IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Peter Armand le Comte de Fontainemoreau, of
No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Patent Agent, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER."-A communication.
Sealed the 3rd July 1857, and dated the 27th April 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Peter Armand le Comte
de Fontainemoreau at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
his Petition, on the 27th April 1857.
I, PETER ARMAND lo Comte DE FONTAINE MOREAU, of No. 4, South Street,
Finsbury, London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER," to be as follows,
that is to say
This Invention consists in the construction of an apparatus with a peculiar
arrangement of treadles, which, when actuated by the feet of one or more
men, put in motion a fly wheel and pulley. The power thus obtained may be
transmitted by any suitable means.
The apparatus is composed of two standards, upon which are mounted in.
suitable bearings a shaft provided with a fly wheel and pulleys. At the
middle of the shaft is a spur wheel, gearing with and receiving motion from

page_text: another wheel placed underneath, whose axis works in bearings on a central
standard. This axis is formed with two reversed cranks. To cach crank is
fixed a chain or band, fastened at the lower part to a treadle, consisting of a
lever working on a fulcrum at the centre. The two lever treadles are placed
opposite to each other, and their arms are connected together by cross pieces,
upon which the feet of two men opposite each other are placed, who by giving
an alternate ascending and descending motion to the levers actuate the cranks
and fly wheel, and pulleys. Instead of two levers, one or any suitable number,
according to the number of men, may be employed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Peter Armand le Comte de Fontainemoreau in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 19th August 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PETER
ARMAND le Comte DE FONTAINEMOREAU, of No. 4, South Street, Finsbury,
London, Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twentieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Peter Armand le Comto do Fontainemorcau, Her special license,
that I, the said Peter Armand le Comte de Fontainemoreau, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Peter Armand le
Comte de Fontainemoreau, my executors, adminstrators, and assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN OBTAINING MOTIVE POWER," communicated to me from a foreigner
residing abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Peter
Armand le Comte de Fontainemoreau, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and scal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and causo
the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine-
moreau, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what'
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing
hereto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to
say :-
The Invention communicated to me consists in a peculiar arrangement of
treadles, which, when actuated by the feet of two or more men, put in motion
a fly wheel and pulley, thereby producing motive power, which may be
transmitted to machinery.
Figuro 1 of the accompanying Drawing is an end view, and Figure 2 a
side view of the apparatus. The cog wheels A, A¹, are about ten inches in
diameter, and aro worked by two cranks B, B, put in motion by the weight
of two men pressing alternately from right to left and from left to right on
the extremities of two connecting bars C, C, fixed to the levers or treadles
D, D, working on the pivots E, E. These bars may be replaced by a single
bar A² in the centre, worked, as before described, by lovers, and having two
arms adapted to the rods, in the middle of which are fixed the connecting
rods F attached to the cranks. The cog wheel A gears with a similar cog
wheel A', mounted on an iron axle H about two inches in diameter. At one
of its extremities is a fly wheel I for regulating the motion, and at the other
extremity a pulley J, or in lieu thereof a bevel wheel may be employed for
giving motion to the machinery to be worked. By employing two men of
the average weight of two hundred and sixty pounds together, and working
the crank at a speed of thirty-six revolutions per minute, they would produce
a result equal to about one horse power. Hence four men would produce
about two horse power, eight men four horse power, and so on.
I effect this increase of power, first, by lengthening the connecting bars,
and applying two or more extra levers or treadles, so that the third and fourth
man may be placed behind the two others, and thus increase the weight
according to the number of men. Secondly, instead of a single cog wheel on
the shaft H, two, three, four, or more may be employed, each wheel gearing
with a corresponding cog wheel with its crank, four men being placed to each
couple of cog wheels.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details herein laid down; but what I claim is, the con-

page_text: struction of an apparatus put in motion by the feet of men for obtaining and
transmitting motive power for working machinery, as herein-before described,
and referred to in the Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Peter Armand le Comte de Fontaine-
moreau, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of
August, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-seven.
L' DE FONTAINEMOREAU. (LS.)