IMPROVEMENTS IN MANUMOTIVE VELOCIPEDES, APPLICABLE FOR USE ON VARIOUS KINDS OF ROADS
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Phillips Thompson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 13th November 1883. A com-
munication from Silvester Krnka a person resident at Michle, near Prague,
in the Empire of Austria
WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON of the Liverpool and London Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6 Lord Street Liverpool in the County of Lancaster Civil
Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MANUMOTIVE VELOCIPEDES, APPLICABLE FOR USE
ON VARIOUS KINDS OF ROADS."-A communication from Silvester Krnka a person
resident at Michle, near Prague in the Empire of Austria
The following is an abstract translated from the description of the invention as
forwarded to me by my foreign correspondent.
The velocipede or carriage which forms the subject of the present invention is
moved by means of two cranks turned by hand by the person riding therein who
by their means turns a wheel placed in the upper part of the velocipede; this
wheel, which we will call the top wheel transmits its rotary motion by means of
an endless chain to a second wheel, running on the ground or on rails and fixed in
the front part of the velocipede.
The chief parts of the machine for road use are as follows. A board or other
horizontal framework near its middle carries the seat, which may be of any form
and is provided with mud guards and lamps; this board is carried in front by the
lower driving wheel before mentioned and in the rear is supported by springs on
the axis of a pair of large hind wheels. The front ground wheel or lower driving
wheel consists of a chain pulley rigidly fixed between two other wheels so as to
form one compound wheel. The axle of this wheel is held in a fork terminating
in a round Spindle which passes through the supporting board; a plate is fixed to
the spindle just above the fork, on which plate the board rests, and another plate
is fixed above the board to keep it tight, but so as to admit of the free turning of
the wheel in any direction. The part of the spindle above the board is made
Square or prismatic in section and carries a bar running out towards the front
of the machine where it is furnished with a disc which serves as a support for the
pedestals carrying the top chain wheel; this is turned by means of handles fixed
on each end of the axle. The position of the top wheel in the machine can be
altered by moving the pedestals longitudinally in slots in the disc at the end of

page_text: the bar. A plate is fixed on the vertical spindle of the bottom wheel under the
bar just mentioned, projecting backwards towards the seat; a circular slot is cut
through it and through the board below for the chain to pass through. The top
end of the spindle immediately above the bar is made cylindrical for the brake
handle to work on and a nut on the top binds all the parts together.
The machine is steered by altering the direction of the front ground wheel by
means of the pressure of the feet of the rider against bars fixed one on each arm
of the fork; the alteration is conveyed to the top wheel through the spindle and
bar, so that the two wheels are always kept parallel.
The brake acts upon the front ground wheel. It consists of a shoe fastened
by spring to the lowest of the plates on the spindle (that on which the board
rests) and so kept normally off the tire; a strong double spring fixed to the disc
supporting the pedestals of the top wheel acts on the top of the brake shoe through
a pin passing down through a hole in the board; the brake handle before
mentioned on the top of the spindle carries on its front edge a rim of gradually
increasing height forming a cam which works against the other end of this spring.
By turning the handle, the amount of pressure exerted on the shoe by the spring
can be regulated.
The chain can be provided with guards to protect the rider from mud and dust,
and brushes may also be arranged at suitable points to clean the chain.
In the case of velocipedes for running on railways or tramways, the construction
is similar to that of the machine above described, except that the lower chain
pulley is keyed direct on the shaft of a pair of front wheels running on the rails,
the arms of the fork being correspondingly separated. A hand or motor wheel
may be also in this case placed at each end of the framework or board, the space
between serving for luggage; where there is only one motor wheel, if the board
is very short the front part of the velocipede may be made fixed.
The above constitute the main features of this invention, but it is to be
understood that it is not confined to the particular form or forms of machine
herein described.