US380221A - Velocipede-boat - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) F '2 sheets-sheet 1.

l P. J. 811W. H. ROSS.

VBLOGIPBDE BOAT.

No. 380,221. Patented Mar. 27, 1888.A

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(No Model.) A l P. J. 8v W. H. ROSS# VB-LOGIPEDB BOAT. I No'. 380,221. Patented Map2?, 1888.-

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.1f DVEDULV UNITED STA'IES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK J. RoSS AND WILLIAM H. Ross, 0E SOUTH RADLEY FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS.

VELOCIPEDE-BOAT.

SPECIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 380,221. dated March 27, 1383- v Application filed October'iKQ, 1887. Serial No. 253.093. (No-modem To all whom t may concern.:

Beit known that we, FREDERICK J. Ross and WILLIAM H. Ross, of South Hadley Falls, in the county of Hampshire and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Velocipede-Boats, of which the following is aspecication, refer- .ence being had tothe accompanying drawlings, forming part thereof. l

Our invention relates to that class of boats having two hulls or iioats supporting between them aplatform, upon whichis located the crank pedal apparatus by means of which the propellingfwheel is operated, known as velocipede7 boats; and its object is to provide a boat of this nature which will be very simple and inexpensive in construction, and yet strong and capable of being driven at a high rate of speed, and in which provision is made for propulsion of the boat by two or more persons at the same time. f

To these ends our invention Consists in the boat constructed as hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters designate like parts in the several figures,"

Figure 1 is a plan view of the boat with the v seats, seat-bar,'and standards for the latter removed. Fig. 2is a side elevation ofthe boat complete. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of one of the crankshaft bearings,taken upon line .fr x in Fig. 1. Fig. 4.' is a front view of one of the standards supporting the seat-bar. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of one ofthe saddlehangers. Fig. 6 is a front view of one of the seat-bar supporting-standards provided with a handle-bar and handles for use by lady riders. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of one of the saddlel hangers and its saddle.

The letters A A designate the hulls, which may be made of paper, cedar, or otherlight wood, and aredecked over throughout their length, as shown, to render them water-tight, The hulls are connected together by two crossbars, B B, suitably connected at each end to one of said hulls, and preferably by a third bar, C, which supports the steering-bar, as hereinafter described. The hulls are still further united by the paddle-wheel shaft D, which 'of the boat by two persons at the Same time.

extends transversely across them near theiry -rear ends, being journaled in bearings D', the

As shown, the power mechanism consists of 6c two crank-shafts, F, mounted in uprights F',- secured to the rails E, and having at each end a Crank-arm, F2, provided with a pedal, F3, whereby provision is made for the propulsion .65 The bearings for said crank-shafts, and also the bearings D for the wheel-shaft, will .preferably be constructed as shown in Fig. 3, in which the uprights are shown as being provided with a bore to receive the shaft, which bore is screw-threaded throughout the greater portion of its length from itsinner toward its outer end, and at its outer end is of slightly greater diameter. The shaft F is provided I with two hubs, f, of a slightly less diameter than the enlarged portions of the bores ofthe upright-s in which said hubs are located, the.v inner faces of which are curved,.as shown. Bushings f are Screwed into the bores of the uprights from the side opposite the hubs on the shaft, said bushings having a bore of greater diameter than the diameter of the shaft between the hubs, and having their inner ends lconcaved, whereby a recess is formed between said" bushings and the curved faces of hubs f, to receive theY balls f 2, which extend in a single row entirely around the shaft and entirely support itwithin the uprights.

. The abutting surfaces of bushings f and hubs f,'as well as the balls f2, will preferably be case-hardened, sov that the wear between said parts will bc slight; but provision is made for taking up such wear by turning the bush.-

ing to advance it within the upright, a checknut, f, being located upon the bushing between the head ofthe latter and the upright, by means of which the bushing can be'locked in its adjusted position. A very simple-and cheap ball-bearing is thus afforded, by means of which friction on the crank and wheel-shafts is re- AIoo duced to a minimum, said shafts being supported laterally with respect to the hulls A A, as well as vertically, by the ballsf.

Midway between the rails E E each of the crank shafts is provided with a sprocketwheel, F, which wheels are preferably of the same diameter, and upon the wheel-shaft, in alignment with said Wheels F, is a third sprocket-wheel, D, preferably of one-half the diameter of said wheels. A chain belt, G, having links of the proper size to receive the teeth on said wheels, passes around the front wheel F and wheel D2 and over and beneath the rear wheel F, whereby motion is transmitted from both wheels F4 to wheel D and the wheel-shaft, said latter shaft making two revolutions to each revolution of the crankshafts. l

The standards which support the seat-bar are preferably made from metal tubing, and consist of a main stem, H, having two outwardly and downwardly curved arms, H', which are provided at their lower ends with feet h, in eachof which is a groove to receive one of the rails E. The arms H are also provided with downwardly projecting bolts h', which extend through slots e in the rails E, and receive beneath said rails nuts h2. The slots e in the rails are located immediately in front and rear of the bearings for the crank-shafts, and by loosening the nuts h2 the standards can be adj usted toward and away from said crankshafts to suit the convenience of the riders. In order to provide for vertical adjustment of the seat-bar, we prefer to make the main stem H of the standards in two parts, one sliding A within the other, as shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 6,

and to provide the lower member with a setscrew, h, by means of which the upper member can be secured in different positions within said lower member. The seat-bar I is secured in any convenient manner upon the upper ends of the upper members of the standards.

The saddle-hangers K consist of upwardlycurved plates secured to the seat-bar by bolts k, passing through said plates and bar, and nuts k', turned on said bolts beneath the bar, as shown, or in any other convenient manner. Said hangers are provided at each end with an ear, k2, in each of which is pivoted a loop, k3, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7. The saddles L preferably have their front end extended to form a. strap, L', and have secured to their lower side, near their rear end, a strap, L, one of which straps is provided with a buckle at its free end and the other with holes to receive the tongue of said buckle, as shown. By passing strap L through the front loop, k3, and strap L2 through the rear loop, as shown in Fig. 7, and connecting the ends of the straps together by means of the buckle, the saddle is suspended within the hanger in such manner as to yield to the movements of the rider when operating the pedal-cranks and afford an easyseat. The saddle can be made more or less rigid with respect to the hanger by tightening or loosening the straps L L2. A handlebar, M, secured to the seat-bar in front of the rear saddle, enables the rear rider to steady himself in his seat, while the front rider grasps a similar handle-bar secured to the top of the steering-rod N and steers the boat. The steering-rod N near its upper end rests in an open bearing in the front end of the seat-bar, and at its lower end is rigidly secured to a bar, N', midway between the ends of the latter. Said b ar N is centrally pivoted upon crossbar C, and has secured to each end one end of the cord or rope N, which passes around the grooved pulleys Na at the top of the tillerposts of the rudders N, at the end of the hulls, as shown in Fig. 1. lt will be obvious without further description that axial movement of rod N by means of its handle-bar will turn both rudders in one or the other direction to change the course of the boat. As thus far described the boat is adapted for use by male riders only; but it can be quickly changed, so that a lady can occupy the front seat while a gentleman sits behind and propels the boat, by removing the seat-bar, securing the saddle-han'gers directly to the top of the standards H, and removing the front standard to the rear of the front crank-shaft, slotse being made in the rails E E at that point for this purpose. When thisis done, we prefer to provide each of the standards with a handlebar, H, as shown in Fig. 6, secured to the main stem of the standard by means of a collar surrounding the same and having upwardlycurved arms, whereby a support is aiorded upon either side of the saddle. A foot-rest will also be secured to the front cross-bar, B,

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as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 2, which will also serve as a support for the steeringrod in lieu of the seat-bar.

The wheel-shaft D is preferably tubular in form, and has secured to each end thereof a paddle-wheel, D, composed of the hubs d, spokes d', and blades d, the spokes being braced by a wire, da, which may be continuons around the wheel, as shown, or composed of separate sections between each pair of spokes. A very light but strong wheel is thus afforded, and the combined operation of said wheels, which make two revolutions to one of the crank-shafts, enables the boat to be driven at high speed with but little exertion on the part of the riders.

The boat thus constructed can be made very cheaply and yet answer all the purposes of similar boats heretofore made, which are much more complicated and expensive in structure.

' We do not wish to limit ourselves to the use of two crank-shafts, as the number that could be employed in addition to the two shown is limited only by the sizeof the boat. It is obvious, also, that other modifications in the details of construction shown and described could be made without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having thus fully described our invention,v

what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A velocipede-boat consisting of the hulls A A, a frame connecting one of saidhulls with the other, a plurality of pedal-crank shafts mounted in bearings upon said frame, seats secured upon said frame adjacent to said shafts, a shaft having a paddle-wheel secured to each of its ends mounted in bearings upon said hulls, belt-connections between each of said crankshafts and said wheel-shaft, rudders secured to said hulls, a steering-lever located in front of the Iirst crank-shaft, and intermediate connections between said lever and both of said rudders, substantially as described,- whereby said rudders can be operated in unison from the lever, substantially as set forth.

2. In a velocipede-boat, the combination, with hulls A A, having paddle-wheel shaft D, mounted in bearings thereon, of cross-bars B B, rails E E, extending between said bars, two or more pedal-crank` shafts mounted in bearings upon said rails, standards H,'adjustably secured to said rails, bar I, connected at each end to one of said standards, saddles L,moi1nt ed upon said ybar I, sprocket-wheels secured to each of the crank-shafts and to the wheel-shaft, and belt G, connecting all of said sprocketwheels together, substantially as set forth.

` 3. In the velocipede-boat herein described, the combination, with seat-bar I, supported substantially in the manner set forth, of the bowshaped hangers K, secured ,to said bar, said hangers having the loops k3 at theirfends, and saddles L, having the straps L L2, whereby they are adapted to be suspended between the loops on said hangers, substantially as de scribed. Y

4. The combination, with the hulls A A, 0f

bar N, pivo ted centrally between` said hulls, rod N, secured at one end to lsaid bar, Yrudders N4, having grooved pulleys N3, secured to their fthereon, the surface of one side'of which is y curved, as shown, bushings f, screwed into the bore of said uprights and having their inner endsconcaved, and balls f2, located between the ends of said bushings and the curved surfaces of the hubs on theshafts, arranged and operating substantially as and for the purpose f set forth. Y

6. The combination, with hulls A A, crossbars B B, and rails E E, having slots e therein, of standards H, composed of two me1nbers,one. of which is vertically adjustable within the other, and having the curved arms H,'secured to rails E by bolts passing through the slots in the latter, and seat-bar I, secured to the upper members or" said standards, substantially as described,whereby provision is made for adjusting said seat-bar both vertically and longitudinally, for the purpose set forth.

FREDERICK J. ROSS.' WILLIAM. H. ROSS.

Witnesses:

W. H. CHAPMAN,

T. M. BROWN.

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