IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WHEELS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Vaughan Pendred, of Crohill House, Milton Road,
Dulwich, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF WHEELS."
Sealed the 14th March 1871, and dated the 25th January 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Vaughan Pendred
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 25th January 1871.
..
I, VAUGHAN PENDRED, of Crohill House, Milton Road, Dulwich,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WHEELS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates chiefly to the construction of elastic wheels
suitable for use on traction and road locomotive engines, but they are
applicable to other vehicles used on common roads, whether propelled by
steam or not, whereby the wheels are rendered more efficient and of less
cost than those at present employed.
J

page_text: According to the first construction I take, say, a box for the reception
of the axle, and on the exterior thereof I place a ring or nave of rubber
(cured or otherwise). The side plates may have other plates, bars, or ribs
secured to them which extend to near the outer extremity of the wheel
to hold blocks forming the tire between them. These outer plates, bars,
or ribs are slotted, and bolts or pins projecting from or passing through
the blocks enter these slots, and serve not only as guides but also as
supports to the weight of the carriage. The blocks can be of wood or
of metal covered with rubber, or they may be plain and have strips,
sheets, or blocks of rubber between them to form a cushion. The
periphery may be covered by a ring of rubber or other material, or the
wheel may be without an outer ring or tire, in which case the covered
blocks or the plain blocks and strips or filling in pieces would form the
treading surface. Wheels made in this way are what might be termed
suspension wheels, as the action of the lower blocks throws the weight or
strain upon the slots of the upper parts of the plates; thus the carriage
is suspended by its axles from the slots.
According to another construction I propose to dispense with the
rubber nave, and then I bolt the plates, bars, or ribs direct to the
axle box.
Another construction of wheels is as follows:-I arrange solid or
hollow blocks between plates, and I cause their inner ends to bear against
the rubber nave or partial rubber nave, each block coming into action as
the wheel rotates. These blocks may be wholly or partially shod with
rubber or a combination of rubber and other material, and they may
have strips or filling in pieces between them like the first-described wheel
if desired. In some cases the last-described wheel would be surrounded]
with a rubber tire in lieu of shoeing the blocks.
In each of the foregoing cases where I refer to the rubber for the nave
the blocks, the strips, or sheets, and the rim, I can if desirable employ
a compound of rubber and other materials, such as cork, wool, or nut
fibre, and these may be amalgamated while the rubber is in a liquid or
semi-liquid state, or the rubber can be lined with such materials and
caused to adhere thereto by cement or otherwise.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Vaughan Pendred in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 25th July 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, VAUGHAN
PENDRED, of Crohill House, Milton Road, Dulwich, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Vaughan Pendred, Her special licence
that I, the said Vaughan Pendred, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Vaughan Pendred, 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 CON-.
STRUCTION OF WHEELS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Vaughan Pendred, 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 Vaughan Pendred, 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 thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hercunto annexed,, that is to say :-
This Invention relates chiefly to the construction, of elastic wheels
'suitable for use on traction and road locomotive engines, but they are
applicable to other vehicles used on common roads, whether propelled by
steam or not, whereby the wheels are rendered more efficient and of less
cost than those at present employed.
According to the first construction' I take, say, a box for the reception.
of the axle, and on the exterior thereof I place a ring or nave of rubber,

page_text: (cured or otherwise), and firmly bind it in position by metal plates and
bolts. The side plates may have other plates, bars, or ribs secured to
them, which extend to near the outer extremity of the wheel, to hold
blocks forming the tire between them. These outer plates, bars, or ribs
are slotted, and bolts or pins projecting from or passing through the
blocks enter these slots, and serve not only as guides but also as supports
to the weight of the carriage. The blocks can be of wood or of metal,
and covered with rubber, or they may be plain and have strips, sheets,
or blocks of rubber between them to form a cushion. The periphery
may be covered by a ring of rubber or other material, or the wheel may
be without an outer ring or tire, in which case the covered blocks or
the plain blocks and strips or filling-in pieces would form the treading
surface. Wheels made in this way are what might be termed suspension
wheels, as the action of the lower blocks throws the weight or strain upon
the slots in the upper parts of the plates, thus the carriage is suspended
by its axles from the slots.
According to another construction I propose to dispense with the
rubber nave, and then I bolt the plates, bars, or ribs direct to the axle
box.
Another construction of wheel is as follows:-I arrange solid or
hollow blocks between plates, and I cause their inner ends to bear
against the rubber nave or partial rubber nave, each block coming into
action as the wheel rotates. These blocks may be wholly or partially
shod with rubber, or a combination of rubber and other material, and
they may have strips or filling-in pieces between them like the first-
described wheel if desired. In some cases the last-described wheel
would be surrounded with a rubber tire in lieu of shoeing the blocks.
In each of the foregoing cases where I refer to rubber for the nave,
the blocks, the strips, or sheets, and the rim, I can, if desirable, employ
a compound of rubber and other materials, such as cork, wool, or nut
fibre, and these may be amalgamated while the rubber is in a liquid or
semi-liquid state, or the rubber can be lined with such materials, and
caused to adhere thereto by cement or otherwise."
The manner of carrying my Invention into effect is represented in the
annexed Drawings and by the following detailed description.
Figures 1 and 2 are part sectional side and edge views of a wheel,
which for convenience I call wheel A, made according to the first portion
of my Invention. a is the box which receives the axle bin the usual

page_text: .
manner. The outside of the box is recessed to enable discs or plates c, c,
to be bolted or otherwise secured to it for retaining a ring of rubber d,
pure or amalgamated with other ingredients, in place upon the box.
Upon the rubber ring shoes or socket plates e on the inner end of the
spokes frest. The rubber ring forms an elastic or yielding abutment to
them when the wheel is travelling over the ground. The shoes e have
side plates to them, which slide against the discs c, c, and they are kept
in position by lugs or studs g, g, riding in the slots h, h, formed in the
discs. The outer ends of the spokes are provided with other shoes or
sockets i, i, which also slide between the discs to preserve their vertical
action; these work between guides j, j, fastened on the inside of the
discs. The shoes i, i, have holes in them for tongues k, k, on the
blocks 1,., forming the tyre, to work in, and to prevent the blocks
turning, their flat bearing or equal tread is maintained, even on uneven
ground, by the ball and socket joint m, shown in Figure 1, or by the
pinned joint n, shown in Figure 2, which enables the shoes, or treading.
blocks to adapt themselves to inequalitics in the road or other surface
over which the engine travels. The ball forms the end of the spoke,
and preserves the proper distance between the block and the outer shoe.
The block is kept in position by a rubber or other elastic ring o, which
The
encircles the collar of a plate p formed in a piece with the tongues.
wheel here shown is intended to be fitted on the axle of an engine, and
has the toothed wheel q on the inner disc for receiving the power from
the engine by means of a pinion gearing into it. The blocks or treading
pieces are arranged round the wheel to form the tyre, and have spaces
between them to prevent them touching each other; thus each block
works independently of its neighbour.
In Figure 1, I have shown the blocks as being partially enclosed in
sockets to give increased strength to them, while in Figure 2 I have
shown the blocks as being secured to lugs on the plate, and for light
traction engines these will be found sufficient. The spokes shown are
of tubular form, but they may be solid and in one piece, or made up of
several pieces, and of any kind or combination of material for obtaining
the necessary strength. In Figures 3 and 4 I have shown the spokes 1*
as being made of thin strips of wood set on end, with bolts passed
through them to keep them in place; the bolts may have nuts on their
outer ends, as shown, or they may be rivetted loosely over the discs, as
found desirable. In this Figure the portions of the bolts passing through
the strips of wood are square and just fit the holes made for them, while

page_text: the smaller ends move in the slots formed in the dises; but of course
the holes in the wood may be of elongated shape to permit of the strips
sliding upon them. In this case the bolts would be rivetted to the discs,
and serve for tie rods to hold the two discs at the proper distance apart.
The strips of wood do not touch each other at the edges.. These strips
may be strengthened by metal plates, as shown in Figure 5, so that the
strips need not be so thick as in the method just described.
There are many ways of building up the segments forming the spokes
which I need not describe, as the two I have referred to are sufficient
to make this portion of my Invention clear to any engineer. The
main object I have in view is to ensure them sliding freely between
the discs, and conveying the pressure proper of the load carried to
'the elastic boss or nave of the wheel. I have in the foregoing only
referred to discs as forming the side of the wheel, and this I have done
because by their use the wheels would look more solid and substantial
when fitted on the engine; but the sides may be formed of radial bars
connected to the metal box at their inner ends, and to a ring at their
outer ends, and they may have wings or feathers at their edges or the
middle, if found necessary, in order to obtain the requisite strength.
The rubber or the compound nave may be composed of separate pieces,
and arranged in recesses in the surface of the box if such should be
"found requisite. It is not essential for the elastic nave to be enclosed
in the manner shown, as there are elastic compounds which will resist
"the action of the heat and cold of most climates if left exposed without
becoming injured, but of course I do not limit myself to the employ-
ment of any material for the purpose so long as that material is a
resillient one. The wheels shown in the above-described Figures have
the blocks or the outer ends of the segments made to bear upon the
ground, and these blocks may be shod with a harder material, such as
metal, over the whole or a portion of the treading surface, or with rubber
or some other yielding body, or a rubber band may be stretched over the
whole of them to form a continuous tyre if desired.
The second part of this Invention refers to a mode of constructing a
wheel which for convenience I term wheel B. In this wheel instead
of making sliding spokes or their equivalents compressed, a resillient
nut or boss as herein-before described in reference to wheel A, I build
up the wheel tyre in the form of an clastic continuous arch, the
vousoirs of which are composed alternately of rubber or other resillient
:

page_text: material and wooden metal or other rigid treading pieces. In putting
this wheel together it is. necessary to compress the several parts by. a
screw ring or.otherwise, so that each, block will tend to thrust outwards
with a force nearly equal to the load which cach block will be called
upon to bear when the wheel is at work.
In the following figures I have shown a few of the modes I propose
to use in constructing these wheels, and these I give without restricting
myself to them as there are other modes which I have invented, but
the following will explain. how this part of my Invention can be carried
out.
Figure 6 is a side view, and Figure 7 an edge view of a wheel with
plain blocks of wood protected with iron straps and with elastic pieces d
between them arranged to form a tyre, the blocks being kept in position
by the pins s working in slots h in the side plates or discs e, e, in a
similar manner to the wheels before referred to, but without the elastic
navė or the spokes. Here the rubber or other elastic pieces d, are held
in place by recesses formed in the sides of wooden blocks.
Figures 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19, are modifi-.
cations of the last-described method, and they differ very little from one
another, save in detail.
Figures 8 and 9 show a section and bottom plan of a cast or malleable
iron shoe in which the treading block is fitted by means of screws.
passing upwards; the shoe is recessed in the sides for the reception of
the elastic material d, which holds itself in place by the top, bottom,
and side flanges u, according to this view the rubber extends from edge
to edge, but it need only be placed at the central portion of the recess,
or two or more recesses may be formed, into each of which a rubber or
other elastic piece may be placed.
Figures 10 and 11 show a similar shoe with a recess for the elastic
material at the centre, the recess being of oval form to receive a piece of
clastic material of corresponding shape.
Figure 12 is a sectional. end view of a shoe t with a rubber piece d
each side, the rubber having been cured with a metallic block v in its
interior.
on
'
1
Figures 13 and 14 are. sectional views of a portion of a tyre in which
the shoes form the treading pieces 1, and are made of cast or malleable.
iron with the rubber pieces or rings & boxed in to retain them in place,

page_text: the pins or studs & which pass through the slots / in the discs c, c, or
side bars being cast in a piece with the box or shoe..
Figure 15 represents a wheel with cast-iron shoest for bearing upon
the ground, the inner part of them is formed with curved projections w
on one side and with flat projections x on the other, the outer edges of
which are rounded to allow of the desired movement under the lip
of the curved projection of the shoe next it.
Figure 16 shows a wheel with another form of cast-iron shoe t, in
which a recess is formed in one side only, and with a rounded projec-
tion y on the other, which projection carries the pins or studs & passing
through the discs or side bars c, c. These shoes are preferably hollow
and formed with ribs on the inside to give the necessary strength.
In most of the foregoing modifications the base of each shoe is
plain on the treading surfaces, but they may be studded or recessed in
any suitable manner so as to obtain the necessary grip upon the road.
In Figure 17 I have shown a wheel with the treading surface of each
shoe t.formed with a transverse recess at about the middle so as to divide
it, the space or recess may be left as shown, or it may be filled in with
rubber or wood or any other material if desired projecting beyond the
rest of the shoe to act as a paddle or biter to obtain grip in soft ground,
and these paddles or biters may be made so as to be easily removable at
pleasure.
Figure 18 represents another wheel with hollow metal shoes t provided
with projections w and x at the top; the shoes are fitted at bottom
with blocks 1, which are secured therein by fasteners passed through
the sides.
1
Figures 19 and 20 are part sectional views of a wheel having shoes
in which blocks of wood are arranged as treading surfaces, the blocks /
being held in place by bolts passing upwards into bars or plates which
lay in recesses or passages formed in the shoes t. These bars yield a
slightly under the strain of the bolts when the latter are screwed up and
so hold the wood up to its place, even if it should shrink a little by their
clasticity. By this arrangement should any one or more of the blocks
break or wear out while the machine is travelling a new one can be
fitted in in a short time without interfering with any other portion. 3
The upper parts of these shoes I prefer to make open so as to make
them as light as possible; one of the side walls has studs or projections ...

page_text: on it to enter holes formed in the opposite wall of the neighbouring
shoc t, the rubber d or other elastic medium being placed between the
two walls.
Figure 21 is a view of a wheel with metal shoes or wooden blocks
on the bottom, but in lieu of the rubber d being between them, as in
some of the modifications before described, the rubber is arranged
between other shoes, or more properly speaking, blocks provided with
pins or studs s to work in slots h, like the outside shoes t or 1, the
additional blocks being fitted to break joint with the treading blocks.
The action of this method is that when the wheel is rotating the outer
shoes resting against the extrados of the elastic arch compress it and
rise and force the inner blocks upwards at the same time, thus tending
to diminish the size of the circle and cause the inner blocks to compress
the rubber. The wheels herein-before described are capable of travelling
over hard or soft ground with very heavy loads, whether such loads are
borne by the vehicle itself or by other vehicles, but for grass or boggy
land where the flatness of tread could not be well obtained in the
ordinary way owing to the want of resistance in the ground I propose
to fit a bar or rail C on the sides of the engine or other vehicle, as
shown in Figure 22, for rollers or sliding blocks on the outer ends of
the pins or studs & to roll upon. These bars are not concentric with the
wheel but flattened at the lower part, and thus cause the blocks to rise
and ensuring the required flattening of the wheels. This plan is applic-
able to all the wheels before described and can be used on all vehicles
besides the engine, if found desirable. The bar is by preference fitted
with screws at each end so that it can be adjusted from time to time; an
excentric may be used for the same purpose, on much the same principle
that it is used for feathering paddle wheels for steam boats.
I propose to employ washers under the heads of the bolts or screws
securing the wooden or other treading pieces to the rigid vousoirs proper
of the elastic tire or under the nuts to obtain elasticity and keep the
bolts from becoming loose. These washers may be of metal cupped on
Paget's Patent, or otherwise shaped, or they may be of spiral-wire, or of
rubber, as found convenient.
In my first system of constructing wheels such as that shown in
Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, that is to say, wheel A, cach spoke or piece, con-
nected to them is provided with studs for sliding in slots in the discs or..

page_text: bars forming the side frames so as to permit of cach block or treading
picce rising under the pressure or weight put upon it, as it takes its
position in turn as a bearing block, the slots being formed with parallel
sides to ensure the vertical action of the spoke against the rubber nave
or against one of the pieces forming the nave.
In
my second system, that is to say, wheel B, the slots in the discs or
side bars are of tapered form as shown, and they permit of the blocks
or bearing pieces rising sideways, so that the strain is taken up by the
other blocks on cach side of the one upon the ground, this distributes
the weight of the vehicle over a large surface and enables two or more
blocks to touch the ground at one time for gripping it to obtain the
necessary hold and prevent slipping. This arrangement utilizes the
elasticity not of one block of india-rubber alone, but of nearly and in
some cases, as I have found by experiment, quite all the blocks in the
lower half of the wheel at the same time. Thus if there are 30 india-
rubber blocks in a wheel each one inch thick the clasticity of such a
wheel will be that due to the action not of one inch of rubber but of
the fifteen inches of rubber or thereabouts contained in the lower half of
the wheel at any one time. The distance the pins or studs rise in the
lower slots varies according to the range over which the strain is spread
from the bearing point, thus the wheel and the load is held suspended
upon the pins or studs of the blocks which are'next below a horizontal
line drawn through the centre of the wheel, the clastic arch tyre.
transmitting its lateral thrust to the side discs much as the arch of a
bridge does to the abutments. This is truly an clastic wheel in which
no creep of the tyre is allowed independent of the body of it other than
that momentary creep of each block permitted by the peculiar shape of
the slots in the discs or rigid vousoirs through which the cross pins
pass from disc to disc, practically speaking, it is without a rigid tyre or
its equivalent.
:
It will be observed that in some of the views shown the slots arc
in the discs, and the pins are fitted in or to the blocks in a rigid manner,
but if the slots are in the blocks the pins would be held rigidly at their
ends in the discs or bars, whether such blocks are made entirely of
metal, of wood, or of a combination of metal and wood. The slots and
pins can however in some cases be dispensed with by forming projections
on the blocks and turning or burring. the edges of the discs inwards to
1'old the blocks in place.

page_text: This will be understood by referring to Figures 23 and 24, in which
the edges of the two side discs c, c, are bent or turned inwards to form
lips for taking under projections on the sides of the shoes. In this case
the two side discs are maintained at the required distance apart by the
metal pieces D and rings of angle iron E, as shown. The shoes forming
the tyre may if desired have plain sides, and then pieces of trough or
gutter iron F can be secured on in any convenient manner, in most
cases, however, I prefer to bolt the pieces on to a step or projection G
of each of the shoes or treading surfaces, and place a strip of a soft or
yielding material between them to enable the bolts to keep firm when
the vehicle is travelling. In lieu of bending the edges of the discs in;
angle iron H can be bolted or rivetted on, as I have shown in Figure 25,
and also in lieu of fitting strips across from one side disc to the other
I can employ a ring I with its edges turned inwards, and this like the
case where the metal cross pieces are employed permits the wheel knave
and discs to slip round inside the clastic arch tyre should the resistance
offered by the load be so great as to endanger the safety of the
machinery..
Figures 26, 27, and 28, represent a portion of a wheel in which the
shoes are strung upon pins or threaded studs s, which are secured upon
a ring J bearing against the bars or cross pieces D, which ring or band
can slip round with the shoes as before spoken of; the shoes are each
supported upon or to the pins or studs & by nuts and collars which are
passed into the holes formed in the treading faces. There is a little
play given to the shoes to meet the different angles which they assume
while travelling by making the holes through the inner faces of the
shoes rather larger than the diameter of the pins.
:
Figure 29 shows a portion of a wheel in which the shoes are arranged
side by side crosswise to the edge and held to the side discs by a pin s
passing through them, the pin of each set working in slots in the
discs when the shoes yield under the weight of the load as they come
upon the ground. In action the pressure on the central shoe compresses
the side blocks of rubber d, d, and rises up to bring the two outer shoes
into action when all three shoes with the rubber and the pin are forced
up into the discs, the action being the same as though the composite
block were one of the simple blocks herein-before described.. By this
arrangement the bite of the wheel upon the ground will be automa
tically adjusted to meet the weight to be carried or load to be drawn.

page_text: In addition to this, an increased gripping or biting action of the tyre
upon the ground is obtained from the number of spaces or interstices
presented between the shoes or treading surfaces. Thus I am enabled
to make a wheel which is capable of passing over soft and light ground
without employing spuds or projections which penetrate the carth to
obtain a firm hold thereof without the wheel slipping, but spuds can
be employed with this or with any other of the foregoing descriptions of
wheels if desired, and these may be cast as shown at K, L, Figure 30,
or they may be formed on a separate piece to be bolted or screwed on,
as at M. In this Figure I have represented the blocks as connected to
spokes or radial bars N taking the places of the side discs c hitherto
referred to, which radial bars are applicable to the first or to the second
class of wheel before spoken of with certain modified modes of arranging
the pins or the studs on the sides of the treading shoes. If the spuds
or projections P are attached singly to the blocks, either by passing
their stems through the same and fastening them by keys, as in
Figures 31 and 32, or by screwing them in, as in Figure 33, they can
be detached when the ground over which the vehicle travels is in a fit
state for the wheels to bite without them. Any number of the shoes
may be arranged with the projections or for spuds as desired.
Figure 34 I have shown projections upon the block faces in alternate
order from opposite edges, but they may be in any other order. In the
first method in which the ball and socket or pin joint is referred to, it
will be understood that each block can adjust itself to the uneven
surface of the ground or on going over stones or other obstacles, as it
can be canted or tilted endwise without interfering with its action.
In
Although I have shown the blocks as being made of wood I do not
restrict myself to the employment of that material for the purpose, as
metal or even a yielding material may be used to bear upon the ground,
and this may be imbedded in the shoe or block or moulded upon it,
or a continuous or articulated band may be employed over the whole of
the treading surfaces if found necessary.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I
claim,―
Firstly. The general construction and arrangement of wheels for
engines and other vehicles in the manner herein-before described and

page_text: Secondly. The employment of elastic naves to wheels of engines and
other vehicles, whether such naves be made in one piece or in several
pieces, substantially as described.
Thirdly. I claim the employment of ball and socket and pin joints
between the naves and the treading pieces forming the tyres of wheels
when such naves are elastic, substantially as described and shown.
Fourthly. I claim the employment of compound spokes and bearing
pieces in wheels, substantially as described and shown in Figures 3, 4,
and 5 of the accompanying Drawings.
Fifthly. I claim the employment of blocks or pieces of rubber or a
compound of rubber and other materials between the shoes or bearing
pieces of the tyres of wheels, which blocks are capable of rising and
falling and moving laterally for distributing weight over a large surface
in the manner described and shown.
Sixthly. I claim the construction and employment of an articulated
clastic tyre for wheels, as described and shown.
Seventhly. I claim the employment of two sets or rings for the
tyres of wheels in which an elastic medium is employed between the
inner set substantially as described and shown in Figure 21 of the
Drawings.
And, lastly, I claim the employment of curved bars or their equivalents
for lifting the bearing or treading pieces of elastic wheels fitted to engines
and other vehicles, as described and shown.
In witness whercof, I, the said Vaughan Pendred, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of July One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-one.
Witness,
H. GARDNER,
166, Fleet Street,
London.
V. PENDRED. (L.S.)