DE Patent: DE-37,435
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Fahrzeug mit Gasmotorenbetrieb
Vehicle powered by a gas engine
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Patentee:
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| Karl Benz (exact or similar names) - Mannheim, Germany |
| Manufacturer: |
| Not known to have been produced |
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Patent Dates:
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| Applied: |
Jan. 29, 1886 |
| Granted: |
Nov. 02, 1886 |
Espacenet patent
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Jeff Joslin
Article on this patent from Mercedes Benz
Wikipedia biography of Karl Benz
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Description: |
| This is the first patent for a motorcar. According to the Mercedes Benz article on this patent (see link) a French patent was also applied for, on 1886-03-25.This first patented automobile was powered by a evaporative-water-cooled single-cylinder 4-stroke gasoline (actually, "ligroin", also known as "heavy naphtha") engine displacing 0.954 L, and output 550 Watts (3/4 Horsepower) at 400 RPM. The vehicle had rear wheel drive and the front wheels were steered via a yoke. There was a single gear. Braking was via a hand control that slowed the countershaft, and speed was controlled by moving a valve below the driver's seat. With its 4.5 liter fuel tank, the Benz automobile had a range of 45 km. The first two prototypes were 3-wheeled vehicles; the second prototype was converted to use four wheels and subsequent models were also four-wheeled.Benz's wife, Bertha (née Ringer), was instrumental in the development of the automobile. Her money financed Benz's company and she was actively involved in the improvement of earlier designs. Besides making specific suggestions for improvement she also pushed for greater efforts in marketing the automobile, and famously made a 106 km trip in 1888, ostensibly to visit her mother but in fact a trip intended to create publicity. Two sons, age 13 and 15, accompanied her. She cleared a fuel-line blockage with her hat-pin, purchased additional ligroin fuel at a pharmacy along the way, and when the brakes began to fail, arranged for a cobbler to cover the wooden brake shoes with leather. Her sons sometimes had to push the vehicle up hills. The 106 km trip was completed in about 13 hours, and brought considerable attention from newspapers and magazines, leading to more attention to the new invention. |
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