Improvements in the Wheels of Tram-cars, Railway Carriages, and similar Vehicles, Running Loose upon their Axles, and provided with Devices for Excluding Dust from the Axles and the Wearing Parts of the Wheels.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Jan., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 15th Oct., 1895-Accepted, 16th Nov., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Wheels of Tram-cars, Railway Carriages, and
similar Vehicles, Running Loose upon their Axles, and provided
with Devices for Excluding Dust from the Axles and the Wearing
Parts of the Wheels.
1, THOMAS MILLER, of London Road Foundry, Edinburgh, N.B., Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My present invention relates to improvements in that form of arrangement of
the wheels and axles of tramcars and railway carriages in which one of the wheels
is fixed upon the axle and the other wheel runs loose upon the same axle, so that
the passage of the vehicle round curves is facilitated.
In such method of arrangement it is advisable that the wearing part of the
loose wheel upon the axle, and of the part of the axle upon which it fits, should
be protected from dust, and a successful method of such protection consists in
making the wheel with a very long central boss fitting upon the axle, and provided
with a dust-excluding device consisting of a ring of suitable metal also fitting upon
the axle, and made in two or more parts or segments held together by a spring or
springs, the joints of the segments being so formed as to totally exclude the dust
from the wearing parts of the loose wheel and axle; and the complete ring being
made to turn between two turned parallel faces, carried at the ends of the boss
of the wheel, whilst a flange upon the axle near the inner end of the wheel boss is
embraced between two corresponding flanges carried by the boss of the wheel near
its inner end.
An important objection to this method of construction and arrangement is that
the rim and flange of the wheel tyre wear away much more rapidly than the boss,
and when it is necessary to renew the wheel on account of such wear, the whole of
the wheel, and the central boss formed upon it and carrying the dust-excluding
device described, have also to be removed and renewed. My present invention has
for its object a novel method of construction by which this objection is overcome,
and the wheel itself with its worn tyre can be readily removed, and another one
substituted for it without interfering with the central boss and the dust-excluding
devices connected with it.
In order to put my present invention in operation I make the tyre and body of
the wheel entirely distinct and separate from the long boss described which fits
upon the axle and carries the dust-excluding devices, and I turn the outer ends of
the boss truly cylindrical and I fit upon it a corresponding bored socket formed
upon the centre of the wheel itself from which it projects inward. Upon the long
boss which receives the wheel socket as described, I make a flange against which
the inner end of the socket, or of a flange upon the latter, abuts, and the two are
attached together by a sufficient number of bolts or studs.
The long boss is provided preferably with an enlarged part which serves as an
oil chamber.
In order to fit a new wheel it is only necessary to unscrew the bolts or studs last
described and draw the wheel socket and wheel off the central boss which remains
fitted upon the axle. Another wheel provided with a precisely similar socket
can then be fitted upon the central boss and fixed in its place by the bolts or studs.
The outer part of the wheel can in this way be removed over and over again

page_text: without difficulty and very quickly, whilst the central boss with its dust-excluding
devices (which form the most expensive parts of the wheel), remain unaffected
and are capable of lasting well whilst many pairs of the external wheels are fitted
upon them and worn out.
I do not confine myself to the exact details of construction and arrangement,
which may be varied more or less as may be found desirable.
Dated this 12th day of January 1895.
EDWARDS & Co.,
65 and 66, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in the Wheels of Tram-cars, Railway Carriages, and
similar Vehicles, Running Loose upon their Axles, and provided
with Devices for Excluding Dust from the Axles and the Wearing
Parts of the Wheels.
I, THOMAS MILLER, of London Road Foundry, Edinburgh, N.B., 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, and accompanying drawing, that is to say :-
My present invention relates to improvements in that form of arrangement of the
wheels and axles of tramcars and railway carriages in which one of the wheels is
fixed upon the axle and the other wheel runs loose upon the same axle, so that the
passage of the vehicle round curves is facilitated.
In such method of arrangement it is advisable that the wearing part of the loose
wheel upon the axle as well as the part of the axle upon which it fits, should be
protected from dust, and different methods may be adopted for such protection.
A successful method (for which obtained Letters Patent dated March 10th,
A.D. 1893, and numbered 5,252), is shewn in the accompanying drawing which is
in illustration of my invention. It consists in making the wheel with a very long
central boss a (Figures 1 and 2) fitting upon the axle b, and a dust-excluding
device at each end of the boss, consisting of a ring of suitable metale (shewn
separately in Figures 3 and 4) also fitting upon the axle b, and made in two or
more parts or segments held together by a spring or springs d, the joints of the
segments at k, k, being so formed as to totally exclude the dust from the wearing
parts of the loose wheel and axle, and the complete rings being made to turn
between two turned parallel faces, formed respectively by the ends of the boss of
the wheel, and loose plates e, e, screwed upon them, whilst a flange h upon the axle
near the inner end of the wheel boss is embraced between two corresponding
flanges, one carried by the boss a of the wheel near its inner end, and the other g
screwed to the boss.
An important objection to this method of construction and arrangement as
ordinarily applied, is that as the rim and flange m of the wheel tyre wear away
much more rapidly than the boss a, when it is necessary to renew the wheel on
account of such wear the whole of the wheel, and the central boss a formed upon it
and carrying the dust-excluding device described, have also to be removed and
renewed. My present invention has for its object a novel method of construction
by which this objection is overcome, and the wheel itself with its worn tyre can be
readily removed, and another one substituted for it, without interfering with the
central boss and the dust-excluding devices connected with it.
For this purpose I make the tyre m and body of the wheel entirely distinct and
separate from the long boss a which fits upon the axle and carries the dust-
excluding devices described, and I turu the outer end of the boss a truly cylindrical

page_text: and fit upon it a corresponding bored socket n formed upon the centre of the wheel
itself, froin which it projects inward. Upon the long boss a which receives the
wheel socket n as described, I make a flange o against which the inner end of
the socket n, or of a flange upon the latter, abuts, and the two are attached together
by a sufficient number of bolts or studs p. Four such bolts are shewn in the
drawing, provided with T-heads which fit in recesses formed behind brackets r
projecting from the boss n, these brackets being open at their outer ends so that
the bolts can be readily introduced and withdrawn. Similar brackets s having
holes for the bolts p are formed upon the boss a.
The long boss is provided preferably with an enlarged part at / which serves as
an oil chamber.
In order to fit a new wheel it is only necessary to unscrew the nuts from the
bolts or studs p last described and draw the wheel socket n and wheel m off the
central boss a, which remains fitted upon the axle. Another wheel provided with
a precisely similar socket can then be fitted upon the central boss a and fixed in
its place by the bolts or studs p.
The tyre and outer part of the wheel can in this way be removed over and over
again without difficulty and very quickly, whilst the central boss a with its dust-
excluding devices (which form the most expensive parts of the wheel), remain
unaffected, and are capable of lasting well whilst many pairs of the external wheels
are fitted upon them and worn out.
I do not confine myself to the exact details of construction and arrangement,
which may be varied more or less as may be found desirable.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In the wheels of tramcars, railway carriages, and similar vehicles, running
loose upon their axles, and provided with devices for excluding dust from the
axles and the wearing parts of the wheels, the combination with such dust-excluding
devices of means by which the tyre and body of the wheel can whenever desired
be removed from and replaced upon the central boss, which runs freely upon the
axle and is provided with the dust-excluding devices, without removing or
interfering with such central boss and dust-excluding devices, substantially as and
for the purposes described.
2. In the wheels of tramcars, railway carriages, and similar vehicles, running
loose upon their axles, and provided with devices for excluding dust from the axles
and the wearing parts of the wheels, the combination with the long boss a turning
freely upon the axle and provided with dust-excluding devices, of the separate
wheel tyre m and body, having a bored boss n fitting upon a corresponding turned
part of the boss a, the flange o, brackets r and s to receive bolts p by which the
boss n upon the wheel can be attached to the long boss a upon the axle, substantially
as and for the purpose described and illustrated."
Dated this 15th day of October 1895.
EDWARDS & Co.,
65 and 66, Chancery Lane, London, Agents for the Applicant