Improvements in Velocipedes and like Vehicles.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Apr., 1898-Accepted, 9th July, 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION..
Improvements in Velocipedes and like Vehicles.
I, GEORGE POPE, of Hartford, in the County of Hartford, and State of Con-
necticut, United States of America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: -
..My invention relates more particularly to velocipedes and like vehicles' in
which the driving mechanism includes bevel gearing as elements, and its object
is to provide means by which the adjustment of the bearings with reference to
the proper running contact of the gears may be more readily established and then
maintained when once. established in each vehicle.
To this end my invention consists in the combination of the frame having
crank shaft sockets, a removable casing which contains a rotary shaft and its
bearings and means for securing said casing in the socket; and it further con-
sists in details of such parts, and in their combination as hereinafter described
and more particularly pointed out in the claims.
Referring to the drawings:-
Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of part of a bicycle frame, a driving wheel
and the driving means.
"
. !
Figure 2 is a detail top or plan view of the driving means and connected parts,
with parts broken away to show construction.
Figure 3 is a detail view, drawn to an enlarged scale, of the crank bracket
seen in side elevation with parts broken away to show construction.
'af
Figure 4 is a detail view in horizontal section through the crank bracket.
Figure 5 is a detail view in cross section through said bracket.
Figure 6 is a detail side view of the bracket and casing with parts broken
away, these three figures being drawn to a still further enlarged scale.
In the accompanying drawings the letter a denotes the frame of a bicycle, 'so
far as it is shown, 6 the frame upright, c the upper rear forks, & the lower rear
forks, e the crank bracket and f the driving wheel.
1 i
.
The crank shaft g is provided with cranks and pedals, and a bevel gear his
located and secured in such manner as to turn with the crank shaft. This gear 'h
is preferably arranged near the outer end of the crank shaft at one end of the
crank bracket and faces inward, meshing with a bevel gear on the front end
of a connecting shaft i.
In the form of driving means shown, this connecting shaft is located in, and
extends through, the tubular side fork d, but the precise form or location of
this shaft is not material to the main feature of my invention, as the function
of such shaft is simply to transmit power from the crank shaft to the driving
wheel of the vehicle.

page_text: A bevel gear wheel is secured to the rear end of the connecting shaft and is
in mesh with a bevel gear f¹ on the hub of the driving wheel f.
The crank shaft is supported on ball bearings and an important feature of
my invention resides in locating the ball cases in a removable casing k which fits
closely in the open ended socket e¹ in the crank bracket e. This case k is secured
in place in the crank bracket e preferably by thinning the wall of the bracket or
cutting parallel slots therethrough, forming lugs e, e on opposite sides of the
thin place or slot and locating a clamping bolt in and extending between the
lugs so that a compressive force tending to reduce the diameter of the socket e¹
can be exerted on the parts. The case when located in the socket can thus be
securely held against accidental removal.
On the crank shaft, or on a sleeve m closely fitted thereon, cones m¹, m² are
provided and they respectively co-operate with the ball cases n, n¹ screwed into
threaded sockets in the ends of the casing k. Balls are located in the races
between the cones and cases and the crank shaft arranged and adjusted in the
casing to the approximate final position for the proper adjustment of the main
bevel gear with the gear ¹ on the connecting shaft before the casing k is placed
in the socket in the bracket. After the casing is introduced and before clamping
it in the socket the teeth of the main gear wheel hare engaged with those of
the bevel gear ¹, and the cranks turned until the proper running adjustment
of the two gears is found. The casing is then clamped, and can be afterwards
removed for any purpose without disturbing the perfect adjustment of the ball
bearings of the crank shaft.
In the form of construction in which the ball cases are secured directly to the
crank bracket they have to be disturbed in adjusting the bevel gears which lie
between the crank shaft and the connecting shaft, and it is difficult to determine
and properly locate any tightness of fit that may exist either between the
gears or in the crank shaft bearings. By the use of my improvement, however,
the crank shaft may be closely and accurately adjusted to secure the proper con-
tact between all parts of the bearing before the casing is put in place in the
socket. in the crank bracket, and this leaves the adjustment between the bevel
gears to be attained by a simple lengthwise movement of the casing within the
crank bracket. The clamping means described, which include the use of bolts
extending through lugs on opposite sides of a thinned or slitted portion of the
bracket, are easily accessible and readily operated by a wrench to move the nuts
on the threaded ends of the bolts in the ordinary manner.
The cranks or crank arms are secured to the crank shaft in any convenient
manner, although in the form herein illustrated, the crank shaft is partible at
about the middle, with the sections secured to the opposite cranks and with
means for holding engaging parts on the inner ends of the shaft in contact with
each other so as to effect the simultaneous rotation of the whole crank shaft
when one pedal is moved.
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. In combination in a vehicle having driving mechanism including bevel
gears, a tubular support, a removable casing closely fitting a socket in said
bracket, a crank shaft extending through the casing, bearings between the shaft
and the casing, a bevel gear borne on the crank shaft and meshing with a bevel
gear wheel on the connecting shaft of the driving mechanism, and means for
removably clamping the casing in a socket in the crank shaft bracket, all sub-
stantially as described.
2. In combination in a bicycle having driving mechanism including bevel
gears, a tubular support, a removable casing closely fitting a socket in said
bracket, a crank shaft extending through the casing, ball bearings between the
shaft and the casing, an inward facing bevel gear secured to the crank shaft near

page_text: one end and meshing with a bevel gear wheel on the connecting shaft of the
driving mechanism, and means for removably clamping the casing in the crank
shaft bracket, all substantially as described.
1000
GEORGE POPE,
Hartford, Conn., U.S.A.
D. Young & Co.,
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.