Improvements in Wheels for Bicycles and other Vehicles.
Year: 1893

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Wheels for Bicycles and other Vehicles.
I, HERBERT SUMNER OWEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at
Number 1328 Riggs Street, in the City of Washington, District of Columbia,
Manufacturer of Bicycles, 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 :-
My invention relates to wheels for bicycles and other vehicles having their tread
portion made up of an inflatable tire adapted to contain a filling fluid, as for instance,
air under pressure.
The object of the invention, in its generic aspect, is to provide against the
liability of the rupture of the tire by such an arrangement as will permit any
excessive local compression at the point of contact of the wheel with the ground,
due to surmounting obstructions in the road bed, to be instantly compensated for
or taken up by an expansion receptacle or chamber in direct and free communication
with the tread portion of the tire and which will immediately relieve the dangerous
strain thus imposed upon the tread. My invention, also permits the manufacture
of a highly efficient tire at small expense.
In the accompanying drawing,
Fig. 1 represents, in vertical section, one form of wheel embodying the generic
features of my invention;
Fig. 2 represents a vertical section of a modification thereof;
Fig. 3 represents a vertical section of a further modification;
Fig. 4 represents a side elevation of a portion of the same with the proximate
wheel plate removed;
Fig. 5 represents a partial section of a still further modification;
Fig. 6 represents a side elevation of a portion of said modification; and
Figs. 7, 8 and 9 represent partial sections of further modifications.
Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.
Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, a indicates the wheel axle, and c, d, the
sides of the wheel, which sides in this instance, are made up of disc walls of sheet
metal or other sheet material of a kind and thickness appropriate to the use to
which the wheel is to be applied and of substantially the diameter of the wheel.
The disc walls are adapted to be held apart in a fixed relationship to each other
by means for instance of a complete or broken flanged annular partition e rivetted
to one of the walls and secured to the other by screw bolts and nuts, as shown.
Or instead of said partition, through bolts e' may be employed, as indicated in
Fig. 2; or, if desired, the partition and through bolts may both be dispensed with,
as indicated in Fig. 3, wherein the spacing between the disc walls is preserved by
means of the flanged sleeve e². I prefer, however, even where the flanged sleeve e
is employed, to make use in addition thereto of either the partition e or the through
bolts e so as to further brace and strengthen the wheel.
A retaining washer b is brazed, shrunk, or otherwise secured upon the axle a,
and said axle is preferably screw-threaded at its opposite end for the reception of
the internally screw-threaded retaining nut or washer b'. This construction permits
the disc walls to be firmly fixed upon the axle, so as to rotate therewith. It is
evident, however, that in some instances, the disc walls may be mounted loosely
upon the axle a, as, for instance when the axle is fixed to the body or frame work
of a vehicle.

page_text: In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 1, there is firmly clamped between
the disc walls c, d, an inflatable circular receptacle whose inner wall g is sufficiently
firm to substantially maintain its position under the usual shocks of travel but
which is sufficiently elastic to expand and compensate for such excessive local
compressions as would have a tendency to rupture the tire. The outer or tread
portion of the tire extends beyond the wheel sides and is of less elasticity than
the wall g, so that the expansion will take place at said latter wall, ample free space
being provided for that purpose, as shown.
This difference in elasticity between the tread portion and the inner wall g, I
may obtain by thickening the tread portion of the inflatable receptacle, as indicated
in Fig. 1, and also in Figs. 2 and 9; or by covering the tread portion with a
wearing jacket as shown at in Fig. 7 and at 2 in Fig. 8.
The partition
e or its equivalent serves to limit the expansion of the inner wall g
so as to guard against bursting of the expansible receptacle, and the additional
large volume of compressed air afforded by the increased dimensions of the
receptacle in comparison with the dimensions of the usual pneumatic tire augments
the elastic qualities of the wheel and more effectually distributes its strains. As
shown in Fig. 2, the disc walls c', d', may converge somewhat toward each other at
their outer peripheries so as to exercise a more effective clamping action upon the
fluid-containing receptacle.
Annular edge flanges m are also preferably provided against which rest
corresponding shoulders n of the rim portion of the inflated receptacle. The
function of these flanges and shoulders is to insure that the rim portion of the inflated
receptacle shall not be forced in between the disc walls. Similar edge flanges m³
are provided for the disc walls c d in the form of wheel shown in Fig. 7,
co-operating with similar shoulders n¹ formed upon the flexible cover portion of
the tread. For a like purpose, in the form shown in Fig. 8, the disc walls c d are
provided with re-entering flanges n² constituting holding recesses or depressions
engaging with corresponding shoulders formed upon the covered receptacle, or
into which the operation of inflating the receptacle may force portions of the wall
thereof.
In Figs. 3 and 4, the same general construction shown in Fig. 2 is preserved
with the exception that the tread portion of the tire is formed of an independent
pneumatic tire connected by rubber tubes n from point to point with the expansion
chamber m³, which, in this case, is elastic or yielding at either its outer periphery,
or its inner periphery, or both.
In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, the wheel felly p is
supported from the hub by the usual spokes r, and, from point to point about the
inner periphery of the pneumatic tube s and supported within the felly, are arranged
expansion bulbs or chambers communicating freely with the interior of the
pneumatic tube, as shown.
In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 9, ¹ indicates a wheel felly having
the edge flanges & adapted to engage with aunular channels either formed
permanently in the inflatable tire or formed by the operation of inflating the tire.
The thickened tread is in this case also of less elasticity than the inner wall of
the tire and the space between the felly and tire provides room for the expansion of
said inner wall, the normal condition of the tire being as indicated in the figures.
It is characteristic of all of the forms or modifications of the invention that the
part constituting the expansion chamber is in direct communication with the tread
portion of the tire and about the inner periphery of the tread, so that the
expansion chamber serves to at once take up and compensate for such sudden local
compressions of the fluid in the tread portion as would tend to rupture the tire.
So far as I am aware the provision of an expansion chamber for this purpose and
in this general relationship below the rim or rim line is new with me and I desire
to be understood as claiming it broadly, in addition to the specific constructions
set forth for carrying it into effect.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A wheel for bicycles and other vehicles provided with a fluid containing tire
having a flexible fluid-containing chamber or compartment communicating therewith
or forming part thereof, said chamber or compartment being unconfined at some
portion of its circumferential periphery so as to serve as an expansion or relief
chamber to the tire; substantially as described.
2. A wheel for bicycles and other vehicles provided with a fluid containing tire
having a flexible fluid-containing chamber or compartment communicating therewith
or forming part thereof, said chamber or compartment being unconfined at some
portion of its circumferential periphery so as to serve as an expansion or relief
chamber to the tire and means for limiting the amount of said expansion; sub-
stantially as described.
3. A wheel for bicycles and other vehicles consisting of walls or sides of
substantially the diameter of the wheel, the said walls inclining toward each other
at their peripheries and containing between them a flexible fluid containing
receptacle occupying a portion only of the space between the center of the wheel
and its periphery, and a flexible fluid-containing tire communicating with said
receptacle; substantially as described.
4. A wheel for bicycles and other vehicles consisting of walls or sides of substan-
tially the diameter of the wheel, the said walls containing between them a flexible
fluid containing receptacle occupying only a portion of the space between the
center of the wheel and its periphery, and a flexible fluid-containing tire com-
municating with said receptacle; substantially as described.
5. A wheel for bicycles and other vehicles consisting of walls or sides of
substantially the diameter of the wheel the said walls having peripheral flanges
and containing between them a flexible fluid containing receptacle projecting
beyond the periphery of the walls to form a tire, said receptacle being provided
with shoulders co-operating with said flanges, and an expansion space being left
between the inner wall of the said receptacle and the center of the wheel; sub-
stantially as described.
6. A wheel for bicycles and other vehicles consisting of walls or sides of
substantially the diameter of the wheel the said walls containing between them a
flexible fluid containing receptacle projecting beyond the periphery of the walls to
form a tire, an expansion space being left between the inner wall of the said
receptacle and the center of the wheel; substantially as described.
7. A wheel for bicycles and other vehicles consisting of disc walls or sides of
substantially the diameter of the wheel, the said walls containing between them a
circular flexible fluid-containing receptacle projecting beyond the periphery of the
disc walls to form a tire, an expansion space being left between the inner wall of
the said receptacle and the center of the wheel; substantially as described.
8. A wheel for bicycles and other vehicles provided with a fluid containing tire
having an elastic inner periphery and a thickened tread, a space being provided for
the expansion of said inner peripherý beyond its normal limit; substantially as
described.
9. A wheel for bicycles and other vehicles provided with a fluid containing tire
having an elastic inner periphery and a tread portion, a space being provided for
the expansion of said inner periphery beyond its normal limit and means for
preventing the tread portion of the tire from being forced out of place; substan-
tially as described.
10. A wheel for bicycles and other vehicles provided with a fluid containing tire
having an elastic inner periphery and a tread portion, a space being provided for
the expansion of said inner periphery beyond its normal limit and opposing
shoulders or flanges upon the tire and wheel preventing the tread portion of the
tire from being forced out of place; substantially as described.

page_text: 11. A wheel for bicycles and other vehicles provided with a fluid containing tire
having an elastic inner periphery and a tread portion, a space being provided for
the expansion of said inner periphery beyond its normal limit and interlocking
shoulders or flanges upon the tire and wheel preventing the tread portion of the
tire from being forced out of place; substantially as described.
Dated this 23rd day of May 1893.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.