IMPROVEMENTS IN VELOCIPEDES
Year: 1869

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th September 1869.-A communication from abroad by Alphonse
Philémon Adrien Barberon and Joseph Meunier, both of Paris, in
the Empire of France.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office,"
No. 8, Southampton Buildings, London, Consulting Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
VELOCIPEDES," a communication, to be as follows:-
The said Invention relates mainly to improvements in the ordinary
"bycicle" velocipede. It is well known that in velocipedes with two
wheels arranged one behind the other that the movement is given by
two pedals united by a crank axle fixed to the driving wheel. Veloci-
pedists know that upon an inclined road, and even upon a horizontal
road, the force required by the traction is very slight, that the rider
expends uselessly a part of the power which he exerts in following
with his legs the movement of the pedals, that if he raises his feet
from the latter he is obliged to allow a slackening of speed to replace

page_text: them, and that it is impossible for him to produce at a given moment a
speed greater than that which he should be able to maintain without
risk of being unseated or of slackening the speed.
These inconveniences being recognized it is proposed to remedy them
in the following manner:-
:-Figure 1 is a side view, and Figure 2 an end
view illustrating these improvements. The axle is made independent of
the driving wheel but is attached to the pedals as heretofore, and slides
in a box. When the pedals are operated in the usual direction for
driving, the axle by means of a pawl communicates its motion to the
driving wheel. If upon an incline the velocipede acquires a speed
quicker than that given to the pedals by the velocipedist the pawl ceases
to press the wheel and the axle simply slips in the box, the speed being
augmented without affecting the feet of the velocipedist, he can then
cease to move his feet while keeping them upon the pedals and without
stopping the velocipede.
As the velocipedist does not exert all his force in going along a road
only slightly inclined it is proposed to employ the excess of power to
increase the speed. For this purpose the following means are adopted :-
As herein-before stated the axle is independent of the driving wheel and
consequently can turn in the opposite direction to the latter without
affecting it sensibly, and the velocipedist can move the pedals easily in the
reverse direction and can even exert a greater force than in the other
direction, the pressure upon the pedal taking place at the moment
when the leg is nearest to the body and the weight of the latter being
utilized.
Upon one end of the axle is a small pulley a turning freely upon the
same when it turns in the ordinary direction, but moved through the
medium of one or two pawls b when it turns in the reverse direction;
this arrangement is seen in detail in Figure 3. Around this pulley a
runs a chain or strap c which passing above the velocipede upon a loose
pulley d descends from the other side under the nave of the wheel, com-
municates motion to the same and returns over the velocipede upon
another loose pulley e and then redescends under the first pulley a, thus
forming a single endless chain or strap. The pulley being twice or three
times as large as the nave the wheel will turn two or three times as fast
as the pedals. In order that the chain c, Figures 1 and 2, may be
removed or tightened and slackene.l at pleasure one or two of the loose
pulleys are mounted upon a shaft fixed to a pressure screw A, Figures 8

page_text: and 9, which has a square part fitted into a piece B, Figures 9 and 10,
or behind the steering apparatus. The chain c and pulley b may be
placed within the fork.
Though it may be thus easy after practising for a few hours to reverse
the pedals there are persons who may not like this changing. For these
persons there is provided an arrangement as illustrated in Figures 4
and 5, wherein the two motions are both effected in the ordinary
direction. For this purpose the strap or chain i is mounted without
crossing from the pulley ; which turns on the axle and which is put in
-motion-by-a-pawl-arranged-in-the-same-direction as that of the wheel to
another pulley / arranged to run in the same direction at the top of
the fork, and coupled to a third pulley ; a pawl E, Figure 6, placed
on the pulley K. is thrown in gear at will by a lever N, Figure 7.
within reach of the hand or foot of the velocipedist and renders loose
as he desires the first pulley k; the second pulley is connected with
the nave of the wheel by a chain or strap m in such a manner that
according as the velocipedist shall throw in gear the upper pawl, or
shall prevent its action, the pedals will operate with the simple or
compound motion without any change in the action of the feet, the
advantage of leaving the feet resting upon the pedals being retained.
Instead of having pulleys and straps the said velocipedes may be con-
structed in the manner represented in Figure 4. At the inner side of
the crank there is a toothed wheel f, a second toothed wheel g is placed
near and in face of the nave, that of the nave being smaller than the
other, there is also a third toothed wheel supported upon an extension
of the fork and forming the means whereby the motion of the first is
communicated to the second. The movement is effected as in the strap
or belt system by means of pawls, the first toothed wheel is rendered
loose at will by means of a pawl or a lever as in the belt arrangement
herein-before described. It is obvious that all the pulleys, belts, and
toothed wheels may for convenience be placed on one side of the
wheel.
The construction of a velocipede with a double motion (whether the
same is a bycicle or tricycle) allows a velocipedist to be placed above
each wheel, the movements of each person being completely in-
dependent of those of the other; each axle therefore is provided with
pedals and connections as above described. To prevent the noise of
the working of the velocipede the pulleys may be covered with
caoutchouc.

page_text: Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 illustrate details of parts of this
Invention. A is the pressure screw, Figures 8 and 9, serving to raise or
lower the two pulleys e, d, Figures 1 and 2, or k, l, Figure 5, which
turn upon the shaft fixed to the end of the said screw. B is a piece
adapted to the steering apparatus and carrying the pressure screw; the
said piece is pierced with a square hole to prevent the deviation of the
pulleys while being raised or lowered. C, Figure 11, is a spring
permitting the lever D, Figures 6 and 12, to be used to operate at will
the pawl E, Figures 6 and 13; the said pawl E renders the pulley loose
when desired. F is a ratchet wheel fixed on the shaft which carries
the two pulleys; G, Figure 6, is a grooved pulley carrying the chain;
H, Figure 7, is the lever for producing either the simple or compound
motion; I and J are rods supported upon the lever pins; K and L are
bearing surfaces for the pins. The spring O and lever D have at their
point of contact the form of an obtuse angle so that the stopping takes
place at each side of the angle and the lever D is maintained in the
position in which it is placed in raising or lowering the lever N,
Figure 7.