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THE GOODHART DIFFERENTIAL.

16th November 1920
Page 12
Page 12, 16th November 1920 — THE GOODHART DIFFERENTIAL.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

A Device which Combines the Advantages of the Ordinary Differential and the Solid Axle.

ADIFFERENTLAL of considerable interest . has been -produced by Mr. Gavin C. Goodhart, Inkpen, Berks., and is now being tried out on a Burford 2 ton lorry.

The difficulty with the ordinary type of differential is that, if one of the driving wheels rides over soft ground whilst the other is on hard, the former is very apt to take all the power and skid. round, bringing the vehicleto a standstill. At the 'same time, a differential gear is necessary, as there is ,a considerable amount of wheel slip and power lost if-the two wheels are rigidly connected. This loss of power is said to

be from 7-to12 Per cent . ' In the Goodhart differential, which is the'result et several:years' experiment and study of the problem,

it is claimed that the weaknesses of the ordinary typeof differential have been eliminated and that, if one wheel loses a portion of its driving power, the other will automatically increase its power in the same proportion. This also has the effect of reducing skidding, aStskids are often started by one wheel spinning.

With thelighter classes of vehicles, one can often see one wheel. revolving, backwards at high speed -if the brake be suddenlyapplied, but in the Goo-amt device this cannot occur, thus incidentally incroping

the efficiency of the brakes. ..

; The principle of the Goodhart differential is that of rendering it stiff witheut preventing one wheel from being driven at. a faster rate than the other on curves. The most important feature of the device is that the modifications required totlie= ordinary bevel type -are extreinely simpleand inexpensive. Each of thesun wheels .on. the axle shafts is -made in two parts, a .coupling piece,. -secured on the axle and the gear itself, which drives the coupling piece -through

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• the medium of halls contained in a ring of conical depressions, the balls fitting in similar depressions in the coupling piece. When the drive is transmitted through thesun wheels, the tendency is to force the coupling pieces outwards, but this movement is restricted by a. ring of Ferobestos at each side. The friction thus -set up restrictsthe differential aotien'

to such ah extent that the gear works as though the axle were undivided, except when the vehicle runs out of the straight. The friction, of course, only occurs when the differential is in action, a-s there is normally no movement between the axle shafts and the ease.

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