Improved Apparatus to Facilitate the Insertion of Rubber Tyres in Wheel Rims.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Feb., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 15th Nov., 1895-Accepted. 21st Dec.. 189.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus to Facilitate the Insertion of Rubber Tyres
in Wheel Rims.
I, JOHN BAPTISTE STERCKX, of 26 Ampton Street, Gray's Inn Road, in the
County of London, Coach and General Smith, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
-
This invention has for its object to provide improved apparatus to facilitate the
insertion of rubber tyres in wheel rims.
My improved apparatus comprises a knife or blade formed on or secured to a
short supporting bar that is loosely pivoted to a suitable standard or framework.
Immediately above the blade is a cam or eccentric disc fixed on a shaft that is
rotatable by hand through suitable gearing and a hand wheel, or by an engine.
When in action, the cam disc presses downward on the top of the blade. To reduce
the friction between the can dise and the blade I provide the latter with an anti-
friction roller on which the cam disc bears. When the cam disc is rotated it presses
down with great force on the back of the knife and then releases the knife once
ench revolution. The knife blade may be raised between the successive depressions
thereof by an elastic supporting band passed around the knife bar and the shaft of
the cam disc or by other suitable means or it may be raised by the resilience of the
tyre.
The wheel into whose rim the rubber tyre is to be fitted is supported on a short
axle while the tyre is inserted in the rim and is slowly rotated by hand during the
operation to bring each part of the rim successively under the blade.
To ensure a side squeezing action on the rubber simultaneously with the down-
ward pressure thereon, I provide for moving the knife laterally as follows, that is
to say, I cause the cam shaft to slide to and fro in its bearings by means of a cam
arrangement acting thereon, and I form a deep recess in the back of the knife into
which recess the cam disc beforementioned enters. The pivot hole of the knife
arm is elongated to allow of a certain amount of play. When the cam shaft slides
to and fro in its bearings its cam disc moves the knife at the same time.
In a modification of the invention I provide the eccentric disc with a sheave
which is coupled to the knife bar, and I arrange a pin and slot or other equivalent
device to prevent the sliding of the sheave on the disc.
בז
1 of Fahru 1805
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
Improved Apparatus to Facilitate the Insertion of Rubber Tyres
in Wheel Rims.
1, JOHN BAPTISTE STEROKX, of 26 Ampton Street, Gray's Inn Road, in the
County of London, Coach and General Smith, 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 has for its object improved apparatus to facilitate the insertion
of rubber tyres in the rims of vehicle wheels.

page_text: My improved apparatus comprises a knife or blade formed on or secured to a
short supporting arm that is loosely pivoted to a suitable standard or framework,
and a cam or eccentric disc located immediately above the blade and fixed on a
shaft that is rotatable through suitable gearing by a hand wheel, or by an engine.
When the cam disc is rotated it alternately presses the blade down with great force
and releases it again at each revolution. The blade may be raised between the
Successive depressions thereof by an elastic supporting hand passed around the
blade arm, and the shaft of the cam disc or by other suitable means or it may be
raised by the resilience of the tyre. In some instances the blade is actuated by
means of a crank and link.
The wheel into whose rim the rubber tyre is to be fitted is supported on a short
axle while the tyre is inserted in the rim and is slowly rotated by hand during the
operation to bring each part of the rim successively under the blade.
To ensure a side squeezing action on the rubber simultaneously with the down-
ward pressure thereon, I sometimes provide for moving the blade laterally as well
as vertically. The pivot hole of the blade arm is in such case elongated to allow
of the lateral movement.
1 will now proceed to describe my invention in greater detail with reference to
the accompanying drawings wherein
Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved apparatus and shows a portion of
a wheel into the rim of which the tyre is to be inserted.
Figure 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus and shows also the wheel in position
on the supporting axle.
Figure 3 is a side elevation of a detail, illustrating a modification hereinafter
described.
Figure 4 is a cross-section of the wheel rim on a larger scale, and illustrates the
mode of inserting the rubber tyre.
Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in the several figures.
A denotes a standard which may be made sufficiently firm to stand alone, or it
may be fixed to a wall B or other support as indicated in Figure 2.. C is an axle
for supporting the wheel while the rubber tyre is being inserted in the rim. It is
carried by a cross piece C¹ Figure 1 which can slide up and down in the frame A.
C³ is a screw for raising and lowering the axle C as may be required. It is
connected to the cross piece at the lower end and works through a nut C³
carried by a bracket C secured to the frame A, and is furnished with an eye C³
so that it can be readily turned, by means of a har passed through said eye.
D is a shaft arranged to turn in suitable bearings D', D' carried by the frame A.
D2 is a chain wheel and D³ is a large fly wheel secured on said shaft which is
driven through the chain wheel D, chain E, and chain wheel F¹ from a shaft F
supported by bearings F2 carried by a frame G. The said frame is suitably
stayed by stay bars G³, G' secured to the frame A. H is a crank handle for
In lieu of
turning the shaft F by band; His a fly wheel secured on the shaft F.
turning the shaft F by hand it may be driven by a motor.
J is the knife or blade for pressing the rubber tyre into the groove of the metal
rim of the wheel. The said blade is formed with or fixed to an arm J¹ which is
pivoted at J to a bracket K secured to the frame A. L is a cam or eccentric
disc secured on the shaft D and adapted to bear on the top of the arm J¹ near the
outer end thereof and to actuate the blade Jas hereinafter described.
M is the vehicle wheel. M¹ is the metal rim grooved at M to receive the
solid rubber tyre N. The side walls of the metal rim are undercut as shown in
Figure 4 and the rubber is suitably shaped to enter said undercuts and to be
firmly retained therein when in place. The said rubber before insertion in the rim
is a strip sufficiently long to extend completely around the rim and is of a section
adapted to the particular shape of the groove in the rim. The wheel is loosely
mounted on the axle C which is adjusted by turning the screw C³ to bring the top
of the wheel in the position where the blade can properly press on the rubber
strip N. The inner face of the wheel is supported by a bracket O which receives

page_text: the side thrust and prevents any undue strain on the wheel and on the axle C.
The wheel may be further supported by hooks P pivoted at P¹ to brackets P
secured to the frame A. In Figure 2 the hooks are shown raised, whereas in
Figure 1 they are shown lowered to take hold of the wheel. Before inserting the
rubber tyre into the rim of the wheel, the rim is preferably warmed and then the
walls of the groove M³ are coated with rubber solution to assist in holding
the rubber tyre in place. The warmth is for the purpose of maintaining the
solution in a plastic state while the rubber tyre is being inserted. A start is then
made by first squeezing into the rim, by means of any suitable hand tool, a piece
of one end of the strip of rubber. This piece is then brought underneath-the
blade J and the crank handle H is rotated to drive the shaft D carrying the cam
disc L which cam operates to forcibly depress the blade J and then to free the
blade once during each revolution of the shaft. The rubber is guided by hand so
that one edge of the strip enters the undercut groove on one side of the rin, and
the base of the strip at the other side rests on the top of the rim as indicated in
Figure 4. This figure also shows the position of the blade at the moment when it
commences its downward stroke. The rubber and the knife being in the position
indicated in Figure 4 it will be obvious that when the knife descends it will force
the rubber into the groove in the rim where it will be retained by the grip of the
rim aided by the rubber solution. The blade is raised after each descent by the
resiliency of the rubber or by a spring or other means provided for the purpose.
For instance an elastic band passed round the arm J' and the bearing D¹ will serve
to raise the arm. After each ascent of the blade the wheel is turned a little by the
operator to bring another part of the rubber strip underneath the blade which
immediately descends again and forces another piece into the rim. This is
continued until the whole of the strip is inserted. One operator is thus required to
guide the rubber aud generally to attend to the insertion while another person is
required to turn the handle H where a motor is not available.
From an examination of Figure 2 it will be seen that the blade moves in a curve
and not in a straight line, and hence owing to the lateral movement so obtained it
has a squeezing effect on the rubber which materially assists the insertion of the
rubber into the rim. In some instances I emphasize this lateral movement as
follows, that is to say, I cause the shaft D to have an endwise reciprocating
movement in addition to its rotary movement, and I communicate the reciprocating
movement to the blade. For this purpose I secure on the shaft D a helical cam D¹
adapted to bear against a similar but reverse stationary cam D 5 secured to the
frame A. I also mount springs Q. Q on the shaft D on opposite sides of one of
the bearings D and compressed between the said bearing and the chain wheel D³,
and cam disc L respectively. The cams D, D* operate to gradually move the
shaft D towards the left in Figure 2 as the shaft turns until the high parts of
the cams escape past each other whereupon the shaft is suddenly returned by
the springs Q to its normal position. The cam disc L engages in a notch J³ in the
top of the arm J' so that the lateral movements of the shaft D are communicated
by the cam disc L to the arin J¹, the pivot hole of which is elongated to allow of
such movement. I may substitute any other equivalent device for that above
described for causing the shaft D to reciprocate axially or I may dispense with
such device altogether if desired, as I find that in most instances the lateral
movement of the knife due to its oscillation about a pivot is sufficient to ensure the
required lateral pressure on the rubber to facilitate the insertion of the rubber
into the rim.
I may provide the arm J' with a roller J* carried by a pin J' to reduce the
friction between the arm and the eccentric disc L.
In the modification of my invention illustrated in Figure 3 I substitute for the
cam disc La disc crank R the pin R of which is connected to the arm J¹ by a
short link R. The lower end of the link is formed with an eye through which is
passed a pin Je removably secured to the arm J¹. The eye has sufficient play to
allow the arm J' to turn freely about its pivot.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The hinged or pivoted blade in combination with means for actuating it,
substantially as, and for the purpose, specified.
2. The means for moving the blade laterally substantially as described, and for
the purpose specified.
3. Apparatus constructed substantially as described with reference to the
accompanying drawings and operating as, and for the purposes, specified.
Dated this 15th day of November 1895:
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.