IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF AXLETREES
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE'
MILLICHAP, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, send greeting.
-
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-fifth day of November, in the eighth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
George Millichap, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said George Millichap, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said George Millichap, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the
term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF AXLETREES;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said George Millichap,.
shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her.
said Majesty's High Court of Chancery, within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as
in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
George Millichap, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described

page_text: and ascertained in and by the following statement, thereof, reference being
had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon (that is to say) :-
My Invention has for its object the obtaining greater security in preventing
wheels coming off axletrees in case of the ordinary means failing, and consists
in so applying screws to axletrees that, in the event of the ordinary securities
failing, the wheels cannot come off so long as the carriage is moving onwards,
the screws being so applied and arranged in respect to corresponding ones in
the axletree boxes that the wheels can only be removed from their axletrees
by turning the wheels back. And the Invention also consists in applying an
improved form of collet, as hereafter explained. And in order that my
Invention may be most fully understood and readily carried into effect, I will
proceed to describe the Drawing hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 shews a section of the axletree and box complete, having my
improvements applied thereto; Figure 2 shews the axletree separately, and
Figure 3 shews a section of the axletree, taken so as to shew the means of
supplying oil. And I would remark, that the axletree is for the most part of
an ordinary construction, and such as has been long in extensive use; and it
should be stated that, although I prefer to apply my improvements to the
description of axletree shewn, I do not confine myself thereto, as the construc-
tion of axletree to which my Invention is applied may be varied. a is the
axle; the axletree box, the nature of which, and also of the ordinary means
of retaining the axletree in its box, being such as heretofore resorted to and
well understood, it will not be necessary to enter into any description thereof,
more particularly as the Drawing clearly shews the nature of the parts. c is a
screw formed on the axletree in such a direction that, in the event of there
being no other means of retaining the axletree box, and consequently the
wheel on the axletree, so long as the wheel moves forward the axletree box
would not come off the axletree, in consequence of the screw c being so formed
as to require the wheel to be turned back in order to unscrew the box b off
the axletree; hence the wheel would not be liable to come off the axletree so
long as the carriage to which the wheel is applied is moving onward, thus
offering very great security in addition to the ordinary arrangements of
apparatus for securing axletrees in their boxes. It will be seen that the screw
c is so arranged in respect to the construction of the axletree box that, so long
as the other means of security remain efficient, the screw c will not in any way
come into action; and the screw c is only called into use when the other means of

page_text: securing the axletree in its box have failed, and then the very act of the wheel
revolving in an onward direction tends to screw the axletree box on to the
axletree. d shews the novel construction of collet, on the interior of which
are formed two projecting ridges e, e, and in place of one side of the screw at
the end of an axletree being made flat on one side to correspond with the flat
portion of the interior of the collet, as heretofore made, the screw has a
groove on either side, so that the collet can pass over the screw, and the
projections e of the collet be allowed to enter into the grooves g of the bearing
of the collet on the axletree.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the best means I
am acquainted with for carrying the same into effect, I would have it under-
stood that I do not claim the axletree shewn when my Invention is not
applied thereto; but what I claim is, the making of axletrees with screws
thereon in such manner that, the other means of sècurity failing, the screws.
retain the wheels on the axletrees so long as the wheels are moving onward, as
herein described.
And I also claim the mode of constructing the collet and end of an
axletree for receiving it, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Millichap, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-five.
GEORGE (L.S.) MILLICEAP.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-second day of May, in
the year of our Lord 1845, the aforesaid George Millichap came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Twenty-fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-five.