Improvements in Wheel Hubs and Cycle Bearings.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Feb., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 8th June, 1893-Accepted, 5th Aug., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Wheel Hubs and Cycle Bearings.
I, HENRY WILLIAM JAMES, of Sampson Road North, Sparkbrook, in the City
of Birmingham, Cycle Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
This invention pertains to detail improvements in wheel hubs and cycle ball
bearings, as hereinafter described.
Heretofore steel hubs made by the old process are hardened at the finish, and
which hardening oftentimes distorts the symmetrical figures of the articles, or
sometimes leaves part of them soft, and particularly the bearing parts, which is
undesirable.
One of the objects of my invention is the making of the hub body parts, with the
heads, of soft or unhardened metal or steel, and fitting within the ends or the outside
faces of the said heads, hardened steel caps or circumferential closures.
Another object of my invention is the concealment of the foot ends of the spokes,
and a still further object is so constructing, arranging and combining the parts of
the said ends that dirt is prevented from accumulating.
Thus, in carrying out the first part of my invention, I make the body and head
of the hub from any suitable metal or alloy of metal, and with the said head part
preferably hollow, or box-form, and with their outside faces, or outside ends fitted
with attachable and detachable hardened steel caps, rings or closures, pierced with
holes about their middles of an inside diameter equal to the outside diameter of the
fore part collars of adjustable cone bearings, taking upon the screwed ends of the
spindle. The hardened steel closure caps, which are dished or concaved upon their
insides, have the top bearing races of the anti-friction spheres formed preferably
approximate to the boundary edgings of the middle piercings.
The adjustable bearing cones screw upon the ends of the spindle, and with the
inside collars of them being greater in diameter than the outside ones. The outside
parts of the ball races of the cones come opposite, or nearly opposite the half ball
races formed within the interior of the closure caps, so that when the closure caps
with inside top bearings, are in position in the ends of the hubs, the adjustment of
the balls is made up to the said races by the screwing of the cone, so that the same
traverses outwardly, instead of inwardly as by the old method.
It will thus be gathered that the balls are encompassed on three sides, leaving
about one-fourth of the same uncovered, and by which means, the lubricant gains
casy access to the balls.
I propose that the collars upon the inner side of the ball race of the cone should
be considerably larger than the collars at the outwardly presented side, and which
last-named collars fit and work accurately within the holes in the closure caps,
which may be screwed into the box ends of the heads either by right or left handed"
worms, and may be affixed in their home positions by pins, screws, snap fastenings,
or by other means.
The outside diameters of the loose collars which take through the heads are
smaller than is usual, hence less liability of the parts to pick up dirt, and further I
wish it to be observed that the rear parts of the cones, and particularly the enlarged
flanges, work within the interiors of the box head ends.
In carrying out a still further form of my invention, I make the head ends of
sufficient capacity to constitute spoke head-end chambers, as well as receptacles for
the loose and adjustable cones.
Thus, the box head, when the closure faces and spindles are removed, makes a

page_text: clearance sufficient for the threading of the spokes through holes or lacing holes
formed through the middle of the walls of the said hollow head ends, and which
holes may have upon their inside presented parts, seatings or sinkings of the shape
or shapes of the heads.
The spokes are introduced in an inclined direction upwardly through the said
holes, and the foot ends are then drawn up to their seatings as usual.
The spoke ends are concealed or shrouded, and also the bearings, in manner that
the whole are perfectly covered up.
The top bearing caps or closures may have their bearing faces turned outwardly
instead of inwardly. In this case the loose cones have the collars of larger diameter
presented outwardly, so that the adjustment is made by the traverse of the nut
inwardly instead of outwardly, as in the former arrangement.
Dated this 3rd day of February_1893.
T
HENRY WILLIAM JAMES,
By Henry Skerrett,
Agent for Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Wheel Hubs and Cycle Bearings.
1, HENRY WILLIAM JAMES, trading as Harry James, of Sampson Road North,
Sparkbrook, in the City of Birmingham, Manufacturer, 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 detail improvements in wheel hubs for wheel vehicles,
such for example as cycle wheel hubs, and also to detail improvements in ball
bearings for cycles, such for example as crank axle bearings, commonly called
bottom brackets, as hereinafter described.
Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing represents, partly in longitudinal vertical
section, and partly in elevation, a wheel hub, or a cycle wheel hub constructed,
arranged and provided or fitted with improvements made according to my
invention.
The body of the hub, with its heads, is made of soft metal, whilst the loose and
screwed-in ends are made of hardened steel, to resist the wear of the anti-friction
balls or spheres running upon or within half-races formed upon parts of the inside
walls of the same, adjacent to the central openings wherethrough the necks of
adjustable and bottom bearings pass.
Figure 2 represents a vertical section upon the dotted lines A B Figure 1,
looking from right to left.
Figure 3 represents an end elevation of the left-hand side of the hub, showing the
hardened steel closures which are screwed into the ends of the hub with right and
left handed screws respectively.
Figure 4 represents a like sectional view of a hub as Figure 1, but with the
hardened steel caps or closures removed from the outside ends of the heads, and
with the adjustable and bottom bearings traversed full back.
Figures 5 and 54 show a side elevation and a front elevation of the right hand
end cap, which is screwed with a right hand thread, whilst Figures 6 and 6ª
represent like views of the left hand end cap or closure screwed with a left hand
thread.
Figure 6B represents a cycle wheel fitted with a hub according to my invention.
These said closures take into like screwed interiors within the said heads, and by
thus screwing the one with a right hand screw, and the other with a left hand
screw, the friction of the balls or spheres tends to constantly tighten the said caps
or closures, and prevents the same, as hereinafter described, from working out or
coming loose.

page_text: In Figures 1 to 6B, a is the body or waist of the hub, and a', a², the box heads,
each having cylindrical hollow interiors a³, with mouth entrances a, suitably
wormed to receive hardened steel end caps or closures b, b', provided with half
ball-races 62, and central apertures, through which latter the necks c*, of
adjustable and bottom bearings c, take.
The right-hand side cap or closure b, of the head a', is right-hand wormed, whilst
the left-hand side cap or closure 6', of the left-hand head a², is screwed with a
left-hand worm.
Each of the adjustable and bottom bearings c, carries or have an annular groove
or ball race c³, and a back collar or flange c, and also have axially through their
middles, screw threaded holes c³, which take upon the right hand wormed ends d²,
of a fixed spindle d, running axially through the centre of the hub, and upon which
the said hub rests and revolves through the medium of interposed anti-friction balls
or spheres e, located between the upper half ball races 62, of the hardened steel
caps or ends b,, and the ball races c³, of the adjustable and bottom bearings c,
which are adjustable outwardly in the directions indicated by the arrows, instead of
inwardly, as in the old form of coned bearings.
Thus, the hub is mounted centrally upon the fixed spindle, through rolling
contact surfaces or balls e, rolling in contact with top bearing races 62, and bottom
bearing races c³.
Now by rotating the bottom bearings outwards or traversing them in the
directions indicated by the arrows, the necessary adjustment is made between the
bearing surfaces of the ball races.
By making the bottom bearings adjustable outwardly instead of adjustable
inwardly as heretofore, a considerable mechanical advantage is obtained, besides a
diminution in size of the apertures for receiving the said adjustable parts, hence the
diminution of the surfaces which are liable to accumulate dirt.
Now as the right-hand closure cap b, is screwed with a right hand worm, and
screws into a corresponding inside-wormed entrance at, of the head a', and the
left-hand closure cap, is screwed with a left-hand worm, and takes into a corre-
sponding screwed inside part a³, of the head a², the friction of the balls e, acting
upon the surfaces of the ball races 62, located within the interior parts of the
caps, tends to tighten the said caps or closures, and prevents the same from
coming loose.
Thus, as the prevailing direction of motion of the hub is from left to right, and
as the screwing in both ends is relatively in a contrary direction, the slight drag
occasioned by the friction of the balls rolling in or being drawn over the ball races
of the caps, keeps the said caps screwed up full home or locked, as they cannot
unscrew, consequent upon the drag of the balls moving in a contrary direction to the
direction of their unscrewing.
The inner portions of the heads form spoke chambers a³, wherein the heads
of the spokes i lie, in recesses formed within the walls a', of the same, whilst
the spokes are introduced into position by inclining the same upwards and drawing
the same through, up to their butt heads."
By providing in conjunction with the heads, spoke chambers, the whole of the
heads of the spokes are covered up or concealed from view.
In the right hand head a', which carries the teeth f, constituting a chain wheel,
the said teeth may be carried by the closure cap b, instead of by the walls of
the head.
Figure 7 represents a part of my said improvements applied to a cycle crank
axle or bottom bracket.
a is a bottom bracket, having working through it, a spindle d, terminated by,
and carrying at its outer ends, cranks h. f is a chain wheel mounted on the
said axis, whilst band bare end closure caps to the bracket.
The right-hand end b, is screwed with a left-hand thread and takes into a
corresponding screw cut within the entrance a', to the bracket, so that the friction
of the balls keeps the said closure cap screwed full home or locked, as described in

page_text: the hub, whilst the closure cap b', is screwed also with a right or left hand thread
taking into a corresponding worm, and which, when screwed home, is locked
by the split end a', of the said bracket being drawn to by a pin passing through
eyes a³.
It will be understood that the body and heads of the hub are made of any suitable
soft metal, such as gun-metal, unhardened steel, iron, brass or the like, whilst the
closure caps, which are steel, are suitably hardened to resist wear.
It is understood that if the right hand end of the bracket is split instead of the
left hand end, and the closure end b, is fitted to the left hand end, then the said
closure cap will be right-hand screwed.
Instead of the flanges of the closure caps having male threads, and taking into
the open box heads, they may have female threads, and take over or upon the
outside ends-of-the said box-heads:-
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
First. In cycle and other wheel hubs or bearings, having closure caps or
attachable and detachable ends, worming the right-hand closure cap or end with a
right-hand thread, which takes into a corresponding converse thread in the said
right-hand end, and worming the left-hand closure cap or end with a left-hand
thread, which takes into a corresponding converse thread in the said left-hand end,
whereby the said closure caps or ends are constantly kept screwed full home or
locked, through the medium of, or by the frictional contact of, the anti-friction
balls or spheres, substantially in the way as described and set forth.
Secondly. In cycle and other wheel hubs having adjustable bearings, adjusting
the bearings of the ball races by drawing out or traversing outwardly upon the
screwed spindle, adjustable and bottom bearings, each having a forward neck,
aunular ball race and back collar or flange, substantially as described and set forth.
Thirdly. In cycle and other wheel hubs, the combination with hollow heads, or
heads having closure ends, of spoke chambers, as set forth.
Fourthly. In cycle and other wheel hubs, the combination with the heads, of
closure ends b, b', (being respectively right and left hand wormed) and drawing-out
adjustable ball-race bearings c, substantially as described and set forth.
Fifthly. In cycle crank axle brackets, the combination with a right-hand end of
a bracket, of a left-hand wormed closure cap, or with a left-hand end of a bracket,
of a right-hand wormed closure cap, substantially as described and set forth.
Dated this 7th day of June 1893.
HENRY WILLIAM JAMES,
By Henry Skerrett,
6, Livery Street, Birmingham, Agent for Applicant.