Certain Improvements in Spring Tyres for the Wheels of Bicycles and other Velocipedes and Carriages and Road Vehicles.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Feb., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 30th Nov., 1896-Accepted, 27th Feb., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Certain Improvements in Spring Tyres for the Wheels of Bicycles
and other Velocipedes and Carriages and Road Vehicles.
I, HARRY EDGE, of No. 118, Rookery Road, Handsworth, in the County of
Stafford, Manufacturer's Clerk, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
This invention consists of the hereindescribed improvements in spring tyres for
the wheels of bicycles and other velocipedes and automatic and other carriages and
rond vehicles generally, iny object being to construct a spring tyre which will be
very resilient and will not require to be inflated.
In carrying out this invention I make the wheel rim of a trough section and
outside this wheel rim I provide a light wooden metal or other ring of somewhat
larger diameter than the periphery of the said rim and carried from the rim by
bow shaped or other springs which are arranged in the trough section wheel rim
and are fixed by bolts or otherwise to the said ring so as to support the ring all
round the wheel rim and at a certain distance beyond the same. The said ring is
by preference made with an outer band of indiarubber and canvas insertion which
may also be extended at the sides and serve as a covering to hide the springs from
view and be fixed by continuous wire rings or cores or by other menus to the wheel
rim. The said bow shaped springs are by preference so arranged that the bow part
of each spring is fixed to the said ring and the free ends of the springs are curved
and bear against the bottom of the trough section rim.
When the said tyre is in use on a vehicle wheel or other wheel the weight is
taken on the outer wooden, metal or other ring and distributed to the various
springs in turn as they come to the bottom of the wheel thus slightly compressing
the springs and causing the said ring at that part to approach more nearly to the
trough section rim, then as the springs rise off the ground they assume their normal
shape. Thus the said tyre is very resilient and absorbs to a great extent the vibration
to which the bicycle or other velocipede or carriage or vehicle would otherwise be
subjected. Moreover if one of the springs should break it can readily be removed
and replaced.
When my invention is applied to ordinary wooden wheels of vehicles the said
trough section rim may be shrunk or otherwise fixed around the felloes of the wheel
in place of the ordinary tyre.
Dated this 28th day of February 1896.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Certain Improvements in Spring Tyres for the Wheels of Bicycles
and other Velocipedes and Carriages and Road Vehicles.
I, HARRY EDGE, of No. 118, Rookery Road, Handsworth, in the County of
Stafford, Manufacturer's Clerk, 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 consists of the bereindescribed improvements in spring tyres for

page_text: the wheels of bicycles and other velocipedes and automatic and other carriages and
road vehicles generally, my object being to construct a spring tyre which will be
very resilient and will not require to be inflated.
I will describe my invention by referring to the accompanying drawing on
which
Fig. 1 is a general view partly in section of a portion of a spring tyre constructed
according to this invention shewing also a portion of the wheel rim to which the
tyre is fixed; Fig. 2 is a cross section of the same:
Fig. 3 is a cross section of the wheel rim separately;
Fig. 4 shews one of the springs of the said tyre separately; and
Fig. 5 is a cross section of the outer covering of the said tyre.
The same letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in all the
figures of the drawing.
In carrying on this invention I make the wheel rim A of trough section and
outside this wheel rim 1 provide a light flexible ring B of somewhat larger dinmeter
than the periphery of the rim A and by preference consisting of a piece of stout
cotton driving band with the ends sewn or otherwise jointed together, or the ring B
may be made of leather or other flexible material. This ring B is carried from
the rim A by the convoluto springs C, one of which is shewn separately by Fig. 4,
and which are made from sheet or strip steel bent into a convolute shape as shewn
and suitably hardened and tempered. The inner ends el of the spring Care fixed
in the trough section rim A by the cross tubes D) which pass through holes in the
sides of the rim A and through the inner coiled ends e' of the springs, the ends d' d'
of these tubes being rivetted or spread over outside the rim so as to keep the
tubes in place. Or instead of the tubes D, solid pins may be used to secure the
springs C in the rim A but I prefer to use the tubes D as they form a means of
securing the outer covering E as hereinafter described. The outer ends of the
springs C are fixed by rivets f to the banil and the springs C are arranged at
convenient distances apart about as shewn on my drawing so as to support the ring B
all round the wheel rim A nud at a certain distance beyond the same. Outside the
ring B there is an outer band or cover E of indiarubber and cauvas insertion or
other suitable material which may be like the outer coverings at present used for
pneumatic tyres, the sides of the outer covering E extending a certain distance down
and outside the sides of the trough section wheel rim A so as to hide the springs C
from view. The outer covering E is fixed to the wheel rim A by any convenient
means as by having eyelet holes el at equal distances apart corresponding with the
tubes D in the rim A, and then being secured to the rim A by laces G which are
threaded through the eyelet holes and through the tubes D thus effectually
securing the outer covering E in position. The space between the top of the
inner side of the arched cover E and the ring B may be filled in by a thin
band of leather or indiarubber or other suitable material which is fixed to
the ring B or to the cover and covers the tops of the rivets and is made
rounded on its outer side to correspond with the rounded inner side of the outer
cover E.
Instead of being fixed by the Inces ( the outer covering may be fixed by wire
rings threaded in the edges oe of the outer covering Ens in some forms of
pneumatic tyres, or other means may be employed for securing the outer covering E
to the rim A.
The rim A is by preference made with the bulged out side ribs a' at each side
just outside the edges of the outer covering E so as to be to some extent a protection
for the same. These bulged out ribs a' on the sides of the rim A are however not
material to my invention.
When the tyre above described is in use on a vehicle wheel or cycle wheel or
the like the weight is taken on the ring B and distributed to the various springs C
in turn as they come to the bottom of the wheel, thus slightly compressing the
springs C and causing the ring B at that part to approach more nearly to the

page_text: trough section rim A, then as the springs C rise off the ground they assume
their normal shape. Thus the said tyre is very resilient and absorbs to a great
extent the vibration to which the bicycle or other velocipede or vehicle would
otherwise be subjected. Moreover if one of the springs C should break it can
readily be removed and replaced by taking out the corresponding tube D and the
rivet f.
When my invention is applied to ordinary wooden wheels of vehicles the trough
section rim A is made somewhat stouter than shewn and may be shrunk or other-
wise fixed round the wooden felloes of the wheel in place of the ordinary
metal tyre.
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 :-
The combination with a trough section wheel rim, of the spring C fixed therein
at certain intervals apart, the flexible ring B fixed to and supported by said
springs C and the arch shaped india rubber and canvas or like outer covering E.
encircling the ring B and springs C and secured to the wheel rim, the said parts
being arranged and combined together substantially as hereinbefore described and
illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 28th day of November 1896.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.