Improvements in Chain-cleaning Devices.
Year: 1891

page_text: Improvements in Chain-cleaning Devices.
A communication from RICHARD KNEIFEL, of No. 2, Ritterstrasse, Dresden-
Neustadt, Saxony, in the German Empire, Merchant.
1, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
M.I.M.E., 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 :-
It is well-known that the pitch chain of the driving-wheel is the part of the
machine which causes most anxiety to a cyclist and which has to be attended to with
the greatest care. The slightest neglect will frequently cause the chain to break
and thereby to leave the rider in great difficulty. Such breakages of the chain are
ascribable to a variety of causes; the chain may be made of inferior material, or other
circumstances may cause the mechanism to get out of order. But one main cause
of accident which is generally overlooked is want of cleanliness. Pitch chains are
naturally subject to receive and collect sand, dust and mud, and these impurities if
left unremoved gradually eat away the material and destroy the chain or make it
unfit for use.
Even where actual breakage does not occur a chain which has not
been properly cleaned, renders the motion of the wheel heavy and troublesome.
In cases of long tours it is insufficient to clean the chain once at the start and once
again when the journey is completed, and yet a more frequent cleaning has been
attended by great difficulty as it necessitated the provision of rags, etc., which the
driver had to take along with him.
The object of this invention is to provide a simple and readily controllable device
whereby the chain is automatically cleaned during the journey.
For this purpose
the chain is caused to run through, over or under a brush arrangement fitted in a
sliding frame, and to be pressed against the brush by a roller either movably or
rigidly attached to the same frame. Or the chain may be caused to pass between
a pair of adjustable brushes; all that the rider has to do being to properly adjust
these parts in their operative positions.
This adjustment the rider may effect from his seat or saddle through the medium
of suitable lever mechanism, so that he need not alight for the purpose.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 is a front view and
Figure 2 a side view of one form of the improved cleaning device, the parts being
represented in operative position.
The sliding frame or support A is secured by means of the clamp b to the portion
of the main frame nearest to the chain y in such a position as to enable the chain y
to move between the guide-rods a.
Should the main frame offer no convenient
point in the vicinity of the chain for this attachment, a clamp b may, if necessary,
be connected to the cross-stay a of the frame A by means of a bent arm of suitable
length and shape to ensure the correct relative position and co-operation of the
parts; or the sliding frame may be connected with the main frame in any other
convenient manner.
Upon the rods a is adjustably fitted the brush C which may be secured at any
desired height by set screws c. The roller D adapted to press the chain against
the brush C is also preferably adjustable on the rods a by means of set screws d d.
When it is desired to arrange the cleaning device in its operative position the
screws c and d are first loosened and the brush C and roller D are then pressed
against the chain y. The chain is thus caused to traverse the brush and in so doing
to be freed from dust, mud, grit and other impurities. After the chain has been
thus cleaned the brush C and roller D are moved away from the chain after first

page_text: loosening the set screws c and d so that the chain can pass between the two without
touching either.
As before stated the roller D may be secured beforehand in the proper relative
position to the chain and the brush C alone be adjustable. This arrangement,
however, is deemed to be of less practical value as it retains the chain constantly
in contact with the roller and increases the resistance or friction.
Another modification, which under certain circumstances is to be recommended,
consists in substituting for the roller D, a second adjustable brush. The joint action
of these brushes would then necessarily ensure more efficient cleaning especially in
the case of rather thick chains.
For setting the brush arrangement in and out of operation as before stated the
rider need not leave his seat, but operate a device one form of which is represented
in Figures 3 to 5 of the drawings.
Figure 3 is a front view and Figure 4 a side view thereof. Figure 5 shows the
connection between the wheel and the mechanism for throwing the chain cleaning
device in and out of action.
The bearings of the brush C and roller D are provided with lateral pins c¹ and d¹
respectively, adapted to slide within the slots e of the levers E E swinging on the
pivots e¹ of the sliding frame. When these levers are turned in the direction of
the arrows (Figure 4) the brush and roller recede from the chain, while when they
are moved in the opposite direction, the said brush and roller are pressed against
the chain. By shifting the slides e the brush and roller may be moved to the
required position in relation to the chain.
The levers EE are operated by means of another lever or arm ƒ rigidly secured
to or formed in part with one of the levers E and connected by the link g, (Figure 5)
to a bell-crank lever h. By another link i the hand-lever k is connected to the
cleaning-mechanism so as to enable the rider to operate the latter from his seat and
to arrest it in its terminal positions. It will be understood that this mechanism is
capable of modification without departure from the spirit of the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said inven-
tion as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is
1. A device for cleaning pitch chains of velocipedes in which the chain is caused
to run through a brush arrangement such as C adjustable in a frame or support
such as (A) and against which the chain is pressed by a roller (D) either movable
or stationary in the same frame for which purpose the rider by operating a con-
venient lever arrangement such as (f g h i k) brings both parts (C and D) or the
movable roller (D) only into operative position substantially as described, and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
2. The modification of the device referred to in the preceding claim consisting in
substituting for the roller D a second adjustable brush (C) with the fibre, bristles,
hair or the like turned towards the chain, substantially as described.
3. A chain-cleaning device in which the chain runs between a brush and a roller
or between two brushes substantially as described and illustrated in the accom-
panying drawings.
Dated this 27th day of April 1891.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.