IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEELS AND AXLES
Year: 1860

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Mathers at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 9th
January 1860.
I, ROBERT MATHERS, of 287, Oxford Street, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEELS AND AXLES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of wheels
and axles. For these purposes, in constructing the rim of a wheel a com-
bination of wood and iron is used, the iron by preference being of a trough-like.
section. The wood, whether bent or cut to the desired curve or sweep, or
whether used with its grain at right angles to the tire or not, is compressed,
and is attached (temporarily, when requisite,) to the wrought or cast-iron rim.
The wood is then turned down to fit the tire, which is put on cold, or nearly
D

page_text: the nave.
so, thus avoiding the bad effect of charring the wood, the subsequent swelling
or expanding of the wood being sufficient to ensure the tight holding of the
tire. The spokes are made of steel, and their outer ends are each formed
into a spiral, which is tempered, and thus acts as a spring, and by such means
the requisite elasticity is obtained near the outer ends of the spokes. The
nave or stock of a wheel is cast on to the spokes after they have been secured
properly into the rim, and it is preferred that the nave should be cast of such
form as to obtain the greatest strength with the least weight, and by a one
part box or flask, for which purpose the nave is cast with the enlargements
for spokes alternately near the inner and outward ends of the nave, such
enlargements being connected by zig-zag ridges on the surface of the body of
The wheels are secured on the axles by taper screws screwing
into the ends of the axles. The axles have cuts at their ends, by which, when
the taper screws are screwed up, the ends of the axles are allowed to expand,
and the collars are made accordingly: 'so that when the ends of the axles are
expanded they will be securely retained. The outer cap or oil cover of a
wheel is secured by means of two or more lugs or projections inside the cap
or cover, and corresponding grooves cast or cut in the nave in a line with the
axle in such manner that, by turning the cap or cover, it becomes locked,
and is kept in position by an india-rubber or other elastic ring or washer fitted
into the recess in the cap or cover, and against the end of the nave. The
clastic washer or ring is compressed by the use of a suitable screw, which
can be attached to the spokes, and whilst so compressed the cap is turned
round until the projections on the cap enter the recesses in the nave, when
the elastic washer or ring will retain the cap or cover from moving.
SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said Robert Mathers in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th August 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
MATHERS, of 287, Oxford Street, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Robert Mathers, Her special licence that I. the said Robert Mathers, my

page_text: executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Robert
Mathers, 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 MANUFACTURE
OF WHEELS AND AXLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Robert Mathers, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly 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 on or before the Ninth day of August, One thousand eight hundred and
sixty.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert Mathers, 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
slatement thereof, that is to say:
This Invention has for its object improvements in the manufacture of wheels
and axles. For these purposes in constructing the rim of a wheel a combina-
tion of wood and iron is used, the iron, by preference, being of a trough-like
section. The wood, whether bent or cut to the desired curve or sweep, or
whether used with its grain at right angles to the tire or not, is compressed,
and is attached temporarily, when requisite, to the wrought or cast-iron rim;
the wood is then turned down to fit the tire, which is put on cold, or nearly
so, thus avoiding the bad effect of charring the wood, the subsequent swelling
or expanding of the wood being sufficient to ensure the tight holding of the
tire. The spokes are made of steel, and their outer ends are each formed into
a spiral which is tempered, and thus acts as a spring, and by such means the
requisite elasticity is obtained near the outer ends of the spokes.
The nave
or stock of a wheel is cast on to the spokes after they have been secured
properly into the rim, and it is preferred that the nave should be cast of such
form as to obtain the greatest strength with the least weight, and by a one
part box or flask, for which purpose the nave is cast with the enlargements
for spokes alternately near the inner and outward ends of the naves, such
enlargements being connected by zig-zag ridges on the surface of the body of
the nave.
The wheels are secured on the axles by taper screws screwing into the ends
of the axles. The axles have cuts at their ends by which, when the taper
screws are screwed up, the ends of the axles are allowed to expend, and the

page_text: collars are made accordingly, so that when the ends of the axles are expanded
they will be securely retained. The outer cap or oil cover of a wheel is
secured by means of two or more lugs or projections inside the cap or cover,
and corresponding grooves cast or cut in the nave in a line with the axle, in
such manner that by turning the cap or cover it becomes locked, and is kept
in position by an india-rubber or other clastic ring or washer fitted into the
recess in the cap or cover, and against the end of the nave. The elastic
washer or ring is compressed by the use of a suitable screw which can be
attached to the spokes, and whilst so compressed the cap is turned round until
the projections on the cap enter the recesses in the nave, when the elastic
washer or ring will retain the cap or cover from moving.
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention, I will proceed more
fully to describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shows a side view, and Figure 2 a transverse section, of a wheel
constructed according to my Invention, the outer rim a of which is made
hollow or of a trough-like section, which, however, is not new, hollow or
trough-like rims for wheels having been before used, and the same have been
filled with wood, on to which the tire has been applied hot and shrunk. The
rim a is filled with wood b, b, which may consist of more or less number of
pieces, and the grain may be caused to be at right angles to the tire or parallel
or nearly parallel thereto. The wood thus employed by me is first submitted
to pressure in moulds or compressed by passing it through rollers. suitably
formed till it has become reduced in dimensions and set, for which purpose,
when moulds are used,. it is preferred to employ heated moulds. The pieces of
compressed wood are placed in the rim a, and the same is to be held therein
temporarily in order that the wood may be turned to the proper form, after
which the tire c in a cold state, or nearly so, is forced on to the wood, and by
reason of the wood being in a compressed and dry state when introduced
between the rim and the tire, the wood will not be liable to shrink; on the con-
trary, it will swell or expand, and so retain the tire. The spokes used may be
of wrought iron, but when I desire that the spokes should be elastic, I use
steel.
The spokes d, d, which are shown in the Drawing, are of steel and
tempered, so that the helical or spiral forms into which they are coiled or
twisted convert them into springs. I would, however, remark that spring
spokes have before been employed in the construction of wheels; I do not
therefore claim the making of wheels elastic, except by the use of properly
tempered helices for that purpose on the outer ends of the spokes or rays, as

page_text: shewn at a, a. The nave or boss d' is peculiar in its form and in the manner
of its manufacture; Figure 3 shews a plan of the nave complete, with its end
cover e thereon; Figure 4 shews part of a plan without the end cover e; and
Figure 5 shews the end cover separately. The cover is attached, as shewn,
and is fixed, as hereafter explained. The nave is cast with bosses in two
seperate planes, which are connected by zig-zag ridges, f, which give great
strength in proportion to the quantity of metal used. The nave inclines
slightly alternately to each end, the alternate inclinations being outwards from
the roots of the bosses in which the spokes are fixed; by thus having the nave
made with zig-zag ridges or projections to connect the bosses in which the
spokes are fixed, a mould having but one parting may be used, such as is
shewn at Figure 6, which is an external view of a one part box or flask in
which a mould is made having but one parting. When the mould has been
produced, the ends of the spokes are laid into the parts x, x, of the lower half
mould, and the upper box is put into its place; the other end of the spokes
are received into a proper mould for casting the hollow or trough-like rim a,
and when such rim has been cast and has shrunk, the nave is cast in the mould,
Figure 6. The end of the axle, Figure 7, is formed to receive a taper screw b,
which in being screwed up expands the end of the axle c, which is slit or
divided at its outer end, and is thus capable of being expanded by the tapered
form of the screw b. The collar d is thereby securely fixed to the end of the
axle when it has been passed through the axle box formed in the nave. The
oil cap or cover f' has three lugs or inward projections e, e, which, when the
cover is put on the end of the nave, enter the grooves e, e', near the end of
the nave, and then when the cover is turned partly round, these lugs or pro-
jections enter the groove g. On the interior of the cover is an elastic ring h,
which, when the cover is forced into its place and turned partly round, is com-
pressed, by which the lugs or projections e will be held from moving in the
groove g, unless force be used to compress the ring hand to turn the cap
round.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that what I claim is,-
First, the combining compressed wood with a cast or wrought iron rim, and
fixing thereon an unexpanded tire, as herein described.
Secondly. I claim the manufacture of cast naves of wheels, as
described.
:
herein
Thirdly, I claim the making of spokes with spirals or helices of steel on the
outer ends, as before described.

page_text: Fourthly, I claim the mode of securing wheels and wheel boxes on axles, us
herein described.
And, fifthly, I claim the forming and retaining the end covers or caps of
the naves of wheels, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Mathers, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
ROBERT MATHERS. (L.S.)