Improvements in and relating to the Construction of Auto-motor Vehicles.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Oct., 1899-Accepted, 2nd Dec., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to the Construction of Auto-motor
Vehicles.
We, PAUL GALLET and GEORGES MAXIME ITASSE, both of 17, Chaussée du Port,
Boulogne sur Seine, in the French Republic, Manufacturers, 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:―
The present invention relates to improvements in and relating to the construc-
tion of auto-motor vehicles and its object is to construct a frame or under-carriage
which will be applicable to all varieties of auto-motor vehicles regardless of the
kind of motor employed.
Motor vehicles as constructed up to the present time, are of considerable weight,
bulky, and unsightly in appearance. Moreover, hitherto the manufacture of these
vehicles has been very expensive, notwithstanding which the methods of suspen-
sion have been very bad.
In order to make the description which follows as clear as possible, we have
given in the drawing as an example, an illustration of a motor carriage mounted
on a frame constructed according to our system.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the carriage.
Figure 2 is a section of the rear suspension means of the carriage and frame.
Figurer 3 is a section showing the fore suspension of the carriage and frame.
Figure 4 is a plan giving details of the steering connections.
The entire frame is made of steel or other metal tubes lined with wooden rods
or discs. We preferably employ Malacca or Bois des Indes, but any other species
of wood may also be utilized.
The wood pieces inside the tubes are suitably connected with each other and
keyed at the joints or special wedges at the ends; finally they are pinned. Owing
to this lining, all the carriage frame is extremely solid and at the same time
very elastic.
The rear part a of the carriage frame is not fixed directly to the body itself but
is connected with this said body by an elastic means of some kind such as a spiral
spring, or leaf spring.
In the drawing we give the connection made by aid of a Giffard compressed
air cushioning joint. For this purpose a piston c is dependent upon springs d
fixed to the carriage body b. This piston centers through a suitable stuffing-
box into the top part of the frame a, which forms an air cylinder. A valve e is
situated on this top part to enable introduction of the compressed air into the
cylinder f.
The frame a is supported in the fore part by lugs g which surround the steerage
tubes. The body b itself is dependent on an apron furnished on each of its sides
with two rods which at their top part i carry pistons similar to the rear
piston c. These pistons work in compressed air cylinders f similar to that above
described.
By this arrangement the entire body of the vehicle is only supported upon the
frame either by the intervention of springs or compressed air pistons and cylin-

page_text: ders; consequently its elasticity is very great and the smoothness of its travel
is considerable.
At the top part of each of the steerage rods & there is a socket 7 connected by
a bar m with transverse bar o.
A handle unites the entire parallelogram thus formed; it is movable around
the fixed point 9. By displacement of this handle we can easily see that the
two rods m will be displaced, constantly remaining parallel with each other; the
sockets will then always turn to the same extent and the two steerage wheels r
will take equal inclinations.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
An improved frame or under-carriage for auto-motor carriages and other motor
vehicles having the parts constructed arranged and adapted to operate, substan-
tially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 26th day of October 1899
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
No. 22, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.