IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEELS, PRO
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert William Sievier, of 33, Soho Square, in
the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEELS,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert William Sievier
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th September 1864.
I, ROBERT WILLIAM SIEVIER, of 38, Suho Square, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN WHEELS, AND ARRANGING THEM ON THEIR AXLES OR SHAFTS," to be as
follows:-
My Invention consists, in the first place, in making the wheel carry with
itself a circular spring railway, upon which the wheel will move, which will
be of considerable importance, particularly to railways, as such Invention will
materially reduce the shock or blow caused by great speed upon the rail. I
accomplish this part of my Invention by placing on the outside of the rim or
felly of the wheel a steel hoop, which steel hoop has a tyre placed also on its
outside, upon which tyre the wheel is to run; but neither the wheel or the
outside tyre is to touch the steel ring or hoop. There are fixed on the outside
of the felly of the wheel blocks or pieces made of metal or wood, or any other
suitable substance, at that part of the felly where the spokes of the wheel
are attatched, that is, immediately underneath them, and similar blocks or

page_text: pieces are attatched inside the outer tyre in the spaces between the spokes,
so that a spring may be given at all times of contact by the means of this
wheel with the rail.
The second part of my Invention is the placing the wheels on the axles
of locomotives carriages, carriage or waggons, driving wheels excepted. At
present the wheels are generally placed fixed tighly on the axles, which
causes great wear to the rails if one wheel should be larger than the other,
or in driving round curves or gradients. To remedy this defect I place one
wheel loose and the other fixed, by which means I do away with the objection
of fixed wheels. There will be but little wear in the axle or the nave of the
loose wheel, as it will make but few turns less or more than the axle; but at
the time when it comes to curves or gradients in all cases it will reduce the
wear and tear caused by the slip in the fixed wheels, and less power will be
required to carry or drag the train of carriages and trucks.
suitable to carriages and waggons on common roads.
This plan is also
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert William Sievier in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 18th March 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
WILLIAM SIEVIER, of 33, Solo Square, in the County of Middlesex, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of September, in the year of our
of
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-ninth year
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
inc, tho said Robert William Sievier, Her special licence that 1, the said
Robert William Sievier, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, tho said Robert William Sievier, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any timo 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEELS, AND ARRANGING THEM ON THEIR AXLES
OR SHAFTS,"
'upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert William
Siovier, my executors or administrators, by an instrumont in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and

page_text: 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 Robert William Sievier, 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 fol-
lowing statement:—
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Robert William Sievier, 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, reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures thereon (that is to say) :-
My improvements consist, firstly, in causing the wheels of locomotive
engines, carriages, or waggons to be elastic (if such a term may be used) by
enabling the wheel itself to lay down an elastic or spring railway as it
travels along the ordinary railway, by which means the wear and tear of two
rigid bodies is in a great measure prevented, and also the shocks caused by
the uneavenness of tho line greatly reduced. The wheel is represented in the
annexed Drawing.
Fig. 1 represents the ordinary driving wheel of a locomotive engine, with
my improvements surrounding it, the wheel "a, a, a," is the ordinary wheel,
and is colored green, on the rim or exterior part of this wheel are fixed
blocks of metal or wood "b, b, b," of about half an inch or more in thickness,
cach block being fixed opposite the end of each spoke of the wheel; arround
these blocks "6" I place the flat steel ring "c," colored red, of sufficient
thickness to sustain the weight of the engine and the force of traction neces-
sary to propel the train, allowing sufficient spring or elasticity to the wheel
"a, a, a," as it passes along the rail, as will by further explanation be seen
necessary. On this steel ring I also fix metal or wood blocks, as seen
d, d, d." These blocks must be placed in the middle of the spaces between
each of the spokes as seen at "d, d," and in this case the steel ring must be a
fixture or kept in its placo, which may be accomplished by pins screwed into
the wheel "a," and passing into a hole in the steel spring or in any other
convenient manner. Over these last-mentioned series of blocks "d, d, d," I
place the tyre "c," which is to run upon the rail, and this tyre I should
prefer to be of steel, as it would assist in making the whole outer circum-
ference of the wheel more elastic and would wear for years. This tyre being
entirely free to expand and contract, would not be liable to
66
break, as is the

page_text: case at prosent, causing very serious accidents. The blocks "d, d, d," may
be fixed on the tyre e, instead of the steel ring "c," and the ring "c" may
be loose; but in that case the tyre must be made to keep its proper position.
The side pieces marked "g," of which thero is one on each side, are bolted toge-
ther by bolts ", i, i;" this side piece is taken away for a short distance to show
the ring "c" and the blocks "b, b," &c. I should prefer the driving wheel
of the engine to be without a flange, as the engine would keep the rails by
the aid of the smaller flanged wheels, or a tyre might be fastened on one side
of the periphery of the wheel, and the other side have a piece of less width,
as seen in the Drawing. When the elastic wheels are placed on locomotive
engines or ordinary railway carriages I should prefer one to be a loose wheel,
as explained in my second improvement, and if applied to other vehicles for
ordinary roads both may be loose on their axle.
My second improvements consist in arranging the wheels on the axle. In
the present mode both railway wheels are fixed firmly on the axle, and I am
aware that both have been made to run loose on the axle, which in railway
carriages has not been found suitable. I place one wheel loose and the other
fixed on the axle, as I wish the shaft to revolve with the loose wheel, by which
means I do not wear out the nave of the wheel or the axlo on straight lines;
but on curves radients, or any uneavenness of the road, or difference in
size of the two wheels, one is allowed to revolve on the axle the small quan-
tity necessary to make up the difference, whereby the wear and tear of the
wheels and axles is greatly diminished, and a less amount of traction power
will be necessary to draw the train.
I do not disturb the general arrangement now adopted of wheels, axles, or
axle-boxes, all I desire is that when the tyre of a wheel is worn out I place
the newly tyred wheel on the axle or shaft to run loose, keeping it in its
place, as seen in section at Fig. 2, by two flanges, one shrunk on the shaft
at "a" and pinned through, and the other a mere collar g pinned or fastened
in its place by any convenient means. In the inside of the oyo of the wheel
I turn a groove "s" about three-quarters of an inch deep and wide.
When the wheel is in its place I fill the groove with oil or other lubricating
material by means of a hole bored into the groovo from the outer side of the
wheel, and when full I plug up the hole with a screw tap "u."
In making a new wheel as a loose wheel, as previously described, I should
mako the boss or nave longer than the boss or nave used on the fixed wheels,
see Fig. 4, a being the enlarged boss or nave; "b," the receptacle for tho
oil, and "c," the screw plug, and "d," the fixed collar, and "e," the colar
pinned on. In using the old wheels when newly tyred for a loose wheel I

page_text: prefer adding a piece b to the boss or nave, as seen at Fig. 3, bolted by
means of the bolts "a, a, a." This is necessary to cause the wheels to last
much longer and prevent "wabbling," or as is usually termed a drunken
wheel. "c," the receptacle for the oil, and "d and e," the collars.
In applying the principle of the loose wheel with the elastic driving wheel it is
necessary to place one elastic driving wheel on one shaft or axle and the other
on another shaft or axle, one driving wheel being on each side of the engine,
and the loose wheel on the opposite end of the shaft or axle to each driving
wheel; one engine should be connected to the driving wheel on one side, and
one to the driving wheel on the other side, by which means the driving wheels
and loose wheels will accomodate their revolutions to the curves and uneaven-
nesses of the line of rails.
If my above principle is adopted to the driving wheels now in use, the
same plan I adopt as described for the elastic wheel, viz., one fixed wheel
and a loose wheel on each shaft or axle, each fixed wheel must be driven by
the engine on its respective side. I do not in either case confine myself to
two driving wheels to a locomotive engine, as there might be two on each
side; if so the two are coupled by a connecting rod.
1st, I claim the use of the elastic wheel, as herein described, for locomotive
engines or carriages, or any modification thereof.
2nd, I claim the placing of one wheel loose and the other fixed on the axle
or shaft, as explained above, for locomotive engines, carriages, waggons, or
trucks, or any modification thereof.
R. W. SIEVIER.
(L.B.)