Year: 1886

page_text: We THOMAS WATLING SHORT and WILLIAM JAMES MASON, trading as Short and
Mason at 40 Hatton Garden in the County of Middlesex, Scientific Instrument
Makers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
-
Our Invention relates to a cyclometer or instrument for ascertaining the distance
travelled by wheeled vehicles, particularly bicycles and tricycles, and the Invention
has for its object to provide an instrument whereby the actual distance travelled will
be indicated at a glance in miles and yards or other units of measurement without any
computation whatever and which instrument shall be easily adjustable to suit wheels
of different diameter and readily transferable from one machine to another. The
instrument rotates with the wheel hub or axle and is provided with two (or more)
hands upon concentric arbors and revolving over concentric circles graduated
respectively to represent miles and yards (or other units) the hands being actuated
through a train of wheels and pinions having upon the first arbor a finely cut ratchet
wheel which receives a step by step motion by the oscillation of a pendulum lever
carrying a spring pawl that engages with a ratchet this lever being weighted and
caused to oscillate within certain limits by the revolution of the instrument. The
extent of motion of the lever and ratchet propelment may be varied as required in
order to adjust the instrument to suit the diameter of the wheel to which it is applied
by means of an adjustable screw-stop. By means of this adjustment the instrument
may be regulated for a particular vehicle by actual and repeated trials over a known
distance until it indicates correctly. The hands fit spring tight on their respective
arbors so that they may be set to zero each time a measurement is to be taken in
order that the distance may be indicated without the necessity of computation and
without reference to any previous distance travelled.
T. W. SHORT.

page_text: We THOMAS WATLING SHORT, and WILLIAM JAMES MASON, trading as Short and
Mason, at 40 Hatton Garden, in the County of Middlesex, Scientific Instrument
Makers, 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:
Our Invention relates to a cyclometer or instrument for ascertaining the distance
travelled by wheeled vehicles, particularly bicycles and tricycles, and the invention
has for its object to provide an instrument whereby the actual distance travelled will
be indicated at a glance in miles and yards or other units of measurement without any
computation whatever, and which instrument shall be easily adjustable to suit wheels
of different diameter and readily transferable from one machine to another. The
instrument rotates with the wheel-hub or axle and is provided with two (or more)
hands upon concentric arbors, and revolving over concentric circles graduated
respectively to represent miles and yards (or other units) the hands being actuated
through a train of wheels and pinions, having upon the first arbor a finely cut ratchet
wheel which receives a step by step motion by the oscillation of a pendulum lever
carrying a spring pawl that engages with a ratchet, this lever being weighted and
caused to oscillate within certain limits by the revolution of the instrument. The
extent of motion of the lever and ratchet propelment may be varied as required in
order to adjust the instrument to suit the diameter of the wheel to which it is applied
by means of an adjustable screw-stop. By means of this adjustment the instrument
may be regulated for a particular vehicle by actual and repeated trials over a known
distance until it indicates correctly. The hands fit friction tight on their respective
arbors so that they may be set to zero each time a measurement is to be taken in
order that the distance may be indicated without the necessity for computation and
without reference to any previous distance travelled.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this speci-
fication, wherein figure 1 represents an edge view and figure 2 a face view or plan of
the instrument as fixed upon the wheel-hub. Figures 3 and 4 are sections of the
instrument drawn to a larger scale than the other views, and taken on lines 3-3
and 4-4 respectively. Figures 5 and 6 are sections taken on lines 5-5 and 6-6
respectively, and drawn to the same scale as figure 1, the directions in which the
various sections are viewed being indicated by the arrows.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
A is the pendulum or weighted lever pivoted loosely at a. It plays between two
pins 6 fixed upon a plate or arm B, working loosely on the pivot c of the ratchet
wheel C, the movement of the plate B, and consequently of the lever A, being limited
by fixed stops d and D, the latter being adjustable. The lever A is permitted by the
pins to have a certain amount of motion independently of the plate B, that is to say,
it is to a certain extent quite free from B, and this for the purpose of rendering the
latter quite independent of any slight vibrations or oscillations of A due to the jolting
of the cycle and which if there were a rigid connection between A and B would have
the effect of increasing the record of the cyclometer beyond that due to the mere
revolution of the wheel, to an extent varying according to the roughness of the road
aad the speed of travelling.
The weight of the pendulum lever has a leather pad a* on each face, which are
permitted by the looseness of the pivot at a to lightly touch the frame and casing of

page_text: the instrument so as to assist in checking such minor vibrations without impeding the
full oscillation of the weighted lever.
This partial independence of A and B also enables A to acquire sufficient momentum
to overcome the friction of the ratchet and other gear before acting thereon, the lever
and plate moving together, as one, after the lever has struck one of the pins b until
the motion is arrested by the stop. The plate B carries a spring pawl 6* which
engages with, and propels the ratchet wheel C, a spring detent c¹, which also engages
with the wheel, preventing any return motion of the latter. Upon the arbor of the
ratchet wheel is a pinion I which gears with a wheel 2, in one with a pinion 3, which
gears with a wheel e on the arbor of the hand E indicating yards or other units of
distance.
Upon the arbor of this wheel is a pinion 4 which gears with a wheel 5 having a
pinion 6 on its arbor which gears with a wheelf having a tubular arbor or cannon, on
which is fixed the hand F, indicating miles or other multiples of the unit of distance.
The train of wheels and pinions is mounted between a pair of plates g, h, the former
of which, carries a suitably graduated dial . The pendulum lever A, ratchet plate B,
and ratchet wheel C, are mounted on a bridge k fixed to plate h.
The whole mechanism is contained within a suitable case enclosed at front by a
glass cover secured by bayonet or other fastenings, so as to be readily removable for
the purpose of setting the hands which, as before mentioned, are fitted friction tight
on their respective spindles. The adjustable screw-stop D) is finely threaded and
screws through a threaded socket in the side of the case and is provided with a
jam nut dx.
The case is fixed to the wheel hub by means of clamps L and wing nuts, so as
to revolve therewith, the axis of the instrument being perpendicular to the axis of the
wheel hub, so that during each revolution the weight of lever A will rest by its
leather pads alternately on the plate hand on the back of the casing so that vibration
of the lever is checked during the periods of rest between the sudden falls or
oscillations of said lever.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that we are aware of
Harlis patent No. 3346 of 1885 and do not claim as of our Invention anything
covered thereby, but what we claim is ;
1. A cyclometer, wherein the hand operating train of mechanism is actuated by the
combination of a weighted lever A, ratchet plate or arm B, and ratchet gear C, the
weighted lever being caused to oscillate by the revolution of the instrument the said
lever being capable of moving to a certain extent independently of the ratchet arm B
and carrying the latter with it only when it makes a full oscillation, as and for the
purpose specified.
2. A cyclometer, in which the train is actuated by weighted and ratchet levers,
combined and operating as described, and in which the combined motion of said
levers is limited by stops of which one is adjustable, substantially as and for the
purpose specified.
3. A cyclometer, in which the train is actuated by weighted and ratchet levers,
combined and operating as described, and in which the weighted lever is loosely
pivoted and is provided with pads, the cyclometer being fixed with its axis perpen-
dicular to that of the wheel so that the pads rest upon a fixed part of the instrument
during the periods of rest of such lever, as and for the purpose specified.
m II SHORT