Improvements in Gearing for Bicycles.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Apr., 1898-Accepted, 20th Aug., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Gearing for Bicycles.
A communication by JOHN FRANKLIN BRADY, of the City of Chicago, in the County
of Cook and State of Illinois, United States of America.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Manchester, both
in the County of Lancaster, 118, New Street, Birmingham, in the County of War-
wick, and 322, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil 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 for applying power to bicycles without the use
of the ordinary chain gearing.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a bicycle- embodying the improvements;
Figure 2 is a plan of a portion thereof;
Figure 3, a sectional detail view to be hereinafter described.
The bicycle frame is similar to those in ordinary service excepting that the rear
terminal portions which are adapted to receive and support the internal cog
wheels A and B mounted on ball bearings at the sides of the rear reaches C and D
in such a position that the cogs thereof will engage with the cogs of two spur
wheels E and F which are secured on or are integral with the ends of the hub of
the rear drive wheel G.
Figure 3 shows the pivotal stems I and J mounted within the hanger H which
stems at their outer ends are firmly connected to the pedal levers comprising the
arms K K and L L¹.
Cog wheel A and pedal lever K are connected by rod M and cog wheel B to pedal
lever L by rod N.
In operation, the pressure upon pedals O and P cause the levers K K' and L L'
to vibrate in a vertical plane, and through rods M and N rotate cogwheels A
and B, and the wheel G, and propel the vehicle by spur wheels E and F engaging
with cog wheels A and B.
The wheels A and B each have an axial boss with an axial opening therethrough.
The rear portion of the reach bars C and D are each provided with a lateral out-
ward projection upon which one of the internal gears (A and B) is mounted on any
shows the projections C¹
ordinary or special form of ball bearing. Figure
and D from bars C and D, and between these projections and the interior of the
boss of the cog wheels A and B are the balls V and V₁, which represent a single
circle of balls for a bearing for each cog wheel; although, in practice, two circles
Also, in practice, means
of balls for each cog wheel give better results than one."
for adjusting the balls after the bearings have become worn is necessary, but is
not shown in the patent drawings, in order to avoid complication of parts.
If necessary each of the wheels A and B could be mounted upon a simple stud
pin, without a ball bearing and thus considerably simplify the mechanism, with-
out regard to an increase in friction.

page_text: The manner of mounting the stems I and J of levers K K and L L' secures
great strength and an almost frictionless bearing, the parts thereof being readily
adjusted by the movement of but one conical bearing and the lock nut thereof.
In Figure 3 the stem J consists of a tapered shaft having a cone ball bearing
at J close to the pedal lever L L', the balls Q having an outer track within the
shell of the hanger box H as shown.
At the opposite end of the hanger are balls Q which bear against the periphery
of stem I. Stem I is tubular and surrounds stem J and is supported on balls R.
The outer end of stem J.is supported as shown on balls S. T is a hardened cone
collar screwed onto the end of stem J, and T¹ is a nut serving to lock the cone
in position.
By the manipulation of nut T and cone T, all the ball bearings may be simul-
taneously adjusted to a close fit, thereby holding the stems against undue centri-
fugal or longitudinal movement. The action of the feet upon pedal pieces O
and P impose a parting strain in rods M and N whether in the act of propelling
or in back pedalling so that rods M and N may have a comparatively small dia-
meter and yet be sufficiently strong.
Levers K K and L L' may be pivotally mounted so as to be upside down relative
to the position shown in Figure 1 so that the arms L and K project downwardly
below the hanger H and are in that position connected by rods M and N with the
cog wheels A and B which arrangement is practically the same as the disposition
of the parts herein before shown and described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is:-
1. In a bicycle gearing, in combination, a drive wheel revolubly mounted in the
rear end portion of the frame of the bicycle, a spur cog wheel secured to or con-
nected with the hub of the drive wheel and an internal cog wheel revolubly mounted
on the side of said frame and in engagement with said spur cog wheel, a lever
pivotally mounted on the frame of the bicycle forward of the internal cog wheel
and adapted to vibrate less than half a revolution, said lever provided with a pedal
piece and a rod connecting the said lever with the internal cog wheel to form a
crank motion whereby the internal cog wheel, the spur cog wheel and the drive
wheel are revolved by the application of power to the said lever, for the purpose
described.
2. In a bicycle gearing, substantially as herein before described, the rear terminal
portion of the frame of the bicycle adapted to support the driving wheel and the
internal cog wheels in engagement with the spur cog wheels, by flaring each side
of the said terminal portion of the frame outwardly to a distance so that a portion
thereof is disposed within the internal cog wheels, and beyond the plane of the
revolution of the cogs thereof, substantially as shown and described.
3. In a bicycle driving gear, substantially as described the pivotal centres of
pedal levers K K¹ and L L₁ comprising two shafts I and J, of which, one of said
shafts is tubular, and the other shaft disposed therethrough, and mounted out of
contact therewith on two ball bearings therein, in combination with a hollow boss
or hanger H of the bicycle frame in which the assembled shafts are mounted, each
upon an independent ball bearing from the other, substantially as and for the pur-
pose herein before described.
Doted this 07th 1
" A
1000