Improvements in the Manufacture of Rims for the Wheels of Cycles and other Vehicles, and in the Machinery or Apparatus Employed therein.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Apr., 1899
Complete Specification Left, 13th Feb., 1900-Accepted, 12th Apr., 1900 -
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Rims for the Wheels of Cycles
and other Vehicles, and in the Machinery or Apparatus Employed
therein.
I, REINHARD ISIDORE ROMAN, of 31, Lombard Street, in the City of London,
Metallurgical Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to the manufacture of rims for the wheels of cycles
and other vehicles, and its chief object is to make the said rims without any
joint, brazing or soldering, and to form an absolute mathematical circle of a
given diameter and circumference.
For the purpose of my invention I preferably employ for the manufacture of
the rims non-rusting aluminium alloys but my invention is also applicable to the
manufacture of rims from other metals such as steel, bronzes and other alloys.
Hitherto rims for the wheels of cycles and the like have generally been pro-
duced either by rolling out metal strips, brazing or soldering the ends together,
and then centring and sectioning as required; or by pressing a dish with a flange
out of a metal disc or oval and then cutting out the bottom or centre, thus
leaving a hoop with a flange, which is then pressed or rolled into the required
sections. Rims made by this latter process are generally called "jointless rims."
I have found that when the brazing and soldering process is adopted; the
brazing heat causes the hard rolled strips to become annealed, so that the metal
loses its rigidity and stiffness; also that the soldered and brazed parts on the
junctions oxidize after a short time, thereby becoming brittle and weak and
liable to get out of shape.
I have also found the jointless process unsatisfactory, and chiefly for the
following reasons. When a metal sheet, disc, or oval is pressed into a dish,
the fibre of the metal, which runs lengthwise, is cut and thereby deteriorated.
As these rims are produced out of a disc of the same size as the future rim
is to be, the fibre once cut or pressed in another direction loses its strength.
To produce a light rim, the metal employed in this process has to be of a very
thin gauge and therefore has no strength. Consequently it must be lined or
bottomed that is to say, a second hoop is soldered within the first one, producing
therewith a hollow rim which then has a certain rigidity: but as vibration would
soon make the two hoops run loose and rattle, the inner hoop has to be soldered
into the rim. The soldering heat produces the same deteriorating effect as in
the other process herein before referred to. In steel rims, a certain rigidity can
be obtained if the metal is sufficiently bulky.
It is known that a non-rusting metal can neither be welded nor soldered,
and that the brazing is a very difficult task and most unreliable. As the
metals I preferably use are light and non-rusting aluminium alloys I had to
discover a process whereby I could make commercially a non-rusting rim as
light as possible, the fibres of which run with the circumference, are very stiff
227

page_text: and elastic and have a great transverse strength. I have also desired to dis-
pense with plating and enamelling while producing rims of handsome appearance
and color.
According to my invention, I first produce a cake of a given diameter and thick-
ness by forging or rolling. Then I punch a hole in the centre, thus forming
a hoop the dimensions of which are say about 6 inches to 7 inches in diameter
and about 1 inch in thickness; the hole in the centre being about 2 inches.
I then roll out these hoops or hollow cakes on a rolling machine to the required
size, diameter and section. The rollers are so arranged that they roll out the
hoops automatically to the required diameter, width and circumference, producing
a rim the fibres of which run in the direction of the circumference, the rim being
equally thick and wide throughout, very elastic, stiff and of great rigidity.
The rolling machine comprises two or more pairs of rolls between which
successively the hoops are rolled, the contours of the rolls being such as to shape
the hoops to the particular section required. The distance between the rolls of
each pair is made adjustable by any suitable means. The hoops during the
rolling process bear at their outer periphery against adjustable guide rollers,
the distance of which from the rolls determines the diameter of the finished rim.
Dated this 13th day of April 1899
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Rims for the Wheels of Cycles
and other Vehicles, and in the Machinery or Apparatus Employed
therein.
.
I, REINHARD ISIDORE ROMAN, of 31, Lombard Street, in the City of London,
Metallurgical Chemist, 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 the manufacture of rims for the wheels of cycles
and other vehicles, and its chief object is to make the said rims without any
joint, brazing or soldering, and to form an absolute mathematical circle of a
given diameter and circumference.
For the purpose of my invention I preferably employ for the manufacture of
the rims non-rusting aluminium alloys such as those known as Romanium,
Wolframinium and Chrominium (the composition and manufacture of which are
described in my Patents Nos. 19,543 of 1893, 21,186 of 1895 and No. 17,250
of 1895, but my invention is also applicable to the manufacture of rims from
other metals such as steel, bronzes and other alloys.
Hitherto rims for the wheels of cycles and the like have generally been pro-
duced either by rolling out metal strips, brazing or soldering the ends together,
and then centring and sectioning as required; or by pressing a dish with a flange
out of a metal disc or oval and then cutting out the bottom or centre thus
leaving a hoop with a flange which is then pressed or rolled into the required
sections. Rims made by this latter process are.generally called "jointless rims."
I have found that when the brazing and soldering process is adopted, the
brazing heat causes the hard rolled strips to become annealed, so that the metal
loses its rigidity and stiffness; also that the soldered and brazed parts on the
junctions oxidize after a short time, thereby becoming brittle and weak and
liable to get out of shape.

page_text: I have also found the jointless process unsatisfactory and chiefly for the
following reasons. When a metal sheet, disc or oval is pressed into a dish,
the fibre of the metal, which runs lengthwise, is cut and thereby deteriorated.
As these rims are produced out of a disc of the same size as the future rim
is to be, the fibre once cut or pressed in another direction loses its strength.
To produce a light rim, the metal employed in this process has to be of a very
thin gauge and therefore has no strength. Consequently it must be lined or
bottomed that is to say, a second hoop is soldered within the first one, producing
therewith a hollow rim which then has a certain rigidity; but as vibration would
soon make the two hoops run loose and rattle, the inner hoop has to be soldered
into the rim. The soldering heat produces the same deteriorating effect as in
the other process hereinbefore referred to. In steel rims, a certain rigidity can
be obtained if the metal is sufficiently bulky.
It is known that a non-rusting metal can neither be welded nor soldered,
and that the brazing is a very difficult task and most unreliable. As the
metals I preferably use are light and non-rusting aluminium alloys I had to,
discover a process whereby I could make commercially a non-rusting rim as
light as possible, the fibres of which run with the circumference are very stiff
and elastic and have a great transverse strength. I have also desired to dis-
pense with plating and enamelling while producing rims of handsome appearance
and color.
:
According to my invention, I first form a seamless hoop or ring of suitable
thickness and of considerably smaller diameter than the rim which is to be
made. I then roll out this hoop or ring on a rolling machine to the required
size, diameter and section. The rollers are so arranged that they roll out the
hoop or ring automatically to the required diameter, width and circumference,
producing a rim the fibres of which run in the direction of the circumference,
the rim being equally thick and wide throughout, very elastic, stiff and of great
rigidity.
The rolling machine comprises one, two or more pairs of rolls between which
the hoops are rolled, the contours of the rolls being such as to shape
the hoops to the particular section required. The distance between the rolls of
each pair is made adjustable by any suitable means. The hoops during the
rolling process bear at their outer periphery against adjustable guide rollers,
the distance of which from the rolls determines the diameter of the finished rim.
I may form the aforesaid hoop or ring by various methods. According to
one method I first produce a cake of a given diameter and thickness by forging
or rolling. Then I punch a hole in the centre, thus forming the hoop or ring.
But according to the method which I now prefer, I form by drawing a seamless
cylinder of suitable thickness and of considerably smaller diameter than the rim
to be produced. I cut this cylinder into seamless rings of suitable width,
and I then roll out these rings to the desired diameter. By using rolls of suitable
section for this rolling process, the rings may at the same time be made to
acquire the desired form of the rims in cross section. With this method the
unavoidable waste of metal is reduced to a minimum, and the manufacture is
rendered cheaper, whilst the production of a small cylinder is very much easier
than that of a large cylinder of equal quality and does not require such powerful
and costly apparatus.
A further advantage consists in that the strength of the material is consider-
ably increased by the repeated rolling, because its structure is rendered more
uniform and more dense.
In the accompanying illustrative drawings,
Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a side elevation and an end view of a seamless
cylinder produced by drawing for the purposes of this invention.
Figures 3 and 4 are respectively a side elevation and an end view of a seamless
ring cut from the cylinder shown in Figures 1 and 2, in the manner indicated
by the dotted lines in Figure 1.

page_text: Figures 5 and 6 are respectively an end view and a side elevation of the finished
rim produced by rolling out the ring shown in Figures 3 and 4, in accordance with
this invention.
Figures 7, 8 and 9 are respectively an end elevation a vertical longitudinal
section, and a vertical cross section of a suitable form of machine for rolling out
seamless rings into seamless rims in accordance with this invention.
A ring in the course of being rolled out is indicated in dotted lines in Figure 7,
and in full lines in Figure 8.
The main framing of the machine comprises the bed 1 and the uprights 2 and 3,
connected together by a cross piece 4. A vertical frame bolted to the bed 1 serves
to carry the roll-feeding and the shaft adjusting mechanisms hereinafter described.
The machine is driven by power applied to belt pulleys 5 that operate through
the two tooth wheels 6 and 7 and the main shaft 8. The roll-feeding mechanism
is driven direct from the main shaft S.
The mode of working the machine is as follows:-A ring 9 (which has been
produced in the manner hereinbefore described and which is to be rolled out to
form a wheel rim of considerably larger diameter) is placed on the lower roll 10.
A handwheel 11 is then rotated, until the upper roll 12 bears upon the ring 9,
and by means of a handwheel 13 the two guide rollers 14 (which are adjustable
relatively to the centre of the roll 10) are also pressed upon the ring 9. Then a
weighted. lever 16 which forms one piece with a cam 15, is raised by hand, so
that a retaining pawl 17 can fall into engagement with and hold the lever 16
in that position. An actuating pawl 18 comes now into engagement and moves
the roll 12 automatically downward, until a stud 20 provided on the disc 19
comes against a nose 21 on the retaining pawl 17 and disengages this pawl at
next movement. The weighted lever 16 is now free; it falls down and disengages
the actuating pawl 18 by means of the cam 15.
The disc 19 which is fixed by means of two screws to the ratchet wheel, 22,
is provided, in addition to the stud 20, with two slots for the purpose of enabling
the disc to be adjusted as required to cause the stud 20 to disengage the retaining
pawl 17 at an earlier or later moment.
During the rolling, the two guide rollers 14 must be moved apart by means of
the handwheel 13 to an extent corresponding to the increased size of the rini,
but they must always bear upon the rim so as to serve as guides for the same.
The ring 9 is now continued to be rolled under this pressure until a stopper 23
is disengaged by hand. When this is done, the roll 12 is drawn up auto-
matically by the weight 24, and the guide rollers 14 are turned back by means
of the handwheel 13, so that the rim can now he readily removed from the
machine.
The roll feed mechanism is driven from the main shaft 8 by means of a worm
on 'the said shaft which drives the worm wheel 25 and the pinion 26 that is
mounted on the shaft therewith. This pinion 26 gears with a toothed wheel 27
which in turn gears with a' change wheel 28 that drives an excentric 29 which
is mounted on the same shaft therewith. This excentric 29 operates the pawl
lever 30 which carries the actuating pawl 18. The latter drives the ratchet
wheel 22 as also a bevel wheel 31 which is mounted on the same shaft therewith
and which drives a bevel wheel 33 that is fixed on an internally screw threaded
sleeve or nut 32. The nut 32 is mounted in a boss cast on the upright 2, and is
capable of rotary, but not of axial motion. In this nut works the screw-threaded
spindle 34 that has fixed to its lower end a slide block 35 which bears upon the
journals of the upper roll 12, and by these means feeds the said roll 12 towards
the lower roll 10 when the nut 32 is rotated in the corresponding direction.
The speed of the feeding may be regulated by mounting a suitable change
wheel in the place of the change wheel 28, whilst the amount of the feed itself
may be regulated by mounting a ratchet wheel of greater or smaller pitch, and
correspondingly altering the stroke of the excentric 29.
For the purpose of also enabling the stop pawl 23 to be adjusted accurately

page_text: for ratchet wheels of different pitch, the said pawl is mounted on an excentric
pin 36. The above described mechanism for feeding the roll 12 forms no part
of this invention.
In the rolling operation proper the ring 9 which is being formed into a rim
is guided accurately in front and at the back by means of guide tubes 37 which
are mounted on axles having excentric journals for the purpose of enabling the
tubes to be adjusted to suit rims of different widths.
By means of a pump 38 which is driven from the shaft of the worm wheel 25,
soapy water contained in a receptacle 39, is supplied continuously to the rim
during the rolling process for the purpose of lubricating; after use, the soapy
water runs back into the receptacle 39. The wear in the bearings of the main
shaft 8, as also in the bearings of the shaft on which the holders or housings of
the two guide rollers 14 are fixed, can be readily taken up at all times when
necessary by means of the nuts 40 and 41 respectively. In cases where rims of
other dimensions in width or of other sectional form are required to be rolled
on this machine, the rolls 10 and 12 must be removed and be replaced by other
suitable rolls. These means of lubricating form no part of this invention.
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. The method of manufacture of rims for the wheels of cycles and other
vehicles, which consists in producing a seamless ring of considerably smaller
diameter than the rim to be made, and in rolling out said ring to the required
diameter and section to form the desired rim, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
:
2. For the manufacture of rims for the wheels of cycles and other vehicles in
accordance with the method specified in the preceding claim, a machine or
apparatus for rolling out seamless rings to form rims, comprising the combination
of adjustable rolls between which the rings are rolled, said rolls being contoured
so as to shape the rings to the particular sections required, with adjustable guide
rollers the distance of which from the rolls determines the diameter of the finished
rims constructed, arranged and operating substantially as described with
reference to Figures 7, 8 and 9 of the accompanying drawings.
Dal 41 19th
Waha 1000
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents,