Improvements in and relating to Electric Vehicles for use on Roads.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Nov., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 21st Sept., 1893-Accepted, 11th Nov., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Electric Vehicles for use
on Roads.
We, CHARLES RILEY GARRARD, of The Avenue, Acocks Green, in the County
of Worcester, Mechanical Engineer, and THOMAS WILLIAM BLUMFIELD, of
Number 10 Saint John's Terrace, Queen Victoria Road, Coventry, in the County
of Warwick, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
:-
This invention relates as hereinafter described to improvements in and relating
to electric vehicles for use on roads, and consists in the construction, combination,
and arrangement of vehicles of various descriptions, for use on the road; the
motive power being electricity.
Electric vehicles constructed in accordance with our invention are particularly
useful for traffic in large towns, in place of horse haulage as they are perfectly
silent and free from any vibration.
Our invention consists further in constructing such vehicle with tubular frames,
and efficient steering gear.
It furthermore consists in a method for controlling the motion thereof and in
the application of antifriction bearings to the axles and pneumatic tyres to the
wheels for preventing any vibration.
Our invention consists essentially in the combination and construction of a
vehicle having four or more wheels with a frame composed of upper and lower
main tubular, or other members, terminating at the fore end in bearings, in which
fits a vertical tubular or solid shaft.
The said shaft is capable of being turned about for the purpose of steering in
an horizontal plane in the manner hereinafter described.
The said vehicle is provided with an electro motor (or motors) fed with electric
current from suitable storage batteries, carried in or on the said vehicles.
We may in some cases connect the motor direct to a sleeve on the axle, by
winding the armature on the said sleeve, or on to a hollow sleeve of larger
dimensions to pass on or over the said sleeve and axle, the inner sleeve carries
the main axle to which power is imparted through balance gearing hereinafter
described.
In this
Or we may when desired dispense with gearing altogether and use one motor to
each driving wheel, that is to say two motors to each pair of wheels.
arrangement both the wheels thus connected, will be driving wheels and will be
independent of each other for turning curves or circles. In this case the axle is
passed entirely through the armature and commutator of the motor.
The driving wheels are connected to any form of differential or balance gearing,
but preferably "thrustless" by having in its mechanism only spur pinions, as by
these means the wheels are quite independent of each other as regards revolving at
different speeds, so that any curves may be taken without one of the driving wheels
slipping, as would be the case if both were fixed to the same axle. The motor
aforesaid is connected to the batteries, in a suitable manner, so that the vehicle
may be driven fore or aft at any desired speed within its range, the bearing of the
said motor axles are preferably mounted on antifriction balls.
The motor in this case is connected to the balance gear herein before referred to
by spur gearing or pitch chain at any suitable ratio to suit the relative speeds of
the motor and the shaft or axle of the vehicle.
We provide a novel form of steering gear consisting of mechanism constructed
and combined in such a manner that the aforesaid vehicle shall have a rocking

page_text: motion to admit of the, wheels travelling over uneven surfaces and at the same time
substantially support the said vehicle and prevent any fore or aft spring or lost
motion. To the vertical shaft, herein before referred to in connection with the
frame work, is attached a bearing on which is secured the front or steering axle
which is directly connected, and has extremities on which revolve the steering
wheels. Above, and in some cases below, the said rocking axle or shaft is placed
a. rigid horizontal shaft, the ends thereof being connected to the rocking axle or
shaft by suitable springs. It will thus be obvious that perfectly accurate and
sensitive steering is obtained over uneven surfaces.
The wheels throughout the vehicles are provided with pneumatic or other
Suitable indiarubber tyres of suitable size and strength for the weight to be carried.
The axles of the wheels are furnished with.ball bearings.
The electric current from the storage batteries is utilized for lighting the said
vehicles with electric light, also for ringing an alarm bell and for other similar
purposes.
We intend the word vehicle throughout this Specification to include cabs,
carriages, traps, cars, omnibuses and the like.
Dated this 21st day of November 1892.
GEO. H. RAYNER,
37, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Electric Vehicles for use
on Roads.
We, CHARLES RILEY GARRARD of The Avenue, Acocks Green, Worcester,
Mechanical Engineer, and THOMAS WILLIAM BLUMFIELD of 10, St. John's
Terrace, Queen Victoria Road, Coventry, Warwick, Mechanical 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 improvements in and relating to electric vehicles for
use on roads, and consists of an improved construction and combination of parts
whereby such vehicles can be made lighter and more efficient than those hitherto
used, and can be steered and manipulated in a more effective manner. Vehicles
according to our invention are particularly useful for traffic in large towns in place
of horse haulage.
The invention consists firstly in providing our vehicle with pneumatic tyres of
suitable construction, so that it may travel over the road with very little vibration,
thereby allowing the parts to be made much lighter than bas heretofore been the
.case. The invention also consists of an improved tubular metal frame and special
arrangements of steering gear, by which it may be thoroughly controlled, and the
wheel and other bearings are also furnished with balls reducing the friction to a
minimum. The vehicle is provided with an electric motor or motors, supplied
with currents from suitable storage battery carried by the vehicle.
In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, reference is had
to the accompanying drawings, in which
Fig. 1 is a front elevation, and Fig. 2 a side elevation of the improved carriage,
Fig. 3 is a plan of the frame with the upper part removed,
Fig. 4 is a rear view showing the driving arrangement,
Fig. 5 a side elevation of the car having 6 wheels, and Fig. 6 is a plan showing
the method of steering such a car,
Figs. 7 and 8 are respectively a section and front elevation of the gearing,
through which we propose to drive the vehicle.
Fig. 9 is a vertical section of part of the steering gear, and

page_text: Fig. 10 is a section of the improved tyre and wheel, which we propose to apply
to this vehicle.
Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, A is the body of the vehicle mounted on springs a
on the tubular frame. This frame consists of a lower longitudinal bar B and an
upper frame B', connected together by stays band having bearings in which the
vertical shaft B is carried. To this vertical shaft is fixed the horizontal bar B³
by means of which the said shaft is connected to the front axle C, and the
steering wheels c, springs being employed between the bar B³ and the axle to
reduce any vibration which might otherwise occur. The vehicle can thus have a
rocking motion, to allow for the wheels travelling over uneven surfaces, without
disturbing the steering arrangements. To the vertical shaft B2 is connected the
steering spindle D having on its top the worm gearing D', and hand wheel by
which the steering is effected. At the rear of the carriage is placed the motor E
of any suitable construction, and connected to accumuators contained in a box
in the vehicle. This motor drives the rear wheels F through shaft f by means
of the differential or balance gearing G, hereinafter more particularly described.
This motor may in some cases be supported on the driving shaft f, a sleeve being
placed on the said shaft and the armature wound upon it, or instead of winding
the armature on this sleeve, it may be used to carry the axle, and an outer sleeve
may be used for the motor, the motive power being imparted through balance
gearing. As an alternative to using differential gearing, two motors may be
employed, one to each driving wheel, the axle of one wheel being separate from
that of the other. Thus both driving wheels will be independent of each other,
and can revolve at a different speed to allow for turning in a curved path. With
this arrangement the axle is passed through the armature and commutator.
Referring to Figs. 5 and 6 the car A is carried by a tubular frame substantially
as above described, and is mounted on three pairs of wheels H H¹, the central
pair H serving as driving wheels, and the two end pairs H₁ for steering purposes.
The steering is effected through the shaft J under the vehicle, revolving by suit-
able gearing from the end steering wheel situated on the front of the vehicle.
This shaft J is furnished with a worm j at each end gearing into a segment j', a
vertical shaft J¹ forming a fulcrum round each. The wheel H₁ can turn in a
horizontal plane, thus when turning in a curve the 3 pairs of wheels will always
be situated radially, as shown clearly in Fig. 6. The motor, accumulators and
connections are contained preferably in a box under the car. In Figs. 7 and 8
the differential or balance gearing referred to above is shown in detail, the box or
cover G having teeth g around its periphery to allow of the motor being geared
to it. This gear is of the well known "Thrustless type, all the power being
transmitted by pinions. A number of toothed wheels K K¹ are provided, which
are carried by the case G. One set K of these pinious gears into a toothed
wheel L on the shaft and the other set K' into a similar toothed wheel on the
sleeve F¹, which forms part of or is connected to a shaft carrying one of the
driving wheels, the shaft carrying the other wheel. Both driving wheels are
thus separately driven, and can revolve at different speeds allowing for the turning
of curves.
M is a brake drum on the case, upon which a band brake could be
placed for stopping or retarding the vehicle. The worm wheel steering gear is
shown in vertical section in Fig. 9. The wheel D on top of the vertical rod D
being carried by the ball bearings d, and furnished with a worm N gearing into
it in the ordinary manner.
"
Referring to Fig. 10 which is a section of the improved wheel, O is the rim
with the disc or spokes P, the bub turning on ball bearings on the spindle. This
wheel is provided with pneumatic tyres, consisting of an inner tube Q, and the
outer cover R of rubber and canvas or other like material which will resist the
pressure without stretching. This cover is fastened by means of two rings or
annular pieces S, one on each side of the rim, and gripping the cover between them
and the inner face of the rim. The edges of the cover are formed with a
beading, and the rings have a corresponding groove s in which this beading

page_text: lies, so that when the said rings are drawn together by means of bolts s¹, the cover
will be firmly retained in position and effectually prevented from creeping or
moving side ways, thus forming when fully inflated a resilient, and at the same
time secure tyre. The ball bearings are adjusted by cones and nuts, as in the
ordinary cycle bearings, and the tyre is furnished with a suitable valve for
inflation.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is.—-
1. In a vehicle of the kind described, propelled by electrical motive power,
wheels furnished with suitable pneumatic tyres, constructed substantially as
described and for the purposes specified.
2. An improved electrically propelled vehicle, furnished with wheels having
pneumatic tyres, and constructed with a steel tubular frame, with upper and lower
longitudinal bars and upright shaft, carrying a cross bar connected to the front
axle, the rigid parts of the frame brazed or welded together, and having an electric
motor driving through balance or differential gearing, all bearings being furnished
with antifriction balls, substantially as set forth.
3. In a vehicle of the kind described, the combination of pneumatic tyred
wheels, steel tubular frames and driving mechanism, consisting of two separate
electric motors, one to each driving wheel, substantially as described and for the
purposes specified..
4. In a vehicle of the kind described, the combination of pneumatic tyres,
wheels and ball bearings, of steering mechanism, consisting of worm gearing, a
vertical steering spindle and cross bar connected to the shaft of the steering
wheels by springs substantially as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 in the accompanying
drawings.
5. An electrically propelled vehicle having 6 wheels, each furnished with
pneumatic tyres, the central pair forming driving wheels, driven by motor through
differential gearings, and the end pairs being connected together in such a manner
that they will be turned at the same time, keeping the three shafts radial when
turning in a curve, substantially as described and for the purposes specified.
6. An electrically propelled vehicle having six wheels fitted with pneumatic tyres,
and operated in the manner described in Claim 5, in combination with steel
tubular frames and two separate electric motors, turning each driving wheel
separately substantially as described.
.)
7. The improved electrically propelled vehicle comprising tubular frame
pneumatic tyres wheels, accumulators, motor and differential gearing, all con-
structed substantially as described and shown in the accompanying drawings, and
for the purposes specified.
Dated this 21st day of September 1893
GEO. H. RAYNER,
37, Chancery Lane, W.C., Agent for the Applicants.