Improvements in Motor Car Waggons.
Year: 1897

page_text: Improvements in Motor Car Waggons.
"
I, JESSE ELLIS, "Scraces Barming, Maidstone, in the County of Kent,
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 improvements consist in the employment of special forms of waggon, boiler,
engine, condenser, etc., together with the use of a hauling or winding drum as
hereinafter described.
In order that my invention may be more readily understood I have caused to be
attached hereto one sheet of drawings in which similar letters refer to similar parts.
Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of the waggon.
Fig. 2 represents an end elevation of the waggon.
Fig. 3 represents a plan of the waggon with the body removed. In the front
portion the floor is also removed showing the underframe and arrangement of parts,
the back portion is shown with a floor or platform. The waggon consists of a
suitably braced uuderframe A, having buffer beams B the full width of the
underframe. These buffer beams will be arranged in connection with suitable springs
or other elastic device C.
The body D is attached to the underframe & may be bolted direct on top of said
frame so as to be easily detachable. The back end of the said body D, containing
the machinery is formed into a cab E with suitable glazed outlooks or windows F.
The upper part of the body D may be provided with a cover or tilt G.
The motive power shown on the drawings consists of a reversible steam engine H
of multi-cylinder type; a boiler J preferably of a vertical type, with Field tubes
in the furnace crown, and a large coil steam superheater K immediately above the
boiler shell. The boiler is provided with a chimney L & all the usual fittings. The
boiler will preferably be arranged to burn oil fuel & yet be able to burn coal, coke,
wood or other fuel in case of emergency. For this purpose the hearth or grate of
the boiler furnace is constructed in two separate parts, one above the other.
The upper part is a fixed perforated fire clay slab, the perforations being of a shape
similar to those in an ordinary fire grate. The lower part is a solid fire clay slab or
hearth attached to a plate which is hinged to the bottom of the boiler, suitable
catches being provided to keep the said hearth & plate in position when shut. A hole
is formed through the side of the boiler into the furnace and through this hole an
oil burning apparatus is fixed, capable of directing a stream of oil or vapour on to
the upper slab or grate of fireclay. When the boiler is burning oil the lower slab
or hearth of fireclay is kept closed or right up under the upper slab. Should it be
desired to burn a solid fuel, the lower fireclay block is lowered to allow the air to
pass freely under the grate & the fuel may be burnt in the ordinary way.
An oil tank M is provided to supply the boiler with oil.
The condenser N is placed below the level of the engine so that water cannot
collect in the exhaust pipe.

page_text: The condenser is formed of a large number of thin corrugated metallic plates
placed close together, the spaces being alternately, a steam space & air space.
The corrugations are preferably arranged across the direction of the current of
cooling air. The edges of the plates parallel to the air current are enclosed in
suitable boxes for distributing the steam. The ends of the plates forming the steam
spaces are preferably folded & soldered together thus making them steam tight.
The exhaust pipe is connected to one box and the condensed water is drained from
the other box into the feed pump suction pipe as hereinafter described. If desired
the condenser may be made in any number of sections, say three or four, each
section being a complete condenser in itself. These sections will be connected by
pipes so that the steam will pass from one to the other & will thus be more
efficiently condensed. Each section would be drained into the feed pump suction
pipe. To assist the passage of air through the condenser
may fix a fan in some
convenient position, driven by a belt from the second motion shaft R.
The feed pump (not shown on drawings) will be of any well known type & be
driven from the second motion shaft R, while the suction pipe is arranged so that
the water from the condenser is pumped back into the boiler as fast as it
accumulates, any deficiency of water being made good from the water tank O
which is connected to a branch on the suction pipe. Should the pump be delivering
more water than is required the feed valve on the boiler will be closed, and the
excess allowed to escape through a relief valve back into the water tank.
The engine & boiler are fixed on the upper side of the platform P so as to be.as
high as possible should it be necessary at any time for the waggon to ford a river.
All the levers handwheels and the like for operating the waggon will be brought
together so as to be within reach of an attendant standing on the said platform P.
The motive power is transmitted to the driving wheels as follows:-
The engine H drives by means of a suitable two speed gear on to a second motion
shaft R. The two speed gear consists of two different sized gear wheels S, S¹ sliding
on a feather on the engine shaft. Corresponding gear wheels T, T¹ are keyed to
the second motion shaft R. The wheels S, S1, are arranged in connection with
a clutch so that by operating the clutch, either the wheel S will engage with
wheel T and the other wheels run clear of each other or vice versa. To enable
the waggon to turn round corners without skidding the driving wheels, the second
motion shaft is provided with a differential or compensating gear constructed in the
usual well known manner. On the ends of the countershaft R are arranged
clutches U, U¹ engaging with suitable sprocket wheels V and V₁ which drive by
means of a chain, the sprocket wheels W & W1 bolted to the spokes of the driving
wheels X & X1. If desired the second motion shaft R may be arranged to drive the
driving wheels, X & X¹ direct by means of gear or friction wheels. The axles
of the driving wheels are provided with suitable springs & are preferably arranged
to slide in horn-blocks formed on the underframe. On the lower side of the
underframe is provided-a-winding-or-hauling drum Y driven by worm gearing.
The worm Z is attached to the shaft I which is driven by countershaft R by means
of bevel wheels, one of which is provided with a suitable clutch. This clutch & the
aforesaid clutches U, U¹ are arranged so that the engine can be made to actuate
either the driving wheels or the hauling drum separately or together. The hauling
drum Y is for use on occasions when a greatly increased tractive force is required
such as when ascending a steep hill or fording a river. The hauling drum will be
provided with a suitable length of wire rope, the end of which, when required can
be fixed or anchored to some convenient object so that by causing the drum to a
revolve either way the waggon can be moved in the direction desired. Suitable
guide rollers for the wire rope will be provided at each end of the underframe.
The hauling drum may be mounted either vertically or horizontally and if desired
suitable guide pulleys & crane post may be provided so that the drum & wire rope
may be used to lift goods on and off the waggon. The leading wheels 2 & 3 will
be provided with a suitable steering gear and are mounted on axles formed into
bell crank levers 4 & 5 carried in suitable forks on the end of the fixed axle 6 which

page_text: a nut
is connected to the waggon by suitable springs 7 & 8. At the centre of the
axle 6 is pivotted a lever plate 9 attached by means of two suitable links 10 & 11
to the aforesaid bell crank levers 4 & 5, in the usual well known manner. The
lever plate 9 is actuated by a rod 12 to the end of which is attached
worked by a screw on the spindle 13 which is operated by a pair of bevel
wheels & the vertical spindle 14 having mounted on it the hand wheel 15. Two
brakes may be provided, one, 16 operated by hand, the other 17 operated by the
foot; and each actuated in any usual way.
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 motor vehicles the boiler with superheater K as and for the purposes
herein described.
2. In motor vehicles the clutch gear to the sprocket pinions & for locking the
second motion shaft as and for the purposes herein described.
3. In motor vehicles the condenser N as and for the purposes herein described.
4. In motor vehicles the winding drum Y with or without a crane post or
equivalent thereof as and for the purposes herein described.
5. In motor vehicles the steering gear as and for the purposes herein described.
6. The combination of multi-cylinder engine, boiler with superheater, condenser &
tanks, framework & attachments to form a complete vehicle.
Dated this 13th day of May 1897.
G. F. HARRAP,
Agent for the Applicant.