CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON WHEELS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Adrien Georges Amant Martin, Engineer, and
Casimir Lefol, of Paris, Empire of France, and of 16, Castle Street,
Holborn (City), London, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON WHEELS."
Sealed the 31st October 1854, and dated the 5th May 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Adrien Georges Aman
Martin and Casimir Lefol at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 5th May 1854.
We, (ADRIEN GEORGES AMANT MARTIN, Engineer, and (CASIMIR) LEFOL, of
Paris, Empire of France, and of 16, Castle Street, Holborn (City), London,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON WHEELS" to be as follows:-
=
Our improvements consist in making iron wheels, especially for railways, of
one single piece, by compressing the welding hot bloom or plate of iron required
for the wheel between two dies or swages, which, when put together at the
proper distance, leave an empty space having the form of the wheel. One of
the dies may be on the face of the anvil, or it may be in a piece distinct from
the latter, and fixed on it by any of the means now in use. In case the wheel
is formed by percussion, the other die may be either formed or fixed on the
hammer itself or separated from it. Both dies have apertures or vents for the

page_text: escape of air during the stamping process. The stamping process may be
carried on either by any known means of percussion, such as a steam hammer,
or else the impression, of the dies may be given by pressure, and for this
purpose the dies are made to pass between two rollers; they may also be
acted upon by a system of levers or by a hydraulic press. Either of the modes
indicated may be used singly or jointly, the main object of our improvements
being to form wheels out of a single piece or plate of iron by means of two
dies acted upon or forced together by any suitable means.
SPECIFICATION -in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Adrien Georges Amant Martin and Casimir Lefol in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st November 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ADRIEN
GEORGES AMANT MARTIN, Engineer, and CASIMIR LEFOL,. of Paris, in the
Empire of France, and of 16, Castle Street, Holborn, City, London, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said Adrien Georges Amant Martin and Casimir Lefol, Her special licence
that we, the said. Adrien Georges Amant Martin & Casimir Lefol, our
exécutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Adrien
Georges Amant Martin and Casimir Lefol, our 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 King
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man,
an Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON
WHEELS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Adrien
Georges Amant Martin and Casimir Lefol, by an instrument in writing
under our hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature.
of the said Invention; and in what manner the same was to be performed,
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.
3

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Adrien Georges Amant Martin and
Casimir Lefol, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:―
The
Our improvements consist in making wrought-iron wheels, especially for
railways, of one single piece, such wheels having hitherto been made in different
parts which were united afterwards. The way in which we carry these
improvements into effect is by compressing the welding hot bloom or plate of
iron required for the wheel between two dies or swages, which, when put
together at the proper distance, leave an empty space having the form of the
wheel. One of the dies or swages may be on the face of the anvil, or it may
be in a piece distinct from the latter, and fixed on it by any of the means
now in use. In case the wheel is formed by percussion, the other die may be
either formed or fixed on the hammer itself. Both dies have apertures or
vents for the escape of air or gases during the stamping process.
stamping process may be carried on either by any known means of percussion,
or else the impression may be given by means of pressure, and for this purpose
the dies are made to pass between two rollers. Sheet No. 1 of the annexed
.Drawings is intended to represent a modification of this latter plan, being a
vertical section of a conical rolling apparatus through the middle of the framing.
The driving shaft a gives motion to the two shafts b, b', by means of bevil
wheels; these two shafts drive in the same way two shafts c, c', with conical rolls
d, d'. The shaft c turns in fixed bearings and the shaft c¹ in moveable steps,.
so that the cones d, d', may be adjusted by being brought nearer to or farther
from each other. The distance between the cones is regulated by means of
the right and left hand screws e, e¹, having each a wheel f, or f¹ keyed on.it;
these wheels f, f, gear into each other. On the screw e¹ runs a loose pinior g.
which remains in constant gear with a wheel h at the end of the shaft b'
there is also a coupling box i, which can be moved by means of a lever j, and
allows the wheel' f to be thrown into gear, and hence to drive when required
both the two screws e, c', the shaft c', and cone d'; a wheel k, whose external,
circumference acts also as a roller by turning in contact with the cones d or
d, d, and of the wheel to be forged. This wheel or tyre roller runs in the.
framing m, which is cast in one piece, and carries the whole rolling apparatus.}
The shaft of this wheel k may also have a pinion n secured to it, which receives,
its motion from the' driving shaft, as well as the shaft a. In order to use this,
rolling apparatus as soon as the iron bloom or ball is sufficiently heated in a
furnace, it is put betwixt the cones d, d, and the wheel k; the cones are,
brought nearer to or further, from each other as the work proceeds, and the

page_text: wheel is thus prepared or roughened out to the necessary degree in its relative
form and dimension, so that after having been heated again, it may be taken to
be finished under the steam hammer, represented on the second Sheet of
Drawings annexed. The rolling apparatus acts in the following way:-The
driving shaft a may be driven by a steam engine or any other suitable moving
power capable of being reversed. It will be seen by inspection of the Figure
that the shaft drives by bevel gearing b, 6, the conical rolls d, d', whose axes
may have any suitable inclination to each other, and roll out the wheel blank r,
which is represented on the Drawing as having passed through the entire
rolling process. The screws e, e¹, being in gear with each other by the wheels
ff, turn in opposite directions, but to cause them to act both in the same
direction I give to the screw e a right-hand thread, and to the screw e¹,
a left-hand thread. The extremities of these screws are held fast longitudinally
in the steps which embrace the shaft c', so that by the turning of the screws e, e,
the steps of the shaft c¹ may be simultaneously slided up or down; also the
bevel pinion p, being keyed loose on the shaft by the key a, may slide up
and down the shaft whilst rotating. The bloom having been inserted between
the rolls d, d, placed at a suitable distance, will be turned round by the
rotation of the same; the pinion h will transmit its motion to the wheel g,
which is moveable on the head of the screw e¹, but may be made fast by
means of the coupling box i; hence, if, as shewn on the Drawing, the wheel
g drives the screw e¹ and the gear f, f¹, the screws descend, and hence bring
the shaft c, c', nearer to each other, and the iron bloom is thus suitably com-
pressed and brought into shape whilst rotating. When the wheel has been.
reduced to the required guage, the pinion i is thrown out of gear, so as to
stop the wheels f, f', and then the conical rollers may be left to turn without
being forced up further, so as finally to impart a polish to the wheel.
The wheel having been thus worked, in order to take it from betwixt the
rollers the engine is reversed, so as to cause the screws to turn opposite ways,
and so seperate the rollers; the wheel is then taken to the hammer, herein-
after described, to be worked out. With reference to the rolling apparatus here'
described, we wish it also to be understood, that although-we-havo-only-shewn
one wheel k, we do not limit ourselves to this precise mode of action, but some-
times use several other wheels, situated in the same plane and tangent to the
one shewn, so as to keep the wheel 7 steady whilst being acted upon. The
wheel, before being operated upon by the rollers, may also be bored out at the
centre, so as to be shipped on the mandril z, the mandril holder ¹ being move-
able in a slot, so as to be capable of adjustment.
Sheet No. 2 or he annexed Drawings represents the finishing apparatus,.

page_text: viz., a powerful steam hammer, of which Fig. 1 is a front view; Fig. 2, a side
view; and Fig. 3, a vertical section. In this hammer the dies or swages a for
giving the form of the wheel are fixed on the hammer b, and to the anvil stock
or base c; but the proper shape might at once be given to the hammer and anvil
faces; besides, this hammer may be arranged as is most suitable for the kind
of work to be done, and thus by giving to the hammer sufficient weight, very
strong wrought-iron wheels may be hammered out of one solid piece. The
steam hammer, instead of being caused to strike the whole surface of the
wheel blank at once, may also hammer the different portions of the wheel
separately, which is for that purpose being turned round during the operation.
It may also be useful to observe, that the wheels thus manufactured, having
been worn out by long use, their circumference may be turned, and a fresh
tyre applied to it by any of the means now in use, or else the wheels may be
forged anew entirely, or on the tyre only.
In witness whereof, we, the said Adrien Georges Amant Martin and
Casimir Lefol, have hereunto set our hand and seal, this Twentieth day
of October, in the year of our Lord 1854.
(L.S.) AD. MARTIN.
C. LEFOL.
(L.S.)