Improvements in Means for Transmitting Power, especially applicable to Autocars.
Year: 1896

page_text: being date of first Foreign Application (in 20th Jan., 1896
France),
Date of Application (in United Kingdom), 30th June, 1896°
Complete Specification Left, 30th June, 1896-Accepted, 3rd Oct., 1896
Date of Application (in United Kingdom), 30th June, 1896°
Complete Specification Left, 30th June, 1896-Accepted, 3rd Oct., 1896
Improvements in Means for Transmitting Power, especially
applicable to Autocars.
We MICHELIN ET CIE. of Clermont-Ferrand in the Republic of France
Manufacturers do hereby declare the nature of our 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 an arrangement for transmitting power in autocars
which whilst being very simple and silent in action, allows the speed to be easily
varied when necessary.
For this object, we fix upon both the driving and the driven shaft, or upon
sleeves engaging with these shafts, conical pulleys the generating lines of which
may either be straight or stepped. These two cones do not directly act one upon
the other but a space is left between them and they are coupled by a part capable
of being shifted to any point along the said cones in order to regulate the speed.
We shall describe below the particular arrangements we have devised for
carrying out our invention referring to the diagrammatic drawings annexed.
Let A Figure 1 be the driving shaft and B the driven shaft. Upon these two
shafts, friction cones CD are fastened having a like angle and rotating in contrary
directions in such a manner that their adjacent generating lines E F, G H are
parallel.
An intermediate shaft I, perpendicular to the two first, carries at each end
cones J, K which are in contact with the two cones C D. The bearings which
support the shaft 1 are capable of being shifted upon slides parallel to the
generating lines E F, G H and the speed of the shaft B will progressively
be increased or diminished, by causing them to slide in one direction or the
other.
The above mentioned cones may be provided with a pneumatic packing of
leather, india-rubber or the like.
In order to reverse, a second cone L is added on one of the shafts A or B-
A for example-driven in the contrary direction to the first.
The cone J of the shaft I may be placed in contact with this second cone Li
after it has left the cone C, the other cone K of the shaft I being always in
contact with the cone D the dimensions of which are calculated accordingly.
In this arrangement, one of the two cones carried by the intermediate shaft I
may be caused to rotate in space, the addition of a disengager is consequently
unnecessary, for to cause the vehicle to stop the cone J has only to be placed in a
position such that it no longer touches either the cone C or the cone L.

page_text: In the variation shown in Figure 2 the intermediate shaft I instead of being
perpendicular to the axes of the cones CD, is parallel to the generating lines E F
and G H and is provided not with two conical rollers, but with a single roller
baving a diameter equal to the distance which separates the generating lines E F,
GH. It is clearly shown in the figure that when the shaft I or the roller which
it carries is shifted parallel to the generating lines E.F and G H the effect
obtained is the same as in the first example.
However with the arrangement shown in Figure 2, if the roller J is in contact
with a certain width, power is lost by friction because this roller will at the same
time be in contact with parts of cones having considerable differences in speed.
This objection can be remedied by the use of stepped pulleys as shown in
Figure 3.
Changes in speed are made by moving the roller J.out of contact with the
cones CD and causing it to rest against other portions of the latter.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. The combination of two cones with parallel axes and a' roller in contact with
them.
2. Means for transmitting power substantially as described and shown in the
drawings.
Dated. this 26th day of June 1896.
MICHELIN & CIE.