Improvements in Driving and Speed-changing Mechanism for Motor-road Vehicles.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Sept., 1899-Accepted, 11th Nov., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Driving and Speed-changing Mechanism for
Motor-road Vehicles.
I, JAMES CRAIG, of 529, West 152nd Street, New York City, New York,
United States of America, 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:—
My invention relates to driving mechanism for self-propelled cars or other
vehicles, and has for its object to provide a means whereby the driving wheels
of the vehicle may be conveniently thrown into or out of operative engagement
with the driving motor, and whereby the speed of the driving wheels relative
to that of the motor may be conveniently changed by the operator, or motorman,
either while the vehicle is at rest or in motion, and it is especially adapted for
that type of motor in which there is a reciprocating piston and connecting rod,
such as in the usual form of compressed air and gas motors.
My invention consists in providing a suitable frame or casing for the motor
and motor mechanism, in which is mounted one or more gears adapted to be
actuated by the motor, the said frame or casing being provided with eccentric
bearings in which is journaled the driving axle of the vehicle; and in providing a
means for rotating said eccentric bearings in said frame or casing, whereby the
driving axle and the motor casing move relatively to each other, thereby per-
mitting one or the other of the gears mounted in the casing, or frame, to be
thrown into or out of operative engagement with the gear on the driving axle
of the vehicle without the use of clutches. These gears may be arranged to give
different speeds to, or reverse the direction of, the vehicle.
My invention consists further in the general arrangement of the parts
whereby the entire mechanism of the motor is compact in form and is conveniently
inclosed within a casing thereby rendering it less liable to injury from dirt and
exposure, and decreasing the noise incident to the operation of the mechanism.
If, in this class of motors, some accident happens to the motor mechanism, it
is very desirable to have the motor thrown out of gear and remain entirely
inactive while the vehicle is being brought home or to a place of repair. It is
also desirable in coasting down grade to have the motor thrown out of gear.
Again, where compressed air or gas is used, it is desirable to partly compensate
for the varying amount of power required of the motor due to the varying condi-
tions of the road and load, and to have a means for changing the velocity ratio
between the motor and the driving wheels of the vehicle. My invention enables
me to accomplish these desirable ends in a simple and effective manner, as will
hereafter be fully described.
In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification,
Fig. 1 shows a section on line x, a of Fig. 4 in which the motor is geared to its
highest speed.
Fig. 2 shows a similar section with the motor thrown out of engagement with
the driving axle.
Fig. 3 is a similar section with, the motor geared to its lowest speed.
Fig. 4 shows a plan view with the casing cover removed.
Fig. 5 shows a vertical section on the line y, y Fig. 2.
Fio Gis a detached view of the eccentric bearing and lever arm.

page_text: In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings, A represents
the casing in which the motor mechanism and the driving gear of the vehicle
are inclosed and supported. B, B represent cylinders, the particular form of
motor represented in the drawing being for the use of compressed air. C, C repre-
sent the driving wheels of the vehicle. 1 represents the driving axle to which
the driving wheels C, C are rigidly secured. 2, 2 represent the eccentric bearings
in which the driving axle 1 is journaled, said eccentric bearings being fitted into
the recesses 3, 3 in the casing. 4, 4 are lever arms attached to the eccentric
bearings 2, 2, and connected at their lower ends with the bar 5, which is con-
nected to the operating lever 7 by means of link 6. 8 is the crank shaft of the
motor to which is rigidly secured the driving pinion 9. 10 is an intermediate
gear mounted on the shaft 19, which is in engagement at all times with the
pinion 9 and also with the gear 11, which latter is rigidly secured to the shaft 12.
13 is a pinion also rigidly fixed to the shaft 12, and is adapted to engage the gear
wheel 14 when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 3, the gear 14 being
rigidly secured to the driving axle 1. 15 is a projecting arm
to the casing A and is adapted to engage the guide 16 for the
purpose of preventing the motor from turning about the axle 1. The guide 16
17 is a cap
may be secured to the body of the vehicle or car, or to the truck.
adapted to be secured in any convenient way to the main body of the casing A.
18 is a cylindrical hole in the eccentric bearing 2, the axis of which is eccentric
to the exterior cylindrical surface of the bearing 2. 20, 20 are the side walls
of the motor frame, or casing, in which are provided cylindrical recesses 3, 3
for the eccentric bearings. 21, 21 are the intermediate walls of the motor frame
forming a support and bearings for the shafts 8, 12 and 19.
secured
It is evident that when the lever 7, which may be fulcrumed in any convenient
place on the truck or body of the vehicle convenient for the operator, is operated,
it will cause the eccentric bearing to rotate about the driving axle 1, and its axis
to describe an arc about the center of the axle, and thereby cause the entire motor,
with the gears mounted therein, to move relative to the axle.
When the parts are in the position indicated in Fig. 1, the lever is thrown
fully forward and the gear 14 is brought into engagement with the pinion 9
in position for driving the vehicle at the faster speed.
When, however, the operating lever is brought to the position shown in
Fig. 2 the motor pinion 9 is moved away from the driving gear 14, and the
motor gears are entirely disengaged from the driving axle of the vehicle.
If, lastly, the operating lever is moved to the position shown in Fig. 3, the
driving gear 14 will be thrown into engagement with the pinion 13 thereby
driving the vehicle at the slower speed.
I am thus enabled by the operation of the hand lever 7 to connect the motor
for the higher speed, to disconnect it entirely, or to connect it with the lower
speed, without the use of clutches of any description. It is also seen that by
this arrangement I am enabled to inclose the entire motor mechanism and driving
gear in a case which will effectually exclude dust and dirt and diminish the
noise due to the gearing and other mechanism.
It will also be noticed that by the arrangement of the side walls 20, 20 and the
intermediate walls 21, 21 together with the particular arrangement of the gear,
that I obtain a frame of exceedingly rigid construction, well adapted to support
the parts and to resist the severe strains incident to this class of machinery, at
the same time all the mechanism of the motor and the driving gear is made
accessible by simply removing the cap 17.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is―
1. In a driving mechanism for self-propelled vehicles, the combination with
the motor frame, of a motor shaft journaled in said motor frame, a driving axle

page_text: also journaled in said motor frame, gears mounted on said motor shaft and
said driving axle, and means for moving said motor frame relative to said driving
axle, whereby said gears may be thrown into and out of engagement.
2. In a driving mechanism for self-propelled vehicles, the combination with the
motor frame, of a bearing mounted in said motor frame adapted to receive the
driving axle, and means for rotating said bearing in said motor frame about an
axis eccentric to the axis of the driving axle.
3. In a driving mechanism for self-propelled vehicles, the combination with the
motor frame and motor shaft mounted therein, of a gear mounted on said motor
shaft, a second gear also mounted in the motor frame in the same plane with
said first named gear, said second gear being geared to the motor shaft to
operate in the same direction of rotation as said first named gear, a gear fixed to
the driving axle of the vehicle, means for moving the motor frame relative to the
driving axle, whereby the said gear and said driving axle may be engaged and
disengaged at will with either of the said named gears in said motor frame.
4. In a driving mechanism for self-propelled vehicles, the combination with
the motor frame, or casing, and motor shaft mounted therein, of a gear mounted
on said motor shaft, a bearing having a cylindrical exterior surface and
cylindrical hole adapted to receive the driving axle of the vehicle eccentric to
said exterior cylindrical surface mounted in the motor frame, or casing, a driving
axle adapted to operate in said bearing, a gear mounted on said driving axle,
and means for rotating said bearing.
5. In a driving mechanism for self-propelled vehicles, the combination with
the motor frame, or casing, and motor shaft mounted therein, of a gear mounted
on said motor shaft, a second shaft journaled in said motor frame bearing gears of
different diameters, one of which gears is driven from the motor shaft, a driving
axle and eccentric bearing therefor, mounted in the motor frame, a gear mounted
on said driving axle in the plane of one of the gears on said second shaft and the
gear on said motor shaft, and means for rotating said eccentric bearing, whereby
the gear on the driving axle may be engaged at will with either the gear on the
motor shaft or that on the second shaft.
6. In a driving mechanism for self propelled vehicles, the combination with the
motor frame and motor shaft mounted therein, of a gear mounted on said motor
shaft, a driving axle, a gear mounted on said driving axle, an eccentric bearing
for said driving axle mounted in said motor frame, a double gear mounted in said
motor frame, an intermediate gear operatively connecting said motor shaft and
said double gear, and means for engaging the gear on said driving axle at will
with the gear on said driving shaft and said double gear.
7. In a driving mechanism for self-propelled vehicles, the combination with
the motor frame, and motor shaft mounted therein, of a gear mounted on said
motor shaft, a driving axle, à gear mounted on said driving axle, an eccentric
bearing for said driving axle, mounted in said motor frame, a double gear mounted
in said motor frame, means for operatively connecting said motor shaft and said
double gear, and means for engaging the gear on said driving axle at will with
the gear on said driving shaft and said double gear.
8. In a driving mechanism for self-propelled vehicles, the combination with the
cylinders B, B of the motor casing consisting of the side walls 20, 20 adapted to
receive the bearings 2, 2, the intermediate walls 21, 21 adapted to receive the
journals for the gear shafts combined with the base and end portions and cap,
all substantially as described for inclosing and supporting the driving gear and
motor mechanism.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.