11/25/2019 Hotchkiss drive - Wikipedia

Hotchkiss drive
The Hotchkiss drive is a shaft drive form of power transmission. It was
the dominant means for front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout cars in the
20th century. The name comes from the French automobile manufacturer
Hotchkiss, although other makers, such as Peerless, used similar systems
before Hotchkiss.

During the early part of the 20th century chain-drive power transmission
was the main direct drive competitor of the Hotchkiss system, with the
Rear chassis, possibly of a Napier,
torque tube also popular until the 1950s. with torque reaction taken by a long
girder alongside the jointed
Most shaft-drive systems consist of a drive shaft (also called a "propeller driveshaft
shaft" or Cardan shaft) extending from the transmission in front to the
differential in the rear. The differentiating characteristic of the Hotchkiss
drive is the fact that the axle housing is firmly attached to the leaf springs
to transfer the axle torque through them to the car body. Also, it uses
universal joints at both ends of the driveshaft, which is not enclosed. The
use of two universal joints, properly phased and with parallel alignment of
the drive and driven shafts, allows the use of simple cross-type universals.
In contrast, a torque tube arrangement uses only a single universal at the
Torque reaction effects on a leaf
end of the transmission tailshaft, typically a constant velocity joint, and the
spring in a Hotchkiss drive system
axle housing is held fast by the torque tube, which anchors the differential
housing to the transmission.

In the Hotchkiss drive, slip-splines or a plunge-type (ball and trunnion u-joint) eliminate thrust transmitted back up
the driveshaft from the axle, allowing simple rear-axle positioning using parallel leaf springs. In the torque-tube type,
this thrust is taken by the torque tube to the transmission and thence to the transmission and motor mounts to the
frame. While the torque-tube type, when combined with rear coil springs (1938-62 Buick), requires additional locating
elements, such as a Panhard rod, this is not needed with a torque tube/leaf spring combination (1906-1937 Buick,
early Ford, etc).

Some Hotchkiss driveshafts are made in two pieces with another universal joint in the center for greater flexibility,
typically in trucks and specialty vehicles built on firetruck frames. Some installations use rubber mounts to isolate
noise and vibration. The 1984–1987 RWD Toyota Corolla (i.e., Corolla SR5 and GT-S) coupe is another example of a
car that uses a 2-part Hotchkiss driveshaft with a rubber-mounted center bearing.[1]

This design was the main form of power transmission for most cars from the 1920s through the 1970s. As of 2016 it
remains common in pick-up trucks, and sport utility vehicles.

Just as important as power transmission is braking. In power transmission, the torque applied to the wheels is
countered by an equal and opposite reaction in the axle housing, but in braking, the torque of braking the wheels is
equal but in the same direction. In a rear wheel drive car, the braking applied by the rear brakes is just as important as
the power transmission, and the problem is the same and is solved in the same manner. Firmly anchoring the axle
housing to the leaf springs transfers both directions of torque, (both acceleration and braking), to the car body.

There is no connection between The Hotchkiss drive and the modern suspension-modification company Hotchkis.

References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotchkiss_drive 1/2