Improvements in and connected with Inflatable Wheel-tyres.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Oct.. 1893
Complete Specification Left, 3rd July, 1894-Accepted, 3rd Oct., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Inflatable Wheel-tyres.
I, ANTHONY PULBROOK of Eastcheap Buildings, Eastcheap in the City of London,
Solicitor, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the inflatable wheel-tyres of bicycles, tricycles and other
carriages, and consists firstly, in improved means for preventing the puncturing of
the inner or reserve tube before the same is inflated and brought into action, as
sometimes happens in the arrangements at present in use; secondly, in improved
means for preventing the puncturing of the ordinary inflatable tyre, thirdly in
improvements in the construction of inflatable tyres generally, and fourthly in
improved means for preventing the slipping or skidding of the wheels on the road.
For preventing the puncturing of the inner or reserve tube before the same is
inflated and brought into action, I make it of indiarubber in the form of a flattened
tube or bag which when in position in the outer tube, and before inflation, stands in
a plane transverse to the axis of the wheel. Its inner edge may or may not be
cemented to the part of the outer tube or tyre proper which is adjacent to the rim of
the wheel; but its outer edge, that is to say the part that comes next to or towards
the tread of the wheel, stands out in but quite free of the outer tube, so that if
perchance the outer tube or tyre proper gets punctured the inner tube, if it is not
inflated cannot be injured because, being very flexible and quite free to move in the
outer tube, it offers little or no resistance to a piercing substance, but yields to and
is not injured thereby. Furthermore the narrow.edge presented by the inner tube
or bag reduces the chances to a minimum that the perforating object will pass
through the outer tube at a point so exactly opposite the said edge as that it would
injure the same if it did not yield.
may
The inner tube or bag may be made of the requisite ring shape in any suitable
way, for example it may be moulded in one piece, or it may be made by cementing
together a number of pieces cut in the form of gores or otherwise, and its ends may
be joined together by being passed into one another and cemented, or the two ends
be closed airtight, but so adapted that they can be inserted into one another
in such manner that the pressure of the air when the tube or bag is inflated tends
to hold the said ends in place and prevent them from separating. And they may be
further secured together by tape or other material cemented to them. This inner
tube or bag may be secured directly to the inside of the outer tube by cement or it
may be first cemented to a tape and this latter may be then cemented to the inside
of the outer tube or fastened in any other manner or stretched tight so as to keep
the tape close to the inner circumference or rim portion of the tyre.
To prevent the puncturing of the ordinary inflatable tyre, I envelope the same in
one or more thicknesses of the dried skin of fishes; or other water animals, either
raw or tanned. Such skin is of a peculiarly tough character, and is not easily
punctured, and I have found that it is well adapted for the purpose of a protecting
medium for inflatable tyres. Instead of enveloping the tyre in such material, I
sometimes interpose a band or bands thereof, between layers of indiarubber at
the tread parts of the tyre, or when employing laminated tubes, that is to say
inflatable tubes composed of two or more tubes placed inside one another I
interpose bands of such material between the said tubes at the tread part thereof.
By this means the inner tubes are protected by such bands from perforation
although one or more of the outer tubes may be punctured. I also combine such
material, or any other that is more or less difficult to puncture, such as bladder,
gold beater's skin, celluloid and so forth with laminations of indiarubber or

page_text: indiarubber compound at the tread of the inflatable tube in the following
manner:-
Before the strip of material intended to form the tube is folded over into the
tubular form, I place on it at the part where the tread of the tyre is to be, a
band or strip of the aforesaid more or less unpuncturable material, I then lay
a somewhat broader band of thin indiarubber over the said band and cement
the edges to the tube strip. Then if necessary I place over this another band or
strip of more or less unpuncturable material and cover it with a similar band of
thin indiarubber, and so on to any required number of thicknesses. When the tube
is completed and the ends joined the ends of each band of indiarubber are joined
together so that each band or strip of the more or less unpuncturable material is
coutained in a separate airtight casing.
By these means a practically unpuncturable tyre is obtained which is as resiliant as
the ordinary inflatable tyre not provided with any such protection.
The improvements in the construction of inflatable tyre tubes generally are of the
following character:-Instead of making the tube entirely of indiarubber as
heretofore I make that part of it which abuts against the rim of the wheel of leather,
canvas, felt or other suitable material made impervious to air by treating it with
boiled oil or other suitable solution or substance, or by cementing thereto, bladder,
fish skin or other more or less unpuncturable material, and I make the outer half of
the tube of indiarubber or indiarubber compound and cement it airtight to the inner
half. By these means I am enabled to make inflatable tyres cheaper than when
indiarubber alone is employed in their manufacture.
The improved means for preventing the slipping or skidding of the wheels on the
road consist in the employment of the rough skin of fish such as the spotted dog-fish,
or other fish of the shark species for example applied to the outer part of the cover
of the inflatable tube or to the outer part of the inflatable tube itself when no cover
is used. This fish skin may be applied singly or in layers together directly to the
cover or to the inflatable tube, or it may be cemented singly or in layers to india-
rubber, leather or other suitable substance and strips or bands of these combined
materials be cemented or otherwise secured to the tread portion of the wheel, or
the entire cover may be composed of such fish skin or of combinations of fish
skin with other substances. The fish skin is used with its rough side outwards
in immediate contact with the ground so as to produce sufficient friction therewith
to prevent slipping or skidding.
Dated this 3rd day of October 1893.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Inflatable Wheel-tyres.
I, ANTHONY PULBROOK, of 14 Victoria House, South Lambeth Road, in the
County of Surrey, formerly of Eastcheap Buildings, in the City of London,
Solicitor, 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, reference being had to the accompanying two sheets of
drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
This invention relates to the inflatable or pneumatic wheel-tyres of bicycles,
tricycles, and other carriages, and consists firstly in improved means for preventing
the puncturing of the inner or reserve tube before the same is inflated and brought
into action, as sometimes happens in the arrangements at present in use; secondly
in improved means for preventing the puncturing of the inflatable tyre, and thirdly
in improved means for preventing the slipping or skidding of the wheels on
the road.

page_text: The compressed air forced into the tube E in the usual way expands the end E' in
the end and compresses the end E' on to the end E' and the shape of the parts
prevents them from being drawn out of one another so long as the air pressure is
maintained.
In the example shown in Figure 7 the ends E' E2 are not shaped so as to be held
together by the pressure of the compressed air, but they are held together by
means of a strip or strips E of more or less flexible material cemented to them.
This form is in some cases better suited for joining the ends of reserve tubes than
that shown in Figures 5 and 6.
To prevent puncturing of inflatable tyres I envelope them in one or more
thicknesses of the skins of fishes or other water animals, either raw, tanned, or
otherwise dressed which I have found to afford a very suitable material for the
purpose, as they are peculiarly tough and strong, comparatively thin, of light weight,
and very difficult to puncture; or I make the air tube itself of this material, and
I have found that the skins of both fresh water eels and conger cels are peculiarly
suitable for the purpose. The air tube may be covered with these skins in various
ways, for example I sometimes (as shown in Figure 8) wind bands or strips F of
the skins round the indiarubber tube G in such a manner that the edge of each
successive convolution slightly overlaps the edge of the previous convolution, as
shown by dotted lines in the figure, so that the whole length of the inner and outer
parts of the tyre is supported by such bands or strips when the said tyre is inflated
and is protected from being punctured by a sharp substance on the road. Some-
times I wind a second band or strip over the first, but preferably in a contrary
direction. Or the air tube may be otherwise covered with fish skin so that the
latter forms the outer covering of the tyre, rendering the thick indiarubber
covering usually employed, unnecessary. Sometimes before employing the fish
skins I envelope the indiarubber tube in canvas or other soft textile material, or
other material with a soft or smooth surface, to prevent the edges of the
convolutions of fish skin chafing or wearing the thin indiarubber tube.
Instead of enveloping the indiarubber tube in the skin I sometimes place a band
or bands thereof at the tread part of the tyre between layers of indiarubber, as
shown for example in Figure 9, in which A is the indiarubber inflatable tyre,
B the ordinary or any suitable outer covering, H H H strips or bands of fish
skin, and I strips or bands of indiarubber interposed between the strips or bands
of fish skin.
When employing laminated air tubes (that is to say inflatable tubes composed of
two or more tubes placed inside one another) I interpose strips or bands of fish skin
between such tubes at the tread portion thereof, as shown for example in Figure 10,
in which A A' A² represent three tubes inside one another, and H H strips or
bands of fish skin interposed between the said tubes at their tread part, and H2 a
strip or band of fish skin placed between the outermost lamination or tube and the
cover B.
Figure 11 shows strips or bands of fish skin H H H interposed between the
inflatable tube A and the cover B at the tread part of the tyre; but in this case
the strips or bands I l' of indiarubber, shown in Figure 6, are omitted.
By these means the inflatable tube as in Figures 9 and 11, or the inflatable tube
or tubes as in Figure 10, is or are protected, by the strips or bands of fish skin,
from perforation, although one or more of the outer tubes, strips, or bands of india-
rubber may be punctured or otherwise rendered leaky. I also combine such
material, or any other that is more or less difficult to puncture, such as bladder,
gold beater's skin, celluloid, and so forth, with laminations of indiarubber or
indiarubber compound at the tread of the inflatable tube in the following
manner :-
1 take the strip of material A² (see Figures 12 and 13) intended to form the
outermost tube, before it is folded over into the tubular form, and I place on it at
the part where the tread of the tyre is to be, one or more strips or bands H³ of the
abovementioned more or less unpuncturable material, or material difficult to

page_text: sections or chambers contains a piece of fish skin or more or less unpuncturable
material, or material difficult to puncture H, H', H' placed at the tread or other
part of the tyre which is liable to be punctured.
The division of the airtight casings transversely into separate airtight sections or
chambers may also be effected by transverse distance pieces, such as those shown
at D in Figure 16 for example, cemented to the laminations A, A1, A2, the
material difficult to puncture H, H1, H2, being placed as in Figure 15 in the air-
tight sections or chambers, bounded by the laminations on the one hand and the
transverse distance pieces on the other.
It has been found that wheels having the tread part of indiarubber are apt to
slip or skid, whereby not only do they become dangerous, but a considerable
portion of the force applied to propel the machine is lost. To prevent this slipping
or skidding of the wheels on the road or track I apply to the outer part of the cover
of the inflatable tube, or to the outer part of the inflatable tube itself when no cover
is used, the rough skin of fish, such as the shark, balistidae, spotted dog fish, and
other species of fish in which the scales are absent and are replaced by the ossified
papillæ of the cutis, including those with osseous scales sometimes called placoid
scales, as rays and such like.
I preferably apply the skin so that the rough surface takes a grip of the road or
track, that is to say, so that the sharp points of the ossified papillæ bite into the
road or track; and the skin may be applied in various ways; for example, one or
more bands or strips of it may be cemented by indiarubber solution to the india-
rubber or other tread of the tyre, or of its cover, as shown in Figure 17, in which B
is the usual enclosing cover of the tyre, and L L' L' bands or strips of the said fish
skin cemented thereto either on the plain surface thereof, or into channels or groves
prepared in the indiarubber for that purpose; or it may be cemented to leather,
canvas, webbing, silk, or other suitable substance which may be fastened by buckles,
hooks, laces, or otherwise to the tyre when required for use. In the arrangement
shown in Figure 17 the strip L may be so placed that its ossified papillæ bite into
the road and prevent slipping of the wheel circumferentially; the side strips L' L'
being so placed that their ossified papillæ point outwards, that is to say one to the
right hand and the other to the left in order to prevent skidding sidewise in either
direction.
Sometimes I wind the skin or the skin and the substance to which it is attached
obliquely round the tyre and rim of the wheel as shown at L* in Figure 18, and
sometimes wind a second band in the reverse direction over the first. Sometimes
I cement the fish skin to the tyre or its cover B in pieces M as shown in Figure 19,
the points of the ossified papillæ being directed so as to get a firm bite on the road
or track to prevent slipping or skidding longitudinally or transversely, as above
described. Sometimes I buckle or otherwise fix bands L** of such fish skin
transversely round the tyre and rim as shewn in Figure 20, or I cover the whole
tyre with the fish skin, either alone, or in combination with other suitable
substances.
In order to attach the fish skin to the indiarubber or other material by india-
rubber solution or cement, I find it advantageous to rub the inside surface of the
skin with sand paper, emery paper, or pumice stone, before putting the solution
on it.
In Figures 1, 2, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16 and 17 I have shown the inflatable tube
contained within the usual outer covering of thick indiarubber; but I desire to
have it understood that any other kind of covering may be employed in
connection with my improvements.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
*
First. A reserve or inner tube for pneumatic tyres consisting of a flat tube or
I

page_text: bag arranged and applied within the outer or ordinary inflatable tube so as to stand
when not inflated in a plane transverse to the axis of the wheel substantially as
described with reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings.
Second. The method of connecting together the ends of the tubes of pneumatic
tyres by closing such ends airtight and inserting and securing one in the other
substantially as described with reference to Figures 5, 6, and 7 of the drawings.
Third. The use of the skins of fish or other water animals as substances for
preventing the puncturing of the inflatable tubes of pneumatic tyres substantially
as described:
Fourth. The use of the skins of fish or other water animals as protecting
envelopes or covers for the inflatable tubes of pneumatic tyres, substantially as
described.
Fifth. In pneumatic tyres the use of tubes placed one inside the other, after the
manner of laminations, the space between two adjacent tubes or laminations forming
a separate and independent air chamber having one or more bands or layers
composed of the skin of fishes or other water animals placed therein, substantially
as described with reference to Figure 10 of the drawings.
Sixth. In pneumatic tyres the use of more or less unpuncturable material, or
material difficult to puncture, enclosed between layers of indiarubber or other
elastic and air tight material cemented to the inflatable tube, or to the outer
covering thereof, substantially as described with reference to Figures 9, 12, 13,
and 14 of the drawings.
Seventh. In pneumatic tyres the use of more or less unpuncturable material, or
material difficult to puncture, enclosed in separate airtight chambers, substantially
as described with reference to Figures 9, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 of the drawings.
Eighth. A pneumatic or inflatable wheel tyre constructed with separate air-
tight chambers composed of stretchable airtight material substantially as described
with reference to Figures 9, 12, 13, 15 and 16 of the drawings.
Ninth. A cover for a pneumatic or inflatable wheel tyre constructed with
separate airtight chambers composed of stretchable airtight material substantially
as described with reference to Figure 14 of the drawings.
Tenth. The use of the skins of fishes having a thorney, spiked or rough surface
on the outside or tread of wheel tyres for the purpose of preventing slipping or
skidding thereou, substantially as described.
Dad dow of
XQ4
A. PULBROOK.
W. H. Beck,
115, Cannon Street, London, E.C.,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent.