Improvements in Railway and Tram Wheels.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Feb., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 12th Nov., 1891-Accepted, 12th Dec., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway and Tram Wheels.
GEORGE JOHN STEVENS of 95 Falmouth Road S.E. Engineer SAMUEL
MILLER of 1 Langton Cottages Melbourne Square Brixton. S.W. Engineer do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
According to our invention we make a ring of suitable section (preferably rolled
in one piece) to run on railway metals or tram rails the inner surface of ring to be
grooved or shaped to receive an elastic medium, the centre part of wheel to be
grooved or shaped to correspond and provided with an annular flange (or flanges)
to be fixed with bolts or other fastenings.
Also the elastic medium to be either solid, hollow or made in compartments in
which may be used air or other gases under compression, or otherwise, the com-
pression to be maintained by pumps or other contrivance actuated by the rolling of
the wheel or by any other suitable means.
We may also make the elastic medium corrugated, fluted or with suitable shape
recesses on its outer surface.
We may also corrugate, flute or recess in a similar
manner the inner groove of rim and flanges.
Dated this 12th day of February 1891
GEORGE JOHN STEVENS.
SAMUEL 'MILLER.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Railway and Tram Wheels.
We, GEORGE JOHN STEVENS, of 95 Falmouth Road, London, and. SAMUEL
MILLER, of 1 Langton Cottages, Melbourne Square, Brixton Road, London, 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 for object, the construction of wheels for railway, tram-car,
and other like vehicles in a novel manner in order that they shall bear the weight
of the load upon a cushion of compound rubber to reduce noise, to cause the
vehicle to run much lighter, and consequently with less draught. The usual
oscillations of the body of the vehicle are also obviated and thereby give great
comfort to the occupants while travelling.
For the purpose of our invention, we make the tyre with a groove in its inner
periphery and provide it with two cheeks, one being at each side from the inner
periphery to a distance therefrom.
We make the rim of the wheel with a channelled cheek at one side, the channel
being within the inner face, and we form a quarter circle recess in the web at the
junction of the cheek. We also make a flanged ring plate with grooves coinciding
with those in the rim and constituting the rim on the outside of the wheel, the
flange fitting the recess in the web, which when bolted in place form a complete
rim for retaining the tyre in the grooves of the two cheeks. The inner periphery
of the tyre is grooved almost to a semi-circle, and is occupied by solid circular com-
pound rubber ring, or a series of washer like discs in close contact to constitute
a ring, as a cushion between the tyre and the web of the wheel, said cushion
being enclosed circumferentially and directly in line with the vertical axis of the
wheel.

page_text: :
Instead of the inner periphery of the tyre being channelled it may be flat and a
ring having a flat exterior of the full width of the inner periphery of the tyre can
be fitted in this ring having a channelled iron periphery for the lodgement of the
rubber cushion which may be of oval, or other shape in cross section but occupy
the same position as above described, and in lieu of a circular, or oval shaped
rubber ring, or its equivalent shaped cushion being employed, I may use a flattish
or crescent shaped rubber ring within a segmental shaped channel formed in the
wheels rim and flanged plate, the inner periphery of the tyre forming a segmentally
shaped bulged ring with the two sides bearing against the thinner edges of the
rubber and the bulged shaped ring locked in position when the flanged plate is
bolted to the web of the wheel.
By this arrangement, the projecting side cheek of the tyre can be dispensed
with without interfering with the cushioning action of the tyre during the wheels
rotation.
The annexed drawings show our invention.
Figure 1 is a half sectional elevation of a complete wheel constructed in accordance
with the first hereinbefore described method.
..
Figure 2 a sectional elevation according to the second hereinbefore described
method.
Figure 3 a sectional elevation of the third described method of construction.
A is the tyre, B flange thereto as is usual with railway carriage and tram car
wheels.
C, C, cheeks projecting from inner periphery at either side.
D, half rim of wheel cast in a piece with the web and boss.
E, channel in inner face thereof.
F, plate forming second half rim with channel in inner face coinciding with E.
G, flange of second half rim fitting recess of wheel web.
H, H, bolts for securing plate F to rim D.
I, rubber cushion.
J, Figure 2, loose fitting ring between tyre A and cushion I.
K, Figure 3, bulge ring on inner periphery of tyre A.
Each of these cushioned wheels have two axes-one axis being the axles centre,
and the other i.e. the tyres axis vertically above it at a distance due to the degree
of compression of the cushion from the weight carried.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In a railway or like wheel, locating a tyre A partially within a fixed rim D and
partially within an affixable plate F and supporting such tyre A by a rubber ring I
serving as a cushion, said cushion being in direct contact with the tyre A, or with
an intervening ring J, as described.
2. Forming the inner periphery of the tyre of a railway vehicle or tram car
wheel with a bulged ring K for enclosing a rubber compound ring I in conjunction
with a fixed rim D, and an affixable flanged plate F bolted thereto, as and for the
purposes set forth.
L
CAT
1.
1001
H. GARDNER,
Patent Agent, 166, Fleet Street, London,
Agent for the said George John Stevens and Samuel Miller.