Improvements in and relating to Pneumatic Tires, and Means for Inflating the same.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 17th June, 1891-Accepted, 18th July, 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Pneumatic Tires, and Means for
Inflating the same.
I, PARDON WILBUR TILLINGHAST, of No. 435 Potters Avenue, in Providence,
Rhode Island, United States of America, Draughtsman, 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 consists in the improved construction of the pneumatic tire, in the
improved means for operating the air pump for inflating the tire, and in an exhaust
valve for causing the air to pass out of the tire at the will of the rider, as herein-
after set forth.
Fig. 1, represents a transverse section of the pneumatic tire and the rim of the
wheel, and an elevation of the air-pump when thrown out of action by the inward
adjustment of the operating cam.
Fig. 2, represents a longitudinal section of the air pump and exhaust valve.
Fig. 3, represents a section of the exhaust valve taken in the line x, x, of
Fig. 2.
Fig. 4, represents a section of the exhaust valve taken in the line y, y, of
Fig. 2.
Figs. 5 and 6, are end views of the exhaust valve, showing the position of the
engaging arms at the closed and open positions of the exhaust valve.
Fig. 7, represents a side view of the adjustable cam for operating the piston of
the air-pump.
Fig. 8, is a detail view showing the spirally wound canvass covering upon the
air tube.
Fig. 9, represents a transverse section of the pneumatic tire, showing a modification
in the method of attaching the same to the rim of the wheel.
Fig. 10, represents a detail view of the inner side of the rim of the wheel,
showing the laced attachment of the flaps shown in Fig. 9.
In the accompanying drawings, A represents a stearing fork, and A! the wheel,
to the hub B of which by means of the arms a, a, is attached the air-pump C, the
said pump being provided with the pipe b, which passes through a perforation in
the rim D of the wheel, and enters the cavity c, of the pneumatic tire E. The
air-pump C which revolves with the wheel, is provided with the induction valve d,
for the admission of air to the chamber e of the pump, and the eduction valve f, for
the passage of air from the chamber of the pump to the air chamber of the tire
through the pipe b. The piston g of the pump is prevented from turning within the
barrel h, by means of the fixed pin i, and the slot j made in the piston g; and is
actuated to draw air into the chamber e of the pump, by means of the spring k.
The outer end of the piston g is provided with the ears 1, 1, which support the friction
roller m, and the side of the barrel of the pump C, is provided with the arm n,
which carries the exhaust valve F, the said valve being connected with the
pipe by means of the pipe b¹.
b
The projecting end of the valve F is provided with
the radial arms o, o¹, which serve to operate the valve in opposite directions to open
or close the exhaust passage p. To the arm 9 of the stearing fork A at the
point i, is hinged or pivoted, the annular cam G, which by operating against the
friction roller m, serves to actuate the piston of the pump C, inwardly, against
the resilience of the spring k, to compress the air and force the same into the cavity
of the tire E, and the resulting throw of the piston g may be varied at the will of
the rider, by means of the bell-crank lever H, pivoted to a downwardly projecting
which forms a continuation of the arm 9 of the stearing fork; the said lever
being made to bear against the outer side of the cam G, and operated to vary the
arm r,
C

page_text: inclination of the cam, by means of the rod I, jointed to the outer end of the lever H,
and passing loosely through an opening in the arm J, which projects laterally from
the upper end of the stearing fork.; the rod I being provided with a screw
threads, upon which, above the arm J, is placed the milled nut K, which is in
convenient reach of the rider; and by turning the mut K, the inclination of the
cami G, and the throw of the piston g, can be varied as desired, so as to produce
the required pressure of air in the cavity of the tire.
In Fig. 1, the cam G is represented in a position at right angles to the axis of
the hub of the wheel A', at which position the vibrating movement of the piston g
of the air-pump, will cease, thus throwing the pump out of action; and the position
of the lever H and the cam G, when the piston is operated to the extreme of its
vibrating movement, is shown by the dotted lines.
When the air has been forced into the tire under a considerable pressure, and
it is desired to employ a diminished air pressure in the same, the surplus air in the
tire may be allowed to escape, by means of the exhaust valve F, which is placed
under the control of the rider, by means of the lever L, which is pivoted to the
arm q of the stearing fork A, at the point 2, and provided with the inwardly
projecting pins u, u¹, which when the lever L is in its normal position, are out of
the plane of engagement with the arms o, o¹, of the valve F; the outer end of the
lever L being connected with the hand operated lever M, by means of the connecting
rod ; the said lever M being pivoted to the arm J, at the point w, and provided
with a pin, which is adapted to enter the holes y, y', made in the arm J, upon the
proper movement of the lever M, to open or close the exhaust opening at the
valve F; an intermediate hole being provided for holding the lever M in its middle
position, as shown in Fig. 1. When the hand operated lever M is thrown into
engagement with the hole y, in the arm J, the upper pin u of the lever L, will be
thrown forward, thus coming into the path of the upper arm o of the valve F,
(see Fig. 5.), and consequently causing the opening of the said valve; and upon
the movement of the lever M into engagement with the hole y', in the arm J, the
lower pin u' of the lever L, will be thrown forward, thus coming into the path of
the lower arm o¹ of the valve F. (see Fig. 6.), and consequently causing the closing
of the said valve; and thus the, valve may be opened and closed at the will
of the rider, so as to secure the desired pressure of air in the tire to suit all
circumstances.
The pneumatic tire E, is provided with an inner air-tube a', which is made of rubber,
and wound with a covering of canvass a², preferably in spiral form, as shown in
Fig. 8., thus serving to prevent the bursting of the tube a¹ which is to contain the
air under pressure.
The tire E is also provided with an outer covering of rubber a³
which is preferably thickened at the tread or the extreme outer portion of the tire ;
which portion comes in contact with the surface of the road and is liable to wear,
and with an intervening thickening composed of several layers of canvass a³, which
also serves to thicken the wall of the outer side of the tire, to a greater degree
than the wall of its inner side, which is directly attached to the rim D of the
wheel.
To a strip of canvass which forms the connecting flaps as, as, for the parts a¹, a³,
of the tire, is attached the strip of canvass which forms the attaching flaps a, a,
which serve to attach the tire to the rim D of the wheel, the said latter flaps being
either secured to the rim by means of cement, as shown in Fig. 1, or by means of a
lacing j', as shown in Figs. 9 and 10. In putting the parts of the tire together,
the inner side of the connecting flaps a³, as, is cemented to the inner air tube a', and
then the outer covering a³, is cemented to the outer side of the said flaps, with the
thickening of canvass ¹, located between the inner air tube a', and the outer
covering a³, the said thickening of canvass being adapted to prevent the accidental
perforation of the tire by sharp or pointed objects encountered in the road, and at
the same time preserving the desired flexibility of the tire, it being an extremely
difficult matter to penetrate several layers of closely woven canvass, with a sharp
nail or tack, or piece of glass. The strips of canvass which form the flaps a³, a,

page_text: are preferably connected to each other by stitching longitudinal seams at d¹, d¹, in
addition to a layer of cement between the said strips; and the rim D of the wheel
may be covered with canvass preparatory to cementing the flaps a thereto; but
in case the tire E is to be attached to the rim D by lacing, as shown in
Figs. 9 and 10, then the flaps a, a, are provided with the opposite eyelet holes e¹,
through which the lacing strings j₁ are made to pass.
The edges k, k¹, of the rubber outer covering a³, are made to abut against the
side of the attaching flap as, at the edge of the rim D of the wheel, and thus serve
to brace the tire against laterally directed pressure when the wheel is running in an
inclined position; it is however, to be understood that I do not limit my invention
to the employment of the attaching flaps a, a, as in many instances the pneumatic
tire may be simply held in the hollow o² of the rim, by means of cement; and in
that case the edges k¹, k, of the outer covering, would abut directly against the
edges, r, of the rim C.
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. A pneumatic tire having an inner air-tube made of rubber, wound with
canvass, substantially as described.
2. In a pneumatic tire, the combination with the inner air-tube wound with
canvass, of the outer rubber covering, the edges of which abut against the opposite
edges of the rim of the wheel, substantially as described.
3. In a pneumatic tire, the combination with the inner air-tube, and an outer
rubber covering, of an intervening thickening of canvass adapted to protect the
air-tube from perforation at the tread of the tire, substantially as described.
4. In a pneumatic tire, the combination with the inner air tube and an outer
rubber covering, thickened at the tread of an intervening thickening of canvass,
adapted to protect the air tube from perforation at the tread of the tire,
substantially as described.
5. In a pneumatic tire, the combination with the inner air tube, and an outer
rubber covering, of the intervening flaps which serve for the attachment of the air
tube and the outer covering, and the backwardly turned flaps which serve for the
attachment of the tire to the rim of the wheel, substantially as described.
6. In a pneumatic tire, the combination with the inner air tube, and an outer
rubber covering, of the intervening flaps which serve for the attachment of the
air tube and the outer covering, the backwardly turned flaps, and means for
the attachment of the said flaps to the rim of the wheel, substantially as
described.
7. The combination with the wheel, the support for the same, and a pneumatic
tire, of an air pump attached to the hub of the wheel, and connected with the
cavity of the tire, and a cam jointed to the wheel support, and adapted to operate
the piston of the pump, substantially as described.
8. The combination with the wheel, the support for the same, a pneumatic tire,
and an air pump attached to the hub of the wheel, and connected with the cavity
of the tire, of the cam jointed to the wheel support, and adapted to operate the
piston of the pump, and means for adjusting the inclination of the cam at the will
of the rider, to vary the action of the pump, substantially as described.
9. The combination with the wheel, the support for the same, a pneumatic tire,
and an air pump for inflating the tire, of the exhaust valve, and means for operating
the same at the will of the rider, substantially as described.
Dated this Fifth day of June 1891.
PARDON WILBUR TILLINGHAST.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicant.