Improvements In and Relating to Electric and Other Auto-Cars.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 15th June, 1897-Accepted, 17th July,
1897
COMIT LEIN SI MOT
[Communicated from abroad by SOCIETE CHARLES MILDE FILS ET COMPAGNIE,
ROBERT MANDOS and AUGUSTE COURTANT, Engineers, all of Paris in the French
Republic.]
Improvements In and Relating to Electric and Other Auto-Cars.
I, HENRY HARRINGTON LEIGH, Assoc. M. Inst. C.E., Fel. Ch. Inst. P.A., F.I.
Inst., practising as Phillips and Leigh, of No. 22, Southampton Buildings, Chancery
Lane, in the Administrative County of London, Engineer and Patent Agent 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 has reference to certain improvements in and relating to
electric and other auto-cars, and the object I have sought in their construction is
to realise a more favourable arrangement respecting the working of the motor; the
distribution of the weight of the accumulators and motors; and the general
arrangement of the vehicle, for the comfort and ease of the occupants; and to
facilitate and safeguard the steering of the vehicle.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents a vehicle to seat five persons
a special feature of which is to have the body of the carriage reversed as compared
with carriages as ordinarily built; but it will be obvious that the arrangement
may be varied according to circumstances.
The proper suspension of the carriage has been the subject of special study; it
being recognised to be of very great importance both in regard to the comfort of
the occupants of the carriage as well as for the protection and preservation of the
accumulators, to reduce as far as possible the vibration of the carriage.
To this end the suspension of the vehicle is effected by a system of steel springs H
in conjunction with india rubber suspension blocks h.
These rubber suspension blocks are traversed by suspension bolts h¹ and are
pressed between two metal plates 2. Furthermore the wheels of the carriage are
provided with pneumatic or any other elastic rubber tyres.
The accumulator cells, forming the battery M, are placed in one or several
boxes or casings placed on the frame of or suspended underneath the carriage
according to the type of carriage-body adopted, but always so arranged as to cause
the weights to be distributed to advantage. These casings are adapted to facilitate
their easy removal from or attachment to the carriage so as to provide for rapidly
changing the battery.
The motor is constructed in such manner as to constitute a real differential
electric apparatus. The motor represented in Figures 2 and 3 comprises two
ring armatures, mounted side by side on the concentrically arranged shafts 1, l
respectively.
The ring armature is keyed to the plain shaft while the ring is keyed to
the hollow shaft /'.
These two ring armatures i, il revolve in one and the same magnetic field adapted
to be excited by two independent windings one of which being in tension with
the ring armature and the other with
Two pinions m,
m' keyed respectively to the ends of the shafts 1, 1 are in gear

page_text: with the toothed wheels, a of two intermediary shafts. These intermediary
shafts are connected respectively to two articulated shafts o, o acting to revolve
the pinions q, q'. The pinions q, q' are in gear with two spur wheels r, r connected
to the driving wheels of the carriage. The shafts of the pinions q, q' revolve in
bearings s, s (Figures 3 and 4) supported by brackets t, t connected to collars u, u
on the driving axle K, the upper ends of which brackets t, t¹ slide in guides e,
provided on the carriage frame V.
It is owing to this arrangement that the variations in the relative positions of
the shafts i, connected to the frame and the shafts of the pinions q, q' connected
to the axle of the vehicle, have no disturbing influence on the motor any more
than on the suspension springs of the carriage.
The differential electric motor works in the following manner:
When the carriage moves in a rectilinear course the resistance to the motion
of the two driving wheels is as near as possible alike and thus the work required
by the two revolving ring armatures moving in a magnetic field common to botb.
is identically the same. When however the vehicle moves in a curvilinear course
the driving wheels experience more or less unequal resistance in proportion to
the difference in the number of revolutions of each wheel. This causes the two
armatures to revolve at different angular speeds in direct proportion to the first-
named differences.
The bearings of the axle are guided in brackets G Figure 1 and are thus kept
parallel notwithstanding the variations in the traction movement of the motor or
the jolts to the carriage on a bad road.
The driving of the carriage is effected by means of a coupling device A, B
Figures 5, 6 and 7 in conjunction with a steering handle D operating the steering
wheels, and with the lever F for operating the brake.
It will be necessary to operate the handles A and B and the brake lever F only
in their proper order. In applying for instance the brake without having
previously interrupted the electric circuit, the current required would rise to such
an intensity as to damage the accumulators and the motor. This is prevented by
the combined arrangement of driving and locking device whereby a wrong action
of the driver is rendered impossible even should he forget what he is doing."
The coupling device comprises two cylinders A B adapted to revolve on their
axes and provided with circular contacts a and b respectively from which latter lead
brushes to the various electrical connections. According to the position of these
cylinders the various electrical devices are grouped in different ways.
By means of the cylinder A the accumulators and the two windings of the motor
may be connected in three different ways as follows:-
(a) two armature windings in series, 2 battery accumulators joined in parallel
circuits.
() two armature windings in series, 2 battery accumulators in series.
(c) two armature windings in parallel circuit 2 battery accumulators in series.
By means of the cylinder B the current may be reversed in the collectors in order
te travel forward or backward, but a locking device in the form of dises having
circular recesses a, b Figure 7 only permits of revolving the cylinder B' when
the cylinder A' is in the off" position, that is when the circuits are broken.
66
The act of applying the brakes E, F, Figures 5 and 6 causes the interruption
of the electric current feeding the motor, and thus prevent a mistake on the part
of the driver. To this end a lever L is keyed on the shaft of the foot brake F
and is connected to a cut-out or switch I. The brake screw also acts on the
lever L by means of the levers L', L².
After having taken off the brakes the circuit can only be closed by the switch I
when the cylinder A is in the
off"
position on account of the locking action
of the disc A² on the lever I whereby the said lever is prevented from being raised
sufficiently to establish the circuit through the switch I until the notch e is in
a position opposite the lever L. The lever L can be lowered in any position.
of Aon account of its articulated portion at the free end thereof.

page_text: The arrangements hereinbefore described may be modified and I may construct
carriages containing only one or several of the arrangements, or such carriages
may be driven by other than electric motors.
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 auto-car, electric or otherwise, wherein the suspension of the vehicle is
effected by means of steel springs and india-rubber blocks combined and arranged
as herein-before described and illustrated.
2. An electric auto-car, wherein the motor for same is provided with two inde-
pendent armatures mounted on concentrically arranged shafts and revolving
together in the same magnetic field, such arrangement forming an electric
differential.
3. In an electric auto-car the arrangement of electric coupler with automatic
locking device substantially as described and illustrated.
Dated this 15th day of June 1897.
HENRY H. LEIGH, C.P.A.