An Improved Apparatus for Determining and Recording the Resiliency of Pneumatic Tyres.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 12th July, 1894-Accepted, 8th Sept., 1894
An Improved Apparatus for Determining and Recording the
Resiliency of Pneumatic Tyres.
I, ROBERT EDWARD PHILLIPS M. Inst. Mech. Engs. of 70, Chancery Lane,
in the Parish of St. Andrews Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Consulting
Engineer and Registered Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion (which has been communicated to me by The Overman Wheel Company of
Chicopee Falls, in the County of Hampden and State of Massachusetts U.S.A.)
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 an improvement in testing machines designed for testing
pneumatic tyres for cycles and other vehicles to determine questions of relative
resiliency, the object being to produce for the purpose mentioned, a machine which
shall with unquestioned accuracy indicate the exact resilient quality of pneumatic
tyres. As descriptive of the function of the machine, it has been chosen to call it a
"Resiliometer," and it will be so referred to hereinafter in the description and
claims.
With these ends in view, the invention consists in an apparatus having certain
details of construction and combinations of parts as will be hereinafter described, and
pointed out in the claims, reference being made to the accompanying drawings,
forming part of this Specification, and in which :-
Figure 1 Sheet No. 1 is a view in side elevation of one form which the apparatus.
may assume.
Figure 2 Sheet No. 2 is a view in end elevation on a larger scale, looking toward
the wheel.
Figure 3 Sheet No. 3 is a view in end elevation of the opposite end of the
apparatus showing the recording and feeding mechanism.
Figure 4 Sheet No. 4 is a view in vertical longitudinal section of the same end of
the apparatus.
Figure 5 Sheet No. 2 is an enlarged view of the upper ends of the two hooks of
the drop mechanism, and
Figure 6 Sheet No. 4 is a plan view of one form which the recording tablet may
assume.
Throughout the views similar parts are marked with like letters of reference.
In carrying out the invention the machine may be constructed in several different
ways, but however constructed it will contain means for supporting the wheel so as
to permit the same to rebound with the least resistance, a recording device arranged
to partake of every rebound of the wheel and accurately record the same upon a
suitable tablet, and mechanism for feeding the tablet under the recording device.
As herein shown, the wheel A, with its pneumatic tyre B, is applied to the free end
of a long horizontally arranged beam C, forming the long arm of a lever, the short
arm C of which extends downward at a right angle to it, and will be described
later on.
The said beam C is reinforced and stiffened on the suspension principle
by means of four stay-wires C³, strained over a four-armed bridge C, located about
midway of its length, and connected to collars C, C, located near its ends. The
invention is not, however, limited to this formation of the beam in the manner
described, although that results in a light and extremely rigid construction.
Beneath the outer end of the beam is located an anvil or base-plate D, which is
mounted in the top of a standard E. By preference the anvil will consist of a very

page_text: heavy plate of steel, but it may be made of other material, and mounted otherwise
than shown, the only requirement being, that an absolutely unyielding surface shall
be provided for the wheel to bound and rebound upon. To the standard E is
secured an upright F, furnished at its extreme upper end with an inwardly inclined
rigid hook G, and a correspondingly inclined pivotal hook G¹, mounted on a
horizontal stud G2, and constructed with a tail G3, which is pivotally connected with
a short crank arm H, carried by a horizontal rock or trip-shaft H', the adjacent end
of which is journalled in the lower portion of the said upright, while its opposite
end is journalled in the other upright E, and provided with an operating handle H².
The extreme upper end of the rigid hook G is constructed with a vertical notch' g,
opening downward, and with two bevelled faces g', g', respectively converging to
the open lower end of the said notch, while the corresponding end of the pivotal
hook is constructed with an under-cut horizontal notch g, and a single bevelled
face g, which is longer than the other faces mentioned, the said notches g, g³, being
adapted to receive the upper stay-wire C³ of the beam C, as will be explained later
on. A spiral spring G', mounted in the upright F and secured to the inner edge of
the tail G of the pivotal hook G', is arranged to exert a constant effort to keep the
said pivotal hook in alignment with the fixed hook. To prevent the said spring
from pulling the pivotal hook outward beyond the fixed book, a stop G
consisting of a screw, is located in the upright F, in position to be engaged by the
inner edge of the tail when the two hooks coincide, as shown in Fig. 2.
hooks and the rock-shaft constitute as may be said, a drop mechanism, which may
take different forms, although the form shown is well adapted to the purpose.
The said
The lever comprising the said suspension beam C and the short arm C¹ aforesaid,
is suspended by centres I, I, between the arms 11, 1, of a bracket 1', secured to
the top of the standard E', which as shown, is considerably larger than the
standard E before mentioned. As thus constructed and arranged, the beam C and
arm C¹ vibrate together in a vertical plane. The arm C' is tubular, and receives a
tubular reciprocal pencil holder J, and a spiral spring J', located above and tending
to depress the same, the said pencil holder being furnished with a binding screw J³,
for securing a recording pencil J'in it. It will be clear that inasmuch as the arm Ci
must partake of every movement, however slight, of the beam C, the marks
made by the pencil will accurately record the movements of the beam.
The record made by the pencil is preserved upon a tablet, which is fed under the
pencil at a predetermined even speed through a horizontal guide J', mounted upon
the table formed by the top of the standard E. One form of tablet which may
be used is shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, and designated by the letter K, but
obviously any tablet may be used. The said arm C', the tubular pencil holder J,
its actuating spring J' and the pencil J³, form the recording mechanism of this
improved machine as herein shown.
For feeding the tablet at an even speed under the pencil as the same is vibrating
back and forth over it, as herein shown, a feeding mechanism is employed,
comprising a driven feed-roll L, which is entirely located above the surface of the
table, and a driving-feed-roll L₁ the upper edge of which extends very slightly
above the surface of the table. These rolls are respectively mounted upon
shafts Land L', which are journalled in a frame L. The shaft L³, which is the
driving shaft, is connected with some convenient source of power. It is apparent
that it may be driven in a great variety of ways. As herein shown it is furnished
at one end with a pinion M, meshing into a smaller pinion M', mounted upon a
shaft N, journalled in hangers N' located within the standard E'. The said
shaft N also carries a gear M², which meshes into a pinion M³, carried by the
main driving shaft comprising two sections 0 aud O', which are journalled
in the lower ends of the hangers N' N¹, mentioned, and two corresponding
hangers N, N, also located within the standard E', the section O' of the shaft
carrying a cone of pulleys P over one of which runs a belt P', driven from any
convenient source of power.
In order to regulate the speed of the feeding rolls L and L', a regulator is

page_text: Interposed in the feeding mechanism. The regulator employed may assume a
variety of different forms. As herein shown, it consists of two weights Q, Q,
secured to the outer ends of two arms Q', Q', having their inner ends constructed
with elongated slots, and connected by means of a pin q, passing through the said
slots, with the section of the shaft, the said levers being also connected by means
of pins g', q', with flanges r, r, formed upon the outer face of a friction disk R,
mounted so as to move back and forth upon the section of the shaft, and
arranged to normally engage with a corresponding friction disk R' rigidly secured
to the adjacent end of the section O¹ of the shaft. The section 0 of the shaft
projects beyond the inner face of the disk R, and takes a bearing in a counterbore
in the enlarged adjacent end of the shaft O' whereby the two shafts are coupled
together by the engagement of the friction discs and by the frictional engagement
of the projecting end of the shaft O within the chambered end of the shaft O'.
It is designed that the weights Q, Q, shall be proportioned in weight to the power
employed, so that normally the two friction discs will bear against each other and
couple the two sections of the shafts together. In case, however, the speed of the
section exceeds the speed determined upon for running the feed-rolls L, L',
the weights Q, Q, are thrown apart by centrifugal force, and the friction discs R
and R' momentarily separated, leaving the two sections of the shafts connected
only by the frictional bearing of one within the other, whereby the speed of the
section O of the shaft will be almost immediately so reduced that the weights will
come together again and re-engage the movable friction disc with the fixed friction
disc. By preference an auxiliary regulator will also be employed, consisting of a
brake shoe S, carried by a lever S₁ and arranged to engage with the periphery
of a brake drum S', mounted on the section O of the shaft, and drawn against the
said drum with variable resistance, by means of a spiral spring S³, connected with
the lever at its lower end, and at its upper end with an adjusting screw St, mounted
in the top of the standard E. This auxiliary regulator may be used if occasion
requires, to impose additional load, so to speak, upon the section O of the shaft,
and might be used, for instance, when the frictional bearing of one section of the
shaft in the other, transmitted more power to the section 0 of the shaft than was
required for driving the feed-rolls L and L' under the resistance of the recording
pencil.
In testing a pneumatic tyre in this apparatus a wheel having the tyre applied
to it is attached to the outer end of the beam, the upper stay-wire C of which is
pressed upward against the bevels g', g', of the fixed hook, and the bevel 9 of the
pivotal hook. The pivotal hook is thus caused to move a little to permit the
wire to pass up through the vertical notch g of the fixed hook, and to be brought
into line with the horizontal notch g' of the pivotal hook which then recovers under
the influence of the spring G, so as to engage the wire, as shown in Fig. 2. The
beam, and hence the wheel, are thus suspended through the medium of the pivotal
hook and the uppermost stay wire C. The wheel is thus suspended above the
anvil D at a fixed predetermined height. Now when the rock-shaft H' is turned
slightly by means of its handle H', the pivotal hook will be thrown inward, as
indicated by broken lines in Fig. 2, and release the stay wire, whereupon the beam
and the wheel carried by it will be dropped and fall under the action of gravity
until the pneumatic tyre applied to the wheel strikes the anvil D, upon which the
wheel will then bound and rebound until the gravity and friction gradually over-
come the capacity of the tyre to recover. While the wheel and beam are thus
vibrating up and down, the pencil is vibrating in a shorter are, but in exact
accordance with the vibrations of the wheel, and making a record of all those
vibrations upon a tablet, which was started in motion under the pencil simultaneously
with the dropping of the wheel. The character of that record is shown by the
tablet K forming Fig. 6 of the drawings. It will be readily understood that the
number of vibrations of the wheel, and their length will depend solely upon
the resiliency of the tyre, and it will be clear that the relative resiliency of two
tyres, or a series of tyres may be determined with absolute accuracy by successively

page_text: placing them under corresponding conditions in the machine, and operating the
same as set forth.
This invention is not limited to constructing the apparatus as described, for
other means might be employed to support it while rebounding and recording its
rebounds upon a tablet moved at a uniform rate of speed with respect to the
recording device. The invention is therefore not to be understood as limited to
the exact construction herein shown and described, but such changes and
alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of the invention may be made.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The apparatus for recording the resiliency of pneumatic tyres as hereinbefore
described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
2. An apparatus having means for supporting a pneumatic tyred wheel while it
is rebounding, a recording device connected with the said supporting means so as
to partake of the vibrations of the wheel, and means for uniformly feeding a
tablet while the same is receiving a record from the recording device, substantially
as described.
3. In an apparatus for determining and recording the resilience of pneumatic
tyres, the combination with a beam pivotally mounted at one end and adapted to
have a pneumatic tyred wheel secured to its opposite or free end, of a recording
instrument connected with the pivotal end of the beam so as to partake of its
movement, and a feeding mechanism to feed a tablet while the recording instrument
is making a record upon the same, substantially as described.
4. In an apparatus for determining and recording the resiliency of pneumatic
tyres, the combination with a beam pivotally mounted at one end, and having its
opposite or free end adapted to have a pneumatic tyred wheel removably applied
to it, of a drop mechanism for temporarily supporting the wheel and beam at a
fixed predetermined height from which they are dropped to cause the wheel to
rebound, a recording instrument partaking of the vibrations of the beam aud
hence of the wheel, and a feeding mechanism for feeding a tablet under the
recording instrument while it is making a record upon the same, substantially as
described.
5. In an apparatus for determining and recording the resiliency of pneumatic
tyres, the combination with a beam pivotally mounted at one end and adapted at
its opposite or free end to have a pneumatic tyred wheel removably attached to it,
of a drop mechanism for supporting the beam and wheel at a fixed predetermined
height from which they are dropped to bound the wheel, and comprising a fixed
and a pivotal hook, and means for operating the latter, a recording instrument
connected with the opposite end of the beam, and partaking of the vibrations
thereof, and a feeding mechanism for feeding a tablet while the said instrument
is making a record upon it, substantially as described.
6. In an apparatus for determining and recording the resiliency of pneumatic
tyres, the combination with a beam pivotally mounted at one end and adapted at
its opposite or free end to have a pneumatic tyred wheel removably attached to
it, of a drop mechanism for supporting the beam and wheel at a fixed pre-
determined height from which they are dropped to bound the wheel, a recording
instrument mounted in a short arm rigidly connected with the pivoted end of the
beam, and partaking of the vibrations thereof, a feeding mechanism for feeding a
tablet while the said instrument is making a record upon it, and means for regulating
the action of the feeding mechanism, substantially as described.
7. In an apparatus for determining and recording the resiliency of pneumatic
tyres, the combination with a beam pivotally mounted at one end and adapted at
its opposite or free end to have a pneumatic tyred wheel removably attached to
it, a drop mechanism for supporting the beam and wheel at a fixed predetermined
height, from which they are dropped to bound the wheel, and comprising a fixed

page_text: and a pivotal hook, and means for operating the latter, a recording pencil mounted
in a reciprocal holder, located in a short arm depending from the pivoted end of
the beam, a tablet-guide below the said pencil, feed-rolls for drawing the tablet
through the said guide and under the pencil as the same is vibrating back and
forth, and means for driving the said feed-rolls at a uniform rate of speed,
substantially as described.
Dated this 12th day of July 1894:
ROBERT E. PHILLIPS, M.I.M.E.,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent,
70, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.