Improvements in and connected with Pneumatic Tyres, and in Appliances for use in Inflating them and otherwise preparing them for use.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Oct 1898
Complete Specification Left, 22nd July, 1897-Accepted, 28th Aug., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 22nd July, 1897-Accepted, 28th Aug., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Pneumatic Tyres, and in
Appliances for use in Inflating them and otherwise preparing them
for use.
I, CHARLES SUMNER HOWE, of 103 Cornell Street, Cleveland, Ohio, in the United
States of America, Professor of Mathematics, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
According to this invention, a pneumatic tyre is made valveless, that is to say,
without any opening thereinto. for the purpose of inflation. The air, or other inflating.
medium, is supplied thereto by means of a pump which has a nozzle like a hollow"
needle. This nozzle is brought to a point at its outer or free end. The pump is
attached for inflating the tyre by piercing through the wall thereof, or through
flexible material which closes an opening through the rim, sufficiently to bring the
end of the nozzle within the interior of the chamber to be inflated and then the air
is pumped in. The tyre, or the flexible material aforesaid, must be constructed so
that on the withdrawal of the nozzle the puncture caused thereby will be automatically
closed airtight. This may be accomplished in any known or convenient manner;
but according to a method which forms, in combination with the method described
of inflating the tyre, an important feature of this invention, the interior of the tyre
is supplied with a small quantity of a liquid which will have no injurious effect on the
material of the tyre, or on the flexible material aforesaid, and will not evaporate at
ordinary temperatures, and which will be capable, or carries other matter which is
capable, of filling up any small puncture or cut in the material of the inflated tube,
or small puncture through the flexible material aforesaid, and thus automatically
preventing the escape of air there through. The liquid may be supplied to the tyre
either during the process of its manufacture, such as through an opening left therefor
which is afterwards sealed up, or by means of the inflating pump or other pump
having a similar nozzle..
The medium above described for automatically preventing the escape of air from
the inflated tyre may be a gelatinous liquid, or a heavy non-oleous liquid having
gelatinous particles in suspension either of a mineral character; or organic character
such as gum; or the liquid may contain heavy non-gelatinous mineral particles, such
as. those of silica,, iron, or mica, in: a finely divided state, or a mixture of any or all of
such.

page_text: Improvements in and connected with Pneumatic Tyres, and in
Appliances for use in Inflating them and otherwise preparing them
for use.
I, CHARLES SUMNER HOWE, of 103 Cornell Street, Cleveland, Ohio, in the United
States of America, Professor of Mathematics, 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 has for its object to avoid the inconveniences which are
incidental to the use of inflating valves as permanent attachments to pneumatic
tyres.
According to this invention, a pneumatic tyre is made valveless, that is to say,
without any opening thereinto for the purpose of inflation. The air, or other inflating
medium, is supplied thereto by means of a pump, or charging appliance, which has a
nozzle like a hollow needle. This nozzle is brought to a point at its outer or free end.
The pump, or charging appliance, is attached for inflating the tyre by piercing
through the wall thereof, or it may be through flexible material which closes an
opening through the rim, sufficiently to bring the end of the nozzle within the
interior of the chamber to be inflated, and then the air or other inflating medium is
pumped or charged in. The tyre, or the flexible material aforesaid, must be constructed,
or suitable provision be otherwise made, so that on the withdrawal of the nozzle the
puncture caused thereby will be automatically closed airtight. This purpose may be
accomplished in any known or convenient manner, such as by forming the tyre, or
the flexible material aforesaid, with a layer of soft rubber on the inside, such soft
rubber readily self-sealing the puncture caused by the needle, as the needle is
withdrawn. According to a method of accomplishing the purpose which forms, in
combination with the method described of inflating the tyre, an important feature of
this invention, the interior of the tyre is supplied with a self-sealing medium in a
liquid form such as a gelatinous liquid, or a heavy non-oleous liquid having gelatinous
particles in suspension either of a mineral character, or of an organic character such
as gum; or the liquid may contain heavy non-gelatinous mineral particles, such as
those of silica, iron, or mica, in a finely divided state, or a mixture of any or all of
such. Liquids of suitable kind and in suitable quantities for the purpose are described
in Patent Specifications No. 16,365 of 1896, No. 18,065 of 1896, and No. 27,764 of 1896,
and I make no claim in this specification to anything claimed in any of such
specifications. The self-sealing medium in a liquid form may be supplied to a tyre
either during the process of its manufacture, such as through an opening left therefor
which is afterwards sealed up, or (when the character of the liquid admits thereof) by
means of the inflating pump or charging appliance or other. pump or charging
appliance having a similar nozzle.
In order that the method of inflating a tyre, and the apparatus employed therefor,
may be readily understood, I have illustrated the same upon the accompanying
drawings, of which Figure 1 shews a side elevation of a pump, and Figure 2 is a
section taken through the central plane of the tyre, shewing the needle-shaped nozzle
of the pump with its forward end inserted through the wall of the tyre, as when the
pump is being used for inflating.
The pump itself, apart from the peculiar construction of its nozzle a, may be of the
usual or any convenient construction. The nozzle a is formed as a tubular needle,
being conveniently about th of an inch diameter with the bore therethrough as

page_text: large as it can conveniently be made, though the exact diameter of the needle and of
its bore are not important. The hollow of the nozzle runs clear through it, and the
outer end of the nozzle is brought to a sharp point. When the tyre is to be inflated,
the pointed end of the needle is pushed clear through the wall of the tyre so as to
give a clear passage-way through the hollow of the needle into the interior of the tyre.
The tyre shewn by Figure 2 is of a type which has an outer wall or covering b. This
construction is illustrated, however, simply by way of example, as the invention is
applicable to all forms of pneumatic tyre.
Having now particularly described and
invention, and in what manner the same is
I claim is :-
ascertained the nature of my said
to be performed, I declare that what
1. A valveless pneumatic tyre adapted to receive an inflating medium through a
hollow-pointed nozzle or needle, the pointed end of which is passed for such purpose
through the wall of the tyre or through elastic material which closes an opening
formed through the rim of the wheel, and to remain inflated after the withdrawal of
such nozzle or needle, substantially as described.
2. The combination, of a pneumatic tyre adapted to receive an inflating medium
through a hollow pointed nozzle or needle, the pointed end of which is passed for
such purpose through the wall of the tyre or through elastic material which closes an
opening formed through the rim of the wheel, and to remain inflated after the
withdrawal of such nozzle or needle, with an appliance for introducing the inflating
medium which is provided with a hollow needle-shaped nozzle, substantially as
described.
3. A valveless pneumatic tyre supplied with a self-sealing medium in a liquid form
whereby it is adapted to be inflated through a hollow nozzle or needle, the pointed
end of which is passed for such purpose through the wall of the tyre, and to remain
inflated after the withdrawal of such nozzle or needle, in combination with an
appliance for introducing the inflating medium which is provided with a hollow
needle-shaped nozzle, substantially as described.
4. The means of inflating a self-sealing tyre, or a tyre used with a wheel in which
elastic material which closes an opening through the rim becomes automatically
sealed in case of puncture, according to which the inflating medium is introduced
through a hollow needle-shaped nozzle the pointed end of which is passed for the
purpose through the material of the tyre or through the said elastic material into the
interior of the tyre, substantially as described.
5. An appliance for use in inflating a pneumatic tyre, or for introducing a self-sealing
medium in a liquid form thereinto, having a hollow pointed nozzle or needle,
substantially as described.
Deted this 1st don of T... 100