Improvements in Velocipedes.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Sept., 1890
Complete Specification Lefr, 21st July, 1891-Accepted, 19th Sept., 1891
PROVISIONAL DI MOTIVATI
Improvements in Velocipedes.
We JAMES MCHARDY of Fairfax House Chiswick, Scientific Expert and
WILLIAM ROBERT MCHARDY of Fairfax House Chiswick Engineer do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
-
This invention, having for its object improvements in velocipedes, is carried into
practice somewhat as follows:
For the steering of such machines, it is proposed to use a wheel centred upon a
fork, not in the usual position, but so inclined to the horizontal line, and so bevelled
at its hinge bearing, as to remove some of the inclination to upsetting. In a front
steer, the hinge-centre of the fork will be in advance of the wheel, whilst in a back
steer it will be in the rear. The driving may be achieved by using fuzee-like
pulleys friction-geared, with a pay off which shall give higher speed
as the foot
approaches the point of most power or by using the ordinary chain or other drive
in duplicate, one side for speed and the other for power, it will be possible, by
means of a suitable clutch, for the rider to throw on power or speed at pleasure.
Any clutch may be used, but it is proposed especially in this case to use a spring,
concave disc-like contrivance, which may be forced into the side of the wheel to
be connected in such a manner as to cause it to buckle into position, and there
remain without further pressure, carrying the said wheel with it in its revolution.
The clutch as usual will slide on a feathered bearing on the same spindle as the
wheel with which it may be geared. (Any equivalent to the feathered bearing
may be used.) The wheel shall be free upon the said spindle when not actuated
by the clutch.
The rims of the road-wheels shall be made from continuous metal to avoid the
usual.brazed joining.
A ball-bearing head will be produced by so combining a centre pin with ball-
bearings that in the event of the latter giving way, the neck of the machine will
still remain workable. Several combinations in this contrivance, may be necessary,
such as, balls rolling upon the spindle when it fits loosely the holes through which
it passes; or, the balls may have courses independent of the spindle: either two
or three sets of balls may be used, and such centres, threaded parts &c. as may
meet the requirements of construction.
The cranks shall be made detachable by having an end to the spindle, a section
of which would present two sides of a triangle with the apex cut away. The
hole in the crank will he made of a similar shape, and a pinch-screw through the
said crank will come down upon the base of the spindle-end, and wedge it into
the triangular sides of the hole in the crank. Instead of the said pinch-screw a
key or other appliance may be used if preferred.
The saddle, by means of cross pieces, which may in themselves be springs,
working with a scissors-like action, shall be so contrived as, that the front shall
always move further than the back. The saddle may be suitably provided with a
pneumatic apparatus such as bellows or an air-pump and work an alarm at the
pleasure of the rider. The air may either be stored to a given pressure or allowed
to escape when not required. The said pneumatic attachment shall act as a
spring.
A ball-bearing for special purposes shall be produced in such a manner as that
the diameter of the bearing shall compensate for the shortness of the spindle.
Thus a crank may be fitted to a disc grooved to receive balls at some distance from
the centre, and this running against a similar disc may be held in position by a
very short spindle with a small ball-course on the opposite side

page_text: The driving chain will be constructed on the principle of the ball-socket (i.e.,
having universal joints). Our aim is to come as near as possible at a set of balls
on a single steel wire engaging wheels provided with suitable cavities. It may not
be expedient to adopt this plan exactly, but we may come near it by constructing
hollow teeth in a spherical or any other form that will admit of their correctly
fitting the articulating cavities in the wheels, no matter in what position they
happen to present themselves. These said hollow teeth or stops may be capable
of retaining the connecting links. The said connecting links may consist of short
lengths of wire with balls or hemispheres on each end. The sockets in which these
work may form part of the spherical tooth. The spherical tooth may be con-
structed in several parts. The ball-head may be fixed on to the wire in the
sockets, before such sockets are inserted as parts of the spherical tooth.
The said sockets become part of the spherical tooth when forced into a hole
through the sphere and there retained by spinning or bending the metal in upon
their outer parts or we may construct links in solid metal, cause the parts
of the hollow tooth to inclose the heads, and retain the whole by a rivet or its
equivalent.
The chain-wheel may be built in several pieces; viz., two discs with their outer
edges so turned over as, that, when the said discs are fastened back to back they
will form a kind of V pulley. The said discs being provided with suitable
apertures at the base of the V or other shaped hollow edge, will be capable of
receiving the chain hereinbefore described.
The said chain. wheel may have a suitable centre of its own or may be attached
to the spindle or hub, somewhat after the manner of fixing a circular saw.
The friction gear we propose to use will consist of a skeleton-wheel with spring
spokes at or about a tangent to the nave, and having, at their ends, such arcs as shall
act as pawls upon the inner surface of a cylindrical flange on the spindle or wheel
to be driven. If a double set of such spokes be provided, one set rejecting the
right turn and the other rejecting the left, and if the inclination of the spokes be
such as to form a concavity, this may be used as the herein before described clutch-
gear, so that the same parts may be used for both purposes.
:
We propose to produce a hub formed of several parts. Instead of boring the
hub we shall provide grooves in the form of an arc of a circle capable of receiving
the wire on the same principle as the hole made by a shoe-maker's awl receives the
bristle. This will be effected by grooving the edge of one half of the flange of
the hub and afterwards fixing the other half to it. The wire may be practically
stitched into the hub by pushing it in at one end of the groove and out at the
other or the wire inserted in this said groove may be only of sufficient length to
provide several nuts in the vicinity of the hub, in which case the wire loop will
be inserted when the cover is fixed-(ie. when the parts, of which the flange is
formed, are joined, to make it complete); or the said loop of wire may present
screw ends upon which nuts may be threaded. Any threading or twisting process
may be suitable for tightening the wheel, but we purpose using long nuts of four
kinds; one with a plain thread throughout, one with two or more threads (inside
or out) of different pitches, one with a screw-nail-head for insertion in the rim, and
one swivel nut.
The mud-guards shall be provided with such parts as shall render it possible to
detach them at a minute's notice. For this purpose fixings similar to a spring lock
with antivibration-cushions will be produced where necessary, and the ends of the
stays will be made to spring on to the axle or any convenient part of the frame.
This may be very readily carried out by putting a somewhat spiral twist on the
ends of the mud-guard stays so that they may inclose the sides of the frame
loosely in a given position, but grasp it securely when forced into the working
position.
To duplicate frames or frames of several lines of material we shall apply a
process of angular bracing to secure rigidity and lightness. This may be most
readily done as follows. Given a frame in two continuous parts, studs or supports

page_text: are inserted between the parts to maintain their exact distance asunder. Apertures
or fixings being provided, the whole is bound together by a diagonal cross lacing
of suitable material and when all the parts are at a given tension they shall be
fixed at every point by brazing, soldering or rivetting. In constructing a frame
on this principle it will readily be observed that we may include any number of
lines of material if we secure their exact distances apart and strain them towards
each other in the diagonals. Practically this will be a simple or compound
lattice-girder-frame, having two or more longitudinal parts with numerous diagonal
stays.
Instead of the usual chain adjustment, we cause the frame to terminate in a
simple screw in exact line with the centre of the driving chain-wheel. A lug is
provided having holes at right angles to each other. One of the said holes receives
the spindle of the back wheel and is secured by the jam nut, the other receives the
aforesaid screw end of the frame and is secured by a nut in front and rear of it.
Dated this 22nd day of September 1890.
JAMES MCHARDY.
WILLIAM MCHARDY.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Velocipedes.
We JAMES MCHARDY, Scientific Expert, and WILLIAM ROBERT MCHARDY,
Engineer, both of Fairfax House Chiswick 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 :-
As an improvement in the steering parts of velocipedes, we use a wheel, centred
upon a fork (or its equivalent) so inclined to the horizontal line, and so bevelled at
its hinge-bearing, that in turning a corner, the said wheel shall take up a course,
such as shall increase its distance from the centre of the circle being described, in
proportion to the smallness of the circle. This is achieved in a front steering
wheel by constructing the parts as follows. The line of the neck or hinge-portion
of the fork may incline forward in the downward direction, for the purpose of saving
the tyre from side jar; but, the centre of the said steering wheel shall be at a point
conveniently behind a vertical line cutting the neck of the said steering parts, so
that when the rider steers to the right the point of contact with the road shall be
proportionately removed to the left, towards the outside of the circle being
described. In applying this principle to a back steering machine, we have but to
invert the process, as above described, for a front steer.
We introduce, where advisable, a fuzee-like pulley which works in the following
manner; viz., a pulley, whose outward working surface may be said to be spiro-
conical, is geared to the axle or wheel to be driven, in such a manner that it
automatically returns to its normal position by any suitable means, but cannot
revolve in the forward direction without carrying the wheel or axle to which it is
geared, with it. The band or chain actuated by the foot being fixed at any given
point, near or towards the apex of the cone, and upon the working surface of the
spiro-cone or fuzee, it follows that when the leg of the rider is drawn
the pay
up,
off of the band will be from the greater diameter of the said fuzee, and when the
leg is distended, the pay-off will be from the smaller diameter of the fuzee; con-
sequently there will be most speed when there is most power and vice-versa. Or,
by using ordinary driving gear we can produce the power and speed gear as
follows; viz., we use a double chain or other driving gear having speed adjustment
on one side, and power on the other. The actuating wheels are free upon the
driving spindle (ie. the spindle which receives its motion from the feet) but capable
of being, the one or the other, engaged by a clutch upon the said driving spindle.
If the said actuating wheels be geared, say, the left to 50 inches and the right to
60 inches, and the clutch be capable of engaging the one or the other; and if the

page_text: clutch be capable of being controlled by a rod, or any suitable means, convenient
for the rider, it follows that the rider may throw on speed, or power, at pleasure.
Any suitable clutch may be used, but we prefer to use the spring concave disc-
like contrivance described as follows: Having produced a disc and having shaped
it in such a manner as that it shall somewhat resemble a saucer, we make suitable
radial incisions extending from the periphery to any convenient distance towards
the centre. Thus the outer part of the concave disc becomes free to contract or
extend. Corresponding with the normal diameter of this said concave disc, we
provide a groove in the side of the wheel to be engaged by it. The concave disc is
suitably feathered upon the driving spindle alongside of the said wheel to be driven.
On forcing the disc in against the wheel, the divided periphery of the disc enters
the aforesaid groove, springs to a larger diameter owing to its shape, becomes rigid
with the said wheel, and being so adjusted as to have room to spring past the line
of resistance, the said disc-clutch buckles itself into the side of the wheel and
remains engaged with it, without any further pressure. By using a pair of such
concave clutches in between a pair of driving wheels it becomes an easy matter to
throw one or other of them in or out of gear.
The rims of the road-wheels shall be made of continuous metal, so as to have no
joinings in them. This may be achieved by producing them like washers out of the
flat material and subsequently rolling them into the desired shape, or having
produced tube-material of suitable dimensions, they may be cut from the said tube
and subsequently rolled to shape.
The ball-bearing-head consists, in producing such parts as will enable us to pass
an axis through the whole like the bolt of a hinge upon which the parts may
perform the functions of a hinge without balls and yet provided with the usual ball
races and adjustments to admit of the balls taking up the working of the joint.
The cranks shall be made detachable by having an end to the spindle, a section of
which presents two sides of a triangle with the apex cut away.
The hole in the cranks being of a corresponding shape a pinch screw or tapered
pin of the ordinary type is used to force the inclined planes of the said spindle end
and crank hole one upon the other after the manner of a wedge. The said pinch-
screw or tapered pin being applied to force apart the respective bases of the
triangular spindle end and crank-hole the force required to secure the crank is
easily obtained by the regulation in fitting of the angle of the inclined planes.
The saddle is provided with such parts as are especially set forth in the
drawings; viz., longitudinal scissor-like arms hinging upon each other at a suitable
point and also hinged upon studs or fixed points at the back of the saddle and the
back of the base of the saddle; and also hinged upon a pair of short arms at the
front, which said short arms are in turn hinged upon studs or fixed points at
the front of the saddle and saddle base before mentioned.
The short arms in front, admit of an up and down motion and at the same time
cause the said motion to be oblique, for if there were no freedom of play to the
scissor-like arms there could be no movement. The short arms in front admitting
of such movement it is manifest that the travel down and up in the front will be
greater than the travel at the back of the saddle. The main object is to have the
saddle dip, in a manner, at the front to avert danger to the rider on meeting an
obstacle.
Any kind of spring to force the saddle from the saddle-base will be suitable in
combination.
:
We may in addition utilise the movement of the saddle to work an air-pump
an inflator or bellows. In the case of an air-pump the attachment would be such
that at each up and down motion of the rider the air pump would be actuated by
the saddle and saddle-base-(N.B. The saddle base is the part which becomes
rigid, by fixture, with the L pin of the machine)-the piston rod being attached
In the
to the one and the body or cylinder of the air pump attached to the other.
case of inflator or bellows the attachment would be similar. The bellows would
work like a concertina bellows. The air thus accumulated would be stored in an

page_text: elastic bag if necessary and thence conveyed by tubing to the alarm at the service
of the rider. The hollow handle of the machine may thus be converted into a horn
by causing the tubing to lead the air to actuate a reed inserted for the purpose of
producing the necessary vibration. If the inflator be of a. suitable size and
provided with a pressure valve it may naturally become an auxiliary spring owing
to the elasticity of the air within contained.
A special ball bearing is produced as follows; at one side of a short spindle we
provide a ball race of comparatively small diameter whilst on the other side we
produce a race of much larger diameter and thus secure absence of oscillation and
narrowness of complete bearing for fixing in such a position as will not admit of a
long spindle. For example in the construction of a tandem safety this bearing may
be used in duplicate at either side of the wheel over which the rider is seated.
The driving chain consists of specially prepared bead like articulations as minutely
described in the drawings and references thereto.
The chain-wheel may be made in sections or in the solid the object in this case
being merely to produce a chain wheel suitable for the application of the ball socket
chain.
Instead of being provided with cogs, teeth or such like parts, the said wheel
shall be constructed with hollow spaces or holes corresponding to the bead-like links
of the chain.
Our friction gear consists of a skeleton-like wheel made up of a suitable centre
or nave and spring spokes terminating in ends (preferably in the form of arcs)
which shall be at such an inclination to the radii of the wheel as to act like pawls
upon a concave circular rim or flange.
The line of force of the said spokes may be tangent to the nave or tangent to any
suitable circle in or outside the nave.
The said friction gear will be easily understood if we compare it with a compound-
pawl-gear with which we are familiar.
In a common pawl-gear the pawl or pawls are outside or surrounding the surface
upon which they act. If we invert this process we at once produce the friction
gear herein described.
The spring spokes are merely pawls with their flexible parts near the centre and
their extreme outer ends rubbing upon the inside of a cylinder in the one direction
but gripping it in the other direction.
The hub of the road wheel is constructed as follows, viz.; It is built in parts
provided with such curved grooves as renders it possible to insert the wire of the
spokes in loops so that there may be no corners to wear or cut the wire, and in
conjunction with this said hub we may use any ordinary straining nuts or devices
but especially do we prefer swivel-nuts, screw-nail headed nipple-nuts, long sheath
nuts with thread throughout in combination or separately from long sheath-nuts
provided with threads of different pitches, as more especially shown in the
drawings.
The essential principle involved in the construction of our wheel aforesaid, is the
production of holes in the hubs that will not wear or cut the spokes and the nuts
used are essential to carrying this out in different conditions. The loop hole will
be at once understood when it is remembered that each length of wire is to form
two spokes whose extreme ends terminate at the rim. The loop formed by the said
length of wire is received in a grooved arc on the side of the hub and shut into its
place by an outside cap on the said hub.
The mud guard stays are made so that in a given position they engage the frame
or a part of it loosely but grip it securely when forced into the working position
where they may be secured by any suitable means.
We prefer making the said stays of such material as will give the required spring
in itself (as for example round steel with a cork-screw like end to engage the
material of the frame) or separate springs may be attached to them.
In frames of more than one line of material we introduce the following improve-
ment, studs being inserted at convenient intervals, to hold the lines apart, the

page_text: which incloses them. Each spoke will act like an inverted pawl sliding in
the direction of the arrow-point and driving the inclosing groove in the
opposite direction.
Fig. XV. The road-wheel hub.
A-An open view with spokes in loops around
B-The parts with corresponding half grooves rivetted together or otherwise
made secure.
Figure XV., consisting of two sketches, A and B, may be more fully understood
by the following additional description, viz.; at A, the side of the road-wheel-hub is
represented by a circle. In ordinary wheels the hub is drilled with holes to receive
the spokes, at the periphery; whereas, in this case the hub is practically split in the
line of the said spokes. The surface of the split or detached hub, is prepared to
receive the spokes by having grooved ares milled on the plane of its circle, at, or
near, its outer edge, and at periodic distances around its circumference, capable of
receiving the said spokes in the form of loops. At A. the radiating lines represent
the spokes (two spokes being formed in each case by one piece of wire bent into a
loop to fit one of the grooved-arcs on the plane of the circle representing the hub).
If such loops of wire be inserted, as suggested in the grooved arcs, and an outer
cover or disc be forced in upon the hub-(the said disc shutting in the loops and
covering the whole surface of the circle representing the hub)-the said outer cover
will complete the hub and retain the loop-spokes in the said grooved arcs.
B is an
outline of the hub as thus completed. The transverse lines represent rivets.
N.B. The sketch B in Figure XV. is an outline of that portion of the hub (in
section) to which the improvement especially relates. It merely represents an
outline of that part of the hub which receives the spokes; or the sketch A, cut.
through the centre, and viewed endwise, after having a duplicate piece rivetted to
it, to keep the spokes from escaping from their loop-like grooves. The said sketch B
leaves the spokes out of account as also the other essential parts of the wheel which
do not enter into the question. If a line were drawn through the sketch B,
dividing it into two equal parts in the vertical direction, one part would represent
a section of A, and the other part would represent a section of the corresponding
cap, or disc, fixed to it by the rivets, which are represented by the transverse
parallel lines.
Fig. XVI. Variety of nuts applicable in various circumstances.
A-A swivel nut.
B-Long sheath-nut with differently pitched threads.
C-Screw-nail headed nipple-nut and
D-Top section of the last.
Fig. XVII. An application of the mud-guard-stay.
A--The material of the frame.
B-A spiral like hook on the end of spring material.
C-The continuation of the mud-guard-stay.
D-A dotted line-position of the stay when fixed.
If C be forced in the direction D the spiral hook B will grip the frame A; and
the other end of the mud-guard may be fixed as convenient, but we prefer to use a
spring lock such as is common for ordinary purposes.
As a matter of course the spiral-hook-spring is the essential feature of this
improvement of the mud-guard-stay, the lock or any suitable fixing concerning the
mud-guard proper.
Fig. XVIII. A plan of the front of a duplicate frame diagonally braced as
hereinbefore described.
Fig. XIX.-Chain-adjustment.
A-Stamping (in this case made capable of receiving both ends of the frame).
B-The threaded back-end of the frame.
CD-Jam-nuts countersunk to carry A clear of the thread.
E-Transverse hole for receiving the back wheel spindle.
The above will be fully understood when it is borne in mind that the horizontal

page_text: ines of greatest length represent the back end of the frame threaded, that the
whole adjustment moves to the right or left by means of the said thread articulating
with the jam-nuts C. D and that in moving the parts to the left of the drawing the
hain is tightened whilst in moving them to the right the chain is slackened. Such
n adjustment is provided for each side of the wheel whose spindle is carried by the
ransverse hole E.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
ion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
ines of greatest length represent the back end of the frame threaded, that the
whole adjustment moves to the right or left by means of the said thread articulating
with the jam-nuts C. D and that in moving the parts to the left of the drawing the
chain is tightened whilst in moving them to the right the chain is slackened. Such
an adjustment is provided for each side of the wheel whose spindle is carried by the
ransverse hole E.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
ion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
1. The steering gear as herein described.
2. The fuzee-like driving pulley.
3. The change gear by means of duplicate chains in connexion with the several
parts particularly set forth in the drawings (see Figures III. & IV.).
4. The spring clutch as herein described (as applied to velocipedes).
5. The ball head (as particularly described).
6. The detachable crank particularly as herein described.
7. The saddle with oblique motion (as particularly described).
8. The chain and chain wheel as herein set forth."
9. The friction gear as set forth in Fig. XIV.
10. The hub as in Fig. XV.
11. The nuts as in Fig. XVI.
12. The spring self fixing mud-guard-stay particularly herein set forth.
13. The braced frame as set forth in Fig. XVIII.
14. The chain adjustment exactly as herein described and set forth but if necessary
having a slot instead of the transverse hole E Fig. XIX.
15. The air-pump, inflator or bellows as actuated by the motion of the saddle to
blow an alarm constructed in the handle or otherwise and if necessary to act as an
auxiliary spring. Each and all as herein set forth.
Dated this 20th day of July 1891.
JAMES M'HARDY.
W. R. MCHARDY.