Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 31st May, 1887.
Specification Accepted, 11th Oct., 1887
1, FREDERICK YORK WOLSELEY, of Walgett, in the Colony of New South Wales,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :—
My invention relates to that kind of driving shaft which is suitable for working
machines that have to be moved about while they are at work, such as sheep-shearing
machines, and it consists in a novel construction of such shaft. In my shaft there are
three main parts, viz., an inner core of wire cord or rope, a surrounding coil of spiral
wire, and an outer casing or covering of cloth or india-rubber or other flexible
material. The wire cord is the actuating part of my shaft, the other parts simply
forming a vehicle for containing it and by which it can be used. Accordingly, the
one end of said wire cord is hooked on to or otherwise attached to a solid rod to
which rotary motion is given by any approved means and the other end is hooked on
to or otherwise attached to the end of a spindle to which motion has to be imparted.
This spindle may convey its motion to the operative parts of a machine in any
approved way. My flexible shaft may also receive its motion from any suitable
contrivance, but in the drawings hereto attached I have shewn the best arrangement
for the purpose which is known to me. In them, Fig. 1 shews plan and Fig. 2
elevation of such an arrangement. Fig. 3 shews a section (on an enlarged scale) of
the friction gear hereinafter referred to, whilst Fig. 4 shews exactly how my flexible
shaft is constructed, parts being broken away in order to shew the construction more
clearly. A is an ordinary framing, and B the main shaft, working in suitable
bearings B' and having keyed on it the belt pulley B, to which motion is imparted,
and also the rope pulley B for communicating motion by means of the driving belt C,
which passes between guide-pulleys and and around the pulley D, formed on the
lower half of the friction gearing, which lower half revolves freely on the hollow
spindle E, whilst the upper half D' works freely up and down on the key E' but
revolves with said spindle E. D' is a leather friction piece fitted to D'. F is the
central spindle screwed at its top and provided with nuts F1, and formed square at
its lower end so as to fit in a corresponding hole in the hollow spindle E. F' is a
hook at its lower end, which is the point of connection between said spindle F and

page_text: the flexible shaft G; whilst H is the connection between said shaft and the driving
spindle of the shearing or other machine to which it is to be attached. G¹ is the
wire cord-G' the spiral wire-and G³ the flexible outer casing. The upper half D¹
of the friction gearing is kept down and in gear with the lower half by the pressure
of spiral spring J; and K is a lever by means of which said upper half may be
released from said lower half. At the end of this lever is a cord K¹, by pulling
which such disconnection is effected, and when said lever is pulled down sufficiently
to allow of its passing under spring catch L, it will remain disconnected until released
by cord L pulling back such spring-catch L so as to offer no resistance to the
pressure of spring J, on the upper balf of the friction gear.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
The central core of wire cord or rope G¹, in combination with the spiral wire G³
and outer flexible casing G³, as and for a flexible driving shaft, substantially as herein
described and explained.