Improvements in Running Gear Frames for Road Vehicles.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Nov., 1899-Accepted, 30th Dec., 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Running Gear Frames for Road Vehicles.
A communication from abroad by COLUMBIA AND ELECTRIC VEHICLE COMPANY,
a Corporation organized under the laws of the State of New Jersey, and
having its factory in the City of Hartford, in the State of Connecticut, in
the United States of America.
I, PHILIP MIDDLETON JUSTICE, of 55 and 56, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents, 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 improvements in running gear frames for vehicles
having four wheels which run upon the ground. While the invention may be
generally applied, its prinicpal use in connection with power driven or other
vehicles designed to carry heavy weights or be propelled at high speed and there-
fore subjected to great strain. The construction is preferably of metal, in the
form of a frame of tubes or flanged bars which are securely connected to form a
strong, rigid and yet flexible support for the load.
With the well known forms of light running gear principally constructed of
wood and more or less loose at the points of connection, sufficient elasticity is
present to permit such distortion of the frame as will allow all four wheels to
rest upon a slightly uneven surface, whereas with a rigid metallic frame, all four
wheels would rest upon the surface, without internal distortion of the frame
members, only when the roadbed is substantially flat. This invention is parti-
cularly designed to overcome this difficulty and consists in constructing the frame
in two portions which are united by a hinge joint the axis of which is arranged
upon a line extending diagonally through the frame, which permits the frame
to fold up or down upon this line to accommodate itself to inequalities of surface.
The joints in the diagonal line are not mere loose connections, but they con-
stitute a hinge joint between the two parts of the frame; that is to say, the
members at those points are connected by some form of joints which have their
axes of movement in a line coinciding with the diagonal line between the two
parts of the frame and substantially free from lateral movement.
By this invention the running frame becomes perfectly rigid in its resistance to
horizontal stresses at any corner of the frame or upon the axles. It is not liable
to internal distortion of any single member, since the bearings of the hinge
joint may be longitudinally of ample extent and lateral rigidity, and while the
frame is permitted to fold along the diagonal line, to adapt itself to any uneven-
ness of the roadway, at the same time it is of unequalled strength and durability
being entirely free from "loose" joints, which must necessarily transmit part.
of the strain in undesired directions.
In the drawings,―
Figure 1 is a plan view of a running gear frame embodying the invention.

page_text: Figure 3 is an enlarged detail of the yoke forming part of the bearing shown in
Figure 2.
Figures 45 and 6 are respectively a plan view a side elevation and an end
elevation of another, preferred form of frame which also embodies the invention.
In the drawings, a and b are the front and rear axles, or transverse wheel
carrying members of the running gear frame upon which the wheels are sup-
ported in any desirable manner. As indicated, the front wheels are steering
wheels, rotating upon the usual stub axles connected to the ends of the axle or
member a upon vertical pivots and from each of said spindles extends an arm for
connection to suitable steering mechanism. The rear axle or member may be
rigidly connected with the frame and the wheels supported upon its extremities
may be rotated upon stationary stub axles or, as indicated in Figure 1, the said
axle may be rotatably supported in bearings connected with the frame and the
said rear wheels may be driven through said axle b by a motor c connected by
suitable pinion with a driving gear secured to the axle, which may also sustain
the rear end of the motor c through suitable bearings, it being understood, how-
ever, that the particular construction or arrangement of the motor is not essential.
The front and rear axles or members are connected by reaches de extended
between them, and they may have any desired section. The front end of the
reach on one side, as d, is articulated to the axle or member a by a joint shown
as a hinge joint; the other end of the opposite reach may be hinged to the
opposite end of the rear axle on member by a similar joint, the axes of these
joints coiniciding with a diagonal line passing from the rear of the frame at one
side to the front of the frame at the opposite side. As indicated in Figure 1,
this joint first referred to may comprise a pair of jaws ff attached to the forward
end of the reach & between which fits a block 9 which is rigidly secured to a
short projection from the front axle a while a bolt passes longitudinally through
block and the jaws ff, the axis of the said bolt being on the diagonal line
extending from the axis of the other joint, at or near the opposite rear corner
of the frame.
Where, as in Figure 1, a rotating axle is employed, the extremity of the reach e
may be curved, or connected to a curved piece h to pass under or over the outer
journal bearing of said axle, hinge connection being made therewith through
pins i Figure 2, extending from the opposite sides of the curved portion of the
reach and entering sockets or bearings in the sides of the journal box k, the axes
of the said pins being in line with the axes of the forward hinge on the opposite
side.
A cross bar is shown as rigidly connected at one end to the reach d near its
rigid connection with the rear axle or member and the other end of this bar is
connected to the opposite reach by a joint which may be similar to the main
frame joints, as shown in Figure 1, this joint also having its longitudinal axis
in the same diagonal line. In Figure 1 the cross bar supports the front end of
the motor c.
It is obvious that more than one cross bar may be used if desired, provided
it be connected between the reaches by a joint having its longitudinal axis in
line with the other joints by which the frame is connected and rendered flexible.
With this construction the running gear frame is divided into two triangular
parts united by joints having their axes of movement arranged in a diagonal
line. If either of the wheels near the diagonal line be raised both triangular
parts will be elevated from the one extremity, giving a folding effect, and if
either of the other wheels is lifted, one of the triangular parts will be elevated
from its apex having entire freedom of movement upon the hinge line of its base
with only a slight lifting on one end of the other trangular part.
The preferred form shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6 is slightly different but never-
theless embodies the same principle. As there shown a sleeve m is secured upon
the axle ŉ at one end and is provided with a superposed sleeve n, the axis of

page_text: which coincides with the diagonal line upon which the two parts of the frame
are to be hinged together. The corresponding reach or longitudinal member d
is provided at its forward extremity with a spindle o which is rotatably fitted into
the superposed sleeve n, its axis also coinciding with the diagonal line. The
other or rear end of the other reach or longitudinal member is similarly connected
to the corresponding end of the other or rear transverse member or axle, having
a spindle p, which is rotatably fitted in a sleever secured upon the axle b, the
axes of the spindles o and p being in the same line and coincident with the
diagonal line between the two parts of the frame, SO that the said
two parts of the frame are hinged together upon such diagonal line.
It is obvious that the sleeves and r may be secured upon the
transverse members or axles in any convenient manner, as by being made integral
with the sleeves on the axles or by being secured by suitable clips. For con-
venience in construction the other end of each reach or longitudinal member
may be secured to the corresponding axle or transverse member by a sleeve or
clip, but it will be understood that the connection thus formed is rigid and not
capable of flexure. It will be obvious that the action of this form of frame,
in use, will be precisely the same, as the action of the form first described and
therefore requires no explanation herein.
From the foregoing it will appear that special advantages are claimed from the
use of joints having their axes arranged on a line extending diagonally through
the frame, inasmuch as such joints may be free from lateral or endwise move-
ment and overcome the tendency to movement in other than the desired direction,
thereby providing for those conditions which exist when the wheels are resting
upon an uneven surface. Moreover, such joints can be so strongly constructed
as to afford lateral support also to the frame, rendering it perfectly rigid in its
resistance to horizontal stresses in passing over uneven ground. In fact, a frame
so constructed may be sufficiently rigid to withstand the strain of rough usage
without the addition of corner braces or cross members, and this result is due to
the use of this invention for which are claimed the greatest practical advantages
particularly over the various forms of universal or loose jointed frames heretofore
proposed. It will be seen not only that the slightest distortion of the roadbed
will be perfectly accommodated by the hinged frame but that the frame so con-
structed will accommodate any distortion of the roadbed, whether great or small,
while at the same time it resists all horizontal strains to which it may be sub-
jected, due to the roughness of the roadbed and other causes.
It will be evident, in view of the foregoing that the joints need not be at the
axles and that other minor changes and modifications may be made in the con-
struction without departure from the invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondents I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A running frame for road vehicles, in parts hinged together with the axes
of the joints on a diagonal line.
2. A frame for vehicles comprising front and rear transverse wheel carrying
members, two longitudinal members or reaches, a joint between the front end of
one reach and the front axle or member, and between the rear end of the other
reach and the rear axle or member, the axes of the joints being in a diagonal line.
3. A frame for vehicles having a front wheel carrying axle or member, a rear
wheel carrying axle or member, a reach on one side rigidly attached to the rear
axle or member and joined to the front axle by a hinge, a similar reach on the
opposite side rigidly connected to the front axle or, member and joined to the rear
axle by a hinge, the axes of the frame hinges being in the same diagonal line.
4. A frame for vehicles comprising front and rear transverse members, two
longitudinal members or reaches, a joint between the front end of one reach and

page_text: the forward transverse member, and a joint between the rear end of the other
reach and the rear transverse member, the axes of the joints being in the same
diagonal line, and a transverse bar or support connected rigidly at one end with
one of the reaches and by a joint to the opposite reach, the axis of said last
named joint being in the same diagonal line as the main frame joints.
5. A frame for vehicles comprising a rotating wheel carrying axle, a non-
rotating wheel carrying axle, a reach upon one side connected with the non-
rotating axle by a hinge joint and rigidly connected with a bearing upon the
rotating axle, a similar reach upon the other side rigidly connected at the one
end with the non-rotating axle and connected by a hinge joint at its other end
with an opposite bearing of the rotating axle, the hinges between the reaches and
the axles having their axes upon a diagonal line.
Dated the 27th November 1899.