Lambert friction gearing disk drive transmission
Encyclopedia
The Lambert friction gearing disk drive transmission was invented by John William Lambert
originally in 1904. The invention relates to a friction disk drive
transmission for automobiles that is gear
less. He saw the need for a simple transmission of engine power to an automobile's drive wheels.
The friction disk drive was one of the key features of the Union automobile and Lambert automobile. Lambert started making the friction disk and traversing pinion drive in 1900. The first attempt was with a leather faced disk and an iron friction wheel. It had an eighteen inch diameter with a one and a half inch face. With this first attempt the leather was charred within the first three miles (5 km) of running it. The disk was then made with a wood fiber about a half inch thick. The material had a glossy surface and worked fine for a while, however it broke up after only 200 to 300 miles (482.8 km) run. Lambert then conducted various experiments on the friction disk to get better performance. In one experiment a cone of cast aluminum was used as one member of a level friction drive with excellent results. Lambert then realizing that the pull was due to the aluminum itself, a disk was faced with it and the traversing wheel with strawboard. This accidental discovery made Lambert automobiles more successful than other cars that attempted at friction driving.
The aluminum disk was twenty-two inches in diameter and was faced with an aluminum disk of equal size with a facing of just over a quarter of an inch in thickness. The traversing wheel was eighteen inches in diameter with a 1.5 inches (38.1 mm) working face, strawboard rings eighteen inches outside diameter by three inches radial dimension. It was clamped between cast iron members supporting the strawboard rings inside and clamping them sideways. This fibrous friction wheel is splined to slide on a sleeve seventeen inches in diameter vevolubly carried on a steel shaft thirteen inches in diameter. It journaled in swinging boxes so that the wheel can be pressed against or separated from the iron, aluminum-faced driving disk, which is motor driven.
The speed regulation was done by a steel bell crank, forked and carrying a U-shaped shoe to engage the grooved hub on the driving wheel at one end, and having the other end linked to the speed change and reversing lever. The wheel slid freely on the sleeve when moved away from the disk. All the speeds, from the highest to the lowest, could be done in either direction. The Lambert transmission always used side chains to the rear wheels and a balance gear connected to the splined sleeve on which the wheel slide and a steel shaft which supported the sleeve. The key feature of the Lambert automobile was the friction disk drive carried over from the Union automobile.
Lambert applied for a patent on this transmission which became No. 761,384 finalized May 31, 1904. The patent has six claims:
1. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination, of a pair of shafts, a friction-disk carried by each shaft, one disk having a bearing part of aluminium and the oth er a fiber part bearing upon said aluminium bearing part.
2. In power-transmitting mechanism, the combination of a drive-shaft and a driven shaft, a friction-disk carried by each shaft, the face of one disk being provided with an aluminium bearing-plate detachably secured thereto and the attaching means being outside of the usual working area of the bearing-plate against which the periphery of the other disk bears.
3. In a power-transmitting, mechanism, the combination of a driving-shaft, a friction-disk on said shaft bearing a face of aluminium, and a driven shaft carrying a friction-disk, a fiber periphery secured to said disk and adapted to bear on the aluminium face of the driving-disk.
4. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination with a driving-shaft, a friction-disk carried thereby, a bearing-plate of aluminium for said disk, means for detachably securing said aluminium plate to the face of said driving-disk, a driven shaft, the means for attaching the aluminium plate to the driving-disk being outside of the usual working area of the disk, a disk mounted thereon, a fiber periphery secured to said disk and adapted to bear on the aluminium face of said driving-disk.
5. In a friction-transmitting mechanism, a wheel having a frictional surface of aluminium.
6. In a frictional gearing, the combination with a friction-disk having a surface of aluminium, of a transmitting-disk having an elastic frictional surface bearing upon said aluminium surface.
1. Power transmission mechanism including a power transmitting wheel, rigid pins projecting from the side thereof parallel with the axis of the wheel; a longitudinally movable shaft independent of and coaxial with said wheel, rigid arms projecting radially from said shaft near said wheel and provided with ball sockets, balls fitting in said sockets so as to be slidable on said pins, and means insertible in each socket for
tightening the ball therein, whereby said shaft may have longitudinal movement and the parts have no angular play.
2. Friction power transmission mechanism including a power transmitting wheel, a longitudinally movable shaft independent of and coaxial with said wheel, rigid pins projecting from the side of said wheel, rigid arms extending radially from said shaft near said wheel with their outer ends apertured and split, one end of the apertured portion of each arm being contracted and having a concave bearing surface, a ball adapted to fit in the aperture of each arm against said bearing surface and surrounding said pin so as to be slidable thereon, a tubular plug screwed into each arm with a concave bearing surface on the inner end to engage said ball, and means for clamping the split end of each arm.
John William Lambert
John William Lambert was an American automotive pioneer, inventor, and automobile manufacturer.-Biography:...
originally in 1904. The invention relates to a friction disk drive
Friction drive
A friction Drive or friction engine is a type of transmission that, instead of a chain and sprockets, uses 2 wheels in the transmission to transfer power to the driving wheels. This kind of transmission is often used on scooters, mainly go-peds, in place of a chain.An example of this system is in...
transmission for automobiles that is gear
Gear
A gear is a rotating machine part having cut teeth, or cogs, which mesh with another toothed part in order to transmit torque. Two or more gears working in tandem are called a transmission and can produce a mechanical advantage through a gear ratio and thus may be considered a simple machine....
less. He saw the need for a simple transmission of engine power to an automobile's drive wheels.
Description
The main or driving disk is faced with a disk of aluminum. The driven disk has a working rim of elastic fiber. Lambert says in the invention, In practice I have found that this combination of aluminum and fiber bearing surfaces gives the maximum degree of friction and durability, thereby especially adapting the gearing for use on motor vehicles of the heavier kind, where the friction surfaces are at times subjected to great strains, and must, therefore, have a frictional contact of a high degree of efficiency in order to avoid slipping. It will be observed that the aluminum is advantageous also, because it will not tarnish or rust appreciably, but will always present a smooth, clean surface to the fiber periphery, so that wear will be reduced to a minimum.The friction disk drive was one of the key features of the Union automobile and Lambert automobile. Lambert started making the friction disk and traversing pinion drive in 1900. The first attempt was with a leather faced disk and an iron friction wheel. It had an eighteen inch diameter with a one and a half inch face. With this first attempt the leather was charred within the first three miles (5 km) of running it. The disk was then made with a wood fiber about a half inch thick. The material had a glossy surface and worked fine for a while, however it broke up after only 200 to 300 miles (482.8 km) run. Lambert then conducted various experiments on the friction disk to get better performance. In one experiment a cone of cast aluminum was used as one member of a level friction drive with excellent results. Lambert then realizing that the pull was due to the aluminum itself, a disk was faced with it and the traversing wheel with strawboard. This accidental discovery made Lambert automobiles more successful than other cars that attempted at friction driving.
The aluminum disk was twenty-two inches in diameter and was faced with an aluminum disk of equal size with a facing of just over a quarter of an inch in thickness. The traversing wheel was eighteen inches in diameter with a 1.5 inches (38.1 mm) working face, strawboard rings eighteen inches outside diameter by three inches radial dimension. It was clamped between cast iron members supporting the strawboard rings inside and clamping them sideways. This fibrous friction wheel is splined to slide on a sleeve seventeen inches in diameter vevolubly carried on a steel shaft thirteen inches in diameter. It journaled in swinging boxes so that the wheel can be pressed against or separated from the iron, aluminum-faced driving disk, which is motor driven.
The speed regulation was done by a steel bell crank, forked and carrying a U-shaped shoe to engage the grooved hub on the driving wheel at one end, and having the other end linked to the speed change and reversing lever. The wheel slid freely on the sleeve when moved away from the disk. All the speeds, from the highest to the lowest, could be done in either direction. The Lambert transmission always used side chains to the rear wheels and a balance gear connected to the splined sleeve on which the wheel slide and a steel shaft which supported the sleeve. The key feature of the Lambert automobile was the friction disk drive carried over from the Union automobile.
Lambert applied for a patent on this transmission which became No. 761,384 finalized May 31, 1904. The patent has six claims:
1. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination, of a pair of shafts, a friction-disk carried by each shaft, one disk having a bearing part of aluminium and the oth er a fiber part bearing upon said aluminium bearing part.
2. In power-transmitting mechanism, the combination of a drive-shaft and a driven shaft, a friction-disk carried by each shaft, the face of one disk being provided with an aluminium bearing-plate detachably secured thereto and the attaching means being outside of the usual working area of the bearing-plate against which the periphery of the other disk bears.
3. In a power-transmitting, mechanism, the combination of a driving-shaft, a friction-disk on said shaft bearing a face of aluminium, and a driven shaft carrying a friction-disk, a fiber periphery secured to said disk and adapted to bear on the aluminium face of the driving-disk.
4. In a power-transmitting mechanism, the combination with a driving-shaft, a friction-disk carried thereby, a bearing-plate of aluminium for said disk, means for detachably securing said aluminium plate to the face of said driving-disk, a driven shaft, the means for attaching the aluminium plate to the driving-disk being outside of the usual working area of the disk, a disk mounted thereon, a fiber periphery secured to said disk and adapted to bear on the aluminium face of said driving-disk.
5. In a friction-transmitting mechanism, a wheel having a frictional surface of aluminium.
6. In a frictional gearing, the combination with a friction-disk having a surface of aluminium, of a transmitting-disk having an elastic frictional surface bearing upon said aluminium surface.
1910 invention
The improved 1910 invention, patent No. 954,977, made additional improvements to the original friction driving mechanism and had the following claims:1. Power transmission mechanism including a power transmitting wheel, rigid pins projecting from the side thereof parallel with the axis of the wheel; a longitudinally movable shaft independent of and coaxial with said wheel, rigid arms projecting radially from said shaft near said wheel and provided with ball sockets, balls fitting in said sockets so as to be slidable on said pins, and means insertible in each socket for
tightening the ball therein, whereby said shaft may have longitudinal movement and the parts have no angular play.
2. Friction power transmission mechanism including a power transmitting wheel, a longitudinally movable shaft independent of and coaxial with said wheel, rigid pins projecting from the side of said wheel, rigid arms extending radially from said shaft near said wheel with their outer ends apertured and split, one end of the apertured portion of each arm being contracted and having a concave bearing surface, a ball adapted to fit in the aperture of each arm against said bearing surface and surrounding said pin so as to be slidable thereon, a tubular plug screwed into each arm with a concave bearing surface on the inner end to engage said ball, and means for clamping the split end of each arm.
See also
- Union automobileUnion (automobile)The Union automobile was based on Lambert's "horseless carriage" gasoline buggy. It had four wheels instead of his 1891 three-wheeled version. The automobile was made by the Union Automobile Company from 1902 through 1905...
- Lambert automobileLambert (automobile)The Lambert automobile and Lambert truck were built by the Lambert Automobile Company as an American vehicle from 1905 through 1916.The Lambert automobile motor in the early part of manufacturing moved around on the chassis. It was on the back of the chassis, then in the center, then to the front,...
- John William LambertJohn William LambertJohn William Lambert was an American automotive pioneer, inventor, and automobile manufacturer.-Biography:...
- Buckeye gasoline buggyBuckeye gasoline buggyThe Buckeye gasoline buggy or Lambert gasoline buggy was the first practical gasoline automobile available for sale in America, according to automobile historians.-History:...
- Union Automobile CompanyUnion Automobile CompanyThe Union Automobile Company began to make automobiles in Union City, Indiana in 1902. It built the Union automobile from 1902 through 1905. The company was located in Union City, Indiana from 1902 to 1905...
- Lambert Automobile CompanyLambert Automobile CompanyThe Lambert Automobile Company was a automobile factory in Anderson, Indiana to make the Lambert automobile through the Buckeye Manufacturing Company.-History:...
- Lambert Gas and Gasoline Engine CompanyLambert Gas and Gasoline Engine CompanyThe Lambert Gas and Gasoline Engine Company was a company founded by John William Lambert in the later part of the nineteenth century as part of the conglomerate of the Buckeye Manufacturing Company.-History:...
Primary sources
- Biography of John W. Lambert, written by his son January 25, 1935 – obtained from the Detroit Public Library, National Automotive History Collection
- Dolnar, Hugh, Automobile Trade Journal, article: The Lambert, 1906 Line of Automobiles, Chilton Company, v.10 January 1906
- Forkner, John L., History of Madison County, Indiana, New York and Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1914
- The Horseless Age: The Automobile Trade Magazine, The Horseless Age Company, 1902
Secondary sources
- Bailey, L. Scott, Historic Discovery: 1891 Lambert, New Claim for America's First Car, Antique Automobile magazine, Vol. 24, No. 5, Oct–November 1960
- David Burgess Wise, The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Automobiles ISBN 0-7858-1106-0
- Dittlinger, Esther et al., Anderson: A Pictorial History, G. Bradley Publishing, 1990, ISBN 0943963168
- Georgano, G. N., The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile, Taylor & Francis, 2000, ISBN 1-5795829-3-1
- Huffman, Wallace Spencer, Indiana's Place in Automobile History in Indiana History Bulletin, vol 44, no. 2, February 1967; Indianapolis, Indiana Historical Bureau
- Huhti, Thomas, The Great Indiana Touring Book: 20 Spectacular Auto Tours, Big Earth Publishing, 2002, ISBN 1-9315990-9-2
- James, Wanda, Driving from Japan, McFarland, 2005, ISBN 0-786417-3-4X
- Kimes, Beverly Rae, Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942, Krause Publications, 1996, ISBN 0-8734142-8-4
- Madden, W. C., Haynes-Apperson and America's First Practical Automobile: A History, McFarland, 2003, ISBN 0-7864139-7-2
- Scharchburg, Richard P., Carriages Without Horses: J. Frank Duryea and the Birth of the American Automobile Industry, SAE, 1993, ISBN 1-5609138-0-0