New or Improved Means or Apparatus for Converting Reciprocatory Motion into Rotary Motion, applicable to various purposes, such as the Driving Gear of Cycles or Motor Cars, or for Steam Engines or other Motors or the like.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Dec., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 17th Sept, 1897-Accepted, 23rd Oct., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Means or Apparatus for Converting Reciprocatory
Motion into Rotary Motion, applicable to various purposes, such
as the Driving Gear of Cycles or Motor Cars, or for Steam Engines
or other Motors or the like.
I, JAMES LEWIS, of Norman House, Emsworth, Hampshire, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to means or.apparatus for converting reciprocatory motion
into rotary motion and such means or apparatus may be adapted or applied in
any suitable manner to any motor or machine or machinery or apparatus or
purpose for which same may be applicable such for instance as the driving gear
of cycles or motor cars or steam engines or other reciprocatory motors such as
explosion motors or the like.
My present invention is as follows:-
The piston red or other connection to which reciprocating motion is imparted
either by a motor or otherwise is according to my invention suitably connected to
a frame with parallel sides and rounded or other suitably shaped ends the said
parallel sides of this frame being internally toothed as hereinafter described for
instance same may have suitable racks mounted thereon to gear with the herein-
after described toothed wheels or this frame may be formed with a series of
apertures therethrough or cups or depressions or recesses on the opposite faces
thereof into which the teeth or radial projections on the aforesaid toothed or
sprocket wheels will enter or engage similar to a chain and sprocket wheel
action.
Or this said frame may have arranged thereon a sprocket chain or equivalent
thereof mounted and held thereon in such manner that the teeth or projections of
the aforesaid sprocket or other wheels will engage or gear with said chain as
hereinafter described.
The aforesaid toothed or sprocket wheels are two in number and both mounted
concentrically on the same shaft or axle to which it is desired to impart rotary
motion.
One of these wheels engages with the rack-bar or chain etc. on one side of the
frame only the opposite side of the frame being clear of said wheel while the
second said toothed or sprocket wheel engages with the rack-bar or chain or
equivalent on the opposite side of said frame to that with which the first-named
wheel engages so that when said frame is moved along thereby the two wheels are
rotated in opposite directions. . .
These said wheels however are so arranged and mounted on the aforesaid axle
or shaft to which rotary motion is to be imparted that they can each revolve in
one direction independently of the shaft or spindle on which same is mounted while
in the opposite direction it can only revolve on the shaft that is to say it will
carry the shaft round with it and similarly with the other said wheel.

page_text: For instance each said wheel may be mounted with mechanism like the
mechanism of a ratchet brace only such ratchet brace mechanism is oppositely
arranged in the one wheel to what it is in the other.
Thus it will be seen that when the aforesaid rack frame is forced in one
direction the rack-bar or equivalent on one side thereof will propel one of the said
wheels in the direction to rotate the shaft therewith while the rack-bar or
equivalent on the opposite side of said frame will rotate the wheel in the opposite
direction and consequently the latter will by reason of its ratchet mechanism run
idly on the shaft or spindle in the opposite direction to the latter.
On the return motion of the aforesaid frame the rack on the opposite side will
now revolve the second wheel in the opposite direction i.e., so as to revolve the
shaft while the first-named wheel will be revolved in the opposite direction by its
rack and thus run idly upon the said spindle or shaft and so on.
It will thus be seen that there are no dead centres in this mechanism and the
power is transmitted equally at all periods of the stroke of a reciprocating engine
or other motive power to the aforesaid spindle or shaft.
This spindle or shaft may be the driving shaft or axle of a vehicle such as a
motor car or bicycle if desired or the aforesaid spindle or shaft to which rotary
motion is thus imparted from a reciprocating motion may have a sprocket wheel
with chain thereon to impart motion to the driving axle or driving shaft of the
vehicle or mechanism these means for transmitting the motion being such as the
sprocket wheel and chain at present in use for driving cycles. motor cars, etc.
Or said spindle may have a toothed wheel thereon gearing with another toothed
wheel or train of wheels by which motion is transmitted to the desired point or
such rotary motion may be transmitted from this said spindle or shaft in any
other suitable manner.
This invention may be applied or adapted in any suitable manner or for any
purposes to which same may be applicable for instance for the driving gear of
cycles particularly bicycles of the present well-known "safety" type this
mechanism could be used either for converting the motion from reciprocating
pedals into rotary motion to thereby revolve the axle or shaft in the bottom bracket
on which the sprocket wheel and chain would be mounted in the usual or any
suitable manner to thus drive the bicycle or this mechanism could be applied
direct on to the back wheel or axle by means of reciprocating pedals operating
pivotted levers the other ends or parts of which would be suitably connected to
the aforesaid frame with rack-bars etc. therein which frame would thus be re-
ciprocated and thereby revolve the two said wheels with ratchet brace mechanism
therein in manner aforesaid which latter being mounted or connected to the axle
of the driving wheel or to the hub thereof would thereby revolve said driving
wheel.
Instead of using a toothed wheel or complete circle of teeth as aforesaid I may
if desired use any mechanical equivalent thereof such as the sector of a circle or
instead of the aforesaid frame gearing as aforesaid with the teeth of the aforesaid
wheels with ratchet brace mechanism therein I 'may if desired use drums or
equivalents containing the ratchet mechanism as aforesaid to one of which drums
the aforesaid frame has a flexible connection from one end thereof and
similarly a flexible connection from the other end of said frame wound on to the
other drum so that when the said drum is reciprocated it will unwind one drum
and so rotate the axle or spindle through the ratchet brace mechanism therein and
at same time wind up the other connection on its drum and similarly with
the other drum-there being thus two drums in place of the aforesaid two toothed
wheels with two flexible connections to each drum acting as aforesaid.

page_text: New or Improved Means or Apparatus for Converting Reciprocatory
Motion into Rotary Motion, applicable to various purposes, such
as the Driving Gear of Cycles or Motor Cars, or for Steam Engines
or other Motors or the like.
I, JAMES LEWIS, of Norman House, Emsworth, Hampshire, Engineer, 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:-
This invention relates to means or apparatus for converting reciprocatory motion
into rotary motion and such means or apparatus may be adapted or applied in
any suitable manner to any motor or machine or machinery or apparatus or
purpose for which same may be applicable such for instance as the driving gear
of cycles or motor cars or steam engines or other reciprocatory motors such as
explosion motors or the like.
And in order that my present invention may be easily understood and readily
carried into practice I will proceed to fully describe same with reference to the
drawings hereunto annexed:-
Fig. 1 is a view of my invention carried out in conjunction with a single
cylinder with reciprocating piston.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus for converting reciprocatory motion
into rotary motion-on a greatly enlarged scale.
Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on line 3-3 Fig. 2-looking downwards.
Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line 44 Fig. 2.
Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view on line 5-5 Fig. 3 looking in the direction
of the arrow x.
The piston rod a or other connection (to which reciprocating mation is im-
parted either by a steam cylinder such as b or any other suitable motor or other-
wise) is according to my invention suitably connected to a frame c with parallel
sides cand rounded or other suitably shaped ends the said parallel sides c¹ c³
of this frame e being internally toothed as hereinafter described for instance same
may have suitable racks d¹ formed or mounted therein the position of these
racks being as shown in Fig. 4 that is to say they are not in the same vertical plane.
These racks d' d² are respectively adapted to gear with the hereinafter described
toothed wheels el and e² each of which is mounted loosely on the shaft or spindle
that is to say so as to freely revolve thereon in either direction-or this frame c
may be formed with a series of siots or apertures or cups depressions or recesses
on the opposite faces c¹² thereof into which the teeth or radial projections on the
aforesaid toothed wheels el e will enter or engage similar to a chain and sprocket
wheel action.
Or the said frame c may have arranged thereon a sprocket chain or equivalent
thereof mounted and held thereon in suchwise that the teeth or projections of
the aforesaid wheels e¹ and e2 respectively will engage or gear with said chain
or chains.
The aforesaid toothed or ratchet wheels ele respectively are both mounted
concentrically on the same shaft or axle z to which it is desired to impart rotary
motion.
One of these wheels el engages with one rack c¹ on one side only of the frame c
the opposite side and the rack d² thereon being clear of said wheel e-see Fig. 4.
Similarly the second wheel e2 engages with the rack bar on the side of said
frame c and is clear of the opposite side c¹ of said frame and also clear of the
rack d' thereon-see Fig. 4-so that when said frame is moved along with respect

page_text: to the shaft or axle z thereby the wheels e and are rotated in opposite directions.
These said wheels el and however are so arranged and mounted on the
aforesaid axle or shaft z to which rotary motion is to be imparted that they can
each revolve in one direction independently of the shaft or spindle on which
same is mounted while in the opposite direction it can only revolve with the
shaft that is to say it will carry the shaft z round with it and similarly with
the other said wheel for instance each said wheel e¹ and e respectively may be
constructed and mounted with mechanism like the mechanism of a ratchet brace
only such ratchet brace mechanism is oppositely arranged in the one wheel e' to
what it is in the other wheel. Thus the wheel el Fig. 5 has pivotted thereto
the pawlf with spring f which normally holds said pawl pressed into the ring
of teeth on the ratchet g which latter is keyed or fixed in any suitable manner
to the shaft z so that it will readily be seen on reference to Figs. 4 and 5 that the
shaft will be revolved in the direction of the arrow y when the wheel e¹ is
revolved in the same direction while when the latter is revolved in the opposite.
direction to the arrow y then the pawl f will run back freely over the teeth g¹ of
said ratchet g.
On referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the toothed wheel will by its
pawl f (which engages with the toothed flange or ring of teeth on the ratchet g)
revolve the said ratchet y also in the direction of the arrow y when said wheel c
is revolved in that direction and the ring of teeth being carried on the ratchet g
which is keyed to the axle or shaft as aforesaid thereby the latter is also
rotated by the wheel in the direction of said arrow y while when the wheel is
rotated in the opposite direction its pawl f can ride loosely over the teeth g² of
the said ratchet g with which latter it (the pawl f) is held in gear by a suitable
spring f.
Thus it will be seen that when the aforesaid rack frame c is forced in the
direction of the arrows » Figs. 2 and 5 thereby the rack c¹ will rotate the wheel c¹
in the opposite direction to the arrow y and the pawl f will consequently run
back over the teeth g' while at same time the ratchet will rotate the wheel e³
in the same direction as the arrow y and consequently the wheel will through its
pawl f now rotate the ring of teeth g and thereby the ratchet y and with it the
axle all in the direction of the arrow y; and vice-versa when the frame
caused to travel in the opposite direction to the said arrow v.
is
Thus the shaft z will alternately receive an impulse (that is rotary movement)
in the direction of the arrow y alternately from the wheel e and wheel
respectively.
It will thus be seen that there are no dead centres in this mechanism and the
power is transmitted equally-at all periods of the stroke of a reciprocating motor
or other motive power to the aforesaid spindle or shaft z
This spindle or shaft may be the driving shaft or axle of a vehicle such as
a motor car or bicycle if desired, or the aforesaid spindle or shaft z to which
rotary motion is thus imparted from a reciprocating motor may have a sprocket
wheel with chain thereon to impart motion to the driving axle or driving shaft
of the vehicle or mechanism these means for transmitting the motion being such
as the sprocket wheel and chain "at present in use for driving cycles, motor
cars, etc.
Or said spindle may have a toothed wheel thereon gearing with another
toothed wheel or train of wheels by which motion is transmitted to the desired
point or such rotary motion may be transmitted from this said spindle or shaft
in any other suitable manner.
This invention may be applied or adapted in any suitable manner or for any
purposes to which same may be applicable for instance for the driving gear of
cycles particularly bicycles of the present well-known "gafety" type this
mechanism could be used either for converting the motion from reciprocating
pedals into rotary motion to thereby revolve the axle or shaft in the bottom bracket
on which the sprocket wheel and chain would be mounted in the usual or any

page_text: suitable manner to thus drive the bicycle or this mechanism could be applied
direct on to the back wheel or axle by means of reciprocating pedals operating
pivotted levers the other ends or parts of which would be suitably connected to
the aforesaid frame with rack-bars etc. therein which frame would thus be re-
ciprocated and thereby revolve the two said wheels with ratchet brace mechanism
therein in manner aforesaid which latter being mounted or connected to the axle
of the driving wheel or to the hub thereof would thereby revolve said driving
wheel.
Instead of using a toothed wheel or complete circle of teeth as aforesaid I may
if desired use any mechanical equivalent thereof such as the sector of a circle or
instead of the aforesaid frame cgearing as aforesaid with the teeth of the aforesaid
wheels e e with ratchet brace mechanism therein I may if desired use drums or
equivalents containing the ratchet mechanism as aforesaid to one of which drums
the aforesaid frame has a flexible connection from one end thereof and
similarly a flexible connection from the other end of said frame wound on to the
other drum so that when the said drum is reciprocated it will unwind one drum
and so rotate the axle or spindle through the ratchet brace mechanism therein and
at same time wind up the other connection on to its drum and similarly with
the other drum-there being thus two drums in place of the aforesaid two toothed
wheels with two flexible connections to each drum acting as aforesaid.
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. In apparatus for converting reciprocating motion into rotary motion-the
combination with a rod such as a reciprocated by any suitable motor or other
suitable means, of two racks such as d d reciprocated by said rod, a ratchet
mechanism such as e f g operated by the rack d and revolving the shaft z on
the outstroke of the rack d' d, and a second and separate ratchet mechanism such
as e f g operated by the second rack and revolving the shaft in the same
direction as aforesaid on the instroke of the said racks d¹ d, substantially in the
manner and for the purposes hereinbefore described and illustrated in the drawings
hereunto annexed
2. The hereinbefore described new or improved apparatus or means for con-
verting reciprocating motion into rotary motion combined and arranged to act
substantially as and for the purposes set forth and illustrated in the drawings
hereunto annexed.
TONGUE & BIRKBECK,
Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.