Improvements in Wheels for Railway and Tramway Vehicles and Engines.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Dec., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 26th Sept., 1893-Accepted, 28th Oct., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Wheels for Railway and Tramway Vehicles and
Engines.
We, HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM of Baldwyn's Park, Bexley, in the County
of Kent, Mechanical Engineer, and LOUIS SILVERMAN, of Crayford Works,
Crayford in the County of Kent, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
:―
This invention relates to wheels for railway and tramway vehicles and engines
and is intended to provide an elastic wheel which will absorb shocks very
effectually and which will be very durable.
We are aware that it has heretofore been attempted to use rubber in the
construction of railway vehicle and like wheels, but such attempts have not been
successful. The wheels will not withstand the torsional effect produced when the
vehicle is going round a curve, nor will they withstand the heavy strain of the
brakes, especially when the brakes are applied when rounding a curve. The
chief cause of failure of such attempts is owing to the fact that the rubber has
been made to bed upon plain cylindrical surfaces which afford little hold and
consequently the rubber is not firmly held, and is soon torn to pieces.
Now according to our invention, we introduce between the rim of the central
part of the wheel and the ordinary tyre thereof or between the rim of the central
part of the wheel and a metal ring on which is mounted the tyre, a ring or rings
of india rubber which are corrugated or otherwise irregularly shaped and fit upon
and within the corresponding corrugated or similarly shaped surfaces of the rim
and the tyre or metal ring aforesaid. That is to say, the rubber does not rest
between plain cylindrical surfaces but between surfaces which approximate more
or less to the shape of wheel-teeth. The corrugations may be rounded or angular.
The said ring or rings may be made in two or more pieces, or it or they may be
endless. In order to allow the elastic ring or rings to expand laterally when put
under radial pressure, we provide in the same a series of radial holes, or we make
the sides thereof ribbed so as not to bed solidly against the side plates which
maintain the rubber in position. The said side plates are bolted together by bolts
passing through and inside the rim of the wheel, and as heretofore, they may be
constructed to engage with the ordinary steel tyre to hold the same on the wheel.
In order to ensure that the rubber shall bed properly and tightly on the rim of
the wheel and in the tyre or metal ring we make the same at the outer periphery
thereof wider than the metallic rim of the wheel on which the rubber beds, so that
when the side plates are bolted on the wheel they act to squeeze the rubber
laterally and force it tightly into the bottom of the corrugations. The rubber
might be made throughout wider than the wheel rim but we prefer to make it
slightly taper from the outer periphery inward so as to be wider than the rim only
at the outer diameter and for a portion of the depth inward.
We sometimes provide sheet steel or iron casings to attach to the sides of the
wheel, for the purpose of preventing dust and dirt getting into the space occupied
by the rubber and so preserving the rubber from the grinding action which would
occur were the dust and dirt not excluded.
Dated this 5th den of Doomben 1900
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Wheels for Railway and Tramway Vehicles and
Engines.
We, HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM, of Baldwyn's Park, Bexley, in the County
of Kent, Mechanical Engineer, and LOUIS SILVERMAN of Crayford Works,
Crayford, in the County of Kent, 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 wheels for railway and tramway-vehicles and engines
and is intended to provide an elastic wheel which will absorb shocks very
effectually and will be very durable.
We are aware that it has heretofore been attempted to use india rubber in the
construction of railway-vehicle and like wheels, but such attempts have not been
successful, inasmuch as the said wheels will not withstand the torsional effect
produced when the vehicle is going round a curve, nor will they withstand the
severe stress or pressure of the brakes, especially when the brakes are applied in
rounding a curve. The chief cause of failure is that the india rubber has been
made to bed upon plain cylindrical surfaces which afford little hold upon the metal,
and consequently the rubber is not firmly held, and is soon torn to pieces.
These disadvantages are overcome by our invention, which we will now proceed
to describe with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein
Figure 1 is an elevation of an improved car-wheel, constructed according to our
invention, with a part of the wheel removed, for the sake of clearness.
Figure 2 is a transverse section through the centre of the wheel illustrated in
Figure 1, on the line ax of the latter figure.
Figure 3 is a view of a detail of Figures 1 and 2 and is hereinafter fully
explained.
Figure 4 is a view, similar to Figure 1, of an alternative construction of car-
wheel according to our said invention.
.
Figure 5 is an elevation at right angles to Figure 4, half in section on the
line;
of the latter figure.
ey y
Figure 6 is a perspective view of a detail and is hereafter more particularly
referred to.
Like reference-letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
With reference first to Figures 1, 2 and 3, A is the boss of the wheel, B B are
the spokes, and C is an inner rim formed with corrugations C¹ thereon; the said
boss, spokes and inner rim are in rigid connection with each other and constitute a
hub which can move relatively to the tyre, against a suitable elastic resistance, in
the manner hereinafter explained.
D is the tyre, flanged in the usual manner; E is a ring of smaller width than
the tyre, placed within the same, and fitting upon a central raised portion D' of
the inner periphery thereof. The inner periphery of the said ring E is provided
with corrugations of similar form to those on the rim C; the said ring E and
rim C are placed so that the corrugations on one are opposed to the recesses
between corrugations on the other. A space is left between the rim and the
ring E, in which a filling F of indiarubber is placed. The said filling Fis
perforated with holes F at intervals to enable the form of its cross section to alter
under the stress induced by the movement of the rim C and ring E relatively to
each other when the wheel is in use. The said filling is of such form as to fit the
said space between the rim C and the ring E. The corrugated rim C, india-rubber
filling F, and the corrugated ring E, are important features of our invention.
The aforesaid raised portion D has a circular ledge D' on each side thereof, and
the opposite edges of the portion D' overhang, forming annular projections D³.
G G are two annular plates placed at opposite sides of the wheel to confine the

page_text: ring E and rubber filling F in place, and to constitute guides between which the
rim C can turn or move in a plane at right angles to the axis of the wheel.
In order to ensure that the rubber filling F shall bed properly and tightly on
the rim C and on the ring E we make the same at the outer periphery thereof,
wider than the ring E on which it beds, as is illustrated in Figure 3 which is a
cross section of the said filling, so that when the plates C are bolted to the wheel
they act to squeeze the rubber laterally and force it tightly into the bottom of the
spaces between the corrugations C and E.
The rubber filling might be made throughout wider than the space between the
plates G, but we prefer to make it slightly taper from the outer periphery inward
so that it is wider than the said space only at the outer diameter and for a portion
of the depth inward.
Instead of providing holes in the rubber filling to allow it to expand laterally
when put under radial pressure we can with advantage make the sides thereof
ribbed as at F, Figure 6, which is a perspective view of a small piece of the said
filling. The ribs are provided so that it will not bed solidly against the side
plates G which as aforesaid maintain the rubber in position. The said plates G
are each provided with a thickened rim Gland with a groove G2 on one face of the
said rim. The rims G¹ rest on the ledges D2, and the annular projections D³ on
the tyre are held in engagement with the said grooves in the rims Ġ, by bolts H,
which fit holes E2 in the ring E and holes G³ in the plates G and serve also to keep
the said rings in contact with each other. I, I are studs which pass through
holes C2 in the inner rim C. The said holes C2 are of greater diameter than that
of the central portions I' of the studs, in order that the inner rim C may be free to
move relatively to the said studs. The space around the said studs can be filled, if
desired, with indiarubber or other elastic inaterial F2. The said central portions I'
of the studs are made of greater diameter than the ends to serve as distance-pieces
against which the inner faces of the plates G are firmly held by nuts J screwed
upon the ends I² of the studs which are slightly rivetted over them to prevent them
from slacking back.
The distance between the plates G at the places at which the studs I are situated
is just sufficient to enable the inner rim to move between them with the necessary
freedom.
In the alternative construction of wheel illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, teeth C³
and E are placed on the inner rim C and ring E respectively, in substitution for
the corrugations on the said rims in Figures 1 and 2. The rubber filling is placed
in the space between the said teeth in separate pieces F³ as shown.
When the said improved wheels are in use, pressure or a sudden shock com-
municated thereto effects the movement of the boss A and tyre D relatively to
each other and in such movement, whether it be rotary or radial or both, the
rubber filling is compressed, so that the pressure or shock is taken up thereby and
not by the vehicle to which the wheel is applied.
The interspacing of the teeth or corrugations of the rim C and ring E is of
particular advantage inasmuch as in any rotary movement of the said rim and ring
relatively to each other the corrugations or teeth on the one afford a firm support
to the rubber filling against which the said filling is compressible by the corru-
gations or teeth of the other; moreover the said filling is not only supported
against compression by the said corrugations or teeth, but is prevented from being
forced round in the wheel, or torn or otherwise injured as it would be if simply
held against or secured to a plain cylindrical surface. The rubber filling instead
of being constructed as herein before described may consist of two or more parallel
rings or series of segments. Instead of employing a corrugated or toothed ring E
within the tyre, the corrugations or teeth may be formed directly upon the interior
of the tyre.
We sometimes provide sheet metal or iron casings to attach to the sides of the
wheel, for the purpose of preventing the access of dust and dirt into the space
occupied by the rubber and so preserving the rubber from the grinding action

page_text: which might occur were the dust and dirt not excluded. Other modifications of
detail may obviously be made without departing from the nature of our invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In a wheel, the combination of a hub having a corrugated. or toothed outer
periphery, a tyre therefor with a toothed or corrugated inner periphery having
its peripheral projections opposed to the spaces between the peripheral projections
on the hub, a filling of elastic or resilient material placed in the space between
the said peripheries, and guides attached to the tyre between which guides the
said hub is adapted to move, substantially as set forth, for the purpose specified.
2. In such a wheel, the bolts or studs I, connected with the tyre and passed
through holes in the hub, and with or without elastic material, substantially as, and
for the purpose, specified.
3. The resilient filling F formed with holes F¹ and straight or inclined sides, or
with ribs or projections on the sides with or without the holes F', substantially as
described, for the purpose specified.
4. In a wheel such as that herein described, the mode of securing the side
plates G, substantially as described.
5. A car-wheel constructed substantially as described with reference to Figures 1
and 2 or to the modification illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, and operating as, and
for the purpose, specified.
Dated this 26th day of Santamban 1002
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.