IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS FOR PROPELLING CARS OR OTHER VEHICLES BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY APPLICABLE IN PART TO SUCH VEHICLES WHEN PROPELLED BY OTHER MEANS
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Percy Ruskin Allen at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th September 1883.
PERCY RUSKIN ALLEN of the firm of Cordner Allen and C of Stanhope
Works Wandsworth Bridge Wharf in the County of Surrey "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MEANS FOR PROPELLING CARS OR OTHER VEHICLES BY MEANS OF ELECTRICITY
APPLICABLE IN PART TO SUCH VEHICLES WHEN PROPELLED BY OTHER MEANS "
My Invention relates to improvements in the propulsion of Cars and other
Vehicles on rails or tramways or other places and refers principally to those
instances in which electro motors are used for propelling the Vehicles but certain
of the improvements may be used in other cases.
In Vehicles driven by electricity it is desirable to have a method of varying the
speed of the Vehicle when required without altering the speed of the Electric
motor or it is desirable to alter the speed of the gearing at different rates To
accomplish this end I cause the motor to drive the Countershaft or axle of the
wheels themselves by means of ropes passing over pulleys both on the axle of the
motor and on the Countershaft or axle of the Vehicle-The said pulleys have
grooves or recesses formed in them of a suitable angle to grip the rope. Each
pulley is made in two pieces one piece carrying the sides which form half the
groove the other piece carrying the sides which form the other half of the groove.
The said two pieces interlock all the way round by means of fingers engaging one
with the other. It is obvious that when these halves are caused to approach to or
recede from one another the diameter of the circle where the fingers intersect will
become greater or less-If the pulley on the dynamo machine be caused to expand
and the pulley on the countershaft or axle be caused to contract in proportion it is
obvious that the relative diameters of the pulleys can be varied and a varying
speed be thus imparted to the Countershaft and thus to the countershaft or axle
and so to the road wheels whilst the rope is kept at equal tension These
expanding pulleys may be actuated by any convenient means such as a lay shaft
with an arın at each end one arm causing the two halves of the pulley to approach
while the other arm by the same operation causes the two halves of the opposite
bulley to recede or by means of a lever pivotted so that the opposite ends give the
equired simultaneous motion to the pulleys In certain cases the variation of the
Di

page_text: diameters of the pulleys may be effected by a Governor and suitable connections
Apart from this simultaneous motion to the pulleys I employ an independent
adjustment to one or both of the pulleys so that in the event of the cords or ropes
getting slack the diameter of one of the pulleys may be increased relatively to that
of the other and this without interfering with their simultaneous adjustment. I
may employ several expanding pulleys of this sort placed side by side on the same
axle or spindle and actuated by the same movement of the lever so that the power
may be transmitted by several cords or ropes simultaneously Instead of the
halves of the several pulleys being independent of each other all the corresponding
halves say the left hand halves of all the pulleys may be formed in one piece and
all the other corresponding be similarly formed in one other piece
In the application of this gear for driving Vehicles these expanding pulleys may
be placed on the motor shaft and countershaft or on the motor shaft and axle direct
or from the Countershaft to the axle or more than one set of gearing of this kind
in combination with one or more countershafts may be employed-To enable the
vehicle to be readily started and to prevent injury to the motor by any sudden
rush of current through it while the vehicle is only moving slowly I arrange
gearing so that a slow motion is communicated to the wheels of the car at the
moment of starting this gearing being arranged to throw itself out either
automatically or by hand when a certain rate of speed is attained when the
ordinary gearing comes into play. This arrangement enables the motor to be run
at its normal rate at the moment of starting so that it generates a sufficient back
electro motive force to prevent an undue amount of current flowing through it.
Either one or more axles of the Car may be driven simultaneously from the motor
but I may communicate the motion from the motor to one of the axles and gear
the other axles by means of pitch chains-To prevent an undue flow of current to
the motor at the moment of starting I may insert a variable resistance between
the motor and the source of electricity which when the machine is at rest is of such
resistance that only a small amount of current will flow sufficient to start the
motor but as the difference of potential at the terminals of the motor increase
owing to the generation this resistance may be diminished and this may be
accomplished by means of an automatic-arrangement controlled by an electro
motive force measurer at the terminals of the motor. The same effect may be
more economically brought about by cutting out a cell or cells of the battery and
throwing them in again as required. With a view to further facilitate the starting
of the Car I sometimes apply to the countershaft or axles of the motor or to the
axle of the Car an arrangement of friction clutch which can be tightened either by
hand or automatically to bring the Car gradually into motion. The speed of the
Vehicle may be controlled in the ordinary manner by increasing the current sent
through the motor or by increasing the speed of the wheels by means of expanding
gearing or by a combination of both and where the car is on a level the speed can
be kept practically uniform by means of a centrifugal governor driven off the
axles of the Car and altering the expanding gearing or the amount of current
flowing through the motor
When it is temporarily desired to increase the tractive power of the Car such as
in starting or ascending inclines I may employ two motors which may be worked
either independently from the cells or in combination the one with the other but
prefer to employ as a motor a machine which has either several armatures or
independent coils wound upon one armature. Thus by connecting the circuits in
series or in parallel arc more or less current may be temporarily taken from the
battery according to the requirements of traction. To enable this to be done
automatically I may fit to the Car a tube situated longitudinally of the Car with
a rising portion at each end. This tube may contain mercury and at one or each
end of the rising tubes there is a metallic contact which actuates mechanism for
controlling the before mentioned arrangement. When the tube is running on a
level road the mercury stands at the same height in both of the rising tubes but
when it is ascending an incline the level in the back tube is higher than that in the

page_text: Where
front tube and if it reaches a predetermined distance it effects the required changes
in the circuits and when it comes level again the normal condition of the circuit is
restored-When descending an incline the converse takes place and at that time
the revolutions of the wheels of the Vehicle may be made to generate current in
the motor and feed back into the secondary batteries or source of power
two motors are used a suitable clutch may be provided to gear them together. I
may make these alterations of the dynamo circuits to be controlled by a centrifugal
Governor or its equivalent As a brake I may employ a disc of metal fixed to the
Countershaft or car axle-This revolves between the poles of an independent
electro-magnet or electro magnets-In the ordinary course of events when no
current is sent round the magnet or magnets the disc freely revolves and may be
used as a flywheel but when the electro-magnet or magnets is or are rendered
active by current being sent through it or them a powerful braking action takes
place tending to arrest the motion of the Vehicle
An arrangement for starting and stopping the Vehicle consists in providing a
clutch upon the axle and countershaft which clutch when thrown into gear will by
suitable mechanism pull upon a piston in a Cylinder or chamber so as to compress
air or produce a vacuum therein the power expended in doing this exerting a
retarding action upon the Vebicle and when it is desired to start the Vehicle the
stored power in the compressed air or vacuum Cylinder or chamber is caused to
act to give impetus in starting. The parts are so arranged that when the vehicle
has started and the piston has resumed its normal position the ordinary driving
gear will be engaged with the motor or the changing of the circuits of the
multiple machine or of the separate machines will be effected-The expansion of
the air in the chamber or the fall of the vacuum can be made to start the motor as
well as to start the Vehicle-Or the arrangement for the aforesaid purposes of
braking and assisting in starting the vehicle may consist of a drum on the axle
and a two sided device provided with a spring. To apply the brake one side of
the device is brought into contact with the drum and acts upon the spring so that
when the brake is taken off the other side of the device is applied to the drum
and the spring acts upon it to assist in starting the Vehicle.
In transmitting the motion of the motor to the axle of the driving wheels,
I may use an "Epycyclic train" or "three wheel motion" of which two wheels
receive variable motions from the motor by means of expansion or cone pulleys or
friction gearing and the third wheel transmits the resultant of these motions to
the driving axle. Or one wheel may receive a variable motion by the said means
whilst the other wheel receives a constant motion from the motor the third wheel
transmitting the resultant of these motions as aforesaid. Or one of the wheels
may be fixed and the other receive either a variable or a constant motion from the
motor by the said means the third wheel transmitting the motion as aforesaid Or
I may use two motors or one motor having two armatures in combination with the
said three wheel motion one wheel being driven from one motor or armature and
the other wheel from the other motor or armature the third wheel transmitting the .
resultant of the motions of the two wheels to the driving axle as aforesaid
Another part of my Invention relates to instantaneously changing when
exhausted the cells or accumulators which are used to propel the Vehicle--
According to this part of my Invention I fix several cells on a frame and make
the outside frames common to several cells and fit trunnions at the ends or sides of
these frames so that when it is desired to change the cells they may be lifted out
of their place by means of a derrick and be instantaneously replaced by a fresh
set of cells. A derrick for this purpose may have a weigh bar which has a
transverse motion for running the cells to and from the car and a vertical motion
for causing the weigh bar to engage with and disengage from the trunnions on
the frames. To enable the changing of the cells to be performed with the least
possible loss of time I may arrange the electrical connections of the cells to the
motor or to the regulating apparatus so that they are controlled by one lever or

page_text: handle the said connections being in the form of spring catches actuated by one
bar-This arrangement may be used in combination with the means for continuing
the current during change as described in the Specification of Letters Patent
No 5899 granted to me as of the 9th day of December A.D. 1882. In order to
facilitate the placement of the cells in due position conical insulating guide pins or
conical guide holes may be used to guide steady and support the frames holding
the accumulators.