Improvements in Tyres for Vehicles.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Tyres for Vehicles.
I, WILLIAM RICHARDSON, of Beech Hill, Mansfield, in the County of Notting-
ham, Ironfounder, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in the construction of tyres for road
vehicles being especially applicable to bicycles and other velocipedes and has
for its object to provide a tyre which has all the advantages of a pneumatic
tyre in its resilience and the smoothness and steadiness obtained in riding with
the same but without the possibility of the tyre becoming injured or deteriorated
by punctures.
According to my invention I form the tyre with a hollow central part made
of a tube round which I provide an outer hollow casing formed by hollow tubes
or rings or discs or their equivalents arranged to form hollows as hereinafter
described and I preferably enclose the whole in an outer covering or casing.
The following are the best methods I am acquainted with of carrying my
invention into effect.
According to one arrangement I provide an inner central tube made of rubber
or its equivalent, alone or in combination with canvas or the like, joined together
at its ends so as to form a hollow sealed ring and I coil round this central ring
an outer tube or series of tubes so as to completely enclose or surround the said
inner or central tube. With the outer tube or tubes I may coil a strip or band
of felt or other soft material so that a layer thereof intervenes between the
adjacent parts of the coil of tubing. I preferably enclose the outer coil and
inner tube in a casing or covering of canvas or rubber or the like which may
be secured in position on the tyre by lacing passed through holes or round hooks
on the sides of the covering or the hooks may catch in holes formed in the rim
of the wheel or the casing may be attached by solution to the tyre itself. The
inner and outer tubes may be strengthened by spiral or other wire or metallic
springs arranged internally or externally of the same and instead of one inner
tube I may use two or more tubes arranged longitudinally or in a spiral.
In another arrangement in place of the outer coiled tube or tubes I use a
series of hollow ring tubes of rubber or the like threaded or passed over the inner
tube or tubes between each of which ring tubes washers of rubber or other
yielding material may be placed, the said ring tubes may be circular or rect-
angular for example in cross section and strengthened with a web internally.
Or the said ring tubes may be formed of hollow parts projecting alternately
on either side of flat discs which form additional hollows or spaces when placed
against each other in position on the inner or central tube or tubes with washers
preferably intervening as aforesaid or in place of the said hollow rings, I may
use discs with projecting flanges and ribs arranged alternately on each side with
washers interposed as aforesaid, the said rings or discs may be perforated to
increase resilience and reduce their weight.
The central inner tube or tubes may be made with projecting hollow or solid

page_text: ribs round which the outer coil of tubes or sets of tubes or rings or discs may be
applied with the external cover or casing arranged as aforesaid, or the outer
tubes or discs may in this modification be dispensed with.
As another modification I may use the outer tubes, arranged longitudinally
round and parallel with the inner tube or tubes or I may dispense with the outer
tube or tubes or rings or discs and employ as a substitute therefor a porous
material such as a sponge of rubber or the like between the central tube and the
outer covering or casing.
Dated this 30th day of November 1897
I, WILLIAM RICHARDSON, of Beech Hill, Mansfield, in the County of Notting-
ham, Ironfounder, do hereby declare the nature of my 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 improvements in the construction of tyres for road-
vehicles being especially applicable to bicycles and other velocipedes and has
for its object to provide a tyre which has all the advantages of a pneumatic
tyre in its resilience and the smoothness and steadiness obtained in riding with
the same, but, without many of the disadvantages of pneumatic tyres of ordinary
construction.
I will describe the invention by reference to the accompanying drawings in
which Figures 1, 2 and 3 are sectional views of portions of three different forms
of my improved tyre and Figure 4 is a transverse section shewing the preferred
mode of attaching the tyre to the wheel rim.
Like letters of reference indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
In carrying out my invention as shewn in Figure 1 I provide an india rubber
or equivalent tube A the two ends of which are hermetically sealed together,
and around this tube I coil an india rubber or equivalent tube B the two ends
of which are also hermetically sealed together; the resilient body thus consti-
tuted is enclosed within an outer cover D of canvas and rubber or the like
joined at the meeting edges by lacing on the underside next the rim and may
be attached to the wheel rim C by lacing or in any other convenient manner
but preferably in the manner hereinafter described and shewn in Figure 4.
Instead of the adjacent convolutions of the tube B being in close contact as
shewn in Figure 1, a strip E of felt or other suitable material may, as shewn
in Figure 2, be coiled around the inner tube A so as to keep the said convolu-
tions apart.
In Figures 1 and 2 the tyres are shewn as formed each of a single inner tube
and a single outer tube but instead of these arrangements two or more her-
metically sealed inner tubes or two or more hermetically sealed outer tubes may
be used, the latter being coiled around the inner tube or tubes with or without
felt or other similar material interposed between the convolutions thereof.
In the arrangement shewn in Figure 3 I provide, instead of the before
described outer tube or tubes B, a series of hermetically-sealed tubular rings B¹
which are threaded on to the inner tube A before the two ends of the latter are
hermetically sealed together. The tubular rings B¹, instead of being circular
in cross section as shewn in Figure 3 may be of rectangular or other desired

page_text: form and they may be strengthened by internal webs, and, instead of the said
rings B being in close contact with each other, rubber, felt or other washers
may be interposed between them.
For securing the tyre to the rim as shewn in Figure 4 I provide a number
of thin plates F of steel or other suitable material curved to correspond with
the shape of the rim C or of other suitable shape (which rim, in this example
is shewn as of hollow section) and provided with screws or studs f which project
radially inwards towards the centre of the tyre or the centre of the wheel on
which the tyre is mounted. The plates F are secured in position by a strip or
strips G of canvas or other suitable material which may be solutioned or other-
wise attached to the tube or tubes B or rings B¹. The screws or studs of pass
through holes in the rim C and have threaded thereon, nuts f¹ which serve to
retain the tyre in position by causing the edges of the cover D to be gripped
between the plates F and the rim C.
If desired I may use horse-hair either for keeping apart the adjacent con-
volutions of the tube or tubes B, or the adjacent rings B¹, for keeping the said
tube or tubes or rings out of contact with the tube A, rim C or cover D, or for
filling either or all of the spaces between the said tube or tubes B or rings B¹
and the tube A, rim C and cover D, this horse-hair by its resiliency adding to
the general efficiency of the tyre.
The walls of the tubes A and B and the rings B'₁ may have canvas, horse-hair
or other suitable supporting material incorporated therein.
The tubes A and B may have their ends hermetically sealed without being
secured together.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. In a tyre for a road vehicle the combination with a hermetically sealed
flexible tube or two or more such tubes, of a hermetically sealed flexible tube
or two or more such tubes coiled around it or them and an outer cover with or
without felt, horse-hair, or other material between the convolutions of such coiled
tube or tubes or between the said coiled tube or tubes and the inner tube
or tubes, cover, or rim substantially as hereinbefore described with reference
to the accompanying drawings.
2. In a tyre for a road vehicle the combination with a hermetically sealed
flexible tube or two or more such tubes, of a number of hermetically sealed
tubular rings such as B1 threaded thereon and an outer cover with or without
felt horse-hair or other material between adjacent rings or between the said
rings and the inner tube or tubes, cover or rim substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 2nd day of June 1898
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.