Improvements in Motor Cars or Auto Cars, applicable also to Launches.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 21st May, 1896
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Feb., 1897-Accepted, 8th May, 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Motor Cars or Auto Cars, applicable also to
Launches.
We, ERNEST JOHN CLUBBE and ALFRED WILLIAM SOUTHEY both of
16 Elm Street, Gray's Inn Road in the County of London, Electrical Engineers,
and THE ELECTRIC MOTIVE POWER COMPANY LIMITED of 3 Salter's Hall
Court, Cannon Street, London, Motor Carriage Builders, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to motor cars or auto motors and launches and it
consists in the combination in such cars or motors or launches of an oil or other
internal combustion engine, a dynamo electric machine which acts alternatively as
a motor and as a generator of electricity, a set of secondary or storage cells and
a switch or switches preferably actuated automatically by a governor or governors.
The secondary or storage cells which have been initially charged are adapted to
supply a current for the ignition of the explosive charge and also for vaporising
the oil where such is used and also to supply the current to start the dynamo
machine as a motor together with the oil or other internal combustion engine.
The carriage may be started simultaneously with the engine or as soon as the
latter has attained a certain speed. When the engine begins to run at full speed
a centrifugal or other suitable governor actuates a reversing switch so that the
dynamo machine instead of acting as a motor generates a current which recharges
the storage cells. The lever used to start the carriage operates in the first
instance to switch the current from the storage cells to the motor, the current being
subsequently automatically changed in direction so that the cells may be recharged.
The same lever may be used if required to cut the dynamo machine out of circuit
altogether.
The dynamo machine is geared with the shaft of the engine by spur or other
gearing which allows for the difference in speed of the dynamo machine and the
engine.
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56 Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.
Improvements in Motor Cars or Auto Cars, applicable also to
Launches.
We, ERNEST JOHN CLUBBE and ALFRED WILLIAM SOUTHEY both of
16 Elm Street, Gray's Inn Road, in the County of London, Electrical Engineers,
and THE ELECTRIC MOTIVE POWER COMPANY LIMITED of Salter's Halĺ
Court, Cannon Street, London, Motor Carriage Builders, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what nanner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has, reference to motor cars and launches driven by internal

page_text: .
combustion engines and it consists in the combination in such cars or motors or
launches of an oil or other internal combustion engine, a dynamo electric machine
which acts alternatively as a motor and as a generator of electricity, a set of
secondary or storage cells, and a switch or switches actuated automatically by a
governor or governors.
The object of this invention is to provide means for stopping the internal com-
bustion engine when the carriage is brought to rest and for re-starting the same
when required by the operation of a current of electricity supplied from storage
cells; the invention further provides means for utilising the surplus power of the
prime motor when driving the carriage on an easy road for automatically
recharging the said cells.
The secondary or storage cells which have been initially charged are adapted
to supply a current for the ignition of the explosive charge and also for vaporising
the oil where such is used, and also to supply the current to start the dynamo
machine as a motor together with the oil or other internal combustion engine.
The carriage may be started simultaneously with the engine or as soon as the
latter has attained a certain speed. When the engine begins to run above a certain
speed a centrifugal or other suitable governor actuates a reversing switch so that
the dynamo machine instead of acting as a motor generates a current which
recharges the storage cells. The lever used to start the carriage operates in the
first instance to switch the current from the storage cells to the motor, the current
being subsequently automatically changed in direction so that the cells may be
recharged when the required speed is obtained.
The dynamo machine is geared with the shaft of the engine by spur or other
gearing which allows for the relative difference in speed of the dynamo machine
and the engine.
car. In these
The accompanying drawings illustrate a suitable arrangement of apparatus for
carrying this invention into practice in the case of a motor
drawings:
Figure 1 is a plan view of the general arrangement;
Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the mercury contact switch used
therein.
Figure 3 is a vertical section of one of the mercury contacts of the switch.
Figures 4, 5 and 6 are diagrams showing the various connections between the
several elements of the apparatus capable of being effected by means of the
switch.
Referring to Figure 1, 1 is the oil or other internal combustion engine driving
by means of its connecting rod the crank shaft 2 which drives through the medium
of suitable change gear 3 the axle 4 on, which are mounted the driving road
wheels 5, 5 of the car.
(In the case of a launch, 4 would be the propeller shaft or paddle wheel shaft,
and 5, 5 would represent the screw propeller.or the paddle wheels.)
6 is a shunt-wound dynamo electric machine capable of generating current when
driven by means of belt, chain or other suitable gearing 7 from the crank shaft 2,
and of working as a motor to drive the crank shaft 2 through the said gearing 7
when supplied with current from an electric secondary or storage battery 8. 9 is
a switch adapted to establish the proper electrical connections between the storage
battery 8 and the dynamo 6 in such a manner as to enable the latter to work as a
motor to drive the crank-shaft 2; and also when desired to reverse or interchange
the electrical connections or terminals of the dynamo 6 so as to allow the latter
when driven mechanically from the crank shaft 2, to act as a generator of current
to charge the storage battery 8.
In the arrangement shown, the requisite operation of the switch 9 is effected
automatically by means of a centrifugal governor 10 mounted on the crank
shaft 2..
The switch 9 (Figure 2) consists of four mercury contacts 11, 11, and 12, 12
arranged preferably at the corners of a rectangular non-conducting base plate 13.

page_text: Each contact comprises a terminal 14 connected by a wire 15 with mercury 16
contained in a copper cup 17 lined with ebonite 18 which is bored to allow of a
copper rod 19 moving freely into and out of the mercury 16. The copper rods 19
of the two contacts 11 and 12 are pivoted to the respective ends of a beam 20 and
the copper rods of the other two contacts 11 and 12ª are similarly pivoted to a
parallel beam 20°. The two beams 20 and 20 are mounted upon a transverse
axle 21 and pivoted in brackets 22, 22 on the bed plate 13. The copper rods of
the contacts 11 and 12 and their connecting beam 20 are clectrically insulated
from the copper rods of the other pair of contacts 11 and 12" and their connecting
beam 20. A lever 23 fixed on the axle 21 is connected by a rod 24 to an arm 25
fixed to the sliding collar of the centrifugal governor 10.
The mercury contacts 11 and 12" are electrically connected by wires 26 and 26"
respectively to one brush of the commutator 6ª of the dynamo 6; and the mercury
contacts 11 and 12 are electrically connected by wires 27 and 27 respectively to
the other commutator brush.
The beams 20 and 20" are electrically connected by wires 28 and 29 with the
negative and positive poles respectively of the storage battery 8.1
The working of the apparatus is as follows:-
The oil motor 1 being at rest, the sliding collar of the governor 10 will be in
its innermost or lowest position and consequently the switch beams 20, 20* will be
tilted over to the right to an extent sufficient to cause contact between the copper
rods 19 and the mercury 16 of the contact 11, 11 as shown diagrammatically in
Figure 4. In this position the electrical connections are such that on the battery
circuit being closed by means of a suitable key (not shown) current will flow from
the battery 8 (which was initially charged) through wire 29, beam 20", mercury
contact 11 and wire 27 to the dynamo 6 which will then act as a motor to drive
the crankshaft 2 and thus start the oil motor 1. When the latter is well started
it is coupled to the driving wheels of the car to propel the same, and when a
suitable speed is reached the sliding collar of the governor 10 will have moved to
about midway of its travel so that the beams 20, 20 of the switch are moved from
their position shown in Figure 4, into their norinal position shown in Figure 5, in
which the copper rods on both sides of the switch are raised out of the mercury in
their respective cups. Electrical connection between the battery 8 and the
dynamo 6 is hereby broken and the latter being thus cut out of circuit, the oil
motor 1 alone now propels the car. On the speed of the oil motor or of the car
axle increasing beyond a predetermined normal limit such as when descending
hills &c., the governor 10 acts to pull the switch 20, 20 over into the position
shown in Figure 6, in which they are depressed into the mercury cups 12, 12"
and lifted out of the mercury cups 11, 11. The dynamo will now be driven by
the crankshaft 2 and thus generate current which is led through wire 26ª, mercury
contact 12 beam 20", and wire 29 to recharge the storage battery 8; the return
lead from the battery to the dynamo being formed by wire 28, beam 20, mercury
contact 12 and wire 27. In applying this invention to motor carriages the effect
of this arrangement is to utilize automatically the surplus power of the motor and
thus prevent it from racing when the load becomes reduced owing to descending
gradients or other causes.
The automatic reversing switch is provided with a quick-break device such as
that shown separately in Figure 7 to prevent sparking. This device as shown
may consist of a collar 21 fixed on the axle 21 and provided on its underside with
three notches 21* into one of which a spring pressed pin a mounted in a socket b
fixed to the base plate 13 is adapted to snap according to the position of the switch
beams 20, 20 when tilted by the governor 10.
A tension and compression spring 24" may be interpolated in the rod 24 to
obviate jolting of the governor.
As the speed of the oil motor or of the car axle decreases in consequence of the
power consumed by the dynamo in re-charging the storage battery, or from any
other cause whatever such as on encountering an ascending gradient &c., the

page_text: governor moves the switch-back into its normal position shown in Figure 5 and
the charging of the battery is interrupted to be resumed at the next favorable
opportunity. The battery when recharged either partially or completely is at all
times ready to start the oil motor from a state of rest.
• Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
"we claim i
1. In motor cars or launches driven by an internal combustion engine, means for
automatically storing the surplus power of the prime motor and utilising the same
for re-starting the prime motor substantially as described.
2. In a motor car or launch, the combination of an internal combustion engine,
a set of secondary or storage cells, a dynamo electric machine capable of acting as
required either as a motor or as a generator of current to charge such storage
cells, an automatic switch or switches and a governor or governors actuated from
the motor shaft or from any other suitable moving part or parts of the motor or
motor car or launch, for the purpose of automatically operating the said switch or
switches for the purposes described.
3. In an apparatus for the propulsion of motor cars or launches operated by an
internal combustion engine wherein a dynamo may be used as a motor, the
construction and arrangement of a double beam mercury contact switch, sub-
stantially as and for the purposes described and as shown more especially in
Figures 2 and 3.
4. The general combination and arrangement of parts constituting the apparatus
for utilising the surplus power of the prime motor substantially as and for the
purposes described and shown in the drawings.
Dated this 19th day of February 1897
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56 Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.