Improvements in Driving Gear for Tram Cars or other Vehicles.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Apr., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 20th Jan., 1894-Accepted, 24th Feb., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Driving Gear for Tram Cars or other Vehicles.
I, HENRY PERCY HOLT, of No. 10 St. Bride Street, in the City of London,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to gear whereby the movement of a rapidly revolving
crank can be communicated to the axle or wheel of a vehicle so as to give it a less
rapid rotation and to facilitate the stopping starting and reversing of the motion
of the axle or wheel.
For this purpose, I link to the crank a frame which is free to oscillate about the
wheel or the axle that has to be driven, this frame being provided with a brake
block which, by means of a roller running on an incline of the block is pressed
against the wheel or a drum on the axle when the frame oscillates in the one
direction, but which, when the frame oscillates in the opposite direction is released.
Thus the one stroke of the frame causes partial rotation of the wheel or axle in
the one direction, the back stroke being ineffective.
By means of moveable keys worked by suitable hand gear, the direction in which
the brake block grips can be reversed, or its grip can be entirely released, the
wheel or axle being in the latter case thrown out of gear. When the crank
revolves very rapidly I prefer to interpose a spring between the drum driven by
the oscillating frame, and the axle or wheel that is driven.
When a spring is thus applied, a brake block is employed to prevent its rotation
backwards, this block being, like the other adjustable for either direction of
rotation.
Instead of applying the gear above described to drive a wheel or axle of the
vehicle directly, it may be applied to drive a countershaft from which wheels or
axles of the vehicle may be driven by any suitable gear.
Dated this 21st day of April 1893.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
*COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Driving Gear for Tram Cars or other Vehicles.
I, HENRY PERCY HOLT, of No. 10 St. Bride Street, in the City 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 gear whereby the movement of a rapidly revolving crank
can be communicated to the axle or wheel of a vehicle so as to give it a less rapid
rotation and facilitate the stopping starting and reversing of the motion of the
axle or wheel.
For this purpose I construct driving gear as I shall describe referring to the
accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a front view of a wheel with driving lever,
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section partly in elevation,
Fig. 3 is a plan of the reversing and stopping key,
Fig. 4 is a front view of the ratchets.

page_text: I link to the crank of the motor engine a frame or lever A which is preferably
double as shown in Fig. 2 and is free to oscillate about the wheel B on the axle C
that has to be driven. this frame or lever being provided with a brake block D
which by means of a roller E running on an incline of the block is pressed against
the wheel Awhich may be a drum on the axle when the frame or lever A oscillates
in the one direction, but which when it oscillates in the opposite direction is
released. Thus the one stroke of A causes partial rotation of the wheel B or
axle C in the one direction, the back stroke being ineffective.
By means of a moveable key worked by suitable hand gear G the direction in
which the brake block D grips can be reversed or its grip can be entirely released,
the wheel or axle being in the latter case thrown out of gear.
The key F passes through slots in the lever arms Å and also in the brake
block D. When the wide middle part of the key occupies the slot of the brake
block, that block must move to and fro with A, and the roller E cannot then act
on either of its inclines, so that, under these conditions the wheel B is not driven
in either direction. But by moving the key F lengthwise so as to bring the one
or the other of its narrow parts into the slot of the brake block, the block is
permitted to move in the one or the other direction relatively to A, so that the
roller E acts upon the one or the other of the inclines on the block causing it to
drive the wheel in the one or the other direction according as the block is made to
grip the wheel during the forward or backward stroke of A. The narrow parts of
the key F may be tapered so that by moving it more or less in either direction
the brake block D may be allowed to slip more or less, in order to vary the speed
of the drum or wheel driven by it. When the crank revolves very rapidly I prefer
to interpose a spring H between the drum or wheel driven as above described and
the axle C that is driven.
When a spring is thus applied as shown in Fig. 2 a brake block may be employed
to prevent its rotation backwards, this block being, like D, adjustable for either
direction of rotation. Or, as an equivalent for such brake block, as shewn in
Figs. 2 and 4 ratchets and pawls may be employed. In this case a ratchet wheel K
having opposite ratchet teeth at its two sides and a part in the middle of its
periphery without teeth attached to the wheel B and is free on the axle C but has
one end of the spring H fixed to it, the other end of the spring being fixed to a
boss L keyed on the axle C. A band M encircles the ratchet wheel and has a
tail N attached to some fixed point. On this band are mounted two pawls P, Q,
the one suited for, forward and the other for backward motion. In the position
shown in Figs. 2 and 4 both pawls are resting on the middle plain part of the
wheel K which is therefore quite free to revolve, but by moving the band M in the
one direction or the other, parallel to the axle, the one pawl or the other is thrown
into gear thus preventing the wheels K and B from being driven backwards by
the spring H while A is making its ineffective stroke. I prefer to make the move-
ment of the band M accord with that of the key F by connecting the band by a
link R to the lever of the hand gear G.
Instead of applying the gear above described to drive a wheel or axle of the
vehicle directly it may be applied to drive a countershaft from which wheels or
axles of the vehicle may be driven by any suitable gear speeded as may be desired.
The shaft C shewn in the drawings may be such a countershaft.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. Driving gear for tramcars and other vehicles, wherein a reciprocating brake
block is caused to act on a wheel or drum during its forward or its backward stroke
or neither as determined by suitable hand gear, and thus as may be desired to cause
rotation in the one direction or the other or no rotation in either direction
substantially as described.

page_text: 2. In combination with driving gear of the kind above referred to, a spring and
brake block or its equivalents substantially as described with reference to Figs. 2
and 4. -
Dated this t
T
1001
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for Applicant.