Improved Means for Protecting Pneumatic Tyres against Puncture.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means for Protecting Pneumatic Tyres against Puncture.
I, ERNEST WELLS, of 90 Lavender Grove Queen's Road, Dalston, London, N.,
Clerk, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
According to this invention I cover or partially cover the case of the tyre with
strips of spring metal diagonally held. The arranging of the strips in this position
is the salient feature of the invention. The strips may abut against each other, or
slightly overlap. To secure the strips upon the casing I turn over the ends and pass a
wire through same and secure the ends of the wire in any convenient way, or the
ends of the strips could be formed with eyes or hooks for a wire or cord to be laced
over the rim.
FREDERIC PRINCE,
Agent for Applicant.
Improved Means for Protecting Pneumatic Tyres against Puncture.
I ERNEST WELLS, of 90 Lavender Grove, Queen's Road, Dalston, London,
Clerk, 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:-
The object of this invention is to provide improved means for protecting inflated
or pneumatic tyres from injury, such as puncturing, cutting or the like. To this end
I provide a number of strips of spring sheet metal, say, steel, so shaped and bent
that each piece may be adjusted in a diagonal manner across the surface or tread of
the tyre or cover: each piece or strip of metal is arranged in contact with the next
adjacent piece overlaying and underlaying the edges of the adjacent pieces
and extending in series entirely around the wheel, all as hereafter described.
In order that my invention may be readily understood I will describe the same with
aid of the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1, is plan view of one of the strips in its extended or flat form before
application to a tyre: Fig. 2 is a transverse section, Fig. 3, is a side elevation
and Fig. 4, is a plan view illustrating part of an inflated tyre and shewing thereon
so much of my protecting means applied thereto as will be necessary for the purpose
of this specification.
Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, A, is one of the metallic strips the end A¹ of
which should be cut off at such a suitable angle with the length axis of the metallic
strip that upon the strip being bent to suit the curved contour of the tyre, that is
around a mandril the axis of which mandril may be represented by the dotted
line B, B, the said strip A will lie parallel with the axis of the mandril upon which
the strip is bent.

page_text: In the opposite edges of the strips I form notches C, so disposed that when the
strips have been bent and placed in position upon the tyre the notched parts C,
engage with each other and effectively prevent any relative lateral motion of the strips
while the fact of the strips interlocking also causes one strip to overlay and underlay
the next adjacent strip.
In the illustration shewing the application of the strips (Figs. 2, 3, 4,) it will be
observed that each strip A, is bent to embrace the tyre D, laterally and the edges of
the strips which extend across the tread of the tyre in a diagonal manner before stated
while they interlock at the notched parts. In some cases an annulus of strips thus
arranged and fitted upon a tyre as shewn, I have found to be quite sufficiently self
retaining, but for further security (should this be necessary) the ends of the strips
might be formed with eyes and hooks to receive an annular wire or cord which might
even be laced over the rim or as shewn at Fig. 2, I inay turn up or bead the edges so
that when in position on the tyre an annular channel is formed to receive a wire or
cord E. In the formation of a strip as at Fig. 1, I generally somewhat lessen the
width from the dotted lines B, B, towards each end A' in order to allow for the
decreasing radius of the sides of the tyre round which they are bent. By my invention
I am thus enabled to provide an improved spring metallic sheathing for an clastic tyre,
and where each composing piece can be easily and cheaply manufactured by stamping
from sheet metal, and such pieces moreover when arranged as described do not require
to be formed with compound curvatures, but can be put together by unskilled labour
and form an unpuncturable casing without it being necessary either to alter the
construction of the tyre or risk injury to the same in the application of such
protectors.
It will be understood that the protecting means before described can be applied to
the air-tube within the outer casing instead of to the casing outside.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
In protecting inflated tyres from puncture, the application thereto of spring metal
strips arranged in a diagonal manner across the tread of the tyre, each strip
overlapping and underlaying the adjacent edge of the next strip and extending
in series around the wheel and being bent to embrace the tyre, substantially as
described.
Dated this 15th day of Anil 1907
FREDERIC PRINCE,
Agent for Applicant.