IMPROVED MEANS OF SECURING AXLES IN THEIR BOXES
Year: 1853

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Frederick Chinnock at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 15th February 1858.-A communication.
I, FREDERICK CHINNOCK of No. 28 Regent Street do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS OF SECURING
AXLES IN THEIR BOXES" and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement to be as follows that is to say
The nature of my said Invention consists in securing the axle
in the box or preventing the escape of the one from the other,
the axle from the box or the box from the axle by means of one
or more spherical balls running in a circular channel formed partly in
the axle and partly in the box in which it fits. The effect produced
by the Invention a dimunition of the excessive friction created
by the collars or analogous devices commonly employed for the
same purpose. The diminution of this friction makes the vehicle
carriage or machine to which such boxes and axles are fitted easier
of draught or propulsion and the axles and boxes are much
more durable than when secured together by any of the means
in common use. Figure 1 in the accompanying Drawing is a
21462.

page_text: longitudinal sectional view of an axle box intended to fit in the nave
of a carriage wheel showing that part of the axle fitting to it entire
& the means by which the axle and box are secured together. Figure 2
is another longitudinal sectional view of the same box the. section
being taken through the fins by which the box is prevented turning
in the nave and showing the arrangements for lubricating. Figure 3
is a transverse section of the box and axle taken in the centre of
the channel in which the balls run. Figure 4 is a transverse
section of the same through the central oil chamber. Figure 5 is
a section taken longitudinally to the axle and showing a slight modifi-
cation of the means of securing the axle and box together. Similar
letters of reference indicate like parts in the several Figures, A,
represents the axle & B, the box. The axle near its extremity
has a semicircular groove, a, turned truly in the width of the said
groove being about equal to one third the diameter of the axle
but this width is not arbitrary. The axle is intended to be made of
wrought iron & case hardened at the part where the groove is
made. The box is of cast iron and is bored in a suitable manner to
receive the axle which fits it in a substantially similar manner to any
other axle in its box. Its back end fits close to a shoulder, b, on the
axle. Its front end is bored out larger than the axle to receive
a hardened steel collar, C, which fits so as to form part of the box.
This collar fits easily to that part of the axle behind or within the
groove, a, and its front or outer face presents itself in an imiginary
plain intersecting the centre of the semicircular groove, a, but has a
recess, e, turned in it of quadrantal form matching with the semi-
circular groove, a, in the axle and with it forming three fourths of a
circular channel around the axle. The front part of the interior
of the box has a female screw within to receive the cap D, of the
box, which screws into it and fits with a flanged end into a
recess in the interior so as to stand flush with the end of the box
except where a square knob or head, n, projects to receive a wrench
for the purpose of screwing up and unscrewing. A leather washer,
O, is placed inside the flange. of the cap for the purpose of making
the interior of the box perfectly tight. The cap is bored out to

page_text: fit easily over the end of the axle and has a recess e¹ in its
inner end corresponding in form to e, in the collar C. The
inner end of the cap fits close or nearly close to the outer face
of the collar c, and the groove a, and recesses e and e¹ together
form a circular channel surrounding the axle. The cap may be
made of steel and hardened or of wrought iron steeled or case
hardened or of cast iron with a loose steel collar C¹ shown on
Figure 5 and like C fitted to it. The cap D and collar C or
collars C, C, all forming part of the box. The channel for the
balls is formed one half in the axle and the other half in the
box. The balls ff, which secure the axle and box together
are of hardened steel and fit in the channel so as to roll freely
round the axle; one of them is sufficient to prevent the separation
of the box and axle but it is better to employ as many as will
nearly fill the groove or channel as then any strain will be equalized
all round. The balls are inserted while the cap D is removed
from the box but while the box and the collar C, are on the axle
and each one is put in the channel at that part of the collar C,
where there is a slight recess g, made for their admission. Pro-
vision is made for oiling or lubricating the axle by casting a
chamber, h, in the interior of the box at about the middle of its length
and a smaller chamber i near the back end and turning a groove j,
round that part where the faces of the collar, C, and the end of the
cap meet and drilling or casting holes k, k, through the fins, 1, 1, so
as to connect the chambers and groove together. The chambers
form reservoirs to contain a quantity of oil or lubricating material
which is inserted through a hole m, passing through a lip in the
face of the box to one of the holes m in the fins and is confined on
the box by a screw stopper p fitting in the hole m. The lubricating
material reaches the interior of the channel containing the balls
from the groove j, passing between the faces of the collar C and the
cap or collar C which are not fitted quite close together when the
axle is first made on account of allowing a slight amount of screwing
up of the cap to compensate for wear of the balls and channel.
The only difference that will require to be made in the construction

page_text: of the axle and box in cases where the axle revolves and the
box is stationary will be to make the external form of the box
suitable to its position this form will vary under different circum-
stances and a proper form would suggest itself to any person skilled
in the arts to which the Invention is applicable.
What I. claim as my Invention is securing the axle in its box by
means of one or more spherical balls running in a channel formed
partly in the axle and partly in the box, this I claim without any
reference to the precise. method described of forming that part
of the channel which is in the box as that might be varied, though
I consider the method described to be the best.