IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CONVERTING A RECIPROCATING MOTION INTO A ROTARY MOTION
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the
International
Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in
the County of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CONVERTING A RECIPROCATING MOTION INTO A
ROTARY MOTION."-A communication from abroad by Charles Lowrey
Spencer, of Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 9th March 1869.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the International l'atent Office,"
No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Price 8d.1

page_text: Invention for "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CONVERTING A RECIPROCATING MOTION
INTO A ROTARY MOTION," a communication, to be as follows:-
My Invention is designed to be employed wherever it is necessary
to make use of a treadle for giving motion to a balance wheel shaft,
and is particularly applicable to a sewing machine where a rotary
movement to the driving shaft in one direction only is desirable.
The said Invention is divisible into two parts. The first division relates
to the particular construction of shackle bars or link rods which connect
the treadle with any suitable pawl and ratchet mechanism for working
the shaft; and the second division. relates to an improved friction paul
particularly adapted to be used in combination with the peculiarly
constructed link rods above mentioned. The two link rods or shackle
bars connecting the foot treadle with the pawl and ratchet mechanisni
have their upper ends made curved to span the driving shaft when the
treadle is at its highest point, while their lower ends are flattened to
form flexible springs. These two rods are united at their lower
spring forward ends by means of a clamp embracing such ends, and
riveted thereto forming a double flexible link rod, and such clamp is
terminated with an eye through which the pin for connecting the
link rods to the treadle passes. The upper or curved ends of these
connecting rods are respectively jointed to pawls arranged either to work
common ratchets upon the main shaft, or they may be combined with
my improved friction pawl gear, or with any apparatus of the character
of a pawl and ratchet mechanism used in converting a reciprocating
into a rotary motion. The office which the spring ends of the con-
necting rod perform is to keep the pawls which such rods operate
from hanging upon the centre, by the influence which such springs
exert to spread apart such rods. Furthermore this capacity of the rods
to be sprung out of their normal line allows a greater throw to be given
to the pawls, and consequently a greater extent of revolution of the
shaft to be obtained for each movement of the treadle.
As to the second part of my Invention a cup is cast with two hubs,
the outer one having a set screw fitted to it for holding the hub fast
upon the driving shaft; the inner hub is turned smooth and concentric
with the inside surface of the rim or flange of the cup. A disk fitted
loosely upon the inner hub is furnished with an arm to which one of the
Jink rods is pivotted; it is made with a flange around its central spring,
+ .9

page_text: I
and upon this flange a friction pawl is placed. This friction pawl has
the hole through which the flange passes made larger than the flange,
so that it may slide for a limited extent upon the face of the disk.
prefer to make the hole oval in form. Two stud pins set in the face of
the disk are so arranged as to keep tlie friction pawl from turning upon
the flange. The larger extremity of the said pawl is made concentric with
the inner surface of the flange on the cup, and its upper edge is
cam faced and hollowed out far enough to accomodate a small binding
roller. A coiled spring is set in the friction pawl to press lightly against
the roller and hold it up to the cam face upon the pawl and against
the inner surface of the flange. There should be two of these friction
pawl gears to each shaft arranged to work from opposite sides of the
shaft. Obviously by this arrangement described when the disk plates
are moved by the action of the foot treadles in a downward direction
the roller pertaining to each will not only be pressed between the inner
surface of the flange of the cup, and the cam face of the pawl but also
the pawl itself will be caused to slide upon the face of the disk plate,
its lower end being made to press hard upon the flange, thus clamping
for the time being by friction the pawl and the disk plate together
at two opposite points. Upon the upward movement of the treadle
the vibration of the disk plate in the opposite direction relieves
the rollers and also the pawl from binding against the surface of the
flange.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 7th September 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the International Patent Office," No. 8, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Consulting
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,

page_text: give and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her
special licence that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Robert Lake, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CONVERTING A RECIPROCATING MOTION
INTO A ROTARY MOTION," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said William Robert Lake, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
.
NOW KNOW YE that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing forming a part of this Specification:-
My Invention is designed to be employed wherever it is necessary to
make use of a treadle for giving motion to a balance wheel shaft, and
is particularly applicable to a sewing machine where a rotary movement
to the driving shaft in one direction only is desirable.
The said Invention is divisible into two parts. The first division
relates to the particular construction of shackle bars or link rods which
connect the treadle with any suitable pawl and ratchet mechanism for
working the shaft; and the second division relates to an improved
friction paw particularly adapted to be used in combination with the
peculiarly constructed link rods above mentioned..
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.

page_text: The two
Referring to Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, A, A, are two link rods or shackle
bars connecting the foot treadle with the pawl and ratchet mechanism
hereafter to be described; their upper ends are made curved, so as to
span the driving shaft when the treadle is at its highest point, but their
lower ends are flattened to form flexible springs, as shown.
connecting rods A, A, are united at their lower spring formed ends by
means of a clamp B embracing such ends and riveted thereto, forming
a double flexible link rod, and such clamp is terminated with an eye
through which the pin for connecting the link rods to the treadle passes.
The upper or curved ends of the connecting rods A, A, are respectively
jointed to pawls arranged either to work common ratchets upon the main
shaft or they may be combined with the improved friction pawl gear
shown in the Drawing, or with any apparatus of the character of a pawl
and ratchet mechanism used in converting a reciprocating into a rotary
motion. The office which the spring ends of the connecting rod perform
is to keep the pawls which such rods operate from hanging upon the
centre by the influence which such springs exert to spread apart such
rods.
Furthermore this capacity of the rods to be sprung out of their
normal line allows a greater throw to be given to the pawls, and con-
sequently a greater extent of revolution of the shaft to be obtained for
each movement of the treadle.
As to the second part of this Invention, C, Figure 5, is a cup cast with
two hubs, the outer one having a set screw fitted to it for holding the
hub fast upon the driving shaft; the inner hub is turned smooth and
concentric with the inside surface of the rim or flange a of the cup. The
disc E, Figure 6, is fitted loosely upon the inner hub. The disc plate E
is furnished with an arm b to which one of the link rods is pivoted; it
is made with a flange around its central spring (Figure 8), and upon
this flange the friction pawl D, Figure 9, is placed, see Figure 6. This
friction pawl has the hole through which the flange passes made larger
than the flange so that it may slide for a limited extent upon the face of
the disc. I prefer to make the hole oval in form, as seen at Figure 9.
Two stud pins set in the face of the disc are so arranged as to keep the
pawl D from turning upon the flange. The form of the said friction
pawl is shewn at Figure 9. Its larger extremity is made concentric with
the inner surface of the flange a on the cup C, as shown in section
Figure 7, and its upper edge is cam-faced and hollowed out far enough

page_text: to accommodate a small binding roller (Figures 7 and 10). A coiled
spring is set in the pawl D so as to press lightly against the roller and
hold it up to the cam face upon the pawl and against the inner surface
of the flange a, Figure 7. There should be two of these friction paw!
gears to each shaft arranged to work from opposite sides of the shaft to
give the same impulse, as illustrated by Figure 1. Obviously by the
arrangement described, when the disc plates are moved by the action of
the foot treadles in a downward direction the roller pertaining to each
will not only be jammed between the inner surface of the flange a of the
cup C and the cam face of the pawl, but also the pawl itself will be
caused to slide upon the face of the disc plate, its lower end being made
to press hard upon the flange a, thus clamping (for the time being) by
friction the pawl and the disc plate together at two opposite points.
Upon the upward movement of the treadle the vibration of the disc
plate in the opposite direction relieves the rollers and also the pawl from
binding against the surface of the flange. The advantage which this
Invention exhibits over all other friction pawls heretofore employed is,
that the extent of its friction surface can be made so great as to render
its operation as certain as if a pawl and ratchet were employed. The
roller may wear smaller from use, but so long as it is large enough to
become jammed between the upper end of the pawl and the surface of the
flange a it will cause the pawl to bind at its lower end against the side
of such flange opposite thereto, and the bearing surface of such lower
end of the pawl can, if desired, be made equal in length to about one-
third of the circumference of the flange. In case the lower end of the
pawl is so widened it will be well, instead of having two stud pins to
keep the pawl from turning, as shewn in the Drawing, to cut a slot in
the pawl and set in the disc plate a single pin which shall project
into such slot.
Having thus fully described the said Invention, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and shewn how the same may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice, I claim,-
First. The double flexible link rods A, A, in combination with any
suitable pawl and ratchet mechanism for converting a reciprocating into
a rotary motion, substantially as described.
Second. The independent pawl D in connection with a suitable binding
roller and spring, Figure 10, or equivalent device, in combination with

page_text: purposes specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE. (L.S.)