Improvements relating to Wheels for Velocipedes and other Vehicles.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 9th Dec., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 9th Oct., 1893-Accepted, 11th Nov., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Wheels for Velocipedes and other
Vehicles.
I, CHARLES KINGSTON WELCH, of The Hollies, Eaton Road, Coventry, in
the County of Warwick, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
:-
My invention relates to wheels for velocipedes and other vehicles.
One of the objects of my said invention is to construct improved rims and
appurtenances for wheels which have pneumatic tyres of the kind in which the
outer covering is retained in place by means of non-extensible wires or cores which
are contained in, or at the edges or sides of the said protective covering.
My said invention also includes improved means for very readily stopping the
leakage resulting from puncture of the air tube in a pneumatic tyre; improved
means for securing the shell or body of the air-valve to prevent it from turning in
its place in the rim; improved methods of protecting the air tube by a canvas
envelope, and certain other improvements hereinafter more particularly indicated.
According to my invention I construct an improved rim with an outer surface
which is approximately cylindrical. The said cylindrical surface has a circum-
ferential groove or depression at the middle of its width and at its edges is
provided with outwardly projecting flanges or formed with recesses or shoulders to
keep the tyre in place. In constructing hollow rims of this description I may for
example bend a strip of metal so that the part adjacent to one edge thereof forms
the bottom of the groove or depression, and the remaining part of the said strip
forms in succession one half of the cylindrical surface and one flange, the curved
inner face of the rim, the other flange, the remaining half of the cylindrical
surface and will be brazed to the other edge at the bottom of the groove. But I
may obviously form my said improved rim after other suitable methods and of two
or more strips united for instance at their edges.
In the case of wheels for heavy vehicles such as cabs and the like, which are
usually made with wooden felloes and iron tyres I very often employ two rims each
being T-shaped in cross section. The said rims are secured by bolts or otherwise
one on each edge of the felloe or of the iron tyre which may be attached thereto,
so that a circumferential groove or depression is left between them. Or I make a
rim of similar form outwardly to that hereinabove described but plain or cylindrical
internally and secure the same to the wheel felloe in any suitable manner such as is
used for ordinary metal tyres.
The central groove or depression is provided in order that the edges of the outer
covering may be inserted therein, at one side of the wheel, to enable the tyre to
assume a position eccentric to the said wheel so that the said tyre may be very
easily moved over the opposite side of the rim and into place thereon. It has
hitherto been customary to make the whole rim of U-section or of similar section
for a like purpose, but it occasionally happens through the carelessness of the
operator that the tyre assumes a position eccentric to the wheel after it has been
secured thereon.
It is an important feature of my invention that I prevent the possibility of the
assumption by the tyre of such a position, by giving the rim the shape herein-
before described, and further by placing in the aforesaid groove or depression,
after the tyre has been placed upon the rim, a readily-removable filling consisting
of lamp cotton, a strip or strips of india-rubber, or any other suitable material, so
arranged that when in place in the groove or depression the said groove or
depression is filled or nearly filled to the level of the aforesaid cylindrical surface,

page_text: so that no movement of the edges of the outer covering can cause the said covering
to become eccentric to the wheel to form an untrue tyre.
The aforesaid cores of small extensibility, in the edges or sides of the arched
outer covering of the tyre I preferably form of wire or coppered wire, or of wire
covered with india-rubber or as an alternative I construct them of tightly rolled
textile fabric, or of cord or the like. For example I sometimes roll up the edges
of the canvas which usually lines the said outer covering so as to form the said
inextensible cores.
To enable the leakage resulting from puncture of the air tube to be readily
stopped I provide the air tube with a smooth outer surface, either by special
preparation of the material of which the tube is composed, or by providing it with
an envelope or coating of smooth material, and I attach to the rim by suitable
means or to the cover or envelope, a casing of expansible material, preferably
india-rubber, with a smooth inner surface. Within this casing I place the said air
tube. By the inflation of the air-tube the said casing is expanded and caused to
grip it tightly. and should puncture of the casing and of the air-tube occur, the
former, possessing a smooth surface as aforesaid can be very readily moved length-
wise over the air-tube to take the puncture in the air-tube out of coincidence with
the puncture in the casing; and when the two punctures are thus moved out of
coincidence the expanded casing by means of its grip upon the exterior of the air
tube will effectually seal the puncture in the latter.
To prevent the shell or body of the air-valve from turning in its place in the
rim, I provide suitable projections thereon which engage with the aforesaid groove
or depression in the rim so that the said shell or body cannot rotate; or I depress
into the said groove suitable portions of the washer which is usually fitted to the
said shell or body within the tyre.
I preferably protect the air-tube of a pneumatic tyre by a coating of canvas or
other textile fabric formed of a long strip or strips wound spirally. The tube
thus formed is cemented inside and flattened so as to form a solid flat band of two
thicknesses of material which is placed outside the air-tube to constitute a lining to
the outer envelope or jacket the wires or cores for retaining the said band in place
being held in the angle formed by the fold at each edge of the band.
I very often use an arched canvas covering having no seam, such a cover may be
made by weaving a tube of the diameter suited to the wheel for which the tyre is
to be used and then transversely cutting the said tube so that endless strips are
formed without seam. Such tubes may be woven diagonally and in that case I
gain the advantage of a seamless cover as well as having the threads of such cover
crossing it diagonally.
In the case of wheels the tyres of which it is very important to protect from
puncture, I place inside the outer covering a second protecting covering formed of
felt or the like of suitable thickness, such a protector removes the air-tube, which
is the delicate portion of the tyre, to a considerable distance from the ground so
that nails thorns and the like cannot enter the tyre so far as to injure or puncture
the said air tube.
Do
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1000
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Improvements relating to Wheels for Velocipedes and other
Vehicles.
I, CHARLES KINGSTON WELCH, of The Hollies, Eaton Road, Coventry, 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 ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to wheels for velocipedes and other vehicles.

page_text: One of the objects of my said invention is to construct improved rims and
appurtenances for wheels which have pneumatic tyres of the kind in which the
outer covering is retained in place by means of non-extensible wires or cores which
are contained in the edges or sides of the said protective covering, or by cores
formed by the edges of the covering.
My said invention also includes improved means for very readily stopping the
leakage resulting from puncture of the air tube in a pneumatic tyre; improved
means for securing the shell or body of the air-valve to prevent it from turning in
its place in the rim; and improved methods of protecting the air-tube by a canvas
envelope.
In order that my invention may be more particularly understood I will now
proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
which,
Figures 1 to 4 are sectional views shewing wheel rims for vehicles such as cabs
traps and the like.
Figures 5 to 16 are sectional views shewing rims adapted for light vehicles such
as velocipedes and the like.
Figures 17 to 21 are sectional views shewing modified forms of the rims illustrated
in Figures 1 to 4.
Figures 22 and 23 are views shewing similar forms of rim to those shewn in
Figures 18 and 21 but which are lighter and adapted for light vehicles such as
velocipedes and the like.
Figure 23 also shews my improved device for stopping leakage after a puncture,
hereinafter more fully described.
Figure 24 is a sectional view shewing a modified form of my device for preventing
leakage.
Figure 25 is a perspective view of a rim fitted with a covering band for the
groove instead of a filling as will be hereinafter more particularly described.
In Figures 6 and 19 the tyre is displaced for a purpose hereinafter explained.
Like letters of reference denote similar parts in all the drawings.
Referring to Figures 1 to 4,
A is the wooden rim or felloe of the wheel which may if desired be furnished
with an ordinary metal tyre A' as shewn in Figure 1. B is the rim constructed
according to my present invention having a deep central channel B' and side
flanges B. The part of the rim B³ between the said central channel and the
side flanges is made cylindrical. I construct the side flanges to make any suitable
angle with the cylindrical part, and I prefer to round the edges of the same or to
bend them over as shewn in Figures 2, 3, and 4 so as to prevent any possibility of
the tyre being cut or injured thereby.
I sometimes make the rim in one piece as shewn in Figures 3 and 4 the former
of which shews a rim applied to a wooden felloe in place of an ordinary cylindrical
iron tyre and the latter of which shews a solid rim suitable for a sulky or other light
vehicle. I sometimes however make the rim in two pieces as shewn in Figures 1
and 2, in which case I preferably provide the separate parts with inwardly projecting
flanges B by means of which said parts may be secured on the felloe by transverse
bolts as shewn at C Figure 2 or by screws or other suitable means.
In this case
the central depression is formed by leaving a gap between the cylindrical portions
of the two pieces forming the rim.
It is obvious that a rim formed as shewn in Figure 4 but lighter and thinner in
section can be advantageously used for velocipede and other light wheels.
D is the air tube of the pneumatic tyre; D¹ is the canvas jacket having endless
cores E placed in the edges thereof; and D2 is the outer cover of the tyre.
I sometimes insert between the air tube and the canvas jacket of the tyre a thick
padding of felt or other similar material as shewn at D³ Figure 1, to protect the
air tube from nails, thorns or the like which might pass through a thin cover and
BO puncture the air tube,

page_text: I prefer that the central groove of the rim shall be filled with a suitable filling F
when the tyre is in its place on the rim as will be hereinafter more particularly
explained.
In Figures 5 to 10 I have shewn various methods of making hollow rims having
the same contour on the side remote from the hub as those hereinabove described
and which are more especially suitable for velocipede and similar wheels. In
Figure 5 a single strip of metal is bent so that the part adjacent to one edge
thereof forms the bottom of the groove or depression B, and the remaining part
of the said strip forms in succession one half of the cylindrical surface B³, and one
flange B, the curved inuer face of the rim B5, the other flange 132, the remaining
half of the cylindrical surface B3, and the edge thereof is brazed grooved or other-
wise secured to the first edge at the bottom of the central depression B¹. I
sometimes braze or otherwise secure the two edges together and also to the curved
inner face B of the rim at the bottom of the depression.
In Figure 6 the rim is constructed in the same manner as hereinbefore described
with reference to Figure 5 but the edges of the strip meet at the bottom of
the groove or depression B¹ and form a butt joint instead of a lap joint as
shewn in Figure 5.
In Figures 7 and 8 rims are shewn made of two strips united at their
edges by folding them together, soldering or brazing or other convenient
means, one of the said strips forms the inner face and the other the outer face
of the rim.
In Figure 9 the rim is shewn made in two parts one of the said parts being
made of a metal strip bent in the manner above described with reference to
Figure 5 with the exception that the two edges therecf do not overlap at the
bottom of the groove B₁ but are joined by the other part of the rim which is
made of a strip B bent in a U-shape and brazed or otherwise united to the
two edges of the first strip and also if desired united to the curved inner face
of the rim.
I sometimes make the rim from a weldless or other seamless tube drawn, or
otherwise formed into the desired shape as shewn in Figure 10. The rims shewn
in Figures 11 and 12 are constructed somewhat similarly to those shewn in Figures &
and 6 the difference being that the joint between the two edges of the strip is made
on the inner rounded surface B of the rim instead of on the outer surface at the
bottom of the groove.
In Figure 13 a rim is shewn wherein the edges of the strip are turned up and
brazed or otherwise secured to the sides of the central channel in the rim and
in this case the bottom B' of said channel is preferably thickened so as to afford a
good hold for the spokes.
Figures 14, 15 and 16 shew rims having tubular or beaded sides. I preferably
make the bottom of the channel B' a little thicker than the remainder of the
strip. In Figures 14 and 15 the edges of the strip are brazed or otherwise joined
to the cylindrical parts B³ of the rim according to Figure 14 on the inside and
in Figure 15 on the outside of said parts.
In a modified form of the rim shewn in Figure 15, the edges of the strip are
secured to the sides of the cylindrical parts of the rim as shewn in Figure 16.
In all the forms of hollow rim hereinabove described the bottom of the groove
or depression being thickened not only affords a strong seating for the spoke heads,
but at the same time prevents the outermost portion of the rim being put out of
shape by the subsequent inflation of the tyre thereon.
In Figures 17 to 23 I shew further modified forms of rims in which the groove
or depression is not in the centre of the rim but at one side. I sometimes make a
rim having two grooves as shewn for example in Figures 21 and 23.
In Figure 17 a rim similar in character to that illustrated in Figure 1 is shewn.
The side plates B are however not T-shaped in cross section as shewn in Figure 1
but are plane circular rings which may be secured to the wooden felloe by rivets C

page_text: for example. The space between the two parts of the rim is partially filled up by
a cylindrical iron tyre F¹ so as to leave a groove B' at the side of the rim for the
purpose of putting the tyre on and off the rim in the well known manner.
The rim shewn in Figure 18 differs from that shewn in Figure 3 merely in the
fact that the groove B₁ is at one side instead of in the centre of the rim.
Modifications of the rim shewn in Figure 4 are shewn in Figures 19, 20 and 21.
Of these, Figure 19 shews the rim proper formed with a wide groove, and this is
partially filled up by a cylindrical part or filling F¹ of a character similar to that
hereinafter described with reference to the filling F. The groove B' is formed
between the side of the rim and the cylindrical part or filling F. This form may
be further modified as shewn in Figure 20 wherein the groove is shewn as being
very wide before the part F1 is put in. In Figure 21 the rim is formed with two
grooves one at each side, the middle portion of the rim being raised instead of
depressed. If these rims are made of thin metal they may be used for velocipedes
and other light vehicles.
Light hollow rims suitable for velocipedes and the like are shewn in Figures 22
and 23 that shewn in Figure 22 has one groove at its edge similar to the rim shewn
in Figure 18 while Figure 23 is provided with two grooves, one at each edge. Both
these rims may be thickened as shewn at B5 so as to afford good hold for the spokes
as hereinbefore mentioned.
I have found that in certain cases more particularly when dealing with the wheels
of heavy vehicles it is much more convenient to have the groove at the side of the
rim than at the centre. It must be remembered that in most cases the wheel is
fixed to the body of the vehicle and can only be approached from one side. More-
over the tyre being very stiff and heavy requires considerable force to bend it
round to a groove which is in the centre of the rim and is much more easily
removed when said groove is at the side.
The groove or depression in my improved rim is provided in order that the edges
of the tyre cover may be inserted therein at oue side of the wheel to enable the
tyre to assume a position excentric to the said wheel so that the said tyre may be
very easily moved over the opposite side of the wheel and into place thereon. It
has hitherto been customary to make the whole rim of U-section or of similar
section for a like purpose, but it occasionally happens through the carelessness of
the operator that the tyre assumes a position excentric to the wheel after it has
been secured thereon. It is an important feature of my invention that I prevent
the assumption by the tyre of such a position by forming the rim of the shape
hereinbefore described, and further by placing in the aforesaid groove or depression
after the tyre has been placed upon the rim, a readily removable filling as shewn
in Figures 1, 4, 5, 17 and other figures of the drawings. I do this in the manner
following that is to say: after the tyre has been placed on the rim and before the
air tube has been fully inflated I force both edges D' of the tyre to one side of the
rim as shewn in the sectional view Figure 6. When the groove of the rim is at
the side one edge of the tyre need only be moved just past the groove so as to
expose the same as shewn in Figure 19 for example. I then place in the groove B¹
a filling composed of a textile fabric, felt, a strip or strips of india-rubber,
leather, aluminium, wood or other suitable material, so arranged that the said
groove or depression is filled or nearly filled to the level of the filling F¹ or the
cylindrical parts B³ of the rim. No movement of the edges of the outer cover can
then cause the said covering to become excentric to the wheel to form an untrue
tyre. Neither can the tyre leave the rim in case of deflation until the filling has
been removed. The filling is sometimes attached to the valve or to the rim by
one or both of its ends for convenience in placing the same in the groove. In
some cases the filling F is only made removable for a portion of the circumference
of the rim.
The filling F' shewn in Figures 19 and 20 is made of similar materials to the
filling F above mentioned and may be cemented or not to the rim. The filling F

page_text: may be divided into one or more portions for instance the two fillings F and F1
shewn in Figures 19 and 20 may be considered as portions of the same filling.
Instead of placing a filling in the groove or grooves of the rim as hereinabove
described I sometimes put a band of metal or other suitable material round the rim
so as to cover the said groove or grooves after the tyre is in place as shewn in
Figure 25 for example. The cylindrical parts 133 of the rim are depressed along
each edge of the groove B' so that when the band F* is in position the groove is
covered over at the level of said cylindrical parts which has the same effect as
filling up the groove as hereinabove described."
In cases where the rim has a central groove the air-valve through which the
tube is inflated very often projects through an orifice in the bottom of the said
groove. To prevent the shell or body of the said valve from turning I provide
suitable projections thereon which engage with the aforesaid groove or depression
so that the said shell or body cannot rotate, or I depress into the said groove
suitable portions of the washer which is usually fitted to the said shell or body of
the valve.
The inextensible cores which I provide as aforesaid for securing the tyre to the
rim I preferably form of wire or of wire covered with india-rubber or other
suitable material or as an alternative I construct them of cord or of tightly rolled
textile fabric, for example 1 sometimes roll up the edges of the canvas jacket
which usually lines the outer covering so as to form the said inextensible cores.
I very often use an inextensible jacket having no seam. Such a cover is made
by weaving a tube of the diameter suited to the wheel for which the tyre is to be
used and then transversely cutting the said tube so that endless strips are formed
without seam.
The endless strip is cut of suitable width so that the edges thereof
may be lapped over in order to secure the endless inextensible cores thereto.
I prefer to lap the said edges so far that they meet in the middle of the cover, and
thicken the same at the place where the tyre comes in contact with the ground, that
is to say at the tread portion of the tyre.
An endless band formed by cutting a tube of suitable diameter as above described
may be used for making various forms of inextensible jacket. For instance I
make an endless inextensible tube for some kinds of tyres from such an endless
strip as above described by lapping and cementing the edges of the same
together.
Referring now to Figure 23 D is the air-tube, D¹ the canvas jacket and D² the
outer cover of the tyre. To enable the leakage resulting from puncture of the
air tube to be readily stopped I interpose between the air-tube D and the canvas
jacket D¹ a casing G of expansible material preferably india rubber. The casing G
which has a smooth inner surface is as shown in Figure 23 attached to the cover
of the tyre by its edge G₁ and when unstretched is narrower than the canvas
jacket D. The outer surface of the air-tube D is also made smooth either by
specially preparing the material of which it is composed or by providing it with an
envelope of smooth material. When the air-tube is inflated it first expands so as
to fill the casing G and then both casing and air tube expand together, till restrained
by the canvas jacket D' from expanding further, that is to say until the tyre is
fully inflated. The casing G is thereby very closely applied to the outer surface
of the air tube. Should puncture of the casing and air-tube occur leakage can be
prevented by moving the former lengthwise relatively to the air-tube so as to place
the puncture in the air-tube out of coincidence with the puncture in the casing;
the casing possessing as aforesaid a smooth inner surface can be moved very readily.
When the two punctures are thus moved out of coincidence the casing which is
tightly applied to the air tube by the expansion of the latter effectually prevents
air escaping through the puncture therein.
In Figure 24 a modified form of the casing G is shewn. The said casing is not
attached to the air tube but is independently secured in place on the rim between
the air tube and the cover of the tyre by cores G2 in its edges in a similar manner

page_text: to that in which the outer cover is secured. These cores may be made of any
suitable material and need not be very strong as no great tension is put on them.
In other respects the casing is similar to that above described with reference to
Figure 23.
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. For a wheel, a rim, having a circumferential rectangular groove or two such
grooves formed therein, and having the portion or portions thereof between the
said groove or grooves and the side flanges approximately cylindrical, substantially
as described, for the purpose specified.
2. A wheel rim having a circumferential groove formed therein or two such
grooves in combination with a filling or fillings or covering therefor made up of one
or more parts, said filling or fillings or covering or a portion or portions thereof
being inserted after the tyre is placed on the rim for the purpose specified.
3. For a pneumatic tyre, a jacket made from an endless band cut from a seamless
woven tube, and placed between the air-tube and the outer cover, substantially as
described.
4. The combination, with a pneumatic tyre which is secured to the rim of a wheel
by endless inextensible cores contained in or formed by the edges thereof, of a
jacket made from an endless band cut from a woven tube, and placed between the
air tube and the outer cover substantially as described.
5. The means for preventing leakage of air from the air-tube after puncture,
which comprises an expansible casing placed between the air-tube and the cover,
said casing being attached to the cover by its edges, or separate therefrom,
substantially as described.
6. The combination, with a pneumatic tyre of a padding of felt or the like
interposed between the air-tube and the cover of the tyre, substantially as, and for
the purpose, specified.
7. The various forms of my improved rim for cycles or other vehicles constructed
substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings, for the
purpose specified.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.