Improved Appliances for Reducing Vibration in Cycles and Carriages.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Nov., 1891-Accepted, 19th Dec., 1891
CUM DRIV DI BUITIVATION.
Improved Appliances for Reducing Vibration in Cycles and
Carriages.
We, JOHN SNELL CHENHALL, of Wolsely Road, Eastville, Bristol, Civil
Engineer, and JOHN HENRY REED, of Fremantle Road, Cotham, Bristol, no
occupation 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 :-
Our invention relates to appliances for reducing or counteracting the vibration
or shock experienced by persons riding on cycles or in carriages of all kinds, and
consists in the intervention of rubber or other flexible or clastic substance between
the axle of the wheel and the outer rim or felloes.
The unpleasant sensations caused by the passing of carriages over rough stones
and other uneven surfaces are well known, and numerous expedients have from time
to time been devised for remedying or decreasing the shock; most of these devices
consist in placing rubber tires, either solid or hollow, around the rim or felloes of
the wheels, and as a natural consequence, the wear of the roads, and constant
liability of contact with sharp stones and similar material, causes the duration of
these tires to be very limited, and their renewal an expensive item; the object of our
invention is to insert the elastic material for reducing this shock in such a position
that the vibration will be most effectively reduced or destroyed, while at the same
time, the material interposed will be free from wear and friction, so that it is
practically indestructible.
The best material for this purpose is rubber, which may be placed in various
positions in the wheel, and produce the desired results; we find that two methods
which we propose to employ are more particularly suitable for the purpose; the
first is a general method for the wheels of carriages, omnibuses, cycles, tram-cars,
and railway vehicles, according to which the rubber is packed round the axle box,.
and cased by a hub to which the spokes are fastened; and the other is a method
adapted for the wheels of cycles and similar light vehicles, by which a ring of
solid or hollow rubber is placed at any convenient distance between the hub and the
outer rim, and connected to the hub and rim by an arrangement of spokes and inner
rims hereafter to be described.
In carrying our invention into effect according to the first named method, we
provide thick rubber bands or rings, or a number of rings to be placed side by side,
according to the size of the vehicle and wheels and the purposes for which they are
to be employed, the axle box is then covered with the rubber band or bands of the
required thickness, and around this the hub is placed, sockets are made in the hub
to receive the spokes from the felloes of carriage wheels and the like, and the spokes
of cycle or similar wheels are attached from the rim to the hub in the ordinary
way, and the hub is kept in place around the rubber and axle-box by screw-bolts
passing through flanges or plates at each end of the hub and also through holes in
the rubber, the holes being made a trifle larger than the bolts, to allow room for
expansion and contraction when any additional weight or strain is placed upon the
wheels, and by this compression of the rubber, the shock or jerk on the wheel is
considerably reduced or absorbed.
For the wheels of cycles or other vehicles having light wire spokes, we
conveniently adopt another method, according to which we place a ring of hollow
rubber at a suitable distance from the hub, and to this tubular ring we affix an outer
and an inner rim or casing, the periphery of the wheel is made of the usual metal
rim, in which a solid rubber tire of the ordinary kind and size is placed; the hub
is made of the usual shape, but a flange or plate is attached to each side, leaving a
space between them and the axle, forming loose collars, so that when any additional

page_text: weight or vibration affects the external rim, the shock will be practically absorbed
by the arrangement of spokes and rims now to be described; the external rim
is connected by spokes to the loose collars on the axle, and these collars are
connected by another series of spokes to the outer rim on the.hollow rubber ring,
the inner rim, on which the ring rests, is then connected by a third series of spokes
to the hub which is tightly fixed to the axle, so that any unusual vibration or jerk
given to the external wheel has to pass over three series of spokes and the hollow
rubber ring, before it can be communicated to the rider.
Our invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which
Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a carriage wheel, with the rubber round the
axle box:
:
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a cycle wheel showing the hollow rubber ring at a
short distance from the hub, and
J
Fig. 3 is an enlarged section of the same, showing fuller details of construction.
In Fig. 1, a is the axle, surrounded by the axle-box, e the hub or case in which
the rubber is packed and the spokes inserted, d and d' are plates which keep the
rubber in position, one fixed to the axle and the other to the face of the axle box,
e.e are distance bolts which pass through the plates and the rubber, holes being
left in the rubber for that purpose of a larger size than the bolts; is the oil cup
with the usual fittings for screwing it into the plate d', ggg are circular spaces in
the end of the hub, to allow the hub to conform to the varying pressure of the
rubber, hare spokes fitting into sockets of the hub, R the rubber packed between
the axle box and the hub, either in one piece as shown by the sectional lines, or in
several pieces, as indicated by the curved dotted lines, and ris a leather washer,
placed against the shoulder of the axle.
The details of Fig. 2 will be more clearly seen on the enlarged Fig. 3, in
which is the axle, an ordinary hub, are loose collars having a space around
the axle to allow for vibration, 7 the spokes from the external rim n to the loose
collars, the spokes from the loose collars to the outer rim o of the rubber ring,
and the spokes from the inner rim p to the hub; R is a tubular rubber ring which
forms a cushion placed between the hub and external ring, and R' an ordinary solid
wearing tire fitted in the external rim n.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. The construction of wheels for cycles, carriages, and other vehicles with a
band or series of bands of rubber or similar elastic material placed between the
axle-box and the hub for the purpose of neutralising or counteracting the vibratory
effects produced by the passing of such vehicles over uneven surfaces, substantially
as, and for the purposes herein set forth and described in the accompanying
drawings.
2. The construction of wheels for cycles and similar vehicles with a ring of
rubber or other flexible material, forming a continuous spring to lessen the
vibration caused by the passing of such vehicles over uneven surfaces, or by
any sudden shock, and having an arrangement of spokes and rims, substantially as
and for the purposes herein described, and shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the
accompanying drawings.
3. The intervention of rubber or other flexible and elastic material between the
axle box and periphery of wheels for the purpose of lessening or counteracting
vibration, in such a manner that the cushion or packing will not receive any wear,
and consequently be indestructible.
Dated this 17th of N
1001
J. G. WESTLAKE,
2, John Street, Bristol, Applicants' Agent. 5