for the purpose described.
5. A rear-driving and front-steering velocipede having one or more arms projecting
laterally from its frame, at the front end of the latter, and having one or more arms
projecting from its steering post in a direction opposite to that in which the arm or
arms on the frame extend; and an intermediate part pivotally connected at its opposite
ends to said arms, substantially as and for the purpose described.
6. A velocipede having its steering post connected to its frame by means of a
swinging frame in such manner that said post swings upon said frame when turning
in one direction, and swings with said frame about an independent center when
turning in the opposite direction, and having stops to limit the swinging movement of
said post in both directions, substantially as set forth.
7. A velocipede having its steering post connected to its frame by means of a
swinging frame by which said post is caused to turn upon two independent centers in
diverting the machine to the right and left of a straight line, and adjusting devices

page_text: for regulating the normal position of said post relatively to said centers, substantially
as described.
8. The velocipede herein described having rigidly secured to its backbone d the
head-piece h provided with the laterally extending arms h, the steering post b pro-
vided with the laterally extending arms b', and frame k pivotally connected at its
opposite ends to said arms respectively, substantially as and for the purpose
described.
9. In a velocipede the combination with backbone d and steering post band
arms projecting from the backbone and post upon opposite sides of the central
plane of the machine, of frame k pivotally connected at its opposite ends with said
arms respectively, and means, as the buffers and set screws shown and described, for
cushioning said frame with respect to the steering post and the backbone, and for
adjusting the normal position of said post relatively to the two ends of said frame,
substantially as set forth.
b
10. In a velocipede the combination with backbone d of headpiece h secured thereto,
said head-piece having the arms provided at their outer ends with tapped holes and
conically pointed screws 2 adapted to said holes, steering post having the arms &¹
rigidly secured thereto, said arms also being provided with tapped holes and conically
pointed screws 62 adapted thereto, and frame k, composed of posts k¹ k² and cross-
bars 3, said posts being provided with conical depressions in their onds to receive said
screws, said arms and cross-bars being curved substantially as shown to
cause the posts kk to lio upon opposite sides of the steering post, when the latter is
in its normal position, substantially as set forth.
11. In a velocipede, the combination with the frame provided with the arms and
the steering post provided with the arms &, of frame k composed of posts k¹² rigidly
connected together and pivotally connected respectively to said arms ¹³, and stops,
as lugs on said posts and shoulders on said arms, to limit the pivotal movement of said
parts in one direction, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
12. In a velocipede, the combination with the backbone and steering post thereof
of two double hinge connections connecting the latter with the former, said connections
being arranged in reverse positions substantially as described, whereby bodily move-
ment of the steering wheel away from the rear wheel or wheels, in a forward direction
is prevented.
13. In a velocipede, the combination with the backbone d and steering post 6 of the
reversely located double hinges m and n connecting the latter to the former sub-
stantially as set forth.
ليمن
1
1 2000
DANIEL HERBERT SMITH.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.