Improved Driving Gear for Motor Road Cars.
Year: 1896

page_text: [Improved Driving Gear for Motor Road Cars.
I, WILLIAM ARENA MARTIN of 9 and 11 Pocock Street, Blackfriars Road, London,
in the County of Surrey, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to improve the means of driving and steering
Motor Road Cars. It is adaptable for use with engines of any kind whether steam
oil or electric. Each of the driven main wheels of the car is fixed or mounted on
a.separate axle extending from.the said main wheels to the motor and connected
therewith by friction gear consisting of two internal friction wheels fixed on the
said axles one on either side of the motor and a pair of driving wheels or pinions
fixed to the shaft of the motor, one at each side thereof so arranged that the
surface of the aforementioned driving wheels or pinions impinge on and gear into
the inside of the peripheries of the said internal friction wheels.
The said axles are fitted with adjustable bearings or journals by means of which
the aforementioned internal.friction wheels can be put in and out of gear with the
said driving wheels or pinions on either or both sides of the motor whilst in
motion.
A brake may be fitted on the rims of the said internal friction wheels.
Dated this Ninth day of October One thousand eight hundred and
I, WILLIAM ARENA MARTIN. of 9 and .11 .Pocock Street, Blackfriars Road, London,
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 improvements in the construction and arrangement of
driving and steering mechanism for use in connection with motor propelled road
cars or vehicles, .the object of the invention.being to provide an adjustable arrange-
ment of driving, gear which will permit of steering without the necessity of altering
the direction.of.motion in which the engine is running and which will be equally
serviceable in connection with motors driven by steam, oil, electricity, or other
power.
In the accompanying sheet of explanatory drawings

page_text: Figure 1 is a part sectional elevation of the under frame of a motor car vehicle
having my improved driving and steering mechanism applied thereto, but having
the motor or propelling mechanism omitted for convenience of the illustration.
Figure 2 is a part sectional plan of the same having one road wheel
omitted.
In carrying my Invention into effect, I mount each of the main driving wheels A
of the car on a separate axle B, B1 each axle extending from the main wheels to the
portion of the frame on which the motor driving crank D or other shaft is carried.
I communicate motion from the crank or driving shaft D to the axles B B1 by
friction gear consisting of two internal friction wheels G H which I fix on the wheel
axles B, B one on each side of the motor and into these friction wheels GHI
cause a pair of driving friction wheels or pinions K L which are fixed to the shaft D
of the motor, to gear.
I arrange my friction wheels so that the surface of the driving wheels or
pinions K L impinge on or make driving contact with the inside of the peripheries
of the internal friction wheels G H. I make ny friction wheels preferably with
grooves although I may instead employ leather or other material for a driving
face or surface on the portions of the wheels which are to be in contact with each
other.
The wheel axles B B'I mount at their inner ends upon adjustable sliding
bearings M M¹ these bearings having levers NN' connected by chains O O2 to way-shaft
levers P P and thence by means of chains 01 03 to a barrel like wheel R so that
when the handle on the shaft T is turned in one direction or the other the
pinion S gears into the wheel R¹ and causes one or other of the chains O1 03 to be
pulled and in turn one or other of the chains 002 to draw out of contact its friction
wheel G or H by reason of the movement of the sliding bearing M or M'.
By this movement of the friction wheel on either of the main axles the driving
crank shaft or motor shaft D may be allowed to run in a forward direction
constantly while only one of the friction wheels is in contact or is driven from the
same and by this arrangement one wheel is caused to travel forward while the other
is stationary and ease of turning or steering is accomplished without interfering
with the forward or constantly revolving shaft D of the motor.
I keep the friction wheels in contact by means of springs or levers U U¹ or
weighted levers which draw forward the moving bearing so as to press the
wheels G H into contact with the pinions K L.
I employ any ordinary brake for arresting the motion of the wheels GH
and conveniently arrange the same by causing the outer portion of the wheel
rims on GH to be the brake surface, applying the brake to the same preferable by
means of foot levers.
I do not limit the application of my invention to any particular form of motor or
to any special type of car or vehicle but I modify the arrangements for releasing
and engaging the friction driving wheels from the constantly revolving main driving
shaft so as to obtain ease of driving and steering upon the vehicle to suit the type
of vehicle and the form of motor to which my improvements are to be applied.
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. The improvements in driving goar for motor propelled road cars or vehicles
substantially as hereinbefore described and as illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
2. In a road car or other like vehicle to be propelled by mechanical or motive
power the construction and arrangement of friction driving wheels having sliding
bearings for drawing the same out of contact with the friction pinions mounted
upon the motor driving shaft whereby one wheel axle at a time may be alone
caused to revolve at will substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore
described and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

page_text: 3. The combination and arrangement of sliding bearings such as M M¹ which
carry the wheel axles of a road car or other like vehicle with chains, levers or like
connections controlled by means of a hand steering lever or levers mounted upon a
shaft such as T for enabling one or the other of the friction driving wheels
such as G or H to be stationary while its companion is revolving in order to obtain
efficiency in steering the vehicle without having to stop or alter the direction of
rotation of the motor driving shaft such as D substantially as hereinbefore described
and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated th: 104T
MARKS & CLERK,
18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., and
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents.