Improvements in the Wheels of Bicycles, Tricycles, and other Velocipedes, and of Motor and other Wheel Carriages.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Oct., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 28th June, 1898-Accepted, 3rd Sept., 1898
Improvements in the Wheels of Bicycles, Tricycles, and other
Velocipedes, and of Motor and other Wheel Carriages.
We, CHARLES POOLE, of No. 10 Court, Lower Tower Street, Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Cycle Wheel Maker, and JOSEPH HOWARD KIRK, of Jessamine
Villa, Orchard Road, Erdington, in the County of Warwick, Mechanical Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The said invention consists of the improvements hereinafter described in the
construction of wheels which improvements are principally applicable to the wheels
of bicycles, tricycles and other velocipedes but are also applicable to the wheels of
motor and other wheel carriages.
We will describe the said invention in connection with one of the wheels of a
velocipede.
Instead of making the hub of the wheel of a single tubular piece having a spoke
flange at each end, we form the said hub in the following manner.
We make a
tubular sleeve and form an internal screw thread in each end of the same the screw
thread in one end of the said sleeve being right handed and the screw thread in the
other end being left handed. The middle of the said screwed sleeve has a hexagonal
or other angular nut by means of which the said screwed sleeve may be turned. The
two spoke flanges of the hub are provided respectively with tubular extensions screwed
externally with screw threads corresponding to the right and left hand screw threads in
the sleeve. The spoke flanges of the hub are provided with slots instead of the usual
holes, the said slots permitting of the introduction of the inner ends of the spokes
by a sliding motion in a line parallel with the axis of the hub. The spokes we
employ are provided with a head at each end, that at the outer end of the spoke
being larger than that at the inner end. When it is desired to fix the spokes tangen-
tially the extreme inner end of each spoke is cranked at or nearly at right angles
and carries the head. The rims of the wheels are provided with holes of a size and
shape suitable for the fitting therein of the heads at the outer ends of the spokes.
The cup in which the ball bearings work is either made in one piece with the spoke
flange and its extension; or it may be made separately and fixed to the said spoke
flange and its extension so that the said parts, namely, the cup, the flange and its
extension are virtually one piece and travel together in the screw in the sleeve.
The position of each flange may be fixed when adjusted by a lock nut screwing on
the screwed extension of the flange.
In putting the parts together the lock nuts on the screwed extensions of the
flanges are screwed up to or nearly to the said flanges respectively the tubular
extensions of the flanges of the hub are made to approach each other by turning
the internally screw threaded sleeve by means of its hexagonal nut in the direction
proper to make the said tubular extensions simultaneously to advance in the said
sleeve. The inner end of each spoke is passed through the hole in the rim of the
wheel and the head of the said inner end of the spoke is inserted in one of the slots in
one of the flanges. The series of spokes having been put into position in the way
n

page_text: described the requisite tension is given to the said spokes by turning the hexagonal
nut on the screwed sleeve in a direction proper to make the flanges recede from one
another. By this motion of the flanges the angle at which the alternate spokes are
inclined to one another is increased and the requisite tension put upon them. The
tension of the spokes having been adjusted the position of the flanges is fixed by
means of the lock nuts on the extensions of the said flanges which said lock nuts are
respectively turned until they abut against the ends of the sleeve.
In order to repair the wheel or to replace any of the spokes, it is only necessary
to unlock the tubular sleeve by turning the lock nuts so as to withdraw them
from the said sleeve when the said sleeve can be rotated by its hexagonal nut in
a direction proper to make the flanges approach each other, when the tension on
the spokes is relaxed and the spokes or any of them may be removed.
In addition to the hexagonal nut on the sleeve for adjusting the tension of the
spokes the middle of the interior of the sleeve may be made angular so that by the use of
an angular key or tool the turning of the said sleeve and the tension of the spokes
may be effected from the inside of the sleeve. This is a convenience in the
building up of the cycle.
.
Dated thia kinat day of Clatober 1907
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicants.
"
Improvements in the Wheels of Bicycles, Tricycles, and other
Velocipedes, and of Motor and other Wheel Carriages.
We, CHARLES POOLE, of No. 10 Court, Lower Tower Street, Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Cycle Wheel Maker, and JOSEPH HOWARD KIRK, of Jessamine
Villa, Orchard Road, Erdington, in the County of Warwick, Mechanical Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said invention and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
The said invention consists of the improvements hereinafter described in the
construction of wheels which improvements are principally applicable to the wheels
of bicycles tricycles, and other velocipedes but are also applicable to the wheels of
motor and other wheel carriages.
We will describe the said invention in connection with one of the wheels of a
velocipede.
Instead of making the hub of the wheel of a single tubular piece having a spoke
flange at each end, we form the said hub in the following manner. We make a tubular
sleeve and form an internal screw thread in each end of the same, the screw thread in
one end of the said sleeve being right handed and the screw thread in the other end
being left handed. The middle of the said screwed sleeve has a hexagonal or other
angular nut by means of which the said screwed sleeve may be turned. The two spoke
flanges of the hub are provided respectively with tubular extensions screwed
externally with screw threads corresponding to the right and left hand screw threads
in the sleeve. The spoke flanges of the hub are provided with slots instead of the
usual holes, the said slots permitting of the introduction of the inner ends of the
spokes by a sliding motion in a line parallel with the axis of the hub. The spokes
we employ are provided with a head at each end, that at the outer end of the spoke
being larger than that at the inner end. When it is desired to fix the spokes
tangentially the extreme inner end of each spoke is cranked at or nearly at right
angles and carries the head. The rims of the wheels are provided with holes of a
.

page_text: size and shape suitable for the fitting therein of the heads at the outer ends of the
spokes.
The cup in which the ball bearings work is either made in one piece with the
spoke flange and its extension; or it may be made separately and fixed to the said
spoke flange and its extension so that the said parts, namely, the cup, the flange and
its extension are virtually one piece and travel together in the screw in the sleeve.
The position of each flange may be fixed when adjusted by a lock nut screwing on
the screwed extension of the flange, or by preference, on an external screw thread
on the sleeve.
In putting the parts together the lock nuts are screwed on the screwed extensions
of the flanges or on the sleeve to or nearly to their full extent. The tubular ex-
tensions of the flanges of the hub are made to approach each other by turning the
internally screw threaded sleeve by means of its hexagonal nut in the direction
proper to make the said tubular extensions simultaneously to advance in the said
sleeve. The inner end of each spoke is passed through the hole in the rim of the
wheel and the head of the said inner end of the spoke is inserted in one of the
slots in one of the flanges. The series of spokes having been put into position in
the way described the requisite tension is given to the said spokes by turning the
hexagonal nut on the screwed sleeve in a direction proper to make the flanges recede
from one another. By this motion of the flanges the angle at which the alternate
spokes are inclined to one another is increased and the requisite tension put upon
them. The tension of the spokes having been adjusted the position of the flanges
is fixed by means of the lock nuts which said lock nuts are respectively turned
until they abut against the ends of the sleeve or against the spoke flanges.
In order to repair the wheel or to replace any of the spokes, it is only necessary
to unlock the tubular sleeve by turning the lock nuts so as to withdraw them
from the said sleeve when the said sleeve can be rotated by its hexagonal nut in
a direction proper to make the flanges approach each other, when the tension on
the spokes is relaxed and the spokes or any of them may be removed.
In addition to the hexagonal nut on the sleeve for adjusting the tension of the
spokes the middle of the interior of the sleeve may be made angular so that by
the use of an angular key or tool the turning of the said sleeve and the tension of the
spokes may be effected from the inside of the sleeve. This is a convenience in
the building up of the cycle.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents in elevation a steering wheel
hub made according to the said invention and Figure 2 is a section of the same;
Figure 3 is an end elevation of the said hub showing the arrangement of tangent
spokes therewith Figures 4 and 5 are the principal parts of the said hub detached.
Figures 6 and 7 are respectively an elevation and section of a driving wheel hub
made according to the said invention.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the
drawings.
at is the internally screwed sleeve constituting the middle of the hub and b, b are
the spoke flanges having the externally screwed extensions b, b. The external screw
thread on the extension 2 of one of the spoke flanges is left handed and the screw
thread of the extension 6 of the other spoke flange bis right handed and the internal
serew threads in the ends of the sleeve a are correspondingly screw threaded.
The extreme ends of the sleeve are also externally screw threaded for the
reception of the lock nuts c, c, the external screw threads on the sleeve a being
preferably of an opposite direction or character to that of the internal screw threads;
that is to say,
if at one end of the sleeve a the internal screw thread is right handed
the external screw thread on the same end of the said sleeve is preferably left handed
and the reverse.
The lock nuts c, c may be screwed on the extensions b² of the spoke flanges b but
we prefer the arrangement described and represented.
In order to attach the spokes of the wheel to the spoke flanges b, b we preferably
employ spokes d, d having heads at each end marked respectively d', d', the head d¹

page_text: at the inner end being much smaller than the head d at the outer end (see one of the
spokes represented in Figure 3) and sinaller than the hole in the wheel rim through
which the spoke has to be passed; and we make side slots b¹, b¹ in the spoke flange b
in which the inner ends of the spokes may be engaged by a side motion as is
represented in Figures 2 and 3. When the inner ends of all the spokes have been
engaged with the spoke flange, a ring e is screwed on to the said spoke flange to
retain the spokes in place. In Figure 3 the spoke fixing ring e is omitted.
In Figure 3 we have only represented tangent spokes in connection with the
improved hub but we wish it to be understood that direct or radial spokes may be
employed the inner ends of the spokes in the latter case being uncranked.
In building a wheel according to the said invention the lock nuts c, c are screwed
on the tubular sleeve a to their full extent and the extensions 6, 62 of the spoke
flanges b, b are introduced, by screwing, into the tubular sleeve a. The rings e, e are
detached from the spoke flanges b, b and the said spokes are connected to the hub
and rim of the wheel. The rings e, e being replaced the tubular sleeve a is turned by
its angular middle part a² in the direction proper to cause a separation of the spoke
flanges b, b and a consequent tightening of the spokes. When the desired tension of
the spokes is obtained the lock nuts c, c are turned in the direction proper to make
them bear on the spoke flanges at their respective ends of. the hub and thereby lock
the spoke flanges in the positions to which they have been advanced (as is best seen
in Figure 2).
When the position of the spoke flanges b, b is fixed by lock nuts on the screwed
extensions 62, 62 of the said spoke flanges b, b instead of on the sleeve a, the said
lock nuts when in their locking position bear against the opposite ends respectively
of the internally screwed sleeve a.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood
that we do not claim broadly the use of a hub the spoke flanges of which are made
to approach to or recede from one another by the action of a right and left, handed
screw but what we claim as our "improvements in the wheels of bicycles tricycles
and other velocipedes and of motor and other wheel carriages" is :-
First The combination in the hub of the said wheel of a tubular sleeve the
opposite ends of which are screw threaded internally with right and left handed screw
threads respectively, and spoke flanges having tubular extensions screwed externally
for taking in the ends of the internally screwed sleeve, the middle part of the sleeve
being angular or so shaped as to fit the said sleeve to be turned on the extensions of
the spoke flanges substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
Secondly: The construction and arrangement or combination of the parts of the
hub of a wheel herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings,
the said construction and arrangement of parts consisting of an internally screwed
hollow sleeve provided with right and left hand screw threads at the two ends
respectively, slotted spoke flanges with externally screwed extensions for taking in
the ends of the sleeve, lock nuts on externally screwed parts of the sleeve and rings
for taking on the slotted ends of the spoke flanges and thereby retaining the inner
headed ends of the spokes in place substantially as described and illustrated.
Dated this Twenty-eighth day of June 1898.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicants.