IMPROVE- MENTS IN FOOT BRAKES FOR BICYCLES TRICYCLES AND OTHER VELOCIPEDES
Year: 1884

page_text: I JOHN WATKINS of 8 Havelock Road Saltley Birmingham in the County of
Warwick Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN FOOT BRAKES FOR BICYCLES TRICYCLES AND OTHER VELOCIPEDES ".to be
as follows:-
My said Invention for Improvements in Foot Brakes Consists in Providing
additional Brake Power upon the Axles of Bicycles Tricycles and other Velocipedes
Subject to the Control of the Riders Foot Acting at Will upon the Pedals and
Cranks; which said Pedals and Cranks I substitute for Brake Levers to put on the
Brake and Whereby the said Brake Power is Brought instantly into Requisition by
the application of the Riders Foot being firmly Pressed upon the Pedals he instantly
Checks the Revolution of the Cranks which thereby puts on the Brakes-and
arrests the High Runing Speed of the Machine when Descending Hills Gradients
or otherwise upon Level Roads-I therefore Create Frictional Bearings upon the
Axle in Connexion with the Hubbs or Wheel Plates of A Bicycle Tricycle or other
Velocipede and the said Bearings I make Either Conical or otherwise or by Com-
pressing the inner and outer faces of the Hubbs or Wheel Plates Betwen Corre-
sponding Moveable Pressure Bearings made to fitt and Slide Easily Lengthwise
upon the Axle the Said Frictional or Pressure Bearings thus Created upon which
and Betwen "the Wheel Revolves when Tightly Compressed-thus Provide
Sufficient Friction for Brake Power and by the Riders Foot being Firmly Pressed
upon the Pedals-the Cranks are held Stationary while the Wheel Revolves or
Travels with full force of Brake Power thus applied to stop the Machine the Wheel
of A Bicycle I mount to Revolve upon the Axle in Liew of the said Wheel being
Firmly Secured thereto by Keying soldering or otherwise as ordinarilly adopted
and I affix Toothed Pinions upon the Axle into which fall Ratchet Catches Con-
nected to the Hubb or Wheel Plates the said Wheel Plates being Driven by the
Revolution of the Toothed Pinions upon the Axle or otherwise as Desired it will
thus be seen and readily understood that the Nature of My Invention is to Create
Frictional Intermediate Brake Bearings for Brake Purposes by substituting the
Hubb or Wheel Plates for Frictional Surface Bearings and the Foot Pedals and
Cranks I utilise as Brake Levers in order to put on the Brakes" and which also
form A foot Rest for the Rider when the Brake is applied-or Released as before
Described by me in My Prior.Specification Dated 29 August 1883 and Numbered
4169.

page_text: I, JOHN WATKINS of 8 Havelock Road, Saltley, Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Engineer-do hereby declare the nature of said invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN FOOT BRAKES FOR BICYCLES, TRICYCLES AND OTHER VELOCIPEDES” and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention has reference to improvements in foot brakes and foot rests for
Bicycles, Tricycles and other Velocipedes; and my said invention consists in
providing means, whereby brake power can be applied at the will of the rider by
means of the driving pedals, which are under the perfect control of the rider; and
further the rider can use the pedals when required as a foot rest; that is to say,
the cranks of the pedals either drive the machine, operate the brake expedients or
allow the pedals to form a foot rest; so that in applying the brake power, the
rider's foot on being firmly pressed upon the pedals (opposite to the direction of
propulsion) instantly checks the revolutions of the cranks which thereby put on
the brake, and arrests the high running speed of the machine when descending hills
or other gradients; and upon level roads for stoppage or, otherwise; this is pro-
duced by the frictional contact of fixed and movable parts or bearings- constituting
the axle and hub or hubs of the machine-The said bearings I make either conical
or otherwise, or by compressing or by abrasion between the inner and outer faces
of the hubs, frames or wheel plates or between other corresponding movable
pressure bearings placed upon the axle all made to fit and slide easily or longi-
tudinally upon the main axle-The friction thus created between the parts brought
into immediate contact, provides sufficient friction for brake power, and further by
the rider's foot being pressed upon the pedals the cranks are held stationary, while
the wheel or wheels revolve or travel with full force, the impetus for which
is applied through the brake expedients; to stop or retard the motion of the
machine,
In applying my invention, the wheel or wheels of a machine, I mount to revolve
upon an axle of a bicycle instead of the wheel being rigidly affixed thereto as is
ordinarily adopted; and I affix ratchet and pinion wheels upon the axle-The said
pawls or catches engage with the teeth of the ratchet wheel in driving, but glide
over them on applying brake power.
:
It will thus be seen that the nature of the invention is to create additional
intermediate brake bearing upon fixed and movable parts of the combined hub and
axle The pedal levers or cranks are therefore utilized as propellers brake levers
and foot rests."
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the
manner in which my invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 représents a front elevation, and figure-2 a complete longitudinal
vertical section of a bicycle hub, nave or wheel centre, and cranks constructed
according to my invention and figure 24 the parts separately-Figure 3 is an end.
elevation of figure 1; and figure 4 is the same, with the end plate removed for
exhibiting the ratchet or driving.pinion wheel, and pawl arrangement, which con-
stitutes the, mechanism by which the machine is driven-The sides A and B have
ratchet wheels with teeth in the reverse way for the proper driving of the two ends
of the hub, nave or wheel centre. Figure 5 shows an end elevation with a portion
of the wheel centre, exhibiting the stop arrangement, which limits the amount of
binding power that shall be applied in operating the brake.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the
Drawings.

page_text: a is the main axle or spindle passing from end to end of the wheel centre; this
central axle or spindle is provided at one end with an angular or square part a²,
and at the other end with a screwed part a³; and upon the axle or spindle a the
hub sleeve b is situated, and capable of moving upon the said spindle longitudinally
The hub sleeve b has bosses at its ends, and at the A. end of the wheel centre
the hub sleeve has a neck upon which the hub c freely rotates in a forward.
direction while the hub c on the B.side of the wheel centre also rotates freely upon
its bearing a d d are bearing necks (or bosses) which move with the spindle a
and are capable of sliding longitudinally thereon. These sliding bearings are
provided respectively at their inner ends, with ratchet toothed pinion wheels d², d²
which engage with pawl c² c², carried by the hub c c as seen in figure 4-Springs
c3c3 always keep the pawls upon the teeth of the said ratchet pinion wheels--e is
a crank arm upon the a side of the wheel centre which fits upon and turns with
the axle a, while f is the other crank arm fixed upon or made in one piece with
the intermediate roller bearing d. This said intermediate roller bearing is screwed
internally, and takes upon the worm a³ of the axle a- -g is a regulator of brake
pressure by the screwing up of which, more or less brake contact can be given.
It also serves the purpose for adjusting and bringing together the parts reduced by.
wear. On the B side of the machine is another boss h, which takes upon a square
neck a³, and is fixed by a nut i screwed on the end of the spindle or axis a. The,
boss has upon its inner face a stop for limiting the bringing together of the
frictional bearing parts when the brake is operated upon; that is to say, too much
brake power cannot be applied from the fact that the crank arın can only make
one half revolution or thereabouts, and consequently the bringing together the
movable pressure bearings or parts necessary to effect the frictional contact is thus
limited Instead of the stop ha quadrant slot may be cut in the boss, in which a
peg stud on the crank takes and works therein or otherwise.
Plates j, j are affixed on the outer faces of the hubs c, c, to exclude dirt or foreign.
matters from getting to the working parts-Leather or other facings k, kare
interposed between the outer and inner faces of the hubs c, c, and the respective
inner faces of the bosses 62, 63, and the ratchet wheels d², , on the bosses d, d,
and it is between these and other faces that the brake action is obtained; so that
the hubs cc (in which the spokes of the wheel are tapped) become fixed and rotate
alternately, according to the direction the crank arms e e are moved by, the
pedals 1.1.
'!
In driving the machine to which the hub centre constructed according to my
invention is applied, the crank arms are moved forward in the, direction indicated
by the arrow figure. 4, when the vertical fronts, of the teeth of the ratchet wheel
become engaged with the pawis c2 c2 carried by the hub or nave c c, the result is,
that the whole of the parts constituting the nave or wheel centre move together,
the same as if the whole parts were rigidly connected together; thus the wheel
is carried by the hub c c and is propelled, forward according to the rate of
motion which the rider,applies by the pedals connected to the crank arms of the
machine e f
:.
t.
If the rider now requires to utilise the cranks and pedals as a foot rest in
descending gradients or otherwise, it is only necessary for him to keep his foot
upon the pedals stationary which allow the pawl c² to glide over the inclines of
the teeth of the ratchet or pinion wheel d² and so break the driving connection,
which allows the wheel to rotate freely and independently by its own velocity or
momentum.
If the rider now requires to retard the velocity of the wheels or what
commonly known as putting on the brake, it is only necessary for him to gently
press backward the screwed crank ƒ by means of the pedals, when by such back
motion, the internally screwed crank or bearing boss d which is rigid with the
crank f, is made to advance upon the screw a³ in the direction indicated by the
arrow-figure 2, thereby bringing the inner and outer faces of the hubs cc, sleeve
bosses 62 62 and bearing bosses d d forcibly into contact with the leather or other

page_text: interposing facings k that is to say, during the time that the hub rings c c are
carried forward by the wheel's rotation, the whole of the other parts which remain
stationary are drawn longitudinally or laterally up to the bearing faces of the hub
rings, thereby retarding the velocity of the wheel carried by the hub c c.
In order that the rotary and sliding fixed parts shall not be bound together too
suddenly or too much at a time, a stop 2 is arranged upon the boss h, so that in
putting on the brake by back pedalling, or allowing the wheels to travel by their
own momentum, there is no undue shock or sudden retardation.
Although I have described that the brake mechanism is operated by the crank
arms, yet I wish it to be understood that the boss d on the B side of the hub
centre may be rotated for putting on the brake by means of a lever worked by
hand The said lever stands in the same position with respect to the hollow screw
boss & as the pedal arm f does.
When it is required to back treadle without putting on, the brake, I arrange
reversable catch mechanism and lever arrangement, as represented in figure 6, 7
and 8 of the Drawings which makes the axle of the wheel centre, rigid with the
bub itself. In this modification the hub and hub sleeve is made in one piece and
revolves directly upon the spindle.
Figure 7 represents in single section (or one piece only) "the following parts."
bb are two wheel plates which carry the spokes and wheel. cc are the bearings
around which the ball rollers rotate and and d d are two driving. pinions which
I employ in the manner hereinafter described. e a sleeve bush or socket which
centrally connects together the wheel plates b b.
The
Firstly I mount upon the axle of a bicycle the said combined parts to revolve
freely thereon and slide easily in the end direction of the axle lengthwise and upon
the bearing of the axle a. I place one of the cranks f which is made to fit and
slide along its square bearing, by the pressure of a lock nut screwed on the axle.
and which also secures the said crank f thereto the other crank y is screwed
-internally, the said crank being screwed upon the screw made on the axle a.
inner faces or bearings of the two cranks ƒ and g I made concave or otherwise to
exactly correspond with the two outer faces or bearings of the driving pinions & d.
Secondly when the said combined parts are mounted upon the axle a then the
two cranks before mentioned are placed upon their respective bearings on the axle
and thus form the shoulder or pressure bearings between which the said combined
parts are working "and bearing" when the same are revolving upon the axle," the
said parts being driven when treadling by the two reversable driving catches or
pawls which are connected to the arms of the cranks f. g and employed for
driving the two pinions d d, precisely in the same manner as the wheel plates b b
as seen in figure 2. Having explained the construction of the parts in figure 6.
I proceed to further explain the manner of applying, regulating and releasing
brake power.
When the rider has approached an incline he may by the slightest
pressure of the foot upon the pedal f. stops the rotation of the cranks and rest both
feet upon the pedals which form foot rests then to apply the brake by simply
holding the unscrewed crank on bottom centre, with one foot; the rider can with
the other foot gently press backwards the top central pedal, which puts on the
brake; and by lightly lifting the foot the screwed pedal will rise back to top
centre again, being thus driven to its centre line by the pressure of the revolving
pinion bearing against the inner fixed bearing of the screwed crank g it will
thus be seen that brake bearings are created in the manner explained, instead of
using the frictional surface bearings of the nave or wheel plates when desirable
to do so.
Having explained my invention and the manner in which the same is to be
performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not strictly confine myself to the
precise details herein described and illustrated as the same may be varied without
departing from the nature of my invention; and further the back pedalling I place
upon the pedal stud, or otherwise make the same hollow, through which said stud
I pass a pin long enough to attach. thereto small wheels or levers which work by

page_text: the side of the pedals; and by the rider simply sliding his foot backward or
forward upon the said wheels or levers thus imparts motion to the driving catch
or pawl connected to the cranks as seen in figure 6.
Although I have described my invention as applied to a bicycle, yet I wish it
to be understood that my invention is equally applicable to tricycles and other
velocipedes.
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
First. Constructing and arranging the parts of the hubs or wheel centres of foot
brakes for bicycles, tricycles and other velocipedes herein before described and
illustrated in figures 1, 2 2 3, 4 and 5 of the accompanying Drawings, whereby
brake power is applied by means of the pedals carried by the crank arms, on the
said crank arms, acting in one direction, and when moved in the reverse direction,
the machine is driven in the ordinary way, while an intermediate position between
applying brake and driving provides a footrest for the driver, the several parts
being arranged and operating substantially in the manner herein described and set
forth.
Secondly. The improvements in foot brakes for bicycles, tricycles and other
velocipedes herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings;
that is to say, providing brake mechanism or brake expedients within wheel hubs,
or wheel centres which are operated or brought into use by the pedals, carried by
the crank arms; the action in one direction puts on the brake by bringing
together longitudinally the stationary and movable segmental parts composing
the wheel centre, and the action in the other direction drives the machine, while
a foot rest is provided on the crank axis remaining quiescent, the parts being
arranged, combined and acting in the way and for the purposes as described and
set forth.
Thirdly. Constructing wheel centres composed or built up of segmental parts,
provided with foot brake and driving mechanism for the purposes as described and
set forth in figures 1, 2, 2 3 4 and 5 of the Drawings also the stop arrangement
marked h².
Fourthly. The arrangement described and set forth in figures 6. 7. and 8 of the
accompanying Drawings; in which the hub and hub sleeve of foot brakes are made
in one piece, and revolves directly upon the axle or spindle, the parts being drawn
together longitudinally by the worm on the end of the said spindle, for putting on
the brake also the arrangement for driving wheel centres backward or forward by
means of catches (carried by crank arms) and toothed wheels the parts being
arranged and combined substantially as described and set forth.
Dated this twenty eighth day of Novembos XX1
JOHN WATKINS.
By Henry Skerrett,
6, Livery Street, Birmingham,
Agent to the Applicant.