Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Feb., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 7th Nov., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 15th Jan., 1889
I, JOHN BRAMALL, of 18 Ballantine Street, Wandsworth, in the county of Surrey,
Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in mechanism for propelling and steering
bicycles, tricycles, or other velocipodes and boats, canoes, and the like, having sido
or stern propelling wheels.
In carrying out my invention for propelling velocipedes &c. I employ a kind of
crown wheel or wheels having on one side or face one, two, three or more rows of
teeth or cogs and adapted to be operated by the pedals, cranks, levers, or other driving
mechanism, the said teeth or rows of teeth gearing with a sliding pinion on a shaft,
whereby the speed of the latter can be changed or the driving mechanism can be
thrown out of gear. The other end of the pinion, shaft, or spindle operates by suitable
gearing the main axle or the propelling wheels or the hub or boss of the propelling
wheel or wheels can be formed to allow of the pinion sliding thereon and of the
propelling wheels being operated direct from the crown wheel.
When using reciprocating levers or clutches or ratchet levers in combination with
my improved mechanism for propelling bicycles, the return stroke is effected by means
of suitable springs which I attach to a drum or pulley or its equivalent, so as to easily
regulate the tension of the said springs and allow the foot end of the levers to reach
the ground and serve as logs or supports for the bicycle when being mounted or
dismounted, the said foot levers being also applicable for chain wheel driving.
When the herein before described crown wheel having teeth on its face is operated
by a crank or crank pin I attach to the pin a connecting rod or rods, the said rod or
rods being attached to a lever or levers or the lever brackets. The said brackets aro
formed so as to allow of the levers being turned or folded up, and are pivotted or
hinged to the framing of the machine. When using a ratchet lever or the like the
reversing motion may be effected by using two pawls.

page_text: When clutch or ratchet gearing is used for operating the said wheel by several
persons at the same time, the power can be taken up by a drum or pulley containing
a strong spring, thereby preventing the gearing from being jerked. When using the
crown wheel gearing in connection with a continuous rotary motion such as electric,
air, wind, or other motors 1 obtain a reversing motion by having two pinions on the
same shaft or the motion can be reversed by shifting the single pinion.
Rotary motion can be communicated to the crown wheel by adapting the
periphery of the wheel for chain or strap driving. I can also use the crown whoel
as a friction driver for light work by using a collar of india rubber or other material
instead of a pinion.
The steering of velocipedes, boats, canoes, or the like provided with my improve-
ment, is accomplished by placing a quadrant or a sector of such length as will allow
the steering handle or tiller (or a counter handle or tiller) to traverse for steering or
turning round. The said quadrant or sector is provided with slots or notches and the
handle or tiller has a spring catch and lever mechanism convenient for grasping with
the hand. This allows of the steering handle or tiller being fixed in any desired
position when using the quadrant or soctor in boats, canoes, or the like. Outside the
greatest traverse of the tiller or handle are eyes or pulleys for cords which are
attached at one end to the catch on the tiller or handle, the other ends being connected
to any convenient part of the boat or canoe or even on shore as they will steer as far
as the lines will reach. In some cases the part of the handle or tiller that traverses
the sector can be formed to fit in the notches in the sector and held by its own weight
or by a spring, in any desired position.
Dated the 7th day of February 1888
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Steering Velocipedes, Boats, and the like.
I, JOHN BRAMALL, of 18, Ballantine Street, Wandsworth, in the County of Surrey,
Mechanical 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 mechanism for propelling and steering bicycles, tricycles
and other velocipedes and boats, canoes, and the like.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a bicycle provided with my improved mechanism for
propelling and steering the same.
Figure 2 is a-plan of figure 1 except that the saddle post is shown in section and
the guard of the hind wheel is removed.
Figure 3 is a section on the line A B of figuro 1.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the hind wheel and part of the frame of a bicycle
showing a modified arrangement of propelling mechanism.
Figure 5 is a side elevation of one of the pedals and pedal levers of the bicycle
illustrating another modification of the propelling mechanisin.
Figure 6 is a plan, and
Figure 7 is a rear elevation of a tricycle adapted to be propelled by means of my
improved mechanism.
Figure 8, 9 and 10 are views illustrating modifications of the said mechanism.
Figures 11 and 12 are rospectively a plan and a longitudinal section of the stern
ond of a boat with my improved steering mechanism adapted thereto.
Similar letters in all the figures indicate similar or corresponding parts.
I will first describe my invention by reference to figures 1, 2, and 3.
a and b are the front and rear wheels of the bicycle; c is the front or steering fork;
the steering head; e, e the handles; f the frame or backbone; g the back fork;
the saddle post; and the saddle.
In carrying out my invention, I employ a crown wheel j having on one side or face
two series or rows (or more) of teeth or cogs and mounted on a shaft a carried in a
forked extension of the backbone. The crown wheel is adapted to be operated
by reciprocating pedal levers c¹ and d¹ in the manner hereinafter described. The two
series of teeth of the crown wheel j gear with a sliding pinion & on one and of a
shaft whereby the speed of the latter can be changed or the driving mechanism can
be thrown out of gear.
For this purpose I provide a hand lever a having its fulcrum at a and its lower end
forked to embrace a grooved boss 63 on the sliding pinion k. The handle c² of the

page_text: adapted to engage in notches e² in a
pinion k can be slid on its shaft I to the
spring catch ³.
lever a is provided with a spring catch
sector so that by shifting the lever a the
required position and be there secured by the
The other end of the shaft carries a bevil wheel m gearing with a similar
wheel n attached to the hub o of the rear or propelling wheel whereby this latter
wheel is operated.
The reciprocating pedal levers and daro mounted loosely on the shaft a¹ and
carry pawls PP engaging with ratchei wheels, fixed on tho said shaft a'. By this
means when the pedals are alternately pressed down by the feet of the rider a
continuous rotary motion is communicated to the shaft a¹ and crown wheel j, the rear
wheel being thereby driven. The return or upward stroke of the levers c', d' is
effected by means of springs
8.
One end of each of the springs s is attached to the levers and the other end to a
frame pivotted at u, u to links v, v mounted loosely on the ends of the shaft al. The
top bar of the frame t is attached to one end of a link w, the other end of which is
pivotted at a on the frame. The bottom bar of the framo t serves as a stop to limit
the downward movement of the pedal levers c, and their upward movement is
limited by pins or stops y, y on the frame. The pins y also sorve for another purpose
hereinafter described. The top bar of the frame t is provided with a spring catch
adapted to engage in notches e', el in a quadrant f¹.
By the rider releasing the spring catch from the upper notch e¹, by means of
his foot, the frame will be lowered by the pull of the springs s from the normal
position shown by the full lines in figure 1 to the position indicated by the dotted
lines in the said figure and will be fixed in the latter position by the spring catch
engaging in the lower notch e'. As the frame is lowered the, pins y will forco
down the levers c', d' until the pedals reach the ground when the said levers will
serve as legs or supports for the bicyclo when mounting or dismounting the same
as will be seen by the dotted lines.
By simply disengaging the spring catch from the lower notch e¹ the frame t
can be again raised by the rider's foot and will be secured in its raised position by
the said catch engaging in the upper notch e'. The parts will then again be in position
for driving the bicycle.
Instead of employing the notched quadrant f¹ and link to for lowering the frame t
a similar result can be attained by employing a drum or pulley to the ends of which
the frame is eccentrically pivotted; the springs in this case are attached to bands or
chains secured to the drum or pulley which is adapted to be rotated and locked in the
required position by the rider.
The fork c of the bicycle has fixed thereon a sector g¹ provided with notches h²,
in which engages a catch pivotted at to the steering head d. This catch ¹ is
operated through the medium of a link and a lover by means of a handle m³
pivotted at n¹ to one of the steering handles e of the bicycle. The fulcrum of the
lever is at o' on the handle e. This arrangement allows of the steering handles e
being fixed in any desired position, it only being necessary for this purpose for tho
rider to press the handle m² towards the handles e, (whereby the catch ² will be
disengaged from whatever notch it may be located in,) and to then turn the
steering handle e to the required position in the usual way and release the
handle m² from pressure. The catch will then engage in another of the notches /¹
in the sector and will fix the steering handle in the position to which it has
been moved.
It will be obvious that more than two rows of teeth can be employed on the
crown wheel and that the crown wheel j and sliding pinion & can be used for
driving a bicycle in which the pedals are carried by cranks instead of levers the
crown wheel being for this purpose mounted on the crank shaft carried in a suitable
bracket on the frame of the machine.
In figure have illustrated my arrangement of supporting-pedal-levers applied
to chain driving gear instead of to the driving gear shown in figures 1, 2, and 3.
In this case I reverse the position of the pedal levers as shown and the ratchet

page_text: wheels y instead of being placed on the shaft a' of the crown wheel j, as in the
said figures 1, 2, and 3, are attached to the hub o of the driving wheel b, the pawls p
are mounted on chain wheels, one of which is shown at pl mounted loosely on the
hub o. is the chain which passes over the chain wheel pf and over a chain wheel ri
fixed on the pedal lever shaft a'. The construction of the pedal levers and their frame
are similar to that described and illustrated in figures 1, 2, and 3.
Or, as shown in figure 5, instead of employing an endless driving chain passing
over two chain wheels I can attach one ond of each of the chains q₁ to a chain wheel pl
and the other end to a pedal », the pedal levers being placed in the same position as
that shown in figures 1 and 2. A spring serves to return each pawl p each time it is
moved round by its pedal and chain.
When applying my arrangement of crown wheel and sliding pinion to a tricycle,
as illustrated in figures 6 and 7, I find it advantageous to mount two of such sliding
pinions k, k on the hubs or bosses o, o of the propelling wheels b, b so that they can be
slid thereon and the propelling wheels be operated direct from two crown wheels j, j
mounted on the frame of the tricycle. On the plain faces or backs of the crown
wheels are crank pins s', s, to which are attached one end of connecting rods t¹, t
the other end of which is attached to levers a¹, v pivotted at w¹ to the frame ƒ of
the tricycle.
The tricycle is propelled by the rider grasping the handles
fro movement to the levers which through the connecting rods
rotary motion to the crown wheels j, j and these wheels through
sliding pinions k, k will drive the propelling wheels b, b.
and giving a to-and-
will communicate a
the medium of the
The levers are formed in two parts ¹ and ¹ jointed one to the other at r¹ so as to
allow of the handle portions being turned up out of the way, as indicated by the
dotted lines, in figure 7, when required. The position of the sliding pinions is
changed by means of bont levers a² c² one arm a² of which is forked and operates
the pinion similarly to the lever shown in figures 1 and 3. x, x are the fulcrums
of the levers the bandles c² of which can be engaged in notches e³ in the frame ƒ
of the tricycle.
The tricycle is steered by means of rocking lovers a³ and 3 and links c³, c³,
the lever being fitted with foot plates d³, against which the rider places his
fect and by pressure of the same moves the levers and links and consequently
the front or steering wheel in the required direction. ¿ is the rider's seat or
saddle.
In place of the hereinbefore described arrangement of levers and connecting
rods can employ ratchet levers for operating the crown wheels j, j and in this
case the reverse motion of the mechanism can be effected by employing two
spring pawls P, on the lever u¹ as illustrated in figure 8 which is a plan view
of this arrangement. Teeth are provided on the plain face of the crown wheel j
and a rod y is fitted in the lever u. This rod has at one end a tappet and
at the other end a handle whereby the rod y can be turned and the tappet :¹
be caused to bear upon either one of the pawls p so as to move it out of engage-
ment with the teeth 7 according to the direction in which it is required to work
the tricycle.
When ratchet gearing is used for operating the crown wheels j, j by several persons
operating a series of levers at the same time the power can be taken up by a strong
spring as shown in figures 9 and 10.
One end of the spring ² is secured to the crown wheel shaft a' and the other end
to the ratchet wheel a which works loose on the said shaft a¹.
is a portion of the connecting rod by means of which the lover is united to tho
other lover or levers of the series which of course would only require to be simple
bars pivotted in suitable positions on the frame of the machine.
By this arrangement each action of operating the ratchet wheels and crown
wheels coils or winds up the spring h³, and the shaft a² is consequently operated
through the medium of the spring in unwinding itself instead of directly by the
action of the ratchet wheel thereby preventing the gearing from being jerked.

page_text: In this arrangement it is only practicable to use a single pawl p to each ratchet
lever as shown.
The propelling mechanism hereinbefore described with reference to figures 6 to 10
is obviously well adapted for uso in connection with the paddle wheels of bouts,
canoes, or the like.
Where it is only required to provide for the disengagement of the propelling gear
without affording means for changing the speed it would only be necessary to form the
crown wheels with a single row of teeth.
When using the crown wheel gearing in connection with a continuous rotary
motion such as clectric, air, wind, or other motors, I am enabled to reverse the motion
by having two pinions on the same shaft, or the motion can be reversed. by shifting
the single pinion.
Rotary motion can be communicated to the crown wheel by adapting the periphery
of the wheel for chain or strap driving. 1 can also use the crown wheel as a
friction driver for light work by using a collar of india rubber or other material
instead of a pinion.
In figures 11 and 12 1 have illustrated the application of my steering gear to
a boat.
The catch is pivotted at to the steering handle or tiller e and the notched
sector is fixed to the stern of the boat as shown. The catch is normally kept in
engagement with the notches of the sector by means of a spring 1, and the lever
mechanism for disengaging the catch consists of a link k jointed to the catch and to
the lever handle m' conveniently placed to be grasped by the hand whilst holding the
steering handle e. The action so far is substantially the same as that of the steering
mechanism of the bicycle shown in figures 1, 2, and 3, and therefore needs no
description.
Outside the greatest traverse of the steering handle e are pulleys ³, k², and
pulleys are also provided on the steering handle. Over these pulleys cords m², m³
are passed attached by one end to the catch, the other ends leading to any convenient
part of the boat or even on shore. This arrangement will allow of the boat being
steered from a distance as by pulling either of the cords m³ the catch will be
disengaged and, by continuing the pull, the tiller handle will move towards the right
or left hand according to which cord is operated.
In some cases the part of the bandle or tiller that traverses the sector g' can
be formed to fit in the notches of the sector and be held theroin by its own weight
or by a spring.
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.) The use for propelling velocipedes, boats and the like, of a crown wheel
having one, two, three, or more rows of teeth and adapted to be oporated by the
pedals, levers or other driving mechanism, the said teeth gearing with a sliding
pinion on a shaft giving motion directly or indirectly to the propelling wheel or
wheels, by means of which sliding pinion the driving mechanism can be thrown
out of gear and, when more than one row of teeth is employed, the speed changed
substantially as hereinbefore described.
(2.) In a bicycle operated by reciprocating pedal-levers, the mechanism for allowing
the pedals to reach the ground and serve as legs or supports for the bicycle,
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in figures 1, 2, and 3, of the
accompanying drawing.
(3.) The modification of the supporting mechanism wherein drums or pulleys are
employed for lowering the pedals to the ground, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
(4.) The improvements connected with the steering mechanism of velocipedes,
boats, canoes, and the like, substantially as herein before described with reference to
figures 1, 2, 8, 11 and 12 of the accompanying drawing.

page_text: (5.) The improved bicycle hereinbefore described with reference to figures 1, 2,
and 3 of the accompanying drawing.
(6.) The modifications for adapting the pedal levers to a bicycle driven by chain
gearing, substantially as herein before described with reference to figures 4 and 5 of
the accompanying drawing.
(7.) The improved tricycle in which crown wheels and sliding pinions operated by
folding reciprocating levers are employed for effecting the propulsion substantially us,
and for the purposes, hereinbefore described with reference to figures 6 and 7 of the
accompanying drawing.
(8.) The arrangements of ratchet gear for operating the crown wheels, substantially
as herein before described with reference to figures 8, 9 and 10 of the accompanying
drawing.