Improvements in Tires for the Wheels of Bicycles, Tricycles, and the Wheels of Carriages.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 27th July, 1897-Accepted, 28th Aug.,
1897
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Tires for the Wheels of Bicycles, Tricycles, and the
Wheels of Carriages.
I DAVID CLARKE of 21 Langley Road Small Heath Birmingham in the County
of Warwick Engineer, 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 for its object Improvements in Tires for the Wheels of
Bicycles and Tricycles and the Wheels of Carriages. The construction of a Tire
manufactured from India rubber, Rubber Composition or other suitable material,
which shall be perfectly flexible and resilient, and which shall not depend upon
inflatation for its resilience and flexibilty and which shall be free from many of
the serious defects found in the various Tires now in use, will be of great public
service. Experience has proved the solid Tire to be too rigid and unyielding for
use on machines of the Bicycle and Tricycle type, when easy and comfortable
riding is desired, while inflated Tires are so fragile and so liable to injury, that
great inconvenience and danger even are experienced by those who use them.
When over inflated, either by forcing or by exposure to the hot rays of the sun,
they are liable to burst; and if they do not burst, the over inflatation causes a vibra-
tion which is uncomfortable to the rider. Tires which depend upon inflatation for
their flexibility and resilience are not only uncertain, but they are oftentimes
dangerous even in ordinary use, and they are not suitable for Colonial and military
purposes, inasmuch as they are liable to sudden failure; and such failure may
occur at a critical moment, or at a critical point on the road, when the results
would be disastrous to the rider or the service in which he is engaged. This In-
vention will entirely remove these disadvantages and imperfections, and give the
public and the Military service a Tire which is perfectly reliable under the most
unfavourable circumstances, and danger and accident from over inflation, puncture,
and collapse, will be things of the past. It has long been felt, both by manufac-
turers of Bicycles and Tricycles and persons using them that a more reliable Tire is
needed to remove the fear of inconvenience and accident while riding, and to give
confidence to the rider that he will return home in safety without meeting with the
inconvenience consequent upon a failure of the Tire of his machine. A Tire which
is more flexible than the solid one, and less fragile and uncertain than the inflated tire,
would give increased security and comfort to the rider, and would be of great public
utility. Such a tire is now possible by means of this invention. For the accomplish-
ment of this purpose I construct a core made either solid as shown in Figure 3,
or hollow as shewn in Figure 4 manufactured of India rubber, Rubber Composi-
tion or other suitable material, This Core is grooved in the direction of its diameter,
the grooves forming surfaces, or points of Contact, and alternate spaces. The Core
is encased or enclosed in a tube or outer casing composed of India rubber, Rubber
Composition, or other suitable material. The surfaces or points of contact are firmly
pressed against the internal surface of the outer casing. The outer casing or tube

page_text: is of such strength and of such size that the surfaces or points of contact of the core
are kept in close contact with the internal surface of the tube or casing. The spaces
between the surfaces of contact on the core, and the surfaces of the points of contact
will be of such width and depth as shall be ascertained to give the best practical
results in flexibility and resilience: It will be seen that by increasing or diminish-
ing the widths of the surfaces of contact of the core and the spaces, that any degree
of flexibility and resilience can be obtained. Thus a Tire, reliable as to safety
and comfort, can be produced, and one that can be regulated in its manufacture
to carry light, medium, or heavy weights. Tires made on this principle, with a
core having grooves running in the direction of the diameter of the core, with
surfaces of contact and spaces between such surfaces, will give good results under
the most unfavorable circumstances, and they, may be punctured with impunity,
without interfering with or destroying their efficiency; while the liability of the
wheel to skid round on a slippery road is, by the formation of the core, much less
than in the case of inflated tires; and riders will be able to travel with greater
comfort, less danger, and with less expenditure of physical energy than they can
possibly do on machines having fragile and uncertain inflated tires. The con-
stantly increasing number of serious accidents resulting from collapsed tires renders
it necessary that some safer and more reliable tire should be produced, and this
invention is intended to meet the public want and render Bicycle and Tricycle
riding less dangerous. Tires constructed on this principle cannot collapse. These
Tires are also suitable for the wheels of light carriages, and will give better results
than can be obtained from inflated tires, which are liable to twist off the wheels
with the turning of the vehicle and collapse.
I will now proceed to describe the drawings, of which there is one sheet. The
same letters on each drawing refer to the same parts of the tire.
Figure 1 is an elevation of the grooved core of the Tire shewing the grooves
formed in the direction of the diameter of the core, also the surfaces or points of
contact and the alternate spaces between the surfaces or points of contact.
Figure 2 is a sectional plan of the core through its diameter. Figure 3
is a sectional elevation of the solid core and outer casing or tube, shewing the core
in position in connection with the internal side of the outer casing or tube.
-Figure 4 is a sectional elevation of the core where made hollow for very light
weights, shewing the core in position in connection with the internal side of the
outer casing or tube. Figure 5 is a sectional plan of the core and outer casing or
tube through its diameter.
Having given a general description of the drawings, I will now proceed to describe
the various parts or points marked by the letters on the drawings. A. A. are the
grooves formed in the core in the direction of its diameter. B B, are the outer
surfaces of the core coming in close contact with the internal surface of the outer
casing or tube. CC, are spaces formed by the grooves in the direction of the
diameter of the core. DD, is the outer casing or tube in which the core is enclosed.
I desire it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the precise shape or
configuration of these grooves, nor to the actual size of the surfaces or points of
contact, nor to the depth or width of the grooves as shown upon the drawings;
it may be necessary to vary or change their shape or configuration, or to increase
or diminish them according to the amount of flexibility and resilience required,
neither do I confine myself to the circular form of the core in its section, as shown
in the diameter on the drawings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
The construction of a core for use in the manufacture of Tires for the wheels
of Bicycles and Tricycles and the wheels of carriages made either solid as shown in
Figure 3, or hollow as shown in Figure 4, manufactured from India rubber, Rubber
composition, or other suitable material; the core having grooves or spaces formed

page_text: in it in the direction of its diameter, such grooves giving alternate surfaces of
contact and spaces on the outer circumference of the core, the core made either in
one continuous length to pass round the entire circumference of the wheel, or
made in sections or parts of various lengths, the whole sections or parts when put
together to form a complete core for the tire, such core being encased or enclosed
by an outer casing, covering or tube manufactured of any suitable material, as
herein before described and set forth.
Dated this och 1
T 1