Improvements in Back Pedalling and Similar Brakes for Velocipedes and other Gear-driven Vehicles.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Apr., 1898-Accepted, 16th July, 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Back Pedalling and Similar Brakes for Velocipedes
and other Gear-driven Vehicles.
I, GEORGE POPE, of Hartford, in the County of Hartford, and State of Con-
necticut, United States of America, Manufacturer, 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:-
The object of my invention is to construct a gear driven velocipede or vehicle
of this class with a brake which is applicable to this special form of driving
mechanism, and one that is simple and positive in action. To this end my inven-
tion consists in the details of the several parts making up the structure as a whole
and in the combination of parts as hereinafter described and more particularly
set out in the claims.
Referring to the drawings:-
-
Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a gear driven bicycle in which my inven-
tion is embodied, and of a class to which it is applicable.
Figure 2 is a view in side elevation, on enlarged scale, of the rear end of the
frame of the connecting shaft with its driving gear and the gear on the hub of
the driving wheel; parts being broken away to show construction.
Figure 3 is a view on enlarged scale showing the connecting shaft gear and the
casing of the brake appurtenant to it.
Figure 4 shows in edge elevation, and with parts broken away, the several
elements of the brake as removed from the casing.
Figure 5 is a view in front elevation of the brake casing and in end elevation
of the ball bearing cone.
Figure 6 is a detail view of the rear end of the connecting shaft.
Figure 7 is a detail view in front elevation of the rear end of the connecting
shaft.
Figure 8 is a view in transverse section through the parts of the brake looking
from the right, as parts are shewn in Figure 3 and showing the brake out of
operation.
Figure is a like view in section on the same plane showing the brake in
operation, the ring being expanded against the shell.
Figure 10 is a detail view in lengthwise section through the rear end of the
connecting shaft showing a modified form of the invention.
Figure 11 is a detail view in cross section through this last described form.
In the accompanying drawings the letter a denotes the frame member on which
bearings are provided for a connecting shaft b; the latter being driven by any
suitable means, as a crank shaft and pedals, and intermediate connecting
mechanism, as gear wheels.
On the projecting end of the frame member a a brake drum c is secured by
screwing it upon the threaded end of the frame member where it is held by
means of a lock nut c', although any other convenient means of securing the
brake drum to the frame member may be used. This brake drum also serves as
a case for the balls provided as a bearing for the connecting shaft b.
A cone d is secured to the connecting shaft, as by means of a key or spline d¹

page_text: which is located in keys seats in the respective parts in the ordinary manner. This
cone has a periphery, preferably cylindrical in outline, with a flange d² on one
side to assist in holding an expanding ring e loosely upon it. The cone has also
a socket or opening cut across its edge to receive a lug or arm fl which pro-
jects into it from the gear wheel f. Near one side of this socket there is also a
shoulder d formed on the periphery of the cone and against which one end e¹ of
the expanding ring e rests. The other end of the ring e is formed to fit a
socket in the side of the arm f¹ as illustrated in Figures 8 and 9 of the drawings.
Near the end of the connecting shaft b there is a thin flange b¹ beyond which
the enlarged end of the shaft is formed of two different diameters, the larger
being threaded to receive a bushing 9 which is screwed firmly upon it. The
gear wheel fits upon and has a limited rotary movement on this bushing, which
is located within the gear-wheel as illustrated in Figures 2 and 4 of the draw-
ings. Outside of the bushing and gear-wheel is a nut h larger in diameter than
the bushing, so that its edge overlaps the hub of the gear-wheel, and serves to
hold the latter between the flange 6 and the nut h, forming a sort of groove or
channel in which the gear-wheel has a limited rotary movement without being
permitted to move lengthwise of the connecting shaft. There is a socket
formed in the edge of the flange b' to enable the arm f¹ to extend across this
flange into the socket in the cone and within the brake drum. The inner sur-
face of the socket in the brake drum is preferably cylindrical and formed in a
plane parallel to the axis of the connecting shaft as illustrated in Figures 5, 8
and 9 of the drawings.
In Figures 3 and 4 the edge of the brake drum c, the expanding ring e and
the cone d with the socket d³ are clearly shown. When the parts are properly
assembled as illustrated in the section in Figure 2, the rear surface of the arın
rests against the edge of the socket 3, preferably formed on a radial line, (or it
may be slightly undercut) so that the rotary movement of the connecting shaft
in a direction to drive the vehicle forward carries with it the cone and the gear f
by reason of the interengagement of the arm on the gear and socket d³ in the
cone. The expanding ring e is in its contracted condition and moves freely
within the brake drum rotating with the cone and the gear.
As soon as the forward rotation of the connecting shaft is stopped while the
vehicle is moving forward, the momentum causes the gear wheelf to continue
in rotation, but, under the impulse of the gear wheel which is fast to the driv-
ing wheel and continues to rotate with it, and not under any force applied
through the connecting shaft. This continued rotary movement of the gear
wheelf, while the cone d is fixed against rotation, causes the arm f¹ to thrust
against the end 2 of the expanding ring, the rotation of which is prevented
by the engagement of the end e¹ of the ring with the shoulder on the cone,
and this causes the ring to forcibly expand against the inner surface of the brake
drum, thus applying the brake to prevent the further rotation of the driving
mechanism.
In the modified form of the device shown in Figs. 10 and 11 the connecting
shaft is tubular, the fork side extending through the connecting shaft and
supporting it at its rear end. A ball case is secured to the end of the connect-
ing shaft, and the cone is supported on the fork side 1. The gear m is mounted
on the shaft k in a manner to have a limited reverse rotary movement thereon.
The brake drum n is secured against rotation on the fork side and the brake
ring o surrounds the drum, the end o¹ of the ring having a lug fitting a recess in
an arm m projecting from the inner surface of the gear wheel m. In this form
of the device when force is applied to the connecting shaft k to retard its movement
the gear wheel m continues to rotate under the impulse of the driving wheel
caused by the forward movement of the machine. This continued rotary movement
of the gear wheel m, while force is applied to retard the rotary movement of the
connecting shaft k, causes the arm m² on the gear wheel to pull upon the end o¹
of the ring o, the rotation of which is prevented by the engagement of the lug o

page_text: with the recess in the ball case ¹. This causes the ring to contract against the
outer surface of the brake drum n, thus applying the brake to prevent the further
rotation of the driving mechanism.
The brake mechanism is shown herein as applied to the rear end of the con-
necting shaft, but such location on said shaft is not essential to the invention, as
the brake would operate wherever the shaft and gears or-like power transmitting
parts can be readily arranged with relation to each other, as described.
In the form shown in Figs. 8 and 9 the arm on the gear projects into a recess
in the cone but such recess is not essential as engaging shoulders on the two parts
would serve the same purpose within my invention.
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:-
1. In a gear driven vehicle, a connecting shaft included in the driving means,
a gear mounted on and driven by said shaft and having a limited reverse rotary
movement independent thereof, a brake drum secured to a frame member, a
brake ring carried by the shaft with one end connected with the shaft and the
other end connected with the gear which is movable thereon, and a driving wheel
of the vehicle operatively connected with said gear on the connecting shaft.
2. In a gear driven vehicle, a frame member, a connecting shaft mounted con-
centric with said frame member, a gear mounted on and driven by said shaft and
having a limited reverse rotary movement independent thereof, a brake drum
secured to said frame member, a brake ring carried by the shaft with one end
connected with the shaft and the other end connected with the gear which is
movable thereon, and a driving wheel of the vehicle operatively connected with
said gear on the connecting shaft.
3. In a gear driven vehicle, a connecting shaft included in the driving means,
a shoulder located on the shaft, a gear mounted on and driven by said shaft, an
arm on the gear located in the path of movement of the shoulder on the shaft, a
brake drum secured to a frame member, a brake ring carried by the shaft with one
end connected with the shaft and the other end connected with the gear which is
movable thereon, and a driving wheel of the vehicle operatively connected with
said gear.
4. In a gear driven vehicle, a tubular frame member, a connecting shaft extend-
ing through said member, a cone located on said shaft and having a shoulder
thereon, a gear mounted on and driven by said shaft, an arm on the gear mounted
in the path of movement of said shoulder, a brake drum secured to a frame
member, a brake located on the cone with one end in the path of movement of the
arm on the gear and the other end thrusting against a shoulder on the cone, and
a driving wheel of the vehicle operatively connected with said gear on the con-
necting shaft.
1000
GEORGE POPE.
D. Young & Co.,
11 and 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.