Improvements in Bicycles, Tricycles, and other Light Vehicles.
Year: 1897

page_text: Improvements in Bicycles, Tricycles, and other Light Vehicles.
I, EDWARD CHARLES FREDERICK OTTO, of 7, York Grove, Peckham, in the
County of London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
My invention relates to the transmission of the power of the crank axle to the
driving or road wheel by means of eccentrics and their connecting rods, having
previously increased the rotary motion or speed of the eccentric axle, by toothed
wheel gearing, put in motion by the movement of the cranks or crank-axle.
For this purpose I fix to one side of the crank bracket a cog wheel containing
inner teeth."
Through the centre of this I pass the hollow axle of a smaller cog wheel, lying
within the larger one, having outside teeth and running in ball bearings situated
in the crank bracket.
This hollow axle protudes at the other end of the bracket sufficiently to allow
a couple of eccentrics being fixed thereon.
The crank spindle passing through this hollow axle is mounted on ball bearings
and contains at each end the usual crank.
To one of the latter I fix one or more small studs or axle pins, running parallel
with the crank axle, on which pinions or small toothed wheels are mounted which
gear with and engage both before mentioned toothed wheels simultaneously.
As the larger wheel, containing the inner teeth, is a fixture, it will be seen that
the inner wheel with the hollow axle travels faster than the crank spindle when in
motion.
In order to transmit the accelerated rotary motion of the eccentrics to the
driving or road wheel, I connect them by means of connecting rods furnished with
adjustable ballbearings, to corresponding eccentrics fixed to the hub of the driving
or roadwheel.
By this arrangement both, gear case and chain, can be dispensed with, and any
wear in the driving mechanism be taken up by the readjustment of the ball
bearings.
Another mode of gearing up the circular speed of the eccentrics is to have a
seperate bearing outside the crank bracket for the reception of the eccentric driving
axle, the increased speed of the latter being attained by fixing at one end a cog
wheel and gearing it with another, larger one, containing inner teeth and being
fixed direct to the crank axle.

page_text: Improvements in Bicycles, Tricycles, and other Light Vehicles.
I, EDWARD CHARLES FREDERICK OTTO, late of 7, York Grove, Peckham, but now
of 16, Therapia Road, Honor Oak, in the County of Surrey, 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:-
-
This invention relates to the transmission of power from the crank axle to the
driving wheel or wheels or axle or axles thereof by means of eccentrics and coup-
ling or connecting rods.
In the accompanying drawing which shows by way of illustration the invention
applied to a rear driving bicycle:-
Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the bicycle, and Figure 2 is a view in
transverse section on an enlarged scale-through the crank axle bracket.
Throughout the views similar parts are marked with like letters of reference.
In the crank axle bracket X is mounted in suitable ball or other bearings a
hollow axle A, and inside this hollow axle is the crank axle B also running on
ball or other suitable bearings. On to one side of the crank axle bracket X is
fixed an internal spur wheel C, and on to the end of the hollow axle A at the same
side of the crank axle bracket X is fixed a small spur wheel E. On to the crank D
on the axle B on the same side of the crank axle bracket X are mounted one or
more small spur pinions F which run loosely on stud pins f carried by the crank
and gear with both the internal spur wheel C and the spur wheel E.
The hollow axle A is preferably made in two parts the ends of which are
arranged to telescope one over the other and to interlock one with the other as
shown in Figure 2 so that the whole of the ball bearings can be adjusted by means
of the cone preferably the one on the crank axle next to the crank carrying the
spur pinions F.
On to the end of the hollow axle A at the other side of the crank axle bracket X
are formed or fixed a pair of eccentrics G, G, and on the hub of the driving wheel
are formed or fixed a similar pair of eccentrics H, H. The straps G₁ G₁ of the
eccentrics G G are connected with the straps H'H' of the eccentrics H H by means
of suitable coupling or connecting rods J J.
The eccentrics and their straps are fitted with adjustable ball bearings as shown
to reduce friction.
By this construction and arrangement of parts both the chain and chain wheels
and the gear case are dispensed with and any wear in the mechanism can be
readily taken up by the ready adjustment of the ball bearings.
I am aware that it is not broadly new to communicate motion from one axle to
another by eccentrics (Letters Patent No. 13291 of 1884 were granted to me for
an invention embodying such driving mechanism) or to employ an epicyclic train
to increase the speed of rotation of a driven part and I do not therefore claim such
broadly but
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion I declare that what I claim is:-
(1) The improved driving mechanism for bicycles, tricycles or other light
vehicles substantially as herein described and illustrated by the accompanying
drawing.
(2) An improved driving mechanism for cycles consisting essentially of a hollow
axle A mounted in the crank axle bracket and carrying a spur wheel E on one end
and a pair of eccentrics G G on the other end, of an internal spur wheel C fixed to

page_text: the crank axle bracket, of a crank axle mounted in ball bearings inside the hollow
axle A. and carrying one or more spur pinions F each gearing both with the spur
wheel E and the internal spur wheel C, of two eccentrics H H on the hub or axle
of the driving wheel, of eccentric straps G¹ G¹ and H¹ H³, and of coupling or
connecting rods J J, as set forth.
(3) In cycles and similar vehicles in which the motion of the pedal crank axle
is imparted to the driving wheel by means of eccentrics and coupling rods arrang-
ing the secondary axle carrying one pair of eccentrics and which receives its motion
from the pedal crank axle concentric with the said axle, as and for the purpose set
forth.
this 13th day of December 1897.
ROBERT E. PHILLIPS, Assoc. M. Inst. C.E., M.I. Mech. E.,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent,
70, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.