IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO WHEELS AND AXLE-BOXES FOR CARRIAGES OR VEHICLES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO WHEELS AND AXLE-BOXES FOR
CARRIAGES OR VEHICLES." A communication from abroad by Isaac Friedlander,
of Berlin, Germany.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th December 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO WHEELS
AND AXLE-BOXES FOR CARRIAGES OR VEHICLES." A communication from abroad
by Isaac Friedlander, of Berlin, Germany.
This Invention relates to improvements in wheels and axle-boxes for carriages or
vehicles.
Heretofore in substituting springs for spokes the former in most instances were
of C-forin, and were fastened within the wheel by connecting them to the rim and
the hub of the same by means of a tight, stiff, or rigid connection. It is in con-
sequence of such tight or inflexible connection that spring-wheels of this kind as
heretofore constructed have not produced the good effect for which they were
designed.
My Invention therefore consists partly in constructing a spring-wheel in which
the springs used in place of the spokes are fastened by means of a loose or yielding
connection either to the rim, or to the hub, or to both of these parts, or to each
other. The said Invention also consists in uniting in spring-wheels the U or T
shaped iron rim to the outer hoop in such a manner and by such means as to
dispense with the ordinary wooden rim around which heretofore the iron hoop was
welded. The said Invention also consists in certain modifications of the said
wheel and in an improved axle-box, which may be used for the said improved
wheel in combining the same with the vehicle, all of which will be hereinafter
described.
The said Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which
Figure 1 is a side view, and
Figure 2 a sectional view shewing one construction of my improved wheel.
Figure 3 is a side-view, and
Figure a sectional view of another construction of the said wheel, which
said construction I consider best adapted for practical use.
Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 illustrate modifications of the said improved wheel.
°

page_text: Figures 10, 14, and 15 represent detached parts of the wheel shewn in Figures 3
and 4 drawn to an enlarged scale.
Figures 11, 12, and 13 illustrate my improved axle-box in different sectional
views; and
Figure 16 shews a vehicle in combination with my improved wheel and
axle-box.
Referring first to the construction shewn in Figures 3, 4, 10, 14, and 15 of the
Drawing, A, A, represent the springs or elastic steel-spokes, which are connected to.
the rim and the hub of the wheel as follows, that is to say-The connecting piece a
(see Figures 10, 14, and 15) is rivetted or screwed to the inside of the rim K,
preferably inade of U or T shaped iron. The said piece a is formed with two lugs
at each of its ends, the two opposite ones of which are at such a distance apart
from each other.ȧs to allow of the reception of the rolled end of a connecting piece c
(Figure 3), which is fastened thereto by means of a bolt b pushed through its rolled
.end and through corresponding openings in the said lugs, so that the said piece c
.may swing or play freely between the two lugs. The springs A are at one of their
ends rivetted or screwed to the connecting pieces c, while their other ends, which
'may be rolled similar to the rolled end of the piece c, are connected to the hub
of the wheel. To this end a metal ring d is fastened around tho hub, and is
provided with corresponding openings for the rolled part of the springs A to pass
through. Two other metal rings m, m', are laid edgewise around the vertical
portion of the hub, and are provided with holes for the reception of bolts g or the
equivalent thereof. The rolled end of the spring A is fastened to the hub by one
of the said bolts 9 being pushed through its rolled end and through the corre-
sponding holes in the vertical rings m, m³, so that the said spring A may swing or
play freely on the bolt between the said two rings m, m'. In some instances the
connecting piece a may, if desired, be dispensed with, and the springs A may be
'rolled at both ends, the rolled end to be fastened to the rim being substituted for
the piece a, and having the form of the latter. In most cases however I prefer the
construction first described, as in case of breakage the different parts may be more
easily exchanged than with the latter modification. The U shaped rim K may
also, if desirable, be dispensed with, and the spring A may, by means of the con-
necting piece a, be connected to a common wooden rim provided with a hook in
.the ordinary manner.
In the construction shown in Figures 1 and 2, the springs A are of a convexo-
concave form and have a yielding connection with respect to each other. Both the
inner or concave spring and the outer or convex spring constituting the convexo-
.concave spring A are rolled and are fastened together by means of a rivet or bolt f
passing through the openings in their rolled ends. To this end either the outer or
the inner spring may be made a little broader than the other spring, and be
provided with a slot cut in its rolled ends for the reception of the rolled ends of
the narrower spring, to be fastened therein by means of the said rivet or bolt f.
The hub of the wheel is provided with three connecting pieces B of nearly annular
form which are screwed or rivetted to the said hub by means of the rivets d¹. The
outer or convex springs are fastened by means of the bolts a to the inside of the
U shaped rim K, while the inner or concave springs are connected in a similar
manner to the outside of the connecting-pieces B. The springs A therefore, though
they have in this instance a stiff or tight connection with respect to the rim and
the hub of the wheel, are nevertheless loosely connected with respect to each other
and will easily yield to any pressure they may be exposed to. If desired they
may be connected by stays 8, 8, so as to regulate or limit their yielding capacity.
Figures 7, 8, and illustrate another novel feature of my Invention, that is to say,
the combination with an ordinary wheel having stiff spokes of a wheel with
yielding spring-spokes constructed according to the said Invention. A similar
combination is represented in the wheel shewn in Figure 6, while Figure 5
illustrates the combination of two wheels with yielding springs constructed
according to my Invention.

page_text: The wheel shewn in Figure 7 consists of an inner wheel with stiff spokes, while
the outer wheel is fastened thereto in a similar manner to that hereinbefore
described with reference to Figures 1 and 2, except that the springs shewn in
Figure 7 are of a convexo-convex form instead of a convexo-concave form.
Figure 8 shews the inner wheel with springs similar to the springs in Figures 3,
4, 10, 14, and 15 combined with an outer wheel having ordinary stiff spokes, while
in Figure 9 the said two wheels are reversed, the inner-one being the stiff wheel
and the outer one the yielding wheel.
In the wheel shewn in Figure 6 the outer elastic wheel is combined with the
inner stiff wheel by means of a curved spring fastened thereto, partly in the
manner described with reference to Figures 3 and 4, and partly by bolts, as in
Figures 1, 2, and 7, except that in this instance the said curved spring is provided
with longitudinal slots at the point where the said bolts pass through the same so
that it may easily yield to any pressure it may be exposed to.
Figure 5 shews the combination of an elastic inner wheel with an elastic outer
wheel, the springs applied therein being rolled at their ends and connected to the
said wheels in a similar manner to that described with reference to Figures 3 and
4 of the Drawing.
My improved wheel as herein described would become rather clumsy and
awkward if its iron rim K had to be surrounded by a common wooden rim in
order to enable the usual hoop to be welded around the same. I therefore use a
cement consisting of about three (3) parts by weight of minium, one (1) part
by weight of white-lead, and one (1) part by weight of varnish for coating the
outer surface of the said iron rim, and in this coating I place a strap of hemp
or similar material which corresponds in width with the width of the said rim K,
and which entirely covers the outer surface of the latter. After the cement
becomes dry the strap becomes fast around the iron rim K, which is then provided
with a second coating of cement, the latter covering the strap likewise. By these
means the strap becomes entirely fast and fire-proof, and the outer hoop can be
welded around it in a hot state in the same manner as it is usually welded around
common wooden rims. Consequently the rim will not appear clumsy, and by the
construction above described all "rattling" is prevented, while at the same time
smooth and comfortable riding is ensured.
I will now proceed to describe my improved axle-box, which is illustrated in
Figures 11, 12, and 13 of the Drawing, and which is preferably to be used in
applying my said improved wheel hereinbefore described to vehicles. The said
axle-box being preferably oil-tight differs from other constructions heretofore
known in the improved means for fastening the said box upon the axle and for
greasing or oiling the same. It may also with advantage be combined with hollow
axles, whose ends are provided with female thread like gas-pipes. The said axle-
box consists of the body A in combination with the screw-bolt o having a hoad Z
with a projecting edge Z¹, and the different parts are constructed and combined as
follows, that is to say-The body or bux A of cast metal is made hollow, and is
open at its rear end so that it can be arranged upon the axle of the vehicle. The
ends of the said axlo are likewise made hollow, and are provided with female
threads for the reception of a screw-bolt. The body A is closed at its forward end,
except where it is provided with an aperture for the screw-bolt o to pass through
before entering the thread in the axle, the outer end of the said axle striking
against the closed forward part of the box or body A. The said box A is provided
at its rear end with three hollow projections kl, k³, k³, the same being hollow, and
serving as chambers or receptacles for the grease or oil, which is led thereto by
means of a small tube r connected with one of the said receptacles, and ordinarily
closed by means of a screw-cap. The grooves n', n, n³, conduct the oil from the
said receptacles along the outer surface of the axle and the inner surface of the
box A. The projections k¹, k³, 1³, also serve to prevent the box A. from turning in
the hub of the wheel
When applying my improved axle-box I place first an ordinary washer ƒ¹ around

page_text: .
the axle, and then by means of the box A I push the said washer against the
shoulders on the said axle. I then take the bolt o having a similar washer f, and
through the said aperture in the closed forward end of the box A, I screw the said
bolt into the female thread in the axle until the projecting rim 2' of the head Z of
the said bolt extends over the outer end of the axle-box, the said rim s¹ serving to
protect the box against sand and other impurities. Oil is then conducted through
the tube into one of the receptacles, and is distributed into the other two
receptacles and along the surface of the axle by means of the grooves n', n², n³,
connected with the said receptacles. It is obvious that the said axle-box must be
entirely oil-tight as there is no possibility for an escape at either end, the oil being
compelled to always flow back into the said receptacles 1, 1, 1.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I am aware that prior to my Invention it has been attempted to substitute
elastic steel spokes bent in various forms for tho wooden spokes generally used in
wheels, but in all instances the said elastic springs or spokes have been inflexibly
or rigidly connected, and attention has not been paid to a yielding connection of
the same, which yielding connection forms an important feature of my present
Invention. I therefore do not claim springs for wheels bent in any particular form,
but I claim,-
First. In a wheel, the springs having yielding connection with either the rim
or the hub, or with both of these parts, or with each other, substantially as
above set forth and for the purpose specified.
Second. In a wheel, the springs having rolled ends, or combined with separate
equivalent parts for the latter in combination with the rim or hub, substantially
as above set forth and for the purpose specified.
Third. A wheel consisting of an elastic inner wheel and an inflexible outer
,wheel, or of an elastic outer wheel and a rigid inner wheel, or of two elastic
wheels, substantially as above set forth nod for the purpose specified.
Fourth. An elastic wheel, having its rim of U or T-shaped iron rigidly con-
nected to the hoop by means of a strap of hemp or similar material, substantially
in the manner above set forth and for the purpose specified.
Fifth. In a vehicle, the combination with an axle partly or entirely hollow and
provided at its ends with female threads of an axle-box constructed as described,
substantially as above set forth and for the purpose specified.
Sixth. In a vehicle, the combination of an axle partly or entirely hollow and
provided at its ends with female threads, the axle-box constructed as above
described, and the screw-bolt o with the head to hold the said axle-box upon
the axle of the vehicle, substantially as above set forth.
Seventh. An axle-box provided at its rear end with receptacles for oil or other
lubricating material, substantially as shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of December, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
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