IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEELS AND IN AXLES FOR CARRIAGES AND OTHER VEHICLES
Year: 1871

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas James Smith at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th October 1871.-A communication from abroad by Auguste
Lengelée and Leon Bouttier, both of Ruc Fontaine au Roi, Paris,
France.
I, THOMAS JAMES SMITH, of the Firm of Robertson, Brooman, and
Company, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agents, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
WHEELS AND IN AXLES FOR CARRIAGES AND OTHER VEHICLES," to be as follows:-
:-
The objects of this Invention, which relates to wheels and axles for
carriages and other vehicles, are to reduce considerably the friction of
wheels upon their axles, and consequently to render the former more
ready to revolve, and to reduce the length of the latter. The nave of
the wheel is traversed by an arm with a shoulder which bears on one
side against the side of a guard made of hard metal, and the other end of
which is received by a strong cap of the same metal as the guard and
into which it is firmly screwed. The pressure of the cap upon the arm
may bo varied by using a universal key by means of two holes male for

page_text: the purpose, and produces the complete rigidity or solidity of the parts
This
between the nave of the wheel, the guard, the cap, and the arm.
arm or journal is terminated beyond the wheel by a cylindrical head
which fits into a cavity formed in the centre of a metal case screwed into
the end of the axle. Upon the face of this metal case two key-shaped
grooves or openings are formed which receive two pads or wedges, cach
provided with a tenon corresponding with the grooves in the case; these
two wedges by fitting by means of their tenons into the grooves or
mortices of the case are held between the side of the guard and the
conical part of the head of the arm, which produces a gentle friction
of the wheel against its axle. Upon the rubbing face of the two wedges
a large central hollowing is made in order to diminish the friction and to
produce a reservoir for the oil or other lubricant. The wedges are them-
selves held rigidly upon the case by means of a collar which passes over
the case and the wedges and thus binds them together. Two pressure
screws are provided to permit the pressure of the wedges upon the arm
to be regulated. A lubricating cup constantly maintains the lubrication
of the joint.
The method of fixing the case upon the axle may be varied and may
be accomplished by rings, bolts, or keys; for instance, the arm of the
wheel may terminate in the form of a cylindrical pivot and be provided
with one or two grooves of circular or triangular section. The axle can
bo hollowed out at each end into a socket or case corresponding to the
exact diameter of the pivot. This socket or case is pierced with screw
threaded holes which receive screws, the internal ends of which are of
corresponding form to the grooves or holes in the pivot. In the rotation
the pivot of each wheel turns while rubbing on the interior of the socket
or case of the fixed axle. In order to utilize existing axles the arms can
be shortened and shaped into the form of pivots with grooves so as to
lodge in sockets formed in the naves of the wheels, an arrangement the
direct reverse of that previously described.