US291376A - Nelson mbeeill - Google Patents

Description

(N0 Model.)

N, MERRILL.,V

, n TRICYCLE.

No, 291,376.V Patented Jan. l*l 1884.

To all whom 15m/ay concern.-

NiTED STATES y PATENT Urraca.

NELsON MERRILL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

TRICYCLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 291576, dated January 1, leeft.' Application and May smsen. (Notifica.)

` Be it known that L N ELsON MERRILL, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and u'seful Improvement in Tricycles; and I do hereby declare that the 'following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification.

\ My invention relates to an improvement in tricycles, and more `especially to the improved tricycle for which Letters Patent of the United States were granted to me November 22, 1881,

No. 249,853, but whichis applicable as well to other forms of machines. l

`It consists in the combination of thepitinanrods which actuate the saddle-lever with short cranks upon an auxiliary idle-shaft, which is also formed or fitted with cranks corresponding with the foot-cranks upon the driving-axle, so as to loe, in fact, a duplicate thereof, yand 'which is supported in suitable bearings upon the frame in front of said axle, to revolve freely in line parallel therewith, and in the combination, with the wrists of the corresponding cranks on the shaft and axle, of coupling-bars carrying the pedals or serving as treadles for the machine, and to connect said cranks, and so bent or arranged as to bring the weight of the rider in front of the axle, and to support the operators feet at a distance above the cranks during their entire revolution.

The object of this part 'of my invention `is to obtain an increase of leverage upon eachdrivling-crank without increasing the travel ofthe foot in operating the crank, to bring the foot farther forward and in a more natural and 'easyposition when at work, the rider being seated over or in front of the axle, and to obtain an effective forward thrust against the cranks as the saddle descends under the weight of theri er. It consists, furthermore, in the combination of a suitable steering-gear with the lever upon which the seatis mounted, and which is pivotedm mediately to the tubular standard in which the fork or post carrying the `steeringwheelrotates. p

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a Vside elevation of my improved tricycle with allel shaft, C, placed in front thereof. The for` ward end or reach, NV, of the frame A is firmly secured to a vertical tubular standard, D, through which, as a pivotal bearing, the upper end of the fork E, carrying the front steering-wheel, F, is carried. The axle B is formed with two pedal-cranks, c a, disposed at an an- *gle of one hundred and twenty degrees with each other, and outside of these with two shorter seat-cranks, one at each end, projecting both in the same plane at an angle of one hundred and twenty degrees with the pedal-cranks, in manner as set forth in my aforesaid Letters Patent of November 22, 1881. 'Ihe parallel shaft Gis mounted in front of the cranked axle B at a distance therefrom somewhat exceeding the length of the pedal-cranks, to rotate freely in suitable bearings upon the frame. It is constructed with a series of cranks corresponding in all respects with the cranks on the axle Br Pedals G G are supported immediately over the wrists of the pedal-cranks c on the idleshaft C, each upon a connecting-rod, cd, pivoted at its front end, c, to the wrist of the front crank, a', and. at vits rear end, d, to the correspendingpedal-cranlea, ontheaxle. Bymeans of this connecting-rod c d the two cranks a a` are not onl y coupled together so that they shall,

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effective action, without, however, increasing the length of the stroke or up-and-down movement of the foot in operating it. (Seediagram, Fig. 4.) The seat-cranks e e on the axle may likewise be coupled with the counterpart seatcranks c e on the idle-shaft by straight connecting-bars H H. The seat or saddle K of the machine is fitted directly over or somewhat in front of the axle B upon the rear end of a long lever-,.L, which is pivoted at its front endl to the upper 4end of an upright bar, M, Fig. 1. The lower end of the bar M is pivoted tol the reach NV of the frame, so that its upper end shall be free to vibrate slightly within a shackle or loop, t', by which it is tied tothe upper end of the standard D. The saddle K is connected to the seat-cranks e c by means of two rods, J J, pivoted to the saddle or its lever L, and whose lower ends are seen red each to one of the bars H H, or pivoted directly to one ofthe cranks e c. The upward movement of thereciprocating rods J J, actuated by the cranks e c', produce an upward movement of the seat-lever and seat, while the downward movement of the seat, under the weight of they rider, actuates the cranks, and is thereby utilized in the propulsion of the machine. A sprocket-wheel, N, Fig. 2, is mounted upon a vertical spindle, which is supported and pivoted in a bracket on the seat-lever L. and terminates in a handle, P, within easy reach of a person seated on the saddle K.. A chain is led around the sprocket-wheel N, and its ends are Yconnected directly-or by means of intermediate cords or rods, Q Q, with the two ends of a handle, R, upon the upper end of the fork E, carrying the front wheel, F, so that the rotation of the wheel N, produced by manipulating the handle l?, will actuatc the handle R, and

with it the front wheel, F, to turn it in either direction. A horizontal wheel or segment may 'be substituted for the handle R as an equivalent device to actuate the fork E.

S S are brake-shoes upon the ends of a hori- 4Zonta-l bar, S', properly supported in brackets under the front bar of the frame A, and which is drawn to or carried from the driving-wheels F F' by means of a compound lever, whose two arms, T T, hinged together, are each pivoted to the arms of a bracket provided therefor, vand which is secured upon the reach WV, as shown in Fig. 1. The lower end of the lower arm, T, is coupled to the brake-bar S or to a link extending thereto. The upper end ofthe upper arm, T, is fitted with a pedal, U, By applying the pressure of the foot to saidpedal U, and thereby vibrating the upper' arm, T, a powerful leverage is exerted upon the lower arm, T', and through it upon the bar S, operating to draw the brake-shoes against thewheels.

In. the modification in the construction of the'machine illustrated in Fig. 3, theseatcranks c c. on the axle are omitted therefrom, leaving only the pedal-cranks to be connected idle-shaft C. In such case the reciprocating seat-rods J J are pivoted directly tothe wrists of seat-cranks e `.fz/,formed upon said idle-shaft, as shown in Fig. 3. If desired, a reverse movement'of the driving-wheels maybe automatically prevented by means of pawls fv c, pivoted to the axle, to engage ratchet-wheels x fr on the hub of each wheel.

In the use of my improved tricycle, constructed as described, the weight of the rider mounted upon the saddle K is brought into constant and effective operation for the propulsion of the machine. In operating the machine, the rider, seated in the saddle immediately over or somewhat in front of the axle, places his feet upon the pedals, which are in front of the axle and of the riders body, and within easy and natural reach of the feet at all points of their revolution. As the weight of the uppermost foot is brought to bear uponv its pedal, the two connected cranks are thereby made to revolve, and as the foot is carried forward and downward a leverage is exerted upon the cranks, which increases as the crankarm approaches the horizontal. Vhile there is this. gain in leverage upon the crank, the i throw or movementof the footis not increased, the sweep of the pedal vertically and horizontally being determined by the length of the crank alone, irrespective ofthe form or length of the coupling-bars, as is illustrated by the dottedlines in Fig. 4f. So soon as pressure upon one foot has brought the crank upon which it bears beyond the line of most effective leverage, the crank under the second foot IOO has attained a point in the revolution where it becomes most effective under the application of weight and power thereto to produce a rotation of the shaft; and when in its movement it has passed beyond the point of effectl ive leverage, and the crank under the first foot is still rising, and hence is inoperative, the seat-cranks reach their point of effective leverage, and the weight of the rider, being thereupon transferred from the pedal wholly,

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to the seat, operates effectively upon said cranks until the first foot can be again brought effectively into play.

The location of the pedals upon the coupling-bars c d, which connect the crank upon A the axle with cranks upon an idle-shaft, by means whereof the weight of the driver is thrown in front of the axle, and the connec-` tion of the seat placed over the axle, with the cranks on the idle-shaft in front of the axle, which operates as a driving-shaft, bymeans whereof the weight of the driver, when not used effectively upon the pedals', is applied .with aforward thrust against the seat-cranks,

serve to increase largely the efficiency of the machine, and to insure simply and practically a direct and positive application of the-weight and muscular power ofthe rider to-the cranks and wheels without any increase in the moveinent of the foot and legs over that required by the rods cd with counterpart cranks on the i in the most approved forms of bicycles and tricycles. Moreover, by reason of the position of the pedals with relation to the saddle and the steering-handle on the saddle-bar, when the weight of the rider is thrown upon the pedals, he may grasp the handle, and, by pulling thereon as he rises from the saddle to bear upon the pedals, may lift the seatlever, and thus exert an upward pull upon the seat-cranks, which will greatly. assist in effecting a revolution of the wheels. At the same time, by straightening out his iiexed arms and knees, he is enabled to exert with ease a powerful muscular force, which will be brought to bear in addition'to his mere Weight torce, directly upon the cranks in propelling the machine. I contemplate, furthermore, aiding this up-pull with the hands in rising by means of shoulder-straps led over the shoulders of the rider, and secured at either end to the saddle or its pitman-rods, so that by slightly straightening the body as well as the legs, in making the rise in the saddle, the up-pull on the seat-lever, as well asthe down-push on the cranks, will beincreased or enforced, while the shoulder-straps will also afford a certain support to the rider when thus working the machine. Ireserve the right to make this feature of my invention the subject-matter of a separate application for Letters Patent. The down-push of the seat in descending may also be increasedby a simultaneous counter up-pull'upon the cranks, with the toes ofthe feet against the straps secured for the purpose over the ends of the pedals. rlhe pedal-cranks on the axle and idle-shaft nrly be coupled by straight bars connected to the one and the other, instead of by the bent bars c d, as shown, the latter being preferred in order to throw the feet more to the front, and to permit a higher adj ustment of the seat, and a better alignment of the pitman-rods extending diagonally thereto from the seatcranks.

I contemplate the use of the parallel idleshaft formed with cranks the counterpart of the cranks upon the axle, in the construction of velocipedes adapted to carry twopersons, with three cranks one hundred and twenty degrees apart, in which the middle crank is operated by the two adjacent feet of the riders bearing jointly thereon and the other, two cranks by the right foot of the one and the left foot of the other.

It is evident that the power applied by the within-described devices to produce the rotation of the axle of a velocipede may be employed by similar ,devices to drive a shaft rotating in xed bearings for use as a motor, and I contemplate such an application of my invention. y

I purposeto make hereafter the use of shoulder-straps. and also the construction4 of a machine to accommodate two persons, the subject-matter of separate Letters Patent, and to claim therein such devices herein described as may be novel in that connection.

I claim as my invention-` 1. In a velocipede or motor, the combination, with its axle or driving-shaft, a seat mounted to vibrate vertically over the same, and an idle-shaft rotating in line parallel with the axle or driving shaft, of one or more cranks formed on said idle-shaft and coupled by pitman-rods with the vibrating seat or seat-lever, pedal-cranks also formed on said shaft at an angle of about one hundred and twenty degrees with each other and with the seat-cranks, and counterpart pedal-cranks formed on the axle or driving-shaft, and coupled by connecting-bars with the pedal-cranks on the idleshaft, substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. The combination, with the rotating fork or spindle carrying the steering-wheel ota velocipede,a vibrating lever pivoted to the standard supporting said fork and l actuated by cranks upon the axle or a counterpart idleshaft driven thereby, and a seat fitted upon theleverto partake ot'its movement, of a steering wheel or handle mounted upon said lever within reach of the rider upon the seat and geared to the fork or spindle of the drivingwheel, substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.

3. The combination, in a velocipede or motor, with the counterpart pedal-cranks upon its driving-axle and auxiliary idle-shaft, of a pedal bar or bars adapted to uphold the foot 4of the operator above the crank of the idle-` shaft during its entire revolution, and to couple said crank with the corresponding crank upon the driving-axle, substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this speci lication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

NELSON MERRILL.

Witnesses:

C. FRED. LATTOUT, A. B. MOORE.

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