Dis adjusting Hubs for Cycles
Year: 1897

page_text: I ALEXANDER BASIL WILSON, af Holywood in the County of Down, Ireland,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
An improved construction of Ball bearings as used in what are known as Diso
adjusting Hubs for Cycles.
Whereas in Disc adjusting hubs as hitherto constructed a ball bearing is made
up of two essential parts.
First, a cone fixed or tight on a spindlo.
Second, a corresponding hollow cone fixed to a hub. Called hereinafter, tho
"hub cone
"between which two cones the Balls run.
And whereas it is necessary to have the distance between these coues adjustable
to compensate for wear in the balls and ball race; and for proper working that
they be of hardened steel which in process of hardening become frequently
distorted.
And whereas, it has hitherto been the practice to construct Hub Cones with
an external screw thread fitting into a corresponding internal screw in the Hub,
the Cone being revolved in the Hub, by a suitable spanner to bring it into position,
and after being so adjusted, secured by a lock-nut, set-pin, key or other similar
device.
And whereas, it is diflicult to make the screw of the hardened Cone absolutely
true with the ball-race, owing to the distortion above named.
And whereas, it is desirable that oil should be retained in the Ball-race, and
not lost by leakage between the screw thread of the Cone and the Hub, or past the
lock-nut.
And whereas, after cleaning or examining the ball-race the re-adjustment of the
Hub Cone in its original position is difficult, owing to its not screwing up against
a stop.
Now, in my invention I construct the Hub Cones in the usual manner, but
provide a stop against which they can be screwed, either by making a flange on
the Cone bearing against the end of the Hub, or by making the inner end of the
Cone bear against a projection in the interior of Hub; and for purposes of
adjustment, I place between the bearing surfaces which form the stop as before
mcutioned, a number of thin washers of metal, paper, or suitable material, against
which I firmly screw the Cone, adding to, or taking from, the number of washers,
until the correct adjustment is arrived at; so that after a bearing has been
originally accurately adjusted a correction required to compensate for wear can
be made by removing one or more of the washers.
The grip between the flange or stop, and the Hub being thus, so made, prevents
oil leakage, and the form of Hub Cone, is therefore such that after hardening,
both ball-race and stop-surface can be simultaneously ground true to each other.
Dated this 29th day of March 1897.

page_text: I, ALEXANDER BASIL WILSON, of Holywood in the County of Down, Ireland,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what mauner tho
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
An improved construction of Ball Bearings such as are used in what are known
as Disc Adjusting Hubs for Cycles.
This invention is also applicable to ball bearings fitted with Cone adjustments,
ns well as to all ball bearings which consist of the combination of two or more sets
of Balls working in two or more Ball races, where the bearing has to take a
lateral as well as a vertical strain, or the combination of such strains.
Whereas, Disc Adjusting Hubs, or other bearings as defined above consist of
two essential parts. A male cone fixed on a spindle and a corresponding female
Cone fixed to a revolving Hub, in case the spindle is stationary, or, a male Coue
fixed to a revolving spindle, with a female Cono fixed to a stationary bracket,
the Balls running between the male and female Cones.
And whereas, it is necessary to have the distance between the surfaces of these
Cones on which the Balls run, adjustable to compensate for wear in the Balls
and Cones.
And whereas, it is necessary that the aforesaid Cones be made of hardened
steel which in process of hardening become frequently distorted in form.,
And whereas, it has been hitherto the practice to construct one or other of
the Coues with external or internal screw threads engaging into corresponding
threads. on the spindle, the Fixings, or the Hub, so that the adjustment of
distance between the Cone faces may be done by screwing one of them more or
loss olose to the other, and it has hitherto been the practice to secure the adjust-
able Cone and lock it into position, after being set, by a lock-nut, or by a cotter
bearing on the thread of Cone, or by partly splitting the fixing into which the
Cones screw and tightening it up by supplementary bolts which close and reduce
the diameter of the screw thread into which the Cones fit.
And whereas, it is difficult to make the screw of a hardened Cone absolutely
true with the bearing surface on which the Balls run, owing to distortion in
hardening above named.
And whereas, it is desirable that oil should be retained in the cavity within
which the Balls run and not be lost by leakage round the screw thread of the
Conc past the lock-nut or key, or through the split as before described.
And whereas, after cleaning or examining a bearing, the re-adjustment of
the Cones relatively to each other is difficult, since the locking of the Cone in
position, either by nut, key, or split, as aforesaid changes the adjustment, and
tends to make not only a greater or less space between the Cone surfaces, but
strains the one surface untrue with tho other.
And since in the manufacture of the Cones while the bearing surfaces of the
Balls can be trued up after hardening by the common process of grinding, the
scrow thread cannot be so trued up.
Now in my invention I construct the Cones in the usual manner, but with a
supplementary surface in addition to that on which the Balls run, so arranged
that it can be trued up by grinding simultaneously, or at the same sitting in
the machine with the Ball surface, and I form such supplementary surface in
such a manner that thin Washers of metal, paper or other suitable material may
be inserted between it and a corresponding true surface in the Hub, Fixing, or
on the Spindle, to which the adjustable Cone is connected by screwing, and I

page_text: regulate the distance between the surfaces on which the Balls run by the number
and thickness of such Washers, the adjustment being determined and the Cone
locked or prevented from slacking back by being firmly screwed against such
Washers.
To compensate for wear and for adjustment generally one or more of such
Washers are removed or added, and they form when screwed up tightly a stor
for the oil leaking past the thread of screw.
In some cases a screw thread is not cut on the Cone which is held in position
on the Spindle by a Nut following it, in these cases Washers as aforesaid are
placed in my invention between the Cone and the Stop as shown in Figure 4,
in drawings herewith.
In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 shows my invention applied to Diso
Adjustment as used for the wheels of cycles.
Figure 2. To Disc Adjustment as used for crank shafts of cycles.
Figure 3. To Cone Adjustment as used for wheels and crank shafts of cycles.
Figure 4. To Cone Adjustment with following Nut.
In all the above Figures, A is a fixed Cone. B the Adjustable Cone. C the
surface of B on which the Balls D run. E the surface of Cone ground after
hardening true with surface C and which bears against Washers F. In Figure 2,
G is a distance piece for the Washers to bear on and to serve the additional
purpose of preventing dirt from the interior frame, getting into the bearing.
In Figure 4. II is the Nut by which Cone B is pressed against Collar M. The
corresponding collars are marked M in the other Figures. The supplementary
truo surface is in all Figures marked E. The true surface on which the Washers
bear is in all Figures marked M.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
First. The construction of Adjustable Cones as used in Ball Bearings, as
shown and described herein with a supplementary surface which can be ground
true to that surface on which the Balls run.
Second. Determining the position of such Adjustable Cones and the distance
between the Ball surfaces thereof by the insertion of Washiers as described and
shown herein, held tight between the aforesaid supplementary surface and a
corresponding true surface on the Hub or Fixing.
Third. The combination of a supplementary true surface on Adjustable Cones
with Washers as aforesaid.
Dated this 21st day of July 1807