Improvements in or relating to "Balance" Driving-gear to Motor-cars, Cycles, and other Vehicles.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Sept., 1396-Accepted, 7th Nov., 1396
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to "Balance" Driving-gear to
Motor-cars, Cycles, and other Vehicles.
I, ROBERT WILLIAM ELSTON of Charlevoix, State of Michigan United
States of America, at present residing at Eaton's Hotel 22 Guilford Street in the
County of London, Retired Carriage-builder, 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 :-
:-
This invention relates to "balance" driving-gear for motor-cars, cycles, trams
or other self-driven vehicles, whether they run on rails or not, that is to say to
driving-gear for two co-axial road-wheels of a vehicle so connected to these latter
that normally they will rotate as if integral with the main or driving-shaft but also
constructed in such a way that to facilitate steering, it will enable either driven-
wheel if retarded or otherwise caused to have rotation relatively to the main or
driving-shaft, to produce an equal and opposite rotary movement of the companion
driven-wheel to facilitate the passage of curves in a manner which is well under-
stood.
According to this invention a main or driving shaft, continuous or undivided, to
which rotation is imparted from any desired source of power, has bearings fixed
to it so that they turn with it and not relatively to it, and carry an auxiliary shaft
which is rotatable in them and to which driven-wheels are geared reversely, in
order that if either one of them should at any time rotate relatively to the main
or driving shaft, it will effect through the auxiliary shaft a reverse rotary move-
ment of the other driven-wheel. Although the parts are arranged as described to
produce the reverse rotation of the road-wheels when such is necessary, it is to be
understood that they are so disposed as normally to turn in company with the
main or driving-shaft and both the driven-wheels in the same manner as if the said
shaft and driven-wheels were fixed together.
In the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example one
construction of improved "balance" gear according to this invention,
Figure 1 is a plan of the apparatus in a portion of the frame of a vehicle;
Figure 2 is a central section on the axial line of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a transverse section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, and
Figure 4 is a transverse section on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.
Figures 2, 3 and 4 are drawn to a larger scale than that of Figure 1.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
With reference first to Figures 1 and 2, A is the main or driving shaft, which,
unlike driving-shafts hitherto usually employed with balance-gears is continuous
or undivded whereby lightness and strength are secured; to this shaft is keyed in
the present example a spur-wheel A¹ by which rotation is imparted to the shaft A
by a motor or a pedal crank-shaft or otherwise. At the opposite ends of the
shaft A are sleeves B B', which are rotatable relative to the shaft under certain
conditions as hereinafter explained, and in effect constitute the hubs of the road
or driven wheels, the latter being fixed upon reduced portions B2 of the sleeves.
However these slecves are merely typical and represent the hubs of the road wheels
or any other part which is to be driven by the gear. The sleeves B B are
prevented by any convenient means fron moving outward along the shaft A away
from each other and the shoulders A2 (Figure 2) on the shaft A prevent any
inward movement of the sleeves.

page_text: Upon each of the sleeves is formed a disc B' with a flange B, and in the
circular cavity of each disc within the flange is fixed an internally toothed
ring B'.
D D' are bearings for the shaft E, preferably in the form of discs so as to
serve as covers or lids to close in the internally toothed rings B'; like the
wheel A' they are fixed to the shaft A to which the auxiliary shaft E lies parallel.
E' E are spur pinions fixed on the opposite ends of the auxiliary shaft E; the
pinion El gears with the internally toothed ring B7 of the sleeve B through an
intermediate pinion F carried rotatably upon a stud F of the disc D, whereas the
pinion E at the opposite end of the shaft E is geared without the intervention of
an intermediate pinion, directly with the internally-toothed ring B' of the other
sleeve B'. It will be seen that if this arrangement of gearing B' F E' E' B',
be set in operation the rotary motion of one toothed ring B7 will be the reverse
of that of the companion ring by reason of the employment of the intermediate
pinion F.
Normally when the main or driving-shaft A. is rotated it will carry round with it
the discs D D', the shaft E, and the sleeves B B' with the driven-wheels attached
to them, just as if all these parts were integral with the main-shaft A; but if
either of the driven-wheels with its sleeve B or B' be retarded (as would happen
if the vehicle were steered out of a straight course so as to travel in a curved
path in which it would be necessary for the wheel nearer the centre of the curve
to have smaller speed of rotation about its own axis than the driven-wheel at the
outer side of the curve) the toothed ring B' of the retarded wheel by reason of
the maintenance of the movement of the main or driving-shaft by the motor
apparatus would serve as a rack upon which one or other of the pinions E or F
would roll thereby producing rotation of the auxiliary shaft E in its bearings to
effect a reverse rotation of the other sleeve and its driven-wheel about the main
or driving-shaft.
Mechanism of the kind described is entirely automatic; moreover it operates
with equal facility for either direction of rotation of the driving shaft.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said iuven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is;
1. In a "balance" driving-gear the combination with the driving shaft A of
bearings such as D D to turn with it an auxiliary shaft E rotatable therein
and driven parts B B¹ reversely geared to the auxiliary shaft for the purpose
described.
2. In a "balance" driving-gear of the kind described an auxiliary shaft E and
toothed gearing connecting the shaft and the driven-wheels, arranged and operating
substantially as and for the purpose specified.
3. In a "balance" driving-gear the combination with a continuous driving-
shaft A of an auxiliary shaft such as E for the purpose described.
4. In a "balance" driving-gear a continuous or undivided driving-shaft having
both road wheels loose upon it.
5. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete
"balance" driving-gear substantially as described and illustrated in the accom-
panying drawings.
Dated this 3rd day of September 1896.
R. W. ELSTON.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicant.