Improvements in Toy Steam-engines.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Aug., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 18th Jan., 1894-Accepted, 24th Feb., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Toy Steam-engines.
I, CHARLES WILLIAM KEIGHLEY, of Cluny Villa, Burlington Lane, Chiswick,
in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows :-
My invention relates to improvements in toy steam-engines.
The principal object of my said invention is to construct improved toy steam-
engines in such a manner that the parts thereof, with very few exceptions, can be
properly put together without the employment of solder or brazing.
Another object of my invention is to make the majority of the details of such
engines of novel forms, and to make and connect them in such a manner that
completed engines can be produced with an extremely small expenditure of
comparatively unskilled labour. In the said details I avoid the use of readily-
fusible material such as lead, for instance, to a considerable degree. Engines thus
constructed are nor likely, when heated, to be subject to collapse and failure, such
as is frequently experienced with most toys of the kind under like circumstances.
Moreover they are stronger and more durable, in many respects, than more costly
toy steam-engines constructed as has hitherto been custoinary. An important
advantage possessed by my improved toys, in addition to those hereinbefore
enumerated, is their inexpensiveness.
I will now proceed to describe, by way of example, a toy steam road-roller
constructed according to my invention, premising, however, that I do not limit
my said invention to the construction of this particular type of engine
The framing is made by stamping out a piece of thin sheet-metal with slotted
wings which are afterwards bent to form supports for a lamp-carrier hereinafter
referred to; another slotted wing is provided, to be bent in an opposite direction
to form one of the crank-shaft standards and bearings. Other parts of the said
piece are arranged so that they can form stiffening-flanges for the frame, and
suitable tongues are formed upon the frame to receive the boiler. Holes are made
in the said piece to form a bearing for one of the road-wheel axles, and to receive
the centre-pin of the fore-carriage. The boiler is preferably of rectangular form;
its flat surfaces are adapted to permit of the easy attachment of other parts of the
engine thereto. Its front and rear plates are flanged outward. The tongues herein-
before referred to engage with and support the boiler; some of them bear upon
the exterior of the boiler at its ends, just below the flanged portions of the end
plates, and others bear upon the said flanges, in the recess provided by the flanging.
The boiler is securely retained in place and as the aforesaid tongues are used in
substitution for solder or the like its expansion and contraction with respect to
the frame are practically unimpeded, and do not affect the engine injuriously in
any way.
A suitable filling-opening is provided for enabling the boiler to be filled; it is
closed by a suitable screw-plug or other suitable device, made to resemble a chimney
by supporting a conical tube of thin metal.
A piece of sheet-metal is suitably bent to form a lamp-holder and provided with
tongues to retain the lamp in place and to engage with the slots in the aforesaid
slotted wings of the frame.
The lamp is a cylinder, preferably of tin, provided at one end with a central
opening, flanged outwardly at its edges. The said cylinder is filled with a wad of
sponge or other material suited to absorb methylated spirit or other combustible

page_text: oil, and a piece of wire gauze is interposed between the said wad and the
opening.
A bracket is fixed upon one of the flat sides of the boiler; in the said bracket
four holes are punched or drilled. One hole forms a bearing for one end of the
crank-shaft, another hole communicates with the interior of the boiler, by way of
a corresponding orifice therein, a third hole and a channel connected therewith,
form an exhaust passage, and the fourth hole is employed for a purpose hereinafter
specified. The crank-shaft is formed by cranking a piece of stout wire at one end;
near the other end a heavy disc is fixed to serve as a fly wheel, and at the
said other end the shaft bears upon one of the road wheels, to act thereon as a
friction pinion, to rotate it and thus to propel the engine.
The cylinder is of the single-acting oscillating type, open at one end, and flat
ipon one side externally. Suitable inlet and exhaust passages are formed in the
cylinder; they lead from the aforesaid flat face into the cylinder, and act
automatically in conjunction with the steam holes or passages in the aforesaid
bracket, to regulate the admission and exhaust of steam in a manner well under-
stood. The piston is a long one, and connected rigidly to the piston rod, which
has a hole therein at one end to take the crank-pin and is stamped complete in
a single operation, out of sheet metal. Two holes are drilled into the cylinder wall
for a short distance; one hole is in the flat surface aforesaid, upon the axis of
oscillation of the cylinder, and the other hole is at the opposite side of the cylinder.
A piece of wire is formed as a spring yoke, with specially-formed ends which enter.
the said holes in the cylinder; one of the said ends passes through a hole in the
bracket into the opposed hole in the cylinder, and forms a pivot for the cylinder to
oscillate upon, whilst the other end enters directly into another hole in the
cylinder. The said yoke acts also as a spring to maintain the cylinder in suitably
close contact with the bracket, at the flat surface aforesaid. A deflecting piece is
secured to the side of the boiler below the cylinder. It deflects the steam if there
is a leakage between the cylinder and its working face, and prevents the steam
from blowing the lamp flame about. If the engine is carefully fitted this piece is
unnecessary.
The leading wheel or roller is made by bending a piece of sheet metal into
tubular form and closing the open ends of the tube by placing stamped flanged
caps thereon. The said sheet forming the tube is preferably corrugated for the
sake of stiffness, and the caps are perforated to allow a stout wire axle to pass
through the roller from end to end. The ends of the said stout wire after it is
in place in the fore-carriage or bogie hereinafter referred to, are slightly rivetted
over.
A fore-carriage or bogie is formed by stamping out a single piece of sheet metal
of suitable form, and afterwards bending it to embrace the roller. When stamped
out it is simultaneously perforated at the ends to form bearings for an axle, and
also at the centre, to receive a centre-pin upon which it can swivel. A rivet is
put through the central hole and the corresponding hole in the frame, to permit
the necessary swivelling action, and at the same time to hold the fore-carriage
or bogie against the underside of the frame with sufficient firmness to enable it
to maintain any position to which it is adjusted for steering purposes.
The rear wheels of the machine are placed at opposite ends of a stout wire axle
which is passed through the previously-formed holes in the frame and slightly
riveted over when the wheels are in place thereon.
Each wheel is formed of a pair of discs, flanged at the edges, and struck-up at
the centre and there perforated. Around the central upstanding projection a
number of small tongues are provided, bent out in a circular series, each tongue
projecting from the disc in an opposite direction to that in which the central
portion projects. To form the wheel the two discs are placed together, concen-
trically, with the flanges and upstanding centres in contact, and domed centrally-
perforated washers are engaged by the aforesaid tongues. The opposing flanges
of the discs constitute a broad rim for the wheel, and the doming of the washers

page_text: provides a steady bearing therefor on the axle. The two discs forming the
wheel are.. kept in close contact by a central brass bush the ends of which are
expanded.
°
Dated this 11th day of August 1893...
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Toy Steam-engines.
I, CHARLES WILLIAM KEIGHLEY, of Cluny Villa, Burlington Lane, Chiswick,
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 invention relates to improvements in toy steam-engines.
The principal object of my said invention is to construct improved toy steam-
engines in such a manner that the parts thereof, with very few exceptions, can be
properly put together without the employment of solder or brazing.
Another object of my invention is to make the majority of the details of such
engines of novel forms, and to make and connect them in such a manner that
completed engines can be produced with an extremely small expenditure of
comparatively unskilled labour. In the said details I avoid the use of readily
fusible material such as lead, for instance, to a considerable degree. Engines thus
constructed are not likely, when heated, to be subject to collapse and failure, such
as is frequently experienced with most toys of the kind under like circumstances.
Moreover, they are stronger and more durable, in many respects, than more costly
toy steam-engines constructed as has hitherto been customary. An important
advantage possessed by my improved toys, in addition to those hereinbefore
enumerated, is their inexpensiveness.
Important features of my invention are the means by which the boiler and the
frame are secured to each other, and the construction of the wheels upon which
the model travels.
In order that my invention may be clearly understood. I will now proceed to
describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate,
by way of example, a toy steam-road-roller constructed according to my invention.
It must be clearly understood, however, that I do not limit my invention to the
construction of this particular type of engine.
In the said drawings,
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the toy road-roller with the near-side rear wheel
removed and the forward end of the boiler and rear end of the frame in section.
Figure 2 is a front elevation, and
Figure 3 is a plan, of the same,
Figure 4 is a side elevation of one of the rear wheels and
Figure 5 is a transverse section on the line of the axis of the said wheel.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
A is the frame, made by stamping out a piece of thin sheet metal with a slotted
wing A' which is bent up to form one of the crank-shaft standards and bearings.
Other parts A of the said piece are arranged so that they form stiffening flanges
for the frame; A³, A³ are tongues formed upon the frame to receive and retain the
boiler in the manner hereinafter set forth.
At A' holes are made in the flanges to form a bearing for one of the road-wheel
axles, and a hole is made at A³ to receive the centre-pin of the fore-carriage.
B is the boiler, which is, preferably, of approximately rectangular form, as
shown, for the flat surfaces thereof are adapted to permit of the ready attachment

page_text: of other parts of the engine thereto. The front and rear plates B' and B' of the
boiler are flanged outward. The tongues A hereinbefore referred to engage with
and support the boiler as shown; some of them bear upon the exterior of the boiler at
its ends, just below the flanged portions of the end plates B' B', and others bear upon
the flanges, in the recess provided by the flanging. The boiler is thus securely retained 5
in place, and as the aforesaid tongues are used in substitution for solder or the like
its expansion and contraction with respect to the frame are practically unimpeded,
and do not affect the engine injuriously in any way.
B³ is a filling-opening through which the boiler is filled. It is closed by a plug C
which is screw-threaded to fit the screw-threaded portion B of a tube B' and is i
provided with a conical tube C¹ of thin metal made to resemble a chimney.
To prevent the boiler from being filled too full the tube B' is extended down within
the boiler to the desired level. When the water reaches the bottom of the tube it will
rise very little higher by reason of the presence of air trapped by the water in the
steam-space of the boiler. Instead of being cut across at right angles to its axis
the said tube may be extended downward and secured to the bottom of the boiler
in such a case it would be provided with side openings B', extending no higher thau
the desired water-level aforesaid; this alternative construction is indicated by
dotted lines in Figure 1.
D is a piece of sheet metal bent to form a lamp-holder, and sprung into position
in an opening in the rear end of the frame, as indicated clearly in Figure 1.
E is the lamp, which consists of a chamber, formed upon the holder D, from
which a tube E¹ extends forward to support the wick E' and to deliver oil
thereto.
Fis a bracket fixed upon one of the flat sides of the boiler. In the said
bracket four holes are punched or drilled at F, F2 F, F* respectively. The hole
at F forms a bearing for one end of the crank-shaft; the hole at F³ communicates
with the interior of the boiler by means of a corresponding orifice therein. The
third hole, at F3 and a channel extending therefrom to the edge of the bracket,
form an exhaust passage, and the fourth hole, at F is employed for a purpose
hereinafter specified.
G is the crank-shaft; it is formed by cranking a piece of stout wire at one end G¹.
Near the other end a heavy disc G is fixed, to serve as a fly-wheel, and that part
of the shaft which extends outward beyond the fly-wheel bears upon one of the
road wheels, to act thereon as a friction pinion, to rotate it and thus to propel the
engine.
H is the cylinder, of the single-acting oscillating type, open at one end, and
flat upon one side externally. A suitable inlet and exhaust passage H' is formed
in the cylinder; it leads thereinto from the aforesaid flat face, and acts automatically
in conjunction with the holes F, F in the bracket F to regulate the admission and
exhaust of steam in a manner well understood. His a pin fixed to the cylinder
and extending through the hole at F in the bracket. It forms the pivot about
which the cylinder oscillates, and is screw-threaded to receive a nut H* by which
the compression of the spring H' is regulated. The said spring holds the cylinder
close up against the bracket.
I is the piston, which is a long one, and is connected rigidly to the piston-rod I³,
which has a hole therein at the end I to take the crank-pin and is stamped
complete in a single operation, out of sheet-metal.
.
Jis a deflecting piece, secured to the boiler below the cylinder. It deflects the
steam if there is a leakage between the cylinder and its working face, and prevents
the steam from blowing the lamp flame about. If the engine is carefully fitted this
piece is unnecessary.
Kis the leading wheel or roller; it is made by bending a piece of sheet metal
into tubular form and closing the open ends of the tube by placing stamped flanged
caps thereon. The said sheet forming the tube is preferably corrugated for
the sake of stiffness, and the caps are perforated to allow a stout wire axle K to
pass through the roller from end to end. The ends of the said stout wire, after it

page_text: is in place in the fore carriage or bogie hereinafter referred to are slightly
rivetted over.
Lis the fore-carriage or bogie; it is formed by stamping out a single piece of
sheet metal of suitable form and afterwards bending it to embrace the roller.
When stamped out it is simultaneously perforated at the ends to form hearings
for the axle K, and also at the centre to receive the rivet L' which is pat throngh
the central hole in the bogie and through the hole at A' in the frame and rivetted
over. It permits the necessary swivelling action of the fore-carriage or bogie,
and at the same time holds the fore-carriage or bogie against the underside of
the frame with sufficient firmness to enable it to maintain any position to which
it is adjusted for effecting the steering.
M M are the rear wheels of the engine. They are placed at opposite ends of
a stout wire axle N which is passed through the previously formed holes in the
frame, and slightly riveted over when the wheels are in place thereon.
Each wheel is formed of a pair of discs M' flanged at the edges, and struck-up
at the centre as at M' and there perforated. The central projection M³ forms a
distance-piece, for a purpose hereinafter specified. Around the central upstanding
projection a number of moderately flexible small tongues M³ are provided, bent
out in a circular series, each tongue projecting from the disc in an opposite.
direction to that in which the central portion M³ projects. To form the wheel
the two discs are placed together, concentrically, as in Figure 5, with the flanges
and upstanding centres M' in contact, the latter serving to maintain the discs at
the desired distance apart, and domed centrally-perforated washers O are engaged
by the aforesaid tongues, the said washers being arranged so that the domed
portions thereof project outward from each side of the wheel. The opposing
Hanges of the disc constitute a broad rim for the wheel, and the doming of the
washers provides a steady bearing therefor on a central bush P the ends of which
are expanded over the washers O so that the two discs forming the wheel are kept
in close contact and a good bearing to receive the axle is provided.
As an alternative the domed washers O may be placed on the inside of the
discs M', which, in such a case would be made with struck-up central portions M'
on their outer faces, instead of on their inner faces.
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. Wheels for model engines, constructed of opposed flanged discs, provided
with distance-pieces and baving domed washers attached thereto by flexible
tongues on the discs, the whole being held together by a tubular bush, substantially
as herein before described, for the purpose specified.
2. The method of securing toy steam-boilers to their supports, substantially as
herein before described for the purposes specified.
3. The combination, with the boiler constructed and mounted as herein described,
of a device to prevent it from being filled too full, substantially as hereiubefore
described.
4. A wheel for a model engine, constructed substantially as hereinbefore described
with reference to Figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings for the purposes
specified.
5. A toy steam road-roller, constructed, arranged, and operating substantially
as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 4th day of January 1894.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.