Improvements in Apparatus for Making Pneumatic Tyres.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 8h Sept., 1896-Accepted, 24th Oct., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Making Pneumatic Tyres.
A communication from HENRY JAMES DOUGHTY, of No. 940 Broad Street,
Providence, County of Providence, State of Rhode Island, and WALTER
BADENACH HARDY, of No. 63, Franklin Street, Boston, Suffolk County,
State of Massachusetts, United States of America, both Manufacturers.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 111, Hatton Garden, in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent, 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 is an improvement in apparatus for making pneumatic tyres, as
fnlly set forth hereinafter and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in
which ;-
Figure 1, is a sectional elevation of an apparatus sufficient to enable the same to
be understood; and
Figure 2, is a plan view of the lower mould section.
The tyre may be of any desired construction, and need not be specifically
described. It is usually composed of a compound fabric, comprising an inner lining
of rubber or similar material, a covering of woven fabric outside the rubber, and
a facing of rubber outside the woven fabric, although of course, it may be otherwise
made.
The object of the invention is to dispense with the use of formers, and-to
vulcanize the tyre in a mould within which the tyre or tube is inflated by pressure
of steam admitted to the interior to heat and vulcanize the lining from the inside,
while the mould is also heated to simultaneously heat and vulcanize the outside of
the tyre or tube. To secure effective results and form a tyre which is not weakened
by being over-heated or over-vulcanized on the one hand, or only partially
vulcanized on the other, means are provided whereby the internal and external
heat may be regulated, and whereby the heating may be at once discontinued upon
the proper effect being produced. By this means the time of vulcanization may
be reduced from an hour or more to less than fifteen minutes, while much more
uniform results and tyres of a much more durable character are secured.
Referring to the drawinge, the vulcanizing mould B. consists of two separate
sections ff, each Baving a chamber y for the reception of steam, and an annular
groove w, the two grooves w, when the sections are brought together constituting
an annular chamber in which the tyre is moulded and vulcanized. For this purpose
the groove w may be of any desired shape, and in order to facilitate repairs, as
well as adapt the apparatus to moulding different forms and sizes, the sections of
the mould which contain the grooves w may be detachable from the other sections ffr
As shown, the upper section f, of the mould is secured in the frame C, which
consists of a base and vertical rods 8, to which latter the section f is bolted. The
section f¹, slides upon the rods 8, as guides, and may be raised or lowered by levers
screws or otherwise but preferably by a bydraulic engine consisting of a cylinder 9
secured to the section f and a piston 10 upon a standard 12 the operating fluid
being admitted and discharged through a suitable channel 13.
With the mould is combined an injector or inflating pipe 14, which is adapted to
enter the air tube of the tyre after the tyre has been placed in the lower groove to
and with this injector pipe communicates any suitable source of steam or hot air

page_text: supply, the steam or hot air being admitted to the injector pipe after the two sections
of the mould have been brought together. As shown in Fig. 1, a pipe 15, is
attached to the steam chamber y of the lower mould section at the opposite side
from where the injector pipe 14 enters the air tube of the tyre. This pipe 15 serves
to conduct steam from the vulcanizing chamber y through the air tube into the
tyre and the said pipe 15 is supplied with valves to regulate the pressure within the
tyre and with a pressure gauge.
Steam may be admitted to the chamber y of the lower section f¹ from any
suitable-source in any suitable manner so as to vary the pressure and temperature.
One means for securing these results consists in providing the chamber with a
discharge pipe 17, and cock 18, and admitting the steam through a steam pipe 19,
preferably jointed and provided with a cock 20. A pressure gauge 21 communicates
with the chamber of the lower mould section. By closing the cock 18, and
admitting a limited amount of steam to the chambery a low pressure and temperature
may be obtained, which may be increased by further opening the cock 20 while a
still higher temperature may be effected by opening the cock 18 and allowing the
steam to pass rapidly through the chamber. By turning the cock 16 the pressure
of steam through the injector pipe 14 to the interior of the tyre may be regulated.
By properly adjusting the various cocks the pressure within the tyre tube may
be regulated at will, and the temperature uniformly raised or lowered, so as to
quickly vulcanize the tyre throughout its entire extent.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion as communicated to me by my foreign correspondents and in what manner
the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is ;-
1. In an apparatus for vulcanizing pneumatic tyres the combination with a mould
adapted to receive a tyre tube and comprising a stationary and a movable hollow
section, of means for supplying said sections with an expansive heating fluid, and a
pipe connected with said movable section for supplying suitable quantities of said
Huid to the interior of the enclosed tube, substantially as shown and described.
2. In an apparatus for vulcanizing pneumatic tyres, the combination with a mould
adapted to receive a tyre tube and comprising a stationary and a movable hollow
section of means for supplying said sections with an expansive heating fluid, and
means for simultaneously supplying the interior of the tube with a similar fluid
from the interior of said movable section substantially as shown and described.
3. In an apparatus for vulcanizing pneumatic tyres, the combination with a mould
adapted to receive a tyre tube and comprising a stationary and a movable continuous
hollow chamber each provided with a detachable mould section of means for
supplying said chambers with an expansive heating fluid and means connected with
one of said chambers for supplying suitable quantities of said fluid to the interior
of the enclosed tube substantially as shown and described.
4. In an apparatus for vulcanizing pneumatic tyres, the combination with a
stationary and a movable chamber each of a circular or ring shape of corre-
spondingly formed detachable mould sections carried by the adjacent faces of said
chambers and adapted between them to enclose a tyre tube means for supplying
said sections with an expansive heating fluid and means for simultaneously supplying
the enclosed tube with fluid from the interior of said movable section, substantially
as shown and described.
Dated this 8th day of September 1806
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.