IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEELS FOR VEHICLES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of
“IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEELS FOR VEHICLES."-A communication from
abroad by Oliver Simon Vreeland, of Salamanca, Cataraugus
County, State of New York, United States of America.
Scaled the 18th March 1873, and dated the 30th December 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 30th December 1872.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of No. 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEELS FOR VEHICLES," a communication
to me from abroad by Oliver Simon Vreeland, of Salamanca, Cata-
raugus County, State of New York, United States of America, to be
he follows *.

page_text: The hub of the wheel consists of a box, which may be made of cast
iron, two washers or discs being adapted to the box, and a nut adapted
to the threaded end of the box; also a hollow cylinder which may be of
wrought iron, but which is by preference made of steel. The washers
are recessed for receiving the opposite ends of the hollow cylinder. One t
of these bears against a fixed collar on the box, while the nut bears
against the other washer, the hollow cylinder with its two washers being
thus firmly secured by and between the said collar and the nut.
The spokes, consisting by preference of round steel rods, are enlarged
A 1
at the opposite ends for a purpose rendered apparent hereafter.
shoulder is formed on the inner end of each spoke by an enlargement,
and is threaded at the end, which is passed through a hole in the cylinder
and there retained by a nut.
In order to prevent the cylinder from turning on the box under any
circumstances there is cast on the said box a feather or projection 1
adapted to a slot in the first-mentioned washer, so that the turning of
the latter on the box is prevented, whilst a spoke catching against the
projection prevents the cylinder, from turning independently of the
washer.
The hub is retained on the axle by a nut adapted to the outer end of 2
the same, and contained within a recessed portion of the axle box nut,
but the hub is retained on the axle by a ring made in two parts, a por-
tion of the ring overlapping the collar band of the axle, and another
portion overlapping the inner end of the box to which the severed ring
is confined by a screw ring.
2
The felly, which may consist of one piece, or of any number of seg-
ments, is composed of sheet or bar steel bent to a hollow, a trough shape,
or to any approximate form, and the rim or tire of the wheel consists of
a steel bar, having grooves adapted to the edges of tho bent plate or
plates which form the felly. The outer end of each spoke is enlarged, 3
and on the enlarged portion is cut a screw thread adapted to a similar
thread in a nut which is situate in and made to conform to the interior
shape of the felly.
In putting the wheel together the spokes are first passed through the
felly and screwed into their respective nuts, after which the inner ends. 3
of the spokes are passed, through holes in the cylinder of the hub, and
then secured. by other nuts not too tightly. However, to prevent the

page_text: spokes from being turned round until the concentricity of the cylinder
with the felly is insured, and the proper degree of tension is imparted to
the spokes when the inner nuts may be permanently tightened, after
which the cylinder may be connected to the box in the manner described
above, and after the axle box nut is screwed tight it may be retained by a
set screw screwed partly into the nut and partly into the box.
It will be observed that the washers when applied to their places on
the hub prevent the inner nuts of the spokes from becoming loosened.
The enlargement of the threaded ends of the spokes is an important
feature of the Invention, for independently of the increased strength it
has been found to be the best mode of neutralizing the effects of their
vibration on the nuts, this vibration, but for the enlargements, having a
tendency to loosen the hold which the nuts in the fellies have on the
spokes, but the enlargements tend to arrest the vibrations before they
reach the nuts.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 25th June 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of December, in the year of
our Lord Quc thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the 36th
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license
that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors,
administrators, or assigns, should at any time 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 Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WHEELS
FOR VEHICLES," a communication to me from abroad by Oliver Simon
Vreeland, of Salamanca, Cataraugus County, State of New York, United

page_text: States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said John Henry Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly
describe and 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 John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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 accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
say :-
The said Invention relates to an improved construction and mode of
combining together the hub, felly, and spokes of wheels for vehicles.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose
shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings is a sectional view of the hub of the improved
wheel; Figure 2 is a modification of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side cleva-
tion of the end of the axle adapted to the hub, Figure 1; Figure 4 is a
similar view of the axle for the hub, Figure 2; Figure 5 is a sectional
view of the felly; and Figure 6 is a side view of the completed
wheel drawn to a reduced scale.
The hub of the wheel, as shown in Figure 1, consists of a box B which
may be made of cast iron, two washers or discs G, G₁, adapted to the
box, a nut H adapted to the threaded end of the box, and a hollow
cylinder C which may be of wrought iron, but which is by preference
made of steel. The washers G and G¹ are recessed for receiving the
opposite ends of the hollow cylinder, and the washer G bears against the
fixed collar d on the box, while the nut H bears against the washer G³,
the hollow cylinder with its two washers being thus firmly secured by
and between the said collar d and the nut.
The spokes, consisting by preference of round steel rods, are enlarged
at the opposite ends for a purpose rendered apparent hereafter. A

page_text: shoulder is formed on the inner end of each spoke by the enlargement a,
and is threaded at the end, which is passed through a hole in the cylinder
and there retained by a nut b.
In order to prevent the cylinder from turning on the box under any
circumstances I cast on the said box a feather or projection e adapted to
a slot in the washer G, so that the turning of the latter on the box is out
of the question, whilst a spoke catching against the projection prevents
the cylinder from turning independently of the washer.
The hub shown in Figure 1 is retained on the axle by a nut adapted
to the outer end of the same, and contained within the recessed portion
of the nut H; but the hub, Figure 2, is retained on the axle by a ring h
made in two parts, a portion of the ring overlapping the collar band of
the axle, as shown in Figure 4, and another portion overlapping the
inner end of the box to which the severed ring is confined by a screw
ring m in a manner which the Drawing will suffice to explain.
The felly I, Figure 5, which may consist of one piece, or of any
number of segments, is composed of sheet or bar steel bent to the
sectional form shown in Figure 5, or to any approximate form, and the
rim or tire of the wheel consists of a steel bar f, having grooves i, i,
adapted to the edges of the bent plato or plates which form the felly.
The outer end of each spoke is enlarged, and on the enlarged portion is
cut a screw thread adapted to a similar thread in the nut J, which is
made to conform to the interior shape of the felly.
In putting the wheel together the spokes are first passed through the
felly and screwed into the nuts J, after which the inner ends of the
spokes are passed through the holes in the cylinder C of the hub, and
then secured by the nuts b, not too tightly, however, to prevent the
spokes from being turned round until the concentricity of the cylinder
with the felly is insured, and the proper degree of tension is imparted to
the spokes, when the nuts 6 may be permanently tightened, after which
the cylinder may be connected to the box in the manner described above,
and after the nut H is screwed tight it may be retained by a set screw m¹
screwed partly into the nut and partly into the box.
It will be observed that the washers G and G¹ when applied to their
places on the hub prevent the nuts 6 from becoming loosened.
The enlargement of the threaded ends of the spokes is an important
feature of the Invention, for independently of the increased strength it

page_text: has been found to be the best mode of neutralizing the effects of their
vibration on the nuts, this vibration but for the enlargements having a
tendency to loosen the hold which the nuts J have on the spokes, but
the enlargements tend to arrest the vibrations before they reach the
nuts.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First. A carriage wheel in which a hollow wrought-iron or steel felly
is connected by steel spokes to a hollow wrought-iron or steel cylinder
forming part of the hub, as herein-before described and illustrated by the
Drawings annexed.
1
Second. The felly composed of a bent plate or plates of wrought iron 1
or steel, and a tire having internal grooves adapted to the edges of the
said bent plate or plates, as herein-before described.
Third. The nuts J adapted to the interior of the felly and to the
threaded ends of the spokes, as herein-before described.
Fourth. The enlargement of the spokes at their opposite ends, for the 2
purpose specified.
Fifth. The combination of the hollow cylinder C, box B, washers G
and G', and nut H, as hercin-before described.
h
Sixth. The combination of the severed ring / adapted to the axle with
the box B and screw ring m, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this
my Specification set my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of
June One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
2
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)