John Weller (1877-1966), designer, manufacturer and inventor, of Weller Brothers and Auto Carriers
1877 November 28th. Born in Peckham the son of Harry Weller, a Bookseller's Clerk, and his wife Sarah Ann Miller
1899 Took out his first patent on mounting a motor in the centre of a motorcycle driving wheel.
1900-02 Partner Weller Brothers, general engineers[1]
1901 Living in Norwood, Harry Weller 55, manager of bookseller and newsagent, Sarah A Weller 48, Wm S Weller 25, Harry E Weller 24, John Weller 23, Lily Weller 22, Thomas Weller 20, Ernest Weller 19, Marguerite Weller 16, Harold A Weller 13, Septimus B Weller 9[2]
1902-07 Managing director and chief draughtsman of Weller Brothers, maker of motorcycle engines and the Hitchon-Weller car.
1907-21 Joint managing director and engineer of Auto Carriers Ltd
1911 Living at 57 Idmiston Road, West Norwood: Harry Weller (age 65 born Brighton), Retired Booksellers Clerk. With his wife Sarah Ann Weller (age 58 born Bermondsey) and their three children; John Weller (age 33 born Peckham), Motor Car Manufacturer - Employer; Lily Weller (age 32 born New Cross); and Septimus Beresford Weller (age 19 born West Norwood), Motor car Engineer - Worker. One boarder.[3]
1919 Patent on 4 wheeled motor vehicles with his brother Septimus
1921 Left Auto-Carriers
1922 Automobile engineer on his own account; living at Great Bookham, Surrey. By this time he had taken out c.25 patents, mostly concerned with motor vehicles or their components.
c.1926 Member of the Institution of Automobile Engineers
1926 Offered associate membership of Inst of Mechanical Engineers, which he questioned on basis of 25 years practical experience. The Council would not change its decision.
1926 Took out his first patent on tensioning devices, followed by more than 20 others in the same area.
"Many of Weller's inventions and patent applications relate to automatic tensioning and guiding devices of warp knuckles. Since the end of the 1920s, better and cheaper-to-produce drives of overhead camshafts for four-stroke engines were sought in automotive engineering. The so-called Weller drive is a constructive solution in which, using Weller's patents, a spur-gear drive is combined with a warp drive. This solution was taken up by AJS in 1927 to replace a king shaft drive from a motorcycle motor and in 1932 by Hermann Reeb with the newly designed engine of the Horex S 600."[4]
1927 Membership of I Mech E "voided" a few months later.
1928 Married in Guildford to Olive Nicholls
1940s Weller was still patenting including improvements in lawn mowers and vices
1966 August 31st. Died.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Application by John Weller to join I Mech E
- ↑ 1901 census
- ↑ 1911 Census
- ↑ Wikipedia Germany
- Mechanical Engineer Records