Improvements in or connected with Means for Inflating the Tyres of Velocipede and other Wheels.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Oct., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 23rd July, 1897-Accepted, 23rd Oct., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPE
GATION.
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 in or connected with means for inflating
the tyres of velocipede and other wheels.
It is well known that inflated tyres frequently require the cushion of air to
be brought up to the maximum pressure and the system at present in use consists
in the employment of a hand pump which is adapted to be connected with the
tyre when required and is generally carried by the vehicle so that it is always
conveniently at hand.
The necessity for the employment of a hand pump in this manner and more
especially on a journey gives rise to considerable trouble and annoyance and the
object of the present invention is by a simple and inexpensive device to dispense
with such troublesome contrivance when travelling and to automatically keep
up an even pressure within the tyre.
In carrying the invention into effect according to one arrangement the rim
or felloe of the wheel has fixed therewith a small air pump which by a suitable
way communicates with the interior of the tyre and the piston rod of this pump
is connected through the intervention of a spring or other cushion with a short
tube bail or yoke transversely encircling the tyre and adapted to come into
contact with the ground in the revolution of the wheel.
At each such contact the piston will receive a short traverse and the valves
of the pump are so arranged that at each traverse of the piston a small volume
of air will be forced into the tyre and the maximum pressure thereby maintained.
A spring or other suitable contrivance may if necessary be employed to actuate
the piston in its return stroke.
In order to prevent the developement of too great a pressure within the tyre
a small safety or relief valve is arranged in a suitable position and connected with
the interior of the tyre or it might be fitted to the pump.
According to a modified arrangement the short tube bail or yoke transversely
encircling the tyre might be dispensed with and the piston rod might be actuated
by a projection such as a lump of india-rubber placed within the tyre so as to
conceal the actuating device.
As a further modification the piston rod might be acted upon by means of
a rod extending to the opposite side of the wheel in such manner that such rod
or connection thereof comes into contact with the ground in the running of
the wheel.
Or the lateral spread of the tyre at the moment of contact with the ground
might be caused to act upon a lever or levers connected with the piston rod.
It will be obvious that various other contrivances than those herein before

page_text: named might be employed for utilising the partial displacement of the tyre either
vertically or laterally in order to actuate the pump.
Although a metal pump fitted with a piston is perhaps the preferred device
for forcing the air into the tyre an indía-rubber or other compressible pump
without a piston might in some cases be utilized for the purpose in view.
Furthermore the compression of the, for the time being, lower half of the
wheel between the hub and the rim or felloe might be utilized for the working
of the pump.
It will be understood that in all cases the tyre would be first inflated in the
usual manner.
By the means hereinbefore described a tyre during the running of the wheel
is rendered self-inflating and the difficulties herein before pointed out are entirely
obviated.
Dated this 23rd day of October 1896
WHITE & WOODINGTON,
27 Southampton Buildings, London, Agents
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
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 and in what manner the same is to be performed to be par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The invention relates to improvements in or connected with means for inflating
the tyres of velocipede and other wheels.
:
It is well known that inflated tyres frequently require the cushion of air to
be brought up to the maximum pressure and the system at present in use consists
in the employment of a hand pump which is adapted to be connected with the
tyre when required and is generally carried by the vehicle so that it is always
conveniently at hand.
The necessity for the employment of a hand pump in this manner and more
especially on a journey gives rise to considerable trouble and annoyance and the
object of the present invention is by a simple and inexpensive device to dispense
with such troublesome contrivance when travelling and to automatically keep
up an even pressure within the tyre.
In carrying the invention into effect according to one arrangement the rim
or felloe of the wheel has fixed therewith a small air pump which by a suitable
way communicates with the interior of the tyre and the piston rod of this pump
is connected through the intervention of a spring or other cushion with a short
tube bail or yoke transversely encircling the tyre and adapted to come into
contact with the ground in the revolution of the wheel.
At each such contact the piston will receive a short traverse and the valves
of the pump are so arranged that at each traverse of the piston a small volume
of air will be forced into the tyre and the maximum pressure thereby maintained
A spring or other suitable contrivance may if necessary be employed to actuate
the piston in its return stroke.
In order to prevent the developement of too great a pressure within the tyre
a small safety or relief valve is arranged in a suitable position and connected with
the interior of the tyre or it might be fitted to the pump.
According to a modified arrangement the short tube bail or yoke transversely
encircling the tyre might be dispensed with and the piston rod might be actuated

page_text: Figure 1 is a transverse section taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 2 representing
a portion of the rim or felloc and tyre of a wheel having the present invention
applied thereto.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a similar view to Figure 1 but showing the tyre in its compressed
position and the plunger of the pump or inflater at the end of its inward stroke.
Figure 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 of the pump
or inflater and connected parts separately.
Figure 5 is a transverse section taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 6 represent-
ing a further modification in the means for giving motion to the pump or inflater,
the parts being shown in their compressed position.
Figure 6 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 5.
Figure 7 is a longitudinal section of the air inlet valve separately.
Figure 8 is a transverse section taken on the line 7-7 of Figure 7.
Figure 9 is a part transverse section taken on the line 44 of Figure 10 repre-
senting a modified device constructed according to the present invention, the
parts being shown in their normal position.
Figure 10 is a longitudinal section thereof taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 9.
Figure 11 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 9 showing the
pump or inflater and connected parts separately.
Figure 12 is a side elevation of parts representing means constructed according
to the present invention for utilising the lateral displacement of the tyre in order
to give motion to the pump or inflater, the parts being shown in their normal
position.
Figure 13 is a transverse section taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 12.
Figure 14 is a similar view to Figure 13 but drawn partly in elevation and
showing the parts in their compressed position.
Figure 15 is a transverse section taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 12 showing
the pump or inflater and connected parts separately.
Figure 15 is a similar view to Figure 13 but representing a slight modification.
Figure 16 is a transverse section taken on the line 10-10 of Figure 17 illus-
trating a modified form of pump or inflater and showing the parts in their
normal position.
Figure 17 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 16.
Figure 18 is a similar view to Figure 17 but drawn partly in elevation showing
the parts in their compressed position.
Figure 19 is a side elevation of parts representing a modified form of pump or
inflater.

page_text: Figure 20 is a transverse section taken on the line 11-11 of Figure 19.
Figure 21 is a similar view to Figure 19 but with the piston and connected
parts removed so as to expose the india-rubber inlet valve.
In the several figures in which like parts are indicated by similar letters of
reference Figures 4, 7, 8, 11 and 15 are drawn to an increased scale with respect
to the other figures of the drawings.
Referring to Figures 1 to 4 a represents the tyre of the wheel and 6 represents
the rim or felloe thereof.
Fixed to the rim or felloe 6 in the manner hereinafter described is a small
air pump or inflater c which is provided with a conical air inlet or supply
orifice e controlled by a conical valve e surmounted by a nozzle e adapted to
be connected with the ordinary hand pump when desired whilst the pump c
is also provided with an air outlet or delivery orifice e which communicates by
ways or passages cc with the interior of the tyre a and the way is provided
with a delivery opening e covered by a rubber sleeve e which acts as a non-
return valve in the manner well understood.
represents the plunger or piston of the pump or inflater which is packed
by means of a cup leather 8 held in position by a disc or plate which forms
the head of the piston and the piston rod or plunger of the pump is connected
through a spring bar d' or it might be any other suitable cushion with a short
tube, bail or yoke d transversely encircling or partly encircling the tyre a and
adapted to come into contact with the ground during the revolution of the wheel
and this yoke d is in its movements controlled by guides cl formed in arms clo
fixed with the pump case c and the yoke d is thus adapted to come into contact
with the ground at each revolution of the wheel.
At each contact with the ground of that portion of the tyre a surrounded by
the yoke d the latter will by reason of the compression of the tyre be moved
vertically and thus traverse the piston or plunger and the inlet and outlet
valves and 6 of the pump or inflator are so arranged that at each stroke
of the piston or plunger a small volume of air will be forced into the tyre a
and the maximum pressure of the air cushion thereby maintained.
The return stroke of the piston or plunger is preferably assisted by a suitable
spring such as that represented in the drawings which consists of a bifurcated
coiled spring e held in position by the safety valve fitting.
In order to prevent the developement of too great a pressure within the tyre a
a small safety or relief valve f is provided connecting the interior of the tyre a
with the outer air which valve is capable of being regulated according to the
pressure required in the tyre a by means of a screw plug f' which more or less
compresses the spring bearing upon the valve f...
Instead of employing a safety valve separately fixed with the rim or felloe a
such valve might be connected with the pumpe as will be readily understood
and as shown at Figure 6.
In order to prevent dust passing into the pump or inflater with the air supply
the nozzle is fitted with a filter consisting of a removeable cap el provided
with several thicknesses of wire gauze or other filtering medium ele through which
the air is compelled to pass on its way to the pump.
In the example given at Figures 5 to 8 the bail or yoke d is arranged at one
point in the circumference of the wheel and the pump or inflatere at a diametri-
cally opposite point whilst the piston rod or plunger is connected with the
yoke d by means of a rod d* but the action of this device is similar to that herein-
before described.
In this case an india-rubber wall or buffer e is placed between the flanged end
of the plunger and the casing of the pump or inflater e so as to modify the
shocks which otherwise might be communicated to the pump c and in this case
also the inlet or supply valve is formed by an indiarubber disc having a semi-
circular incision formed therein as represented more particularly at Figures 7

page_text: and 8 but in other respects the device is similar to that herein before described
with respect to Figures 1 to 4.
In the example given at Figures 9 to 11 the yoke transversely encircling the
tyre a is dispensed with and in lieu thereof the tyre a is provided upon its interior
with a lump or projection d of indiarubber which is placed within the tyre so
that it the actuating device, may be concealed from view.
In order that the lump d may give motion to the plunger or
piston of the
pump or inflater c it has fixed therewith a rod ** which at its lower end is
formed with a button head which is received into a recess da and the block d
is flexibly connected therewith by means of a slotted cap 3 so that the return
stroke of the piston or plunger will be effected by the expanding of the tyre a
in the further rotation of the wheel but this return stroke may be assisted by a
spring as indicated by the dotted lines e.
According to this arrangement the compression of the tyre will cause the
lump d to act upon the piston rod 8** and thereby carry the piston to the
extent of its inward stroke thus forcing a small quantity of air into the interior
of the tyre a.
In this example the piston rod works through an aperture at the end of
the pump case and is suitably packed whilst it passes through the air-way c
which it loosely fits but in other respects the pump or inflater and valve are sub-
stantially the same as those hereinbefore described.
In the example given at Figures 12 to 15 the lateral spread of the tyre a at
the moment of contact with the ground is utilised to give the necessary impulse
to the piston or plunger of the pump or inflater.
In this case a lever d is employed, which is mounted upon an axis ** carried
by a bracket or offset from the pump case and this lever at its lower end is
spread out or provided with an enlargement whilst at its upper end it is
formed with a rounded head which engages a strap or projection 8** from
the piston or plunger so that at each contact of that part of the tyre a with
the ground the lower end of the lever d will be forced outward and the upper
end will be forced inward as represented at Figure 14 and thus give the required
traverse to the piston or plunger 8 to force a small volume of air into the interior
of the tyre a whilst the lever d and piston or plunger are returned to their
normal position by means of a spring è carried by the bracket c
The device hereinbefore described may be readily put out of action by fixing
the lever d in its compressed position by the aid of any suitable catch or fastening.
In the example given at Figure 15 the device is similar in principle to that
lastly hereinbefore described but in this case the levers d and pumps or inflaters c
are duplicated whilst the former are coupled by a link d5 and by this means the
volume of air injected into the tyre a at each operation of the device is doubled.
In the example given at Figures 16 to 18 a modified form of pump or inflater
is employed and in this case the piston or plunger is made to loosely fit the
pump casing whilst within the casing is provided a perforated india-rubber
ball 3 which is supplied with air through an inlet orifice c¹ which is automatically
closed by the rubber ball e3 at the required times.
The rubber ball cla by its perforation cla communicates with the outlet or
delivery orifice c so that at each compression thereof a small volume of air will
be forced into the interior of the tyre a.
The vertical compression of the tyre a is communicated to the rubber ball c
through a lump d in a similar manner to that shown and described with respect
to Figures 9 to 11 and the piston rod is furnished with a button head or
enlargement 8*** located within the ball c3 and which has for its object to
insure the expanding of the latter after the compression thereof in the manner
herein before described.
In the example given at Figures 19 to 21 a further modification in the form
of the pump or inflator is shown,

page_text: In this case the piston or plunger 8 is made tight with the pump casing c
by means of a flexible bellows which is fixed with the pump casing c by
means of a screw down collar or gland c" whilst the air inlet valve in this case
consists of a disc c of rubber or the like which is formed with a crescent shaped
opening to uncover the delivery orifice c whilst the part
necessary flap or non-return valve to control the air inlet, orifice c¹.
forms the
It will be obvious that various other contrivances than those herein before
named might be employed for utilising the partial displacement of the tyre either
vertically or laterally in order to actuate the pump or inflater.
'
Although it is at present thought advisable to provide a safety or relief valve
to prevent the over charging of the tyre it may be found in practice that such
device is unnecessary and that the pump or inflater will cease to act upon the
air within the tyre reaching a given pressure.
It will also be understood that the form of pump or inflater and its capacity
may be further modified without departing from the spirit of the invention and
as an example of a further modification it may be mentioned that a bellows may
in some cases be substituted for the other inflating devices.
.
The tyre of the wheel may be sufficiently inflated for the road by wheeling the
vehicle along the ground or it may be previously inflated either wholly or
partially by means of the ordinary hand pump.
By the means hereinbefore described a tyre during the running of the wheel
is rendered self inflating and the difficulties herein before pointed out are entirely
obviated.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said in-
vention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. Means for inflating tyres comprising a pump or inflater automatically
actuated in the revolution of the wheel substantially as herein shown and
described.
2. Means for inflating tyres comprising a pump or inflater automatically
actuated by or through the lateral or vertical displacement of the tyre and
suitable intervening mechanism in the revolution of the wheel súlistantially
as herein shown and described.
3. Means for inflating tyres comprising a pump or inflater automatically
actuated by or through the lateral or vertical displacement of the tyre and suitable
intervening mechanism in the revolution of the wheel and a safety or relief valve
to prevent over inflation substantially as herein shown and described.
I.
4. Means for inflating tyres comprising a pump or inflater automatically
actuated by or through the lateral displacement of the tyre and suitable inter-
vening mechanism and a spring or cushion substantially as herein shown and
described.
5. Means for inflating tyres comprising a pump or inflater and a yoke passing
around or partially around the tyre and connected with the plunger or piston
of the pump or inflater in such manner that at each vertical displacement of the
tyre the pump or inflater will be automatically actuated substantially as herein
shown and described.
6. Means for inflating tyres comprising a pump or inflater and a lever or
levers at one end bearing upon the tyre and at the other end acting upon the
piston or plunger of the pump or inflater in such manner that at each lateral
displacement of the tyre the pump or inflater will be automatically actuated sub-
stantially as herein shown and described.
7. Means for inflating tyres comprising a pump or inflater upon the exterior
and a lump or projection upon the interior of the tyre adapted to automatically
act upon the piston rod or an equivalent part of the pump or inflater at each
vertical displacement of the tyre substantially as herein shown and described.

page_text: 8. The peculiar combinations and arrangements of parts constituting means
for automatically inflating tyres substantially as herein shown and described.
Dated this 23rd day of July 1897.
WHITE & WOODINGTON,
27 Southampton Buildings, London, Agents.