Improvements in and appertaining to Wheels for Road Vehicles or the like.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Nov., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 25th Aug., 1897-Accepted, 30th Oct., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and appertaining to Wheels for Road Vehicles
or the like.
I GEORGE BENSON of 2 Southbank Road Southport in the County of Lancaster, Dyer
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object to improve the construction of wheels. It is
more particularly adapted for wheels such as are used on road vehicles though it is
not limited to that application as it may be employed in other cases where wheels
are built up of several pieces. One of the great disadvantages of such a wheel as
hitherto made & used lies in the fact that when a spoke or other part of the wheel
wears out, breaks, or becomes loose it is necessary to remove the metal tyre before
a new one can be inserted, or packing wedges applied. This is a comparatively
expensive & troublesoine operation. It is usual to cut the metal tyre before
removing it & to weld it again before re-applying & this is expensive. In addition,
the rim is soon worn & deteriorated by frequently removing & replacing the tyre.
In a wheel made according to my invention new spokes may be readily & con-
veniently inserted or loose ones packed with wedges & other parts repaired without
the necessity of removing the metal tyre.
I will first describe my invention as applied to a wheel as ordinarily constructed
for light vehicles. In this class of wheels the spokes are generally attached to the
stock so that the bases of every other one are nearer to the inside while the alternate
ones are nearer the outside. The sections of the fellow or wood rim of my wheel
The hub or stock of my
does not differ materially from those at present in use.
wheel is built up of two distinct parts. One, the main piece is preferably of wood as
heretofore though in some cases it may be of metal. The other which I will term
the cap is of inetal, malleable iron, or steel, for example, and in use is firmly
fastened to the main piece by a number of holts (say four) passing therethrough.
The cap (which forms the outer or projecting part of the stock) may be hollow, so
as to embrace, & he centered by a middle projecting part of the main piece, or it
may be solid.
Its inner edge is made toothed or serrated, the number of teeth
& corresponding spaces between agreeing with the number of spokes in the wheel.
The projecting teeth when the cap is in place, bear against the butts of the spokes
opposite them, whilst the hollow portions rest against the alternate spokes arranged
as above described. The narrow or outer end of each spoke is fitted into a taper
hole in the rim but whereas it has hitherto been customary to form the top peg
undercut & to fasten from outside with a wedge in my wheel the taper is reversed,
that is to say the outer point is the narrowest part & simply forced into place.
To repair a wheel it is only necessary to remove the cap & any particular spoke
may be removed by pulling out its butt sideways from the recess in the stock & then
withdrawing its outer end from the hole in the fellow. A new spoke may then be
inserted, or, wedges may be applied and the old spoke replaced if desired. When
the cap is again tightened in place the repair is complete. One or more sections
of the fellow may be withdrawn where necessary & replaced.

page_text: In the case of wagon or similar wheels where all the spokes lie in the same direct
circumferential line it will be unnecessary to serrate the cap edge.
I prefer that in actual use duplicite pieces made to a standard pattern shall be
held in readiness to replace worn or broken ones. I believe that one very great
advantage of my invention will be that when repairs can be so cheaply & quickly
effected users of wheels will not delay so long in attending to them.
I do not limit myself to the details mentioned. Another great advantage of my
invention lies in the fact that in very dry weather when the parts shrink & become
loose it is possible with my wheel to tighten them by merely giving a slight turn to
the nuts or bolts.
Dated this 24th day of November 1896.
CHARLES COVENTRY,
Patent Expert,
Applicant's Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIF CATION.
Improvements in and appertaining to Wheels for Road Vehicles
or the like.
I, GEORGE BENSON, of 2 Southbank Road, Southport, in the County of Lancaster,
Dyer, 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:-
This invention has for its object to improve the construction of wheels. It is
more particularly adapted for wheels such as are used on road vehicles, though it is
not limited to such application, as it may be employed in other cases where wheels
are built up of several pieces. One of the great disadvantages of such a wheel as
hitherto made and used lie in the fact that when a spoke wears out, breaks, or
becomes loose, it is necessary to remove the metal tyre before a new one can he
inserted, or packing wedges applied. This is a comparatively expensive and trouble-
some operation. It is usual to cut the metal tyre before removing it and to weld it
again before reapplying, and this is expensive, and in addition the wooden rim is
worn and deteriorated by frequently removing and replacing the tyre.
In a wheel constructed according to my invention new spokes may be readily
and conveniently inserted, or loose ones packed with wedges, without the necessity
of removing the tyre. I will describe my invention as applied to a wheel for a road
vehicle. The chief difference between a wheel as hitherto used, and one constructed
in accordance with my invention lies in the fact that the hub or stock of the latter
comprises two or more main pieces or castings of metal (preferably with a central
wooden insertion), which may be separated from each other. I will terin these two
pieces the main piece and the cap.
Referring to the drawings,
Fig. is a vertical section (on line -b of Fig. 3) of the main piece, four spokes
being shown in place.
Fig. 2, shows at its upper half, the face of the main piece as seen from outside
with the cap removed and at its lower half an external elevation of the cap in place.
Fig. 3. is a section on line cd of Fig. 2, its lower portion being in elevation. This
fig. also includes a modification, hereinafter described.
Fig. 4 is a section through a portion of the felly, hereinafter described.
In these,
The main portion of the hub or stock of my wheel may be made of malleable cast
¡ron, and is in the form of a flattish disc 1, with a central space surrounded with a

page_text: deep annular flange 2, into which the wooden centre 3, is fixed. This wooden centre
of itself forms no part of my invention, neither do I show or make any claim to, the
node of mounting or attaching it to the axle of the vehicle, which may be effected
in any known manner. Standing out from the face of the main piece 1, are a series
(in this case fourteen) of projections or distance pieces 4, preferably of the shape
shown, and cored out for lightness. The tops of these pieces 4, are level, and the
inner surface of the cap when in place bears against them. (See Fig. 3). The
radial spaces 5, between the pieces 4, serve to receive and hold the butt ends of
the spokes 6, which are made of corresponding shape, and have prolongations 7,
which enter slots 8, in the wood centre 3.
In my Provisional Specification I have described the outer or felly end of the spokes
as being tapered the reverse way to what is usual, to facilitate withdrawal from the
felly when replacing a damaged spoke, but I find in practice that the usual direction
of taper is more efficient.
The removable portion or cap of my wheel consists of a disc 9, having a flange 10,
which fits the wood centre 3, and is guided by and covers the salient part of
flange 2, on main piece 1. Bolts 11, pass through cap 9, and main piece 1, and
serve to adjust and maintain their relative positions.
It will be seen that a wheel constructed in accordance with my invention consists
of the stock or hub built up as described the spokes driven into and held therein,
and connected at their outer ends to the felly. In building my wheel in the first
instance, the cap may be bolted up in place and the spokes inserted in the manner
usual with ordinary wheels. If one of the spokes 6, (say the one marked A in Fig. 1)
becomes loose, and it is desired to apply packing wedges to its butt within the hub,
the bolts 11, are loosened and the cap 9, removed, thus exposing all the butt ends of
the spokes, with the exception of the prolongations 7. The butt end of spoke A, is
cut or chipped out so as to leave it the shape shown by dotted lines, and packing
wedges 12, (see B Fig. 1) are then applied and the cap replaced. In some cases it
will suffice to merely apply thin wedges without cutting away the spoke.
When it is desired to insert an entirely new spoke I provide them of the shape
shown at B Fig. 1, that is, a little shorter than the original spokes and without the
prolongations 7. The extremity at the felly end is also shorter: (see dotted line in
Fig. 4). The new spoke is applied as follows. After the cap is removed its butt
end is driven sideways into the bottom of space 5, in the main piece 1, the split
felly end lying just below its hole 13, in felly (Fig. 4). A wedge is placed in the
hole 13, and just enters the split 14, in the spoke. Pressure is now applied under
the butt end of the spoke and the latter is thus forced into the felly, its free end
splaying out by reason of the wedge entering completely the split 14, and a tight
joint at the felly end thus results. Packing wedges 12, are now inserted at the butt
end and the cap replaced, thus completing the repair.
Each of the pieces 5, in the main piece 1, has a hole 15, for the purpose of
knocking out the wedges et cetera if desired. Instead of using wooden wedges I may
employ metal ones as shown at 16, Fig. 3. These are drawn up and tightened by
bolts 17, passing through holes 15, and provided outside with nuts 18. A strip of
sheet metal 19, may be inserted to prevent the wedge digging into the wood.
In some wheels the alternate spokes are set a little further from or nearer to the
centre of the hub, and in making such a wheel I may use two removable caps 9, one
at each side of the main piece 1.
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:
1. A vehicle wheel having a cap which may be removed for the purpose of repairing
or renewing a spoke, or spokes, substantially as described.
2. In a vehicle wheel, a hub having spaces to receive the butt ends of the spokes
and a separate cap adapted to be tightened up and to so hold them in place,
substantially as described.

page_text: 3. In a vehicle wheel, the combination of main piece 1, having recesses 5, and
flange 2 a cap 9; and spokes 6 retained between them; substantially as shown.
4. In a wheel, a metal wedge placed beneath a spoke and adapted to be moved so
as to tighten said spoke in place, substantially as shown in Fig. 3.
5. The improvements in wheels, taken as a whole substantially as described and
shown, and for the purposes set forth.
Dated this 24th day of August. 1897.
CHARLES COVENTRY,
Patent Expert,
Agent for the Applicant.