Improvements in Cycles and similar Vehicles.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Apr., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 31st Oct., 1894-Accepted, 13th July, 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Cycles and similar Vehicles.
We ROLAND HARRINGTON of 48 Cross Street Wolverhampton and ARTHUR
ANTHONY of 43 Lime Street Wolverhampton in the County of Stafford Cycle
Makers do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
―:
This invention has for its object the providing of an improved form of cycle in
which the material employed shall be such as to materially reduce the weight of
the machine, in which the steering shall be so arranged as to minimise, or totally
"side
prevent the tendency to what in safety bicycles is commonly known as
slipping" in which the relative positions of the pedals and driving wheel shall be
such that the motion of the pedals may be imparted to the driving wheel without
the intervention of a chain and in which the front wheel shall act both as driving
wheel and steering wheel.
In carrying it out we use for the frame-work and other non-wearing parts of the
machine wood instead of metal. The tubular parts we make of wood, preferably
of bamboo which is a natural tube. In connecting these wooden tubes we may
employ joints or lugs of steel, aluminium or other suitable metal or we may make
joints of wood which may be connected with or fixed to the tubes by glueing,
screwing, and pegging or other well known means.
For the bearings and other working parts we preferably employ wooden casings
in which are fitted or fixed steel bushes. The spindles may work directly in these
bushes, or may be so fitted as to form ball bearings, roller bearings, or cone
bearings as may be required and by means already well known.
The rims of the wheels we make preferably of bamboo bent, by steaming or
other well known means to the required diameter and split, either before or after
bending, to the required segment. If preferred the tube instead of being split
may be so treated that it assumes the form of two concave arcs united at the edges,
and thus makes a hollow rim. The frame of the machine we may make of any of
the well known patterns but we make it preferably in the manner following. In
bicycles, or two wheeled cycles, the head or steering mechanism is fitted or placed
between the two wheels in such a manner that it fits at right angles or nearly so to
a straight line drawn from the axle of one wheel to that of the other. From each
end of the outer casing of the head are carried tubes which meet at, and form a
connection with the bearings of the rear or back wheel. From each end of the
inner spindle of the head are carried in similar manner tubes which meet at or form
a connection with the bearings of the front wheel. Thus the frame consists,
broadly speaking of two triangles in which, taking the apexes at the bearings of
the wheels, the base of the one works within the base of the other. To the inner
spindle of the head is fitted the handle bar preferably of bamboo. By this
arrangement the steering acts on the wheels in such a manner that the tendency of
the one to slip in one direction is counteracted by the tendency of the other to slip
in the other direction and thus side slip is avoided. The seat pillar is fitted to the
triangular frame of the rear wheel in such a position that the hands and feet of
the rider are within convenient reach of the handles and pedals respectively. The
cranks are fitted in connection with bearings of any well known form to that
portion of the frame of the front or driving wheel which runs from the axle to the

page_text: under or lower part of the "head." Fitted to each crank is a toothed wheel which
may be of any convenient form, and a similar wheel is fitted to either side of the
hub of the front or driving wheel.
Between each pair of toothed wheels is fitted a pinion wheel which gears into
each of the other wheels so that the motion of the crank is imparted to the driving
wheel in the same direction as that of the crank. In connecting the two triangular
frames we may if preferred instead of making the base of one to work within the
base of the other, as before described make them to work side by side on centres
by means already well known in the trade.
Dated this 25th dox of A neil 1894
We, ROLAND HARRINGTON, of 48 Cross Street, Wolverhampton, and ARTHUR
ANTHONY of 43 Lime Street, Wolverhampton in the County of Stafford, Cycle
Makers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This invention has for its object an improved construction of bicycle or similar
vehicle in which the material employed is such as to greatly reduce the weight.
For this purpose we make the framework and parts that are not subject to wear
of bamboo, which is a natural tube. For connecting the bamboo tubes we employ
junction pieces which may be of metal, such as steel or aluminium, or of wood or
compressed pulp or preferably of the compound, known as vulcanised fibre, and
may be fixed to the tubes by screwing and glueing or cementing.
The accompanying drawings shew by way of example, the framework of a
bicycle constructed according to our invention.
Fig. 1 is a side view, Fig. 2 is a front view shewing steering fork, Fig. 3 is a
plan of the rear fork and upper middle junction, Fig. 4 is a plan of the lower
middle junction; Fig. 5 is a front view of the steering crosshead, Fig. 6 is a plan
of the bearings for steering spindle; Fig. 7 is a plan of the junction of the steering
spindle to the fork.
A are bamboo tubes the ends of which are plugged and screwed preferably along
with glue or other suitable cement into screwed holes formed in the junction pieces
or sockets B. We prefer to provide the junction sockets with ferrules 6 which
may be of wire wound tightly on. We prefer also to bind each bamboo tube at
two places with wire a so as to render it less liable to split.
When the junction pieces are of metal to which the bamboo tubes cannot be
properly connected, we split the sockets of the junction pieces and clamp them on
the screwed ends of the bamboo tubes either by setting screws passed through lugs
or by ferrules screwed on the sockets which are externally threaded to receive
them. The steering spindle C is preferably of steel which is passed through a
larger tube A¹. Ball or other bearings which are not shewn may be employed for
the driving axle in F, for the steering spindle at G and either attached to the
ends D of the junction pieces which terminate the tubes of the two forks or in the
naves of the wheels carried at these ends. The main frame is shewn in an inclined
attitude such that the steering fork is vertical; this is only for convenience of
drawing; in actual use the ends D of the two forks are for a bicycle, level or
nearly so.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
The construction of the framework of a bicycle or similar vehicle of lengths of
bamboo tube connected by junction pieces of vulcanised fibre or equivalent material
substantially as described.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.