AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN TRICYCLES
Year: 1885

page_text: I WILLIAM STARLEY of the firm of Starley Brothers of Saint John's Works
Fleet Street Coventry in the County of Warwick Manufacturers ilo hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN
TRICYCLES to be as follows:-
33
My invention consists of the construction and combination of parts herein after
described for readily adjusting the distance of the pedals from the backbone of
the tricycle to suit the height of the rider.
I use a backbone and head nearly similar to those of an ordinary bicycle the
part of the head below the backbone supporting the shaft of the driving or
travelling wheels. The lower end of the head where it joins the shaft of the
tricycle is forked and between the branches of the fork the driving chain wheel on
the said shaft is situated. The pedal shaft and the lower chain wheel on the said
pedal shaft are supported by a strong vertical depending bracket or arm jointed
by a fork near its upper end to the shaft of the driving or travelling wheels so
that the said bracket is capable of a swivelling motion or motion in a vertical
plane. The lower end of the said swivelling bracket or arm carries a fork
between the branches of which the lower driving chain wheel works the other
driving wheel working between the forked upper end of the bracket. The jointed
or swivelling bracket or arm is prolonged upwards above its joint and the extreme
upper end carries a screw pin for adjusting and fixing the position of the said
bracket or arm. This screw pin passes through a hole in the head of the tricycle
a short distance above the driving shaft and by means of lock nuts on either side
the head the position of the said bracket may be fixed. By drawing the screw pin
more or less through the head of the tricycle the bracket swivels or turns on its
centre and its lower end supporting the pedal axis is more or less raised and the
distance of the pedals from the seat of the rider on the backbone can in this way
be adjusted with the greatest nicety to suit the height of the rider.

page_text: 1
I WILLIAM STARLEY of the firm of Starley Brothers of Saint John's Works,
Fleet Street, Coventry in the County of Warwick Manufacturers do hereby declare
the nature of my Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN
TRICYCLES and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
"
My invention consists of the construction and combination of parts herein after
described for readily adjusting the distance of the pedals from the backbone of the
tricycle to suit the height of the rider.
I use a backbone and head nearly similar to those of an ordinary bicycle the
part of the head below the back bone supporting the shaft of the driving or
travelling wheels. The lower end of the head where it joins the shaft of the
tricycle is forked and between the branches of the fork the driving chain wheel on
the said shaft is situated. The pedal shaft and the lower chain wheel on the said
pedal shaft are supported by a strong vertical depending bracket or arm jointed by
a fork near its upper end to the shaft of the driving or travelling wheels so that
the said bracket is capable of a swivelling motion or motion in a vertical plane. The
lower end of the said swivelling bracket or arm carries a fork between the
branches of which the lower driving chain wheel works, the other driving wheel
working between the forked upper end of the bracket. The jointed or swivelling
bracket or arm is prolonged upwards above its joint and the extreme upper end
carries a screw pin for adjusting and fixing the position of the said bracket or arm.
This screw pin passes through a hole in the head of the tricycle a short distance
above the driving shaft and by means of lock nuts on either side the head the
position of the said bracket may be fixed. By drawing the screw pin more or less
through the head of the tricycle the bracket swivels or turns on its centre and its
lower end supporting the pedal axis is more or less raised and the distance of the
pedals from the seat of the rider on the backbone can in this way be adjusted with
the greatest nicety to suit the height of the rider.
Or the screw pin on the prolonged part of the swivelling bracket may work in
a curved slot in an arm fixed to the tricycle head,
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents in side elevation, with one
of the travelling wheels removed, a tricycle containing my improvements; Figure 2
represents in sido elevation and Figure 3. in front elevation the pedal adjusting
mechanism of the tricycle drawn to a larger scale.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of the
Drawings.
a is the backbone of the tricycle and b is the head of the same the said backbone
carrying the saddle cas usual. To the lower end of the head b the strong
depending bracket or arm d is jointed at d the said bracket or arm & being
capable of a swivelling motion or a motion in a vertical plane upon the joint 2.
At the top of and made in one piece with the said swivelling bracket d is a fork e
the branches of which support the shaft f on the ends of which shaft the travelling
wheels of the tricycle turn in the usual way. One only marked g of the travelling
wheels is represented in Figure 1 the other travelling wheel being omitted in order
the better to exhibit the pedal adjusting mechanism. The branches of the fork e are

page_text: furnished with straps or clips for securing the said fork to bearings on the shaft f
(see Figure 2); h is the driving chain wheel situated between the branches of
the fork the said chain wheel h being fixed to the shaft f which shaft also carries
the brake drum x. The lower end of the swivelling bracket or arm d has connected
to it a fork i between the branches of which the lower driving chain wheel k works
the said chain wheel being fixed on the pedal shaft carrying the pedala m, m.
The driving chain wheel h fixed on the shaft of the travelling wheels is thus
situated at the upper end of the swivelling bracket d and the pedal chain wheel k
on the lower end of the said swivelling bracket; p is the upward prolongation or
arm of the swivelling bracket d the upper end of which prolongation or arın p
carries a fixed screwed pin or stud n which works in the curved slot q in the arm r
on the head b of the tricycle the said pin or stud n being fixed in the slot q by
the screw nut 8.
By moving the pin or stud n in the curved slot q the bracket d swivels on the
centre and the lower end supporting the pedal shaft can be raised or lowered
so as to diminish or increase the vertical distance of the pedals m, m from the
seat part of the backbone a and thereby adjust their position to suit riders of
different height or length of leg. As the bracket & swivels on the centre d' the
upper fork e makes a slight angular motion on the shaft f of the travelling wheels
the arms p and r and head 6 slightly changing their positions with the fork e and
bracket d. In the drawing the pin or stud n on the arm p is represented adjusted
at the end of the slot most distant from the head 6 and the pedal shaft lis
situated at its highest position. By relaxing the screw nuts and moving the pin
or stud n to the opposite end of the slot q the bracket d and the parts e, p, r, b, l
take the positions indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2 and the pedal shaft lis
situated at its lowest position. By adjusting the screwed pin or stud n in an
intermediate position in the slot q and driving home the screw nut s the pedal
shaft is fixed at a corresponding intermediate height with respect to the seat part
of the backbone. In this way the vertical height of the pedal shaft and pedals
can be readily adjusted with great nicety to suit the height of the rider.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my inven-
tion and the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
The combination in a tricycle provided with a backbone and head nearly similar
to those of an ordinary bicycle, of the mechanism described and represented in the
accompanying Drawings for adjusting the vertical distance of the pedal shaft and
pedals from the seat part of the backbone the said mechanism consisting essentially
of a swivelling depending bracket jointed to the bottom of the head of the tricycle,
the driving chain wheel on the shaft of the travelling wheels being situated between
the branches of a fork at the upper end of the swivelling bracket and the driving
chain wheel on the pedal shaft being situated between the brauches of a fork at
the lower end of the said swivelling bracket, the adjustment of the swivelling
bracket and consequently the vertical height of the pedal shaft and pedals being
effected and the several parts being arranged substantially as described and
illustrated.
Dated this Twenty first duT of January 1000