Improvements in and connected with Gearing for Motor Cars and such like.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Gearing for Motor Cars and
such like.
I EDWARD THOMSON of 5 Featherstone Buildings Holborn London Engineer
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
An arrangement whereby the power of the motor is used for steering the Vehicle
and for this purpose I have two Friction Wheels placed in adjustable guides and
by an arrangement of levers the wheel of the Vehicle to which either of these
Friction Wheels are geared is made to revolve faster than the other Wheel of the
Vehicle, Stop, or reverse and the carriage is thereby caused to move in a Curve
in any direction that may be required.
This is accomplished, according to the direction the carriage has to travel, by
moving one of the Friction Wheels across the face of a rotating disc.
29th September, 1896.
EDWARD THOMSON.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Gearing for Motor Cars and
such like.
I, EDWARD THOMSON, of 5, Featherstone Buildings, Holborn, in the County of
London, 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 invention relates to gearing for motor cars and such like vehicles whereby
they may be driven forward or backward at variable speeds, and steered or turnel
about with great ease, rapidity, and certainty.
My invention consists of a simple arrangement of gear interposed between the
motor and the driving wheel axles whereby the power of the motor is used for any
of the above purposes and controlled by a simple system of levers, or equivalent
intermediate gear and operated by hand and managable by any unskilled driver.
I will fully describe my invention in reference to the accompanying drawings
which represent only the fore part or undercarriage and wheels of a car having
my invention applied thereto.
Fig. 1 is a plan, Fig. 2 a sectional side elevation, and Fig. 3 a front elevation
partly in section of a car or fore carriage constructed according to my invention
arranged with lever operating gear.

page_text: Fig. 4 is a plan, Fig. b. a side elevation and Fig. 6a front elevation of my inven-
tion provided with screw operating gear.
Figs. 7 and 8 are respectively a horizontal section on the line 1-2 Fig. 8 looking
from the underside, and a vertical section through the hand-wheels for varying
the speed, stopping and steering the car, used in conjunction with the arrangement
shown in Figs. 4 to 6.
Similar letters refer to similar parts in all the figures.
A represents the front undercarriage frame of the car updn which is fixed the
motor M, the power shaft S of which runs transversely across the car: W W are
the driving wheels each carried on a short separate axle w mounted in suitable
bearings ww upon the frame A such as are shown. The motor may be of any
suitable and efficient type.
On each end of the shaft S are fixed friction discs D D rocated at equal and
approximately constant speed by the motor. At right angles to, and held in
frictional contact with the faces of these discs by springs J provided with rollers j
working against the frame A. I arrange two friction wheels F F carried on, and
revolving with shafts FF1 and having contact surfaces f f of any suitable
material. These friction wheels are capable of being moved either together or
one independently of the other, up or down across the faces of the discs D D. This
movement may be effected by levers as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 or by means of hand
wheels and screws as shown in Figs. 4 to 8.
The lower part of each shaft Fi is provided with a worm F engaging a worm
wheel E fast on each driving wheel axle w, and enclosed and supported with the
wheel E in the casing H carried by the frame A.
When the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 to 3 is employed, the friction wheels
are moved to any position on the motor disc by means of separate levers L L
pivoted to a divided main shaft I supported on the frame A and having arms L L
connected by links L L to adjustable bearings B B which support the friction
wheels F, F, and slide on fixed guides G, G. The lever L is also operated by
means of a right and left handed screw X working in nuts r, a carried near the
handles of the levers L L and operated by means of a hand wheel X¹ so as to
move the friction wheel connected to le lever L' independently of the other
friction wheel. Thus the levers and friction wheels may he moved simultaneously,
so that the driving wheels are caused to both revolve at the same speed or the
friction wheel connected with the lever L may be moved without the other friction
wheel so that the corresponding driving wheel will be rotated at a different speed
to the driving wheel at the other side of the vehicle, hence if both the friction
wheels are placed at the centre of the driving discs, the car will remain at rest;
if both are raised the same distance above the centres of the discs the driving
wheel axle will be driven forward, and similarly if both be lowered to the same
distance below the centre of the dises the car wheel axle will be driven backward.
In either case the speed will be varied according to the distance of the friction
wheels F F from the centre of the motor shaft S. If, however, the distance from
such centre is not the same for both friction wheels, then the friction wheel at the
side on which the distance is the greater will be rotated faster than the other friction
wheel and hence the car will be driven in a curved, instead of in a straight line.
The friction wheels may be moved to any position on the driving discs by the
lever L and be set in such position by means of a latch L' upon the lever L which
engages notches in a sector as shown.
In the arrangement illustrated by Figs. 4 to 8 for operating the friction wheels
by means of a hand wheel and screws instead of by levers, the said friction wheels
are carried by adjustable bearings B B capable of simultaneous vertical recipro-
cating motion upon screws C C when the latter are turned by means of a hand
wheel C. The friction wheels can be moved in opposite directions upon the
discs D D by means of a second hand wheel c carried by the hand wheel C
Bevel wheels V Vi engaging similar hevel wheels V V carried by a horizontal
shaft, cause both the friction wheels to move simultaneously upon the faces of the

page_text: motor discs when the hand wheel C is rotated and they can be moved thereby to
any positions upon the said dises for driving forward, stopping or reversing
similarly to the arrangement herein before described.
For the purpose of steering a vehicle provided with this arrangement the hand
wheel C3 is divided into two parts and the bevel wheel V is mounted upon the
lower end of a sleeve C¹ Fig. S instead of directly upon the spindle C. This
sleeve is attached near its upper end to the lower part of the hand wheel C which
is provided with internal teeth c³ which engage the teeth of a pinion fast on
the spindle c' of the hand wheel c, while the screw spindle C is secured to a spur
wheel C³ also in gear with the pinion c². By turning the hand wheel c, the
pinion in gear with the spur wheel C and lower part of the hand wheel C³,
turns these wheels in opposite directions so that the friction wheels F F are also
moved in opposite directions across the motor disc D and the steering of the
vehicle effected in a manner analogous to that in which the steering is affected
by the hand wheel X' in the foregoing example.
I do not limit myself to the exact details of construction herein described and
illustrated; for example, other means of transmitting the motion from the discs
to the driving wheel than worms and worm wheels may be employed, and the
invention may be advantageously used to drive and steer velocipedes, goods
waggons, boats and the like.
In applying the invention to the propulsion and steering of boats, the wheels W
are preferably replaced by paddle wheels, the mechanism in this case being
located at the centre of the boat with the motor and shafts w at right angles to
its length. The steering is then entirely or in part effected, as well as the varia-
tion in speed, by causing the wheels to revolve at different speeds as above
described. When screw propulsion is employed, the shafts w worms F2 and worm
wheels E are dispensed with. In this case each shaft Flies approximately
horizontally and extends to outside the boat at the stern where it carries a pro-
peller. The variation in speed reversing and the steering are then effected by
moving the friction discs along the shafts F¹ as described for road vehicles.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention. and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. An arrangement of gear for motor cars and such like, whereby the power
of the motor is applied and used for steering as well as for driving same, which
consists in two friction wheels vertically adjustable on spindles geared to a two
part main driving axle said wheels engaging driven discs at either side of the
motor and an arrangement of hand lever or screw gear whereby the said friction
wheels can be independently moved across the face of the said rotating discs in
such a manner that the motion or direction of motion of the vehicle can be
changed as desired.
2. The several arrangements of my improved gearing for motor cars and such
like substantially as herein described in reference to, and shown in the accom-
banying drawings.
Dated this 20th of July 1807