IMPROVEMENTS IN VELOCIPEDES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO LIFTS, CRANES, AND OTHER REVOLVING MACHINES
Year: 1869

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Stephen Holman at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 13th April
1869.
I, STEPHEN HOLMAN, of 10, Laurence Pountney Lane, in the City of
London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN VELOCIPEDES, PARTS OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO
APPLICABLE TO LIFTS, CRANES, AND OTHER REVOLVING MACHINES," to be as
follows:-
The first part of this Invention relates to a novel arrangement of a
two-wheel velocipede, whereby the construction is rendered simple and
moderate in cost, and the use of two-wheel velocipedes comparatively
safe. The front wheel is provided with an axle, which may be either
fixed in the boss or nave of the wheel, or be so made that the wheel shall
rotate without the axle revolving.
In order to make this more clearly understood I will first describe the
conscruction of the vehicle having a fixed axle in the front wheel; the
said axle has two bearings turned to fit suitable bearings formed in

page_text: A
the two bottom ends of a fork, the upper end of which is made with a
neck extending some few inches above the periphery of the wheel; a
hole is made through the whole length of the neck, and a spindle is
passed through it having a grooved end at the bottom to receive a chain
or band, or other suitable means of connecting it with a corresponding
groove or other connection formed on or attached to the fork of the back
wheel; a steering handle is attached to the upper end of the spindle in
the fork of the front wheel, and through the medium of the said chain
or band or other suitable connection the back wheel is made to act as
the steering wheel instead of the front wheel, as hitherto made. A
main bar or oblique shaft forked at one end and having a deep boss
formed at the other end is attached to the fork of the front wheel near
the axle on either side; and the boss of the said bar or shaft has a hole
made through it to receive a spindle formed at the upper end of the fork
of the back wheel, and in which this said spindle swivels when operated
by means of the chain, or band, or rod (as the case may be) connecting
it with the spindle in the neck of the front fork for steering purposes.
spring saddle bar is attached to the fork of the front wheel, and is
connected to a shorter spring on the main bar to give elasticity and ease
to the rider. A spring is also placed in the neck of the front wheel
fork (which is recessed for it) to keep the steering spindle and handles
up when used for steering only, and by depressing the handle the spring
will yeild sufficiently to allow the bottom end of the spindle to impinge
upon the periphery of the front wheel, and thus act as a brake; two
crank arms (or plates) are fixed on the ends of the axle opposite to each
other to enable the rider to propel the velocipede by pressing on them
with the feet alternately. The cheif advantage of the arrangement herein
described consists in the facility and great convenience to the rider of
being always in the same relative position with the front wheel and the
cranks; this is of great importance, because with two-wheel velocipedes
having cranks direct on the front axle and which are steered by the
front wheel (by reason of the constant change of the position of the
cranks in in relation to the rider), it is often very difficult for the rider to
keep or replace his feet on the cranks; moreover, when a short radius
is taken the periphery of the front steering wheel rubs the dress and
becomes destructive to the rider's clothes. This will be obviated by this
Invention, as the back wheel only swivels, and the front wheel and
cranks maintain an uniform position with the rider under all conditions

page_text: The second part of this Invention relates to a novel engaging and
disengaging contrivance, by means of which the cranks may be kept
stationary whilst the vehicle is in motion. To effect this object I secure
two discs on the front axle, one on either side of the nave of the wheel
inside the fork, in one or both of the discs I place one or more rollers to
work in a bevil'd race or races formed in the disc or discs sufficiently
deep at one part to permit the whole diameter of the roller to sink level
with the face of the disc and graduated to any determined depth at the
other, so that the roller which is between the disc (fixed on the shaft)
and a plate on the nave of the wheel (which runs on the shaft instead
of having a fixed axle) when brought into contact with both surfaces by
the shaft being revolved in the direction that will cause the roller to rise
beyond the surface of the disc, it will press against the side of the nave
and thus carry the wheel around, then, assuming the machine has
attained a considerable velocity, or that it is going down an incline,
the rider by pressing his foot on the uprising crank will cause it to stop;
because by this act the machine by its velocity or momentum will carry
the roller around towards the deep end of the roller race, and the surfaces
which were wedged by the roller between them will become disengaged
and the machine will proceed while the cranks are at rest; immediately
however that the cranks, and with them the discs, are pushed around at
a greater speed than that of the wheel the roller will drop into the
narrower space, and by its rolling action will again tighten itself
between the disc and the wheel, and thus propel the machine as above
described. If a roller be placed longitudinally, such as on a line of
shafting, the roller being very much smaller than the shafting, and a
recess or race being formed in the bearing similar in construction to that
described in the discs aforesaid, it will be obvious that when the shaft
is revolved in the direction of the deep part of the race that the roller
will shift into it and the shaft will be free to revolve in that direction,
but if the shafting is moved in the direction of the shallow part of the
race the roller will enter between the shafting and the bearing and act
as a brake; a very simple engaging and disengaging appartus is thus
obtained. This arrangement may be applied to machines of greater
power, such as lifts, cranes, and other revolving machines, and may
either be applied as a means of communicating motion or as a brake.
I have described only two-wheel velocipedes in the foregoing Spe-
cification, my Invention is equally applicable to the steering and

page_text: controlling of three or four-wheel velocipedes. A contrivance for keeping
the steering wheel in a direct line when the steering handle is let go by
the rider may be applied in the following manner, viz., by taking away
a portion of two sides of the bearing shoulder of the fork of the steering
wheel, and by making a V-shaped bottom in the boss of the main bar to
correspond with same, so that the weight of the rider will keep the back
steering wheel in a line with the front wheel.