Year: 1885

page_text: I, LUTHER REYNOLDS FAUGHT of No. 1220 North Eighteenth Street, Phila-
delphia, in the County of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, and United States
of America, mechanical engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of my invention is to effect a reduction in the tractive force required
for the movement of railroad rolling stock as well as to diminish the tendency to
strain and breakage of wheels and axles and the undue wear of wheels and rails,
resultant upon the use of wheels which are mounted upon axles in the manner
heretofore ordinarily practiced. To this end, my invention, generally stated,
consists in the combination of a railroad axle and a wheel fitted thereon with the
capacity of rotation either with or independently of the axle, as its traverse over
the railway, in accordance with the direction of the track as to straightness or
curvature respectively, be equal to or different from that of the opposite wheel of
its axle. The improvements claimed are hereinafter fully set forth.
In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1, is a longitudinal central section
through a car wheel, with its axle in elevation, illustrating the application of my
invention; Fig. 2, a transverse section through the same at the line x, x, of Fig. 1 ;
Figs. 3 and 4, end and side views, respectively, of one of the frictional sleeves,
detached, and; Figs. 5 and 6, longitudinal central sections through the hubs of
wheels illustrating modifications of my invention.
The wheels of railroad rolling stock, as heretofore and at present employed,
were and are of two general classes, to wit; those which are secured in pairs rigidly
upon their axles and which consequently rotate coincidently therewith and with
each other when in operation, and those known as loose wheels, in the use of which,
one wheel of each pair is fixed upon the axle, while the other is mounted freely
and turns circumferentially on a seat thereon, thereby allowing independent rotation
of the wheels under circumstances inducing the same. The recognized objection
which is apparent in practice in the use of fixed wheels, is the undue resistance to
traction and the wear of wheels and rails resultant upon the slipping of one wheel
Price Bd 1

page_text: upon the rail in order to compensate for the greater distance which it is compelled
to travel relatively to the opposite wheel, in passing over the outer rails of curves,
and the torsional strains thereby induced which tend to weaken and break the
axles or wheels or both. Loose wheels are objectionable in the particular that the
freedom of independent movement which enables them to satisfactorily operate on
curves is unnecessary and undesirable on tangents or straight portions of the line,
and the freedom of lateral movement of the car which they admit of, induces an
unsteady movement and undue jars and stress upon the wheel flanges.
My improvements are designed to obviate the objections above referred to, by
providing what may be termed a " yielding" wheel, in lieu of one which is either per-
manently fixed or permanently loose, so that said wheel may be held to and rotate
with its axle and companion wheel, under conditions in which the traverse of the
two wheels is practically equal, and be permitted to rotate independently, as the
tension exerted under different conditions may act upon it.
My improvements are applicable to wheels of any of the usual constructions and
in the upper half of Fig. 1, are illustrated in an ordinary double plate cast iron
wheel, while the lower half of the same figure shows a wheel of the "Allen" type,
having a body of paper interposed between its hub and rim. The hub 3, of the
wheel, is bored out cylindrically, at and adjacent to its inner end, to receive a
cylindrical bushing 2, from the end of which within the hub, to or near the outer
end of the hub, the bore is inwardly tapered or inclined. One or more collars 4,
are formed upon the axle 1, and fit in corresponding annular grooves in the
bushing 2, which is divided diametrically into two sections to enable it to be fitted
over said collars, by which it and the wheel, which is forced tightly upon it, are
retained in position longitudinally upon the axle. An oil chamber or receptacle 5,
is cored in the hub, adjoining the inner end of the bushing, and lubricating material
is supplied thereto through one or more feed openings closed by suitable tight
plugs 6. If three of said openings be provided, oil may be supplied as desired,
whenever the wheel is stationary, irrespective of the position in which it may
chance to stop, as one of said openings will always be above the centre.
So far as described it will be seen that the wheel would comply with the
conditions of an ordinary loose wheel, being free to rotate upon the axle while
held by the collars and bushing 2, as against longitudinal movement thereon.
Under my invention, however, I provide a frictional connection now to be described,
by means of which the wheel is caused to rotate normally with the axle in the
manner of a fixed wheel, but, under the action of tension greater than the adhesion
of the frictional surfaces by which it is held circumferentially upon the axle, is
permitted to rotate independently of the latter during such periods when, in passing
over curved portions of the track, its traverse is greater or less than the wheel
which is mounted on the opposite end of the axle, such resistance to its independent
rotation being constantly exerted as limits the same to the degree requisite to
compensate for the difference of traverse of the two wheels. To this end I provide
a pair of flexible and compressible sleeves 7, which are bored out cylindrically to
fit upon the axle 1, and are tapered or inclined upon their outer surfaces. One
of the sleeves 7, fits within the inclined portion of the bore of the hub 3, and the
other in a corresponding but oppositely inclined bore in the bushing 2, at the end
thereof nearest the outer face of the hub 3. The sleeves 7, are rendered flexible
by being split or divided longitudinally, as well as by being relieved externally by
a series of longitudinal peripheral recesses 8, and are held, as against rotation
independently of the wheel, by one or more locking keys 9, each engaging a recess
between shoulders 10, on the hub, and fitting in one of the recesses 8, of each of
the sleeves 7. Said recesses form the seats or receptacles of a series of springs 11,
the tension of which acts to compress and force the sleeves 7, tightly against their
inner bearings on the axle 1, and their outer bearings in the hub 3, and connected
bushing 2, so as to establish and maintain a frictional contact, the degree of which
is determined by the number and tension of the springs, between the wheel and

page_text: axle, which frictional contact effects normally, the coincident rotation of the wheel
and axle, and which, when overcome by a force tending to cause independent
rotation of the wheel and axle, will permit such rotation during the exertion of
such force, while constantly opposing thereto a resistance which prevents absolute
looseness or freedom of independent rotation and limits the same to the degree and
duration of the inducing force.
The constructions shown in Figs. 5 and 6, differ from that above described in the
particular that the sleeves 7, are tapered in the same instead of in opposite
directions, and the outer bearings of both sleeves are in the hub, in lieu of having
the bearing of the inner sleeve formed within the bushing 2, as in the former case.
In Fig. 5, the inner and consequently the thicker of the sleeves 7, is provided with
a supplemental series of springs 12, which provide for independent movements of
the two sleeves to compensate for wear which tends to be greater upon the outer
sleeve, inasmuch as the same, being directly over the rail and the tread of the
wheel, is subject to the greater strain and therefore will wear more rapidly than
the inner. As the tension of the springs 10, acts against that of the supplemental
springs 12, the latter must be of increased number or tension or both, in order to
exert the requisite compressive action upon the inner sleeve 7. In the modification
shown in Fig. 6, a single series of springs only is employed, the same acting upon
the inner sleeve and through the latter upon the outer sleeve. In such construction
independent action of the sleeves is not exerted as in the former cases, but a
substantially similar result is attained by making the outer sleeve of materially
sharper taper than the inner so that the advance of the former will be more rapid
in proportion to the increased wear which it sustains than that of the latter.
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. The combination of a railroad axle, a wheel fitted loosely thereon, and a
frictional coupling device interposed between the wheel and its seat or bearing on
the axle, these members being combined for joint operation to admit of either the
coincident or the independent rotation of the wheel and axle, substantially as
Bet forth.
2. The combination of a railroad axle, a wheel having a conically bored hub,
a flexible and compressible tapered sleeve fitting around the axle and within the
bore of the hub, and a spring or springs bearing against the sleeve and acting to
force the same into close contact with the axle and hub, substantially as set forth.
3. The combination of a railroad axle, a wheel having a conically bored hub,
a flexible and compressible tapered sleeve fitting around the axle and within the
bore of the hub, a spring or springs bearing against the sleeve and acting to force
the same into close contact with the axle and hub, and a locking key engaging
recesses in the hub and in the sleeve, substantially as set forth.
4. The combination of a railroad axle having one or more collars upon its wheel
seat, a longitudinally divided bushing having annular recesses fitting said collars,
a wheel fixed upon said bushing and having a conically bored hub, two flexible
and compressible tapered sleeves fitting around the axle and fitting respectively
within the conical bore of the hub, and within a conical bore in the bushing, a
series of springs bearing against the sleeves and acting to force the same into close
contact with the axle and with the hub and bushing, and a locking key engaging
a recess in the hub and recesses in the sleeves, substantially as set forth.
5. The combination of a railroad axle, a wheel having a conically bored hub,
two flexible and compressible tapered sleeves fitting around the axle and within
the bore of the hub, a series of springs interposed between said sleeves and acting
to force one thereof into close contact with the axle and hub, and a supplemental
series of springs bearing against the other sleeve and acting similarly but
independently thereon, substantially as set forth.

page_text: 6. A flexible sleeve for effecting the connection of a wheel to an axle by
frictional contact, said sleeve having a cylindrical bore fitting the axle, and a
conical or tapered periphery provided with a series of longitudinal grooves or
recesses, and being longitudinally split or divided, substantially as and for the
purpose set forth.
Dat
11
La
1
D 1007