CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SHAPTING AND IN TRANSMITTING POWER
Year: 1870

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Evan Arthur Leigh at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 24th
May 1870.
"
I, EVAN ARTHUR LEIGH, of the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN SHAPTING AND IN TRANSMITTING POWER," to be
as follows:
This Invention relates, firstly, to shafting for driving machinery of all
kinds, which shafting I make hollow instead of solid as follows:-I take
lap welded or other iron or steel tubes of about four inches diameter for
general purposes, and of any required length. These tubes,, which are
about three-sixteenths of an inch thick, have hoops welded in the ends
so as to thicken them for about three inches to about half-inch thick.
After being turned up true externally these tubes are bored out at the
ends as far as the hoops extend, all to a certain exact size and key bedded
internally to a gauge; they are then coupled together with couplings
to form a bearing of about two inches diameter, and about five inches
long by preference. These couplings are also hollow, and may be mado
of cast steel or malleable cast iron, and have swells at each end, which

page_text: are turned up to fit into the hollow tubes, and have key beds to corre-
spond with those in the tubes;, and if made exact one key will fit any of
the hollow shafts, and one step any of the bearings for that diameter of
shaft. The heads of the keys enter small recesses cut in the pipes for
making a nice finish, and allowing the keys to be withdrawn at pleasure.
These shafts I run at a speed of about four hundred revolutions per
minute for general purposes, and drive machinery direct from the hollow
shaft, dispensing with drums and pulleys altogether, except where an
extraordinary speed is required. The hangers or bearings for these shafts
have each a pocket cast in them which extends a little under and in
front of the step, and inside this pocket are two feathers which form an
incline. A small pulley covered with flannel or other soft substance is
placed in this pocket, the gudgeons of which rest on the inclined
feathers, so that the pulley presses against the shaft bearing by gravi-
tation, the step being cut out a little in the middle to allow it to touch
the shaft bearing from which it takes motion. The periphery of this
pulley touches the oil in the pocket and conveys it to the bearing which
it keeps constantly lubricating. I communicate motion to these hollow
shafts direct from the fly wheel of the steam engine or other motive
power by either straps for plain pulleys or bands with grooved pulleys in
such a manner that the pressure of the driving bands or straps is
equalized as much as practicable. I form twitch-nick grooves on the
fly wheel or other motive power, and pullies when bands are used with
either rolled iron or malleable cast iron bent and pinned on round their
peripheries, which are made of sufficient diameter according to the speed
so that the belts or bands will run through about four thousand feet of
space.per minute or upwards, so that they will run slack and turn the
machinery easily.
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