Improved Process of and Portable Vulcanizers for Repairing Pneumatic Vehicle Tyres.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Dec., 1896
I
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Apr., 1897-4ccepted, 12th June, 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Process of and Portable Vulcanizers for Repairing
Pneumatic Vehicle Tyres.
We, CHARLES SUMNER HOWE, of 103. Cornell Street, Cleveland, Ohio, Professor
of Mathematics, and JOHN WILLIAMS LANGLEY, of 845 Fairmount Street, Cleveland,
Ohio, Professor of Electrical Engineering, both in the United States of America,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Whenever a pneumatic vehicle tyre is punctured or cut, it becomes necessary to
close such puncture or cut with a plug or with a patch covering the puncture or
cut. If such patch is simply secured by cement, the repair can be only temporary,
as the strain upon the cement during use of the tyre will soon loosen the patch. It
is therefore of advantage to vulcanize the patch to the material of the tyre, thereby
rendering the patch and the tyre substantially homogeneous. For this
purpose we
provide a process of repairing and a portable vulcanizing apparatus, which may be
employed in a repair shop or other place, without the necessity for the expense and
space demanded by the large tyre vulcanizing apparatus employed in rubber works
where vehicle tyres are manufactured.
One convenient form of such portable vulcanizer consists of a small steam generator
provided with a gas, gasoline, oil, or similar burner, and having a hollow projection
which communicates with, the steam space of the generator, and against which the
patched portion of the tyre may be clamped to be vulcanized by the heat from the
same.
Such vulcanizing apparatus, as we propose to utilize, consists of a boiler provided
with a gas, gasoline, oil, or other similar burner for heating it, and provided with a
suitable water inlet, such as a funnel, for feeding water into it, a gage glass for
ascertaining the water level in the boiler, a safety valve, and
thermometer or
pressure gage for determining the temperature or pressure of the steam generated
in the boiler. A hollow projection extends froin the boiler and communicates with
the steam space of the same, so that said projection may attain substantially the same
temperature as the steam in the boiler. Said projection has a clamp located upon it,
whereby the material to be vulcanized may be clamped against the surface of the
projection.
When a tyre is to he repaired, a piece of rubber, cloth, or rubber cloth is usually
placed upon the inner side of the tyre to cover the puncture or cut from within
and to be attached to the material of the tyre by vulcanizing. The leak, whether
puncture or cut, is thereupon preferably filled by a suitable rubber solution or cement,
or by a slice or patch of a rubber compound, or by both, whereupon the entire patched
portion of the tyre is clamped against the surface of the hollow projection of the
boiler, in which the steam has been raised to the proper temperature and pressure.
By exposure to the heat, under pressure of the clamp, and by combining with the
materials employed in the patch, the entire patch will be vulcanized. onto and
into the substance of the tyre, whereby the patch and tyre will be homogeneously
united, and the patched spot will be as strong as the other portions of the tyre.
Other forms of the apparatus may be advantageously used, such as apparatus for the
direct application of the heat of a burner instead of the indirect application through the
ntermediate agency of steam. Our invention is capable of various modifications,
but consists essentially in providing a portable and comparatively inexpensive
ulcanizing apparatus for repairing leaks in pneumatic vehicle tyres, such as may be

page_text: used in repair shops, and such as will dispense with the necessity of sending a punctured
or cut tyre to a rubber factory for repair.
Dated this Twenty-fifth day November. A.D. 1896.
CHARLES SUMNER HOWE.
JOHN WILLIAMS LANGLEY.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.
Improved Process of and Portable Vulcanizers for Repairing
Pneumatic Vehicle Tyres.
We, CHARLES SUMNER HOWE, of 103 Cornell Street, Cleveland, Ohio, Professor
of Mathematics, and JOHN WILLIAMS LANGLEY, of 845 Fairmount Street, Cleveland,
Ohio, Professor of Electrical Engineering, both in the United States of America,
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 :-
The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detail, one
mechanical form embodying the invention; such detail construction being but
one of various mechanical forms in which the principle of the invention may
be used.
In said annexed drawings,
Figure I represents a front view of our improved vulcanizing apparatus; Fig. II,
an end view of the same, and
Fig. III, a sectional detail view of a portion of the vulcanizing surface and of
the clamping lever, illustrating in section, a pneumatic vehicle tyre and a patch upon
the same in the act of being vulcanized by our improved process and in our improved
apparatus.
Whenever a pneumatic vehicle tyre is punctured or cut, it becomes necessary to
close such puncture or cut with a plug or with a patch covering the puncture or cut.
If such patch is simply secured by cement, the repair can be only temporary, as the
strain upon the cement during use of the tyre will soon loosen the patch. It is
therefore of advantage to vulcanize the patch to the material of the tyre, thereby
rendering the patch and the tyre substantially homogeneous. For this purpose we
provide a process of repairing and a portable vulcanizing apparatus, which may be
employed in a repair shop or other place, without the necessity of the expense and
space demanded by the large tyre vulcanizing apparatus employed in rubber works
where vehicle tyres are manufactured. In case of an inner tube tyre being punctured,
the inner tube must be patched, which patch may be cemented or vulcanized on.
the outer case is badly punctured, it also must be mended. If the outer case is badly
cut, it is generally thrown away. This will not be necessary when our apparatus is
used, as all punctures in single or double tubes or cases, or cuts or other damage to
the same, may be patched and firmly closed by vulcanizing.
If
One convenient form of such portable vulcanizer consists of a small steam
generator provided with a gas, gasoline, oil or similar burner, and having a vulcanizing
surface against which the patched portion of the tyre may be held to be vulcanized by
the heat from the same.
A preferable form of the vulcanizer consists of a boiler, 1, having a flat top of
rectangular outline, and provided with a funnel, 2, for filling it; a steam gage, 3;
a water gage glass, 4; a safety valve, 5; and a cock, 6, for blowing off steam.
The pipe of the funnel is provided with an inlet cock, 7, which will admit the feed

page_text: water from the funnel into the boiler, when opened, and cut off the escape of water-
or steam, when closed. A rod, 8, is secured parallel to and above the rear edge of
the flat top of the boiler, and a lever, 9, engages with one end under said rod, extends
across the top of the boiler, and has a sliding weight, 10, upon it, for the purpose of
variably adjusting the pressure against the object to be vulcanized. A gas,
gasoline, oil, alcohol or other burner, 11, is provided for generating steam in the
boiler.
A hollow projection, communicating with the boiler and receiving steam from the-
same, may be employed instead of the flat table surface, and a suitable clamp may
then be used to clamp the patched portion against the vulcanizing surface of said:
projection.
When a tyre is to be repaired, a piece of rubber, cloth, or rubber cloth, such as a,.
is usually placed upon the inner side of the tyre, b, to cover the puncture or cut from
within and to be attached to the material of the tyre by vulcanizing. The leak,
whether puncture or cut, is thereupon preferably filled by a suitable rubber solution
or cement, as c, or by a slice or patch of a rubber compound, or by both, whereupon.
the entire patched portion of the tyre is placed against the heated top of the boiler
and held against the same under pressure by the weighted lever, the weight upon.
which is adjusted to exert the requisite pressure. It may be desirable to interpose
plates, d and e, of metal between the tyre and the boiler and between the tyre and the
lever. By exposure to the heat, under pressure of the clamping lever, and by-
combining with the materials employed in the patch, the entire patch will be vulcanized.
onto and into the substance of the tyre, whereby the patch and tyre will be
homogeneously united, and the patched spot will be as strong as the other portions.
of the tyre. The puncture in a single tube tyre may be filled with a plug which has.
been coated with vulcanizing cement or compound, and then the space around the stem
of the plug may be filled with the same compound. The plugged portion is then.
vulcanized in the same manner as above stated.
The pressure of the steam within the boiler may be read upon the steam gage,.
and the temperature of the steam and of the top of the boiler may thus be ascertained.
Other forms of the apparatus may be advantageously used, such as apparatus in.
which the heat is directly applied to the vulcanizing portion of the apparatus instead
of indirectly through the intermediate agency of steam. The source of heat may be
regulated by the size of the burner or by the amount of oil or alcohol which is
poured into the reservoir, or the admission of heat or the size of the heating flame
or flames may be controlled by suitable connection to a thermometer or pyrometer, or
according to the indication of such appliance.
Other modes of applying the principle of our invention may be employed for the
mode herein explained. Change may therefore be made as regards the mechanism.
herein disclosed, provided the principles of the invention, such as set forth respectively
in the following claims are employed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we.
claim is :-
1. A portable vulcanizing apparatus for repairing pneumatic vehicle tyres,.
substantially as set forth.
2. The improved process of vulcanizing repairs in pneumatic vehicle tyres,.
substantially as described in the foregoing statement.
3. A portable vulcanizing apparatus for repairing pneumatic vehicle tyres,.
consisting of a vulcanizing surface having means for heating it, and means for
holding the tyre portion to be vulcanized against said surface, substantially as set
forth.
4. A portable apparatus for vulcanizing repairs in pneumatic vehicle tyres, consisting
of a vulcanizing surface having means for applying steam to its inner side, and means
for holding the tyre portion to be vulcanized against said surface, substantially as set.
forth.

page_text: 5. A portable vulcanizing apparatus for repairing pneumatic vehicle tyres, consisting
of a vulcanizing surface, means for heating such surface and for regulating the degree
of heat, and means for holding the tyre portion to be vulcanized against said surface,
substantially as set forth.
6. In a portable vulcanizing apparatus, for repairing pneumatic vehicle tyres, the
combination of a vulcanizing surface having means for heating it, and means for
adjustably clamping the tyre portion to be vulcanized against said surface, substantially
as set forth.
7. In a portable vulcanizing apparatus for repairing pneumatic vehicle tyres, the
combination of a steam boiler provided with means for heating and filling it and
with suitable steam and water gages, a vulcanizing surface heated by the steam
generated in said boiler, and a lever fulcrumed to extend over said vulcanizing surface
and provided with an adjustable weight, substantially as set forth..
Dated this Third day of April 1897
CHARLES SUMNER HOWE.
JOHN WILLIAMS LANGLEY.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.