Improvements in Ball Bearing Mechanism.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Dec., 1897-Accepted, 5th Feb., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Ball Bearing Mechanism.
I, OTTO HENRY COLLMER, of South Bend, County of St. Joseph, Indiana, U.S.A.,
Manufacturer, 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 relates to ball bearings for vehicles generally, although it is more
especially adapted for the axles of bicycles.
The object of the invention is primarily to provide improved means for adjust-
ing the ball bearings near the ends of the axle without removing or in any way
interfering with the means for securing the axle to the frame and which will also
admit of the removal of the wheel and axle from the frame without in any way
disturbing the adjustment of the ball bearings; a further object of the invention
is to allow the wheel and axle to be removed from the frame and the balls removed
from the bearing for cleaning purposes and then replaced without disturbing the
adjustment of the ball bearings; à further object is to securely hold the ends of
the axle in the frame slots without affecting the adjustment of the bearings by the
frictional contact of the balls running in the bearings of the cover or cup; and a
further object is to permit the adjustment of the driving chain without affecting
the adjustment of the ball bearings.
In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a part sectional view of a bicycle axle
secured to parts of the frame and partly broken away at one end and also shewing
the hub cup bearings and chain wheel in section. Fig. 2 a central sectional" view
of said axle, hub, cup and cone bearings with parts of the frame secured to the
axle with the locking pins and wedge, shewn in full lines, and the adjusting
wrench shewn in dotted lines. Fig. 3 a perspective view of a portion of the axle
and hub, Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, are views of details.
The hub cylinder A has enlarged ends a screw threaded respectively in opposite
directions and flanges a perforated to receive the inner ends of the spokes. The
ends a are each fitted with threaded cup bearings B, having a central hole 6 to
receive the ends of the axle, and a shoulder which is tightly sorewed up against
the corresponding end a of the hub cylinder, thus providing fixed end bearings
and abutments for the balls C held to bear upon the ends of the axle, the rotation
of the balls serving to screw the cup bearings tightly against the ends of the hub
cylinder. The axle comprises essentially, an axle sleeve D and cone bearings E, E¹,
adjusted and secured in the ends of the axle sleeve in a novel manner to provide
inner bearings for the balls C, which may be either pushed outwardly or drawn
together by the rotation of the axle sleeve without changing in any way the fixed
positions of the cup bearings upon the ends of the hub sleeve, thus enabling the
hub and axle to be removed from the frame without interfering with the adjust-
ment of the ball bearings, which adjustment is made only from the inside out-
wardly, thus allowing the cup bearings to be removed from the ends of the sleeve,
the axle, balls, cone bearings, and cup bearings thoroughly cleaned and all returned
to their former adjusted positions by the most unskilled person, it being only

page_text: required to screw the cup bearings back upon the hub sleeve as far as they will
go until the shoulders 61 abut solidly against the ends of the hub sleeve after the
axle and balls have been placed within the hub.
The hub sleeve has a pin aperture a² intermediately bored therein, and the axle
sleeve has a corresponding pin aperture d through both of which a pin may be
placed when it is required to set the cone bearings up, or adjust them to take up
any space between the ball bearings and the balls. This is done by placing a
pin wrench through the apertures a³ and d.and turning the wheel, the hub sleeve
and axle sleeve, which adjusts the cone bearings E, E, either outward or inwardly
as the wheel is turned, the cone axles being held from turning by means of flat
parallel shoulders e on the outer ends of the cone bearings, which closely fit the
slot in the end of the frame I as shewn by dotted lines in Fig. 3, the axle being
held securely theroon by stud bolts G at either end thereof which screw into the
outer ends of the cone bearings E, E¹, and by means of washers thereon bear
against the outer faces of the ends of the frames.
•
The cone bearings have cup shaped inner ends e¹ the bottoms or inner faces e² of
which receive the conical ends or heads h of locking pins H which are forced out-
wardly in a suitable manner to bear against said faces and thus lock the cone bear-
ings in their adjusted positions. The locking pins H may be separately operated
by suitable means to press each against the cone bearings or they may be operated
jointly by means of a wedge or cone block I screw threaded and fitted in a corre-
spondingly threaded abutment block K secured to the middle of the inside of
the axle sleeve D as shewn in Fig. 2 which bears against the inclined inner ends h¹
of said locking pins, a slot in the block I being made to receive a blade upon the
pin shewn by dotted lines in Fig. 2 for turning and adjusting the wedge block.
The inner ends of the locking pins H are supported in tubular bearings secured to
the abutment block K and are held in the axial line of the axle sleeve, thus guid-
ing the locking pins to bear at their outer ends against the centre of recesses or
cups upon the inner faces of the cone bearings and securely lock the said bearings
in their adjusted positions.
Various modifications may be made in the means for adjusting the cone bearings
outwardly from the middle and inside of the hub in a uniform and equal manner
and other means may be employed which will readily suggust themselves for lock-
ing said cone bearings upon the axle sleeve, separate set bolts for each cone bear-
ing being employed if so desired.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that hat
I claim is:
―:
1. In a ball bearing, the combination with the frame of a vehicle, of a hub
sleeve having bearings secured in each end thereof, an axle sleeve contained within
the hub sleeve having bearings secured upon each end thereof and adjustable to
and from each other thereby, the said bearings being non rotatably secured to the
vehicle frame, and an orifice in the hub sleeve to allow access to the axle sleeve
to laterally adjust the bearings carried thereby, substantially as described and
shewn.
2. In a ball bearing, the combination with the frame of a vehicle, of a hub sleeve
having cup bearings secured in each end thereof, the axle sleeve contained within
the hub sleeve and having cone bearings secured upon each end thereof and adjust-
able to and from each other thereby, the said cone bearings being non rotatably
secured to the vehicle frame, and an orifice in the hub sleeve to allow access to the
axle sleeve, whereby the sleeve may be revolved to laterally adjust the cone bear-
ings carried thereby, substantially as described and shewn.
3. In a ball bearing, the combination with the frame of a vehicle, of a hub
sleeve having screw threaded ends and a pin aperture, formed intermediately
therein, cup bearings screwed thereon and centrally bored to receive the axle, an
axle sleeve having a pin aperture located opposite the pin aperture of the hub

page_text: sleeve, and oppositely screw threaded ends, and correspondingly screw threaded
cone bearings non rotatably secured to the vehicle frame fitted in the ends of the
axle sleeve and adjustable therein, substantially as described and shewn.
4. In a ball bearing, the combination with the frame of a vehicle, of a hub
sleeve having screw threaded ends and an intermediate pin aperture therein, cup bear-
ings to fit said ends, an axle sleeve threaded at its ends and having a corresponding
intermediate pin aperture therein, cone bearings non rotatably secured to the
vehicle frame to fit the ends of the axle sleeve having cup shaped inner ends, a
centrally supported guide tube inside the axle sleeve and outwardly adjustable
bolts fitted therein and provided with end bearings to fit the cup shaped inner
ends of the cone bearings, substantially as described and shewn.
5. The general combination and arrangement of parts constituting the ball
bearing, substantially as described and shewn.
Dated this 30th day of December 1897.
THOMAS R. SHILLITO,
89, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.