Improvements in or relating to Motor Road Vehicles.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 26th Aug., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 27th June, 1898-Accepted, 26th Aug., 1898
Improvements in or relating to Motor Road Vehicles.
CHARLES M. JOHNSON, Mechanical Engineer, of No. 22 and 23, Laurence Pountney
Lane, Cannon Street, EC., London, England, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:--
My invention pertains to the operation of the motor car in which I use a motor
placed upon wheels, and which is so arranged & constructed, that I am able to
connect on, or couple on to other vehicles. In a former application completed
No. 21675, dated 30th September, 1896, I accomplished this object but as the
drawings will show the operator was seated upon the motor. In this invention
I accomplished the operation of the motor by the use of flexible shafting or its
equivalent so that the operator may be able to either sit upon the motor itself
or the vehicle to which the motor is attached & have the motor under control by
the use of flexible shafting or its equivalent for steering starting & stopping,
going ahead & backing up, the same as if he were upon the motor itself. I
don't claim as an invention the use of a motor to connect on to other vehicles
for that was invented by Stevenson, but I do claim as an invention the means &
use of flexible shafting for the control of the motor. The invention also consists
of the use of an explosive engine together witlí a tubular frame so constructed
as to store power made by the explosive engine with an air engine or its equiva-
lent to operate the motor.
Datad his hands rivetl
1007
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Motor Road Vehicles.
I, CHARLES M. JOHNSON, Mechanical Engineer, of 22 and 23, Laurence Pountney
Lane, Cannon Street, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention pertains to the operation of the motor car in which I use a motor
placed upon wheels and which is so arranged and constructed that I am able to
connect on or couple on to other vehicles. By a former invention, namely that
described in the Specification of Letters Patent numbered 21675 and dated the
30th September 1896 granted to me, I accomplished this object, but as the draw-
ings will show, the operator was seated upon the motor. In this invention I
accomplish the operation of the motor by the use of flexible shafting or its
equivalent so that the operator may be able to either sit upon the motor itself or
[Price 8d.]

page_text: the vehicle to which the motor is attached and have the motor under control by
the use of flexible shafting or its equivalent for steering starting and stopping,
going ahead and backing up the same as if he were upon the motor himself. I
do not claim as an invention the use of a motor to connect on to other vehicles for
that was invented by Stephenson, but I do claim as an invention the means and
use of flexible shafting for the control of the motor. The invention also consists
of the use of an explosive engine together with a tubular frame so constructed
as to store power made by the explosive engine with an air engine or its
equivalent to operate the motor.
The accompanying drawings illustrate one construction of motor car according
to this invention.
Figure 1 being a side elevation of the motor car showing its attachment to the
trailing vehicle.
Figure 2 a plan and
Figure 3 an end elevation of the motor car alone the trailing vehicle;, being
omitted.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
A tubular frame to carry the motor is shown constructed in three tiers A¹, A², A³.
The frame is rectangular in plan the two upper framings being rectangular in
outline and connected together at the rear end by two short tubes A by which
also communication is afforded between the two tiers. A tube A serves to further
strengthen each of the two upper framings.
The bottom tier is formed of three tubes A³ suspended one from each of the
three longitudinal tubes of the lower framing, by short uniting tubes A6.
The two upper framings A1 and A2 are secured together at their forward part
by the clamps B of a bracket B which carries the steering wheel C.
The road wheels C run on axles which are connected to the frame by springs D;
clamps D embrace the tube A2 and carry pins 12 which receive the ends of the
spring D.
The fifth wheel E is carried on a bar E supported at its ends on springs D³
which are carried upon the axle boxes of the road wheels C¹.
The steering wheel C is controlled from the seat F, by a hand wheel G flexible
shaft G and worm G2 the last named engaging with a worm wheel secured to
the steering post C3. The hand wheel G may be conveniently carried by a
bracket such as G³ secured to the dashboard F¹ of the trailing vehicle.
The explosion engine cylinders are shown at H H' and the crank shaft at J.
The air compressor K is operated through a pivotted link L the lower end of which
is connected by a link. L to the compressor piston the upper end being forked
and the two arms L2 of the fork connected to the pistons of the explosion engines
by links M, M².
The links L, M and M' are connected pivotally at each end to the parts with
which they respectively move and the link L is pivotted at and oscillates about
a fixed centre L³.
The crank shaft has bearings J2 at its extreme ends carried upon the tubes A²,
a bearing J3 between the cranks carried on a girder A and a fifth bearing J4 on
the lower tube A5 between the fly wheel N and the outer bearings J. The
girder A is supported at one end upon the lower tube of the lower frame A2 and
at the other upon a framing A8 carried by two of the tubes A³ as most clearly
seen in Figures 2 and 3.
The motor car is driven primarily from the explosion engine.
Additional power is obtained when necessary from the air compressed within
the tubular frame of the car, the air being employed to operate a compressed air
engine of any wellknown construction the air engine being arranged either upon
the motor car frame or upon the trailing vehicle; in the latter case the air
would be supplied to the engine through a flexible tubular coupling and the
engine be employed to drive one or more of the road wheels of the trailing
vehicle.

page_text: In the former case the air engine would be employed to assist the explosion
engine in driving the road wheels C₁ either by driving on to the crank shaft or
on to the road wheel shaft or shafts.
If preferred the compressor I could be arranged to act as motor when
required.
The tubes of which the framing is constructed all communicate with one
another interiorly and thus form an air reservoir of considerable capacity, but
if desired one or more additional reservoirs may be employed in cases where the
storage afforded by the frame would be insufficient.
Other flexible shafts in addition to and similar to the steering shaft G' are
preferably employed to actuate the regulating and controlling valves on the
explosion engine, air compressor etc. from the trailing vehicle, although the shaft
G is for the sake of clearness the only one shown in the drawings, the arrange-
ment of such other shafts being similar to that of the shaft G¹.
Although the prime motor herein before described is an explosion engine of
two cylinders any suitable prime motor may be employed in its place.
The principal advantage of the arrangement of flexible shafting according to
this invention is that it enables the operator who controls the motor vehicle to
be seated on the trailing vehicle and thus to be relieved of much of the vibration
incidental to the motor vehicle itself.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
:-
1. The combination with a motor vehicle and a trailing vehicle drawn thereby
of one or more flexible shafts G₁ for the purpose described.
2. In a motor vehicle having a tubular frame the employment of the frame
as a reservoir for compressed air substantially as described.
3. In a motor vehicle the combination of an air compressor a tubular frame
and a compressed air engine arranged and operating substantially as described.
4. The complete motor vehicle substantially as described and illustrated in
the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 27th day of June 1898.