Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 10th May, 1899
I, CHRISTIAN HAMILTON GRAY, of The Indiarubber, Guttapercha and Telegraph
Works Company Ltd., Silvertown, in the County of Essex, Indiarubber Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to pneumatic tyres and particularly to the method or
process of manufacture.
In carrying out my invention I take a mandrel of any suitable kind, but pre-
ferably flexible, and continuous, and of any suitable length according to the
proportions of the room or building in which I use it, or the number of tyres to
be manufactured upon it. This mandrel may be made up in any suitable manner
say for example of alternate layers of canvas and rubber, of proof-canvas, hollow
or solid, and with or without a separate core. At one portion say the internal
face, may be a strip of metal or other material upon or against which an incision
in the tube manufactured upon this core may be made. The core may be carried
around one or more pulleys or equivalent and may hang down or be otherwise
disposed.
In manufacturing the tyre I take a core and upon this I place sheet rubber in
the unvulcanized condition over which I lay threads helically around the rubber
on the core so that they will lie at a suitable angle to the axis of the tyre. Any
required number of threads may be used, and they may lie entirely touching,
partially touching or entirely clear.
Over this will be laid a solution of rubber or a sheet and upon this at suitable
intervals I place bands of any suitable material which at the parts where they
are will prevent the layer of fabric formed as above described from uniting with
a subsequent layer of fabric next to be described. Thin sheet metal would be
suitable for this purpose but I may use other materials, say for example paper
oiled or otherwise prepared, celluloid or other material which for the time being
will prevent the uniting of these portions of the fabric, but can be removed with-
out impairing the ability of the parts to adhere together after the joint has
been prepared.
Upon the outer layer or coating of rubber previous described I now wind a fresh
set of threads similar to those already described, but lying in substantially the
opposite direction and upon these I place another layer or coating of rubber
which completes the tyre or fabric.
The tyre is now cut into lengths and also divided longitudinally where it is.
to be used as the outer cover of a tyre having a separate inner air-tube, and is
ready to be completed in any usual or necessary manner as for example by having
enlarged edges or beads, wires or the like.
By the above described process of manufacturing the tyre and the employment

page_text: of the separators I am able. when the portions of tube are separated to join up
their ends so as to make each strip of material into an endless ring which could
not be efficiently or practically done without the assistance of the separators.
If preferred I may make this fabric in two distinct layers formed upon separate
mandrels and afterwards placed one upon the other and vulcanized; in this case
the separators would not be required.
Dated the
1
I, CHRISTIAN HAMILTON GRAY, of The Indiarubber Guttapercha and Telegraph
Works Company Limited, of Silvertown, in the County of Essex, Indiarubber
Manufacturer, 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 pneumatic tyres, particularly to the method or process
of their manufacture and has for its object to provide improved means by which a
continuous length of tubular material to be afterwards made up into tyres may
be manufactured.
In carrying out the invention the material to form the tyre is built up upon a
travelling core or mandrel, which is preferably endless and flexible and may be
of any convenient dimensions and be made to travel by any well-known means.
"
"
In building up the material for a tyre a strip of rubber is first fed on to the
travelling core by means of a guide co-operating with a trimming device so that
the rubber is made to entirely envelop the core and over this layer of rubber is
wound a layer of thread, the turns of which lie aslant around the core. · A
second strip of rubber is then fed on over the layer of thread in the same manner
as the first, and on this second rubber covering a number of metal or other
bands hereinafter called "
separators are placed, at a 'pitch" or distance one
from the other equal to the length of material which is to form a complete tyre;
the use of these ""
separators is an important feature of this invention. After
the bands have been placed in position a second layer of thread is wound on,
which also lies at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the core, but preferably in
such a manner as to cross the threads of the lower layer. The material is then
ready to be removed from the core, which may be done by cutting it open longi-
tudinally, after which it is cut up into the lengths indicated by the "separators."
The "separators can then be removed as their main object is to prevent the
thread from adhering to the rubber at the points at which the separators are
placed, in order that when the tyre is cut up into lengths, and curved into
circular form the threads at the meeting ends of each length may be readily
joined.
دو
The core which may be made of any convenient material is preferably provided
with some substance on one side which may serve as a resistance for the knife to
cut against when the material of the tyre is longitudinally divided.
In the accompanying drawings which illustrate a method of carrying out this
invention,
:
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of the apparatus for carrying out
the invention;
1...

page_text: is an underside view of a portion of the lower half of Figure 1.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
The endless flexible core shown at A may be made of any convenient material,
such as alternate layers of canvas and rubber, or proof canvas, and made hollow
or solid.
At a
The core A is carried over pulleys A' disposed in any convenient manner and
is made to travel by rotating one or more of these pulleys as for instance by a
belt A2 driving a pulley A³ made fast to the pulley A. A rubber strip B is fed
from any convenient source, such as a drum B', on to the core against which it
is pressed by a rotating guide C. The guide is made in the present instance in
the form of a deeply grooved pulley or a drum having side flanges, which extend
on either side of the core and thus fold the rubber strip half-way round it.
short distance from the guide C is a cutting or trimming device (comprising two
rotating rollers, the edges of which meet over the centre of the core. These rollers
complete the operation of folding the rubber strip over the core and trim off any
surplus strip which projects as the two edges of the strip meet over the centre
of the core.
The core thus covered then passes on to a device D which serves a
series of threads D¹ on to the layer of rubber.
Any well-known device may be used for winding the thread on to the core, that
shown comprising a series of bobbins 12 free to revolve on their spindles D³,
all of which are carried upon a common platform D. The platform surrounds
the core and is revolved by any convenient means, and by regulating the rate
at which it is revolved and the rate at which the core is made to travel through it,
the angle at which the threads are made to lie upon the surface of the core may
be adjusted.
The operations described above are then repeated as the core travels on to a
second guide c co-operating with its cutting device c¹, where another strip of
rubber is laid on. Before however the core reaches the second thread serving
mechanism d, a separator E of metal or other suitable material is placed over
the leading end of the rubber on the core. This separator E is made in the
form of a ring divided along one side in order that it may be opened out and
placed over the layer of rubber on the core. The edges of the separator may be
arranged either to butt against each other or to lap over one another so that the
separator entirely surrounds the core.
6.
<<
Similar separators" are placed at intervals after the first " separators," a
sufficient length of material being left between one separator and the next
to form a tyre. The thread of the second winding is then wound over the rubber
and the "separators "E by the thread-serving mechanism d, which may be con-
structed similarly to the mechanism D), the corresponding parts in the two
mechanisms being lettered similarly but with small letters in the mechanism d
and with capital letters in the mechanism D.
The material thus formed is now removed from the core A by cutting it longi-
tudinally when the "separators E may be removed and the material cut up
into lengths required for each tyre.
If preferred the separator may be constructed of flexible material, such as oiled
paper, in the form of strips adapted to be wrapped round the core at the requisite
points.
To prevent the knife from cutting into the core when dividing the material
longitudinally the core may be provided with a flexible metal strip F on that
side upon which the cut is to be made. Although this strip F is preferably of
metal other resistant material may be used for the same purpose.
The guide C and cutters C₁ are shown in the drawings as operating upon a
straight portion of the endless core A and could thus obviously be used with
equal advantage upon a core which was not endless. For instance, upon a single
straight core-rod and the rubber strip B and the thread of the first winding could
be laid to an extent sufficient for a single tyre-length, the partly-completed tyre
thus produced being put on a second and similar straight core-rod to receive

page_text: the further rubber strips b, the separators (one at each end of the length) and
the second winding of thread.
It will be understood that the core A is not necessarily of circular cross section,
but may be made of whatever cross section is best suited to the particular con-
ditions under which the tyre is manufactured. Instead of employing rubber in
strips Bb rubber in solution could be used in a tank as at G Figure 1, the
core running through it and emerging coated with a layer of solution; a steam
pipe or other heater would be so placed in the neighbourhood of the coated core
so as to drive off the solvent contained in the coating and thus dry the latter.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I wish it to be under-
stood that I am aware that it has been previously proposed to employ a rotary
serving device of the kind herein before described to lay threads helically on a
travelling core or mandril in the manufacture of pneumatic tyres, and also to
employ an endless, flexible, travelling core in connection with such a serving
device, but I declare that what I claim is : —
1. In the manufacture of pneumatic tyres an endless flexible travelling core for
the purposes described.
2. In the manufacture of pneumatic tyres the combination with an endless
travelling core of a channelled guide and trimming cutters co-operating sub-
stantially as and for the purposes described with or without a rotary serving
device.
3. In the manufacture of pneumatic tyres the combination with an endless
travelling core of a guide for the rubber and a rotary serving device substantially
as and for the purposes described.
4. In the manufacture of pneumatic tyres the combination with an endless
flexible core or mandrel of supporting rollers, guitles and serving devices
all arranged and operating substantially as and for the purposes described.
5. In the manufacture of pneumatic tyres a separator" such as E for the
purpose described.
6. The process of manufacturing pneumatic tyres comprising the automatic
laying of rubber and a serving of thread alternately on a travelling core with the
aid of guides and serving devices of the kind described and with or without the
insertion of separators within the outer thread layer substantially as specified.
7. The complete apparatus for constructing lengths of material adapted to be
formed into endless bands substantially as described and illustrated in Figures 1
and 2 of the accompanying drawings.
1011
17
1000
BOULT, WADE & KILBURN,
Agents for Applicant.