Improved Hand-driving Mechanism for Propelling Boats, Railway Velocipedes, and other Vehicles.
Year: 1898

page_text: Improved Hand-driving Mechanism for Propelling Boats, Railway
Velocipedes, and other Vehicles.
I, GUNNAR TJERNELD, of Karlstad, Sweden, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of my invention is to provide an improved mechanism for the hand-
propelling of railway trollies, boats and other vehicles. The invention consists,
briefly in having on one end of an ordinary oscillating hand-lever two gear-
wheel sectors, or racks, which on opposite sides of the driving-shaft ordinarily
mesh each with one of two different pinions, connected with the shaft by means
of ratchets. The diameter of the pinions may be made to correspond to the radius
of the two gear-wheel sectors in question, in such a manner as to obtain the same
gearing when the hand-lever is oscillating in one direction or in the other, or the
diameter of the pinion, which turns the driving axle when the hand-lever is
pushed, may be of such diameter that the leverage is larger when the hand-lever
is pushed than when it is pulled, whereby the power of the arms may be utilised
to the best advantage. In order to allow disconnecting of the hand-propelling
mechanism when the vehicle is to be propelled by other means, the sectors are so
arranged that their ends will not mesh with the pinions, but, the pinions be free
to rotate when the hand-lever stands in either of its extreme positions. My inven-
tion also comprises devices for reversing the direction of the movement of the
driving-shaft, consisting of three or more pinions adapted to be moved sideways
along the shaft by means of a suitable lever or the like, said pinions being con-
nected to the shaft by the ratchet movements in such a manner that when the
pinions are placed in one of their extreme positions, the driving shaft will be
turned in one direction, and by moving the pinions to their other extreme position,
the axle will be turned in the opposite direction.
In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of a
railway trolly provided with a propelling mechanism according to my invention,
Fig. 2 is an end-view of the same, partly in section, Fig. 3 is a side view of the
pinions and parts of the rack on a larger scale: Fig. 4 is an end view of same.
Figs. 5 and 6 shew a modification of the mechanism for use with shafts in line with
the hand lever.
Referring to the drawing, a represents the driving axle, to which by means of
ratchet arrangements are attached three pinions c, d, f in such a manner that the
side pinion turns the axle in the opposite direction to the motion of the pinions c
and d. For the ratchet arrangement, I prefer to use steel rolls b inserted in
notches in the pinion between the same and its nave, but any other suitable ratchet
movement may be used.

page_text: A handle lever i is journalled in the frame, so as to constitute a lever of the
first order, and at its lower end provided with cog-sectors, or curved racks, h, k,
the centres of which are in the fulcrum of the hand-lever i. The said racks are
adapted to mesh with the said pinions on opposite sides of the axle, except when
the hand-lever is in either of its extreme positions. In the drawing the pinion c
is shown of larger diameter than the other pinions so that the ratio of the gearing
between the outer rack and its pinion is smaller than the ratio of the gearing
with the inner rack, the purpose of which is to utilize the power of the arms to
the best advantage, it being thus made casier to push the hand-lever than to
pull the same. As the rack h meshes with the pinion d on the upper side of the
axle and the rack k meshes with the pinion c on the lower side of the axle, but
the wedge-shaped notches in the naves have the same direction in both pinions,
only the one pinion turns the shaft, while the other runs free in a direction opposite
to that of the shaft. As soon as the direction of the lever and the pinions c, d is
changed, the pinions turn in the direction opposite to their former rotation, where-
by the pinion that formerly turned the shaft now rotates free in the opposite direc-
tion whilst the other pinion turns the shaft. The axle will thus
be turned in the same direction whether the hand-lever is moved backwards or
forwards. The pinions c, d f are adapted to be moved along the shaft a by means
of a convenient switch device in order to propel the trolly in an opposite direction.
In the position shown in the drawing the lower rack k meshes with the larger
pinion c, the upper rack meshing with the smaller pinion d.
If the trolly is to be propelled in an opposite direction, I only move the pinions
along the shaft a in such a manner that the upper sector h meshes with the
pinion f, thus totally uncoupling the lower sector k. The wedge-shaped notches
in the naves of the pinion f having a direction opposite to that of the notches in
the other pinions and d, the shaft evidently must now rotate in the opposite
direction. In this instance the driving device is single acting, but the device
may also be so arranged, that it will always be double acting. For this purpose
I provide four pinions, every other one of which turns the axle in the same
direction.
The modification shown in Figs. 5 and 6 consists in making the teeth of the
racks tapering instead of cylindrical, so as to be adapted for an axle whose direc-
tion is about the same as that of the hand-lever. This and other such modifications
will be well understood by any person skilled in the art to which it appertains.
My device for the propelling of trollies has many advantages compared with
devices hitherto known. The most important advantages are that there will be
no dead point, but the power is the same during the whole stroke. The length of
the stroke may also be altered as desired so that persons of different bodily sizes
may use the trolly with the same advantage. The forward and backward moving
weights are also balanced. When the trolly runs by gravity on level roads and
down hills, the person riding it will not be disturbed by any oscillating lever since
all the forward and backward moving parts are at rest as soon as no propelling
is done by the rider.
The weight of the vehicle as well as the frictional losses are also diminished by
the absence of a number of large cog-wheels.
I have described my invention as applied to a trolly but it is obvious that it
may be equally well applied to any vehicle propelled by hand.

page_text: Improved Hand-driving Mechanism for Propelling Boats, Railway
Velocipedes, and other Vehicles.
I, GUNNAR TJERNELD, of Karlstad, Sweden, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
--
The object of my invention is to provide an improved mechanism for the pro-
pelling by hand of railway-yelocipedes, boats and other vehicles. The invention
consists, briefly, in having on one end of an ordinary oscillating handlever two gear-
wheel sectors, or racks, which on opposite sides of the driving-shaft ordinarily
mesh each with one of two different pinions, connected with the shaft by means
of ratchets. The diameter of the pinions may be made to correspond to the radius
of the two gear-wheel sectors in question, in such a manner as to obtain the same
gearing when the hand-lever is oscillating in one direction or in the other, or the
diameter of the pinion, which turns the driving axle when the hand-lever is
pushed, may be of such diameter that the leverage is larger when the hand-lever
is pushed than when it is pulled, whereby the power of the arms may be utilised
to the best advantage. In order to allow disconnecting of the hand-propelling
mechanism when the vehicle is to be propelled by other means, the sectors are so
arranged that their ends will not mesh with the pinions, but the pinions be free
to rotate when the hand-lever stands in either of its extreme positions. My inven-
tion also comprises devices for reversing the direction of the movement of the
driving-shaft consisting of three or more pinions adapted to be moved sideways
along the shaft by means of a suitable lever or the like, said pinions being con-
nected to the shaft by the ratchet movements in such a manner that when the
pinions are placed in one of their extreme positions, the driving shaft will be
turned in one direction, and by moving the pinions to their other extreme position,
the axle will be turned in the opposite direction.
In the drawing left with the Provisional Specification, Figure 1 is a vertical
longitudinal section of a railway velocipede provided with a propelling mechanism
according to my invention, Fig. 2 is an end-view of the same, partly in section,
Figure 3 is a side-view of the pinions and parts of the rack on a larger scale and
Fig. 4 is cross section of the same. Fig. 5 and 6 shows modifications of the racks
and pinions adapted to be used with axles that are parallel with the hand-lever.
Referring to the drawing, a represents the driving axle, to which by means of
ratchet arrangements are attached three pinions c, d, f in such a manner that the
side pinion f turns the axle in the opposite direction to the motion of the pinions e
and d. For the ratchet arrangement, I prefer to use steel rolls b inserted in
notches in the pinion between the same and its nave, but any other suitable ratchet
movement may be used.
A handle lever i is journalled in the frame, so as to constitute a lever of the
first order, and at its lower end provided with cog-sectors, or curved racks, h, k,
The said racks are
the centres of which are in the fulcrum of the hand-lever i.
adapted to mesh with the said pinions on opposite sides of the axle, except when
the hand-lever is in either of its extreme positions. In the drawing the pinion c
is shown of larger diameter than the other pinions so that the ratio of the gearing
between the outer rack and its pinion is smaller than the ratio of the gearing
with the inner rack, the purpose of which is to utilize the power of the arms to
the best advantage, it being thus made easier to push the hand-lever than to

page_text: pull the same. As the rack h meshes with the pinion d on the upper side of the
axle and the rack k meshes with the pinion c on the lower side of the axle, but
the wedge-shaped notches in the naves have the same direction in both pinions,
only the one pinion turns the shaft, while the other runs free in a direction opposite
to that of the shaft. As soon as the direction of the lever i and the pinions c, d is
changed, the pinions turn in the direction opposite to their former rotation, where-
by the pinion that formerly turned the shaft now rotates free in the opposite direc-
tion whilst the other pinion turns the shaft. The axle will thus
be turned in the same direction whether the hand-lever is moved backwards or
forwards. The pinions c, d, f are adapted to be moved along the shaft a by hand
or by any convenient switch device, in order to propel the vehicle in an opposite
direction. In the position shown in the drawing the lower rack k meshes with the
larger pinion c, the upper rack h meshing with the smaller pinion d.
If the vehicle is to be propelled in an opposite direction, I only move the pinions
along the shaft a in such a manner that the upper sector h meshes with the
pinion f, thus totally uncoupling the lower sector k.
in the naves of the pinion f having a direction opposite to that of the notches in
The wedge-shaped notches
the other pinions and d, the shaft evidently must now rotate in the opposite
direction. In this instance the driving device is single acting, but the device
may also be so arranged, that it will always be double acting. For this purpose
I provide four pinions, every other one of which turns the axle in the same
direction.
The modification shown in Figs. 5 and 6 consists in providing conical teeth on
the racks instead of cylindrical, so as to be adapted for an axle whose direc-
tion is about the same as that of the handlever. This and other such modifications
will be well understood by any person skilled in the art to which it appertains.
My device has many advantages compared with devices hitherto known. The
most important advantages are that there will be no dead point, but the power
is the same during the whole stroke. The length of the stroke may also be
altered as desired so that persons of different bodily sizes may use the vehicle with
the same advantage. The forward and backward moving weights are also
balanced. When the vehicle runs by gravity on level roads and down hills, the
person riding it will not be disturbed by any oscillating lever, since all the forward
and backward moving parts are at rest as soon as no propelling is done by the
rider.
The weight of the vehicle as well as the frictional losses are also diminished by
the absence of a number of large cog-wheels.
I have described my invention as applied to a railway-velocipede, but it is
obvious that it may be equally well applied to any vehicle to be propelled by hand.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
laim is :-
The combination with a railway-velocipede or the like vehicle, of an oscillat-
ing hand-lever provided with two concentric gear-wheel sectors, and three or more
ratchet pinions on the driving shaft adapted to be moved sideways along the
saine, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this Fourth des
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
322, High Holborn, London, W.C., Patent Agents for the