Improvements in or connected with Hubs for Velocipede and Vehicle Wheels.
Year: 1896

page_text: .Date of Application, 14th Oct., 1896-Accepted, 28th Nov., 187
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Hubs for Velocipede and
Vehicle Wheels.
We, SAMUEL TWEEDALE, Director, and JAMES CLEGG, Secretary of S. Tweedale
& Co., Limited, of Haugh Cycle Works, Oldham Road, Rochdale in the County of
Lancaster, Cycle Manufacturers 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 relates to hubs for velocipede and vehicle wheels revolving on a
stationary axle and consists in improvements in the construction or arrangement of
the bearings therefor having for their object to facilitate the opening of the bearings
for the purpose of cleaning or repairing the same and their adjustment. In
velocipedes and similar carriages as usually made, the cones or cups forming the
ball races of the ball bearings are secured in the sleeve of the hub, which renders
the opening of the bearings for the extraction of the balls and axle and the
re-insertion of the axle and balls very inconvenient and troublesome which incon-
venience is obviated by our improvements.
Our improvements consist in the formation of the bearings for the hub in such a
manner that the bearings and axle can be bodily removed from the hub and re-inserted
thereinto. For this purpose we arrange the bearings in or attached to a separate
sleeve which is inserted into and fixed in the hub. The sleeve consists of a tube
which preferably is screwed with an external screw thread at each end upon which
caps are screwed formed with suitable hall races, or the tube may be tapped with an
internal thread at each end and have cups with a ball race screwed into the same,
the collars on the axle being formed correspondingly.
On the drawing appended hereunto
Figure 1, shows a longitudinal section of a hub for a driving wheel fitted with our
improved sleeve as preferably constructed;
Figure 2, shows a similar section of a hub for a trailing wheel and
Figure 3, an end view of the sleeve.
The hub is formed as usual of a sleeve a with flanges for the attachment of the
wheelspokes and is bored out cylindrically or slightly conically. The sleeve inserted
into the hub consists of a tube c threaded externally at the ends and of caps d'and e
screwed upon the tube.
The ends of the caps are formed internally with ball races for the balls ff and are
bored for the ends of the axle g to pass freely through them. The axle is formed with
corresponding collars and i. By screwing one of the caps more or less far upon the
tube c, the hearings can be adjusted.
The cap d is formed with a rim or flange d' bearing against the end of the hub and
the other cap e is threaded externally and a nut & bearing against the other end of
the hub is screwed upon it and the sleeve thereby fixed in the hub. One part of the
flange d' is cut away at d', Figure 3 and the sleeve of the hub extended over it so as
to prevent the bearing sleeve from turning round. The sleeve of the hub may be
bored slightly taper with the larger diameter at the cap d, and the two caps turned
correspondingly, to facilitate the removal of the bearing sleeve from the hub, for
which purpose it will only he necessary to unscrew the nut k.
The axle g may be fixed in the wheel forks or attached to the vehicle in any
ordinary way. Flanged collars may be screwed or fixed upon the ends to

page_text: prevent the entry of dust and retain the oil, the hollow. sleeve forming a reservoir
and being provided with a suitable opening closed by a plug or otherwise for filling
the same.
As mentioned before, instead of caps being screwed upon the tube a, cups with ball
races on their bottoms may be screwed into the same, the collars on the axle being in
that case formed with ball races facing each other and one of them detachably fixed
on the axle.
When the axle has been detached from the forks and the wheel with hub,
bearing sleeve and axle taken out, the sleeve with the axle can be. readily-
removed from the hub and opened for cleaning and repairing purposes and the
whole conveniently replaced again. In other cases, where the wheels are mounted
upon the ends of an axle fixed in the vehicle, the wheel with the hub can be drawn
off the sleeve after the nut k has been unscrewed, when the sleeve and ball bearings
will likewise be conveniently accessible.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. The arrangement of the ball bearings for a wheel hub revolving on a fixed
axle in a sleeve detachably inserted into the hub substantially as hereinbefore
described.
2. The construction of a wheel hub revolving on a fixed axle with a sleeve
containing adjustable ball bearings and detachably fixed in said hub substantially as
hereinbefore described.
3. The arrangement of a sleeve containing the ball bearings for a stationary axle
and detachably fixed in a wheel hub constructed substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated by the drawings.
4. The construction or arrangement of a wheel hub, detachable sleeve, ball
bearings and axle substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the
drawings.
Dated the 13th day of October 1896
R. J. URQUHART,
57, Barton Arcade, Manchester, and 6, Clayton Square, Liverpool,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent.