Evening star., 1926-05-30

Prevention Of automobile headlight
glare by the use Of lamps that throw
either orange or blue light at the will
OF the driver, and the Use in combi
nation with these lamps of similarly
colored glass screens on the wind
shield, will be described at the annual
meeting of the Society of Automotive
Engineers at French Lick Springs
this week
The subject will be dealt with by
X. ID. Chambers of the Light and
knowledge Press.
The orange screen filters out blue
light rays SO that when a. car using
blue light approaches. its lamps ap-
pear as if dimmed almos, TO extinction
While the orange rays projected by
the first car pass through the screen
freely and the oncoming car and the
sides of the road are clearly visible.
The light filters are contained in a
box at the top of the Windshield and
are connected electrically with the two
bulbs in each headlamp. When the
orange filter is drawn down into the
line of vision of the driver, the orange
light is turned on automatically. If
Two cars using light OF the same color
approach each other, one of the
drivers, 10 protect himself from glare,
changes his filter and automa tically
changes his lighting 10 the opposite
complementary color, thereby also
protecting the other driver.
New Rim i'm England.
Tire changing will become Il simple,
easy process without the necessity of
removing the rim from the wheel and
using tools. and wheels will be much
lighter and cheaper. if this country
adopts the new type of drop center
81, n
the new model British cars, according
10 b. j. Lemon. research engineer of
The L. :. Rubber Co.. who is TO deal
with this subject at the tire session of
the meeting.
Only one make of drop center wheel
md rim is now available commercially
in the United States. 1t is a detach-
able steel wire wheel whose spol1es
are welded directly TO the rim and
hub. There is no felloe band and
there are no retaining lugs and bolts.
The center of the rim has q depressed
channel all the way around. The
rim takes a 4.40 balloon tire that also
fits BIZ inch fiat base. straight side
rim and is therefore called "a combi-
nation tire. \ special combination
tube is made for use with it and is
somewhat smaller in diameter and
larger in cross section than the stand
ard 4.4U balloon tire tube.
To mount the trio. the tube is in
serted in the casing and partly in
tlated. Then the tire is placed over
the upper part of the wheel and the
valve stem inserted in the valve hole
at the top. Next the beads of the cas-
ing are pressed together until they
settle to the bottom of the drop center
portion of the rim. This allows the
beads of the lower half Of the casing
to be pushed over the flange at the
bottom of the wheel. The tire is then
raised slightly TO allow the beads at
the top to seat themselves on the
head Lodges next to the fianges, and
finally the tire is fully inflated. No
tools or force should be employed. To
demount, the process is reversed. It's
as simple as that. The drop center
tyne of rim can he nsed with any
type of wheel and in England is fitted
10 steel disc. wire spoke and hollow
steel spoke wheels.
Measuring Riding Discomfort.
How to make automobiles more
aGreea bic TO ride in is of great inter
est TO the engineers. First it is neces-
Sary to find out what makes them un-
comfortable, and much study has been
given to this problem OF late. 1t is a,
by the many different motions caused
by road surfaces. by engine and other
vibrations and by the effects these all
have Oh the body and mind of the
rider.
AT the riding qualities session on
June r. w. Brown, engineer, will
describe new electrical instruments
that have been developed for taking
measurements Of the direction, size,
rate and duration of the oscillations
end smaller vibrations and tell some
Of the results obtained with them. An
idea OF the difficulties overcome is
given by the fact that. when a solid
rubber tired wheel passes over q, rec.
tangular obstruction l inch high at a
rate OF miles an hour, the greatest
upward thrust of the axle lasts only
about one-thousandth OF a second,
The higher the car speed with a pneu-
matte tire, the less is the axle defec-
tion, while with a. cushion tire. the
amount Of DETECTION increa ses with
the speed.
AT the same session the effect on
riding qualities due to seat cushions
and cushion springs will be explained.
Road inequalities and obstructions
are the primary causes Of most dis
comfort endured in an automobile, and
everything the automotive engineer
does to improve the riding qualities
IS done to compensate for the imper.
fections of the road surface. For this
reason descriptive report and a
series OF motion pictures showing pre-
cisely how truck and its tires react
10 road obstacles, which will be pre-.
sented by !. A. Buchanan of the
Bureau of Public Roads and J. w.
Reid of the Rubber Association of
America, should assist the engineers
20 q solution of the problem of springs
and tires.
Worm Drive for Cars.
Many passenger ears of The better
class may soon be driven H. worm.
gearing, as many motor trucks and
motor coaches have been during the
last 10 or ~ years. This Will come
about as the result of the higher speed
or the vehicles and the demand for
low-hung cars and silent operation.
Successful use Of the worm drive axle
in motor coaches proves that this type
OF final drive is as strong as any to
transmit the high power of the engine
at high speed, and that it has very
long life. One set of worm and worm
gear that has given 100000 miles of
service in a motor coach shows very
little wear and Is evidently good for
many more miles.
A new type Of worm-drive axle
with an undressing worm is to be H.
lustrated and described. The fact that
the worm is below instead of above
the worm gear in the axle makes it
possible to lower the propeller shaft
and consequently all the rest of the
vehicle. The frame, engine and body
tan be nearer the ground without re.
ducing the road clearance below that
of the bevel gear drive axle, and the
tear seat can be brought nearer the
floor level thus affording more head.