Patent GB-722897-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to clutch-operated steering gear for vehicles
IPC: B62D11/08
Filed: 1951-07-04
Abstract: 722,897. Motor vehicle driving and steering gear. GATES, G. R. G. June 25, 1952 [July 4, 1951], No. 15917/51. Classes 79(2) and 79(5). In a clutch-operated vehicle driving and steering gear having a driven main shaft driving a pair of main clutches, the outputs of which are coupled to a pair of road wheel shafts, a differential gear having two of its elements connected through steering shafts to the road wheel shafts, a steering clutch connected to the third element of the differential gear and acting to restrict the speed of the third element when the clutch is engaged, steering being effected by releasing the main clutch on the inside of the curve and engaging the steering clutch, each road shaft is connected to its main clutch by a gear and a pinion, the gear meshing with a pinion on its steering shaft. As shown in Fig. 1, a driving shaft 10 is connectable to a shaft 16 through a reversing gear 11, 12, 15 controlled by clutches 13, 14. The shaft 16 carries gears 17, 19 meshing with gears 18, 20 rotatably mounted on and clutchable by means of a splined sleeve 22 to a shaft 21. The shaft 21 rotatably carries and can be clutched by a splined sleeve 31 to gears 26, 29 which mesh with gears 27, 30 carried by the main shaft 28. The shaft 28 is connectable by the spring engaged main clutches 35, 36 to the pinions 37, 38 meshing with the gears 39, 40 on the road wheel shafts 41, 42, the gear pairs 17-18, 19-20, 26-27, 29-30 and clutch sleeves 22, 31 combining to form a four-ratio change speed gear. Endless track sprockets 43, 44 on the shafts 41, 42 may be replaced by road wheels. Meshing with the gears 39, 40 are the pinions 45, 46 which are of smaller diameter than the pinions 37, 38. The gears 45, 46 are carried by the steering shafts 47, 48 carrying sun gears 49, 50 of the differential gear 51, the carrier 52 of which is connectable through the spring disengaged steering clutch 54 with a sleeve 55 carrying a gear 56 meshing with the gear 29, the gears 30, 56 being of equal diameter. In order to steer the vehicle, for example to the left, the clutch 35 is disengaged and the clutch 54 engaged, thus causing the shaft 41 to be driven slower than the shaft 42 owing to the action of the differential 51 and the difference in speeds of the shafts 28, 48 due to the difference in diameter between the gears 38, 46. In order to effect the operation of the clutches 35, 36, 54 levers 60, 61, Fig. 3, pivoted at 60a, 61a are connected by cables 62, 63 to a pair of steering handles (not shown) so that tension is put on the cable to the side which it is intended to turn. Such tension acting against a spring 35f or 36f causes the respective clutch 35, 36 to be disengaged through a link 35e and an arm 35d and such tension causes the clutch 54 to be engaged. The clutch 54 has a lever 54d which is moved in an anticlockwise direction to engage the clutch and is connected to a rod 65 having abutment collars 66, 67. Slidable on the rod 65 are blocks 68, 69, the block 68 being pivoted to the lever 60 and the block 69 connected to the lever 61 by a motion reversing lever 69a pivoted at 69b and a link 69c. In a modification the gears 45, 46 are made equal in diameter to the pinions 37, 38 and the gear wheel 56 is displaceable so as to mesh with and be driven by a gear wheel of larger diameter than and formed integrally with the gear wheel 29. In a further embodiment, Fig. 5, the clutch sleeve 31 is formed on a sleeve 76 with gear wheels 74, 75 so that in the position shown corresponding to third and top gears of the change speed gear the shaft 21 drives through the gear 75 a gear 73 on the sleeve 55 and in the position of the sleeve 31 corresponding to the lowest and second gears the gear 74 meshes with the gear 30 and a gear 72 on the sleeve 55, thus enabling the inner sprocket or road wheel to be driven at a slower speed relative to the outer sprocket or road wheel with the lowest and second gears than with the third and top gears. Specifications 563,339, 572,316 and 722,709 are referred to.