Improvements in the Manufacture of Wheels.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Nov., 1899
Complete Snacifinationloft 21th Cant 1000
Accented 27th fict 1000
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Wheels.
I, HARRY CAMPBELL, of 12, Farringdon Street, New Swindon, Wiltshire,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the manufacture of wheels or wheel centres. Accord-
ing thereto a wheel centre is manufactured substantially as follows:-
The bar to form the rim, which may be of rolled iron or steel of suitable section,
is provided with suitable holes or recesses to receive the spokes, as for instance
by punching in it as many holes as there are spokes less one and making a
recess at each end of the bar for one of the spokes. The bar is then bent to shape,
and the spokes, which may be made out of rolled taper bars, and are each made
with a head at one end, formed it may be by the back ram of a hydraulic press,
and a portion of square or other suitable section at the other end, are then
inserted and secured in the rim by wedging their heads. The partly formed
wheel centre is then put into a furnace and brought to a suitable temperature,
which is made practically uniform, as, for example, by slowly turning the wheel
centre. The wheel centre is then placed in a hydraulic press one of the blocks
or dies of which is of suitable shape, as, for instance, conical, to form the weld-
ing part, one of the spokes itself forming part of the joint in the rim when a
recess is made in each end of the bar as hereinbefore mentioned. The ends of
the spokes not provided with heads--that is to say the inner ends of square or
other section are or may be welded together to form the boss or nave of the
wheel, or such ends may be inserted in a boss or nave at a suitable stage of the
manufacture hereinbefore described.
I, HARRY CAMPBELL, of 12, Farringdon Street, New Swindon, Wiltshire,
Engineer, 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 the manufacture of wheels or wheel centres. Accord-
ing thereto a wheel centre is manufactured substantially as follows:-
The bar to form the rim, which may be of rolled iron or steel of suitable section,
is provided with suitable holes or recesses to receive the spokes, as for instance
by punching in it as many holes as there are spokes less one and making a hole or
077

page_text: recess at each end of the bar for one of the spokes. The bar is then bent to shape,
and the spokes, which may be made out of rolled taper bars and are each made
with a head at one end, formed it may be by the back ram of a hydraulic press,
and a portion of square or other suitable section at the other end, are then
inserted and secured in the rim. The partly formed wheel centre is then put into
a furnace and brought to a suitable temperature, which is made practically
uniform, as, for example, by slowly turning the wheel centre. The wheel centre
is then placed in a hydraulic press one of the blocks or dies of which is of suitable
shape, as, for instance, conical, to form the welding part, one of the spokes itself
forming part of the joint in the rim when a hole or recess is made in each end
of the bar as hereinbefore mentioned. The ends of the spokes not provided with
heads that is to say, the inner ends of square or other section are or may be
welded together to form the boss or nave of the wheel, or such ends may be inserted
in a boss or nave at a suitable stage of the manufacture hereinbefore described.
In the accompanying illustrative drawings,
Figs. 1 and show respectively, in side elevation and plan, a bar which is
provided with holes to receive spokes and made of such length that when bent to
shape it will form a wheel rim.
Fig. 3 shows a section of bar from which the spokes of the wheel can be made.
Figs. 4 and 5 shew in front and side elevation respectively one of the wheel
spokes before it is inserted in the wheel rim, and Fig. 6 shows the inner end of
such spoke.
Figs. 7 and 8 are central sections at right angles to each other of dies or blocks
suitable for making the wheel spokes.
Figs. 9 and 10 show in side elevation and plan respectively, a bolt of metal
adapted to form the boss or nave of the wheel.*
Fig. 11 shews a wheel according to this invention, built up and ready for the
welding operation.
Fig. 12 shows in plan, the lower block of the wheel welding press, and Figs. 13
and 14 shew in central vertical section, the upper and lower blocks or dies of the
wheel welding-press with a wheel in position between them, the two views show-
ing the positions of the parts at or near the commencement of the stroke and at
the completion of the stroke respectively. Figs. 11, 12, 13 and 14 are drawn
to a smaller scale than the other figures.
The
a is a bar of rolled iron or steel having bevelled ends 6 (see Figs. 1 and 2) and
formed, as by punching, with a number of holes c, c¹ to receive the spokes, one
hole c¹ near each end passing through the bevelled end portion 6 of the bar.
bar thus formed is then bent, as by rolling, into a circular shape for a wheel rim,
the bevelled ends bi overlapping and forming a scarf joint with the hole c in one
end in line with or opposite the hole c¹ in the juxtaposed other end so that when
a spoke e is placed in position, as hereinafter described, it passes through both
holes and holds the two ends of the bar together.
The spokes e are made out of a suitable length of rolled iron or steel bar of
suitable section such as that shown for example in Fig. 3, each spoke being formed
at its outer end with a head or projection f and at its inner end with a thickened
portion that is of square or nearly square section and has two inclined sides h.
The head or projection f and thickened portion g may be both formed at one
operation by first heating the bar to a suitable temperature, say to a red heat, then
placing it in a hydraulic press having two lower blocks, viz., a back ram block k
and front block 1, and a top block m all suitably formed (see Figs. 7 and 8), then
forcing the block k against the block, and finally forcing down the top block m
upon the upper projecting portion of the bar.
The spokes e are then arranged so as to build up the wheel centre, the inclined
sides of the adjacent enlarged ends being fitted closely against each other and
the outer ends being inserted in the holes c, cl in the rim a, the overlapping
ends of the rim being held together by one of such spokes. The built up wheel
centre at this stage appears as shown in Fig. 11. The outer ends of the spokes

page_text: may, in some cases, be secured, as by wedging, in the holes in the wheel rim to
hold them in place during the subsequent heating process, but this will be un-
necessary when the spokes are made of the shape shown and fitted together and
to the wheel rim in the manner illustrated in Fig. 11. The built up wheel centre
is then put into a furnace and heated to a welding temperature which is made as
uniform as possible by slowly turning the wheel-centre or body from time to
time. The wheel centre is then removed from the furnace and placed in a
hydraulic press and a bolt or boss of metal n (see Fig. 9 and 10) heated to a
welding temperature in a separate furnace, is placed in the central opening g* of
the built-up wheel to form the wheel boss or nave. The said hydraulic press is
provided with a bottom block (see Figs. 12 to 14) and an upper block having
an outer annular projecting portion & that is made at its lower portion of conical
shape as shown at r, to form a welding part. The lower block is provided with
steady or guide pins o' and air holes 2 (see Fig. 12), and the adjacent faces of
the two blocks are suitably recessed or formed, as shown, to receive the built-up
wheel centre between them, the recess o³, and the projecting parts of and p² of
the blocks o and p that take into the sector-shaped spaces between the wheel
spokes and wheel rim, being preferably made of a slightly tapering form. o is a
block or die operated by a bottom ram and arranged to slide vertically within a
hole or guide formed in the lower block o. The arrangement is such that by
placing the wheel centre or body and its centrally arranged bolt n, after they
have been heated to a welding temperature, upon the lower block and forcing
the upper block p q down upon them and simultaneously causing the block or die o
to rise, the wheel rim a will be compressed upon and welded to the outer ends or
heads of the spokes and the bolt or boss n will, by the portion of the die o
and portion of the top block p, be caused to expand and fill all the space left
between the thickened inner ends g of the spokes and the central portion of the
blocks or dies and effectually weld the said ends together and to the bolt n, thereby
forming the wheel boss or nave, (see Fig. 14). The upper block p q is then
raised, the lower die o lowered, and the welded wheel centre removed and, if
necessary, trimmed and finished for use.
In some cases, as for example for the manufacture of tram car wheels, the
spokes may be formed with enlarged inner ends so shaped that, when fitted
together, and heated and welded, substantially in the manner described, they will
form the desired wheel boss or nave without the use of a separate bolt or boss
such as n (Fig. 9 and 10).
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. The manufacture of wheels or wheel centres in the improved manner here-
inabove described that is to say by forming a metal bar with suitable holes or
recesses to receive the outer ends of the wheel spokes, bending the bar to shape
so as to bring its ends close together and form the wheel rim, inserting the outer
ends of the spokes in the rim, heating the partly formed wheel centre to a suit-
able temperature, and welding the inner ends of the spokes together, or together
and to a separate boss or nave, and the outer ends of the spokes to the wheel rim,
substantially as herein before described.
2. The improved wheel or wheel centre constructed substantially as herein before
described with reference to the drawings annexed.
: תנית
041
1000
For the Applicant,
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Chartered Patent Agent.