US542637A

US542637A - Bicycle

Info

Publication number: US542637A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1895-07-16
Anticipated expiration: 1912-07-16

Description

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F. M. & J. E; GOODHUE. BICYCLE.

No. 542,637. Patented July 16, 1895,

(No'ModeL) 2 Sheets-Sheet' 2.

F. M. & J. E. GOODH-UE. BICYCLE.

No. 542,637. 4 Patented Jul 16, 1895.

N7 N (N R N N N x A U f) w r) a ATENT Fries.

FRANK M. GOODHUE AND JAMES EGOODHUE, or sr. CHARLES, AssicNoRs TO THE TWO-SPEED BICYCLE COMPANY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BICYCLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 512,637, dated July 16, 1895. Application filed October 23, 1394:. Serial No. 526,711. (No model.)

To all whom'it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK M. GOODHUE and JAMES E. GOODHUE, citizens of the United States, residing at St. Charles, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Bicycles, of which the followingisa specification.

Our invention relates to bicycles, and has for its object to produce a new and improved device by which the speed of the bicycle may be varied with relation to the speed of the pedal-shaft.

We have illustrated our invention in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a bicycle embodying our invention. Fig. 2 is a section on line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail.

Like letters refer to like the several figures. I

Our device is preferably used on a bicycleframe in which the fork of the rear wheel and the seat-post are connected in the usual manner to the sleeve that acts as a bearing for the pedal-shaft. This construction is set forth in the accompanying drawings, whereinis shown the sleeve A provided with the projecting arms B B for the members B B of the fork of the rear wheel, and the arms for the seat post 0 and the brace D. The sleeve Awith its projecting arms is preferably forged from one piece and drilled out so as to leave ahollow shell, and thus make the parts as light as possible. I

In applying our device to a bicycle, we provide a bearing in each of the arms B B for an auxiliary shaft E. This shaft is provided with the gear-Wheels E E and Works in ballbearings in the usual manner. The gearwheel E meshes with the gear-wheel F, loosely mounted on the pedal-shaft F. Another gear wheel F is loosely mounted on the other end of the pedal-shaft and meshes with the gear E on the auxiliary shaft E. The sprocket-Wheel G is rigidly connected to the gear-wheel F The gear-Wheels F and F are provided with the external grooves II II for the balls H, which form the ball-bearingbetween said gear-wheels and the sleeve, and also with the grooves H H? for the balls H which form a ball -bearing between the said gear -wheels and the pedal-shaft F. Feathered upon the parts throughout.

pedal-shaft F is the sliding clutch-block I. This clutch-block is moved by means of the bif urcated shifting-arm I. Said shifting-arm is connected to the rod I running along the brace D. The upper end of the rod I is provided with the projecting arm 1 (seeFig. 3,) to which is pivotally connected the rod I Said rod I is connected to the lever 1 which is pivotally connected to the handle of the bi- 6o cycle. By this construction the clutch-block I may be moved by moving the lever I IVe have shown a construction by which the clutch-block can be moved by a lever near the hand of the rider, but it Will be understood that any otherconstruction that will acoomplish the object may be used if desired. It will be seen that by this construction the ordinary form of sleevefor the pedal-shaft may be used, and. a light and compact two-speed 7o bicycle produced.

We do not wish to be limited to the exact construction shown, as it is evident that the several parts may be modified to a considerable extent Without departing from the spirit of ourinvention. V

The use and operation of our invention are as follows: When the clutch I is moved so as to engage the gear-wheel F said gear-wheel,

and hence the sprocket-wheel G attached 8o thereto, will rotate with the pedal-shaft F.

If new the rider desires to speed up, he moves the lever I which, through the agency of rod 1 and arm 1 rotates the rod I and moves the shifting-arm I and clutch I until such clutch engages the gear-Wheel F. The motion of the pedal-shaft is then conveyed by clutch I, gear- Wheel F, gear-wheel E shaft E, gear-wheel E, and gear-wheel F to the sprocket-wheel G, and when the gear-wheels are made as shown in the drawings, the sprocket-wheel will be driven ata greater speed than the pedal-shaft.

It will be seen that we have here a speedchanging device in which there are no gears to be moved out of mesh with each other and which may be easily applied to the ordinary bicycle without adding very materially to its Weight. This construction also allows the bearings to be made ball-bearings.

The gear-wheels F and F are provided with I00 external and internal ball-bearings, the inter- 'nal ball-bearing being used to decrease the shaft in the first mentioned sleeve, two gear- Wheels of different sizes toward the ends of the pedal-shaft and loose thereon, bearings therefor in the ends of the sleeve, a sprocketwheel rigid with one gear, a clutch Within the sleeve between the gears and adapted to slide on but rotate with the shaft, and thus to operatively connect it with either gear, a moving device for the clutch, under the control of the operator, an auxiliary shaft in the other sleeve and thus in rigid relation to the pedalshat't, bearings therefor within the sleeve and gears of different sizes thereon simultane-' ously meshing with the gears of the pedalshaft, substantially as shown and described.

FRANK M. GOODHUE. JAMES E. GOODHUE. \Vitnesses:

E. H. LYMAN, W. R. GOODMAN.