Improvements in Cork Spindle Washers for Vehicle Wheels.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Feb., 1893-Accepted, 8th Apr., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Cork Spindle Washers for Vehicle Wheels.
We, AMBROSE WEBSTER WOODWARD, Manufacturer, of No. 729 North Duke
Street, and CLARA LOUISE KING, Widow, of No. 156 East King Street, both in
the City of Lancaster, County of Lancaster, and State of Pennsylvania, one of the
United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of the invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
The invention relates to improvements in axle or spindle washers for vehicle
wheels, of that class in which rings or gaskets cut from selected cork are adapted
to be placed on the axle spindles between the rear ends of the wheel hubs and the
shoulders of said spindles, as well as between the front ends of said hubs and the
spindle nuts.
The invention consists: First, in cutting from selected cork blocks, rectangular
pieces having the required thickness and width; Second, in fixing rigidly to one
side of said pieces, a thin facing of any suitable material; Third, in cutting from
these prepared pieces, the required rings, gaskets, or washers; and Fourth, in
applying to the peripheral edges of said washers, bands of any suitable material, to
give them additional strength.
The object of the invention is to provide compressible cushions between the
front and rear ends of vehicle wheel hubs turning on axle spindles and the
shoulders and axle-nuts, respectively at the rear and front ends of said spindles, to
take up any lost motion, end wise, of said hubs and not interfere with the free
turning of said wheels.
To stop the rattling, clattering or knocking, so extremely annoying, of vehicle
wheels having too much space, end wise, on their spindles, washers made of metal,
leather, rawhide, paper, or wood, have heretofore been in use, but these do not
answer the purpose as well as the washers which are the subject of the present
application. All of the foregoing are too solid, hard or compact, and not com-
pressible enough. With them it is quite an easy matter, in washering, to get the
wheels too tight on their spindles and thus interfere much with their easy turning,
making the vehicles to run hard or heavy. And, besides, they all contain more or
less grit, or cutting particles, which wear into the bodies between which they are
placed.
The purposes of the invention are attained by the devices illustrated in the
accompanying drawing in which similar letters refer to like parts throughout the
several views, and in which :
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rectangular pad cut from a block of approved
cork; Fig. 2, a similar view of a rectangular sheet of approved material to be
secured to one side of said pad, or piece, of cork; Fig. 3, a similar view of Figs. 1
and 2 secured together, the cork being above, and the face-lining, below; Fig. 4, a
similar view of a ring or gasket cut from Fig. 3, full lines, above, showing a
peripheral band in place, and dotted lines, the extremities of said band, down-
wardly and outwardly, extended; Fig. 5, a similar view of the washer, completed;
Fig. 6, a vertical longitudinal section of a vehicle wheel hub on its axle spindle,
showing a section of the washer in place, as first applied, at each end of said hub,
and the axle-nut loose on the front end of said spindle; and Fig. 7, a similar view,
showing the spindle nut screwed home, and the washer sections compressed.
Rectangular pieces or strips, A, Fig. 1, are cut from approved blocks or sheets
of selected bark of the cork-oak (Quercus suber), well known to the trade, after
having been thoroughly steamed and flattened. Thin sheets, a, Fig. 2, of paper.

page_text: muslin, leather, or of any other approved material, are then securely attached to
one side of said strips by means of any tenacious glue, or such as may be made by
heating caoutchouc, coal-tar, and shell-lac together, to form pads, Fig. 3, from which
the washer-gaskets are cut. These pads may be separately manufactured as an
article of commerce, but they constitute the base of this invention, and may have
any desired thickness, which should never be less than about twice the space the
washer is intended to fill.
In Fig. 4 is shown a ring or gasket, A', cut from the pad illustrated in Fig. 3,
a¹ being the face-lining on its under side; a³ indicates a peripheral band of any
approved material, full lines above, showing it secured in place, and dotted lines, its
extremities, downwardly and outwardly, extended; while, in Fig. 5, the washer is
shown to be completed, the peripheral band having been secured the whole way
around.
A similar band, or lining, may also be placed on the inner, or concaved, edge
of the ring, and not involve any new invention; and, the side facing, together
with these bands, may likewise be omitted, without changing the character of the
washer, nor materially detract from the purposes of the invention. These
constructions are so evident that their separate illustration was deemed superfluous.
Of course, the washers should have different diameters, as they are to be applied
to the front and rear ends of the wheel-hubs, and they should fit closely to the axle
spindles.
In Fig. 6, sections of the washer, illustrated in Fig. 5, are shown in place at the
front and rear ends of a wheel-hub on its spindle, the washers having the cork
portions next to said hub, and the nut, loosely screwed, on the front end of said
spindle, while in Fig. 7, said nut is shown screwed home, and the washers,
compressed.
It will here be observed that the washers have their lined sides next to the
spindle shoulder and the flange of the spindle nut. This is so, in order to let the
body of the cork yield to the revolving wheel-hub, the full benefit of its cushioning
quality, and that the facing against the shoulder and nut, may help to keep the
washers stationary; also, should the washers be steeped in oil, or soaked in some
other grease, for some time before being used, they will absorb enough greasy
matter which they will exude sufficiently, on being compressed, to slightly lubricate
the rubbing faces of the hubs, and help to keep their spindles moist; and again,
the washers having been compressed, as shown in Fig. 7, should there occur any
lost motion, end wise of the hub, the natural elasticity of the cork, or the swelling
property thereof, will cause the washers to expand and gradually fill the space,
when said compression is removed, or as when a spindle nut has become slightly
loosened.
We are aware that the U.S. Patent, reissue No. 5,422, dated May 20, 1873, was
granted to Edmund S. Hanna, for an improvement in paper washers; that the
U.S. Patent No. 148,506, dated March 10, 1874, was granted to Cyrus W. Saladee,
for an improvement in wooden washers for vehicle-axles; that the U.S. Patent,
No. 451,008, dated April 21, 1891, was granted to John T. Smith, for improve-
ments in packing; and also, that the U.S. Patent, No. 63,073, dated March 19,
1867, was granted to James P. McLean, for an improvement in packing for man-
holes of steam generators, we, therefore, do not lay any claims broadly to the
washer, its shape or form, nor to the washering of vehicle wheels.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:
1. As an article of manufacture, the pad hereinbefore shown, comprising the
strip of cork, A, and the facing, a, rigidly secured to a flat side of said strip, said
pad adapted to be cut into rings, gaskets, or washers, substantially as described,
and for the purpose set forth.
2. An axle-washer made of cork, for vehicle wheels or carriage spindles, to form

page_text: compressible cushions against the rotating ends of the hubs of said wheels, sub-
stantially as hereinbefore set forth.
3. The washer, A', for vehicle wheels, comprising a ring or gasket of cork,
having the face-lining, a¹, rigidly secured to one side thereof, substantially as
and for the purpose herein before set forth.
4. The washer, A', for vehicle wheels, comprising the ring or gasket made of
cork having the side-facing, a¹, rigid therewith, and the band, a³, secured to the
peripheral edge thereof, substantially as described and for the purpose hereinbefore
set forth.
5. The combination in an axle-washer for vehicle wheels and the like, with a
ring or gasket made of cork, having the facing, a', secured to a side of said gasket,
and the band, a³, secured to the periphery thereof, of a similar band, rigidly
secured to the concaved, inner edge of said ring, substantially as described and for
the purpose herein before set forth.
Deted this 16th dow of Dah………………… A T 1000
S. S. BROMHEAD,
97, Newgate Street, London, E.C., Patent Agent.