Improvements in Car Wheels.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 24th May, 1893-Accepted, 24th June, 1893
Improvements in Car Wheels.
I, JOSIAH AUGUSTUS WEBBER, of No. 292 Fifth Avenue, City of Brooklyn,
State of New York, United States of America, a Sea Captain by occupation, 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
My invention relates to car wheels and it is an improvement upon the invention
for which I obtained Letters Patent of the United States, dated October 27th, 1891,
No. 461,859. In wheels made in accordance with that former invention, the
brakes were applied upon the periphery or tread of the wheel in the same manner
that they are applied upon the tread of ordinary wheels. My present invention
consists in supplying a surface upon which the brake can act which is located at the side
of the wheel instead of upon the periphery or tread thereof. I also embody certain
improvements in the construction of my present wheel which will hereafter be
described.
Figure 1, of the drawings, illustrates a vertical section of a car wheel embodying
my invention on the line x, x, of Fig. 2.
C, C'are
Cat its
F, F, are
Figure 2, is an elevation taken from the right in Fig. 1.
A, is the hub of the wheel. It is provided on one side with a flange B.
two side plates which afford lateral support for the wheel. The plate
edge is thickened as at D and is provided with the ordinary flange F.
the discs of non-metallic material, which form the major portion or body of the
wheel. They lie between the discs C and C. G, G &c., are bolts which pass
through the flange B, of the hub A, and through the plates C, and C, and
through the discs of non-metallic material F, if they extend so far toward the
hub and by means of these bolts the structure as thus far described is firmly
clamped and rigidly held together.
I now come to the feature which in conjunction with that which has already
been described, characterizes this invention. H, is an annular casting of suitable
material; in its back side are formed toothed or similarly shaped recesses, I, I, &c.,
into which fit teeth or similar projections J, J, formed in the thickened part D
of the plate C¹; and on the interior edge of the annular casting II, are also
formed other recesses and teeth L, L, which interlock with similar shaped pro-
jecting parts M, M, on the flange B of the hub. N, N &c., are a series of bolts
which pass through the annular casting H, the side plate and C', and the disc3
of non-metallic material F, F, whereby the annular casting H, is firmly clamped
to the wheel and also the outer portions of the wheel itself are rigidly held
together.
The purpose of the interlocking surfaces I, J, and L, M, between the annular
casting H, and the thickened part D of the plate C' and also between the annular
casting H and the flange B of the hub is so that the act of applying the brakes
upon the periphery O of the annular casting H, may be prevented from shearing
off the bolts N, N, &c., the strain is sometimes enormous and although ordinarily
the bolts N would be sufficient to hold the parts rigidly to each other, especially it
there are a large number of them as shown, nevertheless the interlocking surfaces
afford an absolute prevention against the shearing of the bolts. The construction
of the wheel is, however, so much simpler when these interlocking surfaces are not
employed, that I do not always use them. A' illustrates a brake showing one
method in which it may be applied upon the friction surface 0 of the annulus H.
It will be obvious to those who are familiar with this art that modifications may

page_text: be made in the details of construction shown and still the essentials of my invention
be employed. I do not therefore limit myself to such details.
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 1
claim is,
First: A car wheel comprising essentially a metallic hub, a non-metallic centre
portion, side plates, one of them provided with a flange for the wheel and an
annular casting or friction plate fastened upon one of said side plates, substantially
as set forth.
Second: A car wheel comprising essentially a metallic hub, a non-metallic
centre portion, side plates, one of them provided with a flange for the wheel, an
annular casting or friction plate and bolts passing through said annular casting
through said side plates and through the non-metallic centre portion and means
whereby the body of the wheel may be fastened to the hub, substantially as set
forth.
Third: A car wheel comprising essentially a metallic hub, a non-metallic centre
portion, side plates, one of them provided with a flange for the wheel, an annular
casting or friction plate, means to fasten the friction plate to the side of the
wheel and interlocking parts between the wheel and the annular casting or friction
plate, substantially as set forth.
Fourth: A car wheel comprising essentially a metallic hub, a non-metallic centre
portion, side plates, one of them provided with a flange for the wheel, an annular
casting or friction plate, means to fasten the friction plate to the side of the wheel
and interlocking parts between the wheel and the hub and the annular casting or
friction plate, substantially as set forth.
Fifth A car wheel comprising essentially a metallic hub, a flange upon the
hub, side plates, one of them provided with a flange, non-metallic dises extending
from the hub to the tread of the wheel, an annular casting or friction plate, bolts
passing through the flange of the hub, the side plates and non-metallic discs and
other bolts which pass through the annular casting or friction plate, the side plates
and the non-metallic discs, substantially as set forth.
Sixth: A car wheel comprising essentially a metallic hub, a flange upon the hub,
side plates, one of them provided with a flange, non-metallic discs extending from
the hub to the tread of the wheel, an annular casting or friction plate, bolts passing
through the flange of the hub, the side plates and non-metallic discs and other
bolts which pass through the annular casting or friction plate, the side plates and
the non-metallic discs, and interlocking surfaces between the annular brake ring
and the body of the wheel, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 21th day of Nov 1893
S. S. BROMHEAD,
97, Newgate Street, London, E.C., Patent Agent.