Improvements in and relating to Variable Speed Driving Gear for Motor Driven Vehicles.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Jan., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 5th Oct.. 1896-Accepted, 21st Nov.. 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Variable Speed Driving Gear for
Motor Driven Vehicles.
I, FERDINAND PAUL GAUTIER, of 21 Boulevard Poissonniere, Paris, in the
Republic of France, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
This invention relates to driving gear for vehicles driven by petroleum motors
and other motor engines operating at a constant speed; such gear enabling the
said vehicles to be released and their speed to be varied.
The said invention consists of an improved form of transmission mechanism or
driving gear, and the object of such improvement is to simplify the motion
transmitting gearing by reducing the number of the releasing forks or yokes
employed for varying the speed.
The driving gear, as at present arranged permits, not only of throwing the
mechanism out of gear, or releasing it, without altering the speed of motion, while
at the same time acting upon the break, but it also enables the direction of motion
to be reversed.
In carrying the invention into practice I provide the end of the shaft of a
petroleum motor engine, or any other engine operating at a constant speed with
one part of a friction clutch while the other part thereof is arranged on a first gear
shaft on which are keyed or rigidly secured differential gear wheels which for
convenience I will term first, second, and third, engaging, respectively, with other
differential gear wheels hereinafter designated 12 and 3 which are loose upon a
second gear shaft, such shaft being parallel to the first gear shaft. On to the said first
gear shaft is likewise keyed or secured a fourth gear wheel which, through an
intermediate wheel, is connected with a gear wheel 4 loose upon the second gear
shaft. As will be presently seen, the fourth wheel and gear 4 serve the purpose of
reversing the direction of motion.
Sleeves provided with claws are keyed or secured upon the second gear shaft,
whereon, however, they are capable of a certain longitudinal displacement, under
the action of their respective levers, pivoted to the framework, the swinging motion
being imparted to them by cams keyed or fastened on a cam shaft. These sleeves
are interposed, respectively, between the two pairs of wheels 12 and 34 the
adjacent faces of which are provided with claws or clutches wherein corresponding
claws or clutches formed on the sleeves may engage, or not, according as the said
sleeves are moved up to, or away from, a particular wheel. It will be understood
that when the sleeves occupy the intermediate position between the corresponding
wheels, these wheels turn idle and therefore exercise no action upon the second
gear shaft; whereas, when any one of the sleeves is moved into gear with either of
the corresponding wheels, such wheel, becoming instantly coupled with the second
gear shaft, will turn with it at a corresponding speed. In all cases, then, whenever the
second gear shaft is taken round, its rotary motion will be transmitted to the cross
shaft, through the medium of a bevel pinion on the second gear shaft and a corre-
sponding pinion on the cross shaft. When the wheel 4 becomes thus coupled, or
thrown into gear, the direction in which the action of the carriage revolves will be
thereby reversed. The said cross shaft may either be one of the wheel axles or a

page_text: special intermediate shaft imparting motion to the wheel axle through the medium
of a suitable gear or other mechanism.
The cam shaft, whereon the cams are keyed or secured, is driven, through the
medium of the pinions from a crank handle placed within reach of the driver of the
vebicle, so that he may alter as required the position of the cams and cause them
to act upon their respective levers. Each of the cams is provided with a groove
adapted to produce deviation in two directions; and the said cams are so secured
or wedged on to their shafts or spindles that in each case only one of the undulations
of the cam groove come into play, so that one of the wheels 1 2 3 or 4, and not
more, is thrown into gear at a time. Between these undulations, the cams
maintain their levers in such a position that their sleeves are in an intermediate
situation.
Upon the cam shaft there is also keyed or secured another cam whereon a lever,
arranged to oscillate on a pivot, finds its support; the opposite end of such lever
being provided with a roller and engaging with that portion of the friction sleeve
or clutch which forms part of the first gear shaft. The friction of such sleeve, as
well as the contact between the lever and the cam, is ensured by a powerful spring
passed on to the first gear shaft and pressing upon the first gear wheel. The
projections on the last mentioned cain serve, through the medium of the said lever,
to overcome the pressure of the spring and to cause the friction between the two
portions of the sleeve to cease. These projections of the cam are four in number
and they are arranged to interrupt friction at the precise moment when one of the
sleeves is about to come into gear with one of the wheels 1 2 3 or 4, that is to say
they momentarily cause the trausmission of motion itself to discontinue. The said
projections are so arranged in relation to the undulations of the other two cams
on the same shaft that the result just stated is secured. And it will further be
observed that by operating the crank handle or hand wheel, which serves to vary
the speed by acting upon the cam shaft, the change from a slow speed to a greatly
accelerated speed will not be effected in an abrupt or sudden manner.
furthermore it will be noticed that between the projectious of the cam, there are
offsets or teeth for the lever to rest against for the time being so as to enable the
friction clutch to move first out of gear.
And
The lever is fitted with a tail piece, whereon the action of a small cam may be
exercised; the shaft or spiudle of which small cam receives a lever arm which is
connected by suitable intermediate gearing, such as links to a pedal, so that, by
acting upon the said pedal, the small cam will raise the lever with the result that
the friction exercised by the friction clutch will cease. The object of this
arrangement is to totally disengage the motion transmitting gearing and consequently
to suspend for the time being any motion of the wheel axle.
Upon the axle is mounted a brake of any suitable construction, the operating
lever of which is also connected to the pedal so that by the one pedal both the
clutch is released and the brake is applied to the cross shaft.
Such is the general arrangement of the improved motion transmitting gearing
forming the subject of this invention. It will however be understood that I do not
in any way limit myself to any precise forms or dimensions in the construction of
the several constituent devices or parts of the mechanism; also that the number of
the wheels designated by the numbers 123 and 4 may either be greater or less
than that which is herein stated, and that, consequently, the number of cams may
be varied accordingly.
Dated sh
3000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in and relating to Variable Speed Driving Gear for
Motor Driven Vehicles.
I, FERDINAND PAUL GAUTIER, of 21 Boulevard Poissonnière, Paris, in the
Republic of France, 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 :-
This invention relates to driving gear for vehicles driven by petroleum motors
and other motor engines operating at a constant speed; such gear enabling the
said vehicles to be released and their speed to be varied.
The said invention consists of an improved form of transmission mechanism or
driving gear and the object of such improvement is to simplify the motion trans-
mitting gearing by reducing the number of the releasing forks or yokes employed
for varying the speed.
The driving gear, as at present arranged permits, not only of throwing the
mechanism out of gear, or releasing it, without altering the speed of motion, while
at the same time, acting upon the break, but it also enables the direction of motion
to be reversed.
This improved motion transmitting mechanism or gearing is represented, as a
complete arrangement, in the accompanying drawing, in which
Figure 1 is a general plan of the complete mechanism, and
Figure 2 a side elevation thereof.
A designates the end of the shaft of a petroleum motor engine, or any other
engine operating at a constant speed. B indicates the friction clutch employed,
part of which appertains to the shaft A, while the remainder forms part of the
shaft E whereon are keyed or rigidly secured differential gear wheels CCC,
engaging, respectively, with other differential gear wheels, DD' D2 which are loose
upon the shaft F, such shaft being parallel to the shaft E. On to the shaft E is
likewise keyed or secured a gear wheel C3 which, through an intermediate wheel C,
is connected with a gear wheel D³, loose upon the shaft F. As will be presently
seen, the said wheels C3 and D³ serve the purpose of reversing the direction of
motion.
G G' are sleeves provided with claws and keyed or secured upon the shaft F,
whereon, however, they are capable of a certain longitudinal displacement, under
the action of their respective levers G G³, pivated and oscillating at a a',
respectively, the swinging motion being imparted to them by the cams H Hi
keyed or fastened on the shaft I. These sleeves G G¹ are interposed, respectively,
between the two pairs of wheels D D and D2 D3, the adjacent faces of which are
provided with claws or clutches wherein corresponding claws or clutches formed on
the sleeves may engage, or not, according as the said sleeves are moved up to, or
away from, a particular wheel. It will be understood that when the sleeves
occupy the intermediate position (as illustrated in Figure 1, in the case of the
sleeve G¹) between the corresponding wheels, these wheels turn idle and therefore
exercise no action upon the shaft F; whereas, when any one of the sleeves is
moved into gear (as is illustrated in the drawings, in the case of the sleeve G and
its relative position to the wheel D') with either of the corresponding wheels, such
wheel, becoming instantly coupled with the shaft F, will turn with it at a corre-
sponding speed. In all cases, then, whenever the shaft F is taken round, its
rotary motion will be transmitted to the cross shaft X, through the medium of

page_text: bevel pinions. When the wheel D becomes thus coupled, or thrown into
gear, the direction in which the action of the carriage revolves will be thereby
reversed. The said cross shaft X may either be one of the wheel axles or a
special intermediate shaft imparting motion to the wheel axle through the medium
of a suitable gear or other mechanism.
The cam shaft I, whercon the cams H and H' are keyed or secured, is driven,
through the medium of the pinions, from a crank handle (not shown in the
drawing) placed within reach of the driver of the vehicle, so that he may alter as
required the position of the cams and cause them to act upon their respective
levers. Each of the cams is provided with a groove adapted to produce deviation
in two directions; and the said cams are so secured or wedged on to their shafts or
spindles that in each case only one of the undulations of the cam groove come into
play, so that one of the wheels D D', D³ D', and not more, is thrown into gear at
a time. Between these undulations, the cams maintain their levers in such a
position that their sleeves are in an intermediate situation.
Upon the shaft I there is also keyed or secured a cam J whereon a lever K,
arranged to oscillate on the pivot k, finds its support; the opposite end of such
lever being provided with a roller and engaging with that portion of the friction
sleeve or clutch B which forms part of the shaft E. The friction of such sleeve,
as well as the contact between the lever K and the cam J, is ensured by a powerful
spring L passed on to the shaft E and pressing upon the wheel C. The pro-
jections y on the cam J serve, through the medium of the said lever K, to
overcome the pressure of the spring L and to cause the friction between the two
portions of the sleeve to cease. These projections y of the cam J are four in
number and they are arranged to interrupt friction at the precise moment when one
of the sleeves G G is about to come into gear with one of the wheels D D' D³ D³;
that is to say they momentarily cause the transmission of motion itself to
discontinue. The said projections y are so arranged in relation to the undulations
of the cams H and H', that the result just stated is secured. And it will further
be observed that by operating the crank handle or hand wheel, which serves to
vary the speed by acting upon the shaft I, the change from a slow speed to a
greatly accelerated speed will not be effected in an abrupt or sudden manner. And
furthermore it will be noticed that between the projections y of the cam J, there
are recesses for the roller of the lever K to rest in so as to hold the friction
clutch B out of gear for the time being.
The lever K is fitted with a tail piece k, whereon the action of the cam L may
be exercised; the shaft or spindle of which cam receives a lever arm m which is
connected by suitable intermediate gearing (such as the links n n') to a pedal P, so
that, by acting upon the said pedal, the cam I will raise the lever K with the
result that the friction exercised by the friction clutch B will cease. The object
of this arrangement is to totally disengage the motion transmitting gearing and
consequently to suspend for the time being any motion of the wheel axle.
Upon the axle is mounted a brake M of any suitable construction, the operating
lever n² of which is also connected to the pedal P, as will be seen from Figure 2,
so that by the one pedal both the clutch B is released and the brake is applied to
the cross shaft X.
Such is the general arrangement of the improved motion transmitting gearing
forming the subject of this invention. It will however be understood that I do
not in any way limit myself to any precise forms or dimensions in the construction.
of the several constituent devices or parts of the mechanism; also that the number
of the wheels D may either be greater or less than that which is herein stated, and
that, consequently, the number of cams H may be varied accordingly.
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 :-
The improved. motion transmitting gearing, substantially described both in

page_text: combination, as a complete arrangement, and in its details, for varying the speed
of vehicles driven by petroleum motors or other motor cugines operating at a
constant speed.
Dated this 5th day of October 1896.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.