A Six-wheeled
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Batteryelectric
Truck
A N ambitious design of self-propelled vehicle has recently been placed upon the market by Ste. Ame. des )2dablissements Freres and Co., of 15, Rue Fenelon, Paris. This concern has the manufacturing rights for American Yale trucks.
It consists of a six-wheeled, batteryelectric vehicle designed to carry 5-ton loads. All six wheels are used for steer ing purposes. The front wheels are slightly morp than twice the diameter of those at the rear, the drive being taken throngh the front ones, whilst the rear wheels are of the trailing type and of considerably narrower track than those at the front. The frame is inswept to permit a good steering lock at the rear end. In general lines the new model is similar to the existing well-known Yale and Fenwick trucks. The motor is mounted transversely over the front axle and drives through a reduction gearing comprising two pairs of straight pinions. The drive is transmitted, through the medium of a differential, to the two side shafts, which are provided with large spherical joints, the whole of the mechanism being completely enclosed.
The battery box is completely independent of the truck and may be lifted off with its batteries and replaced by one centaining ‘a freshly charged set. The rheostat controller, which provides three forward speeds and three in reverse, has an ingenious arrangement which prevents the driver from passing
too suddenly from one speed to another. Between each contact point the control lever must pass along a Z-shaped slot, thereby counteracting the element of human impatience.
In order to simplify electrical connections, the resistance coils remain in the circuit at all speeds, the amount of current absorbed by them being practically negligible. One of the most important claims made for this truck is its ability to turn in a very small radius —a great advantage when the truck is used for indoor work in factories. • iu the case of the six-wheeler, steering connections to the two rear pairs of wheels are inter-connected: The truck thus steers on all wheels, as seen in the above illustration.