in driving and reversing gears for
Year: 1897

page_text: I, SIDNEY STRAKER, of 139, Cannon Street, in the City of London, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
.
My invention relates to improvements in driving and reversing gears for motor
vehicles.
It is applicable specially to the description of motor carriages which are pro-
pelled by high speed motors and in which countershafts are employed for obtain-
ing the requisite speeds of revolution. Such countershafts are usually fitted with
a differential device and rotate on bearings fixed to a vehicle. Attached to the
countershaft are pinions which by means of gear chains gear with the driving
wheels of the carriage. Surrounding the countershaft between the bearings is
a sleeve to which motion is transmitted direct from the engine.
To carry out my invention I mount, running loose and independently upon the
above mentioned sleeve collared up to prevent end play, the female portions of
two clutches each corresponding to different speeds for vehicle. These are arranged
facing each other, there being affixed to each the respective chain or spur wheel
to which motion is transmitted by the motor. To engage or disengage either of
these females a double coned portion having two male friction faces is fixed on
a sliding feather to the sleeve between the two females, and suitable actuating
gear is provided for sliding the centre piece either way to engage into either one
of the females and thus form a clutch.
I will now proceed to describe my reversing gear. The boss of one of the
female cones described, and which is ordinarily running loose on the countershaft,
has keyed on to it a bevel wheel; facing this and keyed on to sleeve surrounding
countershaft is a similar bevel wheel, these two bevel wheels being connected by
one or more hevel pinions arranged perpendicularly which lie between and gear
into the two bevel wheels. This bevel pinion or pinions run loosely on a pin or
pins carried by a pulley which runs loosely on the countershaft; this pulley is
provided with a flanged rim and a steel brake-band is arranged so that it can
be made to grip this rim and hold the pulley firmly at rest.
The action of the gear is as follows:-When the motor is running and both
the clutches are out of gear the female cone portions of clutch are turning
loosely on countershaft, and the bevel wheel affixed to boss of clutch driving the
pinion or pinions into which it gears simply trundles pinions in the second bevel
wheel which is keyed to countershaft and causes the brake pulley to turn round
loosely on countershaft, and the vehicle is stationary. If now the male cone
portion is slid in either one or other direction either of the speeds will be put into
gear and the carriage will move forward at a speed corresponding to same.
If however, instead of throwing into gear one or other of the cone clutches,
the brakeband on the aforesaid pulley is tightened, then the pinions carried in

page_text: the said pulley are no longer able to revolve with regard to the countershaft but
transmit motion from the first bevel wheel to the second bevel wheel, the result
being that the countershaft revolves in the opposite direction and the vehicle
travels backwards.
Dated this 02nd day of Santombar 1907
Improvements in Driving and Reversing Gear for Motor Vehicles.
I, SIDNEY STRAKER, of 139, Cannon Street, in the City of London, Consulting
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 improvements in driving and reversing gear for motor
vehicles, the said improvements being especially applicable to that class of motor
carriages which are propelled by high speed motors and in which countershafts
for obtaining the requisite speeds of revolution are employed.
Such countershafts are usually fitted with a differential device, rotate in bear-
ings fixed to the vehicle and are provided with pinions, which, by means of gear
chains or direct gears, gear with the driving wheels of the carriage. Surrounding
each countershaft between the bearings is a'sleeve to which motion is transmitted
direct from the motor.
Now according to my invention I drive one of the sleeves through the medium
of chain or spur wheels secured on the motor shaft which actuate chains passing
around sprocket wheels or gear direct with toothed wheels mounted loosely upon
the said sleeve and carrying female cones or clutch parts which enable either one
or the other of the said wheels to be gripped upon the sleeve by means of a double
male cone or clutch sliding upon a loose feather rotating with the sleeve and being
operated by the driver through the medium of any suitable mechanism.
To provide for reversing the vehicle I mount upon the boss of one of the
sleeve chain or spur wheels a bevel wheel which gears with a bevel pinion carried
in a brake pulley and the said pinion gearing with a second bevel wheel keyed
upon the sleeve." With this arrangement when the brake pulley has the brake
band applied to it in the usual manner the chain wheel rotates the sleeve in the
opposite direction to that in which it normally rotates.
In the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a portion of a motor vehicle having
my driving and reversing mechanism applied thereto:
Figure 2 is a sectional plan; and,
Figure 3 an end view thereof.
a is the vehicle frame, b, b are the driving wheels of the vehicle, c the motor
and the driving shaft thereof. e, e are the countershafts which are mounted in
bearings in the vehicle frame and actuate the wheels b, 6 through the medium of
tlie chain wheels e¹; e¹ and 61, 61 and the chains f, f. g, g are the sleeves which
enclose the countershafts e, e and g¹ is the differential gear by means of which the
motion of the sleeves g, ġ is communicated to the countershafts e, c.
differential gear can be of any suitable construction. and i are two chain wheels
of different diameters ( being the larger) which are loosely mounted upon one of
the sleeves g, g and h, are the female portions of two clutches which portions are
This

page_text: arranged facing each other and are fixed respectively to the chain wheels h and i
to which motion is transmitted by the motor through the medium of the chain
wheels d', d and chains d², . To engage and disengage either of these female
clutch parts a double coned portion having two male friction faces j, j slides on
a feather to the sleeve g between the two female portions h¹ and ¹, and suitable
actuating gear is provided for sliding the centre piece j, j either way to engage
with either one of the female portions h¹ or ¹ and thus form a clutch to rotate the
sleeve. The actuating gear here shewn consists of the forked bell crank lever k, k¹,
rod k, crank k³, shaft 4, lever and notched sector 6.
I will now describe my reversing gear. The boss ha of the cone h¹, and which
is ordinarily running loosely on the countershaft e has keyed on to it a bevel
I is a similar bevel wheel m;
wheel and facing this and keyed on to the sleeve
these two bevel wheels being connected by one or more bevel pinions » arranged
perpendicularly to the sleeve g and which lie between and gear with the two said
bevel wheels. The bevel pinion or pinions » runs or run loosely on a pin or pins n¹
carried by a pulley o which runs loosely on the sleeve g. This pulley o is provided
with a flanged rim, and a steel brake band is arranged so that it can be made
to grip this rim and hold the pulley firmly at rest by means of the lever p¹ which
is pivoted at p; p³ is a spring for normally holding the band p out of engagement.
The action of my gear is as follows:
:-
When the motor c is running and both the clutch parts j, j are out of gear
the cone portions h¹ and turn loosely on the countershaft e and the vehicle
is stationary. If, now, the clutch part j, j is slid in either one or other direction'
one of the speed cones h¹ and will be put into gear and the carriage will move
forward at a speed corresponding thereto.
If, however, instead of throwing into gear one or other of the cone clutches_h¹
and the brake band on the pulley o is tightened, then the pinions n carried by
the said pulley are no longer able to revolve with respect to the countershaft e,
but transmit motion from the first bevel wheel to the second bevel wheel m, the
result being that the countershaft e revolves in the opposite direction and the
vehicle travels backwards.
It will be obvious that the other countershafte can also be provided with
clutches of the kind described so that four speeds can be obtained instead of two
as with the arrangement shewn.
my spid
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. In driving gear for motor vehicles in which are comprised countershafts
adapted to actuate the driving wheels of the vehicle and sleeves enclosing the
countershafts and arranged to drive the latter through the medium of suitable
differential gear, the arrangement whereby one or both of the countershafts is or
are provided with friction cones or the like which run loosely thereon and are
driven from the motor through the medium of suitable gear, such as spur wheels
or chain and chain wheels, and with a double clutch part which rotates with the
said sleeve but can slide thereon so as to key either cone to the sleeve, substantially
as herein before described and illustrated.
2. In driving gear for motor vehicles of the kind wherein the driving wheels are
actuated by countershafts driven by sleeves enclosing them and rotated by clutch
gear from the motor shaft, providing one of the clutches with a bevel wheel which
gears with a bevel pinion mounted at right angles to the countershaft in a pulley
which can be braked by a band or other suitable means, the said bevel pinion
gearing with a second bevel wheel keyed to the sleeve, substantially as, and for the
purpose, herein before described.
3. In driving gear for motor vehicles the arrangement whereby both forward and
5 backward propulsion' are effected from one shaft, substantially as hereinbefore
described.

page_text: 4. The combination and arrangement of parts forming the improved driving and
reversing gear for motor vehicles, herein before described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
Dated the 22nd day of Jul„ 1898
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.