Improvements in or relating to Brakes for Cycles and other Vehicles.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Jan., 1899-Accepted, 25th Feb., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Brakes for Cycles and other Vehicles.
I, EDGARD DESIRE NICOLAS GEORIS, Lawyer, of Charleroi, in the Kingdom of
Belgium, 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:-
:-
The present invention refers to improvements in brakes for cycles and other
vehicles, which act on the hub, or on the spindle of the rear wheel of cycles and
the like, and applied through an arrangement of parts to be described, by the
pedals.
In brakes of this kind, the sprocket wheel or pinion is generally so arranged
as to increase from the hub under the action of the revolving wheel and the
stoppage of the pedals, so as laterally to come in contact with a friction device
consisting of discs with springs etc.
These brakes require a considerable displacement of the pinion in order to secure
a sufficiently energetic lateral friction, and hence necessitate certain modifications
as regards the ordinary screw way on the hub and pinion, the suppression of the
lock-nut of the pinion etc., besides, unless the arrangement of cycles is altogether
changed, the parts composing the brake could not be made of the solidity required
for long use.
The brake such as is the object of this invention, does not require such modifica-
tions in the construction of cycles; and is of a durable and compact construction
and can be applied to any existing cycle; it will produce a sure and strong action
by stopping the pedals or on the application of a special device within reach of
the rider, or driver of the vehicle; and will be effective even should the chain
break, and, on being applied, will simultaneously, or not, ring an alarm bell. To
this brake, a slight recoil or movement of the pinion, caused by stopping the rota-
tion of the pedals or by a special device to be described, has the effect of making
one or more pawl-shaped brake shoes--which are carried by the pinion on inclined
surfaces on the periphery of the lock-nut-bear against the interior surface of
a cup or a drum, which covers the mechanism, whereas by the forward movement
of the pinion the brake shoes are released and brought back into their normal
position.
The governing arrangement within reach of the rider or driver causes a lever
to press, by means of a friction roller against the cogs of the driven spindle as
well as against the transmission chain; a slight pressure causing a small roller
to revolve which causes an alarm bell on the hub to ring while a stronger pressure
produces the movement which causes the-brake to act. The same movement is
produced immediately by this arrangement, when, in consequence of the chain
braking, the roller enters between the cogs of the pinion.
In the accompanying drawing:
Fig. 1 represents a vertical section through the axis of the hub of the rear

page_text: or driven wheel of a cycle, provided with a brake operated by the pedalling
action.
Fig. 2 is a section on the line X-X of Fig. 1.
Figs. 3 and 4 are respectively a front and side-view of a brake, comprising a
friction lever for working the bell and applying the brake by a rod or cord which
is within easy reach of the user of the machine.
Figs. and 6 are detail sections of the brake mechanism Fig. 5 showing, on a
larger scale, the arrangement of the brake as indicated in Fig. 2, and Fig. 6 repre-
senting a modification in the construction of this device.
F is the fixed spindle of the wheel, E the hub, on which is screwed the chain
wheel A. A reduced portion of said hub is screw-threaded to receive a lock-nut D.
Between the shoulder c of the hub and the chain wheel A there is a small space
permitting the sprocket wheel to make a slight recoil or rotation in one direction
and afterwards à forward movement of an eighth to a quarter of a revolution.
In the existing machines this space is obtained by filing away the hub to the
extent of about 2 mm. The outside face of the sprocket wheel A is provided
with one or more friction-brake-shoes C turning on pivots or screws c secured to
the pinion A. The dise D has opposite each shoe C recess 2 adapted to engage with
the tooth or end of the pawl C during the forward movement of the sprocket
wheel A, as indicated by the arrows Figs. 2 and 5; and a recess 3 to allow of the
rebound of the brake and of the sprocket wheel and an inclined plane having a
crown 4 which causes the shoe to become disengaged in consequence of a rebound
of the pinion and to come into frictional contact with the inner side of a cup or
drum connected to the spindle F and covering the whole of the brake
mechanism.
It is preferred to interpose between the shoe C and the cup B a split ring or
band of tempered steel, which may be loose in the cup B, in order to distribute
the friction all over the interior surface of the cup B thereby producing a better
and more general friction.
When the pedals are at work the chain drives the wheel A in the direction
of the arrows, Figs. 2 and 5, and the teeth 1 of the shoes C engage with the recess 2
of the cam disc 1) secured to the hub E and thereby communicate the movement
to the driving wheel. When the rider wishes to stop he will instinctively back-
pedal, and the chain will move the pinion by an independent movement, back say
a quarter of a revolution, thereby bringing the shoes C on to the crowns 4 of the
cam discs in consequence of which the shoes are moved outwards and strongly
pressed against the friction ring 6, which is forced against the inner side of the
fixed cup B, producing thereby, a friction which is the more energetic the more
suddenly and strongly the rider backpedals. In this movement the end of the
shoe C is pressed against the inclined surface 3.
When the rider wishes to advance again by forward pedalling the ends 1 of
the shoes C will automatically again fall into and be engaged with the recesses 2,
of the disc D.
In the modification represented in Fig. 6 the effect is obtained by making the
shoes C work by traction on the cam disc D to cause it to move with the sprocket
wheel, instead of pressing the shoe against the disc as is the case in the construc-
tion represented by Figs. 2 and 5. In this case the position of the shoe is reversed
and its end surface 5 is inclined or shaped to correspond to an abutment in the
disc D. When the rider back pedals the inclined surface 5 strikes against the
corresponding surface by which it is raised and disengaged and pressed against
the intermediate spring 6, and this against the cup B.
In the arrangement.shown in Figs. 2 and 5, as well as that represented in Fig. 6,
the teeth or ends of the shoe C are so constructed that they remain engaged in the
recesses 2 of the disc as long as the machine is pedalled forward whatever the
position of the shoe may be and they are securely interlocked when the machine is
advanced.
In order to make the brake effective in case the chain should break, a lever G

page_text: has been devised working against the side surfaces of the teeth of the wheel A,
by means of a roller H covered with indiarubber or the like. This lever may be
operated by levers in combination with the brake shoe device or an equivalent
arrangement by which it is engaged with the pedal-disc and put in operation by
back-pedalling or by attraction cord g, in combination with a friction lever G
and a lever or device close to the steering bar, and destined to be operated by
hand. When the lever G is pressed slightly against the wheel A the roller H
is set in motion which may be used in ringing an alarm bell of any known con-
struction (as for instance one with centrifugal clappers) situated on the hub, while
a more energetic pressure of the lever in the direction of the wheel A tends to
incrase the effect which produces the backward movement of the sprocket wheel
relatively to the hub, resulting in the action of the brake as already explained.
In case the chain breaks it is thrown out and the lever G H acted upon by the
cord or by levers presses the roller between the teeth of the pinion A and pro-
duces by itself the necessary relative movement of the parts.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is;-
-
1. Brake mechanism for cycles or other vehicles in which the braking action is
caused by the relative movement of the sprocket wheel to that of the driven wheel
comprising a sprocket wheel mounted on the hub of the driven wheel and adapted
to make a partial revolution thereon one or more brake shoes pivotted on said
wheel a cam disc on said hub and an enclosing cup on the spindle of said wheel
and covering the brake mechanism substantially as described.
2. A construction of brake device of the kind described in which the action of
the brake shoes is produced by the sliding of said shoes with their interior faces
on an inclined cam 'on the periphery of the cam disc on the 'hub of the driven
wheel substantially as described.
3. A construction of brake device of the kind described in which the action of
the brake shoes is produced by the inclined ends of said shoes moving outwards
on an inclined abutment formed on the disc on the hub substantially as described.
4. A construction of brake device of the kind described in which the hub disc
is provided with a cam surface or an inclined abutment and a recess with which
a correspondingly shaped tooth of the brake shoe engages during the forward
movement of the wheel and a recess for receiving the brake shoe substantially
as described.
5. A construction of brake device of the kind described in which a spring band
is interposed between the brake shoe and the friction surface of the fixed cup
substantially as described.
6. A construction of brake device of the kind described in which the backward
movement of the sprocket wheel is effected (simultaneously with or independently
of the backward movement caused by the chain) by means of a lever provided
with a friction roller adapted to come in contact with the sides of the cogs and chain
of the sprocket wheel said lever being either operated by levers or other means
within easy reach of the user the roller also if desired causing an alarm to be
sounded substantially as described.
7. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete brake
device substantially as described or illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 or in Figures 3
and 4 or in Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.