Smith’s Patent Model of a Split Rim Pulley, ca 1871
date: label: date made
content: 1871
notes: label: Description
content: This model was filed with the application to the U.S. Patent Office for Patent Number 111,582 issued to Scott A. Smith of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 7, 1871. The patent was for an improvement in pulleys of the type known as “half-pulleys.” Half-pulleys are constructed so that they can be separated into two pieces to facilitate installation and removal without disturbing other components on the shaft.
label: Description
content: Mr. Smith’s claimed improvement dealt with the method for breaking the two halves of the rim apart and then securing them after installation on the shaft. He called for the pulley casting to have notches in the inside of the rim and hub where the halves separate. The resulting thin spots in the metal would produce rough edges when the casting was broken apart, and these edges would interlock and thus help keep the rims from overlapping when bolted back together.
label: Description
content: The patent model is shown in the image. It is made of cast iron. All of the key elements of the patent are illustrated by the model. Diagrams showing the complete design can be found in the patent document online (www.USPTO.gov).
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Mechanical and Civil Engineering
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1990.0245.02
label: catalog number
content: 1990.0245.02
label: accession number
content: 1990.0245
label: patent number
content: 111582
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Pulley
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: iron (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overal: 1 1/4 in x 4 in; 3.175 cm x 10.16 cm
label: Measurements
content: bore: 5/8 in; x 1.5875 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: 1 1/4 in x 4 in; 3.175 cm x 10.16 cm