Improvements in Vehicle Wheels.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Nov., 1898--Accepted, 14th Jan., 1899
Improvements in Vehicle Wheels.
I, HENRY GURNEY MORRIS, of the City and County of Philadelphia, State of
Pennsylvania, United States of America, Engineer, 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:—
My invention relates to certain improvements in vehicle wheels provided with
resilient tyres, either solid or capable of being inflated.
The object of my invention is to provide a wheel that is light and at the same
time of sufficient strength to sustain heavy weights; and a further object is to
provide means whereby the tyre can be readily removed and replaced without
straining the material of which it is made.
I will describe my invention with reference to the accompanying drawing, of
which
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a wheel constructed according to my invention,
Figure 2 is a transverse section of the same, and,
Figure 3 is an edge view showing one of the side flanges detached and in
section.
The hub A of the wheel, having annular flanges aa is adapted to an axle C
and has roller bearings interposed between the hub and the axle in the present
instance, but this forms no part of my present invention and in fact in come
instances the hub may be secured directly to the axle when the axle itself is
mounted in bearings.
D) is a felloe ring having a slightly concaved periphery, as shown in Figure 2,
for the reception of the base of the tyre E, which is made tubular in the present
instance.
FF are two dished plates of conical form and adapted to be secured to the
flanges aa on the hub A, by bolts gg: the plates being preferably flanged at ff
at the point where they rest against the hub, as shown in Figure 2.
The outer edge of each plate is secured to the felloe ring D by bolts and nuts g¹,
which also connect two flange rings HH to the felloe. These rings H H¹ are
curved as shown at h h in Figure 2, so as to form a bearing for the tyre E, which
tyre may be secured to the rings by a series of clamps e; each clamp being made
in the present instance in the form of a socket having a head encased in the tyre.
Adapted to the socket is a screw which clamps a washer onto the ring so as to
hold the tyre firmly to the ring, but it will be understood that other forms of
clamps may be used if desired.
The ring H has a deep internal flange to which is secured an internal toothed
wheel or annular rack J the teeth of which engage with a pinion of the driving
mechanism so that the wheel, in the present instance, is adapted to be driven
through the medium of the said pinion and annular rack or internal gear wheel.
My invention is especially applicable to wheels intended to carry heavy loads,
such as carriage and wagon wheels. To mount, by the ordinary methods, resilient
tyres on wheels, they have to be stretched to such an extent as to injure them;
by my invention I can apply a tyre to the wheel by simply detaching the side

page_text: flange ring H¹, removing one tyre and replacing it by another without injuriously
stretching the tyre. The tyre can be made to fit snugly upon the felloe ring D
with enough tension to give it a firm seat and after the flange ring H is replaced
the tyre can be coupled to the two flange rings by means of the clamps e, which
prevent the tyre from creeping.
By arranging the clamps at each side, instead of at the centre, of the wheel
I am enabled to resist side strains and thereby hold the tyre more rigidly to the
wheel. A great objection to wheels having inflated tyres which are attached to
the centre or body of the wheel is that the great pressure exerted on the tyres-
when turning around curves frequently injures the tyres to such an extent as to
render them useless. The valve tube by which the tyre can be inflated may
project from the tire through one of the flanges of the said rings HH¹.
The plates FF which are shown plain in the drawing may be corrugated or
ribbed without departing from my invention and may, in some instances, have
radial openings therein to lighten the wheel.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The combination in a wheel, of a hub, a felloe, dished circular plates secured
to the hub and to the felloe, and flanged rings also secured to the felloe and
forming the groove for the reception of the tire, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
2. The combination of a hub, a felloe, dished plates secured to each side of the
felloe, and to the hub, flanged rings also secured to the felloe and forming the
groove for the tyre, one of the said rings having an internal flange and an annular
rack or internal gear wheel, secured to said internal flange, substantially as herein-
before described.
3. The combination of a hub having flanges at each end, a ring felloe having
a concaved periphery, two dished circular plates, one of the said plates being secured
to one flange of the hub and on one side of the felloe, the other plate being secured
to the other flange of the hub and on the opposite side of the felloe, two rings
having deep flanges curved to conform to the tyre and forming with the felloe
an annular groove for the reception of the tyre, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
4. The combination in a wheel, of a wheel centre or body having a hub, felloe
and a flanged ring adapted to each side of the felloe, with a tyre having clamps
secured thereto and secured to the flanges of the said rings, substantially as herein-
before described.
5. The combination of parts constituting the improved wheel for vehicles sub-
stantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 22nd day of November 1898.
JOHNSONS & WILLCOX,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agents.