Improvements in Mechanically Propelled Road Vehicles.
Year: 1896

page_text: Improvements in Mechanically Propelled Road Vehicles.
I,HERBERT AUSTIN, of Sydney Works, Alma Street, Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to mechanically propelled road vehicles and has for its
chief object to provide a motor which is capable of being connected to an ordinary
horse propelled vehicle so as to readily convert it into a mechanically propelled
vehicle.
According to my invention the motor frame is surrounded by a casing which
may be hollow to contain the water required for cooling the working cylinders. I
prefer to make the said hollow casing so that it will present a considerable surface
to the atmosphere whereby I take advantage of the cooling effect of the atmosphere
during the travelling of the motor and thus keep the water within the hollow
casing cool.
The said motor may be provided with rigid shafts or arms which are so con-
structed that they can be readily coupled by suitable means to the axle of the fore
or hind wheels of the vehicle.
I prefer to provide the said motor with a single road wheel, although two such
wheels may be employed if desired.
The steering may be effected by a lever arranged within easy reach of the driver
and so connected to the motor that the latter can be caused to turn in either
direction about a vertical axial line.
I prefer to so construct the motor that the fly wheel can be situated within the
road wheel and so that its axis of rotation coincides with the axis of rotation of the
said road wheel. For this purpose the axle of the road wheel may be made hollow
and the crank shaft of the motor extend through such hollow axle so as to revolve
freely within it.
Suitably arranged gear wheels are provided for enabling the motion of the orank
shaft to be transmitted to the road-wheel axle and I prefer to use in conjunction
with such gear wheels, for the purpose of controlling the speed and direction of
movement of the vehicle, mechanism of the kind set forth in the Complete Speci-
fication of my application for patento. 20401 dated the 29th day of October 1895.
T'he aforesaiu steering lever may be so arranged that it will also serve as the lever
for regulating this mechanism."
Dated th: DEAL
1000

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Mechanically Propelled Road Vehicles.
1, HERBERT AUSTIN, of Sydney Works, Alma Street, Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, 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:-
This invention relates to mechanically propelled road vehicles and has for its
chief object to provide an improved motor which is capable of being connected to
an ordinary horse propelled vehicle so as to readily convert the latter into a
mechanically propelled vehicle.
According to my invention I prefer to employ an explosion motor, the framing
of which is surrounded by a hollow casing adapted to contain the water required
for cooling the working cylinders, and I make the said hollow casing with a con-
siderable extent of exposed surface, so as to utilise the cooling effect of the atmo-
sphere while the vehicle is travelling and thus keep the water within the hollow
casing cool. The motor may be provided eithor with a single road wheel or with
two road wheels driven by suitable gearing and a lever is arranged within easy
reach of the driver and so connected to the motor that it serves the double purpose
of steering the motor and regulating its speed.
An important feature of the invention consists in arranging the fly wheel or
fly wheels of the motor within the roau wheel or wheels, this feature being more-
over applicable to cases in which the motor is mounted upon the vehicle, the fly
wheels being then advantageously arranged within the rear wheels of the vehicle.
In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into
effect I will proceed to describe the same more fully by aid of the accompanying
drawings.
Figures 1 and 2 are vertical sections at right angles to one another of a motor
constructed according to my present invention, having a single driving wheel,
certain parts being left in elevation for the sake of clearness.
Figure 3 shows my improved motor connected to a road vehicle.
Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
Referring more particularly to the arrangement shown in Figures 1 and 2, a a
are the cylinders and b is the framing of the motor. is the hollow casing, which
is annular and serves as a reservoir for the jacket water of the cylinders a. The
walls of the casing are situated close together so that the water between them forms
a comparatively thin sheet or layer which will readily part with its heat to the
atmosphere. The. bed plate of the motor is preferably made hollow and arranged
as an exhaust chamber. The hollow casing may be provided with a top having
hinged portions which when raised admit of ready inspection of the motor and
parts.
d is the road wheel or driving wheel of the motor, and c is the fly wheel thereof
which latter is situated inside the said driving wheel. It will be seen that the said
driving wheel is formed without a hub in the ordinary sense, and is provided with
discs instead of with spokes. These discs aro secured to a pair of flanged sleeves
, which are adapted to revolve in bearings b' in the motor frame and are also
free to rotate on the crank shaft. The object in thus constructing the driving
wheel is to enable the fly wheel to be mounted directly on the crank shaft e¹ in
such a manner that it can revolve freely inside the wheel. I do not confine myself
to the construction of road or driving wheel above described, as any other con-
struction may be employed so long as the fly wheel can be located within the road
wheel.
fff are gear wheels which serve to transmit the motion from the crank shaft e¹
to a special gear of the kind described in the specification of my former British

page_text: Letters Patent No. 20401 dated the 29th October 1895.
This gear comprises as
its essential parts a pair of drums y containing suitable epicyclic wheels and
surrounded by brake bands (not shown).one or other of which latter cau be applied
at will through the medium of links by raising or lowering a lever i, which
forms also the steering lever.
Extending from each drum g are two independent shafts g 7. The shaft g¹
carries one of the aforesaid wheels f which is indirectly in gear with the crank
shaft e as described, while the shaft carries a pinion which drives a pair of
wheols the latter of which is fast to the sleeve . By this construction, and
owing to the interposition of the gear before referred to, the driving wheel & can
be caused to rotate in one or the other direction or can be brought to rest as
desired, by varying the inclination of the steering lever i so as to cause one or other
of the brake bands to grip its drum g, or to throw both of them out of action.
The said lever i is carried by a cross-bar i', and is provided with a spring catch
adapted to engage with a notched sector in the usual manner for the purpose of
securing the lever in the position to which it is raised or lowered.
To permit the turning of the motor in steering whilst maintaining its connection
with the vehicle, the said motor is surrounded by a ring & having upper and lower
flanges and forming a roller path to receive rollers or bowls I carried by the
casing c. The ring is kept in a horizontal position by arms m rigidly secured
one on each side thereof and extending to the shuft n of the wheels of the vehicle.
For the purpose of steering the vehicle it is only necessary to move the lever i
laterally, when the casing and motor turn on a vertical axis, the rollers in tho
ring & serving to keep the motor in an upright position whilst allowing it to turn
freely. Obviously however a separate steering handle may be employed if
desired, this handle being fixed to the casing.
The easy connection and disconnection of the motor and the vehicle is effected
by means of suitable clips or like devices whereby the extremities of the shafts m
can be secured to or detached froni the axle n. In the example shown in Figure 3
the clip consists of a plate m' connected by bolts me to the forked end m³ of the
shaft m.
When two road or driving wheels are employed they are arranged one on each
side of the casing and havo a fly wheel inside each, arranged substantially in the
manner described with reference to tho single wheel motor above referred to. The
axles of these wheels extend through suitable openings or passages formed in the
casing.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what
I claim is:-
1. A mechanically propelled vehicle having the fly-wheel of the motor arranged
within one of the road wheels, substantially as described.
2. A mechanically propelled vehicle having its motor frame surrounded by a
casing adapted to contain the water for cooling the cylinders, substantially as
described.
3. The means whereby the direction and speed of the motor can be controlled by
a single lever or handle, substantially as described.
4. The improved detachable motor for propelling vehicles, having its parts con-
structed and combined substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to
either of the arrangements shown in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 25th day of May 1897.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.