Improvements in Apparatus for Guiding or Steering Vehicles.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Mar., 1897
Complete Specification Loft 20th Man 1007
1
1000
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Guiding or Steering Vehicles.
We, SAMUEL STANBRIDGE, of 118, Seaford Road, Tottenham, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, and CHARLES SAMUEL Cox, of 14, St. Mary Axe, London,
E.C., Hardware Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to improved apparatus for steering vehicles of all descrip-
tions and comprises means whereby engine or motor power may be employed for
turning the fore-carriage or other movable part of such vehicle.
Our improved apparatus comprises two shafts mounted in a movable frame
(preferably parallel with each other) so as to permit of their being swung or moved
laterally through a short distance. These shafts are geared together (preferably
by means of spur pinions arranged at one end thereof) so that they shall rotate
in opposite directions, and are driven from the crank or main shaft of an engine
or motor, for example through worm-gearing, the worm-wheel being mounted at
the opposite end of one of the said shafts, which is preferably longer than the
cther, so as to permit lateral or swinging motion of the other or free ends of the
said shafts. The parallel shafts above mentioned are provided with gear-wheels
which are arranged between two racks jointed or pivotally connected to a sleeve
or sleeves or other supports mounted on the front axle or on the fore-carriage of
the vehicle. The position of the said sleeve or sleeves or other supports can be
varied relatively to the king-bolt or axis about which the fore-carriage turns, by
means of a hand-lever or in any other suitable manner. Suitable means, such
as a hand-lever acting through an eccentric or eccentrics, are also provided for dis-
placing the movable frame carrying the parallel shafts so that one or other of the
gear-wheels thereon can be brought into contact with the corresponding rack, in
order to turn the fore-carriage in one or the other direction. By moving the
sleeve or sleeves or other supports to which the racks are pivoted further from or
nearer to the king-bolt, the fore-carriage can be turned rapidly or slowly as
desired.
Suitable means are provided whereby, when it is desired that the vehicle shall
move straight forward, one or both of the racks can be locked in the central
position, for example, a pin or bolt is provided which can be passed through holes
in the rack or racks and through a fixed part of the vehicle.
Dated the 20th day of Manah 1907

page_text: Improvements in Apparatus for Guiding or Steering Vehicles.
We, SAMUEL STANBRIDGE, of 118, Seaford Road, Tottenham, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, and CHARLES SAMUEL Cox, of 14, St. Mary Axe, London,
E.C., Hardware Merchant, 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: ---
Our invention relates to improved apparatus for guiding or steering self-
propelled vehicles of all descriptions and is designed to provide for utilizing the
power of the propelling engine or motor for turning the fore-carriage or other
movable part of such vehicle for the purpose of steering the said vehicle.
One feature of our said invention is the provision which we make whereby the
10ain or crank-shaft of an engine or motor carried by the vehicle can at will be
connected through the medium of suitable gearing with and disconnected from
one or other of two racks which are suitably connected with the fore-carriage of
the vehicle or with some other part thereof that requires to be turned to steer the
vehicle. By these means, we can advantageously utilize the power of the engine
or motor of a self-propelled vehicle or motor-car for steering the vehicle.
We prefer to pivotally connect the said racks to one or more sliding sleeves or
supports mounted on the front axle, or on the fore-carriage of the vehicle, and pro-
vided with suitable means whereby their position can be varied relatively to the
king-bolt by means of a hand-lever or in any other suitable manner, for the
purpose of increasing or diminishing the rapidity with which the fore-carriage or
the like will be turned by the engine or motor.
Our said invention, moreover, comprises other improvements hereinafter described.
In the accompanying drawings we have shown how our said invention may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice:
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a self-propelled vehicle having our improved
steering-gear applied thereto, some of the parts being removed.
Figure 2 is a plan of the steering-gear, the vehicle-body and other parts being
removed.
Figure 3 is a plan of part of the apparatus showing the movable gear-wheel
hereinafter mentioned in engagement with one of the racks.
Figure 4 is a section on the line r―r, Figure 2.
Figure 5 is a side elevation showing another form or modification of our im-
proved apparatus.
Figure 6 is a plan, some of the parts being removed, and
Figure is a section on the line, Figure 6, illustrating details of construc-
tion.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
A is the body of the vehicle; B is the axle of the fore-carriage which swings
about the king-bolt B¹; C is the motor-shaft.
D is a frame provided internally with two parallel racks E, F and adapted to
s'ide longitudinally between guide-rollers 11 mounted upon the supporting frame
or casting G. Between the racks E, F are arranged two parallel vertical
shafts H, J, one of which, H, is adapted to turn in suitable bearings in the
casting G, whilst the other shaft J is supported on arms J¹ turning about suitable
supports on the casting G as shown more clearly in Figure 4, so that the said
shaft J can be turned or swung about the axis of the shaft H. Motion is impartel
to the shaft H from the motor-shaft C through a worm C¹ geared with a worm-
wheel ' on the shaft H. The said shafts H, J, are geared together by means of

page_text: spur-wheels K, K¹, the spur-wheel K₁ mounted on the shaft H being situated
between the racks E, F but not so as to engage therewith, whilst the spur-wheel K
mounted on the swinging shaft J is arranged to be moved into and out of engage-
ment with either rack E or F as hereinafter described. The swinging motion of
the shaft J and spur-wheel K is effected by means of a cam L so shaped that, when
it is in the position shown in Figure 2, its corners L' will bear simultaneously
against the side flanges D2 of the frame D, and the spur-wheel K will thus be held
cut of engagement with the said racks; when the cam L is turned in either direc-
tion it will act on the corresponding flange D* and swing the spur-wheel K into
engagement with the corresponding rack E or F.
.
To provide for conveniently turning the cam L as above described, we mount
it so as to turn freely on the shaft J and attach to it a cross-bar L² the ends
whereof are coupled, by means of connecting-rods L³ respectively, to the ends of
a double-armed lever M pivoted at M¹ to the carriage-body A. The lever Mis
operated, through a connecting-rod M³, by means of a hand-lever N, pivoted at N¹
to the body A and having its handle N2 within easy access of the driver of the
vehicle. We preferably provide suitable means, such as the sliding-bolt N³ and
notched segment N for securing the lever N in any desired position.
An extension D3 of the frame D is pivotally connected to a sleeve P adapted
to slide along the front axle B.
It will be seen that, when the spur-wheel K is swung into gear with either rack,
the frame will be moved longitudinally in one or the other direction as the case
may be and will turn the fore-carriage in the required direction to effect the steer-
ing of the vehicle.
The position of the sleeve P on the axle B is controlled by means of the lever N
through the medium of the following mechanism, viz.:-a link or connecting-
rod Pi is coupled at one end to the said sleeve P and at its other end to one arm Q
of a lever Q, Q¹ pivoted at Q3 to the axle B, the other arm Q¹ of the said lever
being connected by means of a link or connecting-rod Q3 to an extension M³ of
the double-armed lever M, the connection of the said link Q3 to the extension M³
being effected by means of a ball-and-socket joint, whilst its other end is formed
with a slot Q adapted to engage with a stud Q on the arm Q. By these means,
the lever M can be turned by the hand-lever N through a suitable distance to put
the spur-wheel K into gear with either of the racks E, F, without moving the
sleeve P along the axle B, the pin Q meanwhile traversing the slot Q; when,
however, the parts have reached this position, the lever Q, Q₁ can be turned about
its pivot by a further movement of the lever N, and the sleeve P drawn towards
the king-bolt B₁; the rate of turning of the axle B and fore-carriage will thus be
gradually increased by the continued movement of the hand-lever N although by
reason of the shape of the cam L, the position of the movable spur-wheel K rela-
tively to the racks will remain unaltered.
In Figures 5, 6 and 7 we have shown a modification of our invention in which
we employ a shaft H provided with the spur-wheel K' as above described, but
instead of using the swinging shaft above described, we provide for moving the
frame D laterally to and fro in guides 105 so as to put one or other of the racks E, F
into and out of engagement with the spur-wheel Kas required. For this purpose
we mount the cam L so as to turn freely on the shaft H, so that when the said
cam is moved in either direction from its central position, it will move the frame D
in the same direction, the other parts being arranged somewhat similarly to those
above described.
In order to lock the gearing in its inoperative position, when the vehicle is
moving in a straight line, we provide a locking-pin or bolt R on the arm R' of a
bell-crank-lever R1, R2 which is operated by means of a link R³ from an arm M
on the double-armed lever M; this pin or bolt enters a slot D in the extension D³
of the rack-frame D and prevents longitudinal motion of the said rack-frame.
The arm R2 of the said bell-crank lever is arranged in such a position relatively to
the arm M that the bolt R will be moved out of the slot D when the lever M is

page_text: moved in one or the other direction from its mid-position, and will be moved into
the said slot when the said lever is returned to its mid-position.
The operation of our improved apparatus is substantially the same in both of
the arrangements above described and is briefly as follows:-Referring to Figures 1
and 2, when the vehicle is moving in a straight line, the parts are in the positions
shown, with the spur-wheel K out of gear with the racks E, F. When it is desired
to turn the vehicle towards the right, for example, the hand-lever N is moved
forward, thus lifting the bolt R out of the slot 1 and turning the cam L into the
position shown in Figure 3 and thereby bringing the spur-wheel K into gear with
the rack E. The frame D will be drawn backwards and the axle B of the fore-
carriage turned in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 2. A further
forward movement of the lever N will cause the sleeve P to be moved towards the
king-bolt B so as to gradually increase the rate of turning. As soon as the
vehicle has turned sufficiently, the hand-lever N is moved backwards to a suitable
distance on the other side of its mid-position and the gear-wheel K brought into
engagement with the rack F so as to move the frame D and the fore-carriage back
to their normal position, Figure 2, and the lever N is then brought to and secured
in its mid-position, Figure 1. In turning to the left the above-described opera-
tions are performed in the reverse manner.
It is obvious that the details of construction of our improved steering-gear can
be somewhat further modified without departing from the nature of our said in-
vention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1
First. The herein described method of utilizing the power of the propelling
engine or motor of a self-propelled vehicle for effecting the steering of the said
vehicle.
Second. The combination, with the propelling engine or motor of a self-pro-
pelled vehicle, of suitable means whereby the fore-carriage can, at will, be turned
about its vertical axis by power derived from the said engine or motor, for the pur-
pose above specified.
Third. Steering-gear for self-propelled vehicles, comprising two racks connected
to the fore-carriage or other turning part of the vehicle, a spur-wheel driven by
the propelling engine or motor, and suitable means for putting the said spur-wheel
and the said racks into and out of engagement with each other, substantially as, and
for the purposes, herein before described.
Fourth. The provision of suitable means for moving the point of attachment
of the rack-frame to the fore-carriage towards and away from the king-bolt, sub-
stantially as, and for the purposes, herein before described.
Fifth. The improved steering-gear for vehicles, constructed substantially as
described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4, or to Figures 5, 6 and 7 of the
accompanying drawings and operating as, and for the purposes, above specified.
Dated this 29th day of December 1897.
D. YOUNG & Co.,
11 & 12, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicants.