The Romance of War Inventions: A Description of Warships, Guns, Tanks, Rifles, Bombs, and Other Instruments and Munitions of Warfare, How They Were Invented & How They Are EmployedCorbin, Thomas W.
History
The Romance of War Inventions: A Description of Warships, Guns, Tanks, Rifles, Bombs, and Other Instruments and Munitions of Warfare, How They Were Invented & How They Are Employed
Corbin, Thomas W.
Inventions; Military art and science; Naval art and science
This worm-gear is simply a wheel with suitable teeth on its edge in
conjunction with a screw so made that its thread can engage comfortably
with the teeth. This latter, because of the wriggling appearance which
it presents when it is revolving is called a worm, which name it gives
to the whole apparatus. Both wheel and worm are mounted in bearings
which form part of a case enclosing the whole so that dirt is excluded
while, the case being filled with oil, ample lubrication is assured.
The shafts of both wheel and worm emerge through holes in the case.
It will easily be seen that each single turn of the worm will propel the
wheel one tooth, so that if the wheel have fifty teeth, for example, the
worm will turn fifty times to the wheel's once. Thus a great reduction
in speed is attainable with this device and what is equally valuable, a
great increase of power also results. Thus a small engine, working at a
high speed, is able by means such as this to pull very heavy loads at a
slow speed.
It is evident, however, that the reduction necessary in this case cannot
be attained even by a worm-gear, for there are other wheels visible
which show that ordinary tooth gearing is also employed to reduce the
speed even further before it is applied to driving the tractor along.
Practically all the other gear which we see in the picture, above the
platform, consists of the controlling apparatus.
The object with a screw-like appearance just behind the engine is not
really a screw but is a flexible coupling joining the engine to the
worm-gear, its "flexibility" enabling the two to work sweetly together
even though by chance they may get just a little out of line with each
other.
But by far the most interesting part of the machine is that which is
underneath the frame. At one end we see a pair of ordinary-looking
wheels and between them the gear for swinging them to right or left for
steering purposes, but even they are somewhat unusual, since they will
be seen to have flanges or rims round the edge for the purpose of biting
into the earth, so that they may be able to guide the machine the
better in soft ground.
The back wheels, however, are quite peculiar, for there is a pair on
each side and round each pair is a chain somewhat after the fashion of a
huge bicycle chain. The links of this chain are made of tough steel and
they are two feet wide, so that each chain forms a broad track upon
which the machine moves. The links of this track-chain will be seen to
be tooth-shaped so that they grip or bite deeply into the yielding
ground. The teeth, moreover, are shaped like those of a saw and they are
so placed as best to help the tractor forward.
Between the two chain-wheels will be noticed a row of smaller wheels and
it is these which largely support the weight of the machine, the chains
forming tracks upon which they run.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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