Improvements in Horseless Carriages or Motor Vehicles.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Sept., 1896-Accepted, 14th Nov., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Horseless Carriages or Motor Vehicles.
We, GOTTHOLD LANGER of 3911 Iowa Avenue, Saint Louis, Mo. U.S.A.
Mechanical Engineer and DYSON WESTON of 138 Leadenhall Street E.C. London,
England, Gentleman 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 :-
Our invention has relation to improvements in horseless vehicles or motor wagons,
and consists in the novel arrangement and combination of parts more fully set forth
in the specification and pointed out in the claims. The object of our invention is to
construct a horseless vehicle or motor waggon that may be impelled by any suitable
motor, but preferably by a gasoline engine; one which will be light, durable and
under perfect control of the operator; one which shall run with a minimum amount
of friction; one in which the body of the carriage shall be supported directly by a
hubless wheel disposed on each side of said body, whereby the carriage can be entered
through the opening of said wheel; one where special steering apparatus is dispensed
with, the steering being accomplished directly from the running gear of the
device; and one which presents further and other advantages to be presently more
specifically referred to.
In the drawings,

page_text: the bearings 14 which are also supported by the bars 10 and firmly secured thereto.
The drive shaft projects a suitable distance beyond the bearings 14 on each side of
the vehicle, each bearing being provided with a tubular extension 15 on the side
adjacent to the projecting end of the shaft, and embracing the latter. The terminal
surface or end of said tubular extension is inclined, said inclined end being adapted to
co-operate with a similar inclined surface of the hub portion 16 of the rocking
lever 17, the long arm of which is connected by a connecting rod 18 with the lower
or short arm of a brake operating lever 19 pivoted at the forward portion of the body
of the vehicle on each side of the driver's seat 20; and the short arm of the lever 17
is connected by a connecting rod 21 to the outer end or base of an arm 22 projecting
from or secured to a rocking sleeve 23 mounted loosely on a rear shaft 24 whose
bearings 25 are supported on the transverse supporting bars 26. Forming a part of
the sleeve 23 and extending in a direction opposite to that of the arm 22, is a forked
brake shoe 27 the free end of which is adapted to bear against the rib 7. Between
the forks of said shoe and mounted loosely on the projecting ends of the shaft 24 are
grooved rollers 28 adapted to run upon and embrace the ribs 7, the rollers thus
keeping the drive wheels close to the body of the carriage 1. In addition, the body
portion has disposed thereon the antifriction disks 29 adapted to bear and ride against
the outer face of the rib 7 on each side, thereby further locking the drive wheels
to the carriage body. The long arm of each brake operating lever 19 is provided
with a pawl 30 adapted to be tripped by a bell crank lever 31 carried by the
lever 19, the short arm of the bell crank lever being connected to the pawl by a
connecting rod 32. The pawl co-operates with a toothed quadrant 33 along which
the lever 19 can be locked into any desirable position.
At each end of the drive shaft 13 is rigidly keyed the tubular stem 34 of a terminal
disk or flange 35, the inner surface of which revolves adjacent to the outer lateral
face of the rib 7, the contacting surface of the disk being inclined to correspond to
the inclined face of the rib. Feathered loosely to the stem 34 by a key 36 is a
cup 37, the open end of which has formed integrally therewith a flange or disk 38
whose outer inclined or bevel face is adapted to bear against and be shifted toward
the inner lateral inclined face of the rib 7, the rib being thus adapted to be gripped
between the adjacent surfaces of the disks 35 and 38, the contact between each disk
and its adjacent face of the bevel rib being along a single line of contact as in the case of
bevel friction gears. The base of the cup 37 is adapted to bear against the adjacent
surface of the hub 16 of the rocking lever 17, suitable ball bearings being interposed
between the two surfaces. For convenience, we shall here denominate the disks 35
and 38 collectively as the "driving and gripping disk," the cup 37 with its terminal
disk 38 constituting the "movable" section, and the disk 35 constituting the
relatively "stationary section" of said "driving and gripping disk." As the shaft 13
rotates, it will rotate the "driving and gripping disk with it; and it is apparent
that if the brake operating levers are tilted in a direction to swing the hub 16 and
lever 17 carried by it, about the shaft 13, thus causing the inclined end of each hub
to revolve about the adjacent inclined wall of the tubular extension 15 of the shaft
supporting bracket 14, the movable section of the "driving and gripping disk" will
be shifted toward the stationary section (stationary of course only in the sense that it
does not slide longitudinally, although always in position to revolve with the
shaft 13) and against the lateral inner inclined face of the rib 7, the latter being thus
firmly gripped between the two revolving sections of the "driving and gripping
disk," and with the rotation of the latter will be carried along and thus rotation will
be imparted to the driving wheels of which the ribs 7 form a part. It is to be
observed that the amount or distance the movable section of the "driving and gripping
disk." is shifted, is very slight, it being exaggerated in the drawings for the sake of
clearness, the actual distance being only that which will suffice to alternately grip,
and when the vehicle is at a standstill, to release the rib and allow the shaft to
revolve alone. At the same time that the levers 17 are tilted to cause the "driving
and gripping disk" to impel the driving wheels, the brake lever or shoe 27 (by
reason of the connections described) will release the rib 7, and vice versa. When the

page_text: brake operating levers 19 are tilted to the same degree and locked in position along
their respective quadrants, they cause the "driving and gripping disk" on each end
of the shaft 13 to impel their respective drive wheels at the same velocity; but it is
obvious that if the drive wheel on one side is permitted to be impelled and the
brake applied to the wheel on the opposite side of the vehicle, the carriage will turn
about the wheel that is locked and thus turn a corner when such occasion arises, the
sharpness of the turn depending on the relative velocity of the wheels on opposite
sides of the carriage. The vehicle therefore under the present construction is
devoid of special steering apparatus, the steering being accomplished direct
from the drive shaft, by causing one or the other of the drive wheels to be locked
against rotation.
The rollers 9 are generally constructed of hide or leather although any equivalent
material may be substituted. The front wheel 39 is mounted between the
forked arms 40 whose base is pivotally secured to the bottom of the front end of
the carriage.
In the modification shown in Fig. 7, we dispense with the roller 28 and in lieu
thereof we groove the last roller 41 of the series of rollers that traverse the rib of
the inner band or rim. In this modification too, the small wheel 42 is placed in
the rear instead of the front, by reason of the modified form of carriage body, which
in this case is intended for a delivery wagon.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is,
1. In a motor vehicle, a suitable carriage body, drive wheels adapted to support
said body, a motor, a drive shaft for said motor, suitable gripping devices rotated
by said shaft, and means under the control of the operator for varying the
amount of grip on either wheel whereby the speed of each wheel and the direction
of travel of the carriage is controlled, substantially as set forth.
2. In a motor vehicle, a suitable carriage body, a motor carried thereby, a
drive shaft for said motor, suitable drive wheels, suitable driving mechanism inter-
posed between the drive shaft and wheels, suitable brake mechanism for the drive
wheels, and means carried by the carriage body for simultaneously controlling the
driving and brake mechanism on each side of the carriage body, the mechanism
on one side being adapted to be controlled independently of that on the other
side, substantially as set forth.
3. In a motor vehicle, a suitable carriage body, drive wheels for the same, an
outer and inner rim for each wheel, a rib carried by the inner rim, a motor, a drive
shaft for the motor and means carried by the drive shaft for gripping the rib of
the inner rim of either or both wheels, during the revolution of said drive shaft,
substantially as set forth.
4. In a motor vehicle, a suitable carriage body, drive wheels for the same, an
outer and inner rim for each wheel, a bevel rib forming a part of each inner rim,
a suitable motor, a drive shaft for the motor, a "driving and gripping" disk carried
at each end of the drive shaft, said "driving and gripping disk comprising a
relatively stationary section and a movable section, the movable section being
adapted to be shifted toward the stationary section whereby the rib is gripped
and impelled with the rotation of the two sections, substantially as set forth.
5. In a motor vehicle, a suitable carriage body, drive wheels for the same, an
outer and inner rim for each wheel, a bevel rib carried by the inner rim of each
wheel, a motor, a drive shaft for the motor, suitable bearings for the shaft, a
tubular portion forming a part of each bearing and embracing the shaft, an inclined
end for said tubular portion, a hub having a lever arm loosely mounted on the shaft
adjacent to the tubular portion of the bearing and having an inclined end co-operating
with the inclined end of the tubular portion of the bearing, a stationary rotating
disk carried by the free end of the shaft, said terminal disk having an inclined or
bevel face adapted to co-operate with one of the inclined faces of the rib, a cup

page_text: slidingly feathered about the shaft and having a terminal disk adapted to be shifted
toward the opposite inclined face of the rib, said second or movable disk also having
an inclined face adapted to co-operate with the inclined adjacent face of the rib,
ball bearings interposed between the rotatable hub and the base of the cup, and
suitable devices for oscillating the lover arm of the hub whereby the movable or
sliding cup and the disk carried thereby may be shifted toward the relatively
stationary disk and toward the rib, and whereby the rib may be firmly gripped
between the two disks and impelled during the rotation of the drive shaft carrying
the disks, substantially as set forth.
6. In a motor vehicle, a suitable wheel, an outer and inner rim for the same, a
bevel rib forming a part of the inner rim, and means for gripping said rib and
impelling the wheel, substantially as set forth.
7. In a motor vehicle, a suitable carriage body, a motor for the saine, a drive
shaft for said motor, drive wheels, an outer and inner rim for each wheel, a rib
forming part of the inner rim, suitable rollers carried by the carriage body and adapted
to rest and travel over the rib, a driving and gripping disk carried at each end of
the drive shaft and adapted to embrace the rib, a rear shaft carried by the carriage
body, a grooved roller at each end of the shaft also adapted to embrace the rib of the
inner rim, additional rollers carried by the carriage body and adapted to bear against
the outer face of the rib, a brake shoe or lever adapted to rock about the rear shaft, a
rocking lever carried at each end of the drive shaft and adapted to control the
driving and gripping disks, a brake operating lever pivoted to the carriage and
adapted to be locked into position, and suitable connections between the said brake
operating lever, and the rocking lever carried by the drive shaft, and the brake
lever carried by the rear shaft for simultaneously controlling the driving and
gripping disks and the brake lever and shoe forining a part thereof, substantially
as set forth.
Dated this 2nd day of August 1896
F. WISE HOWORTH,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicants: