Edmond Prefontaine and Differential (mechanical device): Difference between pages

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: ''This article deals with the concept of a differential in [[mechanics]]. For other meanings of "differential" see [[differential]].''

'''Edmond Prefontaine''' (born [[July 18]], [[1898]] in [[St. Pierre, Manitoba|St. Pierre]], [[Manitoba]]; died [[1972]]) was a politician in Manitoba, [[Canada]]. He served in the [[Legislative Assembly of Manitoba]] as a [[Manitoba Liberal Party|Liberal-Progressive]] from [[1935]] to [[1962]], and was a [[cabinet minister]] in the government of [[Douglas L. Campbell]]. His father, [[Albert Prefontaine]], had previously served in the Assembly for twenty-nine years, and was a cabinet minister in [[John Bracken]]'s government.

[[Image:Differential free.png|frame|In this differential, input torque is applied to the ring gear (blue). The pinion gear (green) applies power to both side gears (red and yellow), which in turn may drive the left and right wheels. If both wheels turn at the same rate, the pinion gear does not rotate.]]

Fluently bilingual, Prefontaine was educated at the [[University of Manitoba]] and received a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree. He worked as a farmer, and as a breeder of pure [[Holstein]]s. He also served as director of the Winnipeg District Milk Producers Cooperative Association.

[[Image:Differential locked.png|frame|If the left side gear (red) encounters resistance or is immobile, the pinion gear (green) rotates about the left side gear, in turn applying extra rotation to the right side gear (yellow).]]

In an [[automobile]] and other wheeled vehicles, a '''differential''' is a device, usually consisting of [[gear]]s, for supplying equal [[torque]] to the driving [[wheel]]s, even as they rotate at different speeds.

The Prefontaines were prominent franco-Manitoban family in the [[Conservative Party of Canada (historical)|Conservative Party]] during [[World War I]]. Although popular opinion among Canadian francophones was generally against the war, Edmond Prefontaine enlisted for service on [[May 12]], [[1918]], following his graduation. He spent four months at the [[Petawawa, Ontario|Petawawa]] Training Camp, and might have served overseas had the war not come to an end. After the war, the Prefontaines left the Conservative Party for the [[United Farmers of Manitoba]], and later for the Liberal-Progressives.

In some vehicles such as [[Kart racing|kart]]s, torque is simply applied evenly to all driving wheels using a simple driveshaft. This works well enough when travelling in a straight line, but when changing direction the outer wheel needs to travel farther than the inner wheel. Hence, the simple solution results in the inner wheel spinning. For general road use, such a method would result in too much damage to both the [[tire]] and [[road]] surface.

After Albert Prefontaine died in [[1935]], Edmond campaigned to succeed him in the rural constituency of [[Carillon (Manitoba riding)|Carillon]]. He was successful, defeating his sole opponent, [[Louis-P. Gagnon]], by 155 votes. A Liberal-Progressive, he was a backbench supporter of Bracken's government.

Differentials are typically composed of a gear mechanism in which a ''ring'' gear receives input power, which is transferred to two ''side'' gears by means of usually two opposing central [[pinion]] gears on a common shaft. The pinion gear(s) are mounted to a ''cage'' which is affixed to the ring gear. When the ring gear and cage rotate, the pinion gears drive the side gears; the pinion gears are free to rotate about their own axis when either of the side gears meets resistance.

In a motor vehicle, the two side gears may be used to transfer power to the left and right wheels. When the vehicle turns a corner, or one of the wheels encounters resistance, the pinion gears rotate around the side with the most resistance; this rotation drives the other side gear with additional speed.

Prefontaine was re-elected in the [[Manitoba general election, 1936|1936]] and [[Manitoba general election, 1941|1941 provincial elections]], and won without opposition in [[Manitoba general election, 1945|1945]]. From [[1940]] to [[1950]], Manitoba was governed by a multi-party coalition dominated by the Liberal-Progressives, and also including the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba|Progressive Conservatives]]. Prefontaine was initially a supporter of the coalition, but he appears to have left the government benches after Douglas Campbell became coalition leader in [[1948]].

The most basic differential described above, known as an open differential, suffers from one important problem, however. In an automobile, if one wheel begins to slip while the other maintains traction, the slipping wheel will receive most of the power. This means that if one wheel is spinning on ice while the other is still in contact with the pavement, acceleration of the [[driveshaft]] will only cause the slipping wheel to spin faster and very little power will reach the wheel with good traction. Similarly, if one wheel is lifted off the ground, nearly all the power will go to the wheel that is off the ground; not a hopeful prospect for off-road vehicles. Such a loss of traction is sometimes called "diffing out."

In the [[Manitoba general election, 1949|1949 election]], Prefontaine campaigned as an Independent Liberal opposing the coalition government. He was again re-elected, defeating government candidate [[H.B. Johnson]] by 600 votes. During this period, he described the coalition as damaging to the British system of parliamentary government.

Differential mechanisms possess two [[degrees of freedom]] (DOF), and the state of the mechanism depends on two constraints. In a vehicle, the first constraint is the motor, and the second is the frictional kinematic chain between the two wheels and the ground. When the two wheels slip on the ground, the second constraint becomes weaker or disappears. The differential also becomes undetermined and transmits less or no power. For control and recovery of the second constraint, various mechanisms are used.

When the coalition ended in [[1950]], Prefontaine appears to have rejoined the Liberal-Progressive fold. He was appointed to Campbell's cabinet as [[Minister of Municipal Affairs (Manitoba)|Minister of Municipal Affairs]] on [[December 1]], [[1951]].

One solution to this problem is the [[limited slip differential]] (LSD), one of the most common of which is the clutch-type LSD. With this differential, each of the side gears has a clutch which limits the speed difference between the two wheels. Another solution is the locking differential, which employs a mechanism for allowing the pinion gear(s) to be locked, causing both wheels to turn at the same speed regardless of which has more traction; this is equivalent to removing the differential entirely.

Easily returned as a Liberal-Progressive candidate in the [[Manitoba general election, 1953|1953 election]], Prefontaine was given the additional portfolio of [[Provincial Secretary (Manitoba)|Provincial Secretary]] on [[September 4]], [[1953]]. He held both cabinet positions until [[June 30]], [[1958]], when the Campbell government resigned from office.

A [[four-wheel-drive]] vehicle will have at least two differentials (one for each pair of wheels) and possibly a center differential to apportion power between the front and rear axles. Vehicles without a center differential should not be driven on dry, paved roads in all wheel drive mode, as small differences in rotational speed between the front and rear of the vehicle cause a torque to be applied across the [[transmission (mechanics)|transmission]]. This phenomenon is known as "wind-up" and can cause damage to the transmission. On loose surfaces these differences are absorbed by the slippage of the road surface.

[[Lloyd Stinson]], leader of the [[Manitoba Cooperative Commonwealth Federation|Manitoba CCF]], once described Prefontaine as an "independent spirit", and claimed he never seemed comfortable in the Campbell administration.

A differential gear train can also be used to give the difference between two input axles. The oldest known example of a differential, in the [[Antikythera mechanism]], used such a train to produce the difference between two inputs, one input related to the position of the [[sun]] on the [[zodiac]], and the other input related to the position of the [[moon]] on the zodiac. The output of the differential gave a quantity related to the moon's [[phase]].

Prefontaine was re-elected in the [[Manitoba general election, 1958|1958 election]]. The Liberal-Progressives, who in one form or another had governed Manitoba since [[1915]], were defeated by [[Dufferin Roblin]]'s [[Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba|Progressive Conservatives]] in this election, and Prefontaine moved with his party to the opposition benches. He was again re-elected in the [[Manitoba general election, 1959|1959 election]], but did not run in 1962.

==Active differential==

Prefontaine's son, [[Rene Prefontaine]], was also active in politics, though ironically as a supporter of Roblin's Progressive Conservatives. It was on Edmond's advice that Rene turned down an offer to join the Roblin cabinet in [[1959]].

A relatively new technology is the electronically-controlled active differential. A computer uses inputs from multiple sensors, including [[yaw]] rate, steering angle, and lateral acceleration and adjusts the distribution of torque to compensate for undesirable handling behaviors like [[understeer]]. Active differentials are common in the [[World Rally Championship]], though they may be eliminated in coming years.

The first use of this technology on a production automobile was [[Honda]]'s [[1997]] ''Active Torque Transfer System'' on the [[Honda Prelude|Prelude ''SH'']]. This "differential" was actually a [[planetary gear]]set placed next to an open front differential, not an integrated system. Fully integrated active differentials are used on the [[2005]] [[MR layout|MR]] [[Ferrari F430]] and on all four wheels in the [[Acura RL]].

[[Category:1898 births|Prefontaine, Edmond]]

The second constraint of the differential is passive – it is actuated by the friction kinematics chain through the ground. The difference in torque on the tires (caused by turns or bumpy ground) drives the second [[DOF]],(overcoming the torque of inner friction) to equalise the driving torque on the tires. The sensitivity of the differential depends on the inner friction through the second [[DOF]]. All of the differentials (so called “active” and “passive”) use clutches and brakes for restricting the second [[DOF]], so all suffer from the same disadvantage – decreased sensibility to a dynamically changing environment. The sensibility of the computer controlled differential is also limited by the time delay caused by sensors and the response time of the actuators.

[[Category:1972 deaths|Prefontaine, Edmond]]

[[Category:Manitoba MLAs|Prefontaine, Edmond]]

== History ==

There are many claims to the invention of the differential gear, but it is likely that it was known, at least in some places, in ancient times. Here are some of the milestones in the history of this device.

*[[2634 BC]] according to legend - [[South Pointing Chariot]] used by the Yellow Emperor [[Huang Di]] in [[China]].

*[[1st century BC]] - [[Antikythera mechanism]] contains a planar differential.

*[[1810]] - [[Rudolph Ackermann]] of Germany invents a four-wheel steering system for carriages, which some later writers mistakenly report as a differential.

*[[1827]] - modern automotive differential patented by watchmaker [[Onésiphore Pecqueur]] ([[1792]]-[[1852]]) of the [[Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers]] in [[France]] for use on a steam car. [Sources: Britannica Online and [http://www.gmcanada.com/inm/gmcanada/english/about/OverviewHist/hist_auto.html]]

*[[1832]] - [[Richard Roberts]] of England patents 'gear of compensation', a differential for road locomotives.

*[[1876]] - [[James Starley]] of [[Coventry]] invents chain-drive differential for use on [[bicycle]]s; invention later used on automobiles by [[Carl Benz]].

*[[1897]] - first use of differential on an Australian steam car by [[David Shearer]].

== External links ==

* An excellent explanation of how differentials work, with explanatory animations, is available at [http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential.htm How Stuff Works].

[[Category:Automotive transmission technologies]]

[[Category:Mechanics]]

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