An Improved Speed Indicator for Bicycles and similar or other Vehicles.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Feb., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 4th May, 1894-4ccepted, 9th June, 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Speed Indicator for Bicycles and similar or other
Vehicles.
I THOMAS SPENCER JAMES Engineer 172 Camden Grove North Peckham S.E.
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
On any convenient part of the cycle or other vehicle; I place an apparatus
that is sensitive to, & capable of, indicating, the rate & number of revolutions;
slow or fast; of the cranks, or wheel, or wheels, as the case may be, & from this
primary apparatus, the motion imparted is conveyed to an indicating rate or speed
index or dial: which is placed in full view of the rider or driver, as the case may
be; so that he may increase or decrease his speed according to his requirements.
The primary apparatus can and may be an ordinary governor as is used in steam
engines; or any other and suitable and convenient apparatus, and the governor or
other apparatus may be set in motion by the action of the cycle or other vehicle.
Motion from this primary apparatus is conveyed to the pointer or dial, or index,
which may be fixed or attached near to and close to the governor or other
appliance; or it may be placed at a distance from the same as desired, suitable
connection being formed between the parts. Increased speed on the rider's or
driver's part (as the case may be) will alter or actuate the primary apparatus in
one direction and decrease of speed will alter or actuate it in the reverse direction.
Increase of speed for example in the case of a governor will cause the arms to fly
apart; decrease the reverse and this motion is taken advantage of to actuate a
pointer, or index, or dial, either close to, or at a distance from the primary
apparatus and so enable the rider or driver to ascertain at any instant, or
continually what distance per minute or hour he is travelling; thus a rider or
driver wishing to travel a given number of miles in a given time, has but to pedal
or drive sufficiently fast so as to cause the pointer or index, or dial to remain at or
near a given graduation mark and he may be certain of attaining his object as
each given graduation corresponds to a given speed. It thus takes the place of a
pace- or speed-maker as it spurs the rider or driver to attain a given object; a
recording device may also be attached if desired which gives a record of the speed
through any period of time.
Di. 19th Joh 1801
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Speed Indicator for Bicycles and similar or other
Vehicles.
.
I, THOMAS SPENCER JAMES, of 172 Camden Grove North, Peckham, in the
County of Surrey, 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 :-
My invention relates to speed indicators applicable to cycles, and other vehicles
and is intended to give an indication at any or every moment of the speed of travel
of the vehicle to which it is attached.
The indicator consists primarily of a governor driven by some convenient
rotating part of the vehicle and arranged to control a pointer which moves across &

page_text: suitably graduated scale in such a manner that the position of the said pointer
affords an indication of the speed of the vehicle.
My said improved speed indicator may be combined with a recording device for
obtaining a permanent record of the speeds during a journey. This device is
intended more especially for use on goods delivery vans and the like.
Referring to the accompanying drawings,
Figure I is a view of the indicator detached from the vehicle, the case being
shown open to exhibit the interior thereof.
Figure 2 is a view of the indicator combined with a permanent recording
device.
Figures 3 to 6 show the indicator applied to a bicycle and illustrate different
modes of driving the same.
:
Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in the various figures.
A is the casing formed of two parts hinged together so that they can be operated
to allow the interior mechanism to be examined and cleaned or adjusted as
required. I have shown in Figure 1 a hollow spherical case, but any other
suitable shape may be adopted. B is a governor mounted to turn in bearings b, b
formed in the casing. C is a light pulley fixed on the governor spindle through
which said spindle is driven. Mounted loosely on the governor spindle and
adapted to slide thereon is a sleeve E. F is a disc formed solid with or fixed to
said sleeve E, and connected by links G, G with the governor arms.
H is a finger
or pointer pivoted at H' to the casing and bearing at its rear or inner end upon the
disc F. The outer part of the finger is contained in an extension I of the casing
to which is attached a spring J that bears against the finger and maintains the
latter except as hereinafter described in contact with the disc F. The tail end of
the finger is bent or curved as shown so that the extremity only touches the disc
as the latter is moved by the governor. K is a graduated scale over which the
pointer moves. Said scale may be permanent, or may be movable to allow of
other scales being substituted therefor. L is a clasp provided with a pinching
screw L' by which the indicator may be secured to the frame of the vehicle, in
such a position that the dial will be in full view of the rider or driver as the case
may be.
The governor may be driven by a cord M from the driving crank axle as shown
in Figure 3, or from the front wheel axle as shown in Figure 4. Said cord M
passes through a slot a provided in the casing. In Figure 5 I have shown a
modification of the invention wherein the governor spindle is extended and is
driven by toothed gearing from the crank axle. The mode of operation of the
indicator is however the same. Figure 6 shows the governor driven by a cord M
from a pulley N which is supported by a bracket N' fixed to the back fork and is
driven by frictional contact with the back wheel of the bicycle.
The mode of operation is as follows, the governor being rotated at a speed
independent of the speed of the vehicle, the balls move outward and displace the
disc F along the governor spindle thereby moving the finger H across the dial and
maintaining it against the pressure of the spring J in a position which corresponds
with the speed. Every different speed will have a corresponding position of finger,
and hence the scale or dial being suitably marked, the speed at which the vehicle
is travelling can be instantly ascertained by noting the position of the finger.
The instrument shown in Figure 1 is not graduated below 8 which indicates
miles per hour, so that when the speed is below this inferior limit the disc F will
not bear on the tail end of the finger the latter being arrested by the frame of the
apparatus. When the governor is driven from the crank axle or from the wheel
axle it is necessary to provide for adjusting the apparatus to suit different rates
of gear or different sized wheels. For this purpose I provide an adjusting
screw which presses against the spring J and can be regulated to vary the
tension of said spring and consequently the load on the governor. It will be
convenient to set the apparatus initially to the highest gear which is in use, and
then if it is required to apply the indicator to a machine not geared up so high

page_text: the adjusting screw must be tightened in accordance with the change in the rate
of gear. The adjustment can be effected very readily by trial for example by
turning the bicycle wheel at a known rate corresponding say to a speed of
8 or 10 miles an hour and then adjusting the screw O until the finger indicates
that speed on the scale. When one mark say the 8 mile mark has been righted to
any machine then all the other marks are correct for that machine so that no
change of scale is needed.
A cyclist furnished with this apparatus can always see at what speed he is
travelling, and can adjust his speed as may be required to attain some particular
object in view. For example a rider racing against time can observe if he is
travelling at the proper speed or not at every part of the route, and can dispense
with pace makers, the instrument itself serving as a pace-maker.
In Figure 2 I have shown a speed indicator combined with a permanent recording
device which comprises a cylinder P which is very slowly rotated by a cord from
one of the vehicle axles for example and is adapted to receive a paper or recording
slip placed round the circumference thereof. The finger H carries a pencil
which bears against the paper slip and draws a line or curve thereon as the
cylinder rotates. The ordinates of this curve indicate the speed at the particular
moment. At the end of the day the recording slip is removed and is kept as a
permanent record of the speed of the vehicle throughout the day, and of the
number of stoppages made, the latter being shown by the number of times the
pencil descends to the zero line.
The spring J of the arm H is in this instance a coil spring, which can be
adjusted by a regulating nut R.
In lieu of driving the recording cylinder as above indicated I may provide
suitable clockwork for rotating the same at a uniform speed, the governor being
driven by the vehicle. This modification of the apparatus will indicate not only
the speeds travelled, and the number of stoppages made, but also the length of each
stoppage.
Such an apparatus will be very useful as applied to goods delivery vans and the
like as it will enable the clerk to check the speeds and the number of stoppages
made in each journey.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. For vehicles a speed indicator comprising a governor which is rotated by a
revolving part of the vehicle and is constructed to control a pointer adapted to
move over a graduated scale, and means whereby the user can adjust the indications
of the apparatus to suit any particular vehicle.
2. A speed indicator constructed substantially as described with reference
to Figure 1 and driven by any of the methods iudicated in Figures 3 to 6 or
otherwise driven, and operating as specified.
3. The combined speed indicator and permanent recording device substantially
as described with reference to Figure 2 of the drawings and operating as and for
the purpose specified.
"
C
2001
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.