“The operation of this machinery is as follows:
“The weight of the rider upon the seat o, and a slight movement backward or forward causes the seat-support g to move backward or forward, which motion is communicated to the upright lever f by the connecting-bar h, which in turn starts the revolution of the driving-wheel axle l.
“This movement of the lever f also gives a corresponding movement to the jointed levers k, k, and in such a way that one lever, k, is moving backward while the other is moving forward, and so one of the snappers, l, is always caught in the ratchet-wheel e, and assisting in the revolution of the driving-wheel axle d, and in this way the impelling force of the machine never ceases for an instant.
“This revolution of the ratchet-wheel e forces the revolution of the driving-wheel c, which, by its connection with the pinion b, forces the revolution of the axle A and wheels B.”
This patent shows a clever method of transmitting power by means of an oscillating motion of the body, and is valuable as a curiosity. The overcoat might be dispensed with, however, as it is not probable that the rider would need it even on the coldest of days.
Leftwich’s Specification, English. No. 2173. July 19, 1869.
“Specification in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by the said William Leftwich in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th January 1870.
“To all to whom these presents shall come, I, William Leftwich, of Tufnell Park West, Holloway, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
“Whereas Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Leftwich, Her special licence that I, the said William Leftwich, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Leftwich, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for ‘Improvements in Construction of Velocipedes.’