Patent GB-189817813-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Apparatus for Propelling and Regulating Automotor Cars, Carriages, Cycles, and the like.
Inventor: JOEL HENRY FRANCIS
Filed: 1898-08-18
Granted: 1899-09-18
Abstract: 17,813. Joel, H. F. Aug. 18. Motor road vehicles.-Relates to the mounting or supporting of an electrical multipolar motor, to the gear for transmittirg motion to the road wheels, to a commutating switch for controlling the vehicle, and to the construction of the motor. (1) The tubular underframe T of the vehicle is connected to the front axle, in the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2, by a bow spring placed horizontally, and to the hinder axle by a similar spring placed vertically; and upon this the motors M, M, each in its own frame or cradle, are carried. The motors have pulleys P with belts running over drums D on the road wheels. In order to enable the belts to be tightened, screw adjustments are provided at band L. On a bracket on the carriage body is carried a wedging jockey pulley p situated so that, as the carriage body swings towards the outer side of the path when traversing a curve, the jockey pulley tightens the grip of the belt on that side, and slackens that on the other side. In a modification, the motor is supported by the eyes at the ends of elliptical springs by which the body is carried, the compression and relaxation of these springs tightening and slackening the belts in like manner. In other modifications, as in Fig. 8, the motor is fixed to a frame pivoted at one end to the axle X and supported at the other end by springs S, S<1> fixed under the carriage. (2) The motors are adapted for continuous current and have multipolar internal magnetic fields. The field-magnet cores L, Fig. 12, enclose the magnet coils V and have pole-pieces N, S which interspace as shown in Fig. 13. The armature consists of an external laminated ring Y through which are threaded the wires w. The wires are cut to uniform length and are threaded through transverse slots in the armature ring, and are so connected and disposed as to form as many poles as there are in the internal field, the connections at the ends being spaced uniformly and forming a projecting ring or flange on each side of the armature ring. (3) A controlling or commutating switch is provided for putting the motors and batteries in series or in parallel so as to change the driving power or to reverse the direction of propulsion. Fig. 19 shows a longitudinal section of the controller, and Fig. 18 shows a face view of one of the sets of spring contact-arms and contacts. The contact-arms E*, C*, K*, I* are attached to discs X*, Z* secured to the fixed axle O, and the contacts p* are carried by a rotatory disc P* which is moved along with the casing of the commutator by the handle U. At each break of one group of circuits and closure of another a resistance is interposed by means of a second pair of contactarms T* and disc R*. The arms T* are caused to perform half a revolution, by means of the epicyclic gear shown, whenever the disc R* is carried along by the adjustment of the handle U from any one of its five positions to another, the arms thereby passing over the contacts requisite for putting in and out the desired resistances. Spring contacts S*, S* and pins s are provided to prevent sparking at the resistance contacts.