Improvements in Motor Cars and the like.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Mar., 1898--Accepted, 7th May, 1898
Improvements in Motor Cars and the like.
I, RAOUL DEMEUSE, of Brussels, in the Kingdom of Belgium, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
In order to remedy the drawbacks in motor cars having petroleum or spirit
motors where varying speeds, starting, moving backwards etcetera are only obtained
by the use of complicated mechanical means, and in order to remedy at the same
time the drawbacks of electrically driven motor cars consisting in the considerable
dead weight required to be carried in order to ensure their working for a few
hours, I have combined in the present invention the two motors, electrical and spirit,
in such a way as to obtain the following results:
1. A starting by means of the electric motor alone or with the assistance of the
petroleum or like motor.
2. A propulsion of the vehicle at a slow speed and a movement backwards by means
of the electric motor alone.
3. A normal running with the petroleum or like motor alone.
4. Travelling at high speed or up an incline by means of both motors
combined.
5. The charging of the accumulators by means of the petroleum or like motor, the
latter actuating the electric motor which becomes a generator, this working being
capable of taking place either during the running of the car, for instance on
descending an incline or during stoppages, the direct result of this latter point
being a reduction within considerable proportions of the weight of the battery of
accumulators.
In order to attain these results, one of the following arrangements shown
diagrammatically in the accompanying drawing may be employed, in which B is a
petroleum or like motor, C the armature of an electric motor, c the commutator,
bb the brushes, H the starting rheostat, I the switch for changing the direction
of travel. What follows will clearly explain the other references.
The armature C of the electric motor is keyed on the shaft A of the petroleum
motor B or is arranged on an adjacent shaft connected with the shaft of the
motor, that is to say connected with the latter by means of any suitable gearing.
A pinion D is also keyed on this shaft A gearing with a wheel E in the case of
transmission by wheel gearing or a chain wheel in the case of chain driving gear being
employed.
The gear wheel E which gears with the pinion D is not keyed on the shaft of the
motor wheels R. It is fixed thereon by an arrangement of friction sleeve F or other
suitable arrangement on a casing G which contains the necessary gear to enable
the autocar to be steered in all directions. Instead of friction gearing any other
suitable gearing such as will act on the pinion D and cause it to move to D¹ may be
employed. Under these circumstances it is easy to see that by disconnecting the
said gear and starting the petroleum motor, the latter will operate the electric motor
which will act as a dynamo by the reversal of the current in the armature (the motor

page_text: being a shunt dynamo) which will enable the battery of accumulators to be charged.
If on the contrary the petroleum motor be thrown into gear it is possible to cause the
car to travel in the three following ways.-
1. By means of the petroleum motor alone. For this it suffices to turn off the
electric current.
2. With the electric motor alone, shutting off the supply of the spirit or petroleum,
and
3. With the two motors combined.
A second means to be employed for obtaining the same result is the following
The autocar may be constructed like an ordinary electric car with accumulators,
but the battery may be much reduced in size. It will be sufficient for instance if it
have sufficient capacity to allow of the car travelling for one or two hours con-
secutively. There may be added thereto or suitably placed on the car or on a second
towed car a petroleum or spirit motor actuating a second dynamo with a force equal
to one third or a quarter of the motor of the car. This motor may run continuously
and absolutely independently of the other motor, that is to say that it will work both
during stoppages and during the movement of the vehicle. In this manner it restores
in a continuous manner to the battery the current which has been removed therefrom
intermittently in order to obtain the propulsion of the car.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The simultaneous combination of a petroleum or like motor with an electric
motor on the same motor car or the like, the armature of the electric motor being
keyed on the axle of the petroleum or like motor or even arranged on an adjacent
shaft geared to the shaft of the motor, in such a way that the dynamo will act as a
generator or as a motor according to the direction of the current admitted to the
armature, said arrangement enabling the propulsion of the vehicle to be obtained by
one of the motors alone or by the two together and allowing in addition the
accumulators to be charged, the petroleum or like motor in such case actuating
the electric motor which then becomes a generator, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
2. The application and use on an electric motor car or the like of a second dynamo
actuated by a petroleum or like motor, with the object of recharging the battery of
accumulators both whilst running and during stoppages, the said second dynamo being
of a smaller effective force or at the most of a power equal to that of the electric motor
employed for driving the car, substantially as herein before described.
Dated this 18th day of March 1898.
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.