Improvements in and relating to the Suspension or Supporting of Engines on Motor Carriages.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Aug., 1896.
Complete Specification Left, 21st May, 1897--Accepted, 3rd July, 1897.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to the Suspension or Supporting of
Engines on Motor Carriages.
We, ERNEST JOHN CLUBBE and ALFRED WILLIAM SOUTHEY, both of 16 Elin
Street, Gray's Inn Road in the County of London, Electrical Engineers and THE
ELECTRIC MOTIVE POWER COMPANY LIMITED of 3 Salter's Hall Court, Cannon Street
London, Motor Carriage Builders, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
The object of the invention is to entirely prevent the vibrations produced by
the engines used for driving motor carriages, more especially when the carriage
is standing still and the engine is running idle.
According to this invention the motor carriage is constructed with a bed plate
or support on which the engine may freely slide in the direction of the movement
of the carriage, the engine being of the horizontal type, and springs are fitted at
the back and front of the engine, so that the vibrations produced by the impulses
will be absorbed by the springs.
The springs may be of any type, either spiral or elliptic, or they may be pneumatic
cushions or compressed air cylinders.
The bed plate or support is preferably constructed of steel tube, one or more tubes
being fitted on each side of the engine, and working in bearings oast on the engine
bed plate, the springs being fitted on the tubes, and being adjustable by means
of look nuts.
In order to transmit the power from the engine under these conditions, a double
universal joint coupling may be provided at the end of the crank shaft to transmit
the power to the gearing, which is rigidly attached to the spring framework of
the carriage.
T 01 1900
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to the Suspension or Supporting of
Engines on Motor Carriages.
We, ERNEST JOHN CLUBBE and ALFRED WILLIAM SOUTHEY, both of 16 Elm
Street, Gray's Inn Road in the County of London, Electrical Engineers and. THE
ELECTRIC MOTIVE POWER COMPANY LIMITED of 3 Salter's Hall Court, Cannon Street
in the City of London, Motor Carriage Builders, do hereby declare the nature of
the said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of this invention is to entirely prevent the vibrations produced by
the engines used for driving motor carriages, more especially when the carriage
ia standing still and the engine is running idle.

page_text: According to this invention the motor carriage is constructed with a support on
which the engine bedplate may freely slide in the direction of the movement of the
carriage, the engine being of the horizontal type, and springs are fitted at the
back and front of the engine, so that the vibrations produced by the impulses will
be absorbed by the springs.
The springs may be of any type, either spiral or elliptical, or they may be pneu-
matic cushions or compressed air cylinders.
The support is preferably constructed of steel tubing, one or more tubes
being fitted on each side of the engine, and working in bearings cast on the engine
bed plate, the springs being fitted on the tubes, and being adjustable by means
of lock nuts.
In order to transmit the power from the engine under these conditions, a double
universal joint coupling is provided at the end of the crank shaft to transmit
the power to the gearing, which is rigidly attached to the spring framework of
the carriage; or a sprocket chain and wheels may be provided to allow for
swinging movements as hereinafter described.
The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention:-
Figure is a general plan view showing one arrangement embodying the
improvements of the present invention, and
Figure 2 is a cross section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a general side elevation of a modified arrangement; and
Figure 4 is an end elevation of Figure 3.
In the arrangement shown in Figures 1 and 2, 1 is a horizontal engine cylinder
the piston of which acts by means of a connecting irod 2 upon a crank 3 of the
engine crank shaft 4. The engine is carried in any suitable manner by the engine
bedplate which, in the arrangement shown, comprises three castings 5', 6", 6",
of which the casting 51 carries the crank shaft bearings, whilst the other two
castings 6 and 5 support the engine cylinder.1.
These castings 51, 5, 5 are rigidly connected together by means of four hori-
zontal steel tubes 6hrazed into the castings. The two end castings 51, 5 are
formed each with two lugs 7 adapted to slide on a support composed of two horizon-
tal steel tubes 8 8 carried by or forming part of the motor car frame and arranged
one on each side of the engine bedplate. Springs 9, preferably coiled around the
tubes 8 of the support, serve to take up the oscillation caused by the impulses of
the engine piston; they are capable of being adjusted by means of nuts 10 which
also serve as abutments for the springs.
A double universal coupling or other suitable flexible coupling 4* is employed
to connect the engine shaft 4 with the second motion shaft of the motor car
mechanism.
It will be understood that by our invention, the vibrations of the engine in a
horizontal plane are entirely absorbed in producing motion of the engine itself
against the resistance of the buffer springs, instead of producing motion of the
framework of the carriage as heretofore.
The vibrations in a vertical plane are taken up if necessary by an independent
set of springs supporting the framework to which the reciprocating bedplate is
attached.
According to a modification of our invention the same result is obtained by
supporting the reciprocating bedplate by means of suspension links from the main
framework, so that it is free to swing to and fro instead of sliding as above
described, the action of the buffer springs being identical in either case.
In the case of the swinging bedplate, the universal joint device may be dis-
pensed with, and the motion transmitted by an ordinary chain and chain wheels
from the engine shaft to the second motion shaft, the ends of which form respec-
tively the lower and the upper trunnions to which one pair of links are attached.
Figures 3 and 4 show the engine bedplate supported from the frane tubes 8 of
the vehicle.
The engine bedplate is suspended by means of trunnions, viz,-a forward pair

page_text: constituted by the ends of the motor shaft 4 and a rear pair 11 (one on each side)
cast on the bedplate. These trunnions are respectively carried in the lower ends
of two parallel pairs of suspension links 12, 12". The rear pair of suspension
links 12 are pivotted at their upper ends on journals 13 carried by the frame
tubes 8. The forward pair of suspension links 121 are pivotted on the ends of the
second motion shaft or driving rond wheel axle 14. By means of these two
parallel pairs of suspension links 12, 1211 the engine bedplate is carried in such
a manner as to be free to oscillate to and fro in its vertical longitudinal plane.
The oscillations of the bedplate are elastically restrained by means of suitable
buffers of springs 9 provided at each end of the bedplate. In Figures 3 and 4
these springs are shown attached to the front and rear pairs of suspension
links 12, 121.
Motion is transmitted from the engine crank shaft 4 mounted on the oscillating
engine bedplate, to the second motion or driving road wheel axle 14, by means of
a chain wheel 15, chain 16 and chain wheel 17. 18 is an ordinary fly wheel
mounted on the crank shaft 4.
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. In horizontal or semi-horizontal engines for the propulsion of motor carriages,
having reciprocating parts and consequently producing vibrations of the bedplato
in a horizontal plane in the line of the stroke, the use of means of absorbing tho
said vibrations, consisting of a movable bedplate, capable of recoiling in opposition
to the vibrations, and springs or buffers situated in line for absorbing the
movements of recoil, substantially as hereinbefore described and shown in the
accompanying drawings.
2. The combination of the sliding bedplate, guide rods and buffer springs, sub-
stantially as described and shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, for the
purposes specified.
3. The combination of the swinging bedplate, vertical suspension links, and
aprings, substantially as described and shown in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings
for the purposes specified.