Improvements in Power Gearing Cars.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Mar., 1896-Accepted, 2nd May, 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Power Gearing Cars.
I, ELMER AMBROSE SPERRY, a citizen of the United States residing at
Cleveland, in the County of Cuyahoga, and State of Ohio, do hereby declare the
nature of my invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The invention relates to improvements in means for the propulsion of vehicles,
the support and mechanical arrangements of the motor or motors themselves and
lastly to the devices connected with the proper distribution of the power between
the motor and the driven parts or axles of said vehicles.
To a better understanding of the scope of this invention and to further specify
as to the parts and matters involved in said improvements I will here state farther
that it relates to improvements in power gearing for motor trucks, to the method of
elastic support and location, of the motor with reference to the truck or other
frame, and to the method of inclosing such gearing, especially where the motor is
allowed freedom and independence of movement. It also relates to power-
transmitting mechanism, and consists in a novel arrangement of links, which allows
of eccentric and other changes in alignment of the axis of two revolving parts
while not interfering with the transmission of power between them. Said invention
can also he used for coupling the revolving parts of the truck or of a motor to the
axle or axles of the truck. And it consists in various details of construction of
such coupling and equipment whereby yielding elastic and slipping actions are
obtained, and the coupling may accommodate itself to various differences in position
relatively between the axles or between the axles and the motor, whereby also
various economies are worked and cheaper construction is obtained.
Finally this invention relates to means for holding the swinging frame upon the
axles in alignment with the co-operating driving parts, all of which is fully
described in the following Specification, and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings, in which:
Figs. 1 and 2 are isometrical views of a car truck showing the supports of the
motor, the housings of the gear and couplings and connections with the frame and
the axles.
Fig. 2 shows a special form of elastic connection of the gear housings with the
inotor or its supporting bars.
Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partially in section.
Fig. 4 is a transverse section of a form of coupling casing, showing coupling.
Fig. 5 is a form of oil-inclosing joint.
Figs. 6 and 7 show a form of support where a swiveling bar is employed as part
of support.
Fig. 8 shows a support with a ring inclosing the end of the housing.
Figs. 9 and 10 represent in longitudinal and transverse sections the preferred
form of coupling, showing also resilient support.
Fig. 11 is the preferred form of the flexible oil-inclosing joint and illustrates
also one form of the preferred method of supporting the housing.
Fig. 12 shows a modification of the coupling in elevation.
Figs. 13 and 14 are details of the construction of similar forms of coupling.
Figs. 15 and 16 show in longitudinal sections modified forms of the couplings,
and support for the coupling housings.
Fig. 17 is a modified form for supporting the frame and housings in alignment
with the moving parts.

page_text: Fig. 18 is the preferred form of coupling device with exterior and yielding
equalizer.
Fig. 19 illustrates in a plan view the general arrangement of the motor shaft,
the truck axles and gear, with independent axle supported frames for supporting
the motor.
Similar letters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views.
The motor A is supported from the axles B B. A yielding joint A¹ A¹ forming
a part of such support is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and consists of a resilient medium
or rubber cushion. A power transmission of any well known form consisting in
part of the shaft C may be employed between the motor and the axle B, and it
may extend in opposite direction from the motor connecting same to each axle as
is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Owing to the independence of movement between
the motor and the axle a universal coupling forms preferably a part of the power
transmission shown in Figs. 3 and 4. This coupling may be of any well known
form. The transmission is preferably inclosed to guard against dirt, retain
lubrication, prevent noise etc., and when so inclosed it may be supported in various
ways, several forms of support being shown in the drawings. One method is to
support it upon the motor or directly from the motor bar supporting the motor, as
is illustrated in various intermediate details of the drawings or it may be supported
by an independent transverse bar as shown at G Fig. 19, which bar rests upon the
axles through the truck D¹. The casing may be compound and consists of two
parts, indicated by E surrounding the gearing, and E' surrounding the coupling.
When made separate they are in communication by the aperture through which
the shaft C passes, and may be farther connected by the tube or passage e,
and a third passage el shown by the tube forming a part of the casing in the
upper part of the figures. The apertures of these tubes are shown at e, el
Fig. 4. The housings are preferably made in halves, bolted together for ease of
attachment.
It has been found that successful power driving connection for street car motor
trucks would have to accommodate itself to very unusual and extreme movements of
the truck parts. For instance the axles are required to deviate considerably both
ways from parallelism in a horizontal plane; they are also required to work at
times in planes which are at an angle to each other, and what is more as to this
position, the planes sometimes do not intersect within the length of the axle, but at
a point in the projection of their axis quite considerably removed therefrom.
Furthermore, a longitudinal motion of each axle must be present, which was
unexpectedly found to vary considerably with different loads owing to the spring
of the truck. This applies to almost all the various constructions of trucks, either
for single or double truck cars. The elastic medium or yielding joint between the
truck frame and the truck is indicated at D" Fig. 1. To accommodate the various
movements I have devised the following details of support: An extra cross bar C¹
of the truck supports the springs C" upon which the case rests, or the support may
be effected by the springs C from above to the car floor or other superposed
structure a. The support from near the center of gravity allows the weight of
these axle-mounted masses as a whole to be spring supported rather than resting
their weight upon the journal bearings B¹ of the casing. The case would therefore
move with the axle and loose or lost motion, resilience, and yielding joints are
shown to accommodate this motion and prevent its being transmitted to the motor,
when the motor is used as the supporting part, or to allow of its taking place freely
and without strain upon the journal B' when the support is other than the motor or
the motor bars. These bars are indicated by G, which sustain a yielding connection
with the truck D', or the yielding connection may be located anywhere between the
axle and the motor, as for instance the medium D" Fig. 1. A yielding portion of
the wall of the casing is also provided to render the joint tight and at the same time
permit of the motions above described. This may be accomplished by a number of
methods for instance the flexible disk f, secured at one edge, say its inner edge, and
sliding within a slot in the co-operating portion shown as being the casing, which slot

page_text: may lead to an open space as f', Fig. 3. Or the disk may be rigid as 2 (Fig. 5)
and be flexibly mounted either by a flexible portion near either edge, or the joints
indicated at f3f4 which turn and slide. Either of these constructions accommodate
equally well the transverse, angular and limited rotary motions of any of them.
Turning now to the support between the housing and the motor or motor-
supports G, it will be seen that various details are shown all accomplishing the
same object. A circular face is provided at g, Figs. 3 and 4, between the casing
and segmental slide g'. The under face of the slide is flat and rests upon the
guide g², secured to the motor. A strip h, bolts and spring 2 constitute the
remaining portion of the conuection. Fig. 8 shows an alternate form of this
connection where the circular face g, encircles the casing and the support, involving
a link H, for instance one on each side co-operating with the pins H of the ring
and H upon the motor. The bearings of these pins may be of any suitable form:
ball bearings are shown. The alternate form shown in Figs. 6 and 7 consists in a
swivel bar I swivelling upon the pin I' intermediately between its ends, shown
located centrally and sustaining a link connection to the casing by links H" H".
An important form of this support consists in substantially the swiveling bar I, or
its equivalent, and any means of providing for the lateral or transverse movement
of the housing in reference thereto. The one shown is the rocking of the links in
either direction from their central position shown in the drawing, but other means
will readily suggest themselves and the invention extends to their use.
Or the
swiveling pin may be mounted upon the housing and the transverse or sliding
motion may take place between it and the motor or truck supporting elements.
A slipping joint is shown at i where the pin of the link enters the casing, and
between the pin 1' and the swivel there may exist an elastic medium consisting of
the rubber insertion J surrounding the pin, same being contained in the cavity
secured by the cap J. The movements taking place have been described above,
and are accommodated by the inclosing joint, the yielding side of the housing for f².
The operation of the support shown in Figs. 3 and 4 will be understood as follows:
The rotary motion takes place at the joint g. The angular, transverse and
longitudinal motions taking place on the surface of the support gl as it will be
seen that the joints at this point can pull apart or slide in either direction with
reference to each other. The universal feature shown in Fig. 8 will be readily
understood.
With reference to the form of support illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 the small
rotary movement about the axis of the casing takes place through the parallel
motion consisting of the links H" H" and swivel bar I, being about the pin I'.
The longitudinal movement results from the case slipping along on the pins i, the
transverse motion through the swinging of the links H H and the angular
movement through the working of the swivel bar I upon the ball I' at its center,
through the yielding qualities of the resilient medium J or both acting in conjunction,
as will be readily understood.
Another method of supporting the housing E is shown in Fig. 2. An
extension K passes under the sole of the housing E' being attached to the
housing E by bolts. The extension K may be of any suitable form, but is
preferably arranged so as to yield in a direction parallel to the axle B, and for
this purpose may be constructed of the spring portion K' extending to the support
or secured to the rigid portion K by rivets, bolts or any suitable attachment.
This spring plate K' is of such large vertical dimensions, as to be practically rigid
in a vertical line or in a plane at right angles to the axle B. The further end of
the extension K may be supported in any of the well known methods, one suitable
form being shown in Figs. 2 and 10, wherein a housing K" is secured to the bar G
or to the motor A in any convenient manner. Two bolts are placed vertically in
this housing, and coil springs surrounding the same support the ends of a loop k
receiving the cylindrically shaped end of the extension K either by resting upon
said springs, or being hung at their lower ends as shown in Fig. 10, or resting
between the springs, cut in halves for this purpose, so that the lower halves are

page_text: compressed at the downwardly directed impulses, and the upper halves at the
upward jerks, the end of the extension K being free to slide longitudinally in the
hole of the spring supported loop k.
The necessity of the elastic or yielding portions of the clutch now to be described
arises in part from the following consideration, namely, the slight tendency to
acceleration and retardation in parts of each revolution of the clutch which may
exist in some forms. Furthermore, from the uneven action of one axle of the
truck with reference to the other, especially on curves and more particularly on that
part of an abrupt curve where the leading axle has entered upon the curve and
the other axle remains upon the straight track, the front end of the truck being
swung bodily, compelling a slipping or angular movement of the back axle with
reference to the alignment of the rails in the straight portion of the track.
A. power transmission is shown in Figs. 9 and 10 as connecting the axle B with
the motor A, consisting in the driving shaft, being in line with the driven portion,
which is leading to the gearing enclosed in the casing E mounted upon the axle B
and also supported by a cross bar G' parallel to the motor supporting bar G and
independent of the same. A cross piece L is secured to the driving shaft, and a
similar cross piece M is keyed upon the end of the driven portion. Both carry
pins at their outer ends, which may be cylindrical or ball-shaped. Short links L¹
and M' hinged together with one end, are pivotally connected to the cross-pieces
or driving arms L and M by their other ends. A bar L", called the equalizer,
diagonally connects two opposite links, either L' L' or M M being pivotally
attached at any suitable point.
The operation of this coupling which is entirely enclosed in casing E will be
readily understood, and it will be seen that the parts of the shaft (driving as
well as driven) have a free universal motion with reference to each other.
In Fig. 9 the casings E E' are shown as being connected or in one piece
supported by the above mentioned bar G' by means of intermediate springs. In
Fig. 11 the casings are separate, the part E rests upon the bar G¹ by means of a
sliding clamp N secured to said casing. A pin n rivetted in the bar G' passes
through a slot in clamp N and is provided with a nut n', a spring being interposed
between this nut and the clamp N. Longitudinal motion away from har Gand
transverse motion sliding along the same is thus made possible, while swinging of
parts vertically is admitted of by resilient supports at the ends of bar G connecting
the same with the truck frame as already described.
A separate housing E' is here shown encasing the driving connection which is
rigidly attached to the motor, being secured directly to the motor bar G by a foot
or bracket E. An oil-tight joint is shown at 6 to prevent the contents of the
housings E' from escaping, and dust or dirt from entering the housing. A yielding
or sliding enclosing joint is indicated by the disk foperating within the slot f and
secured at its center. The disk may be attached by its outer edge and slip within
the slot near the center as will be readily understood. It may vary in form,
involving any of the well known constructions for this purpose.
The modified form of coupling shown in Fig. 12, is composed of the following
parts To the motor shaft are attached the driver arms L L to which are
connected suitable links L' L' and which may be coupled by an equalizer L
The joints at 11 may be ordinary cylindrical bearings formed by pins
protruding from one to the other or loose in each. Connected to the pinion shaft
are driven arms M M which are attached to the free ends of the links L' L' by
the links M M constructed of an elastic medium, such for instance as a coiled
spring, or any other method of obtaining elasticity or yielding action would serve
the same purpose without departing from the spirit of the invention. Any style of
joint may be used between the ends of these links, for instance springs being
flexible and attached directly to the links and arms, or by means of an articulate
joint of any form as for instance ball and socket as shown, or the arms may
have pins m protruding from their sides, see Figs. 13 and 14 encircled by balls,
around which a shroud m' extends to which in turn a spring M' which constitutes

page_text: the link, is attached. In Fig. 12 the driven arms M are shown attached directly-
to the pinion shaft C, but in Fig. 13 a slip joint is employed located between the
arms and the pinion shaft which may be described as follows: The gear casing
provides a journal for the pinion shaft C to which is keyed a screw-threaded
flanged collar x.
The nut z is secured upon the threads of such collar and serves to press a disk a
bearing the arms M against the flange by means of washer y. A leather or other
insertion may or may not be used between said disk and washer. The pressure-
between the parts may be varied by the nut 2, in the well known manner.
The
The use and operation will he understood as follows: The variation in pressures.
of torque and the other variations in alignment resulting from any of the well
known causes which may tend in different ways to throw undue strains upon the
driving connection are neutralized by the elastic and yielding devices shown and
described. The intermittent or sudden strains may be effectually neutralized by
the elastic or yielding links M' and the undue strains of torque which are constant
or tend to constantly increase or accumulate, when they pass a certain pre-
determined limit are relieved by the friction device shown in Fig. 13.
differences in alignment are accounted for by the well known action of the driving
device as a whole, and certain of such differences especially by the action of the
ball or other articulate joints of the coupling. It will be understood that any
other motor may be employed to drive the equipment, but when an electric motor
is used the sudden tendency to inrush of current upon starting, or when for instance
too much current is inadvertently thrown on to the motor, the motor tends to start
up with a jerk which not only unduly strains the mechanical portions of the motor
and truck but is disagreeable to the passengers. The slipping joint shown in
Fig. 13 is especially useful in this connection to relieve the undue strains and
allow the motor freedom of movement without it being transmitted to the
gearing not only giving a smooth start and relieving the portions from the form of
strains described, but effectually cutting down such inrush of current. It will be
seen that a leather, fiber, or other disk may be between the flange of sleeve and
the disk and the washer y may be upon either side thereof; a jamb nut may also.
be used; rubber cushions may be employed instead of the metallic springs M' or
both the arms or links L' M and M' of the coupling may be elastic or yielding;.
or both links may be solid and the yielding or elastic medium located within the
joint and consists in the insertions indicated by the balls m, m, and many other
variations in form of the devices described, and shown in the drawings, may be had
without departing from the spirit of the invention.
The form of coupling shown in Figs. 15 and 16 consists in similar wing-like
projections forming a part of each shaft, the coupling being effected through the
medium of a float L" shown in position in Fig. 15. This Hoat is a short simple
cylinder as to general form, provided with a slot for the wings in each plane face,
the plane of one slot being at right angles or at a substantial angle to that of the
other; both planes however should be parallel or substantially parallel to the axis of
the cylinder. This construction has been found in practice to fulfil every function of
a universal or tumbling joint, with the additional advantages of permitting eccentric
relation of the shafts.
The form of coupling housing shown in these two figures is also advantageous in
allowing the freedom of relative movement of the two shafts, and their bearings.
without interfering with the enclosing or liquid containing properties. The action
of the spherical surfaces shown in both figures allows of the relative eccentric and
swinging motion already referred to. An additional slipping collar is shown at Y
in Fig. 15 to the left, and in Fig. 16 to the right. This form of housing is equally
applicable to other forms of coupling.
Fig. 17 illustrates a modified form of support shown in Fig. 2ª for the purposes.
specified in connection with that figure. The dumb-bell connection operates in
separable sockets G", as will readily be understood.
The rotating link coupling in Fig. 18 is shown to illustrate a modification in.

page_text: form of equalizer L" of Figs. 10 and 12, which in this figure consists in the
ring which is preferally resilient for substantially the same purposes as
explained in connection with Fig. 12. A modified ball bearing is also shown at
Fig. 19 shows a separate truck frame D' resting on the axles, carrying the motor
supporting bars G G, and the supplementary bars G G supporting the casings E
springs or other resilient elements being interposed between the ends of said
supporting bars and the frame D¹.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. A motor truck comprising a frame, shafts geared to the axles and supported
by said frame, but laterally movable with relation thereto, supports for a motor
within said frame, and means for coupling the motive shaft of the motor to said
shafts whereby the action of said motive shaft is transmitted to the axles, as set
forth.
2. A motor truck comprising a frame, shafts geared to the axles and having
bearings supported by said frame but movable with relation thereto, supports for
a motor within said frame, and means for coupling the shaft of the motor to said
shafts, as set forth.
3. In a truck for a vehicle, power-transmitting gearing mounted upon an axle
of the truck, and extending to a cross bar of the truck, in combination with a
yielding joint between it and the cross bar.
4. In a truck for a vehicle, a truck frame, a power-transmitting gearing mounted
upon an axle of the truck, a cross bar to which such power transmitting gearing
is attached at a point above or below the horizontal center of the truck, in
combination with seats for the end of the said cross bar attached to the truck
frame, whereby the said bar may pass approximately straight from one seat to the
other without upward or downward flexure, substantially for the purpose specified.
5. In a motor car, an axle, a motor supported therefrom, means between the motor
and the axle allowing for more or less relative movement between the two,
a power-gearing connecting the motor and the said axle, a yielding coupling
forming a part of such gearing, and a casing suitably mounted between the motor
and the axle.
6. In a motor car, an axle, a motor supported therefrom, means between the
motor and the axle allowing for more or less relative movement between the two,
a power gearing connecting the mctor and the said axle, a yielding coupling
forming a part of such gearing, and a casing enclosing the power gearing and a
separate casing for the coupling mounted, substantially as specified.
7. In a motor car, a motor, a running gear for the car, a driving connection from
the motor to the gear, two inclosing housings for the driving connection, one
mounted upon the motor and the other upon the axle, in combination with a
flexible wall forming a part of one of such housings.
8. In a power gearing for cars, a truck frame, a part mounted upon the truck
frame, an axle, a portion mounted upon the axle, in combination with an attachment
between the truck-mounted part and the axle-mounted part, and an equalizing
spring forming a portion of such attachment.
9. In a motor car, an axle, a motor supported therefrom, means between the
motor and the axle allowing for more or less relative movement between the two,
a power gearing from the motor to the axle consisting in part of a moving element,
a journaled frame for such element mounted upon such axle, an extension from
such journaled part running toward the motor, a suitable support for such
extension in combination with a resilient medium forming a part of such extension.
10. In a motor car, an axle, a motor supported therefrom, means between the
motor and the axle allowing for more or less relative movement between the
two, a power gearing from the motor to the axle consisting in part of a moving
element, a journaled frame for such element mounted upon the axle, an extension

page_text: From such journaled part running toward the motor, a suitable support for such
extension, in combination with a portion of such extension, flexible in one plane
but yielding in another forming a part of said extension.
11. In a power transmission for a vehicle, a motor, an axle for the vehicle, a
yielding support between the two, a power transmission extending from the motor
to the axle, a yielding coupling forming a part of the power transmission an
inclosing casing for the said power transmission mounted upon the axle and
extending toward the motor, and an additional support for the casing constituting
a universal joint.
12. In a power transmission, two journals mounted for limitel relative movement,
a casing extending fro:n one journal to the other, a flexible disk forming part of
such casing, in combination with a clamp for one edge of the disk.
13. In a motor car, a motor, the running gear of the gear, power driving co inection
from the motor to the running gear, an inclosing housing for the connection con-
sisting of two independent casings, one only mounted upon the axle, and the other
connected rigidly with the motor.
14. In a driving device, two rotating shafts, or elements, links pivoted at a
distance from and upon opposite sides of the center upon each, the links upon one
element being opposite to those of the other, the free ends of the links being
articulated in pairs, and means for mechanically connecting the articulate points.
15. In a driving device, two rotating shafts or elements, one provided at a
distance from the center with cylindrical pivots, the other element provided at
a distance from the center with spherical surfaced pivots, links fitting the pivots,
the links upon one element being opposite to those of the other, and the free ends
of the links articulated.
16. In a power truck two revolving portions mounted for relative independent
moveinent, a mechanical coupling for such revolving portion, in combination with
a resilient medium forming a part of such coupling.
17. In a power truck two revolving portions mounted for relative independent
movement, a mechanical coupling for such revolving portions, in combination with
a slip joint or friction surface forming a part of such coupling.
18. In a motor car, a motor, a running gear for the car power connection from
the motor to the running gear, an inclosing housing for the connection consisting
of two independent cases and a spherical surface forming a seat or support for said
casing for the purpose specified."
Dated this 10th day of March 1896.
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40 Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents.