GB1060660A - Improvements relating to motor vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

1,060,660. Motor vehicle driving gear; preventing pitching. ROLLS-ROYCE Ltd. Nov. 26, 1963, No. 46747/63. Headings B7D and B7H. In a motor vehicle with inboard drum or disc brakes 42, 43, and at least one pair of final drive gear-boxes 40, 41 each of which transmits the drive from an engine 11 to one road wheel, a pair of links 70, 71 connects each gear-box to the vehicle frame and when the respective gear-box is subjected to a drive or braking torque applies a resultant force to the vehicle frame to counteract the effect of weight transfer due to said torque and to counteract pitching of the vehicle frame. The gear-boxes 40, 41 are driven through parallel propeller shafts 34, 35 and the wheels 52, 53 may be driven through gear-boxes 50, 51 and parallel propeller shafts 44, 45. Driving gear.-The main gear-box 16 may be separate from the engine 11 and the differential 15 preferably drives the oppositely-rotating propeller shafts on each side of the vehicle through spur or worm gearing to provide low propeller shaft axes. In the latter case the differential is preferably arranged below the front seats of the vehicle (Fig. 4, not shown). Further differentials which drive the propeller shafts on each side of the vehicle may divide the torque between the front and rear wheels unequally. These differentials and differential 15 may be of the limited slip type. Preventing pitching.-The gear-box 40, Fig. 2, is pivotally connected to the vehicle frame by a downwardly extending front link 71 and an upwardly extending rear link 70 the ends of the links being resiliently mounted. Drive haft 36 is mounted for rotation only in the ear casing. On braking, for example, the brake torque produces compression loads in the links, the reactions of which on the gear casing, due to the different distances of the links from the vehicle longitudinal axis, tend to rotate the drive shaft 36 clockwise as shown in Fig. 2 and thus counter " nose dip " due to vehicle weight transfer. The propeller shaft directions of rotation may be chosen so that drive torque on the gear casings acts analogously to control pitching on acceleration. In an alternative arrangement (Fig. 5, not shown) the gear-box (84) is supported by an upper link (86) pivoted to the vehicle frame and a lower link pivoted to a lever (92) with its outer end pivoted to hub carrier (95) and its inner end (94) pivotally connected to the frame either directly or through a short link. In this case the links (86), (91) may be equidistant from the vehicle centreline.