Improvements in or relating to Wheel Hubs and other Bearings.
Year: 1896

page_text: This Print is in accordance with the Original Specification as it stands after
Amendment (under Section 11 of the Patents, &c. Act, 1883) as required by
the decision of the Comptroller General of the 11th day of March 1898.
Date of Application, 23rd Oct., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 10th Feb., 1897-Accepted, 9th Oct., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Wheel Hubs and other Bearings.
I, JOHN FORREST WALTERS of 291A Oxford Street, in the County of London,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to hubs for wheels of various descriptions and to other
bearings pedals for example; the invention is particularly suitable for cycle wheels
but is applicable for ordinary vehicle and other wheels. A special object that I have
in view is to make the bearing self-contained, that is to say, that the hub or other
bearing may be removed from the supporting axle taking with it the balls and
working parts, so that it is really entirely independent of the axle which serves
merely as a support.
In carrying out this invention I provide a tube or sleeve adapted to fit on to the
axle, stud, or equivalent support sufficiently tightly to prevent it from turning.
Upon this sleeve are the cones or equivalent forming one portion of each of the
ball races of the bearing. . These cones may be screwed on to the sleeve or may
be formed as a portion thereof or secured in any convenient manner.
The hub may be formed of a tube or shell of any suitable description, by pre-
ference screwed internally to receive the cups or discs forming the other portions
of the ball races; these cups may be fixed by lock nuts, locking rings, set screws
or other means in any suitable manner. By these means it will be understood that
the whole hub with or without the wheel can be applied to or removed from the
axle or equivalent support without undoing the bearing or releasing the balls or
even altering the adjustment of the bearing or disturbing it in any way.
For metal hubs I prefer to make the shell of a piece of tube with the ends
enlarged, forming cups or the like bored to receive the ends of the spokes, the heads
of which may lie in the cups.
In the case of a hub for a fork, say the steering fork of a cycle, the ends of the
sleeve may fit into suitable recesses in the ends of the fork, and secured by a simple
pin with a nut on one end and a head on the other thus making a very rigid end to
the fork, and one nevertheless capable of easy removal.
For pedals the sleeve may be fitted over the existing pedal pin, but I prefer to
sink one end of it into a hole or recess in the crank, and to secure it there by a bolt
screwed into the crank or passing through it, with a nut or head on the outside end,
the tube or sleeve thus taking a firm hold in the crank. Another way of fixing it

page_text: would be to screw the end of the tube externally, and force it out into the crank by
means of a plug.
In applying the invention to the crank axle and supporting-bracket of a cycle,
the construction will be substantially the same as that already described, but the
hub tube would be the fixed supporting part and the sleeve would be the axle, to
which the cranks may be secured in any convenient manner.
Dated this 23rd day of October 1896.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in or relating to Wheel Hubs and other Bearings.
I, JOHN FORREST WALTERS of 291A Oxford Street, in the County of London,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following, statement:
This invention relates to hubs for wheels of various descriptions and to other
bearings pedals for example; the invention is particularly suitable for cycle wheels
but is applicable for ordinary vehicle and other wheels. A special object that I have
in view is to make the bearing self-contained, that is to say, that the hub or other
bearing may be removed from the supporting axle taking with it the balls and
working parts, so that it is really entirely independent of the axle which serves
merely as a support.
The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying draw-
ings, in which,
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a cycle-wheel hub bearing.
Figure 2 being in one half a cross section and in the other an end view of the
same hub.
Figure 3 is a section of a pedal constructed according to this invention.
Like letters represent like parts in all the figures.
A is the hub which is shown as a hollow tube with the ends A¹ of larger diameter
than the body portion; this is a convenient arrangement with cycle wheels as the
spokes can pass through holes A in the enlargements A¹ without the necessity
for disturbing the bearing or undoing it in any way the heads being accommodated
inside the enlargements.
B is a sleeve or tube adapted to fit upon the pin, axle or other support and to be
held there in any convenient manner as for example by being gripped between the
fork ends which would be pressed upon it by nuts upon the ends of the spindle.
If desired the ends of the tube B may fit into annular channels or recesses in the
forks.
The sleeve B'carries at or near each end a half ball race or cone B¹ between which
and the cups to be presently described the rings of balls C are carried. The ball races
upon the sleeve B are not adjustable and may be formed of the same piece of metal
as the sleeve or may be screwed or otherwise secured thereon.
The inside of the hub A is screwed as at A³ to receive the cups D and E, one at
each end of the hub. The cup D is intended to be screwed home against its
flange D¹, and it may be permanently sweated in or otherwise fixed there if desired.
The other cup E is not provided with a flange but has a nut F screwing upon it
for the purpose of locking it in the hub when the required adjustment of the bear-
ing has to be obtained. Both of the Cups may be provided with holes to receive

page_text: the pin spanner or other means of tightening them, as also may be the nut F. The
shape of the ball races upon the inside of the cups D and E may be varied as
required. Any suitable oil cup G may be provided for admitting oil to the interior
of the hub A which may serve as an oil well, the oil passing in small quantities
between the lips of the cups and cones which though shown in the drawing approxi-
mately in contact are in practice made clear of each other so as to avoid friction.
Other means may be employed for fixing the parts besides the locking nut or
ring previously mentioned.
The pedal shown in Figure 3 is constructed upon the same principle as the above
described hub, but the place of the wheel hub is occupied by the pedal or frame H
and one end of the sleeve B is fitted into a circular channel or recess J¹ formed in
the face of the crank J which at the back has a conical recess J2 to receive the cone
end or head K¹ of the pedal pin K. Upon the other end of the pedal pin Kis
screwed a nut L which by means of the washer M ties the sleeve B firmly to the
crank J. A cap N may be screwed or sprung on to the outer end of the sleeve B
to cover up and lock the nut, or the nut may itself be formed as a suitable orna-
mental terminal.
Other means may be employed for securing the sleeve in the crank; for example
the sleeve may be screwed into the crank and may be split and jammed by the
conical plug screwed into the sleeve from the back. If desired the pedal pin
instead of being solid may be hollow, fitting comfortably inside the sleeve.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed. I wish it to be under-
stood that I am aware that it is not new to employ a sleeve carrying the half ball
races, nor to use bearing cups such as D, or locking rings such as F; and also that
I am aware of Specifications No. 19089 of 1889, No. 17941 of 1894, No. 23,318 of
1894, No. 12969 of 1894 and No. 18898 of 1895, and I do not claim anything
described and claimed therein, but I declare that what I claim is:-
1. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete wheel
hub substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
2. In a wheel hub the combination with a sleeve bearing such as described of the
circular flanges A¹ to the hub A substantially as described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
3. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete cycle
pedal substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 25th day of January 1897
JOHN F. WALTERS.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicant.