Velocipedes and for other Endless Chains.
Year: 1885

page_text: Velocipedes and for other Endless Chains.
I WILLIAM STARLEY of the firm of Starley Brothers of Saint John's Works
Fleet Street Coventry in the County of Warwick Manufacturers do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED COUPLING FOR THE
ENDLESS DRIVING CHAINS OF VELOCIPEDES AND FOR OTHER ENDLESS CHAINS to
be as follows:-
"
My invention is especially applicable to the endless driving chains of velocipedes
in connection with which chains I will describe it but my said invention may also
be applied to other endless chains.
By my invention the coupling together of the ends of the chain to form an
endless chain and the uncoupling of the two ends of the chain when it is wished to
remove the chain from the driving chain wheels are effected with great facility and
the coupling when in use is very secure.
The endless chain is made in the ordinary way of a series of links each link
consisting of two parallel side plates rivetted together at their expanded ends by
hollow rivets on which hollow rivets loose tubular distance pieces work constituting
anti friction rollers. These links are jointed together by joint pins passed through
the hollow rivets and rivetted on the outer expanded ends of the side plates of the
links.
In constructing my new or improved coupling I make one of the joint pins
herein after called the coupling pin and one end of one of the side plates of the
link hereinafter called the coupling side plate in the following manner. Instead of
making a circular hole in the said side plate through which the joint pin is passed
I give to the coupling side plate a hook like figure and I reduce the diameter of
that end of the coupling pin to which the coupling side plate is to be secured and
also form a neck in the said reduced end. At the extreme end of the reduced part
of the coupling pin is a head the neck described being made between the said head
and the unreduced part of the coupling pin. The sides of the hook like opening in
the coupling side plate are parallel and the said opening is of a size suitable to take
upon the neck of the coupling pin but the outer face of the nearly semi-circular or
D....611

page_text: closed end of the hook like opening is expanded so as to form a curved shoulder for
the head of the coupling pin to seat itself upon.
In order to couple the ends of the chain together the coupling side plate of the
link at one end of the chain is turned aside on its joint pin and the link at the
other end of the chain is passed onto the coupling pin of the first named end. By
now closing the coupling side link upon the coupling pin the hooked end of the
said side link passes onto the neck of the pin and the head of the said pin seats
itself by the elasticity of the side link upon the curved shoulder of the said side
link and so long as the said head is seated on the said shoulder the side link
cannot be disengaged from the coupling pin. Hence the two ends of the chain are
securely coupled together and an endless chain formed. In order to uncouple the
ends of the chain the hooked end of the coupling side link is forcibly pressed
inwards or towards its parallel side plate. By this lateral pressure of the coupling
Bide plate the shoulder at its hooked end is withdrawn from the head of the
coupling pin and the said hooked end being now situated wholly opposite the neck
of the said pin can be withdrawn therefrom and the two ends of the chain thus
disconnected.

page_text: A New or Improved Coupling for the Endless Driving Chains of
Velocipedes and for other Endless Chains.
I WILLIAM STARLEY of the firm of Starley Brothers of Saint John's Works,
Fleet Street, Coventry in the County of Warwick, Manufacturers do hereby declare
the nature of my Invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED COUPLING FOR THE ENDLESS
DRIVING CHAINS OF VELOCIPEDES AND FOR OTHER ENDLESS CHAINS" and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement :-
My invention is especially applicable to the endless driving chains of velocipedes
in connection with which chains I will describe it; but my said invention may also
be applied to other endless chains.
By my invention the coupling together of the ends of the chain to form an
endless chain and the uncoupling of the two ends of the chain when it is wished to
remove the chain from the driving chain wheels are effected with great facility and
the coupling when in use is very secure.
The endless chain is made in the ordinary way of a series of links, each link
consisting of two parallel side plates rivetted together at their expanded ends by
hollow rivets on which hollow rivets loose tubular distance pieces work constituting
anti-friction rollers. These links are jointed together by joint pins passed through
the hollow rivets and rivetted on the outer expanded ends of the side plates of the
links.
In constructing my new or improved coupling I make one of the joint pins
hereinafter called the coupling pin and one end of one of the side plates of the
link herein after called the coupling side plate in the following manner. Instead of
making a circular hole in the said side plate through which the joint pin is passed
I give to the coupling side plate a hook like figure and I reduce the diameter of
that end of the coupling pin to which the coupling side plate is to be secured so as
to form a neck at the said reduced end. At the extreme end of the reduced part.
of the coupling pin is a head, the neck described being made between the said
head and the unreduced part of the coupling pin. The sides of the hook like
opening in the coupling side plate are parallel and the said opening is of a size
suitable to take upon the neck of the coupling pin but the outer face of the nearly
semi circular or closed end of the hook like opening is expanded so as to form a
curved shoulder for the head of the coupling pin to seat itself upon. In order to
couple the ends of the chain together the coupling side plate of the link at one end
of the chain is turned aside on its joint pin and the link at the other end of the
chain is passed onto the coupling pin of the first named end. By now closing the
coupling side link upon the coupling pin the hooked end of the said side link
passes onto the neck of the pin and the head of the said pin seats itself by the
elasticity of the side link upon the curved shoulder of the said side link and so

page_text: long as the said head is seated on the said shoulder the side link cannot be dis-
engaged from the coupling pin. Hence the two ends of the chain are securely
coupled together and an endless chain formed. In order to uncouple the ends of
the chain the hooked end of the coupling side link is forcibly pressed inwards or
towards its parallel side plate. By this lateral pressure of the coupling side plate
the shoulder at its hooked end is withdrawn from the head of the coupling pin
and the said hooked end being now situated wholly opposite the neck of the said
pin can be withdrawn therefrom and the two ends of the chain thus disconnected.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing the
manner in which my invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation, an endless chain provided with my new or
improved coupling Figures 2 and 3 represent in side elevation the coupling part
of the chain drawn to a large scale, Figure 2 representing the coupling side plate
engaged with the coupling pin and Figure 3 the same disengaged from the coupling
pin; Figure 4 represents in plan and Figure 5 partly in plan and partly in 1
horizontal section, the two ends of the chain coupled together and Figures 6 and 7
represent the two ends of the chain uncoupled; Figure 8 represents a plan partly
in horizontal section of the coupling side plate detached. Figures 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8
are drawn to the same scale as Figures 2 and 3.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of
the Drawing.
a is the hook like side plate of the coupling turning on one end of the joint
pin 6 passed through the tubular support and distance piece c and a³ is the hook
like opening in the enlarged end of the coupling side plate a. To the other and
parallel side plate d of the coupling end of the chain the coupling pin e is fixed.
the said side plate & turning on the other end of the joint pin b; e is the head
at the fastening end of the coupling pin c and e³ is the neck made between the said
head and the unreduced part of the coupling pin e as represented. The sides of
the hook like opening a³ in the coupling side plate a are parallel and the said
opening is of a size suitable to take upon the neck e³ of the coupling pin but the
outer face of the nearly semi circular or closed end of the hook like opening a² is
expanded so as to form a curved shoulder a³ for the head e2 of the coupling pin e
to seat itself upon. The depth of the nearly seni circular shoulder a³ at the closed
end of the hook like opening a² is best seen in Figure 8 and the curved forin of the
shoulder in Figure 3. The width of the neck e³ in the coupling pin e is somewhat
greater than that of the side coupling link a so that the said link is capable of a
slight lateral motion in the said neck for fastening the link to and unfastening it
from the coupling pin e as herein after explained.
In order to couple the ends Figures 6 and 7 of the endless chain together, the
coupling side plate a is raised or turned back on its joint as seen in Figure 7. The
coupling pin e carried by the side plate d is now passed through the tube on which
the tubular distance piece f works carried by the links h, h at the other end of the
chain Figure 6. The coupling side plate or link a is now closed upon the coupling
pin e the hooked end of the said side plate a passing onto the neck e³ of the
pin e and the head e² seats itself by the elasticity of the side plate or link u upon
the curved shoulder a³ of the said side plate as represented in the section Figure 5.
The ends of the chain are thus coupled together and an endless chain formed and
so long as the head e of the coupling pin e is seated on the shoulder a³ of the side
link or plate a, the said side plate or link cannot be disconnected from the coupling
pin e.
When it is desired to uncouple the ends of the chain, the hooked end a² of the
coupling side plate a is forcibly pressed inwards or towards the parallel side plate d
or in the direction indicated by the arrows in Figures 4 and 5. By. this lateral
pressure upon the coupling side plate a it moves upon the neck es and the
shoulder a is withdrawn from the head e2 of the coupling pin e. The hooked
end a² of the side plate a being now situated wholly opposite the neck e³ of "the

page_text: pin e the said side plate can be turned on its joint and lifted from the said neck e³.
By withdrawing the pin e from the support of the distance piece f the two ends of
the chain are disconnected as represented in Figures 6 and 7.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed I declare that
I claim as my invention
The new or improved coupling for the endless driving chains of velocipedes and
for other endless chains herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawing; that is to say, a coupling consisting essentially of the 'hooked side
coupling plate or link a, a², a³ and the headed and necked coupling pin e, c², es
carried by the link d, the said side coupling plate or link being engaged with and
disengaged from the coupling pin for the purpose of coupling the ends of the chain
together and uncoupling thein substantially as described and illustrated.
Dated in airth day of Ton 1906