IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSTRUCTING AND ADAPTING
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Coles Fuller, of 2, Bucklersbury, Cheapside,
in the City of London, India-rubber Spring Manufacturer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSTRUCTING AND ADAPTING INDIA-RUBBER
LETTER
in the City of London, India-rubber Spring Manufacturer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSTRUCTING AND ADAPTING INDIA-RUBBER
AS TYRES FOR WHEELD,
Sealed the 26th September 1856, and dated the 7th April 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Coles Fuller
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 7th April 1856.
I, WILLIAM COLES FULLER, do hereby declare the nature of my said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSTRUCTING AND ADAPTING INDIA-RUBBER AS
TYRES FOR WHEELS," to be as follows, viz. :—
I make the india-rubber tyre by combining cloth, canvas, or other fibrous
material and sheet rubber in alternate layers or thicknesses upon a cylinder of
cylinders, annulus or annuli, corresponding in diameter to the size of the wheel;
the canvas by this means will prevent the india-rubber from unduly stretching
and becoming loose in the grooves, as at present.
Instead of springing the india-rubber into its place and fastening with pins,
I purpose to fix it tightly on to the outer rim or felloe of the wheel by any
suitable means, as for instance, by the aid of projecting discs or rims, one or
both of which may be moveable when required. In some cases I also purpose
to attach the india-rubber to a wide strap or band of canvas, the sides of
which canvas will be turned down and secured by nails, tacks, or otherwise to
the felloe.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Coles Fuller, in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 6th October 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
COLES FULLER, of 2, Bucklersbury, in the City of London, India-rubber
Spring Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Coles Fuller, Her special licence that I, the said William
Coles Fuller, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Coles Fuller, my exccutors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CONSTRUCTING AND ADAPTING INDIA-RUBBER AS TYRES FOR
WHEELS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Coles
Fuller, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Coles Fuller, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The nature of the said Invention, as hath been before set forth in the
Provisional Specification, left and recorded on application for the said Lotters
Patent, consists in this, viz.:-I make the india-rubber tyre by combining
cloth, canvas, or other fibrous material and sheet rubber in alternate layers
or thicknesses upon a cylinder or cylinders, or annulus or annuli, corresponding
in diameter to the size of the wheel; the canvas by this means will prevent
the india-rubber from unduly stretching and becoming loose in the groove,
as at present.
Also, instead of springing the india-rubber into its place and fastening with

page_text: pins, I propose to fix it tightly on to the outer rim or felloe of the wheel by
any suitable means, as for instance, by the aid of projecting discs or rims, one
or both of which may be moveable when required.
In some cases I also purpose to attach the india-rubber to a wide strap or
band of canvas, the sides of which canvas will be turned down, and secured
by nails, tacks, or otherwise to the felloe.
Having thus far described my said Invention, I now proceed further to
describe the same, and in what manner it is to be performed, wherein I shall
refer to the accompanying Drawings by the words, figures, and letters marked
thereon, and hereafter set forth, that is to say:-
I employ a combination of canvas or other fibrous material with the india-
rubber in such a manner as to prevent the elongation of the material in the
direction of its length, and at the same to preserve a sufficient amount of
elasticity on the outer surface. There are different ways in which this is to be
accomplished, as herein-after described. One method is to wind the sheet
rubber and canvas in a continuous length upon a drum or cylinder, corre-
sponding to the diameter of the wheel, to the extent of three, four, or more
thicknesses, commonly called "plies," until the required substance is obtained,
and the material when vulcanized is cut into convenient widths, to suit the
width of the wheel. In some cases the last coat or layer of india-rubber may
be thicker than the rest, so as to secure a greater amount of elasticity on the
surface (see Fig. 3). In other cases I prefer to wind the material, viz., the
combined canvas and india rubber, round the surface of the wheel itself,
the material being previously cut into strips or tyres of the proper width, and
in this state submitted to the process of vulcanization. The advantage of this
mode (which is chiefly applicable to wheels of brass, iron, or other metal,) is
that the material in the process of curing or vulcanization adheres and becomes
firmly attached to the iron or other metal, and requires no other fixing.
Fig. 1 represents a side view of an iron truck wheel with the combined.
canvas and india-rubber attached thereto. A, A, is the periphery of the wheel;
B, B, the combined canvas and india-rubber tyre. (The same letters apply to
Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 9).
Fig. 2 represents parts, in full size, of a similar wheel, in which the india-
rubber and canvas are wound round, in the manner before described, and
vulcanized on to the wheel.
Fig. 3 represents parts of a similar wheel, in which the material is cut into
widths after the process of vulcanization, and driven on the wheel sideways
with cement.
Figs. 4 and 5 represent part of a truck wheel in full size, in which a groove

page_text: with projecting rims on each side is provided in the casting, and the india-
rubber is vulcanized on, in the manner before described.
In the larger description of wheels made of wood, (such as would be used for
invalid chairs or private carriages,) a projecting rim or flange is fixed on each
side of the folloc, one or both of such flanges being secured by screws or other
suitable means after the india-rubber tyre is driven on. Care must be taken
to keep the surface of these flanges sufficiently below the outer surface of the
india-rubber, to prevent the flanges coming into contact with the ground, and
the edges of the metal, must be rounded off to avoid cutting the material.
Fig. 6 represents part of a-wheel as above described. A is the wood felloe,
having a joint as usual between every other spoke; B, the india-rubber, tyre;
C is a metal plate or flange; these flanges correspond with the joints of the
felloes, and are so fixed as that each joint in the metal shall come half way
between the joints in the wood fellce; I generally prefer to make these rims or
flanges in segments or separate parts from hoop iron, previously rolled to the
requisite width and thickness, and bent edgeways while hot on an iron mandril;
by this means. they are more readily and accurately fitted to the circumference
of the wheel, and are. less expensive than when forged by hand. In some
cases, however, the said segments or flanges may be made of malleable iron,
cast in moulds to the required shape. When fixed, the periphery of the wheel,
which is first driven tight up, cannot move or become loosened..
Figs. 7 and 8 represent a view in section of the felloe of the wheel, from
which it. will be.seen .that the plates C, C, fit into a shoulder or recess turned
out on the face of the wood, and are fixed by means of countersunk screws or
rivets. For smaller wheels these flanges may, if preferred, be made in halves
or quarters, as most convenient, and one side may be fixed before the india-
rubber tyre is put on, so as to form a shoulder, against which it may be driven
up tight.
Another mode in which I occasionally secure the tyres on to the wood felloes
is.by means of screws or nails at proper intervals, which pass through the
substance of the india-rubber tyre into the wood felloe. The heads of such
screws or nails (which should be what are generally termed cheese-head) being
sunk below the surface of the india-rubber, and taking their bold on the
canvas. This method of fixing may sometimes be convenient for repairs; and
for adapting a continuous length of the tyre to different sized wheels, the two
ends in such cases being neatly spliced, and where the tyre is used in this
manner it may be manufactured by the same methods as the ordinary machine
belting. Where truck wheels are turned from the solid wood, I prefer to use
a continuous length of the canvas and rubber combined, in alternate layers, as

page_text: before described, the last thickness of canvas being allowed to project from
half an inch to an inch on each side. The tyre is then cut into lengths to suit
the circumference of the wheel, and secured by nails or screws, and in this
case the flanges may be dispensed with.
Figs. 9 and 10 represent the adaptation of my said Invention to wheels for
obtaining mechanical motion; Fig. 9 being a wheel, and Fig. 10 a small wheel
termed a pinion. The adaptation of the india-rubber tyre will, I consider, be
a sufficient substitute in many cases for teeth or cogs, especially where driving
at high speeds. The elastic material herein named is commonly known as
vulcanized india-rubber, and therefore I have employed that term to include
any combination of caoutchouc or elastic gum, which will answer the same
purpose.
Having now particularly described the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I do not claim the
use of india-rubber tyres generally. What I do claim as new in the above-
described Invention is,-
(I.) The particular method or methods of making the tyres of india-rubber
and canvas combined, so as to be non-elastic in the direction of their length,
and therefore less liable to become displaced in use.
(II.) The different modes of fixing by said projecting rims or flanges and
screws or fasteners in combination with india-rubber and canvas tyres.
(III.) The mode of fixing india-rubber tyres by vulcanizing on to the wheel
itself, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Coles Fuller, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Sixth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Signed and sealed in my presence,
F. W. CAMPIN, Patent Agent,
156, Strand.
W. C. FULLER. (L.S.)