IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEELS FOR ROAD VEHICLES
Year: 1886

page_text: I, BARTHELEMY BRUNON, Manufacturing Engineer of Rive-de-Gier, in the
Republic of France do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEELS FOR ROAD VEHICLES 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 a system of wheels which is intended to superseed the.
ordinary wheels of all vehicles engaged in road traffic..
Fig. 1 is an Elevation view of the wheel.
Fig. 2 is a vertical section through line X Y.
Fig. 3 is a section, on an enlarged scale showing the mode of connecting together
the spoke of the wheel and its jaunt when the latter is metallic.
Fig. 4 is a plan of Fig. 3.
.. d
Figs. 5. 6. 7. 8 and 9 are views showing the various modes of connecting
together the spoke of the wheel with its jaunt when the latter is made of wood.
Fig. 10 is a cross section through the spoke.
Fig. 11 illustrates, as a specimen, one of the various ways in which the axle-tree
and its box are connected.
A is a spoke made of iron or of steel.
B an iron nave in which the ends of the spokes are inserted.
Ca box in one piece, made of bronze or cast iron, and of any given description.
D (Figs. 2 and 3) a jaunt made of iron or steel sheet, rolled or stamped in the
shape of
E blocks of oak placed between the two cheeks of jaunt D and bearing upon the
bottom of the said jaunt.
F tenons made conically both as regards width and thickness as clearly shown
in figures 3 and 4. These tenons constitute the extreme ends of the spokes on the
prolongation of the shoulders F. and fit into mortices prepared in jaunt D and
blocks E.
t
G tyre. This tyre is. placed in position when hot and is provided with two.
circular grooves 6 61 made in the lathe or in the rolling mill and in which the
corresponding circular edges of the two cheeks a a of the jaunt D are fitting.
The spokes A, which are made of iron or of steel and a section of which is shown
in Fig. 10 are slightly conical or tapering in two directions; they are rolled into
an embossing roller. The tenon or tongue F and the shoulder F¹ are produced by
stamping in a matrix; the other end of the spoke is dovetailed as shown in Fig. 2.
.
Pine 21
'

page_text: The spokes A being thus prepared and suitably displayed, the nave B which
consists of a massive block of brut or unwrought iron having the shape of a double
truncated cone joined at their basis is brought in a state of white heat in the
central space formed by the ends of the spokes; it is then submitted to the
crushing action of the two jaws of an hydraulic press, the said jaws being provided
with suitable matrices and one of them besides with a punch centrally placed and
the object of which is to force out the material so as to form the centre of the
wheel.
When being so pressed or crushed, the nave is expanded all round the ends of
the cold spokes and the latter are so well squeezed and imbedded in the nave B
that they may be practically considered as a single mass of metal and the attach-
ment of the spokes to the nave may be said to be undestructible.
Or I can also attach the spokes' to the nave by heating the extremities of the
spokes as well as the nave and stamping and welding the whole in the hydraulic
press; the spokes and the nave are one and the same piece and form an homo-
genous mass.
In these two cases, the work of welding and stamping can be effected by means
of the steam hammer in the ordinary way.
The tenons F of the spokes A are inserted either in the mortices of the jaunt D¹
(Fig. 5) which is of wood and can be made of one single or any number of pieces
covered by the usual tyre G¹; or in the mortices made in the iron jaunt D and in
the block E (Figs. 2 and 3) When the tyre G is in its position, the blocks E are
securely tightened in the iron jaunt D, thus strengthening the jointing of the
latter with the spoke A. The blocks E are provided in order to render more easy
the fitting of the jaunt D and of the tyre G by preventing any deformation of the
jaunt at its point of jointing. with the spoke A.
I could evidently replace the blocks E by a continuous wooden jaunt running
between the two cheeks of the iron jaunt D and pressing against the circular
bottom of the interior of the latter, but the system of blocks fulfils the same object
and has the advantage of reducing the weight of the wheel while it preserves its
strength and its elasticity. In the case of the suppression of the blocks, the
tenons F of the spokes A are made shorter and are rivetted to and at the bottom
of the jaunt D.
•
The prongs or tenons F1 (Figs. 7. 8. 9.) cylindrical or taper which terminate the
spokes A, beyond their shoulders F are obtained in a single piece with the said
spokes A, by means of stamping and matrixing. Their object is to effect the
jointing of the spokes A with the wooden jaunt D₁ by means of the nuts H.
The shoulder F of the spoke A is shaped so as to perfectly fit the rounded
shape of the interior of the jaunt D or D₁ which it thus strengthens by tightening
it on the flat prong F or the cylindrical one F" and preventing its cracking or its
deformation. Moreover, this shoulder F1 secures a perfect mode of screwing as it
acts in the same manner than the prong F or F¹. The spokes are made of iron or
of steel; in the latter case they are tempered in oil and softened in burning
charcoal; they are very light at the same time being of a sufficient stiffness and
the wheel thus constructed is at the same time strong and elastic. The spokes A
may, as it will readily be understood, bend under the contracting strain of the tyre
and vibrate independently of each other and this with the jaunt D, made of iron
or steel, as well as with the wooden jaunt D¹; this feature prevents the breakage
in case of sudden jerks.
The axle-box C (Fig. 2) is made of one single piece in cast iron or bronze and is
forced in its position from behind the wheel by means of the hydraulic press or
through some other agency. . It is provided, internally, with a chamber intended
for the storage of the lubricant.
Fig. 9 shows a different style of axle-box in which the box C¹ is forced from the
front of the wheel into its position, leaving a projecting chamber which covers the
extremity of the axle, as is the case with the ordinary wooden wheels.

page_text: Any system of axle-box, self lubricating or not, can be used in connection with
my invention as this does not in any way interfere with the principle of my said
invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to bo performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1° The mode of preparing and uniting together the internal extremities of the
spokes A and the nave B by heating the whole to whiteness and placing it
between the matrices of a hydraulic press, the said matrices being dished out
according to the shape that is to be given to the finished nave, as described and
illustrated.
2° The mode of preparing and uniting together the internal extremities in the
shape of dovetails of the spokes A and the nave B by heating the latter only to
whiteness and placing it in the central space formed by the extremities of the cold
spokes A and squeezing the whole between the matrices of a hydraulic press, the
said matrices being dished out in the exact shape that the nave is going to have
when finished.
3° The jaunt D, made of sheet iron or steel, or stamped, and having a cross
section of a U shape; and the tyre G which is provided with two circular
grooves bb in which the corresponding circular edges a a' of the jaunt D are
inserted when the said tyre G has been duly heated; substantially as herein
described and illustrated.
4° The arrangement of the wooden blocks E uniformly distributed between the
two cheeks of the jaunt D and the tyre G; the said blocks bearing upon the
internal bottom of the said jaunt and being provided with mortices which corre-
spond to those at the bottom of jaunt D and in which are inserted the prongs or
tenons F of the spokes A substantially as herein before described and illustrated.
5° The manner in which the spoke A is jointed with the jaunt D or D¹ the said
spoke resting, by its shoulder F¹ upon the jaunt D or D₁ and its flat prong F
fitting into the corresponding mortice of the said jaunt D₁ or in those of the iron
jaunt D and of the wooden block E; the spoke's prong can also be rivetted at the
bottom of the iron jaunt D when the blocks E are dispensed with; substantially
as herein before described and illustrated.
6° The various methods of jointing together the spoke A and the wooden
jaunt D' as shown in Figs. 7. 8 and 9; the cylindrical or tapered prongs F"
jointing the spoke to the jaunt D1 by means of the nuts H, substantially as
hereinbefore described and illustrated.
7° The combination of the various arrangements herein before described and by
means of which an improved wheel of a new description is obtained substantially
s hereinbefore described and illustrated.