Improvements in or connected with Means for Inflating the Tyres of Velocipede, and other Wheels.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Mar., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 12th Dec., 1898-Accepted, 11th Mar., 1899
PROVIDIONAL DEECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Means for Inflating the Tyres
of Velocipede, and other Wheels.
I, WILLIAM CHARLES CHITTY ERSKINE, of The New Club, Grafton Street,
Piccadilly, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
The invention relates to improvements upon a device in respect of which Letters
Patent were granted to me dated the 23rd day of October 1896 No. 23593, and
which device consisted of a pair of levers at their lower ends embracing the tyre
and at their upper ends actuating a pump or inflater so that at each revolution of
the wheel the lateral spread of the tyre caused the pump to inject a small volume of
air into the same so that when travelling upon a road the device would automatically
keep up an even pressure within the tyre.
Now the object of the present invention is to improve the details of construction
of tyre inflaters of the character above referred to.
For this purpose instead of rigidly fixing the pump or inflater on the rim or
felloe of the wheel, it is loosely or pivotally mounted thereon, or upon
the
upper
ends of the levers, and consequently the lower ends of the levers which
levers are mounted on an axis of motion carried by a saddle are at
liberty to accommodate themselves to the position or form of the tyre, and
thus any risk of their being unable to follow the movements of the tyre in
consequence of the unequal mounting of the parts will be avoided, and an equal
action of the levers upon the pump will be obtained, or one part of the inflater
might be fixed with the corresponding lever.
In order that a considerable surface of the tyre may be utilised to actuate the
levers, the latter are at their lower ends spread or enlarged to a suitable extent
parallel with the tyre, and at their ends they are bent up and over the tyre so as to
avoid the possibility of their extreme ends accidentally coming into contact with the
fork of a volocipede or the like.
The pump or inflator consists of a cup shaped chamber carried by the upper end
of one of the levers and covered or enclosed by means of an india-rubber or other
suitable diaphragm which is pressed into the cup shaped chamber at each motion of
the lovers by means of a plunger formed to closely fit the cup shaped chamber,
whilst the device is provided with an inlet opening fitted with a non-return valve
preferably consisting of a strip of rubber and with an outlet or exhaust opening
fitted with a suitable non-return valve, and connected with the filling nozzle of the
tyre by a flexible pipe or otherwise.
The levers may be arranged to compress the pump or inflater by the lateral or
upward spread or displacement of the tyre or they may be crossed and caused to
expand the inflater against the action of a powerful spiral, helical, or other suitable
spring, which as the tyre assumes its normal shape in the further revolution of the
wheel forces the air contained in the chamber into the tyre.

page_text: The levers are carried by a saddle or fitting shaped to fit the rim or felloe and
removably fixed therewith by the aid of clips taking under the edge of the rim or
felloe and compressed by screws or permanently fixed therewith by forming the
saddle of suitable material such as mild steel and turning the edges thereof under
the edges of the rim or felloe or by sweat soldering the same thereto, and the axis
of the levers is capable of being withdrawn or the levers are otherwise so carried
by the saddle that the device may when desired be readily mounted upon or dis-
mounted from the saddle so that when a tyre is sufficiently inflated the device may
be applied to another wheel or placed in the tool-bag in readiness for future use,
but generally it would be preferable to leave the device permanently attached to
the rim or felloo.
If desired the levers may by a screw or other arrangement be made extensible
and otherwise adjustable to tyres of different sizes.
In order to provide for the injection of a considerable volume of air into the tyre
at each compression of the pump or inflater the lovers may be caused to store or
accumulate the requisite power by gradually compressing an air or other spring
automatically released at given intervals.
This accumulator according to one arrangement consists of a chamber and
plunger the latter acted upon by a powerful coiled or other spring to force it into
the chamber and beyond the chamber provided with laterally projecting studs.
Mounted with capability of revolution around the chamber is a ring of ratchet
shaped teeth or cams each formed with a gradual rise and sudden fall adapted to
act upon the studs of the plunger, and this cam ring is provided with a ring of
closely spaced teeth or projections whilst the actuating levers which are mounted
upon opposite sides of the device are provided with co-acting drivers, a pawl carried
by the chamber engaging the teeth or pins in order to prevent back action thereof.
By this arrangement of parts at each lateral and upward spread of the tyre
however slight, the spring will be partially compressed, the levers will rotate the cam
ring to the extent of one or more teeth, and thus the cams will gradually force
outward the plunger and cause the pump or inflater to take in its supply of air,
whilst upon the cams travelling beyond their co-acting studs upon the plunger, the
latter will by means of the spring be suddenly forced into the chamber thereby
forcing the contained air into the tyre.
The details of this device may be considerably variod, for example, in lieu of the
driving teeth or pins upon the cam ring a ring of crown teeth may be substituted
therefor, with which on opposite sides of the device engage mutilated_wheels
which are rotated by the drivers and effect the compression and sudden release of
the spring.
Or the drivers might through racks or other means give motion to a snail wheel
formed with a gradual rise and sudden fall and arranged to compress the spring in
the manner hereinbefore described.
Or the device might be otherwise modified as will be readily understood.
Instead of forming the pump or inflator in the manner hereinbefore described
with respect to the first arrangement, it may be of any other suitable
construction.
If desired in order to increase the power of the device, the lower ends of the levers
may be coupled by an arrangement of toggle levers passing underneath the tyre, but
the arrangement hereinbefore described is the preferred one.
Dated this 10th dow of Mo 1000
WHITE & WOODINGTON,
Rooms 221-225, Birkbeck Bank Chambers,
Southampton Buildings, London, Agents.

page_text: Improvements in or connected with Means for Inflating the Tyres
of Velocipede, and other Wheels.
I, WILLIAM CHARLES CHITTY ERSKINE, formerly of The New Club, Grafton Street,
Piccadilly, in the County of Middlesex, but at present at The New Club,
Princes Street, Edinburgh, in the County of Mid-Lothian, in that part of Great
Britain called Scotland, Gentleman, 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 invention relates to improvements upon a device in respect of which Letters
Patent were granted to me dated the 23rd day of October 1896 No. 23593 and
which device consisted of a pair of levers at their lower ends embracing the tyre
and at their upper ends actuating a pump or inflator so that at each revolution of
the wheel the lateral spread of the tyre caused the pump to inject a small volume
of air into the same and thus when applied to the wheel of a vehicle travelling
upon a road the device would automatically keep up an even pressure within the
tyre.
Now the object of the present invention is to improve the details of construction
of tyre inflators of the character above referred to.
For this purpose instead of rigidly fixing the pump or inflator on the rim or felloe
of the wheel it is loosely or pivotally mounted thereon, or upon the upper ends of
the levers and consequently the lower ends of the levers which levers are mounted
on an axis of motion carried by a saddle are at liberty to accommodate themselves
to the position or form of the tyre, and thus any risk of their being unable to follow
the lateral and upward movements of the tyre in consequence of the unequal
mounting of the parts or the unequal spreading of the tyre will be avoided, and an
equal action of the levers upon the pump will be obtained.
In order that a considerable surface of the tyre may be utilised to actuate the
levers, the latter are at their lower ends spread or enlarged to a suitable extent
parallel with the tyre, and these enlargements at their ends are bent up and slightly
over the tyre so as to avoid the possibility of their extreme ends accidentally
coming into contact with the fork of a velocipede or the like to which the device is
applied.
The pump or inflator consists of a cup shaped chamber carried by the upper end
of one of the levers or it might be pivotally carried by the rim as hereinbefore
described and covered and enclosed by means of an india-rubber or other suitable
diaphragm which is pressed into the cup shaped chamber at each motion of the lovers
by means of a plunger or piston formed to closely fit the cap shaped chamber, whilst
the devico is provided with an inlet opening fitted with a suitable non-return valve
and with an outlet or exhaust opening fitted with a suitable non-return valve, and
connected with the filling nozzle of the tyre by a flexible pipe or otherwiso.
The levers may be arranged to compress the pump or inflator by the lateral or
upward spread or displacement of the tyre upon the ground or they may be
crossed or otherwise caused to expand the inflator against the action of a powerful
spiral, helical, or other suitable spring, which as the tyre assumes its normal shape
in the further revolution of the wheel forces the air contained in the chamber into
the connection with the tyre.
The levers are carried by a saddle or fitting shaped to fit the rim or felloe and
renovably fixed therewith by the aid of clips taking under the edge of the rim or
felloe and compressed by screws or the saddle may be permanently fixed therewith
by forming the same of suitable material such as mild steel and turning the edges
thereof under the edges of the rim or felloe or by sweat soldering the same thereto,

page_text: and the axis of the levers is capable of being withdrawn or the levers are otherwise
so carried by the saddle that the device may when desired be readily mounted upon
or dismounted from the saddle so that when a tyre is sufficiently inflated the device
may be applied to another wheel or placed in the tool-bag in readiness for future
use but generally it would be preferable to leave the device permanently attached
to the rim or felloe.
If desired the levers may by a screw or other arrangement be made extensible
and otherwise adjustable to tyres of different sizes.
In order to provide for the injection of a considerable volume of air into the tyre
at each compression of the pump or inflator the levers may be caused to store or
accumulate the requisite power by gradually compressing an air or other spring
automatically released at given intervals.
This accumulator according to one arrangement consists of a chamber and
plunger the latter acted upon by a powerful coiled or other spring to force it into
the chamber and beyond the chamber provided with laterally projecting studs.
Mounted with capability of revolution around the chamber is a ring of ratchet
shaped teeth or cams each formed with a gradual rise and suddon fall adapted to
act upon the studs of the plunger and this cam ring is provided with a ring of
closely spaced teeth or projections whilst the actuating levers which are mounted
upon opposite sides of the device are provided with co-acting drivers, a pawl carried
by the chamber engaging the teeth or pins in order to prevent back action
thereof.
By this arrangement of parts at each lateral and upward spread of the tyre how-
ever slight, the spring will be partially compressed the levers will rotate the cam
ring to the extent of one or more teeth and thus the cams will gradually force out-
ward the plunger and cause the pump or inflator to take in its supply of air, whilst
upon the cams travelling beyond their co-acting studs upon the plunger the latter
will by means of the spring be suddenly forced into the chamber thereby forcing
the contained air into the tyre or the connection therewith.
The details of this device may be considerably varied for example the drivers
might through racks or other means give motion to a snail wheel formed with a
gradual rise and sudden fall and arranged to compress the spring in the manner
hereinbefore described.
Or the device might be otherwise modified as will be readily understood.
Instead of forming the pump or inflator in the manner hereinbefore described
with respect to the first arrangement it may be of any other suitable construction.
If desired in order to increase the power of the device the lower ends of the levers
may be coupled by an arrangement of toggle levers passing underneath the tyre but
the arrangement herein before described is the preferred one.
And in order that the said invention may be more clearly understood and readily
carried into effect I will proceed aided by the accompanying drawings more fully to
describe the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a portion of a velocipede wheel fitted with
a tyre inflator constructed according to the present invention and showing the parts
in their normal positions.
Figure 2 is an end view thereof.

page_text: Figure 13 is a side view of the saddle for fixing the instrument to the rim
of the wheel.
Figure 14 is a plan thereof.
Figure 15 is an end view thereof.
Figure 16 is an end elevation representing a further modification and
Figure 17 is a sectional view taken at right angles to Figure 16.
In the several figures in which like parts are indicated by similar letters of
reference Figures 3, 7, 10, 16, and 17 are drawn to an increased scale whilst
Figure 9 is drawn to a reduced scale with respect to the other figures of the
drawings.
Referring to Figures 1 to 7 a represents the tyre of the wheel b represents the
rim or felloe thereof, whilst c represents the pump or inflator.
According to the present invention instead of rigidly fixing the pump or inflator c
on the rim or felloe & of the wheel it is loosely or pivotally mounted upon the upper
ends of levers d as hereinafter described and which are removably mounted upon an
axis of motion d' carried in bearings e¹ formed in brackets e* from a saddle e and
held in place by a cotter pin * or other simple contrivance so as to be easily
detachable, and the saddle e is fixed with the rim or felloe b by means of clips or
hooks e which at their lower ends take under the edge of the rim b and at their
upper ends are forced together by means of a screw bolt e² passing through
a plain hole in one of said clips e¹ and screwing into a tipped hole in the other.
"By this arrangement the levers d and the pump or inflator care at liberty to
accomodate themselves to the position or form of the tyre a and thus any risk of
their being unable to follow the movements of the tyre in consequence of the
unequal mounting of the parts or otherwise will be avoided and an equal action of
the levers d upon the pump c will be obtained.
In order that a considerable surface of the tyre a may be utilised to actuate the
levers & the latter are at their lower ends d² spread out or enlarged to a suitable
extent parallel with the tyre, and at their ends d²* these enlargements are bent
up and slightly over the tyre so as to avoid the possibility of their extreme ends
accidentally coming into contact with the fork of the velocipede or the like to which
the device is fitted.
The pump or inflator c consists of a cup shaped chamber c¹ carried by and pivotally
connected at c* with the upper end of one of the lovers & and this chamber c¹ is
covered or enclosed by means of an india-rubber oiled leather or other suitable
diaphragm c which at its edges is nipped against the periphery of the chamber c¹
by means of a nut or cap c³ screwing into a cylindrical box c enclosing the entire
device.
The other part of the pump or inflator consists of a plunger or piston ct shaped
to fit the chamber c¹ and this plunger or piston ct is carried by a piston rod c' at its
outer end pivotally connected at c** with the upper end of the other lover whilst
at its inner end the piston rode is formed with a flange and threaded to receive
the piston c which is correspondingly threaded to screw thereon and the disc or
diaphragm c² is aportured to fit upon the piston rod c and is at that point compressed
between the piston c' and the Hange of the piston rod c³ so as to make a tight
joint between the parts a nut ce also screwing upon the piston rod 5 being employed
to keep the piston e in position.
Air is supplied to the chamber c¹ through an air inlet provided in the piston
rod and this inlet is controlled by means of a non-return valve closing upon an
india-rubber or other suitable seat c* and held to its seat with a light spring
pressure by means of an india-rubber strap c***.

page_text: The air exhausted or expelled from the chamber c¹ passes through a non-return
valve c³, nozzle c*, flexible pipe c20 and ordinary inflating nozzle c¹ to the tyre a.
By this arrangement of parts each time that part of the tyre embraced by the
enlargements d of the levers d is expanded or displaced laterally and upwardly
by coming into contact with the ground as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 2
the piston or plunger ct will be forced into the cup shaped chamber c¹ carrying with
it the diaphgram c², and this will expel the contents of the chamber through the
non-return valve c and nozzle c* and force the same into the flexible connection c¹º
and part of the air contained within said flexible connection will be forced through
the ordinary inflating nozzle c¹ into the tyre a, whilst the return motion of the
levers and consequent expansion of the chamber c' is ensured by means of
follower springs s pivotally carried by one of the levers d and the short arms of
which springs take an abutment against the cap c³ whilst the long arms thereof act
upon extensions of the pivot c**.
If desired the levers may by screw or other arrangements be made adjustable
in length and otherwise to the position and size of the tyre as will be readily
understood.
In the example given at Figure 8 the pump or inflator c in lieu of, or it might be
in addition to, being pivotally mounted upon the upper ends of the levers d is by
means of brackets c therefrom pivotally mounted upon the axis d' but the upper
ends of the levers d in this case impinge the one upon the exterior of the
chamber c¹ and the other upon the end of the piston rod c³ which is enlarged to
afford sufficient bearing a spring d³ being employed to retract the piston or
plunger and restore the levers d to their normal position.
In the example given at Figure 9 the device is substantially the same as that
hereinbefore shown and described with respect to Figures 1 to 7 but in this case
the outward movement of the lower ends of the levers d is ensured or supple-
mented by means of toggle levers d' pinjointed at d* to the ends d² of the levers d
and pinjointed together at adjacent to which point they are formed with feet do
which come in contact with the ground and take the wear. In the example given
at Figure 10 the levers d instead of being caused to compress the pump or
inflator c by the expansion of the tyre said levers aro crossed and caused to expand
the inflator c against the action of a powerful spiral or it might be other suitable
spring which is arranged around the piston rod c³, and which spring as the tyre a
assumes its normal shape in the further revolution of the wheel forces the air
contained in the chamber c¹ of the inflator c into the flexible connection c¹º and
thence into the tyre a but in other respects the instrument is substantially the same
as the devices herein before shown and described.
It will be obvious that by cranking the ends of the levers ‹ and connecting them
to opposite ends of the inflator the crossing of the levers at their axis may be
dispensed with.
In the example given at Figures 11 to 15 the inflator c is arranged to act
vertically but is actuated by a spring f in a somewhat similar manner to that shown
and described with respect to Figure 10 and is also held in position upon the rim or
felloe b by means of a saddle e but in this case the clips el are dispensed with and
the saddle is formed of a material such as mild steel, and it is secured to the rim or
felloe 6 by turning the edges thereof under the same as shown at e¹ in Figure 12
but the views given at Figures 13 to 15 represent the saddle e previous to the
turning in of said edges.
Or the saddle e might be sweat soldered to the rim or felloe 6 if desired.
The levers d in this case are arranged parallel with the rim or felloe b and aro
caused to act more especially by the upward displacement of the tyre a as will be
readily understood.
In the example given at Figures 16 and 17 a device is shown adapted to provide
for the injection of a considerable volume of air into the tyre a at each compression
of the pump or inflator c and for this purpose the power exercised by each dis-
placement of the tyre is accumulated and suddenly released so that the capacity of

page_text: the chamber c of the inflator c may be considerably increased as compared with
the foregoing examples and it may thus be caused to force a large volume of air
into the tyre at each operation.
A coiled spring f or it might be an air or other suitable spring is in this case
also employed to actuate the piston or plunger c' and this coiled spring which is fixed
to the plunger c and sadde e is gradually compressed by a step-by-step motion in
the following manner.
The saddle e in this case carries brackets or standards e on which are pivotally
mounted upon centres arms c*1 which support the chamber c¹ and box c and
the plunger or piston c* is provided with pins or projections c* which are acted
upon by a ring of cams g to which rotary motion is given by means of a circle of
ratchet teeth g¹ carried by the ring of cains g and by pawls or drivers d* carried
by the upper ends of the levers and kept in engagement with the teeth g¹ by
springs whilst in order to prevent the turning back of the device stationary
pawls c* kept to their work by springs c³ are employed to engage a similar ring
of ratchet teeth gl* upon the cam ring g.
By these means at each motion of the levers d the cam ring will be turned the
distance say for example of one tooth of the ratchet ring gaud thus the plunger
or piston will be gradually depressed comprossing the spring f until the cams
pass beyond the studs or pins when the spring will be suddenly released thus
forcing the air contained in the chamber c¹ into the tyre a.
The details of this device may be considerably varied for example the drivers *
might through racks or other means give motion to a snail wheel formed with a
gradual rise and sudden fall and arranged to compress the spring ƒ in the manner
hereinbefore described.
As a further modification instead of retracting the plunger c
by a step by step motion it may be so advanced whilst a spring
to retract the same.
by cams actuated
may be employed
It is not however thought necessary to illustrate these modified devices as those
and various other means of carrying the invention into effect will be readily under-
stood by and suggest themselves to a competent mechanic.
It will be understood that this accumulating device may be operated by other
means than the tyre actuated levers and such for example as those shown and
described in my Specification No. 23779 of 1897 without departing from the spirit
of the invention whilst any other suitable form of pump may be employed in con-
nection with this arrangement and those hereinbefore described.
In all cases except that represented at Figures 16 and 17 the device is preferably
so mounted upon the saddle e that it may when desired be readily placed in position
or dismounted therefrom, so that when a tyre is sufficiently inflated the device may
be applied to another wheel or placed in the tool bag in readiness for future use but
generally it is preferable to leave the device attached to the rim or felloe.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1. A tyre inflator comprising a pair of levers adapted to be pivotally mounted
upon the rim or felloe of a wheel in such manner that the lower ends of said levers
embrace the tyre and are actuated by the lateral and upward spread or displace-
ment thereof a pump or inflator operated by the upper ends of said levers and
pivotally carried thereby or by the rim or felloe and a tubular connection between
the pump and the tyre substantially as herein shown and described.
2. A tyre inflator supported upon the rim or felloe of a wheel by means of a
saddle straddling the rim and held in place by clips or hooks engaging the edges of
the rim or felloe substantially as herein shown and described.
3. A tyre inflator supported upon the rim or felloe of a wheel by means of a
saddle straddling the rim and soldered thereto or at its edges turned under the
edges of the rim or felloe substantially as herein shown and described.

page_text: 4. A tyre inflator supported upon the rim or felloe of a wheel by means of a
saddle straddling the rim and held in place by clips or other means engaging the
edge of the rim or felloe and means for pivotally connecting the pump or inflator
with the saddle in such manner that it is capable of being readily dismounted sub-
stantially as herein shown and described.
5. A tyre inflator comprising a cup shaped chamber, a flexible diaphragm
enclosing said chamber a piston or plunger of corresponding shape to the chamber
and fixed with the diaphragm, means for actuating the plunger in both directions
and suitable air inlet and outlet valves to the chamber substantially as herein
shown and described.
6. A tyre inflator comprising a pair of levers adapted to be pivotally mounted
upon the rim or felloe of a wheel in such manner that the lower ends of said levers
embrace the tyre and are actuated by the lateral and upward spread or displacement
thereof, a pump or inflator pivotally carried by the upper ends of said levers or by
the rim or felloe so that the plunger of the pump is retracted by said levers to take
in the air supply and a spring for forcing the plunger in the opposite direction and
expelling the air from the pump substantially as herein shown and described.
7. A tyre inflator comprising a pair of levers adapted to be pivotally mounted
upon the rim or felloe of a wheel in such manner that the lower ends of said levers
embrace the tyre and are actuated by the lateral and upward spread or displace-
ment thereof, a pump or inflator actuated by the upper ends of said levers and
toggle levers pivotally connected to the lower ends of said levers and passing
beneath the tyre substantially as herein shown and described.
8. A tyre inflator comprising a pair of levers adapted to be pivotally mounted
upon the rim or felloe of a wheel in such manner that the lower or louger ends
thereof lie parallel with the tyre and embrace the same at a point just below the
rim so that the lateral and upward spread or displacement of the tyre will actuate
the same and a pump or inflator carried by the rim or felloe and actuated by the
upper or shorter ends of said levers substantially as herein shown and described.
9. A tyre inflator comprising an air chamber, a piston or plunger and means for
gradually retracting said plunger and then suddenly advancing the same or suddenly
retracting said plunger and gradually advancing the same substantially as herein
shown and described.
10. A tyre inflator comprising an air chamber, a piston or plunger and means
for gradually moving the same in one direction so that a comparatively large volume
of air may be forced into the tyre at each complete action of the pump substan-
tially as herein shown and described.
11. A tyre inflator comprising an air chamber, a piston or plunger, a spring for
driving forward the piston or plunger means for retracting the plunger and com-
pressing the spring by a step by step or gradual motion so as to accumulate power
and suddenly releasing the plunger and allowing said stored powor to act substan-
tially as herein shown and described.
12. A tyre inflator comprising an air chamber, a piston or plunger, a spring for
driving forward the piston or plunger projections from said piston, a ring of cams
or its equivalent provided with gradual rises and sudden falls, acting upon said
projections, a circle of ratchet teeth carried by said cam ring, a pawl, a driver or
drivers engaging said teeth a lever or levers actuated by the tyre or otherwise for
giving a reciprocating motion to said driver or drivers and means for preventing
back action of the cam ring substantially as herein shown and described.
WHITE & WOODINGTON,
Rooms 221-225, Birkbeck Bank Chambers,
Southampton Buildings, London, Agents.