Improvements in Bioyoles.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Bioyoles.
I, JOHN EBENEZER BOUSFIELD, of the Firm of G. F. Redfern & Co., of The
General Patent Office, No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, in the County of London,
Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication
to me by Eugène Worms, Tradesman, and Jean Paul Bonicard, Engineer, both
of 51, Rue de Provence, Paris, in the Republic of France) to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in bicycles wherein the work done by
the rider is communicated to the driving wheel of the machine by means of
pivoted levers producing a continuous circular movement. The movement is
transmitted to the driving wheel through the medium of these pivoted levers
which actuate an internally toothed wheel gearing with a pinion on the hub of
the driving wheel.
With my arrangement the speed of the bicycle can be varied as the diameter of
the pinion can have any suitable ratio to that of the wheel which actuates it, for
instance 1 to 2, 1 to 3, or 1 to 4, and so on.
The pedal arms are fixed on the crank-pins on the cranks of the driving or
pedal axle. These cranks actuate the arrangement of levers which form a
parallelogram, one lever being pivoted to one of the crank-pins and a second
lever being pivoted to the internally toothed wheel. The revolution of the pedal
therefore rotates the toothed wheel which in consequence actuates the pinion fixed.
to the hub of the driving wheel so as to cause the said driving wheel to revolve.
The frame of the bicycle, into which the axle of the driving wheel is screwed,
supports the internally toothed wheel as also the arrangement of levers.
Instead of ball bearings as heretofore used, I employ bearings having cylinders.
or cylindrical rollers which do not become worn and do not allow any sliding.
action to take place.
The rollers may be mounted on cylindrical pivots which themselves roll on the
case containing the rollere, the said case being recessed for receiving the rollers.
By the employment of my arrangement of levers which form a pivoted
parallelogram, the force exerted by the rider is utilized with greater efficiency
than with other arrangements of driving gear because it is always oxerted
tangentially, and in practice I have found that for one revolution of the pedal
the bicycle is moved through 6-80 metres with a smaller expenditure of power than
that necessary in ordinary arrangements to produce a movement of 5 metres.
A1QUE
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in Bicycles.
I, JOHN EBENEZER BOUSFIELD, of the Firm of G. F. Redfern & Co., of The
General Patent Office, No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, in the County of London,
Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication
to me by Eugene Worms, Tradesman, and Jean Paul Bonicard, Engineer, both
of 51, Rue de Provence, Paris, in the Republic of France) 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 improvements in bicycles wherein the work done by
the rider is communicated to the driving wheel of the machine by means of
pivoted levers producing a continuous circular movement. The movement is
transmitted to the driving wheel through the medium of these pivoted levers
which actuate an internally toothed wheel gearing with a pinion on the hub of
the driving wheel.
With my arrangement the speed of the bioycle can be varied as the diamoter of
the pinion can have any suitable ratio to that of the wheel which actuates it, for
instance to 2, 1 to 3, or 1 to 4, and so on.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is an elevation of a bicycle having my improvements applied thereto :
Figure 2 is a sectional plan of the gear shewn to a larger scale.
Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 are views of a detail.
The pedal arms d', d' are fixed on the crank-pin a on the crank a' of the driving
or pedal axle C and on the said axle C respectively. This crank a' actuates the
arrangement of levers e, f, g, h which form a parallelogram, the lever e being,
piroted to the crank-pin a and the lever h being pivoted to the internally toothed
wheel K. The revolution of the pedals therefore rotates the toothed wheel K
which in consequence actuates the pinion L fixed to the hub of the driving,
wheel A so as to cause the said driving wheel A to revolve.
The frame j, j of the bicycle, into which the axle m of the driving wheel is
screwed, supports the internally toothed wheel K as also the arrangement of
levers e, f, g, h.
Instead of ball bearings as heretofore used 1 employ bearings having cylinders.
or cylindrical rollers 6 (Figures 2, 3 and 4) which do not become worn and do
not allow any sliding action to take place.
The rollers 1 (Figures 5 and 6) may be mounted on cylindrical pivots 2 which
themselves roll on the case 3 containing the rollers, the said case 3 being recessed
for receiving the rollers as clearly shewn in the figures.
By the employment of my arrangement of levere e, f, g, h which form a pivoted
parallelogram, the force exerted by the rider is utilized with greater efficiency
than with other arrangements of driving gear because it is always exerted
tangentially, and in practice I have found that for one revolution of the pedal the
bicycle is moved through 6.80 metres with a smaller expenditure of power than
that necessary in ordinary arrangements to produce a movement of 5 metres.
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. Driving gear for cycles comprising an arrangement of levers forming a
parallelogram operated by the pedals of the machine and notuating an internally
toothed wheel which drives a pinion operating the driving wheel of the cycle,

page_text: 2. In gear of the kind described in Claim 1 the employment of rollers in the-
bearings, substantially as, and for the purpose, herein before described.
3. The improvements in cycles heroinbefore described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
Dated the 25th dex of January 1897.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.