Improvements in Wheel Tyres.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Oct., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 30th July, 1894-Accepted, 1st Sept., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Wheel Tyres.
I, JOHN GEORGE AULSEBROOK KITCHEN of 28 Rose Grove, Ardwick,
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Cycle Tyre Manufacturer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to improvements in pneumatic tyres for cycle and
other vehicle wheels, the object being to enable the outer casings of a pneumatic
tyre to be effectually secured to wheel rims whether inflated or otherwise, in such a
manner that when deflated they can be readily detached for examining or repairing
the air tube.
Pneumatic tyres have usually been secured to the wheel rim by means of one or
more wire rings encased in the folded over edges of the tyre casing, the edges of
the tyre casing being usually of equal thickness around the wire.
Now according to my invention in place of the usual wire or wires I provide an
encircling endless hoop or ring preferably of cane or non-corrosive material within
each of the folded edges of the inner canvas lining of the outer casing and form the
rubber casing with thickened edges so shaped that when in position on the wheel
rim the thickened edges rest against the bottom and the flanged sides of the wheel
rim, whilst that part of the hoop or ring against which the inflating tube presses is
only covered by a layer of canvas. The cane or other suitable retaining hoop or
ring which has its ends spliced firmly together is not cemented to the canvas, but
is free to move thereon. The diameter of the encircling ring such that when in
its normal position it lies about mid-distance between the bottom of the wheel rim
and the outer edge of the projecting flange thereon, the thickened edge of the outer
casing filling up the space between the smallest diameter of the encircling ring and
the bottom of the wheel rim.
The thickened edges of the rubber outer casing are so formed that when the tyre is
deflated the sides of the casing may be pressed inward or towards each other until
the thickened portions of the edges are partly turned about the encircling hoop.
There is then between the hoop and the bottom of the wheel rim only the thin
canvas; this allows of one portion of the hoop resting practically in the bottom of
the wheel rim which admits of the opposite portion of the hoop being drawn over
the flange of the wheel rim. The outer casing can thus be taken off to admit of
inspection or repairs by successively removing the hoops from the rim as set
forth.
It will thus be understood that the thickened edge of the outer rubber casing
forms an eccentric, pivoted on the retaining hoop or ring, which when in position
is at the full extent of its inward throw and when the sides are pressed inward the
thickened portion of the edge is turned away from the rim flange and bottom of
wheel rim so as to allow the encircling hoop to drop into the bottom whilst its
opposite side is being drawn over the flange.
By this arrangement the tyre casing cannot become loose on the wheel rim
whether inflated or otherwise, as the hoop or ring is held in position by the
thickened base until turned partly over.
I do not confine myself to the use of cane as a retaining ring as wire may be
substituted therefor.
Dated this 30th day of October 1893.

page_text: Improvements in Wheel Tyres.
I, JOHN GEORGE AULSEBROOK KITCHEN, of 28 Rose Grove, Ardwick,
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Cycle Tyre 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 has reference to improvements in pneumatic tyres for cycle and
other vehicle wheels, the object being to enable the outer casing of a pneumatic
tyre to be effectually secured to a wheel rim whether inflated or otherwise, but
nevertheless in such a manner that when the tyre is deflated it can be readily
detached for examining or repairing the air tube.
Pneumatic tyres are now usually secured to wheel rims by means of one or more
wire rings encased in the folded over edges of the tyre casing, the edges of the
tyre casing being usually of equal thickness around the wire.
Now according to my invention in place of the usual wire or wires I provide an
encircling endless hoop or ring that may be of cane or non-corrosive material, and
is hereinafter referred to as the retaining hoop, within each of the folded or tubular
edges of the inner canvas lining of the outer casing, and form the rubber casing
with thickened edges so shaped that when in position on the wheel rim the
thickened edges will rest against the bottom and the flanged sides of the wheel
rim, whilst that part of each retaining hoop against which the inflating tube presses,
is only covered by a layer of canvas. The cane or other suitable retaining hoop,
which has its ends spliced firmly together, is not cemented to the canvas, but is free
to move thereon. The diameter of each retaining hoop is such that when in its
normal position it lies about mid way between the bottom of the wheel rim and the
outer edge of the projecting flange thereon, the thickened edge of the outer casing
filling up the space between the smallest diameter of the retaining hoop and the
bottom of the wheel rim.
The thickened edges of the rubber outer casing are so formed that when the
tyre is deflated the sides of the casing may be pressed inwards or towards each
other until the thickened portions of the edges are partly turned about the retaining
hoops. There is then between each hoop and the bottom of the wheel rim only
the thin canvas; this allows of one portion of the hoop resting practically in the
bottom of the wheel rim which admits of the opposite portion of the hoop being
drawn over the flange of the wheel rim. The outer casing can thus be taken off,
to admit of inspection or repairs, by successively removing the hoops from the rim
as set forth.
It will thus be understood that each thickened edge of the outer rubber casing
forms an eccentric that is pivoted on the retaining hoop and when in position, is at
'the full extent of its inward throw, and that when either side of the outer casing is
pressed inward at one part, the corresponding thickened portion of the edge is
turned away from the rim flange and the bottom of the wheel rim so as to allow
the retaining hoop at that part to drop into the bottom of the wheel rim whilst its
opposite side is being drawn.over the rim flange.
By this arrangement the tyre casing cannot become loose on the wheel rim
whether inflated or otherwise, as each retaining hoop is held in position by its
thickened base until turned partly over.
I do not confine myself to the use of cane as a retaining hoop, as wire may be
substituted therefor.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig: 1is a cross section showing a cycle wheel rim with a detachable tyre

page_text: having an outer casing the edges of which are formed according to this inventions
the tyre being inflated.
Fig. 2 is a similar view to Fig. 1 but with the air tulie deflated and one of the
retaining hoops in its normal position and the other one turned to allow of its
removal from the wheel rim.
The outer casing A of the pneumatic tyre is made of india rubber provided as
usual with a canvas lining B having tubular edges B' in each of which is an endless
retaining hoop C that may be of cane or of metal and has a diameter less than that
A'A' are the
of the adjacent flange D of the wheel rim D as well understood.
thickened edges of the outer casing A which are adapted to bear against the sides
and bottom of the groove in the wheel rim as shown so as to serve, when the tyre
is inflated, to support the endless retaining hoops C concentric with the wheel rim D
in order to hold the outer casing in place. The retaining hoops at the parts next
the air tube E are covered only by a thin layer of canvas so that they can when
necessary as hereinafter explained be brought near to the bottom of the groove in the
wheel rim. The thickened edges A' which in the example now being described are
made in one piece with the remainder of the outer cover A and are therefore of
rubber are, according to this invention, each so shaped, as shown, as to form in
effect, an eccentric or cam, as seen in cross section, having the axis of the corre-
sponding retaining hoop C as its centre so that when the tyre is inflated the said
thickened eccentric edges will be caused to turn inwards about the retaining hoops
as centres, into the position shown in Fig. 1, in which each thickened edge is at the
full extent of its inward throw. By this means, as will be readily seen, the
thickened edges which are of compressible material and made of greater thickness
than the difference in length between the radii of the retaining hoops and flat
bottom of the groove in the wheel rim, will be tightly compressed between the
bottom of the said groove and the retaining hoops, which are practically
unalterable in diameter, by the strains that will ordinarily be brought to bear upon
them, the result being that the said thickened edges will be firmly locked in place
and rendered immovable on the wheel rim whether the tyre be inflated, or be
afterward deflated, and can only be unlocked to permit of their detachment from the
wheel rim by pressing the outer casing laterally in an inward direction so as to turn
the eccentric thickened edges in the opposite or outward direction. This will be readily
understood by reference to the lower part of Fig. 2 where it will be seen that if the
parts be in the position there shown and the air tube E be inflated, the left. hand
thickened eccentric edge A' will be caused to turn inward or counter clockwise
about its retaining hoop C until it assumes the locked position shown in Fig. 1,
whilst if the air tube be deflated and it be required to bring the lower part of
the retaining hoop C to the bottom of the groove in the wheel rim as shown at the
bottom of Fig. 2 in order that the diametrically opposite portion of the edge of the
casing may be passed over the wheel rim as shown at the top of the said figure it
will be necessary to press in the outer casing A. laterally so that the thickened edge
will be turned outward and clockwise.
:
Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 2 but showing a tyre with outer casing according
to this invention having each retaining hoop C composed of two steel wires, that
are loose within the tube edge of the canvas lining. The construction of the
thickened edges of the outer casing and their mode of attachment and detachment
from the wheel rim are the same as herein before described.
Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross section of a further slightly modified form of tyre
casing with thickened eccentric edges according to this invention, one of the
thickened edges being shown in its normal position, and the other turned outward to
enable its diametrically opposite portion to be removed from the wheel rim in the -
manner shown for convenience by dotted lines upon the same side of the wheel rim.
In this case, each of the thickened edges A is formed by a separate ring of
compressible material such as soft rubber that is of square form in cross section
and is secured to the outer casing A in any suitable way. In the example shown,
it is enclosed in the tubular edge of the canvas lining B which is made sufficiently

page_text: large to enclose the ring and also the retaining hoop C which is shown as composed
of two endless wire rings enclosed in a second tube B² formed of a strip of canvas
the edge portions of which are cemented in place between the lining B and the edge
portion thereof as shown at B³. The mode of attaching and detaching the
thickened eccentric edges A' in this construction, is the same as hereinbefore
described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2, the right hand thickened edge being
shown turned inward into its locked position-the ring being shown compressed to
an approximately rectangular section-and the left hand edge being shown in its
unlocked position having been turned outward by pressing in the side of the casing.
To allow the eccentric or cam shaped edges A' of the casing to turn over
the manner described without catching against the air tube, I make the said tube
in each case of such a length that when deflated it is a few inches-usually six-
longer than the periphery of the wheel rim at the bottom of the groove therein.
in
I am aware that it has heretofore been proposed to thicken the edges of the outer
rubber casing of a pneumatic tyre beyond the tubular portions containing the
retaining hoops but the distribution of material around the retaining rings has been
such, that for purposes of detachment it has been necessary to slide the thickened
edges inwardly along the bottom of the groove in the wheel rim by forcing the sides
of the casing directly towards the wheel rim so as to curve the said sides outwardly
until one side portion of each of them having a reduced thickness, rests between
the bottom of the wheel rim and the retaining hoop. With this construction
however the thickened edges are held in place by the pressure thereon of the
inflated air tube alone, so that if such tube becomes deflated when in use, the
thickened edges will cease to be held firmly in place so that the casing will be liable
to creep on the wheel rim and also to become accidentally disengaged therefrom,
because the sides of the casing then overhang the sides of the wheel rim naturally, and
the pressure brought to bear thereon by contact with the ground is in such a
direction as to cause the thickened edges to slide laterally on the wheel rim into
the most suitable positions for the detachment of the casing to be effected
accidentally.
By my invention however the material forming the thickened edges of the casing
is so distributed around and relatively to the retaining hoops that normally these
edges are compressed tightly on the wheel rim so that all liability of their creeping
is avoided and that to release them from the wheel rim after once the tyre has been
inflated it is necessary that the sides of the casing should be first curved inwardly
that is to say in the reverse direction to that in which they would ordinarily be
curved when in use and deflated, and instead of the hoops being caused to slide
across the groove in the wheel rim for removal, they are rolled or turned
eccentrically off the thickened edges which are turned or rolled outward until the
thin canvas covering of the hoops rests in the bottom of the groove in the wheel
rim so as to provide sufficient slack to allow the diametrically opposite portion of the
thickened edge to be sprung over the flange on the wheel rim. Thus it will be seen
that the edges of my tyre casing will be firmly locked on the wheel rim whether the
air tube be inflated or deflated and that the pressure of the rider and the road upon
the tyre when the same is accidentally deflated will tend to fasten the outer cover
more securely on the rim rather than to loosen it.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that I do not claim
broadly in a pneumatic tyre an outer casing having retaining hoops, and thickened
supporting edges beyond said hoops but what I do claim is :-
1. In a pneumatic tyre, an outer casing provided with endless retaining hoops
and thickened eccentric or cam like edges that are adapted to fit the bottom and
sides of the groove in a wheel rim and the material of which is so disposed with
reference to the retaining hoops that when the tyre is inflated, the thickened edges
will be turned inward and tightly compressed or gripped between the wheel rim and
the retaining hoops which will be turned outward during inflation, and that the said

page_text: thickened edges can be released only by pressing the casing inward in a
lateral direction so as to turn the retaining rings inward and the thickened edges
outward substantially as herein described for the purposes specified.
2. Pneumatic tyres provided with outer casings having thickened eccentric or cam
like edges and endless retaining hoops constructed and arranged substantially as
hereinbefore described with reference respectively to and shewn in Figs. 1 and 2 ;
in Fig. 3; and in Fig. 4 of the drawings annexed for the purpose specified.
Dated this 30th day of July 1894.
For the Appиcant,
W. LLOYD WISE,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Chartered Patent Agent.