IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FLAPPED Axles AND APPARATUS THEREFOR."
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Denton Abel, of No. 20, Southampton
Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FLAPPED Axles
AND APPARATUS THEREFOR."A communication from abroad by Charles
Meunier, of No. 53, Place de Lyon, Lyons, in the Republic of
France. Metallurgist.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Charles Denton Abel
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition
and Declaration, on the 20th April 1875, pursuant to the 9th
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Charles Denton Abel
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition
and Declaration, on the 20th April 1875, pursuant to the 9th
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
DENTON ABEL, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in
the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
and Declaration, on The 20th April, pristane
Section of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
DENTON ABEL, of No. 20, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in
the County of Middlesex, send greeting.

page_text: petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto me, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for the same, and have made
solemn Declaration that it has been communicated to me from abroad
by Charles Meunier, of No. 53, Place de Lyon, Lyons, in the Republic
of France, Metallurgist.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Denton Abel, do hereby
declare that the following Complete Specification under my hand and
seal fully describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :—
This Invention relates to methods and apparatus for rolling in one
solid piece without welds flapped axles for carriages and other vehicles
in the form of the half pieces usually produced, which, after furnishing
the journals, are welded together to form a complete axletree of the
desired length. The process consists of two sets of operations for
shaping and finishing respectively which, with the apparatus for
effecting them, will be explained with reference to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figs. 1 and 2 represent respectively a plan and a side view; and
Fig. 3 is a section across the flaps of a finished axle (in halves) of the 1
kind to which this Invention relates, having a chamfered body at A,.
flaps B, journals C, screwed ends D, to receive the nuts a, collars C, and
swells at E for welding the halves together or shutting up.
For the shaping of the axles a rolled or forged bar of iron or steel,
having dimensions suited to the size of axle to be produced, is subjected
to the action of rollers L, L, partly shewn in front view at Fig. 4, and
to rollers I, I', shewn in section at Fig. 5. The rollers L, L, are grooved,
so that at the first rolling the bar is reduced to the form a. The bar G
is then passed between the rollers I, I', which besides the groove has
also sunk hollows at J, J, that have the effect of producing lateral swells a
on the bar, as shewn at g, g, in Fig. 7, which represents a plan and side
view of the bar G' after this operation. The bar is now passed through
the groove of the rolls, Fig. 4, by which the widened parts 7, g, are
impressed with a furrow on each side in preparation for their farther
spreading out in the c groove of the rolls L, L; Fig. 6 represents the 3
successive sections thus given to the bar and its lateral swells; and Fig. 8
represents a plan and side view of the bar G" with the flaps thus formed

page_text: in the solid at suitable intervals apart along its length. The bar thus
flapped is cut, as marked by the dotted lines in Fig. 8, so as to form
several halvos, as K, Fig. 9, of rough axles with solid flaps. This first
shaping portion of the process may be varied by swelling the bar at
intervals on one side only, as shewn in Fig. 10, and then rolling it to the
successive shapes shewn at a, b, c, Fig. 11. Or a bar of the section
indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 12 is first chamfered on its two
lower angles e, e, then rolled to the form, Fig. 13, presenting a rib A
along each side of its whole length. It is afterwards passed through
rolls, as in Fig. 14, with hollows D, D, which leave portions of the
ribs A standing out at intervals, the rest of the metal being reduced to
the form, Fig. 14; and finally the ribs are farther flattened out by farther
rolling, as shewn in Fig. 15, which is a section through the flaps, the
bar generally being reduced to the form already described in reference
to Fig. 8.
Another mode of shaping is to subject a bar to the action of rollers
having hollows or recesses at intervals on their periphery, so as to give
the bar the form shewn in Fig. 16, flattening it out along the upper
face, but shaping it under this face to the form indicated by the dotted
lines, thus producing middle parts of axles at m, parts for the journals
at n, the swells or collars for these journals at p, and the flaps at r. After
the final rolling to produce this form, the fins at m and n being left very
thin, can readily be broken off, and the bar being cut across produces a
set of the half axles with solid flaps.
The half axles produced in the rough by any of the methods of rolling
described above are reheated and subjected to the second or finishing
operation for the purpose of rounding and drawing down the journals,
working up the collars, and chamfering the middles. This is also
effected by successive rollings by means of apparatus, of which a trans-
verse section is shewn in Fig. 17, and a front view in Fig. 18.
This apparatus consists of a pair of rolls A and B, with grooves
having hollows and protuberances suited to the successive shapings of
the axles, and provided with means of feeding and turning the axles to
their successive attitudes, so as to render such turning independent
of manual adjustment. In front of the rollers are fixed in a framing H
a number of tubes G having slots o cut through their opposite sides,
these slots making near their one end a half helical turn. On each pair

page_text: •
of these tubes is fitted to slide a carriage F for holding the axle E, the
said carriage having mounted on it two pinions m, m, each of which can
slide along one of the tubes G, a pin n being passed through the boss of
the pinion and the slots of the tube, to which pin is attached a chain or
cord p, which is led over a guide pulley from the interior of the tube
and connected to a weight 1. The pinions m, m, gear with a segment
wheel mounted on the carriage and provided with a spring pawl k,
which engages with ratchet teeth on a disc j attached to a clamp for
holding the axle. This clamp consists of a cylindrical boss h fitted to
revolve in a cylindrical bearing in the carriage and having a square hole
in the middle to receive the axle; both the boss and the bearing being
open on the upper side for the insertion of the axle when the boss is
turned round so as to bring the openings into coincidence, as shewn
at F, Fig. 18. The axle E being inserted it is held firmly in the boss
by driving a key i over it. The front part of the carriage is made
with a hole open at the top, as shown at F", the hole being sufficiently
large to permit the square part of the axle behind the flaps to turn
therein. This square part is steadied and prevented from bearing hard
on its augles by being held between two springs c, e, secured on the
carriage by a bolt f and prevented from closing by a stop g. These
springs are sufficiently clastic to permit the square of the axle to turn
between them, expanding them as it comes to its diagonal position; and
when it has passed that position the springs carry it onward to its next
square position, where they hold it. The axle being secured in its
carriage in the position shewn in Fig. 17 the protuberances on the
rollers A and B (which revolve in the direction of the arrows) when
they come to act on it force it and the carriage backwards against the
weight", which is thus raised, the pinions m being turned half round by
the helical slot o, but without thereby turning the axle, but merely
bringing the pawl / round to the next notch on j. When the pro-
truberances of the rollers A and B have turned round so far as to be clear
of the axle the weight » descending draws the carriage and axle forwards
again; and the pinions m being thus turned half round in the opposite
direction turn the segment wheel 2 one quarter round, thus by means of
the pawl turning the disc j and axle one quarter round. After four
such actions, whereby the axle is turned round to its original position,
the attendant engaging a handle s of the carriage on a catch t holds the
carriage back till he can unclamp and remove the axle that has been
thus operated on and put another in its place.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, I claim,—
First. The shaping of axles with flaps and collars solid and in one
piece with the bodies and without welds by rolling bars of iron or steel,
substantially as herein described.
Second. The use in subjecting axles to the action of finishing rolls of
sliding clamp carriages with gearing, whereby the axle is automatically
turned partly round at cach stroke, substantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charlos Denton Abel, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-
five.