AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF ELASTIC CARRIAGE WHEEL
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughts-
man, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF ELASTIC
CARRIAGE WHEEL."-A communication from abroad by Seth Woodbury,
of Lynn, State of Massachusetts, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 6th March 1863.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF ELASTIC
CARRIAGE WHEEL," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a mode of giving elasticity to the felloe or rim of
carriage wheels, the object being to reduce the jarring and rattling of such
wheels when running over pavements, and, while deadening the noise, to effect
an economy in the wear and tear of the carriages to which they are applied.
The felloe proper is constructed in any well known and approved manner, and
properly connected with the spokes, and its periphery is covered by a ring
of vulcanised india-rubber or an equivalent elastic material. The felloe being
thus coated, a steel or other metal tire is shrunk on so as to compress the
elastic material, and screw bolts are passed through the tire and felloe at
suitable distances apart, and secured by nuts at their inner ends. This tire

page_text: serves to protect the belt of elastic material from wear, and being shrunk on to
an elastic bed it will yield sufficiently to inequalities in the road surface over
which it rolls to attain the results above indicated.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 5th September 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant.unto me,
the said Alfred Vincent, Newton, Her special license that I, the said Alfred
Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "AN IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF ELASTIC CARRIAGE WHEEL,"
being a communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, consists
in making the felly of, a carriage wheel in two concentric parts F, f, (see the
accompanying Drawing,) and interposing between these parts a belt or layer of

page_text: india-rubber or other elastic material, by means of which the following very
desirable results are obtained, viz.,-
1st. As the rubber is compressed by the "shrinking on " of the tire, it follows
that when the tire would otherwise become loose by its own expansion or the
shrinking of the wood, the compressed rubber will expand, and thereby prevent
the tire from coming off or requiring to be reset; and not only is the
expense of resetting saved, but, owing to the elasticity of the felly, a thinner
tire will last as long as a much thicker one applied to a common non-elastic
wheel.
2nd. The elastic felly, by breaking the shock or jar of the wheel when
striking against or passing over stones and other hard obstructions, renders the
spokes much less liable to loosen or break, and increases the durability of
every part of the wheel.
3rd. By thus making the wheel elastic there is much less liability of
"springing" or breaking the axle, while all the bolts, screws, and appendages
of the same (being relieved of the sudden and constant jarring of the common
wheel) are less liable to become loose and rattle and chafe.
4th. The wheels thus made elastic save the carriage a great deal of jarring,
wear and tear, and also render it much more agreeable, easy, and confortable
to ride in.
"
hard and
velly
ereby
5th. The elastic fellies in passing over pavements,
roads, not only diminish the jar, but also muffle Le sor 1,
obviating much of the disagreeable noise and rattle attending comn 1
wheels.
riage
To enable others skilled in the art to make and use the improvement, vill
now proceed to describe its construction and operation.
The Drawing represents a side view of one of the improved wheels, the
bub H and spokes S being constructed in all respects like those of wheels in
common use. The felly is made in two concentric parts F and f. The part f
may be of wood or metal, and either a continuous strip or made in sections.
When the part is made of wood, it should be from one-eighth to one-fourth
of an inch in thickness, but when made of galvanized iron or other suitable
metal it need be only about one thirty-second of an inch in thickness.
The spokes, as indicated by the dotted lines, pass only through the inner part F
of the felly. Between the concentric parts F and f, a belt or layer of vulcanized
or natural india-rubber or other suitable elastic substance R is placed, the
belt being from about one-fourth to three-eighths of an inch in thickness, and as
wide as the felly. The tire of steel or other suitable metal being then "shrunk
ou" in the usual manner, and so as to compress the elastic substance R,

page_text: the screw bolts b. are passed through the tire and felly at suitable distances
apart, and confined by nuts on the inner side. Owing to the compressibility
of the belt R, nearly three times the usual" draught" should be given to the
tire in setting.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "An Improved
Construction of Elastic Carriage Wheel, as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, I wish it to be understood that, under the above in
part recited Letters Patent, I claim rendering a carriage wheel elastic by
making the felly in two concentric parts F and f, and interposing a belt or
layer of india-rubber or other elastic material R, substantially as described, and
for the objects specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fifth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)