Improvements in Motor Carriages for Common Roads.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 30th May, 1896
Complete Specification Left, 24th Feb., 1897-Accepted, 27th Mar., 1897
Improvements in Motor Carriages for Common Roads.
I, MAURICE LE BLANT, of 21 Boulevard Poissonnière, Paris, in the Republic
of France, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to a new arrangement of driving or bearing axles for
motor carriages adapted for use on ordinary roads and in the system of working
driving axles.
It is known that with this kind of carriage in which the propelling motion on the
ground is produced by power applied to the wheels, it is never so easy to turn
round as in the case of horse drawn vehicles and that generally a larger radius is
required than in the latter case.
These drawbacks are still more striking when we have to deal with carriages of
a considerable size such as an omnibus, for instance; in most cases and on a
moderately wide road such a carriage cannot be turned round, when it is necessary
to reverse the direction.
A large number of the motor carriages built hitherto, may, as a matter of fact,
move backwards; but in reality they are constructed to move normally in a
determined direction, they have but one driving axle and the backward motion is
only exceptional.
My system of arranging the axles makes it equally easy to propel the carriage
forward and backward.
At each end of the carriage I fix a steering axle or axle-frame (or bogie) and
between the two steering axle frames or bogies the other axle or axles of the
carriage are placed; these two steering axles may be independent of each other,
but I prefer to have them connected in some suitable manner.
Each steering axle-frame or bogie includes the axle carrying the bearing wheels
and provided in the middle with a circular piece which is connected with it and
revolves round a vertical axis, the said circular piece being provided with a
toothed sector.
The sectors of each axle frame or bogie are connected by a shaft
supported by suitable pivots and provided with helicoidal or bevel cog wheels or
worms. This shaft carries at each end a bevel pinion engaging with bevel wheel
attached to a vertical shaft; this shaft supported by suitable pivots is adapted to
receive a rotary movement by means of a bar, flyer, or the like.
The shaft connecting the frames or bogies is placed in such manner as to
gear with the circular pieces and their sectors at the ends of a diameter so
that when the carriage describes a curve, the axles converge towards the centre of
said curve.
My apparatus works as follows:
The driver of the carriage taking his position at one end or the other, according
to the direction, and acting upon the shaft, the bevel wheel sets in motion the
bevel pinion of the said shaft, the worm, the toothed sectors, the wheels and the
axles which revolve in this way at the same angle round the vertical axis.
By this method, when the axle frame or bogie steered by the driver receives a
rotary movement, he transmits at the same time motion to the other axle-frame
which takes up a corresponding position thereby insuring a very regular motion of
the carriage when moving in a curved line.

page_text: It is, therefore, evident that both the steering axle-frames may be used with
equal facility and that it is possible to steer at will by means of any one of them
without having to trouble about the other which is dependent upon it.
Moreover in the event of the steering mechanism of one of the axle-frames
breaking the other one may be resorted to.
I have described the method, of connexion between the two steering axle-frames
which I prefer; but I reserve the right of altering it and to effect such connexion
by any other suitable means of a nature to bring about the result referred to
whenever it is desired to make both axle-frames dependent upon each other in their
movements.
I also reserve the right to use two driving axles either independent of each
other or combined by a system making it possible to render them independent or
dependent at will.
Dated this 30th day of May 1896.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
I, MAURICE LE BLANT, of 21 Boulevard Poissonnière, Paris, in the Republic
of France, 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 a new arrangement of driving or bearing axles for
motor carriages adapted for use on ordinary roads and in the system of working
driving axles.
It is known that with this kind of carriage in which the propelling motion on the
ground is produced by power applied to the wheels, it is never so easy to turn
round as in the case of horse drawn vehicles and that generally a larger radius is
required than in the latter case.
These drawbacks are still more striking when we have to deal with carriages of
a considerable size such as an omnibus, for instance; in most cases and on a
moderately wide road such a carriage cannot be turned round, when it is necessary
to reverse the direction.
A large number of the motor carriages built hitherto, may, as a matter of fact,
move backwards, but in reality they are constructed to nove normally in a
determined direction, they have but one driving axle and the backward motion is
only exceptional.
My system of arranging the axles makes it equally easy to propel the carriage
forward and backward. At each end of the carriage 1 fix a steering axle or axle-
frame (or bogie) and between the two steering axle-frames or bogies the other
axle or axles of the carriage are placed these two steering axles may be
independent of each other, but I prefer to have them connected in some suitable
manner.
The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing which shows a
diagrammatic plan of my arrangement.
Each steering axle-frame or bogie ircludes the axle A carrying the bearing
wheels a a and provided in the middle with a circular piece a' which is connected
'with it and revolves round a vertical axis o the said circular piece being
provided with a toothed sector a². The sectors of each axle frame or bogie are
connected by a shaft E supported by suitable pivots and provided with helicoidal

page_text: or bevel cog wheels or worms e e.
This shaft E carries at each end a bevel
pinion el engaging with bevel wheel f attached to a vertical shaft F; this shaft
supported by suitable pivots is adapted to receive a rotary movement by means of
a bar flyer or the like.
The shaft E is placed in such manner as to gear with the sectors a² of the
circular pieces a¹ at the ends of a diameter so that when the carriage describes a
curve, the axles A A converge towards the centre of said curve.
My apparatus works as follows:
The driver of the carriage taking his position at one end or the other, according
to the direction and acting upon the shaft F, the bevel wheelsets in motion the
bevel pinion of the said shaft E, the worm e e, the toothed sectors a², the
wheels a¹, and the axles A which revolve in this way at the same angle round
the vertical axes O.
By this method, when the axle frame or bogie steered by the driver receives a
rotary movement, he transmits at the same time motion to the other axle-frame
which takes up a corresponding position thereby insuring a very regular motion of
the carriage when moving in a curved line.
It is, therefore, evident that both the steering axle-frames may be used with
equal facility and that it is possible to steer at will by means of any one of them
without having to trouble about the other which is dependent upon it.
Moreover in the event of the steering mechanism of one of the axle-frames
breaking the other one may be resorted to.
I have described the method of connexion between the two steering axle-frames
which I prefer; but I reserve the right of altering it and to effect such connexiou
by any other suitable means of a nature to bring about the result referred to
whenever it is desired to make both axle-frames dependent upon each other in their
movements.
I also reserve the right to use two driving axles either independent of each
other or combined by a system making it possible to render them independent or
dependent at will.
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. In a motor carriage with mechanical traction adapted for use on common
roads and including one or more ordinary axles, the application of two steering
axles or axle-frames or bogies placed at an equal distance from the line of
contact of the driving wheels with the ground, while the steering may be effected
by the one or the other of these axle frames which may be independent of each
other or not.
2. In the arrangement of two steering axles, a method of connexion rendering
them dependent upon each other in such manner that when one of them receives a
movement intended to produce a deviation in the direction of the carriage, such
movement is transmitted to the other steering axle which takes a corresponding
position whereby hoth axles converge towards the centre of the curve described by
the carriage.
3. The general arrangement and various details in the construction described
above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Deted this 24th don of Rab 1907
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.