Improvements in Transmitting and Reversing Gear for Electric Railroad Cars and for other purposes.
Year: 1890

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Transmitting and Reversing Gear for Electric
Railroad Cars and for other purposes.
I, GEORGE READE BALDWIN of Montreal, Canada, 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 consists of the improved transmitting and reversing gear, for use
principally with electric motors, bereinafter to be more particularly described and
claimed.
In the drawings:
Fig. 1, is a plan view and a section of apparatus according to my invention.
Fig
igure 2, is a section through the clutches on the line, 2-2, of Fig. 1.
Figure 3, is a detail side view and partial section, showing the brake gear; and
Figures 4 and 5, illustrate modifications.
In the use of electric motors for traction purposes it is desirable to have a simple
form of transmitting gear for conveying to the driving wheels the rotary motion of
the motor, and for reducing the speed thereof. It is also desirable to have a con-
venient form of reversing gear independent of the motor, so that the motor may run
continuously in one direction, and thereby avoid the many severe strains, both
electrical and mechanical to which the parts are subjected when the current is
frequently reversed in order to reverse the motor itself. At the same time it is also
desirable to have a detachable connection between the motor and the driving wheels,
so that when the car is to be stopped or slowed down, the connection between these
parts may be broken and the car stopped, without stopping the motor, inasmuch as
the greatest difficulties in electrical railroading, such as burning out a motor, result
when attempting to start the motor from a state of rest under a heavy load. Again
in the common construction of motors for street purposes, and more especially in that
of electric traction apparatus, the introduction of trains of gearing to reduce the speed
of the motor to that of the traction wheels, has led designers to use a separate motor
for each pair of traction wheels; and to keep the centres of the spur wheel attached
to the axle of the traction wheels, and the centre of the corresponding pinion on the
motor, equidistant for all positions of the axle, one end of said motor or its frame is
carried on said axle by means of bearings without the intervention of springs. Among
the disadvantages of this arrangement are the use of two motors where one of greater
capacity would be more economical of itself, and, also, in the introduction of the
amount of genring necessary; the fact that the delicate gearing and mechanism is
subjected to all the jarring shocks with which the traction wheels meet; the extra
heavy axle made necessary to withstand the strain caused by attaching without
springs half the weight of a motor and its gear; the cumbersome structure reaching
nearly to the ground, is exposed to collision with any obstacle between the rails, and
other minor points of objection which it is unnecessary to recount here. To avoid
these difficulties and combine in one mechanism a reversing and transmitting gear,
which shall have the desired qualities above alluded to, to secure a form of traction
apparatus, in which if it be necessary to use two or more pairs of traction wheels, one
motor will still suffice to do the work; in which said motor may be mounted upon the
car body, which being, of course, supported upon springs, is free from the vibrations
to which the carrying wheels themselves are subjected, and in which the motor and
much of the gearing may be elevated beyond the reach of ordinary obstacles, I have
designed the construction herein illustrated and described in which ;
A represents a portion of the shaft to which the driving wheels of a car or locomotive,
connected directly are attached. As far as the gear herein described is concerned
said shaft is the driven shaft, and will be so referred to. On this driven shaft, A, is

page_text: loosely mounted the driving gear D, by means of the sleeve B. The driving gear is
supposed to be attached directly or intermediately from the pinion on the armature
shaft of the electric motor not shown. On the sleeve B, or otherwise rigidly attached
to the driving gear, D, is the pinion O).
On the same shaft A, is mounted and freely revoluble thereon the pinion carrying
diso E. which supports by means of the studs e el or in any other convenient.
manner, the idler pinions F F', which gear into the driven pinion C. Upon the
other end of the studs e e¹, or on some other rigid projection from the disc E, is
mounted a brake wheel H, which in the construction shown in the drawings, revolves
freely on the sleeve B.
The large internal gear 1, is also, freely revoluble about the shaft A, being mounted
directly thereon, or upon some sleeve concentric therewith, such a sleeve being formed
in the construction illustrated in the drawing by the projecting hub of the pinion
carrying disc E. The teeth of this internal gear, mesh with the teeth on the idler
pinions F, F, as shown. Suitable brakes are arranged so as to be applied to the
internal gear, I, or to some rigid portion thereof, and to the pinion carrying disc E,
or to some rigid attachment thereto; such as the brake wheel II. These brakes are
preferably band brakes, such as K and G illustrated in Figures 1 and 3.
The outer faces of the hubs on which the internal gear 1, and the pinion carrying
disc E, are mounted, are provided with teeth e el, as shown in Figure 1, which feeth
mosh with corresponding teeth on sliding clutches and M. The clutch O slides
directly on the shaft A, and revolves therewith hy virtue of the feather and key-way U.
The clutch M slides on the clutch O, and is forced to revolve therewith by virtue of
the feather W. The endwise movement of said clutches is controlled by any con-
venient mechanism, such as the rings om pivoted to the end of the levers L, L¹ and
fitting into corresponding circular grooves on the clutches.
For purposes of safety, preventing breakage of the parts of the gear, it is desirable
to employ some simple mechanism which shall permit but one clutch to be thrown
into position at a time and but one brake to be applied at a time I have illustrated one
form of such mechanism in Figure 1, in which Z may represent a beam or other
support to which the levers 1 L' are pivoted. A bent rod R slides endwise along
said beam by virtue of its middle portion running in the guides r. At either end
suitable lugs S, S, and S S', encompass the levers on opposite sides of their pivots,
thereby causing the motion of one leves in such direction as to throw its clutch into
engagement, to automatically move the other levor in the opposite dirretion, so as to
remove the second clutch from engagement. A similar object is accomplished in the
brake geur by simply reversing the connections as shown in Fig. 3 where the brake
lever Qis shown pivoted to a bracket 7 on a beam X. The upper end of the band G,
is also fastened to this rigid pivot, and the lower end of the band K. At the end T,
of the lever, the corresponding opposite ends of the bands G and K are attached
so that the upward motion of the lever in the direction of the arrow will evidently
tighten the band K, and loosen G: whereas the downward motion of the lever will
loosen K and tighton G; in the contre position no brako being on.
The method of operation of my invention is the following
The driving wheel D, revolves continuously being geared direct to the motor.
When the cars are at a standstill both brakes are off supposably, and the various
parts of the gear revolve idly according to the laws of friction and inertia. If it be
desired to throw the shaft into gear so that it shall revolve in the same direction as
the wheel D, the brake G is applied so as to bring the disc E to a stop and tho
clutch is thrown into gear. The bruke G is then released and tho brako K applied,
the result of this being that the internal gear I, is brought to a standstill, and the
driven piuior. O continuing to revolve, the idler pinions F, F are dragged around
between the two gears in a manner somewhat similar to the balls in a ball bearing,
and the pinion carrying disc E, and the shaft A, are given a rotation in the same
direction as the gear D, but at a considerably less speed.
To bring the shaft A to a standstill, the brake K is released. The internal gear I, will
then begin to revolve, and the brake wheel H become stationary. For a sudden stop the

page_text: brake G is applied after the release of the brake K. If it now be desired to give the
shaft an opposite rotation to that of the wheel D, the clutch O is withdrawn, brake K
then applied (brake G being released by the same movement), clutch M is now thrown
into mesh with the internal gear I, and the brake K released and the brake G applied.
This brings the brake wheel H and the disc E to a standstill and the idler pinions F, F',
are held on stationary bearings. The continued revolution of the driven pinion C,
causes the idler pinions, and of course, the internal gear meshing with them, to revolve
in the opposite direction, which motion is transmitted to the shaft A through the
clutch.
In Figure 4 I have illustrated another of the various safety mechanisms for
operating the clutches. The lever L' is pivoted at 1, a point farther distant from
the clutches than the point 1, at which the lever L is pivoted. The link T then
transmits motion direct from one lever to the other, causing them to swing in
opposite directions.
In Figure 5 I have illustrated an arrangement in which the prime mover is
connected direct, without intervening mechanism. The gear wheel D, and sleeve B
(Fig. 1) are dispensed with and become the shaft D, shown in Figure 5. This is the
armature shaft of the motor, the driving shaft of the water wheel or other prime
mover. A is the driven shaft as before, and receives its motion from D through the
intermediate gear as above described.
In Fig. 6 A represents the bottom of a motor truck supported on the traction and
carrying wheels, B¹, B₁, &c., by means of the frame D', and the usual arrangement of
springs, not shewn. The said frame, D', is broken away to shew more clearly the
central portion of the motor track to which the electric motor or other prime mover, M³,
is rigidly attached.
The main shaft, A, is mounted in proper journal bearings attached to the motor
truck or to proper beams, a, a thereon. This main driving shaft is connected to the
armature shaft, H', of the electric motor, or to the corresponding power shaft of
whatever motor is employed, by proper gearing. In the drawing I have shewn the
ordinary spur gearing in which is the pinion on the armature shaft, and G³, the
spur gear on the main driving shaft. This spur gear G' might be rigidly attached to
the driving shaft, or as herein before described. H is the brake wheel, and D the
driving wheel, with the brake bands G and K surrounding the same, M and O
the clutches, and L, L', the levers operating the same.
Rotation being thus given to the main shaft, A, it is conveyed to the flexible
extensions S", S of said shaft by any convenient form of universal joint. In the
drawing I have shewn the ordinary universal joints, J, J, of the type known as
the Hooke Joint. On the axles, C, of the traction wheels are mounted boxes, b, b,
which are rotatable on said axles and are kept in proper position by the flanges,
or collars, c, c, or by any other equivalent devices. While the inner ends of the
flexible portions of the driving shaft, S", S, are attached to the main portion of
the said driving shaft, A, by universal joints, their outer ends are stepped in said
rotatable boxes. Proper gearing conducts motion from the flexible portions of
the driving shaft to the axles of the traction wheels. In the drawing I have
illustrated the ordinary form of bevel gearing, V, V¹.
The operation of this portion of my invention is evident from the foregoing
description. The motion of the motor is transmitted either direct or through some
intermediate reversing and reducing gear, in the line of connections, to the main
portion of the driving shaft, and thence through the flexible portions of said shaft and
the proper gearing to the axles of the traction wheels. Said traction wheels being
keyed, or otherwise fastened upon their axles, revolve with them and consequently
the car is propelled. The vibration of the traction wheels due to the roughness of the
track, obstacles encountered, &c., causes them to move up and down in the boxes in
the frame, D', in which they are mounted, but through the agency of springs
employed in the usual way, said vibrations are not transmitted to the motor and
main driving shaft mounted thereon. At the same time the flexibility of the
extensions to the driving shaft, S", S, permits said motion without rupturing the

page_text: train of gearing or interfering with the transmission of motion, and the driving
power. The rotatable box, b, revolving abunt a centre coincident with that of
the bevel gear wheels, V, VI, do not permit the motion to interfere with the exact
meshing of the teeth on the hovel gearing. The slight variation due to the fact
that the traction axle moves up and down in a straight line, which is the chord of an
are which has its centre at the universal joint, and not in said are itself, may he
allowed for a light longitudinal play in the parts of said universal joint, or in the
bearing of the end of the shaft in the boxes b, where it may be so small as to be
imperceptible.
The advantages of my gear are evident in that it accomplishes all the desired
objects of permitting the motor to run free and to throw the driving wheels into gear
therewith by a sliding clutch with sliding members which permits the full momentum
of the motor to be employed in starting the car; in that it reduces the speed of the
motor before transmitting it to the shaft; and can be equally well used for forward or
backward motion without changing the direction of rotation of the motor or the speed
thereof. The use of the automatic attachments to the brakes and clutches described,
provents the possibility of the parts of the gear being so locke I that they will oppose
one another and produce any breakage, and the triction of the apparatus is nearly all
brought upon the external portion of the gear 1, the brake wheel H, which can be
readily replaced when worn, as d on the brake bands surrounding the same. By making
the brake bands of slightly softer material than the brake wheel, and guar_wheel,
nearly all the wear can he thrown upon the brake bands, which can be still more
cheaply and readily replaced. Except in starting and stopping, no sliding friction is
made use of in the mechanism,
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invon-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what I
olaim is :—
1. The combination of the driving gear, the driven pinion rigid therewith, the
revoluble pinion carrying disc, the idler pinions which are mounted on said disc and
mesh with the driven pinion, the annular gear which also meshes with the idler
pinions, the shaft on which the driving gear, driven pinion, dise and annular gear may
revolvo freely, the brakes by which the rotation of the annular gear or of the pinion
carrying disc may he retarded or stopped, and the clutches by which either the annular
gear or the disc may be locked to the shaft, substantially as described.
2. The combination of the driving gear, the driven pinion rigid therewith, the
revoluble pinion carrying dise, the idler pinions which are mounted on said disc and
mesh with the driven pinion, the annular gear which also meshes with the idler
pinions, the shaft on which the driving goar, driven pinion, disc and annular gear may
revolve freely, the brakes by which the rotation of the annular gear or of the pinion
carrying disc may be retarded or stopped, and the clutches by which either the
annular gear or the disc may be locked to the shaft, together with connecting
mechanism between said clutches by which only one may be thrown into operation at
one time, substantially as described.
3. The combination of the driving gear, the driven pinion rigid therewith, the
rovoluble pinion carrying disc, the idler pinions which are mounted on said disc
and mesh with the driven pinion, the annular gear which also meshes with the
idler pinions, the shaft on which the driving gear, driven pinion, disc and annular
gear inny revolve freely, the brakes by which the rotation of the annular goar or
of the pinion carrying disc may be retarded or stopped, and the clutches by which
either the annular gear or the disc may be locked to the shaft, together with
connecting mechanism between said clutches by which only one may be thrown
into operation at one time, and connecting mechanism between the brakes whereby
only one of said brakes may be applied at the same time, substantially as
describad.
4. The combination of the driving gear, the driven pinion rigid therewith, the
revoluble pinion carrying disc, the idler pinions which are mounted on said diso and

page_text: mesh with the driven pinion, the brake wheel which is rigidly connected to said disc,
the annular gear which also meshes with the idler pinions, the shaft on which the
driving gear, driven pinion, disc and annular gear may revolve freely, the band brakes
which surround the brake wheel and the annular gear, and the clutches by which
either the annular gear or the disc may be locked to the shaft, substantially as
described.
5. In a traction apparatus, the combination of the motor truck, the motor attached
rigidly thereto, the flexible driving shaft mounted in bearings on said motor truck and
geared to the motor, two or more pairs of traction wheels supporting the motor truck,
and gearing connecting the flexible portions of said shaft with the traction wheels,
substantially as described.
6. In a traction apparatus, the combination of the motor truck, the motor attached
rigidly thereto, the flexible driving shaft mounted in bearings on said motor truck and
geared to the motor, two or more pairs of traction wheels, together with the reversing
gear in the line of the connections from the motor to the driving shaft, substantially
as described.
7. In a traction apparatus the combination of the motor truck, the motor rigidly
attached thereto, the main driving shaft geared to said motor and mounted in bearings
on the motor truck, two pairs of traction wheels geared on their respective axles and
supporting the motor truck, boxes mounted and rotatable on said axles, flexible
extensions to the main driving shaft having their inner ends connected to said main
driving shaft by universal joints, and their outer ends stepped in the above mentioned
rotatable boxes, and gearing connecting said flexible shaft extensions to the axles of
the traction wheels, substantially as described.
8. In a traction apparatus, the combination of the motor truck, the motor rigidly
attached thereto, the main driving shaft geared to said motor and mounted in bearings
on the motor truck, two pairs of traction wheels keyed on their respective axles and
supporting the motor truck, boxes mounted and rotatable on said axles, flexible
extensions to the main driving shaft having their inner ends connected to said main
shaft by universal joints and their outer ends stepped in the above mentioned
rotatable boxes and gearing connecting said flexible shaft extensions to the axles of
the traction wheels, together with the reversing gear in the line of connections from
the motor to the main driving shaft, substantially as described.
9. In a traction apparatus, the combination of the motor truck, the motor rigidly
attached thereto, the driving shaft mounted in bearings on said motor truck, and
geared to the motor, a pair of traction wheels, a flexible extension to said driving
shaft, and gearing connecting said flexible portion to the traction wheels, substantially
as described.
PA
1
1 1000
G. R. BALDWIN,
Per L. W.