Improvements in Carriage and other Road-vehicle Wheels.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Dec., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 9th Sept., 1890-Accepted, 6th Dec., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Carriage and other Road-vehicle Wheels.
We JOHN LEA, HENRY ADOLPH STEER and WILLIAM MILLET of Lord Nelson
Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, 9, Hamilton Street, Birkenhead and
Liscard Carriage Works, Liscard, both in the County of Chester respectively, Coach
Builders do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object a wheel for vehicles on common roads so arranged
as to isolate the hub, the axle, and of course the carriage itself, from vibration, noise
or dither caused by the wheel travelling over an uneven road. The rims or felloes of
the wheels are divided lengthways, that is with a horizontal circumferential division
into two or more concentric annular pieces and a ring of india-rubber, gutta-percha,
leather or other tough but to some extent elastic material is inserted between the
pieces or annuli. This ring need not be absolutely continuous, and indeed in practice
the felloes are built up and then formed into a wheel in the usual manner.
The top
or outer portion of the rim or felloe may be of metal if required for extra heavy work.
This outer piece is put on the rubber or other isolating substance cold, the india-rubber
having been already placed on the under part of the felloe into which the spoke is
fixed. The outer tire is put on hot. When the wheel is hooped the various parts of
the felloe are fastened by bolts, rivets or other fasteners through the tire.
Dated this 7th day of December 1889.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Patent Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Carriage and other Road-vehicle Wheels.
We, JOHN LEA, HENRY ADOLPH STEER, and WILLIAM MILLET, of Lord Nelson
Street, Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, 9, Hamilton Street, Birkenhead, and
Liscard Carriage Works, Liscard, both in the County of Chester, respectively, Coach
Builders, 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 mainly for its object a wheel for vehicles on common roads or
streets, so constructed as to diminish vibration, jar, noise or concussion in the hub,
the axle, and the carriage itself. when travelling over the street or road. The rims or
felloes of the wheels are divided into circumferential divisions, that is, into two or
more concentric annular pieces and a ring or pieces of india-rubber, gutta-percha,
leather, or other analogous or equivalently tough elastic material is inserted between
the pieces or annuli. This interposed elastic medium need not be absolutely con-
tinuous, as in practice the rims or felloes may be built up and then formed into a wheel
in the usual manner; nor need it be of any one specific shape. The outer portion of the
rim or felloe may be of metal, if required for extra heavy work. The condition in
which we at present prefer the elastic ring should normally exist and be used on the
wheel is, that it should be under compression, and this end is effected by putting the
tire on hot. This applies to cases where the elastic material lies between an inner
and outer rim or felloe as specified, and the tire which will be an endless ring bears
on the outer one, that is to say, this mode of obtaining said compression is in such a
case the most convenient one. It will be obvious the compression under which the
elastic material is put in this case is due to the contractive action of the tire in cooling.
When the wheel is hooped, the various parts of the felloes are by preference fastened

page_text: by bolts, rivets or other fasteners through the tire; or the tire may be flanged or
concave to dispense with the fasteners.
The elastic material may according to a modification be interposed directly between
the rim or felloes to which the spokes are connected and the tire, in which case
of course the tire must be provided with suitable means such as bolts or rivets,
or so made and fitted to the rim or felloes that it will be properly held in position
on the wheel. In this case if the elastic material used be india-rubber or the like,
the tire of course must not be put on hot.
Having thus specified generally the nature of our invention its description will
now be proceeded with in reference to the annexed sheet of drawings (which form
a part of this Specification) by way of explaining more fully the nature of the invention.
The drawings and the description of thein set forth together examples of carriage and
other road-vehicle wheels, involving the improvements the nature of which has been
above specified.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shews in end section a portion of the rim or felloe of a vehicle wheel
involving the improvements according to this invention.
Figures 2 and 3 illustrate modified forms of the rim or felloe shewn at Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a perspective view of a portion of a vehicle wheel provided with
the improvements according to this invention.
With reference to the drawings a designates the hub of the wheel; the spokes ;
c and c¹ the outer and inner parts of the rim or felloe respectively; d the elastic
annular ring between said felloe rings c, cand e is the tire. The ring d is by
preference of india-rubber in most and ordinary cases, and is inserted between the
parts c c¹, as stated.
In the construction illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 4, the india-rubber in cross
section is of greater depth in the centre than at the edges, and the parts c clare
grooved correspondingly, as shewn, to receive the elastic ring; whilst the elastic
ring shewn in Figure 3 consists of a plain band inserted between the parts c c¹.
The rings or felloes c c¹ with the elastic ring & and the tire e may be fastened
together by bolts or rivets i as shewn in Figures 1 and 3; or the tire e may be
flanged as shewn at Figure 2, or it may be made concave, in which case the bolts or
rivets may be dispensed with.
The parts c c and d of which the rim of the wheel is made up need not be continuous,
or of any one specific shape, as they may be built up in pieces and then formed into
a wheel in the manner common in built up wheels, as above stated; also the parts c c¹
although preferably of wood in most cases, may be of metal; or, the part c¹ may be of
wood and the part c may be metal.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed it will be plain that under
this invention the shape of the elastic interposed material is not confined to that
particularly shewn in the drawings, nor is it confined to the manner in which or point
at which it is interposed between the tire on the one hand, and the rim or felloes to
which the spokes are connected on the other; but what we claim in respect of the
herein described invention is :-
1. A carriage or other road-vehicle wheel having a ring of india-rubber, gutta-percha,
leather or other tough elastic material interposed between the metal tire and the inner
rim of the wheel to which the outer ends of the spokes are connected; for the purposes
set forth.
2. The improvement substantially herein described in carriage or other road-vehicle
wheels, consisting of a wheel having its rim or felloes composed of two annular
portions and a ring of india-rubber, gutta-percha, leather, or other tough elastic
material, interposed between said two portions.
3. The road-vehicle wheel rim or felloe set forth with reference to Figures 1 and 2
of the drawings, consisting of the inner wood ring c¹, wood or metal ring c and an

page_text: interposed india-rubber or other elastic ring d the edges of which are thin relatively
to the centre portion.
4. A carriage or other road vehicle wheel having india-rubber interposed between
the tire and the rim to which the outer ends of the spokes are connected, such india-
rubber being normally under compression; for the purposes set forth.
5. A carriage or other road vehicle wheel having india-rubber or analogous material
interposed between an outer and inner rim (such as c, c¹,) the outer edges of which
lie practically flush with the outer sides of such rims, substantially as set forth with
reference to the drawings.
Dated this 8th day of September 1890.
CHEESBROUGH & ROYSTON,
15, Water Street, Liverpool, Applicants' Patent Agents.