IMPROVEMENTS IN VELOCIPEDES
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Joseph White and John Asbury at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th January 1883.
JOSEPH WHITE of Coventry in the County of Warwick, Manager and JOHN
ASBURY of the same place, Machinist, "IMPROVEMENTS IN VELOCIPEDES"
The chief object of this invention is to provide an arrangement of differential
gear which will be comparatively light and compact in construction and will allow
of the parts being protected from dust and moisture.
The invention also relates to an improvement in connection with the attachment
of the spokes to a tubular felloe of the "Salamon" pattern.
The gearing is chiefly applicable to tricycles which require that facilities should
be provided for varying their speed without reducing the power applied to drive
them, and it may be used in connection with any ordinary balance gear in front
steering Tricycles, or with the Cheylesmore, or other slip clutch, in rear steering or
open fronted machines. .
The chain wheel of the crank or pedal axle we form with a central recess. and
fit the recess with an internal ring of teeth. Into this ring of teeth gears a pair
of pinions carried by a disc keyed to the axle and lying within the recess of the
chain wheel. Fitted also loosely on one end of the crank shaft is a pinion with an
elongated boss, which pinion gears into the pinions carried by the disc. The
crank axle is provided with a pair of collars the outer one of which is reduced by
two parallel cuts for the purpose to be presently explained, while the other serves
the purpose of a cap piece.
Fitting loosely upon the crank axle over these collars, is a sleeve shaped clutch
which also embraces the elongated boss of the central pinion, and by means of a
feather connection or a screw passed through a longitudinal slot in the sleeve of
the clutch tho boss of the pinion is connected with the clutch, but in such manner
as to leave the clutch free to slide endwise upon the axle. Within the sleeve are
projections which form the counterpart of the reduced collar, and when brought
into line therewith the clutch becomes locked to the crank axle. The clutch is
however free to be slidden past this locking collar, and when so moved it will
present one of a series of holes to a fixed pin on the tricycle frame and thus become
locked thereto.

page_text: The effect of this locking of the clutch will be to hold fast the central pinion, and
as rotary motion is imparted to the crank shaft, the disc through the pinions
which it carries will drive the chain wheel at an increase of speed proportionate to
the difference in the number of teeth in the central pinion and in the ring of teeth.
When however a decreased speed is required to be given to the chain wheel, the
clutch is withdrawn from its locking pin and is locked to the crank axle by the
means above mentioned.
The rotation of the chain wheel will then be equal in speed to that of the crank
shaft the central pinion by its rotation virtually locking the disc pinions and
thereby enabling the disc to drive the chain wheel at a speed corresponding to its
own rotation. The chain wheel, on its inner side, is fitted with a cap plate which
serves to protect the gearing from injury.
As an improvement in connecting the spokes with the tubular felloe we brazo or
otherwise fasten immediately below the button or head of the spoke a short tube
to form a second bearing for the spoke, upon the hollow felloc. This felloe which
consists of a tube crushed upon itself to a crescent shape in section, has holes drilled
in it to receive the spokes which are screwed as usual to the hub, but the holes
drilled through the felloe we now make of two diameters the hole passing through
the face of the felloe being of sufficient diameter to allow the tubular addition to
tho spoke to pass through, and the hole below it being of just such diameter as
will allow the spoke to pass through it leaving a bearing for the tubular addition.
By properly determining the length of this tubular addition the head of the spoko
will bed upon the face of the felloe, while the tube brazed to the spoke will also
have its bearing on the internal surface of the felloe. This will ensure the moro
perfect adjustment of the felloe to the hub as the tendency of the inetal to yield to
the pull of the spoke will be greatly reduced. We are also enabled to use a much
thinner spoke by this method of attachment to the felloe.