Improvements in or relating to Pneumatic Tyres, and to Machinery Used in the Manufacture of the same.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Jan., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 8th Nov., 1894-Accepted, 8th Jan., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Pneumatic Tyres, and to Machinery
Used in the Manufacture of the same.
THOMAS SLOPER of 11, 12, 14 and 15 Brittox Devizes in the County of
Wiltshire Inventor do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This my invention relates to certain improvements in or relating to pneumatic
tyres & I will describe the invention as applied to the class of tyre known as
"detachable." In order that the outer cover of this class of tyre may be without
a joint & of equal thickness all round I form the cover out of one continuous band
or web of specially prepared fabric which I will call the "web."
This web is formed on a loom which I will presently describe & the warp used
in the loom is generally a combination of fine steel wire, india rubber cord, and
thread. The fine steel wires are for this class of tyre placed at the outer edges &
form the selvage. The india rubber cord is for the mechanical purpose of causing
the weft to take its proper position in the finished article. The thread part of the
warp is usually placed mostly in the centre but it may be arranged alternately with
the rubber cords or in any desired order. The weft is usually a superior linen
thread & by means of a special arrangement of the loom it can be made to cross
the warp either at right angles or in a slanting direction.
The loom used resembles the ordinary form but some of the moving parts are so
arranged that they may be set at an unequal angle to the warp instead of at right
angles thereto. For instance, the reed is supported at a position exactly in a line
with the centre of the warp & it is free to be turned round on its own support
independent of the heddles. The shuttle race may follow the direction of the
reed, or it may be set at right angles to the warp as usual (especially for a
narrow web).
The reed may be set to place the weft at an angle of say 45° to the warp until
sufficient web is made to go once round the tyre then the position of the reed may
be reversed so that the weft is placed at the same angle, but in the opposite
direction until sufficient web is made to go once again round the tyre after which
the reed may be again reversed & the operation repeated or the angle of the reed
may be varied as desired or different shaped reeds may be used.
The warp may be temporally loosened to assist in altering the position of the
adjustable parts of the loom. I usually maintain the tension of the warp by
passing the woven web between rollers which are revolved at a suitable speed.
The heddles are usually supported from one pulley only & this is situate at a point
just over the centre of the warp. One cord only is used, on the ends of which
the heddles are secured and on which they turn when being adjusted. Two or
more pulleys on a pivoted frame may be used to support the heddles in which
case a means must be provided for maintaining the axles of each pulley parallel
with the warp beam in whatever position the heddles are adjusted.
It will be obvious that if made adjustable the heddles as well as the reed must
be longer in proportion to the width of the article to be woven than usual on
account of the diagonal direction in which they cross the warp.
The wire in the warp may be omitted & strong cord used in lieu thereof or either
the thread or the rubber cord may be omitted or one substituted for the other.

page_text: The linen thread may be covered with a coating of india rubber & the wire
may be covered with thread or rubber or with both thread & rubber before
placing in the loom. The rubber cord may be wound spirally with thread before
it is stretched & placed in the loom in which case the thread will take a spiral or
zig zag course in the finished article.
The side wires may be bent or formed into loops at intervals for the purpose of
securing the tyre to the rim or to prevent creeping."
+5
When the web has been made it may be attached to a strip or band of thin india
rubber previous to its being formed into the tyre or a thin strip of rubber may be
wound between the layers of web in forming the tyre.
This class of tyre is formed by winding the web one layer over the other on a
form or mould of the proper size & shape when the weft threads will cross the
tyre diagonally & in opposite or different directions with each layer.
When a sufficient quantity of the web & rubber have been wound on the whole
is vulcanized together when the rubber cords will be incorporated with and form
part of the substance of the tyre. The thread used for weft may be in one
continuous length & if no thread is used in the warp there will be only one thread
in the whole tyre.
The ends of the wire or wires which form the selvage may be joined together
thus forming an endless coil of wires on each side which will take the place of the
endless wires used for securing the cover to the rim in some makes of tyres, or any
form of fastening may be secured to the wires either after the tyre is formed or in
the process of making the web or tyre.
Instead of weaving the web as above with wires at the selvage only the web
may be made a little more than twice the width of the finished article with say one
wire at each sclvage & two in the middle of the warp. In this case the entire web
may be woven with the weft at right angles to the warp as usual & when it is
finished the two outside wires may be drawn in reverse directions thus causing the
weft to take a diagonal direction in the web. The web may then be folded over or
doubled on to itself or round a strip of rubber. The centre wires will then form
the selvage on one side & the weft will cross diagonally in opposite directions
on each side of the web. Instead of weaving two layers of the web at once as
just described three or more layers may be woven at once in a similar manner.
Instead of causing the weft to cross the web diagonally I sometimes cause it to
take a circular course by using a crescent shape recd in the loom or by omitting a
part of the reed thus allowing the welt to form a loop. In this case the arch
formed by the weft may be reversed or altered each time a sufficient length of web
to encircle the tyre has been formed.
I have described the invention as applied to detachable tyres but I do not confine
myself to this class as almost any description of tyres may be made by modifying
or altering the arrangement of the loom or other machine on which the fabric is
made or by modifying the process of forming the tyre.
I prefer to so arrange that some of the threads in the tyre when nearest the
ground shall on leaving the rim slant forward in the direction in which the wheel
runs until they reach the outer circumference of the tyre & that they shall then
return on the other side of the tyre to about the same position from which they
started but on the opposite side of the tyre & as well as these slanting threads
1 arrange other threads crossing the tyre at about right angles but in this
particular arrangement I avoid having threads to slant the opposite way to the
aforementioned slanting threads. Now my object in slanting the threads in the
way just descibed is to prevent a resisting wave in the tyre just where the latter
first touches the ground when running. The expansion or flattening of the tyre
immediately under the wheel puts extra strain on these slanting threads which not
only prevent such a wave forming but have also a tendency to reduce the size of
the tyre at this point & to increase the size of the tyre just where the latter leaves
the ground when running.
Sometimes 1 vulcanize the tyre in a mould of peculiar construction which makes

page_text: the tyre take such a form that when not inflated the sides fold inwards & support
the running surface so that the tyre can be ridden without risk of damage with no
air under pressure therein. At the folds or creases of this collapsable tyre the
rubber may be a little stouter than the sides so that ridges are formed in the tyre
5 when inflated which will prevent side slipping on the road.
D
In the case of a detachable or double tube tyre the interior surface of the cover
may be made with a cellular, corrugated, or irregular surface in order to keep the
air tube farther away froin the road surface & thus render it less liable to
puncture.
Dated this 29th day of December 1893.
Improvements in or relating to Pneumatic Tyres, and to Machinery
Used in the Manufacture of the same.
I, THOMAS SLOPER, of 14 and 15 Brittox, Devizes, in the County of Wilts
House-furnisher, 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 my invention relates to certain improvements in or relating to pneumatic
tyres and I will describe the invention as applied to the class of tyres known as
detachable. In order that the outer cover of this class of tyre may be without a
joint and of equal thickness all round I sometimes form the cover out of one
continuous band or web of specially prepared fabric, which I will call the "web."
The special fabric for my improved tyre may be made on a loom similar to those
of usual construction, but by a special arrangement of the reed or appliance for
setting the weft in position, the weft may be made to cross the warp either at right
angles or in the form of an arch as will be better understood by reference to the
accompanying drawings in which
Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a horizontal and a vertical section of part of
one form of a loom constructed for the purpose.
Like letters indicate like parts in both figures of the drawings.
The weft A Figure 2 is shown at A' Figure 1 set at right angles to the warp B,
and at A2 Figure 1 in the form of an arch.
The warp threads according to this invention are usually fibrous at the selvage,
and indiarubber at the centre, or the centre warp threads may consist of fibrous
thread wound spirally round rubber cord, in which latter case the thread would in
the finished tyre take a spiral or zigzag course and consequently would be " inactive'
or not under tension in the tyre.
In Figure 2, which more clearly illustrates the arrangement of the adjustable
reeds used for placing the weft in position, C is one of the reeds, D is the bar which
carries the reeds, C₁ C² are arms branching from the reed C, both of which are free
to slide in and out of holes in the bar D, E is a spring encircling the arm C₁, which
draws the reed C towards the bar D. C³ D' are grooves in the reeds C and bar D
respectively, in which a slide F is adjustable; the shape or size of this slide F
regulates the position of the reeds C.
In Figure 1 two slides viz.-F and F are shown the former being in position for
placing the weft in the form of an arch, and the latter in the position which it
would occupy if the weft A were to be laid at right angles to the warp B as at A¹.
It will be obvious that the angle or direction in which the weft A is laid may
be varied as desired, by altering the shape or form of one or both of the slides F F¹.
For instance if it is desired to weave a fabric with the welt laid diagonally in one

page_text: direction, one slide F only, of a triangular form may be used, crossing the full
width of the fabric, and by reversing the direction of this triangular slide, the weft
may be set diagonally in the reverse direction.
The bar D, has a longer range of movement than in ordinary looms in order that
the reeds C may be clear of the shuttle when the slides are in use.
may be operated by the mechanism of the loom.
The slides F F¹
The above is a convenient method of making a tyre having threads arranged
according to my invention, but I do not confine myself to this or any particular
method of making the tyres as for example I may obtain a similar result by
omitting a part of the reed so as to allow the weft to form a loop. In this case the
arch formed by the weft may be reversed or altered each time a sufficient length
of web to encircle the tyre has been formed.
I have described the invention as applied to detachable tyres, but I do not confine
myself to this class as almost any description of tyres may be made by modifying
or altering the arrangement of the loom or other machine on which the fabric is
made or by modifying the process of forming the tyre.
I prefer to so arrange that some of the threads in the tyre when nearest the
ground shall on leaving the rim slant forward in the direction in which the wheel
runs, until they reach the outer circumference of the tyre and that they shall then
return on the other side of the tyre to about the same position from which they
started but on the opposite side of the tyre and as well as these slanting threads
I arrange other threads crossing the tyre at about right angles but in this particular
arrangement I avoid having threads to slant the opposite way to the aforementioned
slanting threads.
Now my object in slanting the threads in the way just described is to prevent a
resisting wave in the tyre just where the latter first touches the ground when
running.
The expansion or flattening of the tyre immediately under the wheel puts extra
strain on these slanting threads which not only prevent such a wave forming but
also have a tendency to reduce the size of the tyre at this point and to increase the
size of the tyre just where the latter leaves the ground when running.
In addition to the advantage of preventing a surging wave from forming in front
of the tyre the diagonal threads draw the tread surface of the tyre backwards, and
thus cause the bearing of the wheel on the ground to be a little farther back than
usual. I End the best result is obtained by so making the tyre that the tread
surface is not subject to longitudinal tension. For this reason the tyre should be
vulcanized in such a form that upon inflation it will not stretch longitudinally and
for the same reason I avoid using longitudinal threads under tension encircling the
tread surface.
My object in this invention is to reduce the resistance or friction of the wheel on the
ground when running, but in certain cases, such as on a very smooth or wet track this
reduction of resistance or friction allows the driving wheel to slip which may some-
times result in more loss of power than is gained by the reduction of resistance. In
such cases the driving wheel tyre may he reversed on the rim when its action will
be reversed and it will obtain a firmer hold of the ground than tyres of ordinary
construction.
Reference may be made to the drawings of my previous Specification No. 22650 '93
as showing the general arrangement of tyres of this description.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I wish it to be understood
that I am aware that heretofore arrangements of threads have been used which
have materially restricted the longitudinal expansion of the tread surface of the
tyres to which they were applied and to such make no claim but I declare that
what claim is ;-
1. A pneumatic tyre restrained transversely by a fabric of fibrous material
encircling the air tube (or attached to the wheel rim on each side) such fabric being

page_text: so constructed that the tread surface is drawn longitudinally in one direction by the
flattening or lateral expansion of the tyre between the wheel and the ground
substantially as described.
2. A containing jacket for a pneumatic tyre constructed without longitudinally
disposed threads or fabric which would prevent or materially impede the longitudinal
expansion of the tread surface and having diagonal threads slanting downwards and
forwards from the bottom of the wheel rim to the surface in contact with the ground
and without similar threads slanting downwards and backwards substantially as
described.
3. A pneumatic tyre in which the whole of the side walls are reinforced by
diagonal threads slanting downwards and forwards only from the bottom of the
wheel rim to the part in contact with the ground on both sides of the tyre.
4. A pneumatic tyre having a series of diagonal threads slanting downwards and
forwards from the bottom of the wheel rim to the tread surface on both sides of the
tyre such threads being longer and set at a greater angle than another series of
threads used for limiting the expansion of the tyre substantially as described.
5. A pneumatic tyre restrained by a fabric of fibrous or similar material attached
to the wheel rim on each side (and without longitudinally disposed threads or fabric
which would prevent or materially hinder the longitudinal expansion of the tread
surface) such fabric being constructed in such a manner that the tread surface is
drawn longitudinally in one direction by the flattening or lateral expansion of the
tyre between the wheel rim and the ground.
6. A containing jacket for a pneumatic tyre constructed with non-extensible
threads or fabric crossing the tyre approximately transversely (and without longi-
tudinally disposed threads or fabric which would materially impede the longitudinal
expansion of the tread surface) in combination with diagonal threads slanting
downwards and forwards from the bottom of the wheel rim to the part of the tyre
in contact with the ground without similar threads slanting downwards and
backwards substantially as and for the purpose described.
Dated this 8th day of November 1894.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicant.