IMPROVEMENTS IN GEARING .FOR BICYCLES TRICYCLES AND SIMILAR VEHICLES FOR ALTERING THE SPEED
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Britain Junior of Nugent House Lambton Road
Hornsey Rise Middlesex for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GEARING
.FOR BICYCLES TRICYCLES AND SIMILAR VEHICLES FOR ALTERING THE SPEED
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Britain, Junior, at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th October 1882.
"
WILLIAM BRITAIN Junior of Nugent House Lambton Road Hornsey Rise
Middlesex. IMPROVEMENTS IN GEARING FOR BICYCLES, TRICYCLES AND SIMILAR
VEHICLES FOR ALTERING THE SPEED"
This invention relates to the gearing for bicycles and tricycles and similar
vehicles whether propelled by the feet or hands and with two or more wheels and
its object is to accelerate the speed of the bearing or driving wheel or wheels of the
vehicle in its revolutions as compared with the revolutions of the axle driven by
the treadle or to reduce the speed and give more power.
In the adaptation of my invention to a bicycle I fix to the shaft carrying the
treadle a disc or arm this disc carrying one or two or more wheels or pinions
working on a pin or pins; round the shaft and loose thereon is a pinion or wheel
or trundle or lantern pinion into which the one or more pinions on the disc or arm
work, and gear. The hub of the bicycle bearing or driving wheel is fitted with an
internal toothed wheel or a lantern wheel into which gears the disc pinion or
pinions. The loose pinion on the shaft is clasped by a fork with returning points
entering into the pinion and from the fork proceeds a small arm which fulcrumed
by the return points can oscillate to the wheel hub or to the support or upright
side of the fork of the bicycle. When resting against and in contact with the hub
of the wheel; the arm being caught and resting in between the projections or studs
for the spokes or any other suitable catch; the bearing wheel, the arm, the crank
and treadle, all rotate together, but when the arm is oscillated to the upright side
of the fork of the bicycle and there retained by a suitable catch or fastening, the
loose pinion becomes a fixed fulcrum, the pinion or pinions on the disc rotate round
it and transmit their motion to the internal toothed or lantern wheel on the hub
Price 1

page_text: of the driving or bearing wheel of the bicycle and the differential motion is given
to the driven wheel which now rotates faster than the crank shaft. If the loose
pinion has 16 teeth the disc pinions 16 teeth and the hub internal wheel 48 teeth
then the differential notion of the shaft and the wheel is as 3 to 4 or if the bicycle
wheel has a diameter of 48 inches the motion becomes equivalent to a wheel of
64 inches with the same rovolutions of the treadle shaft.
I have assumed bere that the pinions and the teeth in the loose wheel are equal
but other proportions can be employed. The arm of the fork is kept to the hub
by a spring on the loose pinion when it is required to oscillate to tho upright of
the fork of the bicyclo, a small catch is slid down the upright of the fork of the
bicycle and the arm is caught therein. When it has to be released the catch is
lifted up.
Where it is required to reduce the speed the shaft has keyed across it an arm
carrying at each end a bevelled pinion one gearing into a bevel wheel on the hub
and the other gearing into a loose bevel wheel working round the shaft this wheel
like the loose pinion previously described alters the motion when it is fixed to some
part of the bicycle frame or to the wheel.
The same improvements in gearing may be applied to tricycles or other similar
vehicles either to one or more of the driving wheela.
And other modifications of the epicycle gearing can be applied for the like
purposes other than the form described so long as the same principle of my
invention is retained.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Britain, Junior, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th April 1883.
WILLIAM BRITAIN Junior of Nugent House Lambton Road Hornsey Rise.
Middlesex IMPROVEMENTS IN GEARING FOR BICYCLES TRICYCLES AND SIMILAR
VEHICLES FOR ALTERING THE SPEED.
This invention relates to the gearing for Bicycles and Tricycles and similar
Vehicles whether propelled by the feet or hands and with two or more wheels and
its object is to accelerate the speed of the bearing or driving wheel or wheels of
the vehicle in its revolutions as compared with the revolutions of the axle driven
by the treadle
In the application of my invention to a Bicycle I fix to the shaft carrying the
treadle a disc or arms this disc or arms carrying one or two or more wheels or
pinion's working on a pin or pins, round the shaft and loose thereon is a pinion or
wheel or trundle or lantern pinion into which the one or more pinions on the disc
or arm work and gear-The hub of the bicycle bearing or driving wheel is fitted
with an internal toothed wheel or a lantern wheel into which gears the disc pinion
or pinions The loose pinion, or pinion and arms, on the shaft is clasped by a fork
which in some cases has returning points entering into the pinion and from the
fork proceeds a small arm which fulcrumed by the returned points or trunnions can
oscillate to the wheel hub or to the support or upright side of the fork of the
bicycle-When resting against and in contact with the hub of the wheel; the arm
being caught and resting in between the projections or studs for the spokes or any
other suitable catch; the bearing wheel, the arm, the crank and treadle, all rotate
together but when the arm is oscillated to the upright side of the fork of the
bicycle and there retained by a suitable catch or fastening the loose pinion becomes
a fixed fulcrum the pinion or pinions on the disc or arms rotate round it and
transmit their motion to the internal toothed or lantern wheel on the hub of the
driving or bearing wheel of the bicycle and the differential motion is given to the
driving wheel which now rotates faster than the crank shaft-If the loose pinion
has 16 teeth the disc pinions 16 teeth and the hub internal wheel 48 teeth the
differential motion of the shaft and the wheel is as 3 to 4 or if the bicycle wheel
has a diameter of 48 inches the motion becomes equivalent to a wheel of sixty four
inches, with the same revolutions of the treadle shaft.
I have assumed here that the pinions and the loose wheel are equal but other
proportions can be employed-The arm of the fork is kept to the hub by a spring
on the loose pinion when it is required to oscillate to the upright of the fork
of the bicycle a small catch is slid down the upright of the fork of the bicycle
engaging with the fork arm withdrawing it from the notches of the disc or hub
of the wheel and the arm is caught and held by that catch-When it has to be
released the catch is lifted up.
The like improvements in gearing may be applied to tricycles or other similar
vehicles either to the pitch chain or band wheels or to one or more of the driving
wheels.

page_text: In Figures 1 and 2 a is the shaft of the treadles. bbbb are the arms carrying
(in this case) four wheels or pinions.cccc working on pins c¹ cl cc around the
shaft a and loose thereon is another pinion or wheel d into which the pinions c¹
work and gear or these arms may be substituted by a disc or other suitably
formed part.
The inner part e¹ of the pitch chain or driving band wheel e or wheel driven
by the treadles thence transferring its motion to the driving wheel of the vehicle
is provided with an internal set of teeth e into which gears the pinions c.
The loose pinion d on the shaft a carries arms or trunnions which are clasped
or engaged by a fork f and from the fork f proceeds a small arm f" which taking
its fulcrum on the arms or trunnions f¹ can oscillate to the disc or wheel e or to
the support g or framing of the machine-When resting against and in contact
with the wheel e the arm f being caught in the indentations or depressions
between the projections es, the wheel e the arm f' the treadle shaft and treadle
all rotate together but when the arm f is oscillated to the framing and there
retained by a catch h (more clearly shewn by Figures 3 and 4) the loose
pinion d becomes a fixed fulcrum the pinions c on the arms b rotate round it and
transmit their motion to the internal teeth e of the wheel e and the differential
motion is given to the wheel e which now is rotated faster than the crank shaft.
is a spring on the loose pinion d keeping the arm of the fork to the wheel e
h is a catch adapted to engage with and hold the arm f' of the fork fout of contact
and away from the wheel e when desired by its being slid on the framing in the
case of the form shewn by Figures 5. 6 and 7 or turn on its centre of motion h
in the case of the form of catch shown by Figures 3 and 4. The catch h being
caused to engage with the arm f' by a wire h or other suitable connection.
In Figure 8 the parts are shewn adapted to a Bicycle and aro similar in their
form and mode of operation, except; that represents the main axle of the bearing
or driving wheel of a bicycle, l' the cranks, g the framing; that the internal set of
teeth m are provided within the hub m of the bearing or driving wheel n for the
pinions c to engage with and that the arm f' is caught or held between the studs
or projections n' of the spoke ends
Having now described the nature of my invention I would have it understood
that what I claim is the combining or arranging parts forming differential speed
gearing for Bicycles, Tricycles and similar vehicles adapted for use in altering
the speed relatively of the driving and driven parts thereof at will substantially
as and for the purpose herein described and shewn in the accompanying drawings.
In witness whereof I the said William Britain Junior havé hereunto set my
hand and seal this ninth day of April in the year One thousand eight
hundred and eighty three.
Witness
ALFRED G BROOKES.
59 Chancery Lane
London
Patent Agent.
W. BRITAIN JUNR (L.S.)