Improvements in or relating to Motor Vehicles.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 7th May, 1896-Accepted, 4th July, 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Motor Vehicles.
A communication from LA SOCIÉTÉ JUSTIN LANDRY and GABRIEL BEYROUX,
of 42 Boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle. 42, Paris, in the Republic of France,
Engineers.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 111 Hatton Garden in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent 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:-
The present invention relates to autocars and the like and comprises six chief
parts, that is to say ;-
The frame-work of the vehicle; the friction coupling; the arrangement for
engaging and disengaging the motor and driving-wheels; the brake inechanism
and the parts operating it; the mechanism changing the speed, and for reversing ;
and the steering gear.
In the accompanying drawings
Fig. 1 is a part view in side elevation, of a motor-vehicle or autocar, constructed
according to the present invention.
Fig. 2 is plan of the same.
Fig. 3 shows the brake mechanism combined with that for the control of the
engaging and disengaging gear.
Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views on an enlarged scale of the friction coupling,
which is shown in vertical central section in Fig. 4 and in front elevation in
Fig. 5.
The metal frame-work A (Figs. 1 and 2) supports the whole of the apparatus
necessary for driving and steering the vehicle. It carries a seat for an oil motor B
and for its accessories, such as carburettor and reservoir; it also carries a seat or
supports lor gearing C used for changing the speed and for reversing; also the
supports for an intermediate shaft D, carrying differential gear E and sprocket
wheels F supports for the shaft G of the brake (Fig. 3) and supports H for the
steering gear. Such a frame can receive different kinds of carriage body.
The motor B is of the vertical type in the present instance.
The friction coupling (Figs. 1 and 2) comprises a hollow cylinder J (Figs. 4
and 5) receiving either directly or indirectly rotary movement from the motor (in
Figs. 1 and 2) this cylinder is assumed to be rigidly connected to the fly-wheel K);
two half-cylinders L of hard wood or of metal placed in the interior of the
cylinder J and connected to each other by two springs M. These two half-
cylinders are obtained by at first producing a complete cylinder, the external
diameter of which is equal to the inner diameter of the cylinder J, and then cutting
it completely through along a diameter; the space or kerf produced by that
division will serve with or without slight enlargement, for receiving the wedge N
and for giving a clearance O, necessary in the position of rest, between the operative
urfaces of the two half-cylinders and the cylinder J; the coupling also comprises
wedge N connected with the driving mechanism by ineans of a shaft P, the latter
topping short of the motor shaft B. This wedge secured to a sleeve Q can slide
n the shaft P by means of a feather key R. The wedge is operated by means of
lever within reach of the driver and according to its penetration between the
wo half-cylinders L L being more or less great, the operative surfaces of those
alf-cylinders will adhere more or less strongly to the cylinder J and the movement

page_text: motor thus be transmitted from the shaft B' to the shaft P and thus to the
rest of the parts.
The engaging and disengaging gear is operated by means of two levers S, T
(Fig. 3) operated by the driver and pivoted at S and T' respectively, to any
convenient freed parts of the apparatus. The lever S is connected to the weige N
by articulated rods U (Figs. 2 and 3) but is normally held to keep the coupling in
the "disengaged" position, by a spring V. In order to throw the coupling into
gear, the lever S is pushed in the direction shown by the arrow Fig. 3 so that the
extremity of this lever engages with a shoulder on a spring X as shown in
Fig. 3, so that the lever is held in this position, the spring X being attached to
any convenient fixed part of the frame. In order to disengage the coupling the
lever T is pushed in the same direction, the projection Y upon it presses then
against the extremity of the spring X, so that the lever S, released by shoulder of
the spring X and pulled by the spring V, returns into the "disengaging" position,
taking with it the wedge Ñ by means of the rods U; if the spring V fails to take
the lever S back as desired, the projection a on the lever T would supplement the
action of the spring by bringing the engaging lever S in its original position, by
means of a projection a.
The lever T has besides at ban attachment to the brake whereby by continuing
to act on the lever T after having effected the disengaging of the coupling, the
brake will be applied. There need not therefore be any fear of unexpected
stoppage of the motor, as the brake can be applied only after disengagement of the
coupling has been effected, for at other times the lever S prevents the brake by
standing in the path of the brake-lever projection a.
The brake consists of block e carried by arms secured to the extremity of a
shaft G and destined to exercise friction on the tyres of driving wheels d; only
one of the blocks e is seen in the drawing. The shaft G is pivotted in suitable
bearings (not shown) carried by the frame. The brake is actuated in two ways.
One is by a screw e or a lever in the manner of ordinary brakes. The other is by
a lever frigidly connected to the shaft G and connected to one end of a rope g,
wound round a drum h, which is mounted on a differential shaft or the casing of
the differential gear or any other part receiving the motion produced by the
driving of the autocar. The other end of the rope g is controlled by the lever T
when the latter is operated. The whole of this control mechanism constitutes
therefore a "capstan brake, this is to say the rope y being tightened by the
lever T on to the drum has on a capstan, is caused by that drum when the latter
is rotating, to haul on the lever and thus apply the brakes.
Different speeds are obtained by means of two sets of toothed wheels C, one set
being movable relatively to the other in a manner well understood. The toothed
wheels of the movable set, the diameter of which are appropriately chosen, can be
successively engaged as desired with the wheels of the other set, which latter has
at its end a bevel wheel i. This wheel drives two other bevel wheels j and k loose
on the sleeve of the casing of the differential gear; a muff' m with projections which
is always in connection with the sleeve can engage according to the wish of the
driver with either of the two wheels jaud k which naturally revolve in opposite
directions and thus communicate to the differential shaft and consequently to the
driving wheels d rotary motion in one or the other direction.
The steering is effected by means of wheels n pivoted on the front axle o; these
wheels are caused to act in agreement with each other by means of the rod p
articulated to the levers y; another lever in one piece with one of the pivots of
the wheels is perated by means of a rack s and pinion t, connected to the steering
handle bar u.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion as communicated to me by my foreign correspondents and in what manner the
same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is ;-
1. In its whole arrangement and in its different parts, the arrangement of the

page_text: engaging and disengaging gear of brake and of the mechanism for aut cars as
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
2. The arrangement of metallic frame supporting all the parts required for
driving and steering the vehicle and capable of receiving carriage-bodies of
different kinds.
3. The friction-coupling with a hollow cylinder actuated by the motor and
having in the interior two half-cylinders producing the engaging and the trans-
mission of movement for the motion of the vehicle the above action of the two
cylinder halves being caused by separating them by a wedge the gear for operating
which is controlled by the driver of the vehicle the half-cylinders returning into
disengaging position when the wedge is withdrawn under the action of springs
bringing them together these springs having been previously extended by the
action of the wedge as described and illustrated.
4. The arrangement of engaging and disengaging levers combined with the
brake mechanism in such way as to cause the brake to act only after the motion-
transmitting mechanism has been disengaged as described and illustrated and for
the purpose specified.
5. The mode of applying the brake realised by means of a "capstan " brake
operated by the movement of the vehicle and placed on one of the parts operated
in that movement as described and illustrated and for the purpose specified.
6. The arrangement of the mechanism for change of speed and its combination
with a mechanism for reversing the two mechanisms being combined with the
mechanisms for engaging and disengaging and for transmission of movement as
described and illustrated and for the specified purpose.
7. The mode of steering the vehicle produced by the front wheels pivoted and
connected to each other the pivot of one of them being connected to a system of
levers enabling the driver to operate the steering of the vehicle.
Dated this 7th day of May 1896.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant,