US650346A - Bicycle. - Google Patents

Description

No. 650,346. Patented may 22', |900. H. TuTTLE.

alcYcLE.

(Application led Feb. 19, 1898.)

(llo Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

W/T/VESSES NVENTOR MyW v 'H00 met, .Taatte Patented May 22, |900.

No, 650,346. I

H. TuTTL'E.

BICYCLE.

(Application led Feb. 19, 1898.)

2A Sheets-Sheet 2`.

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/NVENTOR Hosmea e -WTNESSES waff W y Alorney.

UNTTBD STATES PATENT Orrrcn.

I-IOSMER TUTTLE, OF CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO SHELLEY TUTTLE, OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH.

BICYCLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent N0. 650,346, dated May 22, 1900.

' Application filed February 19, 1898. Serial N0. 670.945. (N0 modem y To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, HosMERTUTTLn, aciti= zen of the United States, residing at Cedar Rapids, in the county of Linn and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bicycles, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to mechanical movements intended mainly for the propulsion of bicycles to take the place of the chain now generally used on safety-bicycles, and thereby reduce the expense and the amount of friction.

Although the construction of the movement canbe used in connection with other machines it is shown in the drawings in connection with a bicycle, the frame of which may be of any suitable form. It comprises cranks and crank-pins on the axle of the hind wheel, sprocket-wheels on the axle of the pedal-shaft, and forked connecting-rods to unite said axles, as described in Patent No. 564,665, granted to me July 28, 1896; but in this improvement the location of the hind crank is within the side frames, the interlocking sprockets are provided with antifrietion-rollers, and the ends of the forked connecting-rods are provided with hooked connections adapted to rock on said ends, said hooked rocking connections having a segment of gear-teeth on their outer periphery in engagement with short stationary racks to cause their rocking and facilitate the noiseless entrance of the sprocket-rollers into the hooked rocking connections and their issue therefrom and also to compensate for the inequalities of speed of the connecting-rod due to the rear cranks motion, and thus obtain uniform motion of the sprocket-wheel.

Other new features will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in-Which- Figure l represents a side view ot' a bicycle provided with a mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention, but showing only one .of the forked rods. Fig. 2 represents, on a larger scale, a top view, partly in section, of the mechanism. Fig. 3 represents a side view of the mechanism on one side of the machine, with the casing of the sprocket-wheel in section. Fig. i represents a horizontal section of a portion of one of the cranks, its'shaft, the sprocket-wheel secured thereto, the sleeve of the crank-shaft, and the casing secured thereto. Fig. 5 is a side view of one of the ball-bearin g locking-sleeves and its locking-bolt. Fig. 6 is an. end view of the locking-sleeve. Fig. 7 is a side view of 011e of the hooked rocking connections of one branch of one of the forked connecting-rods, its side arm being broken oif to show its slot. Fig. 8 is a transverse section of said hooked rocking connection mounted upon one branch of one of the forked connecting-rods. Fig.

9 represents an end view of said hooked rocking connection having its groove or hook in engagement vwith one of the rollers of the sprocket-wheel and its toothed upper end in engagement with the rack secured to the casing. Fig. 10 represents-,in top View and partly' in section, the rear-wheel axle, its ball-bearings, crank-shaft, and connecting-rods. Fig. 11 is a side view of the rear portion of one of the forked rods, its crank-pin, ball-bearing cone, and locking device for said cone. a perspective view of the crank-pin.

In said drawings, A represents the seatcarrying standard of the frame, and A2 the braces between the crank-shaft b,carrying the pedals B2 and also the sprocket-Wheels C and C2, and the crank-axle d for the hind wheel E,

said axle cl having its .ends received in ballbearings o2, mounted in the rear ends of the braces A2 and protected by caps a3,which serve also as a lock-nut for the hallway.

Each end of the axle d has a crank-arm cl2, and each end of the hub of the wheel E has a similar crank-arm e2, but the arms e2 are set at an angle of ninety degrees to each other. The arms d2 e2 of each crank are united to gether by a tubular crank-pin D, having four lugs provided with side faces that are not radial, but are parallel or at right angles to each other and are projecting from each one of its ends that are received in corresponding grooves formed at right angles to each other in bosses on the arms cl2 e2, and a bolt D2, passing through said arms and through the crankpin D, secures these parts together until it is desired to remove the wheel E for repairs or until it is desired to have the crank-pin occu py Fig. 121s a position a quarter of a revolution lfront or back to make up for wear ofthe parts. The pin D is grooved circumferentially to obtain a ballway to receive the inner face of the balls of the ball-bearing around it, and said balls are inclosed by the rear end of each forked connecting-rod, being adj ustably re-V tained in their seat by a ball-cone D3, having its periphery provided with serrations. To lock said cone a dog d3 is secured with a screw to the outer face of each connecting-rod and has its acute end made to engage with some one of the serrations onthe periphery of the flange of the cone D3.

The sprocket-wheel() has radiating at equal distances apart a series of arms c, having their outer ends slotted and each one provided in said slotrwith an antifriction-roller r to be received alternately into a slot f, which constitutes a hook of rocking connections f2, which have side arms f3, by which they are pivotally mounted on the end of both the upper branch and the lower branch of the forked connecting-rod F. The outer end of each rockingconnectionf2 is provided with a segment of gear-teeth that remain constantly in engagement with the teeth of a rack 2, that is secured to the interior surface of the sprocketwheel casing 3 at its uppermost and lowermost points. Each rack 2 has cheek-pieces 4 to maintain each rocking connection in perfeet alinement with its rack. The teeth of therack and the teeth of the segments of gears are made of a special form, so that they will bottom into each other, as said parts are the supports for the front ends of the forked connecting-rods and it is important that any rattling noise or vibration should be prevented.

, To render the union of the rocking connection]c2 with the ends of the forked connecting-rod F substantially frictionless, each counection f2 is provided with an arm f5 parallel therewith, that carries the grooved ballway, the balls, and the cones of ballbearings. There is an inner cone f4, an outer cone f5, the head of which is received in part in a recess made into the inner face of the fork of the rod F, and a screw-bolt b2, passing through the cones and through the fork of the rod F, its head being countersunk into the outer face ofsaid fork, and a retaining-screwf6 locks the bolt b2. This construction of ball-bearings is repeated for each branch of the forked connecting-rods on both sides of the machine.

' The sides of the slot f of each rocking connection are lined with hard-steel face-plates f7, dovetailed in said sides.

The distance between the front ends of the branches of the forked -rod F is maintained by a curved brace F2, uniting said branches, and they are supported by the segmental gears f2 and the latter by the racks 2, fastened to the casing 3. Said casing is firmly secured to the pedal-sleeve of the frame and also to one of the side braces A2. It has in its rear edge two openings for the passage of the branches of the forked connecting-rod F, and said .openings are rendered dust-proof and damp-proof by means of flexible diaphragms 5, of thin4 sheet-rubber, leather, or textile material preferably doubled upon itself and having its outer edge secured to the casing around each rod-opening and its center substantially clasping eachbranch of the forked connecting-rod.

The pedals-shaft b is preferably made in two lengths diagonally cut at their inner ends and inclosed ina sleeve 6, screw-tapped with right and left hand screw-threads near its ends and carrying cone-faced rings for ballbearings, while a ring', L-shaped in crosssection, is employed for the other ball-bearing. Said ring '7 is screwed within the end of the crank-shaft sleeve of the frame by temporarily connecting it by means'of a small pinv (not shown) with the boss of the pedalcrank. After adjustment said ring, which has angular teeth on its inner edge, is locked by means of a small dog 8, thathas a rectangular shoulder 9, made to pass partly through a slot in the sleeve. Said shoulder has a screw-threaded portion, upon which is placed a nut that clamps the dog 8 to the sleeve with its acute end in engagement with the serrations of the ring?. The sprocket-wheel C is secured to the boss of the pedal-crank by means of two or three screws. The outer face of the casing 3 is closed with a thin metal disk g, having its periphery received in the rabbeted edge of said casing and secured thereto with two or more screws.

The above description relates to the lefthand half of the driving mechanism; but the mechanism on the right-hand side is exactly similar and consists of the forked connectingrod G, the ends of which are provided with rocking connections, as f2, each having a segment of gear in engagement with a rack and adapted for engagement with a sprocketwheel having three arms at equal distances,

apart and provided with antifriction-rollers; but said sprocket-wheel is so timed relatively to the sprockets c of the'wheel C as to be about thirty degrees in the rear of each one of them.

The frame of the machine is provided with a forward brace A3, as usual.

In the operation of the mechanism the rocking up and down and also longitudinally of the rear end of the connecting-rod F orV G causes the hooked connections at their front end to be rocked upon their rack-supports and their slotted end to be presented in the best positions to either receive one of the rollers r of the sprocket-wheel or to let one of said rollers escape from engagement with the sprocket-Wheels, so that the engagement of the parts will not cause anynoise. As there must necessarily be some moments in which the rollers of the sprocket-wheels are not in working engagement with the slots of the rocking connections f2, (while entering and leaving theln,) a duplication of the mechan- IIO ism is required to actuate the rear crank-axle during these intermediate movements. As there is only a little more than one roller of the sprocket-wheel or a portion of two rollers in engagement with the rocking connections on the ends ot the forked connectingrods, the friction is reduced to the minimum possible.

The diameter of the s procket-wheels and the number of arms they are to carry or the diameter of carrying-wheels can be selected according to the speed of motion that may be desired.

Having now fully described my invention, I claiml. A mechanical movement consisting of an axle carrying two crank-pins, a forked connecting-rod mounted at each end upon each crank-pin and having at the opposite end two hooked connections pivotally mounted thereon, means as described to oscillate said hooked connections and sprocket-wheels having friction-rollers for engagement with the pivoted hooked connections substantially as described.

2. In a mechanical movement for bicycles, the combination of the axle of one of `the carrying-wheels, two crank-pins carried by said axle, two branched connecting-rods mounted at one end upon each crank-pin and having at the opposite end two hooked connections pivotally mounted thereon, each hooked con- .nection carrying a segment of teeth, and stationary racks for engagement with said segments of teeth, with sprocket-wheels for engagement with the pivoted hooked connections substantially as described.

3. In a bicycle the combination of the axle of one of the carrying-wheels, two crank-pins carried by said axle, two branched connecting-rods mounted at one end upon the crankpins vand carrying at the opposite end two hooked connections pivotally mounted thereon, each hooked connection carrying a segment of teeth, and stationary racks having side cheeks, with sprocket-wheels for engagement with the pivoted hooked connections substantially as described.

4. In a bicycle the combination of the axle of one of the carrying-wheels, two crank-pins carried by said axle, two branched connecting-rods mounted at one end upon the crankpin and carrying at the opposite end two hooked connections having bearing-carrying win gs pivotally mounted upon the forkedends of the connectingrods, means as described to oscillate said hooked connections with sprocket-Wheels for engagement With the pivoted hooked connections substantially as described.

5. In abicycle the combination of the frame of the machine, the axle of one of the carrying-wheels, two crank-pins carried by said axle, two branched connectingrods mounted at one end upon the crank-pins and carrying at the opposite end two hooked connections pivotally mounted thereon, each hooked connection carrying a segment ot teeth, sprocketwheels for engagement with the pivoted hooked connections, and stationary casings for the sprocket-wheels and for the hooked connections, racks secured within said casings, and exible diaphragms secured to the casings and embracing the connecting-rods substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence ot two witnesses.

HOSMER TUTTLE.

Witnesses:

E. E. MASSON, A. B. Dncons.

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