The 1893 Duryea Automobile In the Museum of History and Technology Part 3

=PRIMARY SPARK COILS.

FOR ELECTRIC GAS LIGHTING.

Cat. No. 48304. 8 inch Price, each, $3 20 " 50304. 10 " " 3 70 " 52304. 12 " " 4 30 " 54304. Detached Gas Lighting Relays " 2 75

For Spark Coils with Relay Attachment, add $2.50 to price for Spark Coil.=

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 23.--TYPE OF SPARK COIL the Duryeas are believed to have used in their electrical circuit, as shown in a catalog ill.u.s.tration.

(Smithsonian photo 46858-A.)]

The _Springfield Evening Union_ of September 22 carried a notice of the trial. This report, too, commented on the faulty transmission and the plan already in Frank's mind for the new transmission.

... The friction belt allowed of the speed being steadily increased or diminished at the will of the driver and caused no sudden forward motion of the carriage, but while this arrangement has many advantages it uses up the power so that the two-horse power furnished by the motor [somewhat less than the rating Frank gave the engine] was reduced to less than three-fourths horse power on reaching the main shaft. This would not be sufficient to propel the carriage up steep grades but would be sufficient to run the carriage on level road.

The inventors will do away with this belt in favor of a clamp gear and will make the drum wheel smaller. By this means there will be very little power lost in transmission to the shaft and by a patented arrangement the carriage may be started gradually but the speed must be increased by s.h.i.+fting the clamp gear to a succession of gears on the driving wheel of the motor. The speed of the carriage will be fixed permanently according to the size of the gear that the smaller one is s.h.i.+fted to. The test of the machine with the gear arrangement will be made soon.

In October Frank decided on another vacation and went to Chicago to see the Columbian Exposition. Charles had come up from Peoria to see the fair and the two talked over the progress on their motor wagon, and discussed the transmission problem. They gave particular attention to everything relating to engines and motor carriages, and Frank recalls seeing a Daimler quadricycle that impressed him with its performance.[31]

Just what decisions the two might have made there are unknown, yet it is likely that they agreed to give the old transmission one more chance to prove itself.

Returning to Springfield, probably in the first week of November, Frank gave the friction drive its final test, this time subst.i.tuting a leather belt for the rubber one first used.[32] Mr. Markham, though intensely interested in the experiments, apparently was dubious concerning the safety of the carriage. It had no brakes, and fearing failure of the transmission on a downgrade, he was reluctant to ride in the machine. On November 9 he asked Will Bemis to try it for him. The following day the _Springfield Morning Union_ gave a description of the run:

Residents in the vicinity of Florence street flocked to the windows yesterday afternoon astonished to see gliding by in the roadway a common top carriage with no shafts and no horse attached. The vehicle is operated by gasoline and is the invention of Erwin Markham and J. F. Duryea. It has been previously described in The Union and the trial yesterday was simply to ascertain the practical value of a leather friction surface which has been subst.i.tuted for the rubber one previously used. The vehicle, which was operated by Mr. Bemis, started from the corner of Hanc.o.c.k avenue and Spruce street and went up the avenue, up Hanc.o.c.k street and started down Florence street, working finely, but when about half-way down the latter street it stopped short, refusing to move. Investigation showed that the bearing had been worn smooth by the friction and a little water sprinkled upon it put it in running condition again.

The rest of the trip was made down Florence and down Spruce street, to the residence of the inventors. They hope to have the vehicle in good working condition soon.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 24.--RUNNING GEAR OF DURYEA VEHICLE, showing the second engine and other parts as used in January 1894.]

The same evening, the late edition ran a brief paragraph stating that "the test was made to determine the value of a leather friction surface for propelling the wagon, that had been subst.i.tuted in place of the rubber surface, used in the former test." Bemis, according to Frank Duryea's recollection, was not impressed with the performance of the machine, saying "the thing is absolutely useless," and for a time it appeared that further support from Markham would not be forthcoming.

Frank, believing eventual success to be near, drew up plans showing his geared transmission, and with these managed to gain Markham's partial support. Money for material and use of the shop was to continue, but Frank was to complete the work on his own time.

Now receiving no salary, Frank worked hurriedly on the transmission throughout late November, December, and the first two weeks of January.

First discarding the old friction drum and shaft, and the s.h.i.+pper-fork carriage, he bolted a rawhide bevel gear to the lower surface of the flywheel. This turns two bevel gears, in opposite directions, on a countershaft directly underneath, approximately in the position of the old jackshaft. The right bevel gear is secured to the main countershaft on which two clutches are mounted, one on each side of the crankshaft.

On a sleeve turning freely around the countershaft is mounted the reverse bevel gear and clutch. Three free-running clutch drums, the right one carrying the high-speed gear, the two on the left carrying the combination low speed and reverse gear between them, complete the countershaft a.s.sembly. The clutch a.s.semblies are of Frank Duryea's design, having internal arms, expanding outward to press leather-faced shoes against the inner surface of the drum, thus securing the drum and its gear to the shaft. Behind this machinery is the jackshaft with its small differential on the right, two laminated rawhide gears[33] mes.h.i.+ng with the iron gears of the countershaft, and the internal-gear sprockets hanging on the small pinions at either end. A sliding cam bar, mounted nearly in the position of the former s.h.i.+pper-fork carriage, is operated by the vertical movement of the tiller handle to engage any one of the three clutches. With the tiller depressed, the vehicle is in reverse.

Elevating it slightly puts it into low gear, and raising it still higher runs the machine at its highest speed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 25.--HALF OF JACKSHAFT, showing rawhide gears, double shrouded pinion and half of the Columbia differential.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 26.--HALF OF JACKSHAFT showing double-shrouded pinion and half of the Columbia differential.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIGURE 27.--CAM BAR IN FOREGROUND, operated by tiller, actuates the various clutches of the transmission. The overflow gasoline tank with the hand pump can be seen in the rear.]

= UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. DURYEA, OF PEORIA, ILLINOIS.

ROAD-VEHICLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 540,648, dated June 11, 1895.

Application filed April 30, 1894. Serial No. 509,466. (No model.)

_To all whom it may concern_:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. DURYEA, a citizen of the United States, residing at Peoria, in the county of Peoria and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements 5 in Road-Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to produce a road vehicle which shall be self-propelled, not unduly heavy, simple and easy of control and 10 comparatively inexpensive, together with such minor objects as will become hereinafter apparent.

The invention more particularly relates to the construction and arrangement of parts for 15 const.i.tuting the driving gearing and to the means for controlling the action thereof; to an improved manner of mounting the front, or steering, wheels upon the front axle, and of mounting the said axle relative to the running 20 gear frame, and to the means for effecting the steering; to the appliances for the support of the motor and driving mechanism in an advantageous and efficient manner, and, generally, to improved and simplified details 25 of construction throughout the vehicle, all as will hereinafter be rendered more apparent, and the invention consists in constructions and combinations of parts, all substantially as will hereinafter fully appear and be set 30 forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which--

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation from front to rear of the improved road-vehicle. Fig. 2 is 35 a plan view of the running and driving gear, the vehicle-body being understood as removed.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the vehicle. Fig.

4 is a perspective view of the support and suspension devices for the driving mechanism. 40 Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view, longitudinally, through the s.h.i.+ftable driving-gear, the controlling devices employed in conjunction with this mechanism being seen in side elevation.

Figs. 6 and 7 show the above-mentioned 45 controlling devices as in operative relations differing the one from the other and also from that of Fig. 5.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all of the views. 50

The parts will now be described in detail with reference to said drawings, and A represents the body which is spring supported on the frame, B, of the running gear. This frame, as shown, is rectangular, and has the 55 body-supporting springs, B{2}, similar to those found in common carriages. This frame has, affixed thereto, at its rear ends, sleeves, _a_, _a_, which loosely embrace the rear wheel axle, D, which is the driven axle of the vehicle. The 60 axle, E, for the front wheels is centrally secured to the running gear frame, B, by the horizontal king-bolt, _b_, whereby such axle may have a swinging movement relative to the frame in a vertical plane, but it has no 65 swinging movement horizontally, the wheels being swivel-mounted on the ends of this axle peculiarly, as will shortly hereinafter be set forth.

The body, as shown, is in the form of an 70 inverted box, the motor, H, and driving gear being accommodated within the downwardly opening inclosure const.i.tuted thereby, and the body also has the upwardly open box-like forward extension, or pit, A{2}, for the accommodation 75 of the feet of the rider, the rider's seat being const.i.tuted by the top forward portion of the box body. Some other suitable design of body may, of course, be used in lieu of this one shown. 80

The front wheels, _d_, _d_, are hung to the front axle, E, so that the center of each wheel base is in a line coincident with the axis of the pivotal connection which is provided between the journals for the wheels and the axle, which 85 arrangement practically destroys any tendency to deflection from the course that might otherwise arise from striking an obstacle, and so renders the steering easier. In order to effect this the axle is formed with yoked 90 ends, the yoke members, _f_, _f_, being above and below the longitudinal line of the axle. The short journal, _g_, shown for each wheel, has at its inner end an upwardly and downwardly extended arm, _h_, which is return-bent to be 95 loosely embraced by the axle yoke, _f_, _f_. The cone pointed screws, _c_, pa.s.sed through the yoke members, _f_, and into sockets therefor in the arms, _h_, of the journals, _g_, const.i.tute the means for the swivel connection between said 100 parts. The lock-nuts, _c_{2}, manifestly, are employed with utility in this connection.

It will be perceived that inasmuch as in the arrangement shown, the pivotal connections=

= (No Model.) 4 Sheets--Sheet 2.

C. E. DURYEA.

ROAD VEHICLE.

No. 540,648. Patented June 11, 1895.

_Fig. 2._

_Witnesses_: J. D. Garfield K. I. Clemons