Improvements in Velocipede Pedals and in their Attachment to Driving Cranks.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, oth Nov., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 6th Aug., 1898-Accepted, 24th Sept.,
1898
Date of Application, 6th Nov., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 6th Aug., 1898-Accepted, 24th Sept., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Velocipede Pedals and in their Attachment to
Driving Cranks.
I, JOHN ASHLEY, Blacksmith, residing at 18, Kensington Street, Aston juxta
Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, do hereby declare the nature of this.
invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to velocipede and like pedals and to their attachment to
the driving cranks, and has for its object a neat and efficient means whereby the
said pedals are connected to their cranks or disconnected therefrom in a simple
manner, and without all-through piercing the crank ends and splitting them to
form a clamping part onto the shank of the pedal pin, which is the general method
now adapted. Furthermore the invention is such that the pedal proper can be
taken from the crank without interfering with the primary part by which it is
connected, and also without in any way interfering with its "bearings. Another
feature is that the body of the pedal can be brought nearer to the outer face of
the cranks and so reduce the width they stand out from the said cranks.
According to this invention the barrel or hub of the pedal is a short one, that
is to say the said hub or barrel is considerably shorter than the actual pedal
treads; inner bracket plates connecting the side plates to the said hub. The hub
axis is tubular or hollow and has upon its inner end a fixed cone, and upon its
outer end a removable screwed-on cone, for the purpose of combining with ball
races or cups in the hub to form recesses for the anti-friction balls. The extreme
inner end of the hollow axis, outwards of the fixed cone as aforesaid, is formed
into an enlarged collar, having flats thereon for the engagement of a spanner.
The bore of this collar for a short distance from the end is screwed for the purpose
of engaging an externally screwed shank of a pedal pin carried by the crank end.
The said screwed shank is of a larger diameter than the body of the pedal pin, and
its end screws into and up against the bottom of a circular recess, sinking, or
hole, in the end of the crank; flats being provided upon the said shank for turning
the pedal pin with a spanner.
The body of the pedal pin outwards of the screwed shank or end passes through
the tubular or hollow axis of the pedal to the outer end thereof, where it is coupled
to the said hollow axis by a screwed nut carried upon the pedal pin end, and adapted
to abut or pull up against the adjustable cone of the bearing; the said nut having
two functions viz. :-the locking of the adjustable cone on the hollow axis, and
the locking of the latter to the pedal pin.
The purpose of the screwed shank on the pedal pin is for the latter's connection
to the screwed stop-hole formed in the crank, and also for the locking of the
said pedal pin in that connected position; the accomplishment of the latter being
through the internally screwed collar of the hollow axis and, by it, screwing like
a lock nut to the pedal pin up against the inside face of the crank.
The length of the internally screwed collar is just sufficient to form a rigid
connection of the hollow axis to the pedal pin, and also to allow the ends of the

page_text: side plates to come close to the face of the crank in order to decrease the out-
standing distance of the pedal therefrom.
As a modification the pedal pin may be for the most part dispensed with, the
only part retained being its screwed end or shank, which screws into the crank
with the same result, other than the adjustable cone of the pedal's bearing would
have to be locked by an independent nut.
It is obvious that the pedal can be easily disconnected from the pedal pin, or
its equivalent, or both pedal and pedal pin cam be disconnected from the crank;
the former being extremely advantageous when cleaning the pedal's bearing.
Une chief point to be noted in this invention is the absence of an all-through
hole in the crank and any of the means such as nuts, set pins, slots, etc., which are
unsightly.
Improvements in Velocipede Pedals and in their Attachment to
Driving Cranks.
I, JOHN ASHLEY, Blacksmith, residing at 18, Kensington Street, Aston juxta
Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, 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 relates to the attachment of velocipede and like pedals to their
driving cranks, and has for its object a neat and efficient means whereby the said
pedals can be rigidly connected to and easily disconnected from their cranks in
a simple manner, and without all-through piercing the crank end to form a clamp-
ing part onto the shank of the pedal pin; this latter method being the one which
is now generally adapted in the cycle trade. Furthermore the invention is such
that the pedal proper can be taken from the crank without disconnecting from
the said crank the pedal pin or axial support upon which the pedal-proper is
mounted and rotates, and other features are that greater strength is obtained in
the connection where it is most needed to resist a bending strain, and that if a
part should become bent it can be easily replaced without sacrificing the major
part of the pedal and its bearings.
According to this invention the pedal end of the crank is formed with a screwed
stop-hole or circular recess on its outer side, into which one end of the pedal pin
or axial support is screwed. This screwed stop-hole or recess extends only a short
distance into the metal of the cranks end, and therefore the end of the pedal pin
or axial support, which engages it, is not open to view on the inside face of the
crank. A sleeve carrying the cones of the pedal's bearings fits over this pedal
pin and engages that screwed end of it which screws into the crank, the said
sleeve constituting a locking means to the said end and a mounting for the pedal-
proper. The antifriction bearings are formed upon this sleeve by the help of the
barrel part or hub of the pedal-proper, the said hub encircling the sleeve and
being adjusted to rotate on it through anti-friction balls. One of the cones of
the bearing is made adjustable and is locked to the sleeve by a nut, the latter also
secondarily locking the sleeve onto the pedal pin or axial support.
In order that this invention may be more clearly understood a sheet of draw-
ings is annexed, and in the said sheet a pedal and crank fitted with attachment

page_text: means according to this invention is shown connected up in Fig. 1; the said fig.
being for the most part a section. Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate the pedal and crank
Fig. 1 disconnected, the pedal's pin or axial support being shown as carried by
the crank's end. Fig. 4 is a separate view of the frame or body part of the pedal,
and is minus the sleeve carrying the cones, (which is shown in position in the
barrel or hub of the pedal in Fig. 3) the said sleeve being shown by itself in
Fig. 5.
In the said figs. of the sheet of drawings the hub a³ of the pedal a is a short
length one, its terminations, a³, a, which are formed into ball cups being well
within the actual tread of the pedal. This allows the pedal to be brought near
the outer face of the crank and the distance it project therefrom to be reduced.
The hub axis is tubular or hollow and is in the form of a sleeve, c, which has upon
its inner end a fixed cone c² and upon its outer end a removeable, adjustable,
screwed-on cone c³, the said cones combining with the ball cups, a³, a', in the
pedal's barrel to form races for the anti-friction balls. The extreme inner end, c^,
of the hollow axis or sleeve, c, is formed into an enlargement or collar, and flats
are formed thereon for the engagement of a spanner. The bore of this collar
for a short distance from its end is screwed or formed into a screw box, for the
purpose of engaging the screwed shank of a pedal pin or axial support, d,
which is carried by the end e² of a crank e and which passes through and fits
the hollow sleeve c. The said screwed shank is shown of a larger diameter than
the body part of the pedal pin or axial support, and its extreme end screws into
and up against the bottom of a screwed stop-hole or circular sinking f in the
end e of the crank e; flats d being provided upon the said shank for turning the
pedal pin or axial support with a spanner.
The body of the pedal pin outwards of the screwed shank, d², passes through
the sleeve c to the outer end thereof, where it is coupled and locked to the said
sleeve by a screw nut g, carried upon the pedal pin's end, which is adapted to
abut or pull up against the adjustable cone of the bearing; a washer, 92, inter-
vening between the said nut and the cone. The screw nut g has two functions;
viz. the locking of the cone upon the sleeve c after it has been adjusted, and
the second locking of the connection of the said sleeve to the pedal pin, so that
the pedal's connection to the crank end is made doubly secure.
The purpose of the screwed shank of the pedal pin or axial support is two-
fold: first, it forms the means of connection of the said pedal pin to the screwed
stop hole of the crank end, and, secondly, it forms part of the media for locking
the said pedal pin in that connected position; the accomplishment of the last
named purpose being through the intervention of the internally screwed collar c,
the said collar screwing up on the shank and against the inside face of crank
end, e, like a locknut.
The length of the internally screwed collar c¹ is just sufficient to form a rigid
and extended connection of the sleeve to the pedal pin and the pedal pin to the
crank end, and its combination with a short length barrel or hub a² of the pedal
enables the inner ends of the pedal's side plates to come close to the face of the
crank, so that the outstanding distance of the pedal therefrom can be decreased.
In connecting up the parts of the pedal and crank as set forth in the sheet of
drawings, the pedal pin dis first screwed into the crank end dead up against the
bottom of the stop hole; and the pedal's bearings are made by the aid of the
sleeve c as shown in Fig. 3. The sleeve part c, which carries the pedal, is then
slipped onto the pedal pin and its internally screwed collar screwed onto the pedal
pin's shank hard up against the face of the crank end, which has the effect of lock-
ing the pedal pin's connection within the crank end, and of strengthening the
said connection by extending, as it were, the length of the pedal pin's bearing
and increasing its diameter. The screw nut g is then made to engage the screwed
end of the pedal pin, and is screwed up tight against the adjusting cone c³; thereby
locking the said cone and locking the screwed connection of the last named to the
pedal pin.

page_text: The parts of the bearing at the end of the pedal are rendered dust-proof by a
cap, h, which is adapted to screw tight into the mouth of the ball cup a*.
The axial support d may be for the most part dispensed with, the only part
retained being the screwed end or shank, d², which screws into the crank. In
this case a sleeve c would engage the said shank in the same manner as described,
but a nut would have to be carried upon its outer end for the purpose of lock-
ing the adjusting cone.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
First. In connecting cycle and like pedals and cranks, the combination of a
crank whose pedal attachment end is formed with a screwed stop-hole or circular
recess, a pedal pin or axial support which is adapted to form a carrier proper to
the pedal, and whose end is screwed and takes into said stop hole and is there
firmly locked by a screwed collar, nut, or ring, and a pedal which is mounted to
rotate upon the said pedal pin, or axial support, or a part connected thereto, sub-
stantially as described and set forth.
Second. In connecting cycle and like pedals and cranks, the combination of a
crank e having a screwed stop-hole or circular recess in its pedal attachment end,
a pedal pin or axial support d the one end of which is screwed and adapted to
engage the said stop hole for the pedal pin's connection to the crank, (the said
pedal pin forming a carrier proper to the pedal) a sleeve c fitting over the said
pedal pin and engaging its screwed shank, d², and constituting the locking media
to the pedal pin within the crank, and which carries the cones of the pedal's
bearing, a nut g screwing on the end of the pedal pin and up against the adjust-
ing cone, as the locking media to the said cones adjustment and the screwed con-
nection of the sleeve and the pedal pin, and a pedal anti-frictionally mounted upon
the sleeve c, substantially as described and illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5.
Third. The particular arrangement and combination of the parts for making
rigid connection between the pedal and crank as set forth in Figs. 1 to 5.
Dated this 5th day of August 1898.
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
11, Burlington Chambers, New Street, Birmingham,
Also of Liverpool, London, and Manchester,
Patent Agents for the Applicant.