An Improved Driving and Steerage Fore-carriage for Auto-motor Vehicles.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Feb., 1899-Accepted, 2nd June, 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Driving and Steerage Fore-carriage for Auto-motor
Vehicles.
I, ALPHONSE BLOT, of 40, Rue des Martyrs, Paris, in the French Republic,
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:-
-
This invention relates to a particular construction of driving and steerage fore-
carriage which can be jointed or connected in any suitable way to the body of a
carriage or any other vehicle so as to transform this latter into a motor-car or
other self-propelled vehicle.
My invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, in detail, in
which:-
Figures 1 and 2 represent, respectively in front elevation and transverse section,
the general form of my invention jointed to the body of a carriage by aid of a
yoke 6 and a double collar c fitted with ball-bearings. This mode of joining,
which has only been given by way of example in the drawing, forms the subject
of a separate application for patent of same date.
Figure 3 is a fragment of the rail track shewing the inclined surface and roller.
Figures 3 and 4 represent in detail and on a larger scale, in elevation and
plan respectively, the essential and characteristic parts of my invention.
These last comprise, briefly, a special device for making the fore-carriage both
driving and steering, the two wheels being both steerage and driving when the
fore-carriage is in line with the body of the carriage, and one or the other of these
wheels engaging or disengaging automatically, according to the movements of
the vehicle, and the direction given to the fore-carriage in relation to the body.
Moreover this engagement or disengagement may be caused directly by hand
in order to facilitate return of the fore-carriage into alignment with the body.
d is an axle the ends of which act as journals for the wheels r r of the fore-
carriage. On the middle of this axle a sleeve e is driven, on the central part of
which a gear-wheel A is fitted loosely; this last engages with a pinion A¹ keyed on
the axle m of the motor. The motor may of course, be of any type; it is sus-
pended to the fore-carriage. By way of example, it is an electro-motor as
represented by dotted lines, in Figure 2. The wheels r and r¹ are keyed respect-
tively on the hollow half-axles f f constituted by sleeves capable of turning in
the brackets F and fitted as frictionless as possible on the bearings e¹ of the
sleeve c.
The face of the gear wheel A is perforated with a circular row of
holes A2 (Figures 2 and 3). On each of the half-axles f f¹ a plate B, B¹ is keyed,
perforated with holes corresponding to, of the same size as, and which can come
opposite, the holes in the gear-wheel A. Two engaging plates C, C provided
with pins p, pl are mounted loosely on the axles ff respectively. The pins of
these plates will always remain engaged in the corresponding holes of plates B
and B, but will be automatically engaged in or disengaged from the holes of the
cog-wheel A according to the movements of the fore-carriage with regard to the
body of the carriage. I shall farther on describe how the separate engagement

page_text: or disengagement of one of the plates B or B', and consequently the movement of
the corresponding wheel, can also be obtained by hand by a simple oscillatory
motion or turn of the handle-bar H. Two pedestal brackets U in which axle M
rotates are bolted on a fixed plate N of the fore-carriage. This axle M, the axis
of which is normal with that of the hollow half-axles ff, acts as a pivot or centre
of oscillation for a collar R which carries parallel with the said half-axles, the
axles of two rollers g g¹. These rollers rest on a rolling surface or endless
track E E E which forms part of a plate E³ connected by a rod S¹, ball-and-
socket jointed to the vehicle body, and working in a slide S secured to the
plate E. This slide allows motion of the carriage on the springs. The rail E, E
of which the back part E¹ is higher, is united by inclined planes E2 to the front
part E (Figures 2, 3, 34) and turns on a collar or upright flange N of the plate N
when the body and fore-carriage are displaced in relation one to the other: It
follows that tracing the motions of one or the other of these parts one or other
of the rollers g g will be brought on to the elevated part E¹ of the rail E E¹,
the other remaining on the lower part. Brackets R1 and R2, cast with collar R,
serve as supports for the axles or pivots Q1 Q2 to which are respectively fixed the
rods of the engaging and disengaging forks D, D₁. These forks, of known con-
struction, themselves support pivots tt of collars T T in which the pin-studded
plates C-C can turn. These last can thus, during their rotation, receive a longi-
tudinal displacement on the corresponding hollow half-axle. It is easy to see
that a rise of roller g, for example, on the inclined plane E2 will cause a corre-
sponding displacement of plate C, withdrawal of the pins-and-consequently disen
gagement of wheel. When the two rollers gg are on the lower part of the rail E,
the fore-carriage is in line with the body, and-the-plates-C-each have-their-pins-
engaged in the holes A2, the two wheels r r are driven by the motor.
It remains to describe how the engagements may be operated by hand, and thus
actuate at will either wheel of the fore-carriage, in order to facilitate its return
into alignment with the body.
The handle-bar H mounted on a bracket and fixed to the fore-carriage can be
made to oscillate and transmit this motion to the vertical rods which are con-
nected with forks P, P¹ of a lever keyed on axle M. The oscillation of the
handle-bar consequently causes rotary motion of the axle M in one direction or the
other. On this axle are keyed two cams I I', engaged respectively in the forks
of levers K K¹ keyed in turn on axles Q2 Q. A simple inspection of the drawing
shews that rotation of the axle M will produce, according to the direction of motion,
disengagement of plate C or plate C¹ and of the corresponding wheel.
The fore-carriage being in a curve, or out of alignment with the body part,
the interior wheel can thus be made a steerage instead of driving as previously,
and facilitate return of the fore-carriage into alignment with the body by aid of
the handle-bar and thus avoid all resistance due to driving.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is;-
1. A device for making, automatically or at will either of the wheels of a
jointed drawing or driving fore-carriage of a vehicle either a driving or steerage,
and characterised by two engaging plates loosely mounted respectively on two
hollow half-axles carrying respectively the road-wheels of the fore-carriage and
which are automatically, or can be mechanically, brought alternatively or simul-
taneously to engage an axial gear-wheel which receives movement from an electro
or other motor; substantially, as described and set forth.
2. For automatically controlling the engaging gear, the device characterised
as stated in the preceding claim, the collar carrying the engagement forks oscil-
lating around an axle mounted in brackets fixed to the fore-carriage and supporting
two rollers caused automatically, by reason of the relative motions between the
fore-carriage and vehicle body, to produce, by ascending an inclined plane on a

page_text: circular rail track fixed to the body of the vehicle, the lateral motion or separation
of one or the other of the engaging plates, as described and set forth.
3. Controlling by hand the engaging gear of the device characterised as described
in the preceding claims, effected by cams keyed on the centre of oscillation of a
supporting collar respectively engaged in forked levers connected with engaging
forks, the motion of these cams or axle supporting them being obtained by oscil-
latory motion or turn of the handle-bar transmitted by a system of rods and
levers, as described and set forth.
Dated the 25th day of February 1899.
PHILLIPS & LEIGH,
No. 22, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.