A Chainless Gear for Cycles and other Vehicles.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Chainless Gear for Cycles and other Vehicles.
We, JAMES FITZGERALD, Painter and Decorator, 2 Lower Lodge Terrace, Oldpark
Road Belfast, in the County of Antrim, Ireland, and HUGH SPROTT CLEMENT,
Manager of the British Patents Company 121 West Regent Street, Glasgow, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
On the center of crank axle, is fastened No 1 a bevel toothed gear wheel, coming
in contact with another No. 2 bevel roller toothed wheel fastened on the end of
a tubular shaft or spindle, said shaft to work inside the tube frame of cycle, and on
the other end of said shaft is fastened another No. 3 bevel toothed wheel, coming in
contact with another No. 4, bevel roller toothed wheel fastened on the hub of driving
wheel of cycle. All ball bearings, and to be enclosed in a gear case.
D
1000
JAMES FITZGERALD.
HUGH SPROTT CLEMENT.
A Chainless Gear for Cycles and other Vehicles.
We, JAMES FITZGERALD, Painter and Decorator, 2 Lower Lodge Terrace, Oldpark
Road, Belfast, in the County of Antrim, Ireland, and HUGH SPROTT CLEMENT
Manager of the British Patents Company, 121 West Regent Street, Glasgow,
Scotland, 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 :-
In order that our said invention may he properly understood, and readily carried
into effect, we will now proceed to describe the drawings hereunto annexed.
Figure 1 is a part side elevation and part longitudinal section of the gear made in
accordance with and constituting our invention.
Figure 2 is a part plan and part horizontal section of the same, and
Figure 8 illustrates in side elevation a bicycle to which our invention is applied.
One of the special features of our invention is the tubular shaft A which transmits
the motion, imparted to the crank axle B, necessary for driving the cycle, to the
rear wheel C of the velocipede.
The said tubular shaft A which is carried in the sleeve or tube 1), and supported
in ball bearings E, has keyed or otherwise rigidly secured to it a bevil wheel F. The
teeth of this bevil wheel F, are formed somewhat of trundle form or configuration
and constitute rollers G, capable of free rotation round fixed centres H, set obliquely
to the plane of their rotation.

page_text: The one end of the sleeve or tube D is stayed to the fork I on one side of the rear
wheel by a transverse connecting piece i, and to the bush J of the crank spindle,
and the opposite end of the said sleeve or tube D is held by the screwed end of the
hub spindle of the rear wheel respectively. The said sleeve or tube D is essentially
a tube or cylinder with screwed ends for receiving the glands d and d, which retain
the balls constituting a bearing for the rotary motion of the hollow or tubular
spindle A.
A large bevil wheel K, of crown like form rotatably fixed to the treadle axle gears
with the bevil wheel F.
The motion imparted to the said bevil crown wheel K through the treadles L and M
by the rider is communicated by means of the before mentioned bevil wheel F, to the
opposite end of the tubular shaft which is fitted with a bevil wheel N, similar in
shape to but smaller than the large bevil crown wheel K, and is provided with
correspondingly shaped teeth.
By means of a bevil wheel O, also provided with roller teeth G, and rigidly secured
to the hub P, the said motion is imparted to the rear wheel C of the cycle.
This train of novel bevil gearing is secured from mud or dust and general
observation by a guard or gear case; the said guard or gear case consists of a casing
of sheet inetal conforming in shape to the parts they have to protect; with respect to
the case covering the crank wheel it is formed merely of two parts R and R'. The
lower portion RI acts as an oil reservoir or cup. The parts respectively are held
together by small screws. The gear case R of the rear bevil wheel N, is of similar
construction and is similarily connected together.
In lieu of the arrangement being single acting, to which the foregoing description
has exclusive reference, the gearing seen more particularly in Figure 2 may be
duplicated by having a tubular shaft and corresponding gear on both sides of the rear
wheel.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is-
First. In driving mechanism for cycles and other vehicles, a hollow stay having
in it ball bearings to carry an intermediate shaft to convey rotary motion from the
pedal shaft to the driving wheel or wheels, the said stay being made with enlarged
parts, which act as bevil gearing guards, substantially as hereinbefore described and
as shewn on the accompanying drawings.
Second. In driving mechanism for cycles and other vehicles the general
arrangement and combination of treadle shaft, intermediate shaft, driving wheel hub,
two sets of bevil gear and a hollow stay surrounding the said intermediate shaft and
supporting the same in ball bearings, and also having enlarged parts for guards to
the bevil gearing all substantially as hereinbefore described and shown on the
accompanying drawings.
Dated this 30th day of July 1897.
JAMES FITZGERALD.
H. S. CLEMENT.
Applicants.