US715777A - Machine for rolling car-wheels. - Google Patents

Description

Paten'ted Dec. l6, I902.

H W FOWLER MACHINE FOB BOLUNG GAB WHEELS.

(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Shut I.

I Even-07- Pa tanted Dec. 16, m2.-

' H. W. FOWLER.

MACHINE FOR ROLLING CAR WHEELS. I A licmim filed July 3, 1902. (In Model) I 4 2 Shbets-$heet 2v V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERVEY FOWLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MACHINE FOR ROLLING CAR-WHEELS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 715,777, dated December 16, 1902.

Application filed July 3, 1902. Serial No. 114,201. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.

Beit known that I, HERVEY W. FOWLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines for Rolling Car-Wheels, of which the following is a specificationt In United States Letters Patent No. 394,565, granted to me December 18, 1888, Ishowand describe a machine for rolling car-wheels from cast-steel blanks, which have a hub in its desired or finished form, a web of the desired thickness in the finished wheel, and a rim which is thicker than is desired in the finished wheel and having a rudimentary flange, said machine operating to develop the rudimentary flange into perfect form and reduce the thickness of the rim for producing a caststeel wheel having the metal of the hub and web in its normal condition and the metal of the rim and flange condensed in radial and peripheral lines. The wheels produced by said machine are slightly larger in diameter than the blank'from which they are rolled and possess peripheral inaccuracies or variations which render it necessary to subject the wheel to the action of a truing-machina-such, for instance, as disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 351,430, granted to me October 26, 1886-the latter machine operating by rolling action to slightly reduce the diameterof the wheel by further condensing the metal of the rim and correcting such peripheral variations as may exist therein.

The main object of my present invention is the production of a machine capable of performing the rolling operation described in my aforesaid Letters Patent No. 394,565, as well as the truing operation described in my aforesaid Patent No. 351,430.

To this end my invention, broadly stated, consists in the combination of three or more positively-driven tread-working rolls having working faces corresponding to the tread and flange of a finished car-wheel, a pair of rimsupporting rolls for supporting the rim of a wheel at the two sides of its web against the thrusting action of one of said tread-working rolls, and means whereby the relative posi tion of the tread-working rolls and the rimsupporting rolls may be shifted for permitting the rim of a wheel-blank to be rolled between located between the standards A and A.

said rim-supporting rolls and one of said tread-working rolls and thereafter between all of said tread-working rolls away from the action of saidrim-supporting rolls.

After a detail description of a machine embodying my invention the features deemed novel will be specified in the claims hereunto annexed.

Referring to the drawings furnished and forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 illustrates in partial longitudinal vertical section a machine embodying my invention, a car-wheel being shown therein in the position it occupies during the initial rolling opera tion. Fig. 2 is a vertical lateral section of said machine; and Fig. 3 is a section on the line so as of Fig. 1, showing the driving-gears.

The main frame or housings may be of any form which will afford suitable bearings and supports for the several working parts of the machine. As shown in the drawings, said frame consists of uprights'or standards A, A, A A A and A The working rolls are The main tread-working roll B is supported by a yoke or carriage O, which moves in guides or ways a a in the uprights A and A, and attached to said carriage is a piston d, which works in a hydraulic cylinder D, the latter operating to move said carriage and apply the necessary pressure to the roll B, as' will be understood. The casting forming the cyl inder D also serves to unite the upper ends of the standards A and A, said casting being bolted to the standards, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and.2.

The roll B has a working face conforming at b with the tread of the desired car-wheel, and at b it has a groove which conforms to the flange desired in the finished wheels. At the ends of said working face there are annular vertical faces 19 b which confine or restrict the metal in the rim of the blank against lateral expansion. Said roll is provided with a shaft b mount-ed in suitable bearings in the arms 0 and o of the carriage C, said shaft being positively driven by means of flexible connections from gearing to be hereinafter referred to.

Mounted between the standards A and A at the base of the machine is a hydraulic cylinder E, having a piston e, to which is attached a carriage F, the latter being guided by and between the two standards and having its ends f and f projecting laterally therefrom, as best shown in Fig. 2. Mounted in the ends f and f of the carriage F are two tread-working rolls G and H, which correspond in size and shape to the roll B, before described, and said rolls are positively driven in a similar manner, as will be hereinafter described. The rim-supporting rolls I and J are mounted at an angle to each other and to the axis of the main tread-working roll B, the axis of each of said rim-supporting rolls being inclined downwardlyfrom their outer to their inner ends and presenting annular working faces t' and j directly beneath the roll B. Roll I is supported in inclined bearings i and 1 in the standards A and A and said roll is confined against longitudinal movement by the collars i i and f.

Roll J is supported at its inner end in an inclined bearingj and its outer end is mounted in a slidable bearing j", to which is attached a piston 70, which works in a hydraulic cylinder K, the latter operating to move said roll longitudinally for permitting the insertion and removal of a wheel, as will be explained.

The inner end of the rim-supporting rollsl and J are each provided with a projecting annular working facet andj and a vertical annular face t'and j. The facesi andj in their sectional contour exactly conform to the contour of the under surface of the rim of a finished car-wheel, and a wheel-blank in position for the initial rolling operation is suspended vertically upon said projecting faces 11 andj, and the vertical faces i andj serve to properly restrict the rim of the blank or wheel against liability of lateral expansion. Because of the angular arrangement of said rolls the end faces 2' and i do not contact with the web to of the blank or wheel W, said web being thereby left in its original or unworked condition, and it is to be noted that the space between the two rolls, which is partially occupied by said web, is greater than the thickness of the web, so that said rolls will be entirely free from contact with the wheel or blank when the latter is raised, as hereinafter explained.

Roll I is positively driven from the main driving-shaft L, which is mounted in the standards A and A said roll being connected to said shaft by a well-known form of flexible coupling Z. On the shaft L, between the standards A and A is a gear Z which drives a gear 121, the latter meshing with and driving a gear on, which in turn drives two gears 77. and 0, mounted on shafts n and o. The rimworking rolls G and H are driven by the shafts n and 0', said rolls being connected to said shafts by flexible couplings p, as illus trated in Fig. 1. The gear Z on the main shaft also drives a gear g on a shaft q, the latter being coupled bya flexible coupling g for driving the main tread-working roll B.

Gear 1 on shaft q drives a gear 1', which in turn drives a gear 3 on a shaft 3, which has its bearings in the standards A, A and A On said shaft is a gear t, which meshes with a gear u on the roll J, said gear beingso mounted on the roll as to drive the latter and at the same time permit it to be moved longitudinally, a small roller 1) serving to hold the gear against the longitudinal movements of the shaft, as will be understood.

In the operation of the machine the rimsupporting roll J is drawn outwardly by means of the hydraulic cylinder K, and the carriage O, carrying the roll B, is raised and carriage F, carrying the rolls G and II, is lowered to permit of the insertion of a wheel or blank W, which is placed between the rolls, with its rim resting upon the facet of the roll I. The roll J is then pushed forward for supporting the wheel or blank, as illustrated in Fig. 1. Carriage F is then raised so that the rolls G and H may act as guides'for the revolving blank, and after the main tread-working roll B is lowered the machine is put in operation by revolving the main driving-shaft L. During such operation hydraulic pressure is applied to the roll B by means of the cylinder D for causing the rim of the Wheel or blank to be compressed between the roll B and the rimsupporting rolls I and J, this initial operation being the same as described in my aforesaid Letters Patent No. 394,565. After the completion of this initial rolling operation the carriages O and F are raised for lifting the Wheel away from the action of the rim-supporting rolls, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The operation of the machine is then continued while hydraulic pressure is being applied to all of the tread-working rolls by means of the cylinders D and E, the WheelW being then wholly supported by said treadworking rolls while the rim is being, rolled and trued, as described in my aforesaid Letters Patent No. 351,480. At the completion of this final rolling operation the finished wheel is removed and another blank inserted, as before described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a machine for rolling the rims of carwheels, the combination of three or more tread-working rolls having working faces corresponding to the tread and flange of a finished wheel, a pair of rim-supporting rolls for supporting the rim of a wheel at the two sides of its web against the thrusting action of one of said tread-working rolls, said rimsupporting rolls being so positioned as to prevent the web of the wheel from being rolled thereby, and means for changing the relative positions of the rim supporting and treadworking rolls without varying the working positions of the latter with respect to each other, whereby the rim of a wheel may be initially rolled between said rim-supporting rolls and one of the tread-working rolls and wheels, the combination of three or more posi-' tively driven tread working rolls having working faces corresponding to the tread and flange of a finished wheel, a pair of rim-su pporting rolls for supporting the rim of a wheel at the two sides of its web against the thrust-- ing action of one of said tread-working rolls, said rim-supporting rolls being so positioned as to prevent the web of a wheel from being rolled thereby, and means for moving all of the tread-working rolls in the same direction for changing their positions with respect to the rim-supporting rolls, whereby the rim of a wheel may be initially rolled between the rim-supporting rolls and one of said treadworking rolls and thereafter rolled between all of said tread-working rolls independently of and away from the action of said rim-supporting rolls, substantially as described.

3. Ina machine for rolling the rims of carwheels, the combination of a frame,a pair of sliding carriages mounted in said frame and movable toward and from each other, a main tread-Working roll carried by one of said carriages having a working face corresponding to the tread and flange of a finished car-wheel, two or more similar tread-working rolls carried by the other of said carriages, a pair of rim-supporting rolls mounted in said frame for supporting the rim of a wheel at the two sides of its web against the thrusting action of said main tread-working roll, said rim-supporting rolls being so positioned as to prevent the web of a wheel from being rolled thereby, and means for moving said carriages in the same direction for changing the positions of all of the tread-working rolls with respect to the rim-supporting rolls, whereby the rim of a wheel may be initially rolled between the rim-supporting rolls and the main tread-working roll, and thereafter rolled between all of said tread-working rolls independently of and away from the action of said rim-supporting rolls, substantially as described.

.4. In a machine for rolling the rims of car- Wheels, the combination of a frame, a pair of sliding carriages mounted in said frame and movable toward and from each other, a main tread-working roll carried by one of said carriages having a working face corresponding to the tread and flange of a finished wheel,

two or more similar tread-working rolls carried by the other of said carriages, a pair of rim-supporting rolls mounted in said frame for supporting the rim of a wheel at the two sides of its web against the thrusting action of said main tread-working roll, said rim-supporting rolls being so positioned as to prevent the web of a wheel from being rolled thereby, means for moving said carriages in the same direction for changing the positions of all of the tread-working rolls with respect to the rim-supporting rolls, whereby the rim of a wheel may be initially rolled between the rimsupporting rolls and the main tread-working roll, and thereafter rolled between all of the tread working rolls independently of and away from the action of thevrim-supporting rolls, and means for positively driving all of said rolls, substantially as described.

5. In a machine for rolling the rims of carwheels, the combination of three or more tread-working rolls having working faces corresponding to the tread and flange of a finished wheel, a pair of rim-supporting rolls for supporting the rim of a wheel at the two sides of its web against the thrusting action of one of said tread-working rolls, said rim-supportin g rolls being so positioned as to prevent the web of a'wheel from being rolled thereby, means for moving all of the tread-working rolls in the same direction for changing their positions with respect to the rim-supporting rolls, whereby the rim of a wheel may be initially rolled between the rim-supporting rolls and one of said tread-working rolls and thereafter rolled between all of said tread-workin g rolls independently of and away from the action of said rim-supporting rolls, and means for positively driving said rim -supporting rolls independently of the tread-working rolls, substantially as described.

6. In a machine for rolling the rims of carwheels, the combination of three or more tread-working rolls having working faces corresponding to the tread and flange of a finished wheel, a pair of rim-supporting rolls for supporting the rim of a wheel at the two sides of its web against the thrusting action of one ing rolls having their axes inclined downwardly toward their working ends and having end faces substantially at right angles to their axes, and means for moving all of the tread-working rolls in the same direction for changing their positions with respect to the rim-supporting rolls, whereby the rim of a wheel may be initially rolled between the rimsupporting rolls and one of said tread-workingrolls, and thereafter rolled between all of the tread-working rolls independently of and away from the action of the rim-supporting rolls without rolling the web of the wheel, subtantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HERVEY W. FOWLER.

Witnesses:

HOWELL BARTLE, CHAPMAN W. FOWLER.

of said tread-working rolls, said rim-support,

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