GLATAIN NEW NEW AND USEFON IMPROVEMEN
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Walter Kittredge Foster, of the State of
Massachusetts, in the United States of America, for the Invention
of
GLATAIN NEW
NEW AND
USEFON IMPROVEMEN
Scaled the 26th February 1869, and dated the 21st October 1868.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Walter Kittredge Foster
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration on the 21st October 1868, pursuant to the 9th Section
of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS MAY COME, BE IT KNOWN,
that I, WALTER KITTREDGE FOSTER, of the State of Massachusetts, of the
United States of America, have made an Invention of "CERTAIN NEW AND
USEFUL IMPROVEMENTS IN CARRIAGE WHEELS," and do hereby declare the
nature thereof, and the manner in which the same are to be performed,
to be herein-after explained, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side view of a wheel felloe and tire
and their contractile mechanism as provided with my Invention;
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section, and Figure 3 is a transverse section

page_text: of them; Figure 4 is an end view of one of the straining nuts, to be
herein-after described.
The nature of the said Invention consists in an arrangement of the
ends of the felloe, viz., so as to be supported by the ends of male con-
tracting screws, or by plate of metal separate from the nuts of such
screws, and placed between the two and sustained by such screws.
Also in the formation of the halves of the nuts with recesses in their
inner sides, such being as herein-after explained.
Also in making the tire with its inner surface concavo transversely
to fit to a corresponding convexity of the felloc.
Also in the formation of the block which is arranged between the ends.
of the tire with a recess on its lower side in combination with the
formation of the nuts with counterparts to enter such recess.
Also in the combination of braces with the tire, the nuts, and the
right and left hand screws thereof, the whole being substantially as
herein-after explained and as represented in the Drawings.
Also in the combination of a holding bolt with the wheel and the tire
contracting mechanism.
In such Drawings A, A, denotes the tire, and B, B, the felloc of a
wheel. C is a round head or cylinder, perforated radially with a series
of holes a, a, a, and having two male screws b, b, projecting in opposite
directions from it. One of these screws is what is termed a "right"
and the other a "left" threaded screw; they enter nuts D, D, fastened
to the felloe at its two ends. A block of metal E is placed in the space
between the two extremities of the tire; this block previous to any
contraction of the tire to make it fit closely to the felloe is to be filed
away in order to enable such contraction to take place. A screw bolt c
gocs down through such block and the head C, and also through a
metalic shoe F, which is formed and arranged on the felloe and with
respect to the tire as represented in the Drawings. A nut d is screwed a
on the said bolt and against the shoe, and serves with the bolt to aid
in keeping the shoc in place on the felloe. Other screw bolts c, c, go
down through the tire and mortises in the felloc, and also through
slots,, made in the shoe, after which they receive nuts f, f, upon
them, and serve with such nuts to aid in fixing the shoe to the felloe as
well as to confine the tire to the latter. The tire is connected with the
two nuts D, D, by means of two round.projections g', g', from the latter; .

page_text: these projections go through the tire and are upset thercon. There is an
arm or brace h extended from each nut and serving as a support to the
tire. The lower side of this brace is recessed in manner as shown at i, such
recess being to receive the felloe and prevent the tire from moving
laterally with reference to the felloe; the recess also enables the screw
to be brought closer up to the tire than it otherwise could be. Between
.each end of the felloe and the end of the male screw, and next adjacent
to such end of the felloc, I place one or more thin plates k of metal, the
same being to fill the space between the screw and the said end of the
felloc. In case the felloe should become too much expanded at any
time the said plate or plates may be removed to ease it. From the
above it will be seen that the two ends of the felloe practically abut
against the ends of the right and left screws or against two of the
plates supported by such screws; thus the screws serve to prevent
any movement of the two ends of the felloes toward each other while
such screws are being revolved for the purpose of contracting the tire
upon the felloe. The shoe covers the contractile mechanism, and aids in
keeping it in its due relation or position with respect to the felloe. The
tire I construct with its inner surface concave transversely, as shown
at m, to fit the felloe, made correspondingly convex, as shown at n,
(see Figure 8, which is a transverse section of the felloe and its tire.)
This construction of the tire and felloe operates to prevent lateral dis-
placement of the two while the wheel may be in use. The tire is not a
whole hoop or continuous circle. The same may be said with respect to
the felloc. By removing the bolt from the head of the contractive
screws and revolving such head in the right direction we can contract
the tire. It is well known that a carriage wheel tire while in use is liable
to become stretched or expanded, in which case to cause it to fit to the
circumference of the felloe it has to be removed therefrom and cut apart
and contracted, and welded together and reset upon the wheel. The
contractile mechanism above mentioned suffices to effect the proper
reduction of the tire without requiring its removal from the felloe, and
besides this the male screws. (and their head) of such contractile
mechanism are in continuation of and serve to form part, as it were,
of the felloe; or, in other words, to give support to it at its extremity in
manner as herein-before explained. I form the under side of the
block E with a three-sided recess (see Figures 5 and 6), one of which
is an end view and the other a bottom view of the block E. The two
nuts where the block rests on them are correspondingly shaped in

page_text: reverse, the same being shown in section in Figure 7; this while the
wheel is in use prevents the block from lateral movement tending to
strain or bend the lips of the shoc.
What I claim as my present Invention or improvements. is as
follows:-
I claim the arrangement of the ends of the felloc, substantially as
above described, viz., so as to be supported by the ends of the male
contracting screws, or by plates of metal separate from the nuts, and
placed between the two and sustained by such screws.
I also claim the formation of the braces h of the nuts with recesses i, i,
in their inner side, such being as and for the purpose set forth.
I also claim the tire, as made with its inner surface concave trans-
versely to fit to a corresponding convexity of the felloc, as set forth.
I also claim the formation of the block E with its peculiar recess ?,
or its equivalent, in combination with the formation of the nuts, with
counterparts to enter such recess, as set forth.
I also claim the combination of the braces h, h, with the tire A, the
nuts D, D, and the right and left screw thereof, arranged substantially
in manner and so as to operate as set forth.
I also claim the combination of the bolt c with the wheel and its tire
contracting mechanism, the purpose of such bolt being not only to hold the
plate E in place, but to prevent the screws from being revolved while
the bolt is in place, and by blows or other forces while the wheel may be
in use.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this-
dan of Santambar in the son of our Land One thousand
WALTER KITTREDGE FOSTER. (L.S.)