New or Improved Machinery for Facilitating the Building or Putting Together of the Parts of Velocipede and like Wheels.
Year: 1898

page_text: New or Improved Machinery for Facilitating the Building or Putting
Together of the Parts of Velocipede and like Wheels.
I, JOHN VERNON PUGH, of Cumnor Cottage, Leek Wootton, near Kenilworth,
in the County of Warwick, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
-
My invention has for its object to facilitate the building or putting together
of the parts of velocipede and like wheels and consists of the construction and
arrangement or combination of the parts of machinery hereinafter described
to be employed for that purpose.
I will describe my invention in connection with a wheel having spokes of the
kind commonly called tangent or laced spokes.
In carrying my invention into effect I arrange a pair of rings of the size or
approximately of the size of the wheel to be made and between the said rings
I introduce the wheel rim the said rings being brought to bear on opposite sides
of the said wheel rim so as to constitute a clamp or holder for the same. Although
I prefer to use a ring like holder of the kind herein before described yet I wish
it to be understood that ring like holders of other descriptions may be employed.
The hub is supported by another holder in the axis of the said rings the holder
of the hub and the ring like holder of the wheel rim being so connected that
they are capable of turning together: Outside the ring like holder of the wheel
rim is a series of preferably four radial or approximately radial drills or punches
by which four holes are simultaneously bored or punched in the wheel rim at
the proper places and at the requisite distances apart. The said wheel rim is
then turned so as to bring another portion of the wheel rim under the action of
the drills or punches described. The holes made are supplied with nipples by
hand or by mechanical means and turning tools are made to operate on the heads
of the said nipples by the action of which tools the said nipples are rotated.
The hub holder has stationary plates with holes and slots on opposite sides of
the flanges of the hub by means of which holes and slots two spoke holes in each
flange of the hub are uncovered. Spokes of the ordinary kind are threaded
through the uncovered spoke holes in the flanges of the hub and the screwed ends
of the spokes are brought up or presented to the rotating nipples described by
which they are rapidly drawn up with great tightness. The nipple turning tools
are so arranged and adjusted that on the desired degree of tension being put
on the spokes the said tools slip or become disengaged from the spoke nipples
and cease to rotate them.
It will be understood that after the drilling or punching of the first four holes
and before the finishing or tensioning of the spokes of the last four holes there
is going on at the same time the drilling or. punching of four spoke holes in
the wheel rim and the tensioning of four spokes in the four holes previously
drilled or punched.

page_text: In this way the building or putting together of the parts of the wheels is very
quickly effected and time and labour saved.
Dated this Twenty-third day of September 1898.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.
New or Improved Machinery for Facilitating the Building or Putting
Together of the Parts of Velocipede and like Wheels.
I, JOHN VERNON PUGH, of Cumnor Cottage, Leek Wootton, near Kenilworth,
in the County of Warwick, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of my invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particu-
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention has for its object to facilitate the building or putting together
of the parts of velocipede and like wheels and consists of the construction and
arrangement or combination of the parts of machinery hereinafter described to
be employed for that purpose.
I will describe my invention in connection with a wheel having spokes of
the kind commonly called tangent or laced spokes.
In carrying my invention into effect I support the wheel rim in a ring like
chuck or between a pair of rings of the size or approximately of the size of the
wheel to be made, between which rings the wheel rim is introduced the said
rings being brought to bear on opposite sides of the said wheel rim so as to con-
stitute a clamp or holder for the same. Although I prefer to use a ring like
holder of the kinds herein before described yet I wish it to be understood that
ring like holders of other descriptions may be employed. The hub is supported
by another holder in the axis of the rim holder. Outside the ring like chuck
or holder of the wheel rim is a series of preferably four radial or approximately
radial drills or punches by which four holes are simultaneously bored or punched
in the wheel rim at the proper places and at the requisite distances apart. The
said wheel rim is then turned so as to bring another portion of the wheel rim
under the action of the drills or punches described. The holes made are supplied
with nipples by hand or by mechanical means and turning tools are made to
operate on the heads of the said nipples by the action of which tools the said
nipples are rotated.
The hub holder has stationary plates with holes and slots on opposite sides of
the flanges of the hub by means of which holes and slots, two spoke holes in each
flange of the hub are uncovered. Spokes of the ordinary kind are threaded
through the uncovered spoke holes in the flanges of the hub and the screwed
ends of the spokes are brought up or presented to the rotating nipples described
by which they are rapidly drawn up with great tightness. The nipple turning
tools are so arranged and adjusted that on the desired degree of tension being
put on the spokes the said tools slip or become disengaged from the spoke nipples
and cease to rotate them.
It will be understood that after the drilling or punching of the first four
holes and before the finishing or tensioning of the spokes of the last four holes
there is going on at the same time the drilling or punching of four spoke holes in
the wheel rim and the tensioning of four spokes in the four holes previously
drilled or punched.

page_text: In this way the building or putting together of the parts of the wheels is
very quickly effected and time and labour saved.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents partly in side elevation
and partly in section machinery constructed according to my invention; Figure 2
is a front elevation of a portion of the machine.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in both figures of the
drawings.
a is the ring like expanding chuck upon which the wheel rim 6 is supported.
The rim holder a proper (which is suited to the section of the rim to be used)
is bolted to the radially moving parts of the chuck a The chuck a, a² is
expanded for gripping the wheel rim 6 or contracted for releasing the said rim
by a scroll ring c having inwardly projecting arms c³, to facilitate the turning
of the scroll ring c by which the parts of the chuck a are expanded. The wheel
hub d is supported axially within the chuck a by the centres e, the centre e
being screwed to or from the hub by the hand wheel e¹ for fixing or releasing
the hub.
Situated above or approximately above the top of the supported or chucked
wheel rim 6 is a series of preferably four equi-distant radial drills f, f, f, f (see
Figure 2) and also a corresponding series of radial nipple rotating tools 9, 9, 9, 9.
The drills and nipple rotating tools g are rotated by band or belt gearing the
bands or belts passing under a drum i, over pulleys and around the pulleys 2
on the axes or shafts of the drills for nipple rotating tools g. The drum is
fixed to a shaft on which is a loose or idle pulley on to which loose or idle
pulley the main driving belt or band m is thrown when it is desired to stop the
machine.
The shafts f, g of the drills and nipple. rotating tools have bearings n, n³ on
the frame of the machine.
The drills and nipple rotating tools are moved radially to and from their
work by projections or pins p carried by but not fixed to the shafts of the drills
or nipple rotating tools which pins or projections take in slots in quadrant
shaped slides r, s operated by pedal mechanism cords and springs r², 83
respectively. The nipple rotating tools have on their acting face a roughened
surface by the bite of which on the top or head of the nipple the said nipple is
rotated, the pressure of the rotating tool being so regulated by coiled springs v
(see Figure 1) that on the tightening of the spokes to the proper degree of tension
the roughened faces of the nipple turning tools slip on the heads of the nipples
and cease to effect their rotation. The nipples may be fed down a slotted rail or
chute w by automatic delivery mechanism; or the said nipples may be introduced
by hand into the holes in the wheel rim.
The machine is used as follows:
The wheel hub d and rim b having been introduced into the machine in the
manner herein before described the pedal for operating the slider is pressed by
the foot of the attendant and the set of drills f, f, f, fmade to descend to their
work on the rim b, four holes being thereby simultaneously formed in the chucked
rim. The rim is partially rotated by turning the chuck a by hand so as to
bring the holes made in the rim under the set of nipple turning tools g the said
holes having been provided with nipples by an automatic nipple feeding device
or by hand. To determine the exact position of the rim after each partial rota-
tion of the chuck the periphery of the chuck has notches (see Figure 2) with
which a spring catch or the like engages and temporarily fixes the position of
the rim. Spokes are passed through holes in the flanges of the hub d and are
presented to the nipples in the holes in the rim. Both pedals being pressed
by the feet of the attendant both slides r, s are moved and the whole series of
radial tools f g brought to their work so that four fresh holes are drilled and
the four nipples in the previously drilled holes are screwed on and made to draw
up the spokes with the requisite degree of tightness.

page_text: The operations described are repeated until the wheel is finished when the
wheel is removed from the machine and replaced by another wheel rim and hub.
I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the use of the slotted
quadrant slides for giving the radial motion to the drills and nipple turning
tools as other equivalent mechanism may be employed for that purpose.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that I claim as
my invention :-
The construction and arrangement or combination of parts herein before
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings constituting new or
improved machinery for facilitating the building or putting together of the parts
of velocipede and like wheels the said construction and combination of parts
consisting essentially of a ring like expanding chuck or its equivalent, a holder
for supporting the hub in the axis of the chuck, sets of radial drills and nipple
rotating tools capable of rotation and also of a slight radial motion and slotted
quadrant slides and pins or projections on the shafts of the radial drills, and tools
engaging in the slots of the slides for giving on the motion of the quadrant.
slides the necessary radial motion to the radial drills and tools the several parts
being arranged and working substantially as herein before described and illus-
.trated.
Dated the Sixteenth day of June 1899.