IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON WHEELS
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS, PATENT to Pierre Casimir Lefol,of 2, Rue Sainte Appoline, Paris,
(Empire of France,) and of 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, for the
こく
Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON WHEELS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Pierre Casimir Lefol at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th April 1861.
I, PIERRE CASIMIR LEFOL, of 2, Rue Sainte Appoline, Paris, (Empire of
France,) and of 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON
WHEELS," to be as follows, that is to say :-
My Invention consists in improved mechanical means for manufacturing
iron wheels for railway carriages.
I take several parcels, each composed of several bars or pieces of iron
placed one on the other, and weld them together by a pile hammer of
sufficient weight to reduce the mass by means of dies into the proper form.
A hole is then perforated in the centre, and an axle passed thro' it; the rough
wheel thus formed is submitted to conical rollers. The roller cones are set on
movable bearings, which allow the cones to be placed nearer or farther apart,
DQ1

page_text: as required. The necessary circular and lateral motions are given to the
coues without changing the relative position of the bevil wheels, which is
effected by means of catchings and axles movable in all directions.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Pierre Casimir Lefol in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th September 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PIERRE
CASIMIR LEFOL, of 2, Rue Sainte Appoline, Paris, (Empire of France,) and of
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of April, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Pierre Casimir Lefol, Her special licence that I, the said Pierre
Casimir Lefol, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Pierre Casimir Leful, 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 IRON WHEELS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Pierre Casimir Lefol, 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 within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Pierre Casimir Lefol, 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 fol-
lowing statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereto annexed, and to
the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:―
My Invention consists in improved mechanical means for manufacturing
iron wheels principally for railway carriages.
I take several parcels or piles, each composed of several bars or pieces of

page_text: iron of sufficient heat, placed one on the other, and weld them together by a
pile hammer of sufficient weight to reduce the mass by means of dies or
stamps into the required form, viz., the rough form of a wheel; a hole is then
perforated in the centre, and an axle passed through it, the rough wheel thus
formed being afterwards submitted to the action of conical rollers. The roller
cones are set in movable bearings which allow the cones to be placed nearer
or further apart, as required. The necessary circular and lateral motions can
be then given to the cones without changing the relative position of the bevil
or driving wheels, which is effected by means of catchings and axles movable
in all directions.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING.
The accompanying Drawing represents a machine constructed accordingto
my Invention, in which Figure 1 is an elevation of the machine; Figure 2, a
plan; Figures 3 and 4 are two horizontal sections, taken at the height of the
axles of the roller cones, Figure 3 showing the wheel at the commencement
of the rolling process, and Figure 4 at its final or finished state; Figure 5 is
a vertical section, taken through the middle of the machine; and Figure 6,a
vertical section through the centre of one of the roller cones, and of the bevil
wheel for giving motion to the same. The rough wheel being perforated in
the centre, as herein-before stated, is then placed in a furnace, where it is
heated to the required temperature for rolling, when an axle or shaftis passed
through it, and it is then placed between the roller cones, and submitted to
their action in the manner shown in Figure 3 of the Drawing.
b
The rolling apparatus consists of a strong cast-iron framework, formed in
two parts, a, b, Figures 1 and 5, the lower part 6 resting on two stone or
wood supports c. The parts a, b, of the framework, near the cones, are
hollowed out or made thin in the middle to receive the cones, and at the_
same
time allow to work the two bearings or supports d, serving as guides to the
cylindrical parts of the roller or laminating cones e. The bearings or guides d
are each attached to two connecting rods placed between the two parts of the
cast-iron framework a and b, these connecting rods being connected at their
opposite ends to the two crank arms g and g¹,keyed to the two vertical shafts
or axles j, having their journals or bearings, as also a third crank arm h, in
the parts a and b of the framework.
The movable bearingsdat the part where they are jointed to the connecting
rods fand f, have a slot or opening made in them which allows of their 1e-
ceiving the necessary motions for setting the cones e at the required distance
apart. The cones can also have imparted to them a circular motion by means of

page_text: the following arrangement of mechanism:-On the opposite sideof the machine
to the cones is a shaft k, set in notion by the driving shaft; on this shaft & are
keyed two bevil pinions 7, which gear into two bevil wheels m; each bevil
wheel m is cast with an elongated hollow boss or arma,serving as an internal
catching, as shown in cross section at Figure 7. These bosses or arms a, x,
are held between the two parts of the framework a and b, so that when a
rotatory motion is communicated to them they transmit it to the spindle
or shaft n, which at each extremity have enlarged parts, which enter the
cavities made in the interior of the hollow bosses or arms x and cones. The
form of the cavities for receiving the ends of the enlarged parts are shown in
the horizontal cross section, Figure 7. The lateral movements for drawing
back and bringing together the cones are obtained by means of the horizontal
shaft o, Figures 1 and 2, which is placed in a groove made in a support above
the cones; such shaft o being cut with a screw thread on each side of the
machine, one end having a right-handed screw and the other a left-handed
screw, and each end works in a screw nut p fixed to the extremity of each of
the crank arms h, so that when the shaft o is set in motion the guides or
bearings d are caused to turn. These guides are provided with the projecting
parts d', Figure 2, which enter the openings made in the form of an arc of a
circle in the parts a and b of the framework, by which means the cones e,
carried by the guides d,can be set further apart, brought nearer together, and
at the same time receive a rotary motion from the prime mover. A support t
is placed in front of the cones, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, to receive the
shaft of the wheel, as herein-before mentioned. The wheels being placed
between the cones, the latter are gradually brought closer together until the
wheel has obtained the required form and thickness. A roller s is placed
behind the wheel in motion to complete the formation of its circumference.
This roller s may be fixed or movable; if it is fixed it is supported so as to act
when the wheel is finished; but, if desired, it may also be set in motion by
one or two of the inclined planes of a conical piece u, connected by the rod v
to one of the guides d of the cones, as shown in Figures 3 and 4.
The wheels may be made with or without a tire. To apply a tire I cut a
groove A on the circumference of the wheel, Figure 8, and when the tire is
heated to welding heat it is placed on it. The contraction of the iron, which
takes place in the groove, forms a protuberance or tire by which it is kept in
without the use of rivets. As the groove is never entirely filled up by the
contraction of the iron, it gives elasticity to the wheel.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be observed that I do not confine

page_text: myself to the precise details of construction, as the same may be modified,
provided the main features be preserved. What I claim as my Invention, and
intend to be protected, is,-
First, the general arrangement and construction of a machine with roller
cones, receiving a combined circular and lateral motion for rolling wrought-
iron wheels are herein-before described, and shewn in the annexed Drawing.
Secondly, the peculiar arrangement and combination of the several parts for
giving a circular and lateral motion to the roller cones as herein-before
described, and shewn in the annexed Drawing.
. In witness whereof, I, the said Pierre Casimir Lefol, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
C. P. LEFOL. (L.S.)