Improvements in Elastic Tyres for Bicycles, Tricycles, and other Wheeled Vehicles.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Feb., 1891
Complete Specification Left, 5th Nov., 1891-Accepted, 5th Dec., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Elastic Tyres for Bicycles, Tricycles, and other
Wheeled Vehicles.
We WILLIAM GIFFARD of 23 New Bailey Street Salford in the County of
Lancaster Engineer and JOSEPH BRADLEY of 196 Chapel Street Salford aforesaid
Licentiate of the King and Queens College of Physicians (Ireland) do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our said invention relates to elastic tyres and is intended to apply particularly to
tyres for use in connection with bicycles and tricycles although it may be used in
connection with all descriptions of wheel tyres. According to our invention we
provide a tyre or ring made of sheet metal and preferably of tempered steel the cross
section of the said ring being of a semi-circular or C shape. The exterior of the
said ring is covered with vulcanised rubber or rubber and cloth or other suitable
material. the rubber being thickened at the tread or periphery of the tyre where it
comes in contact with the ground so as to assist in neutralising shocks. The inner
margins of the metallic C shaped ring or tyre are turned slightly downward and
inward so as not to tend to cut the rubber or other envelope. As the said rubber
or other envelope entirely surrounds the C tyre the interior of the tyre constitutes
an annular air chamber and the air in the said air chamber may either be at or
above atmospheric pressure. We thus obtain a tyre which is of the nature of the
now well known pneumatic tyre and possesses all of its advantages without its
corresponding disadvantages. For example the air in the annular air chamber
whether compressed or not constitutes a resilient cushion without any weight. The
elastic side walls of the metallic C tyre also form a spring, while from the material
and nature of the tyre it is very durable. When compressed air is used in the tyre
the metallic ring obviates all danger of puncture and collapse. The C section of
the metallic ring might be thickened just at the tread the side walls being left
sufficiently thin to have the necessary spring and elasticity. The tyre fashioned as
herein described can be attached to the wheel in any suitable manner. For example
the portion of the rubber or other envelope which bridges over the space between
the free ends of the C section, can be attached by cementing, rivetting or other
suitable means to the periphery of the wheel. When applied to existing rubber
tyred wheels, our improved tyre could be secured upon the existing rubber tyre
and to the rim of the wheel, the rubber tyre in such a case constituting another
interposed elastic cushion. We do not however confine ourselves to any specific
mode of securing the improved tyre to the wheel the gist of our invention being
rather in the tyre itself made as hereinbefore described. When used as a pneumatic
tyre containing compressed air, we might rig up a small automatic air pump worked
by the wheel or vehicle in course of running and so arranged and connected as to
maintain the pressure in the interior of the tyre.
T: 4th low of Wobru 1801
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James' Square, Manchester, Agents.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Elastic Tyres for Bicycles, Tricycles, and other
Wheeled Vehicles.
We, WILLIAM GIFFARD of 23 New Bailey Street, Salford, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, and JOSEPH BRADLEY of 196 Chapel Street, Salford, aforesaid
Licentiate of the King and Queen's College of Physicians (Ireland,) do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying drawings:
Our said invention relates to elastic tyres and is intended to apply particularly
to tyres for use in connection with bicycles and tricycles although it may be used
in connection with all descriptions of wheel tyres. According to our invention we
provide a tyre or ring made of sheet metal and preferably of tempered steel the
cross section of the said ring being of a semi-circular or "C" shape. The exterior
of the said ring is covered with vulcanised rubber or rubber and cloth or other
suitable material the rubber being thickened at the tread or periphery of the tyre
where it comes into contact with the ground so as to assist in neutralising shocks.
The inner margins of the metallic "C" shaped ring or tyre are turned slightly
downward and inward so as not to tend to cut the rubber or other envelope. As
the said rubber or other envelope entirely surrounds the "C" tyre the interior of
the tyre constitutes an annular air chamber and the air in the said air chamber may
either be at or above atmospheric pressure.
When used as a pneumatic tyre containing compressed air we might rig up a
small automatic air pump worked by the wheel or vehicle in course of running and
so arranged and connected as to maintain the pressure in the interior of the tyre.
To render our invention perfectly clear we will now proceed to describe the
same more particularly with reference to the annexed sheet of drawings.
Fig. 1 is a sectional view of an example of our improved elastic tyre.
Fig. 2 is a side view of a portion of the "C" ring.
The remaining figs. illustrate modifications in the formation of the tyre.
In carrying our invention into effect we make a "C" shaped ring a of thin sheet.
metal such as tempered steel or aluminium or other suitable metal. The formation of
this ring may be effected in various ways, for example the "C" section may be
drawn in a length to the section shown and afterwards bent or rolled into a ring
the joint being welded or rivetted or otherwise secured or the ring may be rolled to
the nearest possible approximation to the "C" section and afterwards cut or nicked
as shown in Fig. 2 the nicked edges overlapping each other and permitting the easy
formation of the turned over edges a! of the section. The ring so formed is placed
in the interior of a pneumatic rubber tyre or tube which completely invests and sur-
rounds the ring a the turned in edges al preventing the cutting of the rubber tyre b.
The periphery c of the bicycle wheel is formed in cross section of a curve corresponding
to the circumference of the tyre band fits upon it. The improved tyre may be
secured in any suitable manner to the periphery c by rivetting or cementing or by
laced or fastened flaps. The ring might either be formed in one piece as in
Fig. 1, or it might be made in two halves joined together as shown in Figs. 3 to 6
by brazing or rivetting.
Fig. 7 is a modified form of our improved tyre. In this instance the rubber
envelope a is thickened at the tread and the upper part stretches flat across the top
the periphery c of the wheel being correspondingly shaped so as to accomodate and
hold the flat portion of the tyre.
In Fig. 8 the position of the section a is reversed, the turned up round edges a¹
of the section resting upon the thickened tread. In this case the ring a might
itself constitute the periphery of the wheel the spokes being rivetted or otherwise
secured to or through the lap joint.
1

page_text: In Fig. 9 we show two "C" section rings reversed with relation to one another
one being placed upon the other as clearly apparent from the drawing. The mode
of mounting the periphery upon the wheel is similar to that shown in Fig. 7.
Fig. 10 is similar in construction to Fig. 8 as in this case also the inverted "C"
spring a constitutes the wheel periphery. But instead of passing the envelope b
entirely around the ring as in Fig. 8 the rubber tread is covered with a thin plate b
of tempered steel and the curved edges of the ring a rest thereon.
The rubber tread and plate bare secured to the ring a by side plates or rings
or patches . Fig. 11 shows a construction in which we place the "C" ring a
between two annular hollow rings of rubber be. In Fig. 12 an additional inverted
ring is inserted between the hollow rings be in addition to the first ring .
The manufacture and construction of the "C" shaped rings and their application
to and incorporation with the rubber tyres or treads may be greatly varied. Certain
of the forms shown, for example Figs. 9 and 10 although they have air spaces and
are therefore of the pneumatic type are not primarily intended to be filled with
compressed air although in some cases section Fig. 9 might be so filled and certain
of the other forms for example Figs. 7 and 8, might be used either with or without
compressed air while other forms such as Figs. 1, 11, and 12 are intended to be
filled with compressed air. When compressed air is used we may apply a pump to
the vehicle or wheel which can be worked in course of running. Figs. 13 and 14 on
Sheet 2 illustrate this pumping arrangement Fig. 13 being a side view of a pump
rigged up on a wheel and Fig. 14 a plan. The pump barrel is in communication
with the inflated tyre b and the air is pumped into the tyre by reciprocating the
pump plunger g which is connected to an excentrich which when the pump is
not working is loose on the shaft with the result that as the wheel revolves the
excentric travels round with the pump and does not work it But if it is desired
to work the pump we make the excentrich fast to a snug on the fork j by binding
it thereto with the screw k. The consequence is that when the wheel revolves the
plunger is reciprocated and pumps air into the tyre at the required times. Thus
the tyre can be re-intlated without stopping the machine to pump it up by hand as
at present. A. valve is fitted to the inflated tyre to prevent over pressure. We do
not bind ourselves to the exact arrangement of pumping parts so long as a pump is
used which is actuated from the vehicle or wheel.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is
1. In elastic and pneumatic tyres whether used with or without compressed air
the employment of "C" shaped rings placed in the interior of the rubber envelope
or interposed between two thicknesses of rubber envelope when such are used,
substantially as hereinbefore described and shown.
2. The various constructions and combinations comprising the improved types of
pneumatic tyres with linings or supports formed from "C" shaped metallic rings
substantially as described and as illustrated in the various annexed drawings.
3. In elastic pneumatic tyred wheels the employment of a pump automatically
worked by the motion of the vehicle or wheel and capable of being connected and
disconnected at the will of the rider.
Dated this 4th day of November 1891.
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James' Square, Manchester, Agents.