Improvements in and Connected with Elastic Tyres for Vehicle Wheels."
Year: 1897

page_text: Complete Specification Left, 14th Oct., 1897-Accepted, 4th Dec., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and Connected with Elastic Tyres for Vehicle
Wheels."
I, THOMAS LOCKERBIE, of 218, Rhodeswell Road, Limehouse, in the county of
London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in and connected with elastic tyres for
vehicle wheels and has for its object to provide a tyre the tread of which shall have
as small an area as possible and which can also be easily removed from the wheel
rim.
According to my invention I form the tyre of a flexible metal tube made of a band
or strip of metal wound spirally round a mandrel or the said tube may be formed of
a series of sections of suitable shape and fitted together as hereinafter more
particularly described. The flexible tube formed as above described has an air-tight
tube inserted therein the said air-tight tube being composed of rubber, canvas or
other suituble material and the ends of the tube are then secured together so as to
form a ring.
In the case of the spirally wound tyre I form the same of a strip of metal having a
bead-shaped and a flattened portion and the said strip is so wound spirally that 'the
head of each coil rests upon the flattened portion of the adjacent coil. The metal
strip is also formed with a series of, preferably equidistant, projecting portions the
said portions being provided with holes to receive screws passing through correspond-
ing holes in the rim of the wheel so as to secure the tyre to the wheel and to prevent
creeping.
In the case of the tyre built up of sections the said sections are also formed of a
beaded and of a flattened portion the said flattened portions being turned up at their
ends so as to form hooks by means of which the two ends can be secured in position
by wire binding the sections together and keeping them apart from one another. In
this case the rim is preferably formed of two rings having downwardly projecting
flanges designed to be secured together by means of pins having grooved shanks for
receiving the spokes.
In practice I find it advantageous to secure the two ends of my armoured tyre to a
flange on the nipple of the inflation apparatus for the tyre.
Dated this 14th day of January 1897.
Improvements in and Connected with Elastic Tyres for Vehicle
Wheels."
I, THOMAS LOCKERBIE, of 218, Rhodeswell Road, Limehouse, in the county of
London, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
I Prins 71

page_text: the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
This invention relates to improvements in and connected with elastic tyres for
vehicle wheels and has for its object to provide a tyre the tread of which shall have as
small an area as possible and which can also be easily removed from the wheel rim.
According to my invention I form the tyre of a flexible metal tube made of a band
or strip of metal wound spirally round a mandrel; or the said tube may be formed of
a series of sections of suitable shape and fitted together as hereinafter more particu-
larly described. The flexible tube formed as above described has an air-tight tube
inserted therein, the said air-tight tube being composed of rubber, canvas or other
suitable material and the ends of the tube are then secured together so as to form a
ring.
In the case of the spirally wound tyre I form the same of a strip of metal having a
bead-shaped or raised and a flattened portion and the said strip is so wound spirally
that the raised portion of each coil rests upon the flattened portion of the adjacent
coil. The metal strip is also formed with a series of, preferably equidistant, project-
ing portions provided with holes to receive screws passing through corresponding
holes in the rim of the wheel so as to secure the tyre to the wheel and to prevent
creeping.
In the case of the tyre built up of sections the latter are also formed of a beaded or
raised and of a flattened portion, the said flattened portions being turned up at their
ends so as to form hooks by means of which the two ends can be secured in position
by wire binding the sections together and keeping them apart from one another. In
this case the rim is preferably formed of two rings having downwardly projecting
flanges designed to be secured together by means of screws or the like.
In practice I find it advantageous to secure the two ends of my armoured tyre to a
flange or plate on the nipple of the inflation apparatus for the tyre.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe it by reference to
the accompanying drawings, in which:-
Figure is a sectional elevation of a tyre constructed with a flexible spirally wound
band according to my invention :
Figure 2 is a transverse section on the line 2-2 figure 1:
Figure 3 is a transverse section on the line 3-3 figure 1:
Figure 4 is a plan of part of the rim shewing a joint plate for the metal tube in
position therein :
Figure 5 is a sectional plan of a portion of the flexible metal tube shewing joint
plates:
Figure 6 is a longitudinal section (shewing a part of the metal tube in elevation) of
a modified construction of my tyre:
Figure 7 is a transverse section of the same:
Figure 8 is a longitudinal section partly in elevation of a tyre with the cover
removed and having a flexible tube built up in sections:
Figure 9 is a sectional plan of the same with the tube sections and the inner or air
tube removed :
Figure 10 is a transverse section on the line 10-10 figure 8:
Figure 11 is a transverse section on the line 11-11 figure 8:
Figure 12 is a transverse section on the line 12-12 figure 8:
Figure 13 is a longitudinal section partly in elevation of another construction of
tyre with the flexible tube built up in sections:
Figure 14 is a horizontal section thereof with the inner or air tube and the flexible
tube removed:
Figure 15 is a section on the line 15-15 figure 13:
Figure 16 is a view similar to figure 13 of another construction of tyre:
Figure 17 is a section on the line 17-17 figure 16:
Figure 18 is a section on the line 18-18 figure 16:
Figures 19 and 20 are cross sections of tyres illustrating further constructions
thereof:

page_text: a is the rim of the wheel to which the tyre is to be attached and b is the outer
cover of the tyre.
Referring first to figures 1 to 5 c is the spirally wound band or strip of metal
forming the flexible tube, the said band of metal being of the section shewn so that
the flat portion of each coil can fit under the raised portion of the adjacent coil and
form a continuous flexible tube. d, d are the projections soldered or otherwise
secured to the inner periphery of the flexible metal tube or armour at suitable
intervals round the same and e, e are the projections upon the inside of the rim a
between each pair of which the projections d, d upon the inner periphery of the
flexible metal tube c fit so as to prevent creeping. The projections d are secured to
the rim a by means of screws f, f as clearly shewn in figure 3, so as to firmly hold
the tyre upon the rim. d', d' are two projections or plates fixed to the two ends of
the coil forming the flexible metal tube c the said projections or plates being shaped,
as indicated clearly in the plan view figure 4, so that the two ends of the spiral band
can be held together when the tyre is fitted to the rim. g, g are two plates secured
to the ends of the spiral metal band c on the inside thereof the said plates being
scarfed, as shewn in figure 1, and being designed to serve as an additional means for
securing the two ends of the flexible tube together. The plates d³, d¹ and g, g are
provided with holes for receiving the valve nipple which is provided with
a supporting plate not shewn and securely holds the two ends of the spirally wound
tube together.
is the inner or air tube of the tyre, the said tube being secured in position in
the ordinary inanner by means of the valve-nipple and having its ends solutioned
together when in position.
In this construction the outer cover is shewn detachably secured to the wheel
by means of screws b', 6' which fasten its edges to the rim a thereof.
In the construction illustrated in figures 6 and 7 the flexible metal tube c is the
same as that above described but the projections d', d¹ and g upon the same are
dispensed with as also are the projections e, e upon the inside of the rim a. In lieu
of these projections for securing the tyre in position upon the rim I provide the inner
periphery of the flexible metal tube c with an inner band j to which all the coils of
the flexible tube c are rigidly secured with the exception of the last few coils at each
end which are left loose so that the two ends may be adjusted in position to complete
the tube when it is placed in position upon the rim, the said loose coils.being secured
in position by tightening up the inflation apparatus. As shewn in figure.7 the band j
is secured to the rim by screws j, j and its ends are scarfed to make a joint as shewn
in figure 6.
The air tube is in this case shewn with one end i¹ slightly tapered and is provided
at the other end with a stiffening flexible ring 2 so that it can be easily inserted
into the open end i¹. When the coils of the flexible in tal tube c have been adjusted
and securely fixed in position it will be found that the joint between the two ends of
the inner or air tube i is sufficiently air-tight to permit the said air tube to be
inflated, it being obvious that the inflation of the tube still further tightens the
joint between the two ends thereof.
The outer cover b and the band c are secured to the rim a by forcing the thin
outer edges a¹, a of the rim outwards and inserting the two beaded edges of the said
cover b therein, the elasticity of the edges a¹ of the rim then securely holding the
whole in position.
In the two constructions of my tyre above describe: I advantageously form the
tread portion of the outer cover on the inside thereof with a band k preferably of
steel and provided with a number of upward projections which pass through or
nearly through the tread so as to grip the ground and prevent side slip.
In figures 8 to 20 I have illustrated different constructions of my tyre wherein I'
employ inetal sections in lieu of a spiral band to form the flexible metal tube c. In
the construction illustrated in figures 8 to 12 the sections cl, cl, which are preferably
made of metal of the same cross section as that employed for the spiral band, are.
secured in position by means of hooks c² formed upon their edges and which pass

page_text: over wires arranged around the inside of the rim a as clearly shewn. Washers may
be provided on the wires between the sections to maintain the latter the proper
distance apart from one another. The two wires do not form continuous rings but
are broken at the point where the valve passes through the rim the two opposite
wires being joined together by a cross piece m at one side, as indicated in figure 9,
and being screw-threaded at their other ends as shewn at n. To tighten the wires
and thereby the sections in position upon the rim I employ a bridge piece o against
one end of which the cross-piece m bears and through the other end of which the
screw-threaded ends n of the wires pass, the projecting ends of the said wires l
being provided with nuts whereby the said wires can be tightened upon the rim when
the tyre is being. fitted thereto. A supporting piece o¹ is provided in the rim between
the ends of the wire rings the said piece of being grooved on its outer edges (as
shewn in figure 11) to receive the two or three sections c¹ which are left out until
the tyre has been adjusted on the rim, and are held in position by a locking plate o²
screwed to the bridge piece o. p is a hoop or ring of wood or other suitable material
arranged around the inside of the rim a for the purpose of supporting the inner or
air tube i so as to leave the inner ends of the metal sections free from the pressure
of the inflated inner tube, thus allowing their elasticity full play.
The arrangement shewn in figures 13, 14 and 15 is very similar to that just
.described and differs chiefly in the manner in which the wires l, and thereby the
sections c¹, c¹ are tightened and secured in the rim a. In this case the two wires l, l
form split rings, the split ends of which are scarfed and they are held in position in
the rim by means of a clamp q having grooves or recesses q¹ upon its under side
through which the scarfed ends of the wires l, are passed. The clamp q is provided
with screw-threaded holes adapted to receive screws q2 passed through the rim a from
the underside thereof so that by turning the said screws the clamp can be tightened
upon the rim a and thereby caused to grip the wires and the sections against the
said rim.
Figures 16, 17 and 18 show another construction of tyre with a flexible metal band
in sections. In this case the rim of the wheel is formed by two flanged rings a¹, a¹
adapted to be secured together by screws a², a² which pass through rings a³ fitted to
one of the rim flanges and having central flanges a grooved to receive the ends of
the spokes. The sections c¹, c¹ and wires l, are held in the rim by a ring having
downwardly projecting edges r¹ under which the wires l, l take.
Figure 19 shews a further modification of tyre. In this construction the rim of
the wheel is formed of two rings a', a¹ which are adapted to be clamped to a central
hoop or ring 8 of wood, rubber or other suitable material by screws 8³, 8¹ as shewn.
The said rim rings a¹, a¹ are formed on their upper ends with internal hooks formed by
slitting the rim at intervals and turning inwards the alternate strips so formed, the
said hooks serving to receive the wires carrying the sections.
In some cases the wires 1, 1 carrying the sections can be clamped against the inner
hoop or ring by metal bands passing underneath the said hoop or ring so as to secure
the sections in position.
The arrangement shewn in figure 20 is a slight modification of that illustrated in
figure 19.
In this case the two rings a¹, a' forming the rim are secured to the
wooden or other block s by screws 8¹ from the underside thereof instead of laterally
as was the case in the previous modification. The wires l, carrying the sections c¹, c¹
fit in the edges of and are secured in position by the rings a¹, a¹ forming the rim of
the wheel as in the previous arrangement.
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. An elastic tyre for vehicle wheels having an inner or air tube enclosed within a
flexible metal tube and means for connecting the said metal tube to the rim of the
wheel, substantially as described.
2. An elastic tyre for vehicle wheels consisting of an inner or air tube and an outer.

page_text: flexible metal tube, formed of a spirally wound metal band, and of means for securing
the said flexible tube to the rim of the wheel, substantially as described.
3. An elastic tyre for the wheels of vehicles consisting of an inner or air tube
enclosed within a flexible tube formed of a number of overlapping sections of metal
which are carried on wires provided with means for being tightened upon the rim of
the wheel, substantially as described.
4. The improved elastic tyres for vehicle wheels hereinbetore described and
illustrated respectively in figures 1 to 5; 6 and 7; 8, 9, 10, 11, 12; 13, 14, 15;
16, 17, 18; 19; and 20 of the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 14th day of October
G. F. REDFERN & Co.
4, South Street, Finsbury, London. Agents for the Applicant.