Auckland Man's Invention

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22949, 29 January 1938, Page 12 (Supplement)

Auckland Man's Invention

ONE of the most important problems confronting automobile engineers to-day is that of suspension. Experts in J America and also on the Continent have been experimenting with the various forms in an endeavour to find a satisfactory means of eliminating road shock, sway, skidding and wheel spin factors which all tend to reduce the safety element. Their effort's have been rewarded with a considerable measure of success and the riding qualities of the modern car have come to be regarded as a very important selling point. The very persistency of the continual improvements suggests, however, that the engineers are not yet contont with tho suspension systems in vogue to-day, and for this renson alone any new idea is the subject of close attention. More than ordinary curiosity has been displayed in the invention of a Papatoetoe man, Mr, J. W. Morgan, and Auckland experts who have had an opportunity of investigating his entirely novel suspension system have been unanimously impressed by the demonstrations, No Metal Springs An engineer by trade, Mr. Morgan has had wide experience of heavy motor vehicles as a transport operator. It was his experience on rough country roads, where the instability of the heaviest lorries became most marked, that first led him to investigate tho possibilities of overcoming the defects of the more widely-known springing systems. Eight years of experiment and study have resulted in the evolution of a system which Auckland engineers consider has wide possibilities in the motor world. An authority on aviation also has given his opinion that the now device has tremendous possibilities in its application. as a safety factor to aeroplanes. Entirely eliminating the recognised forms of suspension by coil or leaf Bprings and conventional shock absorbers, Mr. Morgan's system incorporates a hydraulic medium acting against a resilient cushion. The load of the vehicle is suspended on a lever, one end of which is attached to the axle housing, and tho other to pistons enclosed within cylinders mounted on to

the frame or chassis of the vehicle. Irregularities in the road surface are transmitted through the lever to the pistons which displace the liquid in the- cylinders under pressure, thus cushioning any tendency of the frame to bounce. An ingenious arrangement interconnecting the cylinders 011 each side ol' the vehicle acts as a remarkably efficient stabiliser, and reduces tho danger from skidding to an absolute minimum. Tested at Speed Passed the theoretical stage, Mr. Morgan has fitted his invention to tho rear axle of an old two-ton truck which he has been using as a demonstrator, and this week a test 011 country roads revealed the possibilities of the invention. Loaded on the near side only, the stabiliser had the effect of maintaining the vehicle 011 an even keel, but it was when the truck was uctually .moving on a bad, pot-holed piece of road that the advantages were to bo most clearly appreciated. Swung into sharp right-hand bonds at a speed which would be considered exceedingly dangerous by the driver of a conventionally sprung model, the truck remained perfectly steady and there was not even tiie suspicion of a skid. Bumpy, grass-covered shoulders on the roadside were negotiated with the same ease, the wheels riding each bump without leaving the surface, and the body remaining on an even keel.

Anyone who has travelled over corrugated metal road on the back of a

New Suspension System for Motor Vehicles

truck will realise that there are few modes of conveyance more uncomfortable or less painful. Sitting atop of I the load right over tho rear axle, liow- | over, Focus was able to appreciate to the full the road-holding qualities of tho new suspension system. A careful examination of each wheel revealed that it was riding each depression and bump in the road, and by comparison with the seat in tho cab the riding on the bare boards at tho back was almost the acme of comfort. It was not difficult to imagine how effectively the now system could be transferred to tho chassis of a passenger-carrying vehicle. Measuring Laden Weight A further advantage of the system is that it may bo used to spring each wheel independently, but to the minds of most laymen the most evident benefit is that the load may bo automatically distributed over each wheel. A gauge fitted to the main hydraulic system and attached to tho dash gives an indication of tho weight of the load being carried, and it has boon pointed out that this also would be an important addition to tho equipment of an aeroplane fitted with the same suspension system. Mr. Morgan is convinced that this form of suspension could be effectively applied to any form of wheeled vehicle, and the demonstration this week revealed that the system may certainly prove the solution to the lack of stability in modern motor vehicles, and also overcome the motion transmitted to the vehicles when travelling even over good roads. World-wide patents already have been applied for.