Improvements in Elastic Tyres for the Wheels of Vehicles.
Year: 1899

page_text: Improvements in Elastic Tyres for the Wheels of Vehicles.
I, FRANK WILBUR KINNEY, of No. 477, Wabash Avenue, Chicago, Illinois,
United States of America, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention has relation more particularly to the improvement of that class
of rubber tires commonly known as solid" tires, that are used upon the wheels of
carriages or like vehicles. In the construction of this class of tires the body of the
tire proper, which is composed of rubber, has usually embedded therein one or more
wires that serve to hold the rubber of the tire under the longitudinal compression
that is given to it before it is placed in position upon the wheel. Inasmuch as the
wires resist the return of the compressed mass of rubber to its normal condition,
there is a tendency of the tires under the movement of the rubber incident to the
jars and strains of usage to chafe and wear through the body of the tire, and as a
considerable part of the lateral strains suddenly or severely thrown upon the tire
are transmitted to the wire bands there is a further danger of the wires working
out of their normal position by wearing away the adjacent part of the rubber. It
has been heretofore attempted to overcome this objection to the use of wires by
substituting therefor a flat steel tape or band; but this has not given entire
satisfaction, as the edges of the tape tend to chafe and wear in lateral direction
through the rubber of the tire.
The object of the present invention is to provide the rubber tire with a retaining-
ring that shall be more durable and effective than the wires or the flat steel tape
heretofore used, the contour of the ring being such that all danger of its chafing
or cutting the rubber or shifting its position therein will be avoided.
The invention consists in the novel construction of tire hereinafter described,
illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the
claim at the end of this specification.
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rubber tire embodying the invention,
the tire being shown in position upon the felly of the wheel. Fig. 2 is a view
in vertical cross-section through the tire and its retaining-ring. Fig. 3 is a detail
perspective view of a portion of the metal ring.
The body A of the tire will be composed of rubber molded with a chamber that
extends throughout its length, this chamber being closed except at its ends,

page_text: where it is left open for the passage therethrough of the retaining-ring D. In
practice the rubber body A will be so molded that the walls of its interior chamber
will conform to the outline of the ring. The rubber body is seated within the
metal rim B, of channel steel or iron, that will be fixed upon the rim or felly C of
the wheel in the usual manner. The retaining-ring D, that is embedded in the
rubber body A, is of the peculiar shape shown in the drawings-that is to say,
this retaining-ring consists of a central web d, having solid thickened edges d,
these thickened edges extending both above and below said web, so as to form
upon each side of the ring a channel to receive the compressed rubber of the
body, and thus hold the ring against displacement. The ring D is preferably
formed from steel, the desired contour being given thereto by suitable rolls or
dies. In practice the body A of the tire is molded with a core adapted to form the
closed chamber, corresponding substantially in outline to the contour of the
ring D, which ring will be inserted into the body A after the core has been with-
drawn. The rubber of the tire will then be compressed and the ends of the ring
will be welded or brazed together, preferably by the electric welding process.
Inasmuch as the ring D is provided upon both sides with the channels inter-
mediate its thickened edges, the compressed rubber of the tire is forced into these
channels, and thus effectively serves to resist any tendency of the ring to chafe or
wear, and thus shift its position within the mass of rubber. When a band or ring
has its ends joined together, there is found to be more or less tendency to twist,
particularly under the strains thrown upon such band after the body of the tire
has been forced thereon and compressed; but by the improved ring, inasmuch
as there are channels formed upon both its sides, all tendency of the ring to twist
or shift is effectively guarded against.
Another marked advantage incident to this invention is that inasmuch as the
thickened edge portions d of the ring are solid, the ends of the ring can be
electrically welded with a butt-joint, the thickened edges being usually of the
size of the wires heretofore employed in this class of tires. In practice it has
been found to be the only practical way of joining the ends of a retaining-ring,
and one of the vital objections to sheet-metal bands has been the impossibility
of electrically welding their ends because by reason of its thinness the metal
will burn before the welded joint can be successfully formed. Hence it will be
seen that while the present invention affords all the supposed advantages of the
double wires and of the band heretofore employed in this class of tires, it at the
same time overcomes all the objections incident to such wires and such band.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
A tire for vehicles comprising an annular channel B, an annular elastic body A
compressed in the direction of its length and molded with a continuous closed
chamber throughout its length, and a retaining-ring embedded within and filling
said chamber and having its ends joined together, said ring consisting of a
central web having solid thickened edges d, said thickened edges extending
both above and below the plane of said web and thus forming channels on both
sides of the ring to receive the compressed rubber of the body, and hold the ring
against lateral displacement.
Date His way of July 1099.
FRANK WILBUR KINNEY.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.