Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Apr., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 11th Jan., 1897-Accepted, 10th Apr., 1897
859
I, MORRIS CARSWELL Junior, of 90 Mitchell Street, Glasgow, in the County
of the City of Glasgow, North Britain, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in cycles and has for its object to so
construct the machine that it can be driven with greater ease: also in accordance
with my improvements a more healthy and comfortable position of the seat is
provided: and also in accordance with my improvements the driving mechanism
can be readily altered and set when desired.
In accordance with my invention the rider sits in a position where the maximum
of force can be exerted and by means of the mechanism which I employ for
transmitting the driving force to the driving wheel a minimum of that force is lost
in friction.
In carrying out my invention as applied to a bicycle I have the rear or driving
wheel of larger diameter than the front or steering wheel, say 36 inches
and 20 inches respectively. The wheels are mounted in ball or other bearings in
a triangular shaped frame, the said frame carrying the saddle and handle bar.
The spindle of the said larger or rear driving wheel is mounted in bearings in
the frame. The ends of the spindle project beyond the sides of the frame and are
provided with ratchet wheels which are retained on the spindle by means of right
and left hand screws which run in the same direction as that in which the wheel is
driven, so as to tend to keep them firmly in position.
The front ends of the base of the frame (which is preferably constructed of steel
tubes) are connected to each other by means of a cross stay. The ends of the said
cross stay form pivots for the ends of wires or cords which form the frames on which
the treadles are suspended or mounted, the ends of the spindle of the treadles
forming the pivots for the other ends of the frames, the rear ends of which
terminate in chains or cords, which chains or cords are connected to pulleys or
drums running on ball or other bearings on the ends of the spindle of the rear
wheel said drums being provided with driving pawls and returning spiral or other
springs.
The drums or pulleys are so constructed that, by means of a spirally slotted
plate and pins or segment arrangement, their diameter may be altered so as to alter
the pitch of the gear: said pins or segments working in slots or guides in the sides
of the drums which slots radiate from the centres outwards. The said slotted
plates may be retained or bound in position by nuts which may also form the
pinching nuts for the ball bearings.
The whole arrangements thus provides a cycle capable of being driven by means
of suspended treadles and ratchet arrangements which allow the rider to exert the
maximum of force; and according to the nature of the stroke given, the force
exerted has more or less driving power at the will of the rider. Also by means of
the adjustable pulleys or drums, the driving mechanisin may be permanently set to
any desired power.

page_text: has been given to them by means of spiral springs Q-the one ends of which are
secured to the bearing cups P in the boxes P while the other ends are secured to
spring boxes P³ screwed to the frame E in such a manner that on the forward
stroke being given, the springs Q are wound up ready for unwinding and so giving
the backward stroke to the boxes P¹ as the feet are drawn up. The arrangement
of the ratchet wheels F ratchet boxes P¹ and their bearings are such that the
bearings can be adjusted to run true, before the ratchet wheels F are screwed into
position on the axle C. The ends of the ratchet boxes P¹ which are formed with the
driving drums P have two flanges, each of which as shown in Figure 4 are provided
with a series of radial slots or openings P3 in which are mounted a series of
adjustable cross pins or bars R the outer ends of which pass through the outside
flanges and engage with spiral grooves a formed in the inner surfaces of adjusting
plates S, by means of teeth or projections on the outer ends of the pins or bars R,
thus providing means whereby the gearing may be permanently set at a high or
low pitch. The said plates S are held in position and fixed if necessary by means
of nuts T which also serve as binding nuts for the ball bearings cups P
The segments R shown in Figure 4 would number about 12 and be made to fit
easily into the radial slots or cuttings in the flanges P and S and just projecting
through the flange S'. On the outside of the outside flange S and bearing close
against the surface of the same is a third flange S revolving in the ratchet box.
The flange S has a thread or spiral groove s eut on the face of it and this thread
engages with pinions S on the outside ends of segments R. Thus by revolving
this third flange S in one direction all the segments R are drawn into the centre
and the circumference of the drum decreased and by revolving said flange S in the
opposite direction the segments R would all be forced out from the centre and the
drums circunference increased. The action of this expanding drum is much similar
to that of some forms of self centering chucks.
In the modified arrangement shown in Figure 3, a chain X is substituted for
the band, and the driving drum P is formed of a tapered shape, and a spirally
shaped projection X is brazed on to the drum to prevent the coils of chain X from
overlapping. The tapered segments X2 pass through the flanges of drum and are
formed with bevelled surfaces at their outer end for the acting surface of a screw
head X3 to bear on, and expand or contract the surface of the drum, and thus
increase or decrease the driving efficiency of the stroke. By this means the stroke
can be regulated to give the increased efficiency at the parts desired.
The whole thus forms a machine in which practically all the power exerted by
the feet is transmitted to the driving wheel by means of suspended treadles, ratchet
and pawl gearing and return springs which bring the treadles up ready for each
forward stroke.
The gearing may be permanently altered, or altered to a certain extent as desired
whilst riding by simply changing the height and length of the stroke given by
the feet.
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:-
First. A driving gear for cycles, consisting of treadles horizontally suspended
from front and rear by wires for the stroke to be commenced on a level with the
axle and operating ratchet mechanism and recoil acting springs on the axle of
driving wheel, substantially as herein described in reference to and shown in the
accompanying drawings.
Second. In cycles, the arrangement of frame, in combination with suspended
treadles and driving gear and a rear driving wheel of sufficient size to permit the
stroke to be taken on treadles on a level with the axle substantially as herein
described in reference to and shown in the accompanying drawings.
Third. In cycles, the combination with treadle driven mechanism as herein
described, of an expanding drum for varying the driving efficiency of the stroke,