Improvements in Gearing for Velocipedes and General Machinery.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 21st July, 1896-Accepted, 19th Sept., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Gearing for Velocipedes and General Machinery.
I, GEORGE E. SCHRADER, of 26 Ashland Street, in the City of Chicago,
State of Illinois, United States of America, Mechanic, 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 :-
My invention relates to a novel construction in gearing for velocipedes and
general machinery, the object being to provide a device of this description by
means of which greater speed can be attained with a given amount of power than
has heretofore been possible, or, in other words, a gearing by means of which the
power is increased.
My invention consists in the features of construction and combinations of parts
hereinafter fully described and claimed.
In the accompanying drawings illustrating my invention :
Figure 1 is a side elevation of my gearing as applied to a velocipede. Fig. 2 is
a sectional view of the same taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a modified form of construction in which the crank
arins shown in Fig. 1 are replaced by disks provided with crank pins.
Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view showing the ball bearings for said disks.
Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.
Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing my device applied to a pulley.
Fig. 7 is a sectional view showing my device in which two sprocket wheels or
pulleys are driven from one disk.
Fig. 8 is a side elevation of gearing constructed in accordance with my
invention.
Fig. 9 is another side elevation of the same showing said gearing turned
twenty two and one-half degrees.
Fig. 10 is a transverse section of the same taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 8.
Fig. 11 is a detail sectional view of the pins I employ for movably connecting
the parts of my gearing.
Fig. 12 is a side elevation of a modified form of construction of my gearing.
Fig. 13 is a transverse section of the same taken on the line 13-13 of Fig. 12.
Fig. 14 is a detail sectional view of the pins I employ for movably connecting
the parts of this modified construction of my gearing.
Referring now to said drawings, Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, A indicates the pedal or
crank shaft of a velocipede which is mounted thereon in the usual manner.
Two
disks B and C are securely mounted upon said pedal shaft A by means of keys in
the usual manner. A sprocket wheel D, preferably of greater diameter than said
disks B and C, is loosely and eccentrically mounted upon said shaft A between
said disks B and C, and is connected with said disks by means of crank arms E.
Said crank arms E are secured at one end to what may be termed crank shafts 1
which are revolubly mounted in bearings a in said sprocket wheel D equidistant
from the center thereof and, preferably, equidistant from each other. Said crank
shafts are composed of two parts 2 and 3 which are secured together by means
of serens 4. The parts 2 of said crank shafts 1 carry the crank arms E on one
side of the sprocket wheel D, while said parts 3 carry the crank arms on the other
side thereof. The other ends of said crank arms E carry crank pins 5 which run.
in bearings 6 in said disks B and C. Said bearings 6 coincide in relative position.

page_text: in each of said disks so that each pair of crank pins 5 may be termed parts of the
same shaft. Said bearings 6 are equidistant from the center of snid disks B and C
and the distance between said bearings 6 and the center of said disks B and C
coincides with the distance between said bearings a and the center of said sprocket
wheel D. The distance between said bearings 6 in said disks B and C also
corresponds with the distance between said bearings a in said sprocket wheel D.
Also, the distance between the center of pedal shaft A and the center of said
sprocket wheel D corresponds with the distance between the centers of said crank
shafts 1 and the centers of said crank pins 5. Said crank arms E are also always
parallel with each other and with a line drawn through the centers of said sprocket
wheel D and pedal shaft A.
A central circular opening 7 is cut out of sail sprocket wheel having a radius
slightly greater than the distance between the center of said sprocket wheel and
furthermost portion of said pedal shaft A, so as to avoid contact between said
sprocket wheel D and said pedal shaft A during the revolution of said sprocket
wheel on its center.
Said sprocket wheel D is geared to the shaft of the rear wheel by means of a
sprocket chain 8 which is preferably made sufficiently short to hold said sprocket
wheel D at the rearward limit of its movement with relation to said pedal shaft A,
though I find in practice that the chain may be very loose, as, immediately upon
applying power to the pedal shaft the sprocket wheel will take its position at the
foremost limit of its movement, which said chain will allow, thus always keeping
the chain taut and taking up any wear in the same.
As said pedal shaft A is turned the motion is transmitted to said sprocket
wheel D through said crank arms E, thus causing said sprocket wheel to make
exactly the same number of revolutions as said pedal shaft. If said crank arms E
are in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, when the pedal is moved to the
position shown in dotted lines in said figures, said crank arms E are in the position
shown in dotted lines in said figure.
I gain a great deal of power by means of my device as it appears that the
eccentric location of the pedal shaft gives me the additional leverage equal to the
distance between the centers of the sprocket wheel and the pedal shaft. Nor is
this leverage dependent upon the position of the sprocket wheel with relation to
the pedal shaft, as the action is precisely the same in every position of the sprocket
wheel. Besides the advantage of increased power my device also acts as an
automatic belt tightener which is of great importance. The action is also perfectly
smooth and eveu and in no way jerky or uneven, as is the case with almost every
power gearing now in use for bicycles and velocipedes.
In Figs. 3, 4 and 5 I have shown disks 9 mounted in ball bearings 10 in the
sprocket wheel, which may obviously be substituted for the crank shafts I shown
in Figs. 1 and 2. As the remaining structural characteristics and action of the
modification are the same as in Figs. 1 and 2, it will be unnecessary to give a
further description of the same.
In Figs. 8 to 14 inclusive I have shown other modified forms of construction in
which A indicates the crank shaft of a velocipede upon which two parallel disks B
and C are rigidly mounted. A sprocket wheel D is loosely mounted upon said
shaft A between said disks B and C and is preferably of greater diameter than
the same. The central portion of said sprocket wheel D is cut away as at 7 to
permit the same to revolve eccentrically to said shaft A, being held eccentric
thereto by the tension of the sprocket chain 8.
Said disks B and C are provided with slots 11 adjacent their periphery and
concentric therewith, the slots in one disk having the same relative position as the
slots in the other of said disks.
The number of said slots may vary, but in practice I prefer to employ the
greatest possible number thereof, this number being limited and determined
according to the distance between the centers of said crank shaft A and said
sprocket wheel D. In the drawings I have shown eight of sail sluts 3 situated at

page_text: regular intervals in snid disks B and C forty-five degrees apart. Radial slots 12
are cut in said sprocket wheel D equidistant from each other and corresponding
in number and relative position with said slots 11 in said disks B and C. The
centers of said slots 12 are equidistant from the center of said sprocket wheel D
and this distance corresponds with the distance of the centers of the slots 11 from
the center of said crank shaft A. Said slots 11 and 12 are rounded off at their
ends, the radius of said ends being one-half the width of said slots. The length of
said slots 12 from center to center is twice the distance between the centers of
said sprocket wheel D and said crank shaft A. The inner ends of said slots 12
may extend farther toward the center of said sprocket wheel without interfering
with the operation of my device, but the distance from the centers of said slots to
the center of the outer end of the same must coincide with the distance between
the centers of said sprocket wheel D and said crank shaft A. The length of said
slots 11 from center to center of their rounded ends is equal to twice the distance
between the centers of said sprocket wheel D and crank shaft A, taken on a cord
intersecting the said centers of said rounded ends of said slots 11. Or, in other
words, said distance between the centers of said rounded ends of each of said
sluts 11 is equal to twice the distance between the points of intersection of parallel
diameters of said disks B and C and sprocket wheel D with an are passing through
the centers of said rounded ends of a slot 11.
Said disks B and C and sprocket wheel D are movably connected with each
other by means of pins 13 passing through said slots 12 in said sprocket wheel D
and through the slots 11 in both of said disks B and C. The said pins consist
preferably of a head 14 provided at its inner end with a circumferential flange 15
and a screw-threaded shank 16 which enters a screw-threaded sleeve 17 provided
with a circumferential flange 18 at its middle portion. A lock-nut 19 is mounted
upon the outer end of said shank 16 and serves to lock said sleeve 17 thereon.
The outer diameter of said head 14 and slee ve 17 is slightly less than the
width of said slots 11 and 12 so as to form loose running connection between the
same. Said sprocket wheel D is mounted between the flanges 15 and 18 of said
pins, while the outer ends of the same enter the slots 11 in said disks B and C.
Bushings 20 are preferably provided around all of said slots 11 and 12 for
obvious reasons.
The operation of my device is very simple but peculiar, and for purposes of
description of the operation I will designate the slots 11 by c, d, e, f, g, h, i and j;
the slots 12 by c¹, d', e', f¹, g', l', and j', and the pins 5 by e, d, e, f, g,
and The direction of motion is indicated by the arrow. In Fig. 8 the
pin c" is at the rear end of the slot c and is, so to say, pulled around by said slot.
In pulling said pin the slot c', with one side of which said pin is in engagement,
must revolve with it. Owing to the fact that the slot e and the pin care about
equidistant from the centers of the disks B and C and sprocket wheel D they will
revolve at equal speed owing to the fact that the impetus is given to said pin c
for a partial revolution the exact extent of which it is hard to determine, but
which, I think, extends from the pin d to the pin e" (Fig. 9), or, in other words,
for a distance of twenty-two and one-half degrees on each side of the vertical
diameter of the sprocket wheel D.
While said pine moves from the position above described, and as shown in
Fig. 8, the rear end of the slot d gradually gains upon the pin di owing to the fact
that said slot d is farther from the center of the crank shaft A than said pin d¹
and slot d are from the center of said sprocket wheel D. In Fig. 9 it will be seen
that the end of said slot d is in engagement with said pin "having caught up
therewith at this point. The slot c, which has moved a corresponding distance
with said slot d, is still in engagement with said pin e", but as soon as an impetus
is imparted to said sprocket wheel by said pin d said pin e" will gain upon said
slut c, owing to the fact that the point in the slot d' at which said pin e" is at this
time situated, is moving faster than said slot e, being farther from the center of
the sprocket than said slot c is from the center of the disk.

page_text: From the position at which said pin c" is shown in Fig. 9 to the position in which
the pin is shown in Fig. 8, said pin c continues to gain upon or move faster
than said slot c, thus traversing the same from end to end. From h to gl (Fig. 9)
said pin retains its position with relation to the slot, owing to the action of the pin
imparting the impetus diametrically opposite thereto. From g" to d" (Fig. 9) the
slot continues to gain upon or move faster than the pin owing to its greater
distance from its center than said pin, or the point in the slot in the sprocket at
which said pin is located, is from the center of the sprocket. In this mauner cach
pin successively imparts motion to said sprocket for a given part of a revolution
dependent upon the number of said pins. When the number of said pins is eight
the motion imparted by each pin is equal to one-eighth of a revolution; when the
number is ten the motion is imparted for one-tenth of a revolution. The distance
of the motion imparted by each pin is equal to one divided by the total number
of pins.
In Fig. 121 have shown still another modified form of construction in which the
sprocket D is provided with a plurality of circular openings 22 equidistant from
the center thereof and equidistant from each other. Pins 23, whose ends are
secured in openings in said disks pass through said openings 22 and are provided
with anti-friction rollers 24 which are constantly in engagement with the walls of
said openings 22. The distance between the center of the crank shaft A and the
center of said pins 23 is equal to the distance between the center of said sprocket D
and the centers of said openings 22. Said pins 23 also occupy the same relative
positions with relation to each other as said openings 22. The radius of said
openings 22 must be equal to the distance between the centers of said sprocket and
the crank shaft plus the radius of the anti-friction roller 24, for obvious reasons.
Said pins 23 are of similar construction as said pins 13, being provided with an
anti-friction roller 24 hetween the flanges 15 and 18, for obvious reasons.
The operation of this form of construction differs somewhat from the operation
of the device shown in Figs. 8 and 9, inasmuch as the pins are rigid with relation
to the disks and move in a circle, having a radius equal to the distance between
the centers of the sprocket and the crank shaft. The tension of the sprocket
chain 8 holds the sprocket constantly at the rearward limit of its movement which
is determined by the engagement of the pius 23 with the rearmost points of the
walls of the openings 22. Lines drawn through the centers of each of said pins
and the opening in which it is situated are always parallel with a line drawn
through the centers of said sprocket D and crank shaft A. Each of said pios 23
imparts motion to said sprocket for slightly less than one-half a revolution and said
motion is at no time imparted by less than two said pins. Said pins impart motion
as soon as they have started upon the upper balt of their upward stroke, the
direction of motion being as indicated by the arrow, and continue to do so until
they traversed one-half of their downward stroke. For the remainder of the
revolution said pins remain neutral.
The illustration of this construction probably affords the best means for clearly
showing that there is a gain of leverage in all of my inventions of gearing. It
will be noted in Fig. 12 that the pin indicated by X is situated at a greater
distance from the center of the sprocket than from the center of the crank shaft. The
power imparted to said pin by the crank shaft is imparted with full force upon the
sprocket, but farther from the center thereof, and, consequently, this point in
the sprocket is driven with the same power as said disks but with greater speed.
On account of its greater diameter, the motion imparted by said sprocket is faster,
so that the sprocket pinion to which it is geared revolves at a greater speed but
with the sanie expenditure of power as if it were geared to a sprocket of equal
diameter as said disks rigidly mounted upon the crank shaft. There is, of course,
some loss by friction, but this is small in comparison with the leverage gained.
Obviously my device can be applied to any kind of motor with equal advantage
as to a velocipede and is cheap aud simple so that it will not easily get out of
order.

page_text: I do not, of course, wish to be limited to the use of a sprocket wheel, as an
ordinary pnlley could be used with equal advantage, nor to any particular number
or construction of crank connections between the disks and sprocket wheel or pulley,
nor to any particular kind of bearing, as all these details may be changed or varied
without departing from the spirit of my invention. It will also be obvious that
only one disk may be employed, though two are preferable to prevent any side
strain which might cause binding in the bearings and increase the friction.
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. A gearing comprising a power shaft having a disk mounted thereon, a pulley
or sprocket wheel loosely mounted adjacent said disk and eccentric thereto, and
eccentric connections between said disk and said pulley or sprocket wheel.
2. A gearing comprising a power shaft having two disks mounte! thereon, a
pulley or sprocket wheel loosely mounted between said disks and eccentric thereto,.
and connection between said disks and said pulley or sprocket wheel to cause the
latter to revolve on its center equally with said disks.
3. A gearing comprising a power shaft having two disks mountel thereon, a
pulley or sprocket wheel loosely mounted between said disks and eccentric thereto,.
and eccentric connections between said disks and said pulley or sprocket wheel to
cause the latter to revolve equally with said disks.
4. A gearing comprising a power shaft having two disks mounted thereon, a
pulley or sprocket wheel of larger diameter than said disks loosely mounted
between said disks and eccentric thereto, and connection between said disks and said
pulley or sprocket wheel to cause the latter to revolve on its center equally with
said disks.
5. A gearing comprising rotating devices mounted upon a shaft, a wheel loosely
and eccentrically mounted upon said shaft adjacent said rotating devices, and
connection between said rotating devices and said wheel for causing the latter to
rotate equally with said rotating devices.
6. A gearing comprising rotating devices mounted upon a shaft, a wheel loosely
and eccentrically mounted upon said shaft adjacent said rotating devices, and
eccentric connection between said rotating devices and said wheel for causing the.
latter to rotate equally with said rotating devices.
7. A gearing comprising a disk mounted upon a shaft, a wheel loosely mounted
upon said shaft adjacent said disk and eccentric thereto, and crank arms revolubly
mounted in said disk and said wheel and adapted to transmit the motion of said
disk to said wheel.
8. A gearing comprising a disk mounted upon a shaft, a wheel loosely mounted
upon said shaft adjacent said disk and eccentric thereto, and crank arms corre-
sponding in length with the distance between the centers of said disk and said
wheel, revolubly mounted at opposite ends in said disk and said wheel and adapted
to transmit the motion of said disk to said wheel.
9. A gearing comprising a disk or wheel mounted upon a shaft, a wheel loosely
and eccentrically mounted upon said shaft adjacent said disk or wheel, and
eccentric connections between said disk and said eccentric wheel corresponding in
throw with the throw of said eccentric wheel.
10. A gearing comprising a disk or wheel mounted upon a shaft, a wheel loosely
and eccentrically mcunted upon said shaft adjacent said disk or wheel, and eccentric
connections between said disk and said eccentric wheel at regular intervals and
corresponding in throw with the throw of said eccentric wheel.
11. A gearing comprising a disk mounted upon a wheel, a wheel loosely
mounted upon said shaft adjacent said disk and eccentric thereto, and crank arms
connecting said disk and wheel mounted at one end in bearings in said disk situated
equidistant from the center thereof, an mounted at their other ends in bearings
in said wheel situated equidistant from the center thereof, said distances between

page_text: the centers of said wheel and disk and the centers of the bearings therein being
respectively coincident.
12. A gearing comprising a disk mounted upon a wheel, a wheel loosely mounted
upon said shaft adjacent said disk and eccentric thereto, and crank arms connecting
Baid disk and wheel mounted at one end in bearings in said disk situated equi-
distant from the center thereof, and mounted at their other ends in bearings in
said wheel situated equidistant from the center thereof, said distances between the
centers of said wheel and disk and the centers of the bearings therein being
respectively coincident, and the lengths of said crank arms between centers being
equal to the distance between the centers of said wheel and said disk.
13. Gearing comprising a shaft having wheel or disks rigidly mounted thereon,
a wheel loosely and eccentrically mounted upon said shaft, and slotted connection
between said wheels, whereby said eccentrically mounted wheel will be driven by
said shaft.
14. Gearing comprising a shaft having wheels or disks rigidly mounted thereon,
a wheel loosely and eccentrically mounted upon said shaft between said wheels or
disks, and connection between said eccentric wheel and said rigid wheels to cause
said eccentric wheel to rotate in unison with said rigid wheels, consisting of pins
passing through all of said wheels and having movable connections with said
eccentric wheel.
15. Gearing comprising wheels rigidly mounted upon a shaft, a wheel loosely
and eccentrically mounted upon said shaft between said rigid wheels, a plurality of
slots in said rigid wheels concentric with said shaft, radial slots in said eccentric
wheel, and pins passing through said slots in all of said wheels and movable therein
to form rotating connection between the same whereby said eccentric wheel is
caused to rotate in unison with said rigid wheels on its own center.
16. Gearing comprising wheels or disks rigidly mounted upon a shaft and
provided with a plurality of slots concentric therewith, a wheel loosely and
eccentrically mounted upon said shaft and provided with a plurality of radial slots
corresponding in number and relative location with said slots in said rigid wheels,
and pins adapted to pass through said slots in all of said wheels and forming
sliding connection therewith, to cause said eccentrically mounted wheel to rotate
upon its own center in unison with said rigid wheels and to make an equal number
of revolutions therewith.
Dated this 14th day of March 1806
GEORGE E. SCHRADER.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.