IMPROVEMENTS IN DRIVING DRUMS OR PULLEYS AND RAILWAY WHEELS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Kelsey, of 118, Cannon Street, in the
City of London, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
DRIVING DRUMS OR PULLEYS AND RAILWAY WHEELS."
Sealed the 8th April 1870, and dated the 9th October 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Kelsey at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th October 1869.
I, WILLIAM KELSEY, of 118, Cannon Street, in the City of London,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN DRIVING DRUMS OR PULLEYS AND RAILWAY WHEELS," to be as
follows:-
My Invention has for its object the construction of driving drums or
pulleys and railway wheels in such a manner that the pull on the rope
or the weight of the engine shall cause either the rope or the rail to be
gripped by the flanges of the said drum or pulley or railway wheel.
For this purpose the drum or pulley is constructed with two loose discs,
each having an inclined recess on the inner face, so as when brought

page_text: together to form a conical space intended to receive a loose ring
corresponding in shape with such space. These two loose discs are
suitably mounted either on a central driving boss or directly on the
driving shaft, having the said loose ring inserted in the before-mentioned
conical space. The two loose discs are kept in position as required by
means of two hoops shrunk upon the driving boss or upon the driving
shaft. The action of a drum or pulley so constructed is caused by the
strain of the rope being thrown on the coned ring in the recess, and the
said ring is then forced against the two faces of the recess on the
opposite side of the drum or pulley, thereby forcing apart the two discs
on that side and bringing them together on the side next the rope
which is thereby compressed and held firmly by the two discs.
And with reference to the construction of railway wheels the coned
ring or tyre with a central boss is keyed on to the axle and provided
with two loose discs having flanges adapted to fit the rail, the discs
being kept in position as required by hoops shrunk upon the said boss
or suspended between spokes fixed to the ring or tyre. By this
mode of construction the weight of the engine forces apart the two loose
discs on the upper side of the wheel and brings them together at the
lower side thereof, thereby causing the flanges of the discs to grip the
rail.
By the application of drums or pulleys constructed as described to the
axles of all the carriages or waggons the driving power of the engine
may be transmitted throughout the train.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Kelsey in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 8th April 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
KELSEY, of 118, Cannon Street, in the City of London, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-.
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give

page_text: and grant unto me, the said William Kelsey, Her special licence that
I, the said William Kelsey, my executors, administrators, and assigns,,
or such others as I, the said William Kelsey, 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 DRIVING DRUMS OR
PULLEYS AND RAILWAY WHEELS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said William Kelsey, 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 William Kelsey, do hereby declaro
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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto.
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :-
My Invention of "Improvements in Driving Drums or Pulleys and
Railway Wheels" has for its object the construction of driving drums
or pulleys and railway wheels in such a manner that the pull on the
rope or the weight of the engine shall cause either the rope or the rail
to be gripped by the flanges of the said drum or pulley or railway wheel.
For this purpose the drum or pulley is constructed with two loose discs,
each having an inclined recess on the inner face, so as when brought
together to form a conical space intended to receive a loose ring
corresponding in shape with such space. These two loose discs are
suitably mounted either on a central driving boss or directly on the
driving shaft, having the said loose ring inserted in the before-mentioned
conical space. The two loose discs are kept in position as required by
means of two hoops shrunk upon the driving boss or upon the driving
shaft. The action of a drum or pulley so constructed is caused by
the strain of the rope being thrown on the coned ring in the recess, and
the said ring is then forced against the two faces of the recess on the

page_text: opposite side of the drum or pulley, thereby forcing apart the two discs
on that side and bringing them together on the side next the rope,
which is thereby compressed and held firmly by the two discs.
And with reference to the construction of railway wheels the coned
ring or tyre with a central boss is keyed on to the axle and provided
with two loose discs having flanges adapted to fit the rail, the discs
being kept in position as required by hoops shrunk upon the said boss
or suspended between spokes fixed to the ring or tyre. By. this mode
of construction the weight of the engine forces apart the two loose discs
on the upper side of the wheel and brings them together at the lower
side thereof, thereby causing the flanges of the discs to grip the rail.
By the application of drums or pulleys constructed as described to
the axles of all the carriages or waggons the driving power of the
engine may be transmitted throughout the train.
Having thus stated the nature of the said Invention, I will proceed to
describe more particularly in what manner the same is to be performed
by reference to the accompanying Drawings, in which are represented a
friction driving drum or pulley and a railway wheel constructed in the

page_text: pulley or drum being mounted directly upon the driving shaft E, as
shewn in Figures 5, 6, and 7, the centre holes being cast or bored out
to allow for the action of the discs, as herein-after described. Two
or more keys F, F, are then let into the driving shaft, corresponding
key beds being provided in the nave of the pulley or drum, the two
sides of which being kept in place by means of two hoops shrunk or
otherwise secured upon the driving shaft. The faces of the discs A, A,
at the part in contact with the rope may be made either plain or cast
with teeth or corrugations to suit any form of rope or chain required,
and in order to increase the length of gripping surface if required.
The action of the pulley or drum is caused by the strain of the rope
or chain being thrown on the coned ring B, by which the ring (having
a necessary amount of play in the recess) is forced against the two faces
of the recess on the opposite side of the pulley or drum, thereby driving
apart the two discs or halves A, A, on that side and forcing them
towards each other on the side next the rope, which is thereby com-
pressed and prevented from slipping. The rope may be round, square,
or flat, and of any suitable material, the periphery of the conical ring B
being made to suit the section employed. The coned part of the
ring B may be made to any required angle, and either with or without
a straight nose part b, which is provided in order to allow for wear upon
the friction surfaces. In cases in which the pulley or drum is of large
diameter and used in a vertical position or when it is essential to convey
excessive power it may be found beneficial to support the conical ring B
upon a spring or springs of steel or india-rubber. In such cases the
said spring or springs may be introduced between the flat side of the
ring B and the shoulders a, a, of the discs A, A, immediately beneath
the ring, or a circular ring of india-rubber may be employed in place of
steel. The object in using such springs would be to facilitate the
gravitation of the conical ring B and relieve the flanges of the discs A, A,
from the weight of the said ring which would have a tendency to rest
heavily upon the lower part of the said flanges when the pulley or drum
is used in a vertical position and when the rope leads off at any angle
except that of ninety degrees. It is also proposed to use bolts, as shewn
by dotted lines in Fig. 1, in order to assist the hoops C, C, on the boss
or the shaft in bearing the strain thrown on them by the sides of the
pulley or drum. Or bolts may be passed through the two discs A, A,
a short way beneath the conical ring, such balts being left sufficiently
long to allow for the inclination of the discs, some suitablo elastic

page_text: material being placed between the heads and nuts of the bolts and the
sides of the discs to prevent jarring. Or the boss may be cast in halves,
as shewn in Figures 3 and 4, and bolted together, being keyed to the
driving shaft by two keys, as shewn. The pulley or drum constructed
as herein-before described may be applied to the whole of the axles in
a train of railway carriages or waggons, the pulley or drum being placed
in the centre part of the said axles, thereby coupling the whole of
such axles. In such cases the carriages will be provided with suitable
apparatus for taking up the slack of the rope when the train is not in
motion.
My Invention with reference to railway wheels is shewn in Figures 8
and 9, and relates to the driving wheels of locomotive engines for drawing
heavy loads up steep inclines. For this purpose the wheel a is made
in the usual manner, but with a plain tyre and of a deeper section than
that now employed, and the wheel is keyed upon the axle b. The tyre c
is cone-shaped with the wide part nearest the rail. Two loose discs d, d,
are then placed on the nave of the wheel, cach disc having a recess
corresponding with the angle of the tyre c. On each of these discs is
formed a flange e, and one-half of the tread of the wheel which is left
sufficiently short to prevent the flanges from coming in contact when
gripping the rail; or a tyre of proper shape may be shrunk or otherwise
secured to cach of the discs. The discs are kept in position by two
strong hoops f. f, shrunk or otherwise secured upon the nave of the
wheel, or when a crank is required on the wheel by means of suspended
hoops firmly connected to each other between the spokes. In order
to relieve the strain thrown upon the hoops f, f, by the discs d, d, bolts
are or may be introduced, as described in the case of the pulley or drum.
The weight of the engine being thrown upon the inclined faces of the
discs d, d, on the upper side of the wheel forces them apart on such
upper side and brings them towards each other at the lower side, thereby
causing the rail to be gripped on each side by the flanges e, e, at the
lower side of the discs. By this means an increased tractive power is
obtained, and brakes on locomotive engines may be dispensed with when
these wheels are used. Brakes may be placed on the engine, but would
only be necessary when it was required to stop the train suddenly.
The side grip of the rails by the means described would dispense with
the need of a centre rail, such as has been already introduced on mountain
railways.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I would remark that I do not claim
as of my Invention the construction of driving pulleys or drums with
nipping parts, or the construction of railway wheels, otherwise than as
herein-after stated; but I hereby declare that what I do claim as of my
Invention is,-
First. The construction of driving pulleys or drums with an internal
conical or wedge ring, which by the pressure of the rope on one side of
the ring is caused to force apart the opposite sides of the discs or halves
of the pulley, and bring the discs towards each other so as to compress
the rope at the part where it is held by them.
And, secondly. The construction of railway wheels with two loose
discs placed on the wheel having a conical tyre, being keyed to the axle
and the loose discs placed thereon and secured by hoops, the weight of
the engine pressing down the conical tyre and forcing the discs apart
at the upper side of the wheel, thereby bringing them towards each other
at the under side, and giving a lateral grip to the rails, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Kelsey, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Eighth day of April, in the
year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
Witness,
WILLIAM SPENCE,
8, Quality Court,
Chancery Lane.
WILLIAM KELSEY. (L.S.)