Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-11-09
HISTORY OF CLUTCH
IN AUTOMOBILES.
:
Early Manufacturers OF Cars
Used the Disc J,
Type.
VARIATION OF DESIGN
HAS BEEN VERY MARKED
Methods Employed in the Construc-
ton of Various Types-Spinning
Is Important.

rhe history of the use of the disc Gluten
In automobiles is somewhat unusual
Tho early manufacturers OF cars lieu -
nee disc clutches because OF their SIM
nlicity and because clutches OF tins type
had been used in mill machinery Ter
long time but the first form OF dlsc
c,,,tcbas used in automobiles apparently
uers not as successful as could be de-
.;red and American manufacturers, al
most without exception. adopted the cone
clutch in preference to H.
This change might possibly nc
or;had - the foreign invasion. that Is.
a; this period. the most successful co
-, =, tho country were built ABROAD
ond a vast majority of these We're ii''eu
-, clutches and since the auto
r,ohile purchasing public gaused iiia''e'
r...ois,r standards it was good DUST
.s. nolicy for the American puiioer ~
- fore,en type of clutch, espe-
o,.u,, eince the cone clutches Worheo -
tor than the early type OF disc ciu'eN
Went to Disc Clutch.
After this period came the time "hei
s+,rers went to the disc Gluten
"a !, large number of makes OIL cai'
nttpQ
S;,ce that time. however, wniie INC
of the disc clutch has not
saa,,ned a number of new mahuia1
.ars have taken up the cone ela..
,'aaa,,sa II gives fairly good sausiae
tion and is generally cheaper imam nv
other form. ,; in disc
,.nhas is very marked. Some deSisn
ore nrefer to use but one driven Pia.o
damned between the fly wheei anu O..
outer or pressure plate Whlcn u VI :, ', &c
by the fly wheel. otner aohan
as many as $50 plates Inc ihee i"tn,
isms employed for pressing the pid'es
together differ greatly, some use one
spring pressing on cehtfal fonr
others use many as l"Ihes
snrings. evenly spaced near the outer
doc of the discs: others use mechah-
isms comprising levers ana cams oPe
rating by pedals and springs attaciieu
to the levers or to the pedal opeIalsas
plates of larger diameter and rev III
number, made of cast iron other9
face the cast-iron plates with llnins
material such as asbestos cloth' Wnieh
is held to the plates by rlVets,
use cork inserts. which consist oi
cylinders of cork. varying from apou'
"a inch diameter to l inch In aldinete.'
depending upon the size OF the pia,'ea
These corks are lmbedued IN hoiIs
bored in the plates so that the CORK
projects slightly beyond the RUBBING
surface of the plate, to act as a cushioh
when the clutch is engaged.
Most Common Form.
The most common form of disc Gluten
consists of steel discs about SIX TO
eight inches in diameter, depending
upon the power to be transmitted one
half of the number of. discs In the
clutch are connected to the engine OF
driving member and the balance at
tached TO the driven member connected
To the transmission. Clutches using
steel plates are almost always Enclosed
in casing and operated in bath OF
oil The advantage of the oil is to as
sist in cooling the plates when the
clutch is slipped. that is, partially en-
gagged and to also act as q cuShlon De-
tween the plates so as TO prevent the
plates from going together suddenly
and producing what is generally known
as "A fierce clutch that is, the action of
the oil is as follows: When the plates
are pressed together by means OF
spring or lever ii takes an appreciable
time for the oil to be squeezed out from
between the plates and this time per-
mits the engine to pick up the load of
driving the car and the car to gather
speed so that when the oil is entirely
squeezed out from between the plates
and the slipping of the plates. one on
the other. is no longer necessary, the
clutch will be fully engaged and capable
OF transmitting the full power of the
engine.
An alternative construction is to use
steel plates faced with the before men
toned asbestos lining. This asbestos
material consists of a number oT hberS
OF asbestos woven on very fine wires.
The asbestos covered wires are then
woven into d cloth, which is the mate
rial used to face the discs. Instead of
using steel discs rubbing steel discs.
some designers use steel discs rubbing
ON bronze discs. Some clutches are de-
signed with the surface of the plates in
the form of a cone. but generally the
discs arc flat. 1t is difficult to determine
which form of the disc clutch is best.
because they all when properly built
and installed. give degree of salts
faction.