Improvements in the Method of and Means for Constructing Pulleys.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Sept., 1891-Accepted, 21st Nov., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Method of and Means for Constructing
Pulleys.
I, GEORGE RICHARDS, of 145 Cannon Street, London, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineer, 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 :-
My improvements relate to methods of and means for constructing pulleys with
wrought iron or steel arms, of that class in which such arms are arranged in pairs,
the ends of each pair of arms being turned outwards to the right and left at the rim
in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the boss of the pulley, to support the
rim and to form means for rivetting the rim thereto. It has hitherto been the
practice to prepare the separate wrought iron arms with the ends bent to the desired
shape, and to depend upon the skill of the moulder in placing the arms into the
mould to cast them firmly into the boss and get the ends of the arms concentric.
It is a matter of much importance in producing such pulleys cheaply that the
ends of the arms should be of equal distance from the centre of the boss. In
foundry practice it has been found extremely difficult and expensive in time to
accomplish the desired result, and also to afterwards bore the boss exactly central
with the ends of the arms. And, further, by the present known methods it is
necessary to prepare the arins by grinding the surplus metal away to bring all arms
to equal lengths, and to produce the curved shape to correspond with the rim.
By my improved method I reverse the operations, by first casting the arms in or
otherwise securing them to the boss, and afterwards forming or bending the ends
by special appliances, in order to obtain accurate results independent of any special
skill by the moulder or operator of the machine employed.
In the construction of my wrought iron pulleys I prefer to use arms made
from rolled bars of a special section, in the form of a trough, but I do not confine
myself to this form or section in carrying out my invention.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine for forming or bending the ends of the
arms of a pulley after same have been secured to the boss.
Fig. 2 is a plan view of such machine, and
Fig. 3 an end elevation thereof.
Fig. 4 is a vertical section showing a boss with arms cast therein, as they leave
the foundry.
Fig. 5 is a vertical section showing such boss and arms after the first operation.
Fig. 6 is a vertical section showing such boss and arms after the second
operation, and
Fig. 7 is a vertical section of a complete pulley with the rim secured to
the arms.
Fig. 8 is a cross section of the wrought iron arms of the form I prefer to
employ.
Fig. 9 is an enlarged plan view of the end of an arm showing the rounded end
to correspond with the curve of the pulley rim.
In practice I construct the pulleys as follows:-
I first cast in or otherwise secure to the boss straight wrought iron arms as shown
in Fig. 4.
This can be done in any suitable way which will be well known to those
used to foundry work. I next bring the ends of the arms together as shown in
Fig. 5, and then preferably drill a hole at 1, and insert a temporary bolt or rivet to
hold the arms in this position. A clamp 2 holds the arms during the operation.
The boss is then bored to the desired size, and the boss and arms are then ready
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page_text: to be operated upon by any suitable means for bending the ends of the arms out to
the right and left, as shown in Fig. 6.
For this purpose I prefer to employ a machine of the construction shown in
Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, in which 3 is a bed supported on standards 4, 4.
5 is a slide movable on the bed by rack and pinion and hand wheel 6. 7 is a
mandrel fitted to the slide 5, for supporting the boss and arms of the pulley. It
will be seen that the slide can be quickly adjusted to suit different diameters of
pulleys, and also for the purpose hereinafter referred to.
The object of the machine is to first heat the ends of the arms and then forge
them to a desired form. This is effected as follows:-The boss and arms are free
to revolve on the mandrel 7 so as to bring the end of one set of arms to a gas or
other furnace at 8. The arms are heated sufficiently and then brought round to
the clamp 9, a triangular block 21 being inserted between the arms as shown in
Fig. 1. This clamp consists of two dogs which are brought together preferably
by right and left handed screws actuated by a hand wheel 10. The arms being
firmly clamped, I cause a dic 11 to come against the ends of the arms, preferably
by the action of a hydraulic piston 12 working in cylinder 20. This forces the
ends of the arms against the die 13, which is shown of a shape or contour to suit a
pulley with a rounded face, as indicated by the broken lines 14. I also in this
operation forge the end of the arms to suit the curve of the pulley with which the
boss and arms are to be used, as shown at 15 in Fig. 9. This finishes the ends of
the arms at one operation, ready to have the rim put on them.
The position of slide 5 is adjusted to a movable stop 22 fixed to the bed of the
machine, so as to suit a given size of pulley, and when one set of arms has been
operated upon slide 5 is moved back (the clamp 9 being first loosened) so as to
permit another set of arms, which have been first heated, to be brought in line with
the clamp 9, after which the new set is introduced therein, by bringing slide 5 back
again against stop 22, and the operation is repeated.
I do not describe the operations of completing the pulley after leaving my
improved machine, as such operations are well known and constitute no part of
my invention.
By substituting dies of different shapes I can form the ends of the arms to suit
pulleys with what are known in the trade as flat or straight faces.
After the arms are removed from the furnace it is necessary for the workman to
knock out the arms by a hand hammer to the position shown at 16 in Fig. 1, so as
to permit the die to press both arms at one operation. The arms of the pulley
are heated consecutively. In Fig. 2 I have shown at 17, 18, the arms which have
been operated upon.
By the method above described I am able to prepare the boss with the arms cast
in or secured thereto, and afterwards use same to construct pulleys of varying
diameters and different forms of rim, as the system allows the boss to be con-
vertible, or to be used for different sized pulleys, by taking a boss with the arms
cast therein or secured thereto, as shown in Fig. 4, and cutting any desired amount
off the length of such arms before forging or bending the ends thereof to the shape
to receive a rim of a given diameter and form.
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. The method of forming pulleys with wrought iron or steel arms consisting in
casting or otherwise securing such arms in pairs to a boss or centre, then
bringing the ends of such pairs together, boring the boss or centre, and placing
same on a mandrel so that the pairs of arms attached thereto can be brought
in succession to a fixed point and bent outwards to the right and left in the
direction of the longitudinal axis of the boss and all at an equal distance from
such axis, and their outer surfaces shaped to the necessary form to permit of
the rim of the pulley being applied directly thereto, substantially as specified,

page_text: 2. The machine constructed substantially as herein described and shown in
Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, for bending or shaping the ends of arms which
have been first secured in or to a boss or centre, to the right and left.
Dated this 1st day of September 1891.
ALLISON BROS.,
Agents for the Applicant.