IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CARRIAGE WHEELS
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Skelley, of Kilcurry, in the County of Longford,
Ireland, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
CARRIAGE WHEELS."
Sealed the 28th December 1855, and dated the 28th June 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Skelley at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 28th June
1855.
I, JOHN SKELLEY, of Kilcurry, in the County of Longford, Ireland, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF CARRIAGE WHEELS" to be as follows:-
My improvements in the construction of wheels, in the first part, consist in
forming carriage wheels with an inner circle of felloes, placed at a distance
from the hub to form a circle of about one-third or one-fourth the diameter of
the wheel, whereby I am enabled to have a great number of spokes in the
wheel, only some of which are carried into the hub or nave, the others
sustaining the outer rim or felloes from the inner circle of felloes.
In constructing these wheels, I mortise half the number of spokes into the
hub, which spokes sustain the felloes or outer rim in the ordinary manner.
Between these spokes I fit the inner felloes, at a distance of some eight or ten

page_text: inches from the hub, so as to be flush with the sides of the spokes; they are
forced hard up towards the centre, and held in position by rings or bands of
iron, one on either side of the wheel; these inner felloes form a centre or hub
for the spokes intermediate of the main 'spokes, to which centre they are fitted.
The outer felloes or rim may thus have a great number of points of support
without the necessity of using a large hub or nave to receive such number of
spokes; moreover, any side strain on the tyre is distributed by the inner rim
to several of the main spokes, and prevents excess of strain on any individual
spoke at the nave.
The second part of my Invention consists in the application of an extending
nose-piece to the points of the spokes of a wheel, whereby the felloes or ri..
may be caused to expand, and bear hard against the tyre. This consists
simply of a metal socket to receive the point of the spoke; it has a pin which
enters the felloe; this pin is fitted with a screw and nut, which nut comes
between the felloe and the socket: The nut when turned round presses the
felloes outwards from the centre and against the tyre. The tyre on the inner
side is made concave in the direction of its breadth, and is thereby prevented
from slipping sideways. The extending sockets force the felloes or rim into
concave form of the tyre, the felloes or rim being slightly convex to fit
therein.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Skelley in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 28th
December 1855:
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
SKELLEY, of Kilcurry, in the County of Longford, Ireland, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date-the Twenty-eighth day of June, in. the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant.unto me, the said
John Skelley, Her special licence that I, the said John Skelley, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Skelley, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
CARRIAGE WHEELS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John

page_text: Skelley, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should parti-
cularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
.
'
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Skelley, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
My Invention of improvements in the construction of wheels, in the first
part, consists in forming carriage wheels with an inner circle of felloes, placed
at a distance from the hub to form an intermediate circle, whereby I am
enabled to have a great number of spokes in the wheel, only some of which
are carried into the hub or nave, the others sustaining the outer rim or felloes
from the inner circle of felloes. In constructing these wheels, I mortise half
the number of spokes into the hub, which spokes sustain the felloes or outer
rim in the ordinary manner. Between these spokes I fit the inner felloes, at
a distance of some (eight or ten inches) from the hub, so as to be flush with
the sides of the spokes; they are forced hard up towards the centre, and
held in position by rings or bands of iron, one on either side of the wheel;
these inner felloes form a centre or hub for the spokes intermediate of the
main spokes, to which centre they are fitted. The outer felloes or rim may
thus have a great number of points of support without the necessity of using
a large hub or nave to receive such number of spokes; moreover, any side
strain on the tyre is distributed by the inner ring to several of the main spokes,
and prevents excess of strain on any individual spoke at the nave.
The second part of my Invention consists in the application of an extending
tennon or nose-piece to the points of the spokes of a wheel, whereby the
felloes or rim may be caused to expand, and bear hard against the tyre. This
consists simply of a metal socket to receive the point of the spoke; it has a pin
or tennon which enters the felloe; this pin is fitted with a screw and nut, which
nut comes between the felloe and the socket. The nut when turned round
presses the felloe outwards from thé centre and against the tyre. The tyre on
the inner side is made concave in the direction of its breadth, and is thereby
prevented from slipping sideways. The extending tennons force the-felloes-or
rin into the concave form of the tyre, the felloes or rim being slightly convex
to fit therein.
Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of a wheel constructed according to my

page_text: Invention; Fig. 2, a transverse section of the same; while Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6
represent portions in detail. a, a, a, are the main spokes of the wheel, which
in Fig. 1 are twelve in number, the whole number of spokes being much
more than the number of spokes usually in wheels. These spokes a, a, a, are
mortised, and fixed into the nave 6 in the ordinary way, but are somewhat
stouter near the nave or centre than ordinary spokes. The extreme ends of the
spokes may be fitted to the felloes in the usual manner, or according to the
second part of my Invention, to be hercin-after described.
c, c, c, is the inner
rim or set of felloes, which are in separate pieces, each piece being fitted
between two of the main spokes a, a. The whole of these pieces c, c, c, are
simultaneously pressed hard towards the nave b, and the whole secured by
means of two iron rings d, d, one on each side of the wheel, which rings are
secured by the rivets or bolts e, e, e, passing through the felloes c, c, c, by which
the whole are firmly held together. Mortises are previously cut in the felloes
c, c, c, for the reception of the intermediate spokes f.f.f, which are firmly fitted
and fixed thereto; the felloes c, c, c, thus form a centre or nave for the shorter
spokes, which are fitted to sustain the felloes or rim g, g, in the same manner
as spokes a, a, a. The small number of spokes inserted into the nave obviates
the necessity of so many mortise holes, which to receive the whole twenty-four
spokes would weaken the nave very much, and moreover necessitate the use
of a very large nave for the purpose; whereas the insertion of ouly twelve
spokes in the nave, its strength is retained, and a small diameter of nave only
required. The, number of spokes in the circumference being double the
number that enter the nave, the points of support to the felloes 9, 9, 9, are
very numerous, and consequently afford great strength to the circumference.
The distance between the points of the spokes being short by reason-of-the
number of spokes, the. wood felloes or rims g, g, may be lighter, and contain
less material than is necessary where the number of spokes are limited. The
felloes g, g, g, may either be in several pieces, cut to the form as usual for carts,
or other carriages, or other heavy description of vehicle, or may be in two
pieces, bent to the form as represented in the Drawing, the joints being
covered by the bands h, h.. The pressure on any of the intermediate spokes
ff, towards the nave 6 is received by the inner felloes c, c, into which it is
fixed; from this it is transmitted to the several principal spokes a, a, of the
wheel by the circle c, d, c, d; any lateral or side strain is also distributed by the
same micans to the several main spokes, which does not subject the tennons
entering the nave b or the mortises therein individually to so much side strain
as each individual spoke of an ordinary wheel is subject. For this reason I
am enabled to use hubs or naves of iron, into which the spokes are mortised,

page_text: the strain on any single spoke not being sufficient to injure the tennon of the
spoke, but which in the ordinary construction of wheel would be liable to
injury, and ultimately to break off the tennons of the spokes. The wheel
exhibited in the Drawing represents the spokes all in the same plane, but the
same principle of construction is equally applicable to wheels that are more or
less dished, and may be constructed with a greater or less number of spokes.
The second part of my Invention relates to the extending spokes, which
expand the felloes or outer circumference of the wheel. Fig. 5 represents an
external view of the extending tennon of the spoke; Fig. 6, a section of the
same. Several of these are represented on the spokes in Fig. 1, for example.
The wheel, however, when constructed with expanding spokes should have the
whole of them so fitted. It consists simply of a socket 1, which receives the
point of the spokes, it being reduced so as to enter it; a screw pin or tennon 2
is fixed, and forms a part of the socket piece 1; on this screw 2 a nut 3 is
fitted, which is further fitted within a recess in the upper part of the socket
piece 1. This nut can be readily turned round by means of the hole 4 in its
side, whereby it is lowered into or projected from the recess 5, 5. Instead of
the hole 4, the nut may be formed six-sided, as represented in dotted lines at
,, Fig. 5, to fit a wrench. This nose-piece being fitted to the point of each
spoke, the holes are bored in the felloes g, g, g, for the reception of the points
of the screws 2,2, the felloes resting on the nuts 3, 3; thin washers are inter-
posed between the nut and the felloe. In using these extending points to the
spokes, I curve the tyre k in its cross section, as seen in Fig. 2, and in Fig. 3,
which represents the whole on an enlarged scale, thus forming the tyre con-
cave on the inside all round. The periphery or sole of the felloes g, g, is made
somewhat convexed, to correspond with the inner surface of the tyre of the
wheel. In putting on the tyre of the wheel so fitted, instead of shrinking it
on hot, as usual, it may be applied cold, and the felloes expanded to fit tightly
in the tyre by turning the nuts 3, 3, in the proper direction, the nuts having
previously been screwed as low in their sockets 5, 5, as possible; or the tyre
may be shrunk on in the usual way with the nuts 3, 3, in the position
mentioned. In the event of shrinkage of the wood, or the tyre becoming loose
from any other cause, it may be again tightened by turning cach of the nuts
3, 3, so as to expand the felloes, which will cause the tyre to be firmly fixed in
its position; by rendering the tyre concave, as described, it will prevent the
possibility of its slipping off the felloes, and this without the necessity of intro-
ducing any bolts or pins through the felloes and tyre for that purpose. In
making wheels with bent felloes, the application of the metal bands h, h, are
well understood, being thin metal sockets, which surround and hide the joints

page_text: of the felloes g, g; these are recessed into the felloes between the sole of the
felloe and the tyre, as seen in the lateral section of the tyre, Fig. 4, but stand
above the sides and inner surface of the tyre; bolts or rivets n, n, are passed
through the bands and felloes, as seen in Fig. 4. In order to permit the
expansion of the wheel as. described, I form oblong holes either in the felloes,
as. at pp, or in the metal bands, which allows the free expansion or contrac-
tion of the felloes, and their separation at the joints 9, 9, for the purposes
described. The expanding. spokes may be applied to wheels in which the
felloes are composed of several pieces, the joints of which may or may not be
covered by bands, as described; there being a number of joints, they will not
open so much individually as where there are only two, as represented in the
Drawing. The curved tyre -and felloe sole-may also be applied to wheels of
the ordinary construction:
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I would have it understood that what I claim as my
Invention is,
The construction and use of carriage wheels with an inner rim or circle
c, d, c, d, c, d, in which some of the spokes are fitted or fixed, as described,
instead of the whole being carried into the nave.
Secondly, I claim the use and application of extending tennons or nose-
pieces to the points of the spokes for the purpose of expanding the felloes or
rim, as described, and also forming the tyre concave in its cross section,
substantially for the purpose and in manner herein-before set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Skelley, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
JOHN SKELLEY. (L.S.)