A NOVEL STEERING GEAR.
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A Résumé of Recently Published Patenti.,
A N INTERESTING detail Of the .Holle chassis, which, was fully described in our issue for October 16th, is disclosed in patent specification No. 206,345, the patentee being A. A. Halle. This specification describes that portion of the steering gear which enables the wagon to be steered in any one of three ways : it may be operated in the orthodox fashion, the front wheels only controlling the direction; it may be used with all four wheels acting as steering wheels; or it may be made to proceed' crab-fashion, both front and rear wheels being turned by the steering gear in the same direction, so that the vehicle moves, as a whole, diagonally.
There are two steering arms on the .spindle of the steering gear. One of them is secured to the spindle in the orthodox fashion, and, presumably, would be coupled to the steering arms of the front wheel. The other arm is mounted, through the medium of a universal joint, on a boss keyed to the
spindle, so that it can moved,, independently of the steering gear, to any one of three positions. In one of these positions it lies diametrically opposite to the other steering arm. In this position ,the lever, which is coupled to the steering arm on the rear axle, controls that axle in the same way as would be the case were the vehicle an ordinary four.wheel-eteered chassis. In another position it lies parallel to the main steering arm, and, so disposed, moves the rear wheels in the same direction as the front 'wheels; this is the position which provides for crab-like movement of the vehicle. In the middle position, movement of the steering gear merely. rotates this lever on its Own axis. and the steering of the rear wheels is unaffected; The disposition of the movable lever is controlled by means of a Howden or 846 similar wire, which is operated by the driver from his cab. The wire is coupled to a pulley mounted on the same spindle as a forked and cranked lever, the bifurcated end of which embraces
the special lever in question. Locking mechanism is provided, also controlled from the driver's seat, by means of a trigger on the arm which moves the main wire.
Other Patents of Interest.
Specification No. 206,287, for which A. H. Wylde and Hotchkiss and Co. are jointly responsible, describes an ingenious arrangement of inlet and exhaust passaged in the detachable cylinder head of an overhead-valve engine of a special design. In the engine the four cylinders are so arranged that alternate cylinders are relatively inclined one to another. The inlet passage is in the form of an elliptical circuit, the major axis of which lies obliquely across the cylinder head, so that it, takes in all feur inlet valves. The exhaust passages are two in number, one each side of this ellipse, and so arranged that they are in contact with the walls of the induction passage for a considerable portion of their length, thus a certain amount of the heat from the exhaust gases is communicated to the incoming mixture.
An ingenious and simple hydraulic transmission gear, which embodies the familiar gear-type pump as its principal component, is described in specification No. 206,191, by H. J. P. O'Leary. The shaft from the engine drives a. comparatively wide drum, within which the gearwheels of the pump are mounted, as is usually the' case, in cylindrical chambers which are a. close fit for the outsides of the gears. One of the 'wheels is keyed to the driven shaft. A single circular passage eonnects the inlet, and outlet sides of the pump, and in that passage is a valve capable of being controlled by the driver of the car. Pump and passage are completelyfilled with oil, and there is provision to ensure that they shall remain so filled, notwithstanding occasional leakage. Manipulation of the valve controls the ratio of speed transmission. With the valve fully open the oil is freely circulated, opposing no resistance and no power is transmitted. With the valve fully closed no oil can pass ; the gearwheels are therefore locked in the drum, and the transmission is direct. As the valve is opened, resistance decreases; the gearwheels can revolve, and the gear ratio ig modified accordingly.
A new form of engine valve : particularly suitable for the exhausts of engines which„ by reason, of the eonditions of their use, are inclined to run hot, is described in specification No. 206238, by C. H. A.
Hirtiel and CeleritY Valves, Ltd. The valve has o flared head, which is hollow, the hole extending down a consider
able distance into the spindle. It claimed that the cooler gases which enter! the cylinder during the induction stroke, are driven into this hole, thus coolizie:, both the valve head and its spindle. ! , H. Hart-Spratt describes, in specific:ation No. 206,299, a. form of flexible " disc " coupling, in which the " discs " are helical coiled springs, of which any number may be used, according to the purpose for which the joint is required, the extent to which it is necessary thea. it should be flexible, and the power -which it is desired that it should transmit. The springs are arranged in the .same manner as the threads on a multithreaded_Screw,..being attached, in turn, to the flanges or spiders of the joint,. following one another round, to be again attached in a similar manner at their, other end.
An arrangement of valves for an internal-combustion engine, which is described by 1). G. F. White, in. specification No. 206,196, embodies a single poppet valve; which does duty for both inlet and exhaust, and a pair of rotary valves, mounted very close to the seat of the poppet valve, and designed to be open, one or the other, according to whether the piston is engaged upon its exhaust or induction stroke. The object of the arrangement described Is to improve the efficiency of the engine by 'reducing the volume of. the inevitable pocket which lies behind the poppet valve between it and the rotary valve.
The invention which is described in specification No. 206,322 refers to that arrangement of valve gears in which the two inlet valves of a pair of cylinders are operated through the medium of a single rocking lever, the two exhaust valves
being similarly, controlled. In the design which is the subject of thia patent the rocker arm is operated by a connecting rod, the other end of which is coupled to a crank or eccentric upon shaft driven by the crankshaft through timing gear. The arrangement has the
merit of simplicity. The patentee ill F. W. Mea,d.