Year: 1896

page_text: I, HENRY WALTON LUDLOW, of the Firm of Fisher and Ludlow, of 83, Rea Street
Birmingham, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this Invention to be
as follows:-
This Invention has reference to the manufacture of metal rims for the wheels of
bicycles and other velocipedes and road vehicles.
By my invention I make the said wheel rims junctionless from sheet steel or other
suitable sheet metal or alloy in the manner which I will now describe:-
I take two circular sheet metal blanks of somewhat larger diameter than the
required wheel rim and by means of suitable dies in a press or by spinning tools in a
lathe or by wheeling or other means, I raise each of these blanks into a shallow dish
shape the rim of each having somewhat the shape in cross section of somewhere about
one half of the required wheel rim if the latter were divided in the central plane of
the wheel. Nearly the whole of the bottoms of these two dish shaped blanks are
pierced out leaving each of their rims with a projecting inner flange which during the
process of raising the blank as aforesaid, or afterwards, is so grooved or shaped that
when the two rim parts of the two dished blanks are placed together concentrically
back to back the edge of the internal flange of one of the rims can be and is spun
rolled or closed over the internal flange of the other rim thus securing the two rims
together and forming the required wheel rim which will thus have a central joint or
seam corresponding with the central plane of the wheel and which will be of an extra
thickness of metal. The outer edges of the wheel rim are if preferred rolled or
otherwise turned inwardly against the trough of the wheel rim so as to form neat
rounded edges to the rim and prevent damage to the tyre.
When the said rim is required to be of an enclosed hollow section such as what is
known as a "hollow rim" I may make one half of the rim with an outwardly
projecting flange round the edge which I spin or otherwise roll or work back over the
trough of the rim and engage with the edge of the other half of the wheel rim and
thus form a wheel rim of the required enclosed hollow section. This flange may before
being closed over the trough of the rim as aforesaid be stamped or otherwise formed to
approximately the trough shape which it will have when rolled over and secured to
the other half of the rim. Or instead of making the hollow wheel rim as above
described I may provide an endless sheet metal ring which is laid round the two halves

page_text: of the rim within the trough of the same and there secured by rolling the two edges
of the rim over the edges of the said ring.
Dated this 21st day of October 1896
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Metal Rims for the Wheels
of Bicycles and other Velocipedes, and Motor Cars and Road
Vehicles.
.I, HENRY WALTON LUDLOW, of the Firm of Fisher and Ludlow, of 83, Rea Street,
Birmingham, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be perforined, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
This. Invention has reference to the manufacture of metal rims for the wheels of
bicycles and other velocipedes and road vehicles.
By my Invention I make the said wheel rims junctionless from sheet steel or other
sheet metal or alloy in the manner which I will describe by referring to the
accompanying drawings on which
Fig. 1 is a cross section of a wheel rim constructed in accordance with this
Invention;
Figs. 2 to 7 both inclusive illustrate the progressive stages in the manufacture of
this wheel rim from two sheet metal blanks as hereinafter described;
Fig. 8 is a modified form of the wheel rim shewn by Fig. 1;
Figs. 9 and 9 are cross sections of hollow wheel rims made in accordance with this
Invention;
Fig. 10 shews the said hollow wheel rim partly formed;
Fig. 11 is a cross section of another form of hollow wheel rim made in accordance
with this Invention and
Fig. 12 is a modified form of the same.
The same letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in all the
figures of the drawings.
I will refer firstly more particularly to Figs. 1 to 7 both inclusive. In making the
wheel rim illustrated in cross section by Fig. 1, I take.two circular sheet metal blanks
of somewhat larger diameter than the required wheel rim and by means of suitable
dies in a press or by spinning tools in a lathe or by wheeling or other means, I raise
both of these blanks into a shallow dish shape such as shewn by Fig. 2. The rim A is
of the same diameter and is about the same shape and size in cross section as one
half of the wheel rim shewn by Fig. 1 if the latter were divided in the central plane of
the wheel, that is on the line XX of Fig. 1. Nearly the whole of the bottoin a' of
this dish shaped blank A is pierced out leaving the rim A with the projecting inner
flange as shewn in Fig. 3 which by the next process is partly turned outwardly all
round forming a lip a³ which projects outwardly from the face of the rim. This rim A
forms one half of the required wheel rim. The other half of the required wheel rim is
formed of a rim B such as shewn by Fig. 5 which is precisely the same as that marked A
except that the bottom of the dish from which it is formed is pierced out so as to leave
the inner flange 62 of the proper size for the lip of the half rim A to enter, so that
the two half rims can be placed concentrically back to back with the flange b2 of the
half rim B fitting around the lip as of the half rim A as shewn in Fig. 6. The lip a³

page_text: is now rolled or closed over the internal flange b² of the rim B so as to secure the two
rims A B together as shewn in Fig. 7 thus forming the required wheel rim which will
have a central joint or seam on the central plane of the wheel formed of three
thicknesses of metal a2 b2 3. The outer edge a' of the half rim A and the outer
edge of the half rim B are turned inwardly against the trough of the wheel rim s
shewn in Fig. 1 so as to form neat rounded edges to the rim and prevent damage to
the tyre. The section of wheel rim shewn by Fig. 1 is suitable for what is known as
a wired on tyre but it will be evident that my Invention is similarly applicable to other
trough section wheel rims. For instance Fig. 8 shews another form of my improved
wheel rim suitable for a wired on tyre; in this rim the outer edges at 63 are turned
inwardly forming a hollow rounded bead round each side of the rim.
When the wheel rim is required to be of an enclosed hollow section, that is what is
known as a "hollow" rim, I make one half of the rim, say the half B, with an
outwardly projecting flange marked b (see Fig 10) round the edge, which flange I spin
or otherwise roll or work back over the trough of the rim A B as represented in Fig. 9.
so that the edge 63 of the flange 6 will project over the edge at of the rim A and then
this edge of the flange b is turned down as shewn in Fig. 9 so as to engage with the
edge at of the half A of the wheel rim and thus form a hollow section wheel rim as
shewn in Fig 9. Or the edge at of the half rim A may be closed over the edge of the
flange as shewn in Fig. 9.
Or, instead of making the hollow rim as aboye described and shewn by Fig. 9, I may
make the hollow rim as represented by Fig. 11 in which, in combination with the main
portion of the rim formed of the halves A and B secured together as above described,
I provide a sheet metal ring C which is laid round the two halves A B of the rim
within the trough of the same and there secured by rolling the two edges a b³ of
the halves A B of the rim over the edges of the ring C.
Fig. 12 shews a modified form of the hollow wheel rim shewn by Fig. 11 in which
the halves of the rims A B are closed over so as to form beaded edges as in Fig 8 and
closed down upon the edges of the ring C to hold the same in place.
After the parts of the wheel rims have been secured together as above described the
wheel rims are by preference dipped in a tinning bath so as to cause their meeting
surfaces to adhere.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. A trough section junctionless metal wheel rim made of two junctionless half rims
raised from sheet metal blanks and secured together so as to form a trough section
wheel rim having an annular strengthening rib of three thicknesses of metal at the
central plane of the rim substantially as herein before set forth.
2. A junctionless trough section metal wheel rim composed of the junctionless half
rim A formed with the internal flange a and the junctionless half rim B formed with
the internal flange b, said flanges being located at the central plane of the rim the
internal flange of the half rim A being closed over the internal flange of the half rim B
so as to secure the two half rims together and form a central annular rib a² as b² of
three thicknesses of metal at the central plane of the rim, substantially as hereinbefore
set forth and illustrated by Figs. 1 to 8 of the accompanying drawings.
3. A hollow junctionless metal wheel rim composed of the two junctionless half
rims A B forming the outer wall of the rim closed together so as to form the central
rib a a³ 62 one of the said half rims having a flange b which is rolled down to form
the inner wall of the rim the edge of the said inner wall being secured to the edge of
the periphery of the other half rim substantially as herein before described with
reference to Figs. 9 and 10 or Fig 9 of the accompanying drawings.
4. A hollow junctionless metal wheel rim composed of the two junctionless half
rims A B forming the outer wall of the rim closed together so as to form the central
rib a a b of three thicknesses of metal and the hoop C forming the inner wall of the
rim fitting between the two half rims A B the edges of which are closed over the

page_text: periphery of the hoop C thus forming a hollow section wheel rim, substantially as
hereinbefore described and illustrated by Fig. 11 or by Fig. 12 of the accompanying
drawings.
Dated this 16th day of July 1807
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.