Improvements in or applicable to Automotive Vehicles and the like.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Mar., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Nov., 1899-Accepted, 20th Jan., 1900
PROVISIONAL
SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or applicable to Automotive Vehicles and the like.
I, HENRY MARIE LÉON CROUAN, of 51, Avenue de la Grande Armée, Paris, France.
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of the present invention is an apparatus worked by pneumatic pressure,
intended to throw into gearing the various parts or mechanisms of automotive
vehicles, carriages, boats and the like.
The principle of the apparatus consists in the use of a gas or liquid, under
pressure, which, by a distributing apparatus, is caused to flow in the required direction,
to produce the desired engagement, and thereby to obtain the desired relative
speed or velocity, the application of the brake or any other predetermined effect.
In a frame are mounted two parallel spindles one of which, by means of a wheel,
receives the continuous movement of the motor, and the other of which, by means of
a wheel, transmits to the vehicle the motion which it has received.
Each of these two spindles carries a set of wheels capable of gearing one with the
other, but being of such relative diameters that according to the set in action the
speed will be that sought to be obtained. One set of this gearing can be so arranged
that, by throwing it into gear, the movement of the second shaft or spindle may be
contrary to that which the other set transmits in this case backing would be
obtained. Each of these sets of gearing comprises a wheel keyed on one of the
spindles corresponding to a loose wheel on the other spindle, each of these latter
carrying two fixed wheels and two loose wheels alternately placed.
H
The two central keyed wheels (each on a different spindle) have on each side an
annular groove which communicates by means of channels pierced through the
spindles with tubes leading to the ends of the spindles and upon which these latter
turn, a tight joint being made between them; each of the annular grooves is fitted
with leather.
It is sufficient to cause pressure to enter by one of the said tubes in order to
forcibly press the corresponding leather fitting against the loose wheel contiguous
thereto so that this last named wheel may be coupled to the fixed wheel by which the
said leather fitting is carried. From that moment, the movement of the first shaft
is transmitted to the other shaft in accordance with the relative diameters of the two
wheels in engagement.
. If there is placed near the wheel next the framework a leather fitting in a circular
groove of the frame, and if by a special channel liquid under pressure is sent to this
groove, the leather fitting will, when required, act as a brake working against the side
of said wheel.
The braking power is obtained more advantageously by a special device which can
be placed where desired; to this end, a box secured to the frame of the vehicle is
formed with a circular groove having a leather fitting; a shaft freely traverses this
box and carries a disc keyed thereto and which is formed at its periphery with
grooves, as the box is also formed. On the disc in the box are threaded rings
alternately carrying projections which enter the grooves of the disc and of the box
respectively in such a manner that some of the rings.turn on the disc while others
are immovable in the box; when the leather fitting of the box receives the fluid
...מ

page_text: pressure, it presses all these discs or rings one against another and produces resistance
to the movement of the disc. When pressure is taken off all the discs are freed.
Pressure is sent into the various mechanisms by a multiple-way cock communicating
with all the tubes that supply the various leather fittings. The pressure comes from
a reservoir and may be produced by a pump or more easily by the gas of the motor;
at each explosion, a part of the gas under pressure passing into the reservoir and
being there retained by a non-return valve; the gas no longer passing into the
reservoir when the latter attains its maximum pressure.
Dated this 28th day of March 1899.
Fig. 6 is a section on line X-X of Fig. 5.
Fig. 7 is a section on line Y-Y of Fig. 5.
In the drawings like letters refer to like parts throughout all the figures. g g¹
represents a frame made of two parts held together by means of flanges h¹ h¹ and
bolts (Fig. 2); a¹ b¹are two parallel shafts, journalled in bosses n³ ³ each of which
is bored with a circular opening receiving the ends of said shafts. The shaft a¹
carries a wheel m receiving the movement from the motor and the shaft 6¹ carries 4
a wheel m², transmitting the movement to the vehicle. 2, are gear-wheels keyed on
shaft a¹; are gear-wheels keyed on shaft b¹; f¹ and f are gear-wheels loosely
mounted on shaft a³, and f f are gear-wheels loosely mounted on shaft b¹.
The wheel has on each side a circular groove (92 and 9³), and wheel has
grooves 9 and 9. Each groove carries a circular embossed leather part (c', c², c³, c²); 5
i is a gear-wheel loosely mounted between wheels and ft on a shaft p¹ secured in a
boss of the frame. The shaft a¹ is provided with two passages H₁ and H²; H¹ is

page_text: connected to groove g² on wheel, and H is connected to groove 93. The shaft 6¹
is also provided with two passages: ³ connected to groove g* on wheel ³, and /'
connected to groove g³ on the same wheel.
At each end of each shaft a¹ and 6¹, is secured a tube leading fluid under pressure
thereto. These tubes t¹, t², ts, t, are each connected to said passages H1, H2, 13³, 14
and secured to said shafts a¹ and b¹ by means of suitable stuffing boxes each of which
is formed of a nut ¹ screwed onto the corresponding threaded end of the shaft,
said threaded end being hollowed out to receive the end of the tube on which the
shaft is adapted to rotate, and which is provided with a shoulder forming with
the hollow of the shaft-end a recess, within which is lodged a packing el.
Each tube t, 2, 3, 4, leads into a four-way cock shown in Fig. 4 of the
accompanying drawings. Said cock is composed of a casing a², having a lower
opening a through which flows the fluid under pressure, and a body a³ provided with
a passage d³ one end of which is in line with opening a, and which is adapted to be
communicated with t, 2, 3, t, according to the position of body a³. The tubes
which are not connected to a communicate with the atmosphere through a groove b³,
connected to another groove u and a channel h³. The body is operated by
means of a key engaging a prismatic projection p formed on said body.
In Fig. 5, 6 and 7, I have shown a brake which may be combined with the
apparatus and is based upon the same principle. b is a metal box provided with
circular groove c and secured to the frame of the vehicle by means of lugs o, o,
only one of which is shown; a shaft a passes loosely through said box and carries
a disk k, having a plurality of grooves m³ m³ on its periphery (Fig. 7) said box
having grooves nn; over said disk and said box rings 1,1, 2, 21
6,6¹ are
fitted, said rings having projections which engage alternately said grooves m³ and n.
The rings 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, are rotated with disk k, whilst the rings 1, 2, 3, 4, 5¹, 6¹,
are stationarily held within said box b; a tube 1, connected with tube 13 by means of
a packing, serves to lead fluid under pressure behind leath er c¹.
The aforegoing clutch device operates as follows:-The wheels described and
shown in Fig. 2, mesh with each other and are of relative diameters determined
so that the speed given to shaft b¹ may be that which it is desired to obtain in
accordance with the wheels which are actuated. Each set of wheels comprises one
of said wheels r', 73, 73 or r¹ keyed on the respective shafts, and one of wheels f¹,
f, for f, loosely mounted on the shafts. So long as the wheels f¹, f, f³, f*, are
loose on the shafts, no movement is transmitted from wheel m to wheel m¹.
Now as fluid under pressure is led into one of the grooves g³, for instance, by
operating the four-way cock the corresponding leather part c¹ will be strongly
pressed against the side of the corresponding loose wheel f¹ whereby the latter
will be carried around with said leather part. A said wheel fi meshes with wheel T¹
the latter and the shaft b¹ will be rotated at a speed corresponding to the relative
diameters of said wheels f¹ and r¹. As the wheel f* is rotated by leather part con
wheel, the movement of shaft b' will be in opposite direction to that imparted by
the other sets of wheels by reason of the intermediate wheel i, in which case back
motion is obtained.
Referring to the brake device shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, as the leather part c¹
receives fluid under pressure, the rings 11, 1, 21, 2
and so on will be pressed
against each other whereby a certain resistance to rotation is produced and said
resistance will be in direct proportion with the number of disks.
When the pressure is removed all the disks are free and no resistance will be
produced.
In order to obtain the braking in the apparatus shown in Fig. 2, it would be
sufficient to provide under the inner wall of the frame, a groove carrying a leather
part, receiving fluid under pressure through a special passage, and pressing against
the side of the adjacent wheel which thus forms a brake.
The pressure given to the clutch and brake device is supplied by any reservoir q
(Fig. 1), and may be produced either by a special pump or by the action of the gas
coming from the motors shown at m².

page_text: At each explosion a certain quantity of the gas under pressure coming from the
moter passes into the reservoir where it is retained by means of a suitable valve 8.
If there is a determinate inaximumn pressure within the reservoir, no gas is admitted
in the latter, and as soon as pressure is taken in the reservoir for operating any part
as above described, the motor again supplies gas automatically said gas being admitted
in such quantity as to reproduce the initial pressure. The reservoir 2 is connected
to the above described four way cock through a tube to.
Changes in the relative arrangement and minor details of construction may be
made without departing from the scope or sacrificing any of the advantages of the
invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is -
1°) In a clutch device of the class described, the combination with a frame, of two
parallel shafts a¹ and 61, two gear-wheels, keyed on shaft a¹ two gear wheels f',,
loosely mounted on said shaft two gear-wheels 71, 72, keyed on shaft b¹, two gear-
wheels loosely mounted on said shaft grooves g² 9 provided on wheel,
grooves gs, g provided on wheel 3 circular embossed leather portions c¹, c², c³, c
lodged in said grooves g², g³, y', g³ respectively a gear-wheel, meshing with wheels r
and f* and rotating on a shaft pl secured to the frame, substantially as and for the
purpose set forth.
2°) In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with a frame two
parallel shafts a¹ b¹ keyed gear-wheels 71, 72, 73, and loose gear-wheels ¹‚ƒ‚ß‚ƒ
of passages H¹, H2 provided in shaft a¹ and connected to grooves g² and g³ respec-
tively, said grooves provided on wheel ; passages 8 and he made in shaft 6¹ and
connected to grooves and 9 respectively said grooves provided on wheel;
tubes t, t, t, suitably secured by two to said shafts a¹ and b¹ respectively, sub-
stantially as and for the purpose set forth.
3) In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with a frame two
parallel shafts a¹ keyed wheels 1, 2, 3, 4, loose wheels f, f, PL
grooves g², y³, g³, 9º, and tubes t¹, t², s, t, of a four-way cock comprising a box a², a
body a passage a, a passage connected to the latter, four openings cor-
responding to said tubes 1, 2, 3 a groove b³, another groove u, an opening h³
and a prismatic projection or extension substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
4°) The combination with a motor-vehicle of a metal box 6 secured to the frame
of the vehicle by means of lugs and bolts or in any other way, a shaft al journalled in
said metal box, and connected to the vehicle, a disk & keyed upon said shaft, a circular
groove provided in said box, grooves m³ provided on the periphery of said disk k,
grooves nn provided in said box rings 1 1, 2 2¹,
6 61, having projecting
portions engaging alternately said grooves m³ and n, a tube 12 a tube and a
packing between said tubes, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
"
•
5°) In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with a frame 'two
parallel shafts carrying keyed and loose wheels, grooved and feather portions lodged
in said grooves tubes,,,t, leading fluid under pressure into said grooves a four-way
cock and a passage at of a gas-reservoir A, a suitable valve s and a tube to connecting
said reservoir q to the four-way cock, substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
S. S. BROMHEAD,
33, Cannon Street, London, E.C., Agent for Applicant.