IMPROVEMENTS IN INDIA- RUBBER TYRES AND IN THE MEANS OF SECURING THE SAME TO THE WHEELS OF CARRIAGES VELOCIPEDES AND OTHER VEHICLES
Year: 1884

page_text: I FREDERICK BIRD, Engineer, of Great Castle Street, Regent Street, London do
hereby declare the nature of the said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN INDIA-
RUBBER TYRES AND IN THE MEANS OF SECURING THE SAME TO THE WHEELS OF
CARRIAGES VELOCIPEDES AND OTHER VEHICLES " to be as follows:-
My invention relates to improvements in the indiarubber tyres of bicycle,
tricycle, and bath chair wheels, and to improved means of securing such tyres to
wooden wheels, such as those of bath chairs and carriages generally.
The first part of the invention has for its object to provide bicycle and similar
metal wheels with a non-extensible tyre which is easily secured to the V grooved
metal rim of the wheel without the use of cement and which is not liable to. become
elongated in use and in consequence of such elongation to become detached from
the wheel as now happens particularly with wheels of the bicycle type when
applied to bath chairs. The invention consists in the manufacture of the tyres of
such wheels of two kinds of rubber, the inner half or that part which is received in
the groove of the wheel being composed of vulcanite or hard rubber and the outer
or wearing portion being composed of soft rubber, the two being united by being
vulcanized together so as to form a single strip of. circular, oval, or other section.
The proper length to form the tyre is lapped or bent round the wheel until its two
ends butt. together and it is secured to the rim of the wheel by screw bolts embedded
in the tyre and passing through holes bored in the wheel rim and secured by nuts
applied to their inner ends, the mode of embedding the bolts consisting in drilling
holes (of the proper size to admit the shank of the bolt) in the hard rubber, piercing
the soft rubber opposite these holes and driving the bolts through the latter until
their heads are wholly embedded therein and bear against the hard rubber through
which the heads cannot pass. The improvement in securing such tyres to wooden
wheels consists in applying nuts of circular form to the inner ends of the bolts,
countersinking said nuts in the felloe and rivetting over the end of the bolt. The
nuts are cross nicked to enable them to be screwed home by means of a turn screw.
Dated this 19th day of May A.D. 1884.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I FREDERICK BIRD, Engineer of Great Castle Street, Regent Street, London do
hereby declare the nature of the said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN INDIA-
RUBBER TYRES AND IN THE MEANS OF SECURING THE SAME TO THE WHEELS OF
CARRIAGES, VELOCIPEDES AND OTHER VEHICLES," and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
My Invention relates to improvements in the indiarubber tyres of bicycle,
tricycle, and bathchair wheels, and to improved means of securing such tyres to
bicycle and similar wheels and also to wooden wheels, such as those of bath chairs
and carriages generally.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this
specification wherein Figure 1 is a cross section of the tyre of a bicycle wheel and
Figure 2, a cross section of the tyre and rim of a bath chair or carriage wheel.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both figures.
The invention has for its object to provide wheels of the bicycle type with a non-
extensible tyre which is easily secured to the grooved rim of the wheel without the
use of cement and which is not liable to become elongated in use and in conse-
quence of such elongation to become detached from the wheel as now happens
particularly with wheels of the bicycle type, when applied to bath chairs.
The invention consists in the manufacture of non-extensible india-rubber tyres
for such wheels by making the tyre of two kinds of rubber, the inner half of the
tyre or that part which is received in the groove of the wheel being composed of a
strip a of vulcanite or hard rubber and the outer half or wearing portion b being
composed of a strip of soft vulcanized rubber, the two strips a and b being united
by being vulcanized together so as to form a single strip of circular, oval or other
section. The strip of hard rubber being non-elastic and the strip of soft rubber
being united thereto throughout its whole length by vulcanization so as to form
one mass therewith, no elongation of the soft strip is possible and it cannot become
detached from the strip of hard rubber as it does from the metal rim when merely
united thereto by cement.
In the drawing the difference in the quality of the two kinds of rubber is
indicated by the dark and light shading. The proper length of this composite strip
of hard and soft rubber to form the tyre is cut square at the ends and is lapped or
bent round the wheel until its two ends butt together and it is secured to the
metal rim c of the wheel by screw bolts d embedded in the tyre and passing
through holes drilled in the wheel rim and secured by nuts e applied to their inner
ends. The mode of embedding the bolts consists in drilling holes (of the proper
Bize for the passage of the shank of the bolt) in the hard rubber a and piercing the
soft rubber b opposite these holes and driving the bolts through the latter from the
outside until their heads are wholly embedded therein and bear against the hard

page_text: rubber as shown. The elasticity of the soft rubber b admits of the bolt head being
forced through a comparatively small puncture, the rubber closing in over the
head after the bolt has been forced through, thus securely embedding the head of
the bolt
The above described mode of manufacturing and securing the tyre, applies both
to wheels of the bicycle and carriage type, as shown in the two figures of the
drawing.
In securing such tyres to wooden wheels such as those of bath chairs and other
carriages, nuts e' of circular or disc form are applied to the inner ends of the bolts &
said nuts being countersunk in the felloe and the end of the bolt rivetted over,
the nuts being cross nicked to enable them to be screwed home by means of a turn
screw,
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1st A non-extensible india-rubber tyre for bicycle and other wheels composed of
a compound strip of hard and soft vulcanized indiarubber united together by
vulcanization substantially as and for the purpose specified.
2nd The method of securing a compound tyre of hard and soft rubber as herein
described to a wheel by means of bolts and nuts by driving the bolts through
punctures in the soft rubber and through holes bored in the hard rubber and rim
until the head of the bolt is entirely embedded in the soft rubber and bears against
the hard rubber substantially as shown and described.
3rd The method of securing a compound tyre of hard and soft rubber to a bath
chair or other wooden wheel by means of screw bolts inserted as specified and by
circular or disc nuts countersunk in the wooden felloe and by rivetting over the
point of the bolt as specified.