Patent GB-638701-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in vehicles or vehicle assemblies provided with multiple internal combustion engines
IPC: B60K7/00
Filed: 1945-05-04
Abstract: 638,701. Motor vehicles. BOBARD, E. May 4, 1945, No. 11339. Convention date, June 1942. [Classes 79 (i), 79 (ii), 79 (iii), 79 (iv) and 79 (v)] A vehicle or an assembly of interconnected vehicles has two or more motor wheels and the crank shafts are arranged for relative movement longitudinally of the vehicle, such relative movement being utilized to adjust the engine speed so as to synchronize the speeds of the different engines. When used for towing, the draw bar is pivoted to the centre of a lever whose two ends are pivotally connected through links to two motor wheels so that the load is equally shared. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 comprises also in such a vehicle for the different motors being controlled simultaneously through a single control handle, one wheel motor being under the driver's control directly, the others being provided with a centrifugal clutch and with a free wheel and ratchet system inserted between the wheel and the motor so that the wheel may drive the motor independently of the clutch for starting purposes, whilst the motor normally drives the wheel through the clutch. The power output of each engine may be indicated on a device adjacent the driver who may make an adjustment on the single control lever to compensate for small differences between different engines. Steering may be effected by differential control of the throttles of a pair of engines. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted. Fig. 1 shows a two-wheeled tractor in which the front fork 3 and steering head 2 together with the arcuate towing member 22 are pivotally secured at 19 to the rest of the frame, thus giving a variable wheelbase. The control lever 11 is connected to the carburettor 20 of the front motor-wheel only. The towing member 22 is connected by link 24 at 24a to lever 25, 25a pivoted on the rear wheel axis 26. The tow-bar 28 is pivoted to the lever 25 midway between the fulcrum 24a and the wheel axis 26, whereby towing stresses are shared by the two motorwheels. The throttle of the carburetter 21 of the rear motor-wheel is controlled automatically by the lever 25a. When starting from rest by opening the throttle of the front motor-wheel only, the wheel base increases and the throttle of the rear motor-wheel is opened fully, whereby the rear wheel tends to overtake the front wheel and so reduces the throttle opening of the rear motorwheel until equilibrium is reached when both motors produce the same power. Fig. 4 shows a modification in which the rear engines drive the wheels through a pinion 15 mounted together with the engine on the end of lever 25 pivoted on the wheel axis 26 ; the control lever 11 actuates the front carburetter only. Movements of the rear engine in accordance with the relative powers produced by the two engines is used to adjust the rear engine throttle by the carburetter 21 passing by a projection 1a of the frame, which masks the air intake. The tow-bar 28 is attached to the centre of lever 25. Figs. 5 and 8 are the plan and front view of a vehicle made by coupling together two two-wheeled tractors of variable wheel-base of the type shown in Fig. 1, except that only the rear wheels need be motorized. The steering heads 2 are connected through ball and socket joints 42 by link 41, steering being effected by tiller 43 and track rod 45. The rear of each tractor is also connected through swivelling joints 48 by the arm 49. Pivoted to the arm 49 at 54 is a rod 55 whose other end is guided by a pin and slot mechanism 57, 56 ; the rod 55 is provided with a ratchet 55a meshing with a pinion 61 which operates the throttle of the carburetter 38<SP>1</SP>. The other carburetter 38a is controlled by the driver, should the drivercontrolled tractor get ahead of the other, the arm 49 pivots in the direction F<SP>1</SP> and displaces the rod 55 to open the throttle of carburetter 381 to compensate for the difference. Plough shares 53 may be attached to each of the rear wheels and plough between rows of growing crops, or a container 62 may be slung from the cross members 41, 49. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 comprises also the following further modifications :- Fig. 1 (Cancelled) shows a two-wheeled tractor having a pair of motor-wheels 4, 5, with, if desired, a small support wheel 9. The front wheel axle 4'a is mounted in a slot so that it can be displaced longitudinally of the vehicle and the wheel carries a forwardly projecting arm 12a enclosed with a projection 3a of the forks 3, a compression spring 12 being disposed between the two projections. The projection 12a carries a pointer co-operating with the scale 3b attached to the projection 3a whereby relative movements of the motor-wheel and the frame are indicated on the scale. A similar arrangement is provided for the rear wheel. The carburettors of both engines are controlled from the single lever 11 by flexible controls 10, but if the power developed by the engines differ, as shown by the scales 3b and 1b an adjustment is made to one of the flexible controls at 14. In Fig. 4 (Cancelled) each wheel is driven through a pair of pinions 15, 15<SP>1</SP>, the pinion 15 and associated engine being in each case mounted on a two-armed lever 16 capable of slight rotation around the whole axle against pressure chambers 17 communicating with manometers 18 adjacent the driver. The carburetter controls of the two engines are adjusted as before to give similar power outputs as indicated by the manometers. Figs. 16, 17 (both Cancelled) show a three-wheeled tractor, the front motorwheel being driver-controlled and the two rear wheels automatically controlled so that each wheel takes an equal share of the load. Each rear wheel is mounted in a fork 77 pivoted at 78, and each has a carburetter 76 whose throttle is controlled by rotation of a vertical rod 84 which is connected by a crank arm to a horizontal rod 86 whose front end is pivoted to the chassis. Thus longitudinal displacement of either rear wheel through its engine producing too little or too much power is compensated by an appropriate movement of its throttle. Each rear-wheel fork 77 has a rigid forwardly extending arm 96 pivoted at 95 to two levers 94 whose inner ends are pivoted at 93 to the tow member 92. Pivoted to each of the levers 94 one third from its outer end is a beam 90 carrying a ball joint 89 for the tow bar 88. By this arrangement each of the motor wheels takes one third of the tractive load. Figs. 20, 22 (both Cancelled) show a modified' form of three-wheel tractor of which the two rear wheels or all three wheels may be motorized, adapted to tow a box-trailer 103 which rests on a castor wheel 104. The box body is provided with two sockets 106 which engage a fixed projection 107 and a second projection 107<SP>1</SP> which is longitudinally displaceable under the influence of an arm 109 connecting it to one end of the rear axle 98 which can pivot about the point 99. Should the motor wheel 70' produce less power than the driver controlled motor wheel 70 it swings rearwardly about the point 99 and so causes a compensating increase in its throttle opening. The wheelbase of the tractor may be increased by bolting an extension piece between the members 100' and 114. Figs. 25 - 27 (all Cancelled) show a four-wheeled tractor, each wheel being motorized and steering being effected by control of the engine speeds of the two front wheels, the engines of the two rear wheels being controlled automatically, e.g. as in Fig. 8. The front wheels are provided with steering arms 132, 132' connected by track rod 133. Flexible controls for the carburetters of the two front wheels are taken to the handle 130 to which they are connected so that fore and aft movement of the handle operates both carburetters equally for normal running, whereas lateral movement operates the carburetters differentially for steering. The rear of the frame 129 terminates in a cylindrical portion 135 on which is pivoted the rearwheel assembly comprising a rigid axle 134, 1341. This subject matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.