GB556451A - Improvements in motor-propelled invalid carriages and like vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

556,451. Controlling motor-propelled invalid carriages. GREEVES, O. B., and COBB, D. PRESTON-. June 13, 1942, No. 8113. [Classes 79 (iii) and 79 (v)] [Also in Group XXIV] In an invalid carriage or like vehicle a controlling hand-lever 21 mounted on a vertical shaft 18 moves in a horizontal plane to steer the front wheel 11 and moves in a vertical plane about a pivot 20 to control the change-speed gear or other part. Other controlling members are also mounted on the lever 21 such as a twist grip 27 for controlling the throttle by a cable 28, a clutch-operating lever 29 provided with a pawl catch 30, a brake lever 31, a control for the engine compression-release valve, a horn-button 34 and a switch 35 for the direction indicator 36. The lever 21 is connected by a ball-jointed link 23 to the gear lever 26; the latter may be of the kind in which the gear in use corresponds to the incl:nation of this lever and therefore of the lever 21 also,but preferably the gear-change mechanism is of the kind in which the gear lever returns automatically to its normal position after each change of gear, the lever being moved downwards (say) to engage the next higher gear ratio and upwards to "change-down." Means may be provided for preventing the gear from being changed unless the clutch is first disengaged. In the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the front wheel 11 is steered by the lever 21 through an arm 17 on the shaft 18, a link 16, and an arm. 15 on the front fork 14. The vehicle has two rear wheels 12 one of which is driven through the change-speed gear by an engine 13 located in front of it. A second brake is actuated by a lever 38, Fig. 4, provided with an arm rest 37 and normally held in the "off" position by a spring 40, the brake being applied by pressure of the arm on the rest. When the vehicle is left unattended this brake may be held on by means of a rack and pawl 43, the latter being normally held out of action by a loop 42. In the gear-changing modification shown in Fig. 5 the clutch is automatically disengaged each time the gear is changed, the gear lever 26 being located between two levers 47, 48 connected respectively to the wire 50 and the casing 51 of the Bowden cable controlling the clutch, so that each time the gear lever 26 is moved whether up or down to change the gear the clutch is disengaged.