242 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[April i, 1909. 



MOTOR TIRE 

 NOTES. 



tion of the original rubber. In this patent the rubber crumb is 

 acted on by a volatile solvent such as benzol or tolnol, under 

 pressure, the rubber being obtained subsequently free from min- 

 eral and textile fabric, the last forming a marketable product. I 

 understand that the process has been working for some time in 

 Germany, and that the reclaimed rubber has met with a ready 

 sale in the large scale. If the samples I have had are genuine, 

 they cannot be said to represent the original unvulcanized rubber 

 any more than do the products of other patent processes founded 

 on the principle of the dissolution of the vulcanized rubber in 

 hydrocarbon solvents. As I have already said, the point is not 

 a vital one as far as trade prosperity is concerned, a fact which 

 is testified to by the success of the Koner process in Germany, 

 a success which to the best of my knowledge has not been ap- 

 proached by other patented processes founded on a dissolution of 

 the vulcanized rubber. I have no knowledge as to the extent of 

 the sales of the recovered fabric. I recently remarked in connec- 

 tion with another process that the expected revenue from tliis 

 source had not been realized in England. According to the 

 authoritative statements made in regard to the Koner process, 

 however, the case is evidently different in Germany. 



There has been much more country motoring done during this 

 and last winter than in previous seasons, and the enthusiastic 

 owner is now quite disinclined to recog- 

 nize any close season. This, of course, 

 is all in favor of the tire industry. Per- 

 sonally, I am not very keen for motor trips in winter weather, 

 with ice on the roads. - I recently had the experience of waiting 

 3^ hours in a desolate and exposed region on a frosty night 

 while it was sought to repair some part of the mechanism. Event- 

 ually a relief car arrived and the derelict was towed home. But 

 to pass on to matters of more technical import mention may be 

 made as in previous years to the show held at Bellevue Gardens 

 of the Manchester and District Motor Trades Association. Rub- 

 ber manufacturers were not so well represented as in former 

 years, the general and extensive exhibit of the Silvertown com- 

 pany having practically a monopoly of this department. The 

 show itself, as regards vehicles, was certainly the best which has 

 been held locally, but only tire features can be noticed. One or 

 two novelties claim attention. The well-known Shrewsbury- 

 Challiner company, of Manchester, had on view a new design 

 of solid tire called the Challiner cross-fluted pioneer tire. This 

 is especially intended for use on fire engines, which are excep- 

 tionally liable to skidding, owing to their having to go at high 

 speeds round corners and often when the streets are slippery. 

 The tire is intended to fill a want expressed locally, but no 

 doubt if it earns good testimonials orders will come from a dis- 

 tance. Perhaps the greatest tire novelty of the Show was the 

 Lynton resilient wheel and puncture proof tire made by the 

 Lynton Wheel and Tire Syndicate, Limited, of Earlstown, Lanca- 

 shire. The wheel embodies quite a new principle and has little 

 in common with what are known as spring wheels Briefly the 

 invention is a metal wheel of the disc type, having one wheel 

 rigidly attached to the hub, the other disc by means of a ball 

 joint being allowed to rock in any direction upon the hub. The 

 tire is a solid one, constructed in segments, and its construction 

 allows far more displacement than in ordinary solid tires. The 

 combined movement of tire and rim saves the tire from "pound- 

 ing," thus materially lengthening the life of the rubber. To pre- 

 vent creeping and to maintain the requisite space between 

 the rubber sections the rim is constructed with a series of small 

 tranverse flanges. The wheel is made both single and twin so 

 as to be applicable to motor vehicles of all types and sizes. Non- 

 skidding devices were not particularly pronounced, the most 

 prominent being the Cort detachable non-skid motor tire brand 

 made at Market Harborough. This is not merely a brand at- 

 tached rigidly to the tread, but rather a leather sleeve which is 

 held in position by twelve steel clips, which fasten into the rim 

 on each side of the wheel. 



The India Rubber, Gutta Percha and Telegraph Works Co., 

 Limited, in addition to the "Palmer Cord" tire made special 

 display of their "Le Persan" tire, made at their French works 

 and which has not previously been advertised in Great Britain. 

 In the non-skid tire the steel studs are inserted in the tread, 

 which is made of a special highly resistant rubber. 



It is regrettable to notice that the Hartridge Tire Syndicate 

 is in liquidation. Their tire was constructed in segments much 

 more numerous than in the case of that referred to above, and 

 great things were expected of it. The experimental work more 

 particularly with regard to the molds for vulcanizing was car- 

 ried out by Messrs. Iddon, the rubber machinists of Leyland, 

 and involved some research work of importance. Another tir.j 

 that promised to make a stir was the Slec, now in the same state 

 of financial embarrassment as the Hartridge. Altogether it seems 

 much of a gamble to join in novel tire schemes, considering the 

 amount of preliminary expenditure necessary before income 

 comes in and bearing in mind the opposition to be expected from 

 wealthy interests soundly established. _ 



At 3 o'clock in the morning of February 26, a serious fire 

 broke out at the works of the North Western Rubber Co., 

 Limited (Litherland, Liverpool). The 

 SERIOUS FIRE. fire was confined to the finishing mill, 



one of the three large brick buildings 

 which compose the works. This was burned out, and con- 

 siderable damage done to the boiler house, though the efforts of 

 the town fire brigade prevented the fire spreading to the other 

 buildings. The damage, which is covered by insurance, is stated 

 to amount to £50,000 [^243,325]. A good many men will be 

 temporarily thrown out of employment, but Mr. E. E. Buckleton, 

 the general manager, who was early on the scene, is taking 

 energetic measures to effect the rejuvenation of the destroyed 

 building. Work w'as not wholly interrupted, however. 



TREATMENT OF INDIA-RUBBER. 



A PROCESS for separating resins from rubber is covered 

 by the United States patent No. 908,925, issued to Meyer 

 Wilderman, of England. It consists in treating the rubber with 

 a mixture of solvents, of which one when alone is a solvent of all 

 the constituents of the rubber, while another when alone is only 

 a solvent of resins ; running off the mixture of solvents contain- 

 ing the inferior material, and recovering the solvents. 



A method of manufacturing rubber solutions, consisting in 

 treating raw rubber with symmetrical dichlorethylene, is the 

 subject of United States patent No. 910,520, granted to Emil 

 Fischer, of Germany. 



Fh.^nklin Sectional Pneumatic Tire. 



[Si.x distinct pneumatic sections, each separately detachable^ from the 

 wheel and fitted with an air chamber and wheel, there being no inner tube. 

 Extra sections are carried when motoring, instead of complete spare tires. 

 Invented by Franklin, of Luton, England.] 



