Improvements in Elastic Tyres for Common Road Wheels.
Year: 1897

page_text: Improvements in Elastic Tyres for Common Road Wheels.
:
We, WILLIAM BAILEY, ALFRED BAILEY, CHARLES BAILEY, and ARTHUR BAILEY, all
of Mount Pleasant, Dudley, near Newcastle, New South Wales, Horticulturists, 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 that class of elastic tyres for wheels of cycles, sulkies,
and light common road vehicles generally, in which a cover or facing of rubber or
rubber cloth is sustained in normal shape by a resilient backing or "inner tube"
formed of metallic springs.
According to this invention, a lattice tube is constructed by weaving and coiling
steel tapes or strips in a certain manner hereinafter fully described, and the metallic
tube so formed is served with canvas, hemp cloth, or other suitable fabric, and faced
with india-rubber.
In the accompanying sheet of explanatory drawings, Figure 1 illustrates a plan of
a fragment of steel lattice tube constructed according to this invention, and
Figure 2 a transverse section of a complete tyre constructed according to this
invention.
The steel used may vary slightly in sectional form and area in order that various
degrees of hardness may be produced. For roadster cycle tyres we prefer to use
untempered or slightly tempered steel strips about one-sixteenth of an inch wide and
one-thirty-second of an inch thick.
The steel strips are interlaced by coiling in reverse directions, and the ends of
each strip are united by brazing, rivetting, welding, or by fastening into clips, as may
be most convenient. It is preferable that the joints should not be located about the
same place in the tyre. For a cycle tyre we prefer that the strips should make four
or five turns in the length of the tyre. One set of strips is laid left handed, and the
other set right handed. In one set A, herein designated for convenience of reference
"the warp," it is preferred to use about 10 strips for every 7 used in the other set B,
designated "the weft."
The number of strips required will vary with the diameter of the tyre and the
-dimensions of the strips. The strips in the warp are laid sufficiently apart to allow
the strips in the weft to be laced through them without permanently hending either
of them. The endless latticed tube of circular section thus made possesses the
necessary properties of durability and resiliency required in a tyre, and will not be
rendered unworkable by the puncturing of the cover or jacket. No claim is made
in respect of the covering or jacketing separately, as any material of a suitable nature,
such as canvas or hemp cloth faced with rubber wholly or on the tread only may be
applied, by winding or laying on and serving with a binding agent, or by weaving,
in the manner well known to rubber tyre manufacturers. A tyre of the single tube
type is thus made, which is capable of sufficient distortion in form on the applica-
tion of a little force to enable it to be sprung onto a shallow rim. A cover as used
with pneumatic inner tubes may be used over our single tube tyre, if means are
provided for stretching and fastening said cover.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. A tyre consisting of coiled endless steel strips interlaced, and covered, substan-
tially as described.
2. In a tyre, an inner portion formed of steel strips, coiled, interlaced, and jointed,
substantially as described.
Dated this Twantv sighth day of Donember 1807
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicants.