IMPROVEMENTS IN BICYCLE AND OTHER WHEELS
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Enoch Sarjeant at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 29th December 1883.
ENOCH SARJEANT of Birmingham in the County of Warwick Manufacturer
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BICYCLE AND OTHER WHEELS".
My Invention has reference principally, to the wheels of Bicycles and other
Velocipedes, but are equally applicable to the wheels of other Vehicles. And my
improvements refer to that part or parts of the wheel called the hub or nave, and
consists in affixing the spokes or radii of the said Wheels within the hub or nave
in a more efficient manner than heretofore; and further, in imparting the radii or
spokes which connect the hub to the tyre, the necessary amount of tension for the
proper running of the wheel, by giving an outward degree of displacement to the
hubs constituting the centre of the wheel as hereinafter described.
I will describe my Invention as applied to what is commonly known as a Spider
wheel, and as the two hubs constituting the centre of the wheel, are of like
construction, I will only describe one of them. The hub or nave is made in two
parts or halves that is to say; the hub is divided laterally or crosswise, and on the
halves coming together, they constitute a complete hub. The one balf hub is fixed
in its proper position on the spindle or axis of the wheel, while the other half hub
is loose and slides on the said spindle. The fixed half hub has a screwed boss or
neck on the middle of the face, which takes into a corresponding screwed hole in
the loose half hub. The fixed half hub has also upon its face equidistant radial
grooves or recesses with an annular groove at their bottoms, into which wires with
corresponding hooked ends take into, and engage-The spokes or wires having
been placed in the radial recesses in the face of the fixed half hub with their
hooked ends lying in the annular recess at right angles thereto. The loose half
hub is then screwed home upon the central boss of the fixed half hub, until their
plane faces come nearly together, thereby clamping or binding, and effectually
securing the spokes or radii between the adjacent faces of the halves of the hub-
Or the loose half hub may be forced home by a screw nut, taking upon a screwed
part on the spindle.
By constructing hubs as before described the spokes or wires are held very firmly
n position, between the halves of the hub; so that the said spokes can be readily
eplaced at pleasure

page_text: My Invention consists further in imparting to the wire spokes of bicycles and
other wheels, the requisite amount of tension necessary for the stability and perfect
running of the said wheels.
The spindle connecting the two hubs forming the centre of the wheel, is divided
so that the spindle of one hub is separate from the spindle of the other hub, the
divided ends being wormed with right and left handed screws respectively, which
are connected together by a corresponding screw box, taking upon the screwed
ends, so that by rotating the screw box in one or other direction, the divided
spindles attached to the respective hubs are made to approach or recede from one
another, according to the amount of tension requisite to put upon the spokes of the
wheels.
Or a variable tension may be imparted as before described by rotating either
one or other of two screw boxes, respectively situated on both sides of a double
necked boss, each of the said screw boxes take upon the respective wormed ends of
the divided spindle; so that on rotating, one or other of the said screw boxes, the
spindles are moved, which expands or contracts the distance between the hubs as
the case may be.
Or instead of dividing the spindle as heretofore, the spindle is made in one piece,
and enlarged at its point of connection with the hub or hubs. The swelled part
has also a feather, which takes into a corresponding groove in the axis of the hub
or hubs, and by rotating a nut upon the screwed part of the spindle, the hub is
moved longitudinally on the feather to the extent necessary to give the requisite
amount of tension to the spokes, so that the hub moves, and the spindle is
stationary.
The spokes or radii of the wheel I prefer to make of the section of the letter U,
commonly called paragon, or they may be made elliptical or other section.