Improvements in Air-Valves for Pneumatic Tyres.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Aug., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 6th May, 1897-Accepted, 3rd July, 1897
117 DOITICATION.
Improvements in Air-Valves for Pneumatic Tyres.
I, CHARLES KINGSTON WELCH, of Park House, Coventry, in the County of Warwick
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to air-valves for pneumatic tyres and comprises further
improvements in valves of the kind or class described in the specification of Letters
Patent No. 4175 A.D. 1891. In valves of this kind as usually constructed a
shoulder is provided in the tubular body to form a seat for the enlarged or conical
part of the valve stem, and the interior of the tubular body between the said shoulder
and the inner end of the body is made sufficiently large by boring from the inner end
to allow rooin for the India-rubber valve tube to expand when air is being forced
through the valve. By this method of construction a large thoroughfare is formed in
the head of the valve body and the said head is necessarily made unduly large which
it is desirable to avoid for the reasons given in the specification of Letters Patent No.
9130 A.D. 1895.
Now in order that the enlarged passage may be formed beyond the shoulder and
still only a very small hole be provided at the inner end of the tubular body as and
for the purposes described in the said specification No. 9130 '95 1 according to one
method of procedure make the tubular body of uniform internal diameter, by boring,
from the outer end to a point near the inner end where the small hole leading to the
air chamber of the tyre is formed, and I then produce the internal shoulder by
contracting a portion of the body in any suitable manner for example by means of a
roller or rollers or other device forcibly applied to the outside of the body while the
latter is revolving. I preferably insert a suitably shaped mandrel in the body while
the contraction is being effected to determine the exact size and shape of the internal
shoulder or seating in the tubular body. The shoulder produced in this manner is
very smooth and suited for formning a seat for the india-rubber tube on the valve
stem.
My improved method of forming the said internal shoulder may also be applied to
valve bodies produced with an internal aperture by stamping in a well-known manner,
and it is particularly advantageous in these cases because it allows of stamping the
body to the required thickness and permits of dispensing with the usual boring
operations, thus saving labour and material.
I sometimes also apply this method of closing in the tubular body for forming the
contracted aperture at the inner end or head of the body whether the internal
aperture has been produced by boring or by stamping. Either of the internal
shoulders above referred to may be produced by this method and the other one by
boring as heretofore, or both may be produced by the method of contraction. The
recess produced in the exterior of the body just under the head by this process serves
to receive the edge of the rubber of the air-tube of the tyre around the valve hole and
ensures ample grip on the air-tube between the head and the retaining nut without
necessitating a large head which is not permissible with narrow rims. In some
instances I make the edge of the valve hole in the air-tube of increased thickness or
with a bead and in such instances the recess under the head of the valve body is
suitably shaped to receive such beaded edge, by which means increased hold is
obtained on the air-tube.
A further improvement of my present invention consists in furnishing the dust
cap with a loose revolving valve seat, so that in the act of screwing the cap tight
against the end of the conical valve stem forming the pump connection there is no

page_text: tendency to dislodge the leather or washer in the cap. For this purpose the cup in
which the washer or seat is secured is formed with a stem which passes through the
end of the cap and is held in place by rivetting the said stem over a washer. The
back of the cup is made ball-shaped or curved so that it can accommodate itself
readily to any position required to allow the washer to fit properly against the end of
the pump connection and so make a more reliable safeguard against leakage than has
been heretofore possible.
I attach the cap to the usual retaining chain by means of a loose revoluble link
mounted on the stem of the cup above described. The chain instead of being
connected to a spoke of the wheel as is commonly done may in some instances be
linked on the contracted or recessed part of the tubular valve body. In larger valves
where a chain is not used the revoluble link above referred to may be dispensed with.
I secure the leather or other washer in the cup by closing the rim of the latter over
the washer. This mode of securing the washer may be adopted in those cases where
the cup is rigidly fixed in the dust cap.
Dated this 6th day of August 1896
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.
I, CHARLES KINGSTON WELCH, of Park House, Coventry, in the County of Warwick,
Engineer, 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 relates to air-valves for pneumatic tyres and comprises certain
improvements in valves of the kind or class wherein the valve proper consists of an
India-rubber tube mounted on a perforated stem or plug which is removably secured
in a tubular body. In valves of this type as usually constructed a shoulder is provided
in the tubular body to form a seat for an enlarged or conical part of the perforated
stem or plug, the interior of the tubular. body between the said shoulder and the head
or inner end of the body being made sufficiently large, by boring the same from the
inner end, to allow room for the India-rubber valve tube to expand when air is being
forced. through the valve. By this method of construction a large thoroughfare is
formed in the head of the tubular body and the said head is necessarily made unduly
large which it is desirable to avoid especially in valves intended for narrow wheel
rims.
According to the present invention the enlarged passage is provided in the tubular
body to allow room for the valve tube to expand when required, and still a small hole
only is formed in the head of the tubular body, whereby the risk of the India-rubber
tube being blown into the tyre and so lost is avoided, and a small or narrow head can
be employed which is very desirable as it allows of a narrow wheel rim being used.
For this purpose I according to one method of construction bore the tubular body
from the outer end to make the large opening for receiving the valve stem, and I
then form the required internal shoulder or seat for the valve stem or plug by
contracting a portion of the tubular body in any suitable manner. I sometimes apply.
this method for the purpose of forming the contraction of the body at the inner end
whether the aperture in the body is produced by boring or by stamping and drawing
the metal.

page_text: My invention also provides certain improvements in and relating to the dust cap
for closing the conical end of the pump connection as hereinafter fully described.
Referring to the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a longitudinal central section of a complete valve constructed according
to my present invention.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section taken at right angles to the section in
Figure 1.
Figure 2 is an enlarged central longitudinal section of the body of the dust cap..
Figure 3 is a similar section of the loose valve of the dust cap.
Figure 4 is a plan of the link for connecting the dust cap to its chain.
Figure 5 is a section of the tubular valve body before the internal shoulder has
been formed therein.
Figure 6 is a plan of the head of said tubular body.
Figure 7 is a section showing a later stage of manufacture, the internal shoulder.
having been formed.
Figure 8 is a longitudinal section of a tubular blank produced by stamping and
drawing in a well-known manner.
Figure 9 is a plan of the flanged head of the said blank.
Figure 10 is a section of the blank after the closed end has been cut off and the
internal shoulder produced by contracting the tube.
Figure 11 is a longitudinal section of the inner end of the valve body having a
contraction produced at the hend as hereinafter described, and showing a portion of
the air-tabe of the tyre having a beaded edge around the valve-orifice.
Figure 12 is a similar section showing a head of slightly different shape adapted
for an air-tube not having a beaded edge around the valve orifice.
Figure 13 is a longitudinal section of a tubular valve body having a contraction at
the head, and another lower down in the body formed by the method hereinafter
described.
Figures 1 to 4 are drawn to a larger scale than the other figures.
Like letters denote corresponding parts in the several figures.
A is the tubular valve body, B is the head thereof, C is the washer between which
and the head B the inflatable air-tube of the tyre is secured by tightening up the nut
D in the usual manner. E is the perforated valve stem or plug upon which the India-
rubber valve tube F is placed. G is the nut for securing the stem E in the body A
as heretofore. H is the dust cap.
In the manufacture of my improved tubular valve body according to one method I
bore in the cylindrical part thereof from the inner end up to a point near the head a
large hole J as seen in Figure 5 having a diameter greater than the external diameter
of the India-rubber valve tube F and I drill the small hole b through the head to
form the communication with the interior of the air-tube of the tyre. I then produce
an internal shoulder a Figure 7 in the tubular body to form a seat for the enlarged
or conical part E of the valve stem or plug by contracting the said body. The
contraction may be produced in any suitable manner, for example by swaging in a
swaging machine or by pressing a suitable tool or roller or rollers against the tubular
body while the latter is revolving in a lathe or similar machine. I preferably insert a
suitably shaped mandrel in the tubular body while the contraction is being effected to
ensure the correct internal size and shape, and to produce a very smooth shoulder
suitable for forming a sent for the India-rubber tube on the enlarged part of the
valve stem or plug. The tubular body is then screwthreaded externally and other-
wise finished in the ordinary manner. It will be seen from Figure 1 that there is
ample room in the tubular body between the shoulder a and the head B for the India-
rubber tube to expand when air is being forced through the valve, and at the same
time there is no risk of the said tube being blown into the tyre and so lost.
In Figure 8 I have shown a tubular blank produced by stamping in a well-known
manner, and Figure 10 shows the same tube after the closed end has been cut off and
the internal shoulder a formed in it by contracting the tube as above described. This

page_text: mode of making the valve body is very advantageous inasmuch as the tube can be
reduced to the desired thickness entirely by stamping and drawing the metal thus
avoiding boring the tube and saving labour and material.
It is obvious however that the contracted part may be equally well formed in a tube
in which the internal aperture is produced by boring.
I sometimes apply this method for producing the contracted opening in the head.
of the tubular body. For this purpose I take a valve body having the internal
aperture produced by stamping and drawing or by boring and I contract the body
just under the head in the manner above described so as to produce the results shown
in Figures 11 and 12. In Figure 11 the external groove formed in the body by this
process is adapted to receive the thickened or beaded edge K of the air-tube whereby
ample hold or grip is obtained on the air-tube by a valve tube having a narrow head.
The beaded edge K is formed by moulding or otherwise during the process of
manufacture of the tube. In Figure 12 the edge of the air-tube around the valve-
hole is not thickened or beaded, the hole being simply produced by puncturing the
tube in the usual manner, and consequently the groove in the valve body A is not
made as wide as that in Figure 11. In Figure 13 I have shown a tubular valve body
having the contraction at the head, and the internal shoulder forming the seat for the
valve stem both produced by the method of contracting the tubular body as above
described.
It is obvious that the above described mode of producing the seating by contracting
the valve body may be employed in any valve similar to that shown in Figure I
requiring an internal seat or reduced head.
My improved dust cap is furnished with a loose revolving valve seat so that in the
act of screwing the cap tight against the conical outer end of the valve stem forming
the pump connection there may be no tendency to dislodge the leather or other disc
or washer in the cap. For this purpose the cup L Figure 3 in which the disc or
washer M is secured is furnished with a stem L¹ that passes loosely through a hole H
Figure 2 in the end of the cap H and is secured in place by rivetting the end of the
stem over a washer O Figure 1. The part L2 Figure 3 of the back of the cup L is
made ball shaped or rounded to bear against the curved or recessed bottom H2
Figure 2 of the cap so that the cup can accommodate itself readily to any position
required to allow the disc or washer M to bear properly against the end of the pump
connection and so make a more reliable safeguard against leakage than has been
heretofore possible.
I attach the cap to the usual retaining chain by means of a swivel-link P or other
suitable device mounted loosely on the stem L¹ of the cup L so that the said stem
may revolve freely within the link. Instead of attaching the chain to a spoke of the
wheel as is commonly done I sometimes link it on the contracted part of the
tubular body A. In large valves where a chain is not used the swivel-link P may be
dispensed with.
Í secure the disc or washer M in the cup L by turning the rim of the cup inwardly
over the washer to form a flange as indicated in Figure 3. This mode of securing the
washer may be adopted in those instances where the cup is rigidly fixed in the cap.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A tubular valve-body having a large internal aperture and provided with the
internal shoulder constituting the seat for the valve stem or plug, or with the
contraction of the head, or with both of these features produced by the methods herein
described, for the purposes specified.
2. The tubular valve-body having a contraction under the head, and combined with
an air-tube which is formed with a bead around the edge of the valve-orifice
substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.
3. A dust-cap furnished with a loose rotary valve-cup having a disc or washer fixed
in it and having a stem which projects through the cap and is retained therein, with
or without a swivel-link or other suitable device, substantially as described.

page_text: 4. A valve provided with a dust-cap constructed substantially as described with
reference to the drawings, and for the purposes specified.
5. The improved air-valve constructed substantially as herein described with
reference to one or other of the forms illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated 1
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.