IMPROVEMENTS IN AXLES FOR ROAD CARRIAGES
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Shiels, of Number Nineteen, Balfour Street, Leith,
in the County of Midlothian, North Britain, Coach-builder, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AXLES FOR ROAD CARRIAGES."
Sealed the 18th May 1880, and dated the 24th November 1879.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Shiels at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th November 1879.
HENRY SHIELS, of Number Nineteen, Balfour Street, Leith, in the County of
Midlothian, North Britain, Coach-builder. "IMPROVEMENTS IN AXLES FOR ROAD
CARRIAGES."
This Invention relates to a new or improved construction of axle for road
carriages which, by strengthening the weak parts and equalizing the strain all
over the bearing surface, shall be less liable to break than carriage axles heretofore
in use, whilst the bushes or parts subjected to considerable wear can be easily
removed and renewed, and the wheels evenly and securely fitted in position.
And the nature and novelty of the Invention consist as follows:-The arm of
the axle is formed with a long shoulder extending out beyond the usual axle collar,
and tapered or reduced in diameter at its outer end, where little strain takes place,
and where its surface may be in contact with the usual revolving axle bush or box
fixed to the hub or nave of the wheel; but the inner strong end of this bush does
not bear directly on the axle shoulder, but on a gun metal or other bush interposed
between these surfaces, which intermediate bush is secured on the enlarged shoulder,
and kept from revolving on this by internal flat surfaces forined in it, bearing
against similar corresponding surfaces on the said shoulder of the axle, and is thus
easily removed and replaced when it is worn.
The axle bush or box carrying the wheel is secured to the axle arm by an
improved construction of screw oil cap screwed on to the end of the revolving bush
projecting out beyond the nave of the wheel. This cap is screwed hard up against
a leather or metal washer fitted between it and a large nut formed on a toothed
pinion gearing into three or more small pinion nuts round its periphery; and these

page_text: pinion nuts bear against a large disc or socket plate fixed outside the nave of the
wheel, and are screwed on to the ends of long bolts passing through this plate and
the nave, and through a strong flange plate inside the nave and collar of the axle
to secure the wheel, which plate may be made in halves for convenience of fitting,
or of a single plate split at one side, and fitted when hot with the cut edges over-
lapped to be secured by rivets, and this plate bears against a leather washer on the
axle collar. When the nave or the bush has any lateral play between the flange
and socket plates, these are brought closer together by turning the large central
pinion nut, the teeth on which, gearing into the small pinion nuts, cause these
simultaneously to screw up all the long bolts, and tighten up the wheel evenly
all round, the central nut being prevented from getting loose by the oil cap tightly
screwed up against the washer on the central wheel and nut.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by the
said Henry Shiels in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 19th May 1880.
HENRY SHIELS, of Number 19, Balfour Street, Leith, in the County of
Midlothian, North Britain, Coach Builder. "IMPROVEMENTS IN AXLES FOR ROAD
CARRIAGES."
My said Invention relates to a new or improved construction of axle for road
carriages, which, by strengthening the weak parts and equalizing the strain all
over the bearing surface, shall be less liable to break than carriage axles heretofore
in use, whilst the bushes, or parts subjected to considerable wear, can be easily
removed and renewed, and the wheels evenly and securely fitted in position.
And in order that my said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to
be performed or put into effect or practice, may be properly understood, I have
hereunto appended a Sheet of Drawings showing two modifications of my improved
construction of carriage axles and fittings which I shall now proceed to describe.
In these Drawings the same reference letters are used to mark the same or like
parts wherever they are shown.
Figure 1 on the Sheet of Drawings is a longitudinal vertical section, taken
through the centre of the axle box and nave C of the wheel, showing one
modification of the improved axle fitted therein; Figure 2 is an end elevation of
the same; and Figure 3 is a side elevation of one end or arm of the axle A
removed from its bush B; Figure 4 is a side and end elevation detached of the
supplementary gun metal bearing bush D fitted between the axle A and its main
bush B; and Figure 5 is a corresponding detached side and end elevation of the
nut D', which retains the bearing bush D in its place on the axle; whilst Figure 6
is a longitudinal vertical section through the centre of the axle box, showing a
alightly modified construction of my improved carriage axle from that shown in
Figure 1.
Referring to Figure 1 of the Drawings, the arm A. of the axle is formed with
a long shoulder A¹ extending out beyond the usual axle collar a, and is tapered or
reduced in diameter at its outer end A¹¹ where little strain takes place, and where
the surface or periphery of the axle arm A¹ is in contact with the usual revolving
axle bush or box B fixed to the hub or nave C of the wheel; but the inner strong
end B' of this bush B does not bear directly on the axle shoulder A³, but on a gun
metal or other bearing bush D interposed between these surfaces, and fitting close
up to the axle collar a. This intermediate bush D is secured on the enlarged
shoulder A' of the axle arm A, and kept from revolving on this by internal flat
surfaces d formed in it (as best seen in Figure 4), which bear against similar
corresponding surfaces formed on the said shoulder A¹ of the axle A. This bearing
bush 1 is retained in its place on the shoulder A' by means of a screw nut D¹
fitted on a corresponding screwed part d' of the axle after the bush has been
slipped over the shoulder A'; but the bush D might be held by a pin or other
equivalent instead of the screw nut D', and by the withdrawal of this pin, or
unscrewing of the nut D¹, the bush D can be easily removed and renewed when
it is worn, while the axle itself remains almost intact. The axle bush or box B
carrying the wheel C is secured to the axle arm A by an improved construction
of screw oil cap E, E¹, and fittings applied to the end of the revolving bush B
projecting out beyond the nave C of the wheel. The nut E of this cap E¹ is
screwed hard up against a leather or metal washer e fitted between it, and retaining
a large nut F formed on a toothed wheel F1 gearing into three, or it might be
more, small pinion nuts F ranged round its periphery. The pinion nuts Ful bear
against a large metal disc or socket plate G formed on the cap E, and fixed outside
the nave C of the wheel, with an annular groove g on the end of the bush B and

page_text: "
feather on the disc G, and having a central boss cast with the disc G, which forms
a bearing surface at G¹ for the nut and pinion F, F¹, to turn on, the outer end g¹
of this boss being screwed for the screw cap E, which retains the nut and
pinion F, F¹, in position. The inner ends of the pinion nuts F1 project through
eyes in the disc G in the form of rings screwed externally, on which screw nuts h
are fitted to retain the pinion nuts, which are screwed on to the ends of long
bolts H passing through the socket plate G and the nave C, and through a strong
circular flange plate or plates I inside the nave C and collar a of the axle A to
secure the wheel thereto, which plates I may be made in halves for convenience of
fitting, or of single plates split at one side and fitted, when hot, with the cut edges
or joint of the one plate overlapping or breaking bond" with the other, and these
plates may bear against a leather washer on the axle collar. The nave C of the
wheel is thus firmly held between the flange plates G and I; but when the nave C
or the bush D has any lateral play between the flange and socket plates G, I, these
are brought closer together by turning the large central wheel nut F, the teeth F¹
on which, gearing into the small pinion nuts F, cause these simultaneously to
revolve and screw up all the long bolts H, and tighten up the wheel evenly all
round. The central nut F is prevented from getting loose and relieving the
pinions F to loosen the bolts and wheel by the end cap E¹ tightly screwed
up against the washer e on the central wheel and nut F, FI, and oil cap E.
The modification of carriage axle A shown in Figure 6 of the Drawings does not
essentially differ from that just described in reference to Figures 1 to 5, excepting
that the intermediate bearing bush D and retaining nut D¹ are dispensed with, and
a longer and stronger shoulder A' thus formed on the axle A without a corre-
sponding increase of the dimensions of the axle bush or box B.
A strong gun
metal or other bearing washer d* is however fitted between the collar a of the
axle and the inner end surface of the bush B to prevent lateral wear and friction
of these surfaces. An oil recess is formed at B₁ in the bush B over the bush D,
or bearing shoulder A' of the axle A, to which the oil is admitted from the oil
cap E by the grooved channel e¹.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed or put into effect or practice, I wish it to be
understood that I do not restrict myself to the precise details herein described
or delineated, but what I believe to be novel and original, and therefore claim
as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part recited Letters
Patent is,--
The general construction and arrangement of axles for road carriages with their
axle bushes and fittings, all substantially as berein described in reference to the
accompanying Drawings, and for the purposes and advantages herein set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Shiels, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Fifteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty.
HENRY SHIELS. (L.S.)