The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-01-30
CHEAPER WHEELS
FOR AUTOMOBILES
Newly-Perfected Invention VIII
Do Away with Costly Outer
Shoe of Rubber.
TREAD MADE OF WOOD
Principle Of Wheel Suspended
Within Wheel Gives Heavy
Car Easy Riding Qualities.

NEW YORK. January 4o.-W-hen an
automobile equipped with tires lacking
tho essential feature or tho tires now
IN common use-that s. a rheumatic
outer shoe % rubber-can nun FUN tit
over car tracks. cobblestoncs and holes
in asphalt pavement with as great ease
as the pneumatic tire. q looks 10 auto
hloDillsts as if "A revolution were az hand
ln the development of the motive vehi-
rle- And yesterday a Gve-ton sight
seeing car with the recently perfected
iron tire pneumatic wheel took "a marty,
over the toughest portions Of the city
streets with the joiting SO prevalent in
these cumbersome cars reduced to "a
minimum only sixty pound air pres
sure was used ia the tube.
y mty-horse power touring car.
equipped with the same principle wheel.
Vas also run at high speed over rough
portions % the roadway and to those
in the tonneau practically no difference
could be detected between the running
qualities az the new tire and the pneu-
matte. The bouncing effect, - notice
able with tho latter. was scarcely evil
dent, the car riding somewhat in the
manner OF one equipped with shock ali
sorbe-s
Wheel Within a Wheel
The principle OF the invention - that
81 wheel built within q wheel. with
pneumatic tube between them. two sets
81 short steel spokcs being employed To-
keep the two wheels In tie same vertical
plane. The inner wheel includes the
hub. which Is mounted on the axle %
the car. From tho hub rsdiate short
fat steel spOkes. the outer ends OF which
are boited 20 a steel rim whose inner
surface IS q convex cross sections. This
is the tread OF the inner wheel and
rests on the Suter circumference o. the
pneumatic tire The pneumatic tube is
attached 10 an inner steel rim. which Is
rigidiy connected with the outer rim OF
the wheel BY pairs ~ spokes arranged
o. form series Of trIsngles The re-
sult Of this Arrangement is that the
weight of the oar IS carried on top OF
the pneumatic tire. The tire IS thus
subjected 20 no wear from the road and
cannot puncture.
The first demonstration OF the wheel
was made In August. 1905. when
run was made from New York 20 STAN
ford on wheels cruaely made IN
blacksmith chop. The principle OF the
wheel created p furore among auto
mobile experts az that time. and IN tho
interim its inventor. John Chamber
rutherford. young mining engineer.
has worked incossanu yto make im-
provements in it's construction
The weight has been reduced suit
ably for all vehicles. and the resiliency
greatly increased. Each OF the newly
there are twenty-four in the wheel. has
"A tensile strength capable OF holding
at least eight thousand pounds.
ono OF the most remarkable features
IN the new wheel viii be the wood
tread This viii be made OF rock ma
pie, packed in steel nange. and Will
be only about one-third as heavy as
rubber Ii Will be noiseless. as woos IS
nom conductor OF sound. and. it is
claimed. Will Outwcar steel For rae
Ing purposes the csr equipped with this
style OF wheel would not be hampered
by skidding. ana even in case one Of
tile pneumatic tubes became Debated
the car could be run on the other three
for the outer circumference OF the
wheel would always remain the same
Great Speed Possible.
Great speed should Doe possible. too.
from this wheel. because there can he
no hattening 81 the outer circumfer-
ence. as IS the ease with pneumatic
tires. which become compressed by the
traction or the machine When the
car is in motion with tho iron tire
wheel the weight is suspended upon
the upper half Of the air cushion. The
shocks and jars ara distributed over
tNls upper half OF the tube, instead of
the few inches resting ora the ground.
as in the case OF tho ordinary wheels.
because OF the elimination Of the
costly ruhber-for the makers expect
70 do away with IL even ia the pneu-
matte tune-tAe cost of the wheels
win Doe from two ID three hundreds
dollars less for set than with the
present tires. Where the real wear and
tear viii come will be on the tread,
and this can be replaced for a few
dollars II further tests prove the
wheel 90 he perfectly successful. q Tee
markable vista of possibilities will be