Improvements in Rims or Fellies for Wheels of Vehicles.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Dec., 1894-Accepted, 12th Jan., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Rims or Fellies for Wheels of Vehicles.
I, WILLIAM WALTER STALL, of No. 509 Tormont Street, Boston, in the
County of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, United States of America,
Manufacturer, 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:-
This invention relates to the manufacture of rims or fellies for vehicle wheels and
more particularly to that class of rims or fellies made up or composed of a number
of superposed layers or plies of wood.
Heretofore in constructing rims or fellies of this class the successive layers or
plies of wood have been of substantially equal thickness throughout, and as the
outer layer or ply is subjected to greater strain in use it has been found that said
outer layer is apt to split or crack at the edges and particularly so in rims having a
peripheral groove in which to seat a tire, as said groove has been cut through the
outer ply or layer of wood, so that in handling the edges of the rim formed by the
said outer ply are liable to split off and render the rim useless.
The principal object of my invention is to avoid the objections here noted. To
this end the invention consists in the matters to be hereafter described in detail
and then pointed out in the claims at the close of this Specification.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 is a perspective view of that end or part of a blank, designed to form
the outer grooved layer or ply of a rim, the outline of the tire groove being shown in
dotted lines.
Figure 2 is a side elevation of an outer layer or ply, the bottom of the tire groove
being indicated by dotted lines.
Figure 3 illustrates in side elevation a rim embodying the blank illustrated in
Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Figure 2.
. Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Figure 3.
Figure 6 and 7 are side elevations of wheel rims, illustrating different manners of
building up a rim.
Figure 8 is a plan view of one end of a blank section.
As before stated, in wheel rims heretofore constructed of plies or ribbons of wood
coiled one upon the other, the successive coils have been of substantially the same
thickness throughout the rim and it has been found in the construction for bicycle
and sulky wheels, to which use such composite rims are well adapted, that in
forming the peripheral groove in the outer ply or layer of the rim for the reception
of the tire, the said groove will be cut entirely through, , one or more of the outer.
layers or plies of wood, so that in handling the rim, as in finishing, or placing the
tire, or in use, a slight blow or pressure upon the side of the said outer layer or
layers which has been cut through, is liable to split off, and render the rim
useless.
This objection may be overcome by using an outer ply or layer of a thickness
greater than the depth of the tire groove, so that it will be supported throughout
the entire width of the rim by the next adjacent inner ply or layer, and I contem-
plate in some instances, building up the rim from a blank A, continuous or
sectional, having a greater thickness at that end which is to form the outer layer

page_text: or ply of the rim, so that the peripheral groove B formed therein for the reception
of a tire, will extend but partly through the said outer layer or ply, the said ply
being thus supported throughout its entire width by the next succeeding inner
layer or ply. The particular form of blank may be varied, of course, to some
extent, as it will be evident that a continuous blank may be used, one end of which
is of greater thickness than the rest of the blank as illustrated in Figure 6 of the
drawings, or for convenience of manufacturer and handling, the said blank may be
in sections or lengths as in Figures 3 and 7, one of which, namely, the length which
is to form the outermost layer of the rim is of such thickness as to permit of the
formation of the necessary tire groove B therein without cutting entirely through
the wood.
In forming these rims the blank A (whether of the continuous or sectional form)
is coiled within a mold or form, the successive layer or plies being cemented as the
work progresses, in a manner well known.
I prefer to build up a rim from without inward, for the reason that the spring of
the wood used in the construction of these rims, maintains each ply or layer in close
contact with the next larger one, during the building up of the rim, thus facilitating
the setting of the glue or cement and for the further reason that each rim will have a
diameter corresponding exactly with that of all the other rims made in the same
mold or form. In forming a rim from a sectional blank, the thinner sections a³, a³,
a, a are preferably arranged to break joints, as shown; and may be coiled in a
continuous manner, as in Figure 7 or each section may form a complete ply in itself
as in Figure 3.
When coiled continuously each section, should be of such length that its ends will
overlap to a greater or less extent, the outer end of the second section a¹ abutting
against the inner end of the outer section a, and so on; and the said ends of the
respective sections may be chamfered in the direction of their thickness to lap each
other thus providing a lap or splice joint, which may be cemented or not according
to the views of the manufacturer. It will be also apparent that the respective
sections a, a', a², a³, a' may be of progressively decreasing thickness so that the
rim made from such sectional blanks would be practically the same in appearance
as one formed of a single blank having a gradual taper from its thicker to its
thinner end; or the outer ply a, may be of the requisite thickness to contain the
groove, and the thickness of the respective inner sections or plies may be equal or
varied to suit the views of manufacturers, or to produce desired effects in appearance,
the essential feature of this part of my invention being the employment of an outer
section, layer or ply of sufficient thickness to contain the tire groove B. In using
a sectional blank 1 prefer to cut the ends of the sections diagonally as in Figure 8,
and to make a butt joint of such diagonally cut ends, as hereby derive all the
advantages of a splice joint at only such expenditure of time and labour as is
required to make a butt joint.
The groove B in the thicker end, or section of the blank, constituting the outer
ply of the rim, may be formed therein on a molding or other suitable machine, on
which the before said blank has been coiled or subsequent to the said coiling,
though I prefer, in otherwise shaping the rim, that is, in providing the usual
couvexity at the inner side, to give elegance of finish, to dress said rim after the
layers or plies have been properly coiled and cemented together to make a
composite whole.
One advantage derived from the employment of a sectional blank, aside from the
greater facility for handling is that the adjacent sections of the blank may be
selected from stock having the grain running in different ways, so that the grain of
adjacent layers or plies of the rim will not lie parallel, thus lessening the liability
of the rim to split..
While I prefer to build up these rims from the outer layer or ply inward for the
reasous herein before stated it will be evident to those skilled in the art that they
may be built up in the reverse order upon a mandrel as is usual..
.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The method of making coiled ply wheel rims, which consists in coiling the
plies successively, one within another within a mold or form and cementing them to
each other, whereby the resilience of each successive plies is utilized to clamp the
preceding plies substantially as described.
2. An outer section of composite or multiple wheel rims consisting of a strip or
ribbon of wood coiled to form a continuous ring or hoop and provided with a
peripheral groove to receive a tire substantially as described.
3. A rim for wheels comprising a plurality of layers or plies of wood cemented
together, the outermost one of which is of greater thickness than the other layers
or plies substantially as described.
4. A rim for wheels comprising a plurality of layers or plies of wood cemented
together, the outermost layer or ply being provided with a tire groove extending
but partly through its thickness substantially as described.
5. A rim for wheels comprised of a plurality of layers or plies of wood cemented
together, the outer-most layer or ply being of greater thickness than the inner one
and being provided with a tire groove extending but partly through its thickness,
substantially as described.
6. A rim for wheels comprised of two or more blank sections or lengths coiled one
upon another to form a plurality of layers or plies, the outer-most layer or ply
being of greater thickness than the other layers or plies, substantially as
described.
7. A rim for wheels consisting of two or more blank sections or lengths of
different thickness coiled one upon another to form a plurality of layers or plies,
the outermost layer or ply being provided with a tire groove extending but partly
through its thickness substantially as described.
Dated this 8th day of December 1804
WILLIAM HENRY BARACLOUGH,
36, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agent for the Applicant.