Year: 1897

page_text: I, WILLIAM HUGH WOODCOCK, of 25, Auckland Hill, West Norwood, in the
County of Surrey, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to improvements in the hubs of vehicle and other
wheels having wooden spokes and has for its object to enable the ends of said
spokes to be readily and firmly fitted in the hub and at the same time easily
removable therefrom.
The way in which I carry out my invention is as follows:-
I form the main portion of my improved hub, in which the axle or journal
takes its bearing and in which the spoke ends are fitted, of one piece of metal
having a projecting flange or ring with recesses or sockets for receiving the ends
of the spokes, the outer larger portion of said recesses tapering inwardly towards
the centre of the hub and the inner smaller portion tapering outwardly away from
the centre of the hub, shoulders or ledges being thus formed at the junction of the
two portions of each recess. In the bottom of each recess is placed a wedge, pre-
ferably of wrought iron, and formed with a steeper taper than that of the inner
recess, so that when the spoke is inserted and forced downwards the end is split
open and is tightly jambed against the sides of the lower portion of the spoke
socket. When all the spokes have been fitted in the recesses or sockets a retain-
ing ring is bolted on to the flange or ring in which said sockets are formed this
ring serving as an additional means of securing the spokes and preventing their
lateral displacement.
When the spokes are inserted their ends, which are of course of corresponding
form to the sockets in which they fit, are not driven right home to the bottom of
said sockets, that is to say, there is a certain amount of space between the end
of each spoke and of its receiving socket so that should any looseness occur after-
wards the spokes can be tightened by forcing them further into the sockets or
recesses. The spoke ends also preferably project slightly from the socket ends
in a lateral direction so that when the above mentioned retaining ring is placed
in position and bolted up a further jambing action takes place on the ends of the
spokes.
The above description refers to cases in which the spokes are all in line. In
cases where the spokes are not all in the same line with one another the above
described spoke sockets or recesses in the flange or projecting ring on the hub are
formed alternatively in opposite sides thereof, that is to say, one spoke will be
inserted from the right hand side of the flange and the other from the left. hand
side and so on, alternately. In this case two retaining rings are employed one on

page_text: each side of the flange for preventing lateral displacement of the spoke ends from
their sockets.
Dated this 29th day of October 1897.
JOHN P. O'DONNELL, Fel. Chart. Inst. P.A.,
Agent for the said Applicant,
70 and 71, Palace Chambers, Westminster, S.W.
Improvements in Wheel Hubs.
I, WILLIAM HUGH WOODCOCK, of 25, Auckland Hill, West Norwood, in the
County of Surrey, Civil 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:-
This invention has reference to improvements in the hubs of vehicle and other
wheels (such as gun carriage wheels, water wheels, and shaft pulleys) having
wooden spokes and has for its object to enable the ends of said spokes to be readily
and firmly fitted in the hub and at the same time easily removable therefrom.
The way in which I carry out my invention is as follows:-
I form the main portion of my improved hub in which the axle or journal
takes its bearing and in which the spoke ends are fitted of one piece of metal hav-
ing a projecting flange or ring with recesses or sockets for receiving the ends of
the spokes, the outer larger portion of said recesses tapering inwardly towards
the centre of the hub and the inner smaller portion tapering outwardly away from the
centre of the hub, shoulders or ledges being thus formed at the junction of the
two portions of each recess. In the bottom of each. recess is placed a wedge pre-
ferably of wrought iron, and formed with a steeper taper than that of the inner
portion of the recess, so that when the spoke is inserted and forced downwards the
end is split open and is tightly jambed against the sides of the lower portion of the
spoke socket or recess. When all the spokes have been fitted in the recesses or
sockets a retaining ring is bolted on to the flange or ring in which said sockets are
formed this ring serving as an additional means of securing the spokes and pre-
venting their lateral displacement.
In order that my invention may be better understood and more readily carried
into effect I will now describe it with reference to the accompanying drawing in
which Figure 1, is a front elevation of my improved wheel hub the, right hand
half of the retaining ring being removed to show the form of the sockets or
recesses for receiving the ends of the spokes which in this case are all in line.
Figure 2, is a side elevation partly in section of Figure 1. Figure 3, is a side
elevation partly in section (showing my improved. hub where all the spokes are
not in line.
The same letters refer to the same parts in the different figures:
6 the projecting flange or ring and c (Figs. 2 & 3) the sockets or recesses for receiv-
is the hub
ing the spoke ends d; c' (Fig. 1) are the outer portions, of the spoke sockets
tapering towards the centre of the hub and the inner portions tapering away
from the centre of the hub, are the wedges in the inner portions.c² of the spoke
sockets, is the retaining ring or collar bolted to the flange or projecting ring b
by bolts g; h are the shoulders or ledges in the spoke sockets or recesses.
In Figure 2 there is one and in Figure 3 there are 2 retaining rings or collars f
one on either side of the flange in which the spoke sockets are formed.
When the spokes are inserted their ends d, which are of course of corresponding

page_text: form to the sockets c in which they fit, are not driven right home to the bottom of
said sockets, that is to say, there is a certain amount of space between the end of
each spoke and of its receiving socket so that should any looseness occur afterwards
the spokes can be tightened by forcing them further into the sockets or recesses c.
The spoke ends d also preferably project slightly from the sockets in a lateral
direction so that when the above mentioned retaining ring f, is placed in position
and bolted up a further jambing action takes place on the ends of the spokes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. A wheel hub having a projecting ring or flange in which are formed double
retaining
tapering sockets or recesses for receiving the ends of the spokes, and a
ring or rings for preventing lateral displacement of the spokes, substantially as
herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
2. In wheel hubs, double tapering sockets or recesses for receiving the ends of
the spokes substantially as described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 26th day of August 1898.
JOHN P. O'DONNELL, Fel. Chart. Inst. P.A.,
Agent for the said Applicant,
70 and 71, Palace Chambers, Westminster, S.W.