Improvements in Tires for Locomotive and like Wheels.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 12th May, 1896-Accepted, 4th July, 1896
[Communicated from abroad by HAYWARD AUGUSTUS HARVEY, of Orange,
New Jersey, United States of America, Mechanical Engineer.]
Improvements in Tires for Locomotive and like Wheels.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent
Agents, 45 Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, 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 improvement which is intended for use on locomotive and like wheels
composed of steel, consists of a flanged tire, the metal in the main body of which
is tough and is integral with excessively hard metal upon the face or tread of the
tire, while the side of the flange adjacent to the face or tread of the tire is
composed of less excessively hard metal.
The invention is represented in the accompanying drawing in which
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a flanged tire embodying the improvement.
Figure 2 is a transverse section drawn to an enlarged scale taken through the
plane indicated by the dotted line -a in Figure 1.
The drawing conventionally represents a tire, the main body, a, of which is
composed of a tough metal, such as low carbon steel, and is integral with an
exterior stratum, b, upon the face or tread of the tire which is composed of a
relatively high carbon steel. The flange, c, on the side, c', adjacent to the tread
of the tire is composed of steel relatively lean in carbon as compared with the
stratum, b, of metal, forming the tread, and is integral with the body of metal, d,
composed of steel containing approximately the same percentage of carbon as
that contained in the main body, a, of the tire. The tire thus composed, upon
being chilled in the usual manner, exhibits the following characteristics: The face
or tread is excessively hard, the side of the flange adjacent to the tread is some-
what less hard, and the remaining portion of the metal is comparatively soft and
tough. It hence results that while the metal upon the surface of the flange
adjacent to the tread is given increased wearing capacity by being somewhat
hardened, it is not so hardened as to render the flange brittle enough to break
when in use.
The required condition of variable distribution of carbon in different parts of
the tire is established by first making the tire of low carbon steel, that is, of steel
containing any desired low percentage of carbon and then subjecting it to high
heat while its face or tread is maintained in contact with a body of material rich
in carbon, such as powdered charcoal, and the side of its flange adjacent to the
tread is maintained in contact with a material relatively lean in carbon until the
desired supercarburization is effected.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
The herein described new article of manufacture, the same consisting of a flanged
steel tire for car and locomotive wheels, the metal in the main body of which tire
is comparatively tough, the metal composing the face or tread is excessively hard,

page_text: and the metal upon the side of the flange adjacent to the tread is less hard than
the metal of the tread, but harder than the metal composing the main body of
the tire.
Dated this 12th day of May 1896.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.