IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEEL TIRES, HOOPS, BANDS, AND SUCH LIKE ARTICLES, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEEL TIRES, HOOPS, BANDS,
AND SUCH LIKE ARTICLES, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN."-A communication from abroad by Hippolyte Ulysse
Petin and Jean Marie Gaudet, of the Firm of Petin, Gaudet, and
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 10th March 1870.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
5 of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
• Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEEL TIRES, Hoops,
BANDS, AND SUCH LIKE ARTICLES, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED
THEREIN, a communication from abroad by Hippolyte Ulysse Petin
and Jean Marie Gaudet, of the Firm of Petin, Gaudet, and Company,
"

page_text: UL
follows:-
This Invention relates,-
Firstly. To a mode of preparing the pile from which wheel tires,
hoops, bands, and such like articles are to be made.
And, secondly. To the mode of rolling cast steel tires or bands.
According to the first part of this Invention a wrought-iron ferrule or
short hollow cylinder made with a diagonal or overlapping joint is sur-
rounded at its base by a flat bar coiled to a helicoidal form. Above this
flat coiled bar is placed a ring of cast or puddled steel made either
without a joint or with a scarfed joint; upon this again is placed another
flat bar coiled to a helicoidal form. This completes the pile which is then
heated and welded in dies or otherwise under a steam hammer, and is
subsequently rolled to the proper dimensions.
The
According to the second head of this Invention it is proposed to form
cast steel wheel tires and such like circular or annular articles by rolling
entirely without the use of power hammers or hydraulic presses.
cast steel blank in the form of a short cylinder with slightly projecting
flange is made in a metal mould lined with sand, this blank is then
heated and placed between the projecting ends of a pair of rolls, the
blank resting on a table and being maintained in place by a vertical
shaft passing through it. The blank may be rolled either in a horizontal,
or in a vertical plane or in both together in the same machine by the
addition of a vertical roll passing through the opening in the blank. As
the rolling proceeds the top roll is gradually forced down, thus exerting
considerable end or vertical pressure on the blank at the same time that
it is being increased in diameter. The final rolling to the exact form
and dimensions required is effected in the ordinary tire rolling machine.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent 30
Office on the 9th September 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty. Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special
license that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson,
my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WHEEL TIRES, HOOPS, BANDS, AND SUCH LIKE
ARTICLES, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," a com-
munication to me from abroad by Hippolyte Ulysse Petin and Jean
Marie Gaudet, of the Firm of Petin, Gaudet, and Company, of Rive
de Gier, in the Empire of France, Iron Masters, upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said 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 accom-
panying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is
to say :-
The said Invention relates,-
Firstly. To a mode of preparing the pile from which wheel tires,
hoops, bands, and such like articles are to be made.
And, secondly. To the mode of rolling cast steel tires or bands.
According to the first part of this Invention a wrought-iron ferrule
or short hollow cylinder made with a diagonal or overlapping joint

page_text: either without a joint or with a scarfed joint. Upon this again is
placed another flat bar coiled to a helicoidal form. This completes the
pile which is then heated and welded in dies or otherwise under a
steam hammer, and is subsequently rolled to the proper dimensions.
According to the second head of this Invention it is proposed to form
cast-steel wheel tires and such like circular or annular articles by
rolling entirely without the use of power hammers or hydraulic presses.
The cast steel blank in the form of a short cylinder with slightly
projecting flange is made in a metal mould lined with sand. This blank
is then heated and placed between the projecting ends of a pair of rolls,
the blank resting on a table and being maintained in place by a vertical
shaft passing through it. The blank may be rolled either in a horizontal
or a vertical plane or in both together in the same machine by the
addition of a vertical roll passing through the opening in the blank.
As the rolling proceeds the top roll is gradually forced down, thus
exerting considerable end or vertical pressure on the blank, at the same
time that it is being increased in diameter. The final rolling to the
exact form and dimension required is effected in the ordinary tire rolling
machine.
And in order that the said Invention may be more fully understood, I
shall now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that
purpose shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheet of
Drawings, the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts
in all the corresponding Figures.
The piles (Figures 1 and 2) are composed of, first, an iron ring c,
shewn in detail in Figures 3 and 4; second, an iron bar b, coiled
helically, shewn in detail in Figures 5 and 6; third, a ring a formed of
a single bar cut to a bevilled shape, as shewn in Figure 7; this ring
may be of iron or forged steel or welding cast steel, its height corre-
sponds to the part of the tyre which serves as the rolling surface. This
is substituted for the bars of a trapezoidal form cut into pieces, as shewn
in Figure 11, and which the Inventors have for a long time employed.
This ring a may also be made without joint by casting a steel ring a¹
(Figures 8 and 9), or by forging a bloom of iron or puddled steel.
Fourthly, the pile is completed by an iron coil b¹ (Figure 10), formed
also of a helicoidal bar, but shorter than the bar 6, the thickness of the
coil being less.

page_text: It will be seen that by this arrangement the tyre has the advantage
of being entirely free in its essential part, that is to say, its rolling
surface, from circumferential or perpendicular joints, which affords great
safety in its application. The Inventors have succeeded in securing a
perfect weld of the ring a composed of forged or cast steel with the
iron parts, by which a tyre having a hard rolling surface and capable
of running smoothly is obtained, and which at the same time offers
every security against rupture, since the parts 6 and b¹ are composed of
iron of superior quality coiled helically and without welds.
The piles thus composed are heated and the welding and forging is
effected by several successive heating operations in swages under the
steam hammer, and they are brought to the required finished dimensions
of the hoops, rings, or tyres by a circular rolling operation by the means
of the well-known apparatus used for that purpose.
The novel method of manufacturing cast steel tyres has the advantage
of being effected solely by rolling without the aid of the steam hammer
or hydraulic press.
In order to shew the advantages of this system it will be desirable to
refer to the various modes hitherto employed.
According to one of these modes the operator took a bar of a square
or octagonal form, as shewn in Figure 16, which he drew out to about
the height of the tyre, it was then cut into pieces equal to the weight
of the article to be produced; two holes a, b, (Figure 16) were then
drilled, and the bar slit down between these two holes and a series of
mandrels passed through in order to obtain the rough outline of a hoop,
which was next rounded under the steam hammer, and finally rolled
circularly. It will be perceived that these operations were long and
costly.
Another process consisted in casting a steel ring A of the form shewn
in Figure 17, leaving as great a thickness as possible. This ring while
between swages E, E', is subjected to the action of a steam hammer or
hydraulic press, which necessitates the ring being heated several times
in order to form the sides of the tyre and finally passed through the
well-known circular rolling mill, which exercises the pressure simply on
the rolling surface and on the internal face.
According to the second part of this Invention the ring A is cast in
cast-iron moulds m, m³, (Figure 18) lined with a thin layer of sand,
which is maintained in its place by means of small teeth or projections

page_text: cast on the mould, and the height of the ring is made much greater
than that employed in the other systems. The ring thus obtained is
heated and taken immediately to a "first rolling mill " which acts both as
a compresser and drawing machine. This mill is illustrated by Figures 12
and 13. It is so arranged as to exercise its pressure on the sides of the
tyre, which it rolls and draws out, which operation according to the
ordinary methods is performed by an hydraulic press or steam hammer
in a less efficient manner and at a greater cost. The apparatus is com-
posed of two parallel frames, one of which only is shown at M, and two
rolls f, g, the extremities of which extend beyond the first frame, a
horizontal table or plate h, and a vertical shaft B. In order to roll
the ring A, which as it proceeds from the furnace is represented by the
profile a, b, c, d, (Figure 12) the upper roll g is raised to the position g¹,
the lower roll remaining stationary, the ring is introduced between the
ends of the rolls and rests on the table h, and the shaft B is passed
through the interior of the ring. Rotatory motion is then imparted to
the rolls g, f, and the upper roll is caused to gradually descend in order
to exercise considerable pressure on the faces a, b, and c, d, of the
ring A and carry it round in its rotatory motion. There is thus a
considerable pressure on the sides of the tyre, and it is drawn out so that
its diameter is rapidly enlarged. This operation is performed one or
more times if necessary until the height of the ring is reduced to the
required dimensions for the width or height of the tyre; it is then
subjected to the action of the ordinary vertical tyre rolling mill, which
operates on and draws out the other two faces and brings the tyre to the
diameter and section desired. As before stated by this system the
operations of hammering whether in swages or on mandrels and the use
of an hydraulic press are entirely dispensed with, whilst by the simul-
taneous operations of compression and drawing a superior quality of tyre
is obtained. This arrangement of "first rolling mill" may be modified
in various ways without departing from the principle of this Invention.
Thus, for example, the modification shewn in Figures 14 and 15.
admits of rolling either horizontally or vertically by means of the same
apparatus. For this purpose the shoulder C of the roll fis dispensed
with, and an additional vertical shaft D substituted therefor, such shaft
being fixed against the frame M by two bearings N. It will be observed 3
that the side of the shaft D is a tangential line to the shoulder of the
roll f. By thus employing the apparatus alternately vertically and
horizontally hoops, rings, or tyres may be produced perfectly finished on
·

page_text: all the faces, and a considerable saving effected both in labour and fuel
over any of the ordinary methods.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The peculiar mode of preparing piles for the manufacture of
hoops, rings, or tyres without welding of forged iron or steel, or of
welding cast steel, as herein-before described and illustrated by the
Drawings.
Second. The peculiar arrangement of "first rolling mill" for the
purpose of compressing and drawing out flatwise cast steel rings by
which the operation of "roughing" ordinarily effected by means of a
steam hammer or hydraulic press is dispensed with, substantially as
herein-before described and illustrated by Figures 12 to 15 inclusive of
the Drawings hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this
my Specification set my hand and seal, the Eighth day of
September One thousand eight hundred and seventy.