Improvements in and relating to Pneumatic and similar Tyres.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 17th July, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 16th May, 1892-Accepted, 18th June, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Pneumatic and similar Tyres.
We, GEORGE WILLIAM ROWE of 284 Oxford Street Manchester in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer, and WILLIAM GEORGE HEYS of 55 Shakespeare Street,
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows :-
This invention relates to pneumatic and other air containing and similar tyres,
and its objects are to strengthen the tyre and to prevent leakage of air upon the
tyre being punctured or cut.
For the purpose of this invention the air containing or similar tube of the
tyre is formed wholly or in part of compressed india rubber or equivalent material.
The compressed tube may be formed by turning an india rubber tube inside out
so that the originally larger diameter is brought inside and is consequently
compressed or it may be formed by moulding a piece of rubber U-shaped in section
and then bending it backwards so as either to form a tube itself or to enclose
another tube.
In all cases it is preferred, in order to ensure the compression of the rubber or its
equivalent, that the inside of the tube or of the U-shaped rubber is treated before
being turned inside out or bent back in such a manner as to prevent its stretching.
This may be accomplished in a way that will not affect the flexibility of the finished
tyre by cementing cloth to the inside of the tube or U-piece. Thus treated a tube
turned inside out has an outside diameter equal to what was before its inside
diameter, and is consequently compressed.
A tube to be used in the construction of a tyre may also be formed of a flat piece
of india rubber, if before rolling it and cementing it to form the tube, the side
which will ultimately be outside has cloth or other similar or suitable non-stretching
material secured to it.
In all cases the compressed rubber forming the whole or part of the tube or
surrounding or partly surrounding a tube is so arranged that nothing can puncture
or cut the tyre without passing through it.
Dated this 16th day of July A.D. 1891.
WILLIAM E. HEYS,
Agent for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Pneumatic and similar Tyres.
We, GEORGE WILLIAM ROWE, of 284 Oxford Street, Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer, and WILLIAM GEORGE HEYS, of 55 Shakespeare
Street, Manchester in the County of Lancaster, 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 relates to pneumatic tyres and other similar tyres which contain
ru 7

page_text: air or gas under pressure when in use, and its object is to prevent leakage of the
air or gas should the tyre become punctured or cut.
For the purpose of this invention, the tyre is constructed of an air-containing
tube (with or without an india-rubber or similar covering) wholly or in part of
india-rubber or india-rubber compound, or other similar and suitable soft elastic
material so formed and arranged, that such tube or that part of the same which is
liable to be punctured or cut, is, when in use, and when filled with the air or gas
under pressure, in a state of compression, the compression being in such a direction
as to tend to close any hole or puncture that may be made therein accidentally.
The state or condition of compression need not exist throughout the whole thickness
of the wall, nor is it necessary that the tube should be in this compressed condition
all around the same, but it is essential that such compression should be sufficient to
prevent the air or gas under pressure within the tube reducing the walls thereof
(or such portion of the same as is under compression as aforesaid) to a state of
tension or relaxation.
There are several ways in which the desired state of compression may be
produced. It may, for example, be produced by turning an india-rubber tube, of
sufficient thickness, outside in, so that the originally larger diameter of the tube is
brought inside, and the india-rubber is consequently compressed.
Alternatively, the air or gas-containing tube may be formed by a strip having a
U-shaped or circular or semi-circular section, the strip being reversed, or bent in
the reverse way, in forming the tube.
We prefer to employ some means for preventing the stretching of the air-
containing tube or compressed portion thereof, and thus maintain the state of
compression in the india-rubber or similar material. This may be accomplished by
cementing or moulding a strip or tube of canvas within the air-containing tube
which is afterwards turned outside in, or by cementing or moulding canvas on the
inside of the U-shaped or circular or semi-circular piece before the same is reversed
to form a tube.
The india-rubber or other similar material may be put into the desired state of
compression by various analogous means, examples of which are hereinafter
described and it is to be understood that we, in all cases, form our tyre in such a
manner that there will be a layer or thickness of india-rubber which layer or
thickness will be in such a state of compression that, if the tube be punctured when
it is filled with compressed air or gas, the india-rubber which is in compression will
close as soon as the puncturing object has been withdrawn, and so prevent the
escape of the air or gas, and it is necessary that the rubber in compression should
be joined to, or form a part of and be continuous with, the air-containing tube over
the surface liable to be cut or punctured.
The accompanying drawings illustrate in what manner the invention may be
carried into practical effect.
The whole of the figures except Figures 18, 18ª and 19 illustrates in what
manner the tube or air-containing part of the tyre may be formed. Figures 18,
18ª, and 19 illustrate in what manner the ends of the air-containing tube or part
may be joined together in making up the tyre. The state of compression is
indicated by short radial lines, as in Figure 1.
Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of a short strip of india-rubber or similar
material moulded to the U-shape indicated. The strip is formed with bevelled
edges, by preference, so as to avoid a butt-joint in making up the air-containing
tube represented in sectional view by Figure 14. The tube may be formed on a
round mandrel upon which the shape of the U-strip is reversed so that the original
outside C, is brought within the tube and the original inside T is brought outside
in the finished tube. The edges are cemented together and to preserve the joint
and to prevent undue expansion of the tube under inflation it may be enclosed in
an outer tube or binding of canvas, or it may be enveloped on the rim of the wheel
within a non-expansible tread as will be hereinafter shewn (Figures 3" and 4B) or
by other suitable means.

page_text: In these figures, and in the subsequent figures, only short lengths of the tube or
tyre are shewn for the purposes of illustration and it will be understood that in
practice they are made to such lengths as may be required.
Instead of employing a U-shaped strip and reversing it, a tube, such as that
shewn in sectional view by Figure 2, may be taken and turned outside in when the
total diameter of the reversed tube shewn by Figure 24, will be smaller than that
of the original tube and the material will be compressed in the inner circum-
ference C, which was originally the outer circumference, whilst the outer circum-
ference T was originally the inside of the tube. The method which may be
employed for turning the tubes outside in will be hereinafter fully described with
reference to Figure 16. Undesirable expansion of this tube may be prevented by
similar means to those already described with reference to Figures 1 and 1ª, but a
more permanent and in every way a better result may be obtained if a strip or tube
of canvas or other suitable fabric is moulded during the process of manufacture
upon that side or surface of the india-rubber which is to be ultimately on the
outside of the air-containing tube or part of the tyre.
Figure 3 illustrates in sectional view, a modification of the construction repre-
sented by Figures 1, 14, 2, 24. On an elliptical mandrel G (or it may be on a
circular mandrel) the india-rubber tube is moulded with a thick and a thinner part,
the thick part being that which is subsequently required to be in compression. It
is preferred to mould a strip of canvas F upon the inside of the thicker part. The
mandrel having been withdrawn, (Figure 3A) the tube is turned outside in, after
which the thick part will resume its original U-form as indicated by Figure 3B.
The tube is now preferably provided with a surrounding of canvas, and having
been made up as hereinafter described with reference to Figures 18 and 19, is
placed upon the rim of the wheel and inflated, when the U-form will be reversed by
the pressure of the air and the tube will take the form represented in Figure 30.
The tube may be enclosed and secured on the rim X by flaps V of the tread W in
the usual manner and as indicated by the figure. The thicker outer part of the
air tube only is put into compression as this is the part which is generally alone
liable to be punctured, and cut.
Figure 4 illustrates, in sectional view, a U-shaped strip similar to that shewn
by Figure 1 but with longer and more tapering overlapping edges, and with a
strip of canvas F moulded therein. It is preferred to cause only such a width of
the canvas to adhere to the material of the strip as will correspond with the circum-
ference of the finished tube, a flap f being left to overlap the joint. The U-strip
is reversed as described with reference to Figures 1 and 14, the over-lapping edges
are cemented together, and the flap fis cemented down upon the opposite part of
the tube as shewn by Figure 44, thus making a good and tight joint. The tube
having been made up may be placed on the rim X of the wheel on which it is
inflated in the usual manner. As in the form illustrated by Figure 3º, the tube
may be protected and secured on the rim by means of the tread W and its flaps V,
as shewn by Figure 4. In the figures, unless otherwise stated the original outside
of the tube or strip before compression is denoted by the letter C and the original
inside by the letter T.
As represented by the sectional view Figure 5, an excentric tube of india-rubber
is moulded on a suitable mandrel G with an internal strip of canvas F adhering to
the inner surface of the thicker part. This part is made thicker, by preference,
(as also in the forms illustrated by Figures 3, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 10) the better to resist
wear, and to enable a larger mass of india-rubber or similar material to be brought
into compression. The thinner part will be adequately protected in use by the rim
of the wheel. After the tube has been removed from the mandrel, it is turned
outside in as in Figure 5ª, and the thinner part may be protected by a strip of
canvas cemented thereon. This strip may be limited to the thinner part of the
tube or it may be cemented over the whole circumference and have two layers on
the thinner part as indicated by Figure 5³.

page_text: In each case the reversed tube is of smaller diameter than the original tube. The
difference in diameter will depend upon the mass of the india-rubber or other similar
material, upon its elasticity, and upon the nature of the fabric (when used) but it
may be taken roughly that the reversed diameter will be about equal to the mean
diameter of the material of the original tube, or in the case of a completely
canvas lined tube, a little greater than the internal diameter of the original tube.
In the tube represented in sectional view by Figure 6 a piece of canvas F is
moulded on the mandrel G around about two thirds of the inner circumference.
This canvas F has two flaps ƒ ƒ which, when the tube has been turned outside in,
(Figure 6) are cemented, the first upon the bare portion of the tube and the
second upon the first (Figure 6").
Figure 7 represents a modified form of the tube in which a lining of canvas F
is moulded around the whole of the inner circumference. This modified form is
intended to give greater protection right up to the edge of the rim of the wheel
upon which the tyre will be fitted. When this tube has been turned outside in it
will, before inflation, have the form shewn in Figure 7ª, and after inflation that
shewn in Figure 7.
A modified method of constructing this tube is illustrated by Figures 8 and 84.
Upon one side of a strip of india-rubber or similar material there is a strip of
canvas which may be moulded or cemented thereon and preferably with a flap f
at one edge. This canvas covered strip of india-rubber, Figure 8, is then formed
into a tube around a mandrel on which the india-rubber is placed with the canvas
outside. The edges of the india-rubber which may advantageously be thinner than
the central part and tapered, are then cemented together and the flap cemented
over the joint as shewn in Figure 84. We prefer the section of the strip shewn by
the drawings, but it may have any other suitable form such for example as a
uniform thickness in which case a butt or scarf joint would have to be formed
somewhat as shewn by Figure 14, instead of the preferred overlapping joint shewn
by the Figure 8ª.
The original tube such as that described with reference to Figures 6 and 7 and
any of the tubes and strips from which the tubes are formed instead of being made
from a homogeneous india-rubber mixture, may be constructed with two or more
layers of india-rubber of different degrees of hardness, or vulcanisation, or with
vulcanised and unvulcanised (or raw) india-rubber. For example, as illustrated
by Figure 9 a layer of raw or soft unvulcanised india-rubber U may be formed
on the outside of the india-rubber tube or within the tube as illustrated by
Figure 10. The tube represented by Figure 9 when turned outside in, has the
soft india-rubber on its inner circumference as shewn by Figure 9. The tube
Figure 10, after reversal, is represented by Figure 10ª.
The method of construction represented by Figures 11, 114, 11 may be
employed. In this modification the india-rubber tube T is drawn within a canvas
tube (Figure 11) of rather smaller diameter. The india-rubber tube may be
easily drawn into the canvas tube if it is collapsed during the process as shewn
by Figure 114. When the tube is inflated it will assume the form shewn by
Figure 11 and be in compression.
According to a further modification, which is however of less value than those
already described, a strip of normal india-rubber N is cemented upon a strip of
stretched india-rubber S, Figure 12 or between two strips of stretched india-rubber
Figure 12. Upon the liberation of the stretched india-rubber it will, in
endeavouring to return to its normal condition, put the strip N into compression.
The composite strip is then made up into a tube as hereinbefore described with
reference to Figures 8 and 84.
Instead of putting the india-rubber or similar soft elastic material into the
state of compression by a reversal or modification of its original form as herein-
before described, the state of compression may be obtained by means such as that
illustrated in longitudinal elevation by Figure 13 wherein an ordinary india-rubber

page_text: tube of suitable dimensions is placed upon a mandrel G, upon which the india-
rubber is compressed and held in a state of compression by braiding it tightly with
yarn or even with fine wires as at B. Alternatively, the tube may be compressed
under a spiral winding of tape E tightly wound thereon as shewn by Figure 14
and the spiral winding or the braiding may advantageously be cemented in place so
as to prevent the movement of the rubber away from the textile or other material
upon the withdrawal of the mandrel. The longitudinal displacement of the tube
upon the mandrel may be prevented by cementing the tube on the mandrel, or by
cementing or moulding longitudinal strips of fabric or tapes F upon the tube as
shewn by Figure 15. These strips or tapes may be secured to the outer circum-
ference of the tube as shewn in the figure, or to the inner circumference, or both
to the inner and to the outer circumferences. In each case when the tube is
braided or spirally wound, a collapsible or sectional mandrel may be employed.
To obtain an identical result a normal india-rubber tube may be drawn on to a
hollow mandrel of smaller diameter having openings in its walls and being closed
at both ends; the ends of the tube are tied firmly on the said mandrel by means
of elastic bands or are otherwise closed. Into one end of the said mandrel a
small tube is inserted and connected with an exhaust pump by means of which
the air in the hollow mandrel is exhausted and the tube thereby caused to collapse
and cling closely to the hollow mandrel of less diameter. While the tube is so
contracted or compressed, it may have canvas cemented thereon, or it may be drawn
into, or otherwise be encased in a close fitting canvas tube preferably lined with
partially dried cement.
When using a mandrel in the formation of the tube as hereinbefore described it
may be a plain mandrel, or be formed of a spiral wire closed or open at the ends, or
it may have circular spiral or longitudinal grooves or longitudinal and spiral
grooves, and when winding tape or stretched rubber over the tube upon the spirally
grooved mandrel the winding may follow the grooves.
In the case of a tube with very thick walls, the required state of compression
may be obtained by winding or braiding without a mandrel. A convenient method
which may be adapted for turning the tube outside in is illustrated by the longi-
tudinal section Figure 16. A rope R having a few hooks H secured to its untwisted
strands or by short cords or wires, is passed down the inside of the tube and the
hooks are engaged at about equal distances from each other to the end of the tube
as shewn. This end of the tube may now be tucked into the bore of the tube
which may then be easily turned completely outside in by holding the tube and at
the same time pulling the rope R. A little powdered French chalk sprinkled
within the tube will facilitate the turning.
If longitudinal tapes or strips of canvas F are moulded or secured upon the
outer diameter of an india-rubber tube as in Figure 15, these tapes or strips may
have their edges or selvedges drawn together, for instance by stitching as shewn in
Figure 17, when the diameter of the tube will be reduced and the india-rubber will
be put into the compressed state but this method is more tedious and less satis-
factory than those already herein described.
It will be found that the ends of the reversed or compressed tubes splay out-
wards to a small extent as indicated at D Figure 18 which is a longitudinal
section of the ends of the tube brought together for the purpose of making the
joint. These ends may be brought together so as to make a flush joint by means
of a few stitches of stout thread passing through the canvas F on the outside of
the tube. Or a fair-butt joint may be made by first cementing a short lining piece
of cloth Y into each end of the tube and then cutting off the end of the com-
pressed tube along the dotted line A Figure 19, with a sharp wet knife. The joint
between the two ends of the tube may be made airtight by means of a short india-
rubber lining tube Z which enters both ends, and the tightness of the joint may be
further secured by cement. The completed joint is illustrated by Figure 184 but
it will be understood that we do not limit ourselves to this or any other method of
making the joint.

page_text: The tube made according to our invention may be fixed upon the rim of the
wheel in practically the same manner and by the same means as those adopted
at present in similarly fixing ordinary pneumatic tyres, for example as illustrated
by Figures 3, and 4B, and the air-containing tube when in position may be
wholly surrounded by canvas or be provided with canvas only on the ground
surface as far as the edges of the rim of the wheel. For instance, we may use
a strip of canvas the edges of which are folded round wires or wire rings and
We
cover the canvas with a layer of rubber moulded to the U-shaped section.
then cement or mould an elastic air-tube to the outer face of the strip, which
strip is then reversed and fastened to the rim in the usual well-known way by
means of the wires.
Although various examples of the methods which may be adopted for bringing
the india-rubber or similar soft elastic material into a state of compression around
the air-space of the tyre, and particularly around the exposed air-space, have been
herein described it will be understood that analogous methods may be employed
without departing from our invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that we
make no claim to any form of tyre or air tube merely in virtue of a layer or layers
of unvulcanized rubber being used therein for the purpose of cementing up holes
accidentally made therein, but what we claim is :-
1. An elastic tyre for the wheels of velocipedes and other vehicles having an
air containing tube constructed wholly or partially of india-rubber or other
similar soft elastic material containing air under pressure of which the portion
liable to puncture is made wholly or partially of india-rubber or other similar
elastic material in a state of compression substantially as and for the purpose
herein before described.
2. In a pneumatic or other similar tyre a tube containing air under pressure
wholly or in part composed of india-rubber or other similar elastic material of
which the portion liable to puncture is wholly or partially composed of such elastic
material in a state of compression substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore
described.
3. In the construction of an air tube for a pneumatic or similar tyre moulding
the india-rubber or other soft elastic material into a flat or U-shape (with or without
a non-elastic covering on the side which forms the outside of the tube ultimately)
and forming the tube therefrom by bending the strip or reversing the U-shape so
as to put the inner walls of the tube so formed into compression substantially as
and for the purpose hereinbefore described.
4. In the construction of an air tube for a pneumatic or similar tyre, moulding
the india-rubber or other similar soft elastic material into a tubular form pre-
ferably covering the same on its interior with a non-stretching covering and
then turning the tube outside in substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore
described.
5. In the construction of an air tube for a pueumatic or similar tyre, com-
pressing and holding in compression the india-rubber or similar soft elastic material
by winding or braiding a textile or similar material around the tube upon a mandrel
the longitudinal extension of the tube being prevented by cementing the tube upon
the mandrel or by cementing tapes longitudinally upon the tube substantially as
and for the purpose hereinbefore described.
6. In the construction of an air tube for a pneumatic or similar tyre, drawing
an india-rubber or soft elastic tube within a canvas or other similar non-extensible
flexible tube of rather smaller diameter substantially as and for the purpose
hereinbefore described.
7. In the construction of an air tube for a pneumatic or similar tyre, cementing
or securing a normal strip of india-rubber upon a stretched strip of similar material
thereafter releasing the stretched strip and constructing the tube from the com-

page_text: posite strip thus formed with the normal strip inside, substantially as and for the
purpose hereinbefore described.
8. The pneumatic or similar tyres hereinbefore described and illustrated by the
accompanying drawings.
Dated this 14th day of May A.D. 1892.
WILLIAM E. HEYS,
Agent for the Applicants.