GB420311A - Improvements in and relating to vehicular amusement devices - Google Patents

Abstract

420,311. Horse &c. velocipedes. PLANT, F. W., Cambridge Arterial Road, Enfield, Middlesex, and ROE, J. A., 51, Beaconsfield Road, Lower Edmonton, London. June 2, 1933, Nos. 16096, 18973, and 19878. [Classes 136 (ii) and 136 (iii)] In horse and like velocipedes of the type in which, to effect propulsion, pivoted front and rear pairs of legs are moved towards and away from one another by the alternate action of the weight of the rider on stirrups and on the body or seat, backward movement of the legs relatively to the ground being prevented, e.g., by one-way clutches, the legs are pivoted at their upper ends at or near the ends of the body, and the connections of the legs with the stirrup comprise two two-armed levers pivoted upon the front and rear legs respectively, links connecting corresponding arms of these levers directly or indirectly with the stirrup, and means (e.g., the body and links or the links alone) interconnecting the other arms of the levers so as to provide floating fulcra therefor. The front legs 11 and the rear legs 14 are pivoted at 12, 15 respectively to the body 13, their pivotal movements being limited by outer stops 16, 17 and inner stops 35, 36. Pivoted to the legs 11, 14 at 18, 19 respectively are two-armed levers 20, 21, one end of each of which is pivoted to links 23, 26 pivoted to the body, so as to provide floating fulcra at 22, 25. The other ends of the levers 20, 21 are connected by links 31, 33 to crank arms 32, 34 on a shaft 28 on the body, another crank arm 29 on the shaft 28 being pivoted to a stirrup member 30. When the rider transfers his weight from the body 13 to the stirrup 30, the legs 11, 14 move towards one another to the position shown in dotted lines, the front and rear wheels 37, 38 rotating, while during the return or outward movement of the legs, the rear wheels 38 are prevented from rotating by a ratchet and pawl 39, whereby the device will be propelled forwards. The front wheels 37 are steered from a handle 40 through a shaft 41, a universal joint 42, a cranked rod 43, two cross members 45, and cranked steering-columns 47. In the modification shown in Fig. 2, the shaft 28 is slidable in vertical guides 48 and is supported by a pair of rigid longitudinal members 49, which are connected at the ends by links 50, 51 to the pivots 18, 19 of the two-armed levers 20, 21. Propulsion may be assisted by a reciprocating chain 52 adapted to drive a freewheel sprocket 55 on the rear wheel axle, and connected at one end by a link 53 to the lower end of the lever 20 and at the other end to a return spring 56 linked at 57 to the crank arm 34 on the shaft 28. In a further modification, the two-armed levers are connected together by crossed links, and one of the levers is linked to the body to maintain alignment. The lower ends of the legs may be provided with slidable rollers controlled by springs and linkwork so as to be brought into engagement with the ground only on forward movement of the legs, which engage non-slidably with the ground on the reverse movement.