Improvements in Electrically Propelled Road Vehicles.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Nov., 1898-Accepted, 18th Feb.,
1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Electrically Propelled Road Vehicles.
We, HENRY GURNEY MORRIS and PEDRO GROTJAN SALOM, both of 926, Drexel
Building, 5th and Chestnut Streets, in the City and County of Philadelphia,
State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, Engineers, 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 object of this invention is to so construct an electrically propelled road
vehicle that the motor will be carried by the front axle directly under the
passenger seat, and the batteries carried by a rear extension of the body of the
vehicle supported by the rear axle, the motor operator's seat being mounted above
this rear extension.
In the drawings the vehicle is represented as a hansom for carrying passengers.
Figure 1 of the drawings is a side view of the carriage with the wheels shewn
in dotted lines:
Figure 2 is a rear view :
Figure 3 is a detached view shewing the gearing between the motor and the
driving wheels; and
Figure 4 is a plan view of a portion of the steering gear.
A is the front axle: B is the rear axle. Dis the main carriage body; this
portion of the body is supported on springs a as clearly shewn in the drawings,
and has a seat portion d for the passenger, and a top somewhat of the shape
of an ordinary hansom cab, a foot board 2, and a dash being preferably
provided but may be omitted in some cases.
Extending rearwardly from the main body D) of the carriage is an extension D¹
in the form of a box for containing the battery cells cc in the present instance
of the storage battery type. The box shaped extension D' is open at the back
so that the frame C carrying the batteries, can slide in and out on rails in the
bottom of the extension D¹. The box is provided with a door or tail board d
which is hinged at the bottom, as shewn in Figure 1 so that the box can be closed.
Supported on standards e on the extension D' is the operator's seat E of such
a height that he can readily look over the top of the main body portion D) of
the vehicle.
F are the motors, preferably of the form shewn. The motor frames are hinged
to the axle A at f, and have arms f, through which pass pivoted rod f having
springs on each side of the arms f¹, so that while the motors are free to swing
on their pivots, they do not move away from the axle A.
The forward wheels A shewn by dotted lines in Figure 1, have toothed
wheels a¹ which gear with pinions f¹ on the motor axle ƒ³.
Each motor axle carries a brake disc y against which is caused to bear brake
shoes g carried by levers G G which are pivoted to the axle A. The brake shoes
have slotted lugs through which pass securing bolts, and on each lever G is a lug
through which passes a set screw which bears against the brake shoe, so that
the wear of the brake shoe can be taken up by turning the set screw 92 and then
fixing it in the set position by the securing bolt.
Connecting the outer ends of the levers G is a rod G¹ having a head at one
end and nuts at the opposite end. Between the two ends of the levers is a coiled
spring g³ which tends to force the brake shoes away from the disc.

page_text: To an arm g of the lower brake lever G is pivoted an operating lever H. The
rod G¹ passes through the other arm of this fever, and the nuts on the arm can
be adjusted to take up for wear. When the lever H is moved in the direction
of the arrow Figure 1, it draws the two brake levers together, and consequently
their shoes clamp the brake disc. As soon as the lever His released, the spring g'
separates the levers so that the shoes will be free from the disc. There is brake
mechanism of this type for each motor, and the two levers H are connected by
chains h to an equalizer H as shewn in Figure 2 and this equalizer is attached
to a lever H3 pivoted at to the body of the vehicle, and adapted to slide in a
bracket extending from the underside of the lody of the vehicle. A chain h³
is attached to the lever hand passes around a guide pulley h above the exten-
sion under the operator's foot board e¹ and is attached to the short arm of a
foot lever H which extends up through the foot board e¹ and has a foot plate
so that the lever can be readily moved by the foot of the operator. This foot
plate has a pawl adapted to engage with ratchet teath 8 on a bracket secured
to the body of the vehicle, so that when required the brake can be applied and
held in position by simply tilting the foot plate in one direction the pawl
being disengaged from the rack teeth and the brake released by tilting the foot
plate in the opposite direction.
The speed controller I is mounted directly under the seat of the operator and
is operated through the medium of the lever to regulate the speed of the vehicle.
By arranging the motor at the point indicated the vehicle body hides from
view the working parts of the apparatus, but the parts are readily accessible
from the rear.
By this arrangement, power is applied to the forward wheels only of the
vehicle, and the brakes are applied directly to the motor shafts, although in some
instances, auxiliary brakes may be used to bear upon the traction wheels
without departing from the invention.
The front axle is rigid in respect of any swinging motion, independent of the
vehicle body, but the rear wheels are so arranged that the vehicle is steered by
turning the rear wheels.
Mounted on each end of the axle B is a bracket B¹, having two arms b¹, to
which are connected springs b b. These springs are attached to cross beams d
extending under the rear extension D¹ of the vehicle. The brackets B have
extensions 62 63 between which swivel blocks J rest and are confined to the brackets
by vertical bolts so that these swivel blocks are free to turn on the bolts. The
swivel blocks have journals j¹ which extend into the hubs b of the wheels 132,
so that the wheels are free to rotate on the journals and the blocks carrying the
journals are free to swing on their bolts.
Projecting from each block are arms Figure 4, and these two arms are con-
nected by a rod 3. One of the arms is longer than the other, and connected to
this arm is a rod attached to an arm 7 on a vertical shaft L, adapted to suitable
bearings in the body of the carriage. The shaft L has at its upper end an arm
which is connected to the lower end of the hand lever M by a rod 1. The hand
lever is pivoted at m, and has a suitable handle m¹ at the upper end within easy
reach of the operator.
'
In the present construction, by moving the lever forward, the carriage is turned
to the right, and by moving it backward, it is turned to the left, through the
medium of the above described levers and rods, when the lever is moved, both
wheels turn in unison so that the carriage is under the complete control of the
operator.
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. An electrically propelled road vehicle as herein described, and shown in the
accompanying drawings.

page_text: 2. An electrically propelled carriage having a passenger seat in front above
the front axle, a rearward extension forming the box containing the batteries, an
operator's seat mounted above the said rear extension, motors carried by the front
axle, and steering gear for the rear axle, substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. The combination in an electrically propelled carriage having front and rear
axles, of two motors on the front axle, traction wheels geared to the said motors,
pivot blocks mounted on the said rear axle, wheels carried by the pivot
blocks, steering mechanism connected to the said blocks, the body portion
of the vehicle having the passenger seat directly above the front axle,
the body portion extending over the rear axle and adapted to receive the
electric batteries, an operator's seat above the said rear extension of the body
portion, brake mechanism, steering mechanism and controlling mechanism within
reach of the operator, substantially as herein before described.
4. The combination in an electrically propelled road vehicle of the front and
rear axles, the body portion having the passenger seat directly above the front
axle, a rearward extension adapted to receive the batteries, an operator's seat
upon the rear extension, two motors pivoted to the front axle and suspended from
the body portion of the carriage, the motor shaft of each motor gearing with a
driving wheel mounted on the front axle, a drum on each motor shaft, brake
levers having shoes adapted to the drum, a lever hung to one of the brake levers
and connected to the other, a lever in close proximity to the operator's seat and
connected to the lever hung to one of the brake levers, substantially as herein-
before described.
5. The combination in an electrically propelled road vehicle of the front and
rear axles, the body portion, two motors, the shafts of the said motors gearing
with their respective wheels, each shaft having a drum, brake levers having shoes
engaging with the said drum, levers controlling the brake levers and attached
to an equalizing beam, a lever hung to the body of the carriage from which the
equalizing beam is suspended, the said lever being connected to an operating
lever, substantially as herein before described.
6. In an electrically propelled carriage, the combination of the front and rear
axles, the body portion, motors geared to the front axle, brackets on the rear
axle, blocks pivoted to the brackets having journals for the rear wheels, arms
projecting from the blocks, a rod connecting the two arms, a steering shaft having
an arm, a rod connecting the said steering shaft with the arm of one of the said
blocks the said shaft being under the control of the operator substantially as
herein before described.
7. The combination in an electrically propelled road vehicle of the body
portion adapted to carry passengers in the front portion thereof, the said front
portion being of the shape of a hansom, a rear extension in the form of a box
containing the electric batteries, an operator's seat mounted above the said box,
front and rear axles, wheels on the front axle, an electric motor geared to each
wheel, brake mechanism, rear wheels, and steering mechanism controlling the
said rear wheels, a speed controller mounted under the operator's seat and having
a lever within reach of the operator, a steering lever also within reach of the
operator, connected to the steering mechanism, a foot brake lever connected to
the brake mechanism substantially as herein before described.
Dated this 21st day of November 1898.
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX.
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.