An Improved Wheel for Cycles and other Vehicles.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd July. 1804
Complete Specification Left, 4th Feb., 185-Accepted, 13th Apr.,
1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Wheel for Cycles and other Vehicles.
JOSEPH BUCHANAN 20 Ferdinand Street Chalk Farm, N.W. Manufacturer
and Dealer in Cycles, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows 11
The hub is constructed with one or more circular flanges, or ring or rings,
between or to the flanges, or ring, or rings are pivoted, round, oblong or flat rods
passing through one or more round, oval or flat coiled springs, rubber or pneumatic
chambers, held or contained in drums which are attached to hub flange or flauges
or ring or rings or to the flange or flanges or ring or rings of a circular shield,
being a shield with one or more circular compartments or formed by one or more
rings. The drums or swivel blocks are provided with bosses or pivots on
opposite sides and may be pivoted either to the hub or to the shield flange or
flanges or ring or rings; threaded caps are fitted in the drums or swivel blocks
so as to regulate the pressure on the springs, the pressure may also be adjusted
by the nuts on the end of the rods.
The spokes are attached to the shield or ring and the rim of the wheel. The
inner flange or flanges, or ring or rings revolve on or are fixed to the axle. In
other words the axle may be stationary or revolve with the hub or wheel.
The arms or rods are pivoted either to or on, inner or outer ring or rings, or
flange or flanges of shield or shields. The arms pass through a cap or drum that
las at one end an inner and outer flange, with an outer thread extending to the
flange; one end of a coiled spring rests on the inner flange, a thread on the outer
side of the cap or drum extends to the outer flange. The cap or drum screws into
a drum or swivel block. The thread may be on the inner side of the cap or drum
and screwed on to the outer side of drum or swivel block.
The drum or swivel block is pivoted to rings or flanges; swinging on pivots it
moves with the changing angles of the arins. The arms or rods pass through the
cap or drum and through the other drum or swivel block and through a coiled
spring, nuts with flanges screw on to the ends of the arms or rods and hold or press
on the springs. The nuts that screw on the ends of the arms or rods extend into
the coiled springs and the flanges of the nuts rest upon the springs. The nuts are
secured by D washer.
The nuts on the ends of the arms or rods and the threaded caps or drums that
screw on the swivel blocks can be moved so as to adjust the pressure and length of
the springs.
Dated this 7th day of August 1894.

page_text: I, JOSEPH BUCHANAN, of 20, Ferdinand Street, Chalk Farm, in the County
of London, Manufacturer and Dealer in Cycles, 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 an improved wheel for cycles and other vehicles and
consists in the novel arrangement of springs between the wheel rim and the hub as
hereinafter described.
According to my invention I make use of a series of boxes or drums which
are swivelled or pivotted between rings or flanges on the outer part of the wheel.
In these boxes or drums are arranged spring-pistons the rods of which are
pivotted between flanges on the hub in such a manner that the said springs
will allow of the hub moving relatively with the other parts of the wheel.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure is a side elevation of a wheel constructed according to my invention:
Figure 2 is a similar view of the central part of the wheel drawn to a larger
scale; and,
Figure 3 is a central vertical section of the same:
Figure 4 is a sectional view illustrating a modified arrangement of springs :
Figures 5 and 6 are respectively a sectional side elevation and a vertical section
illustrating a modification of the invention.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.
a is the wheel hub which is formed with two flanges h, b, and c, e are the rings
upon the outer part of the wheel.
d, d are my drums or boxes, which drums or boxes are provided with
trunnions e, e. In practice I prefer to make the journals of the trunnions with
conical shoulders fitting into corresponding bearings and in order to permit of
taking up the wear 1 make the bearing of one trunnion in a bush or socket
which is screwed into one of the rings so as to be adjustable therein as shewn in
Figure 3.
y
is the piston with which each of the boxes or drums is provided and is the
rod connected thereto. j is the spring surrounding the rod and arranged between
the piston and the end of the drum, the said rod being pivotted between the
flanges b, of the hub.
In the arrangement of my invention shewn in Figures 2 and 3 the rings c, c
carrying the pivotted boxes or drums d are held in their proper relative positions
by means of distance tie-rods k, k and the said boxes or drums are provided with
solid inner ends. To permit of introducing the springs into the said boxes, the
pistons are adapted to be screwed onto the rods i through the open ends of the
boxes or drums; this arrangement of the pistons also permitting of adjusting
the pressure of the springs within the boxes d, d.
The rods i, i are connected to the hub a by means of pins pins 1, 7 passed through
the flanges of the hub and through the bearing part or crosshead of the rod i,
which part is elongated and, in order to compensate for wear, each end of the
partis coned and one works against a boss m on one flange and the other end
against a screw-bush inserted through a boss on the other flange, as shewn in
Figure 3.
Instead of using a single spring in each box as herein before described, I may
employ two springs, as shewn in Figure 4. With this modification the cylinder
is provided with movable ends, the springs being arranged one on each side of
the piston h.

page_text: In the modification of my invention shown in Figures 5 and 6 the rings c, c
instead of being connected by rods k, k are arranged as follows, that is to say, one
of them is cast in one piece with a drun o to which the spokes are connected and
the other is made detachable and secured to lugs upon the inner side of the drum
by means of screws p. The pistons h, are also fixed to the rods i, i and the
springs j, j are adjusted in the boxes or drums d, d by making one end of the
boxes adjustable. Furthermore, the said pistons, instead of being connected to
the flanges of the hub a by means of pins, are provided with trunnions carried in
the said flanges in the same manner as the trunnions of the boxes or drums.
It will be readily understood that a wheel constructed as hereinbefore described
will possess considerable lateral rigidity by reason of the distance apart of the
bearings of the pivotted boxes or drums and of the connections between the pistons
and the hub.
In order to provide for more or less altering the compression of all the springs
simultaneously, I advantageously fix to the trunnion of one of the boxes or drums d
an arm against which a set-screw r, working in a stud or boss fixed to one of
the rings e, e, acts in such a manner that, by screwing up the said screw, the rod i
in the box or drum to which the arm is connected and consequently the other
arms, connected with the rings c, will be moved to a position more or less
tangential to the axis of the hub.
In a spring-wheel of the kind described it will be obvious that the power being
transmitted through the hub to the outer part of the wheel will when the machine
is being driven cause the hub to be somewhat in advance of the outer portion of
the wheel. In order that when the driving cranks are in the most ineffective
position for driving, that is to say, when they are practically on their dead centres,
the reaction of the springs in the boxes or drums d, d shall not tend to move the
said hub in a rearward direction, I provide on some part of the framing of the
machine a spring-pawl and on the hub of the driving wheel I place a ratchet
wheel with which the said pawl is designed to engage in such a manner that,
whilst allowing of the rotation of the hub to drive the machine forward, it will
prevent any backward movement of the said hub, so that any reaction of the
springs which may take place when the cranks are on their dead centres will serve
to propel the outer part of the wheel forward instead of giving a backward
movement to the hub.
To prevent any noise which might be caused during the running of the machine
owing to the movement of the ratchet wheel with the pawls, I provide on the
underside of the latter a buffer of india-rubber or other suitable material bearing
upon the ratchet wheel and of such dimensions that the free end of the pawl is just
out of contact with the said wheel.
Although I have shewn my invention as applied to a wheel for velocipedes and
other vehicles it is to be understood that it may also be used as a pulley for
receiving or transmitting power, the form shewn in Figures 5 and 6 being especially
adapted for this purpose.
It is also to be understood that, although in the foregoing Specification I
have described the boxes or drums d, d containing the springs j, j as being
pivotted to the outer part of the wheel and the rods i, i connected to the
hub a, this arrangement may be reversed, that is to say, the boxes or drums
may be carried between flanges on the hub and the rods i, connected to the outer
portion of the wheel.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A spring-wheel or pulley wherein the springs are carried in boxes or drums
provided with trunnions having bearings in rings or flanges upon the one part of
the wheel, the said boxes or drums having sliding within them pistons the rods of

page_text: which are pivotted between flanges upon the other part of the wheel, substantially
as described.
2. In a spring-wheel or pulley having a series of springs arranged in drums or
boxes pivotted to oue part of the wheel and pistons and rods connected to the
other part of the wheel, the arrangement of a set-screw substantially as described
by reference to Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings for regulating the pressure of the
several springs simultaneously, substantially as described.
3. The combination with a spring-wheel of a ratchet and pawl substantially in
the manner, and for the purpose, described.
Dated the 4th day of February 1895.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4. South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.