206 



THE INDIA RUBBER W^ORLD 



[April i, 1901. 



THE RUBBER TIRE INTEREST. 



PRICE PATENT FLANGE TIRE. 



THE tire here illustrated is the result of experiments on 

 vehicle tires, extending over a period of seven years. 

 In Europe, where the rubber tire was first developed, 

 the " clincher " idea has always remained fixed in the 

 minds of the tire makers. Theoretically it doubtless is true 

 that the further from the central plane of the tire the gripping 

 device is secured, the more stable will be the tire. But the 

 trouble has been to secure a tire at the side and have it satis- 

 factorily supported. The old fashioned way of compressing a 

 rectangular strip of rubber into a channel narrower at the top 

 than at the bottom was wasteful both of rubber — in that the 

 channel had to be very deep to retain the rubber firmly — and 

 of efficiency, because what had to be squeezed in could also be 

 squeezed out. 



It is apparent that retaining bands and wires have theoreti- 

 cal objections which practice has proved to some extent to be 

 well founded. There is a very diflerent condition to be met 



with by the small tires from that which confronts the large 

 ones. This difference is due to the matter of load. A light 

 tire ordinarily is not injured by weight, but is worn out 

 through a succession of lateral strains. A heavy truck or an 

 automobile, on the other hand, kills a tire mostly because of 

 the excessive weight, and the tendency to use too small a tire. 

 The strains to which the large tires are thus subjected are dis- 

 similar, in that the resultant strain is almost invariably in the 

 plane of the wheel, whereas the light tire, which frequently 

 springs entirely off of the ground, has many strains of which 

 the resultant may be at right angles to the plane of the wheel. 

 The matter of retaining bands and wires, therefore, is a much 

 more serious one with the large tire than with the small, be- 

 cause in the former case the rubber tread requires a full sup- 

 port to stand the excessive load. This support cannot be had 

 satisfactorily with the tire of which the heart is cut out. 



The " Price Tire " is stable, in the first place, because of its 

 shape — a broad flat base, and a broad flat tread. Its base is re- 

 inforced by a steel wire cloth, chemically treated to make the 

 rubber adhere firmly, forming a homogeneous mass. The 

 tread is. therefore, fully supported, and all strains are trans- 

 mitted by means of this stiflfened base equally over the whole 

 base, thus relieving any section of the tire from a concentrated 



action such as wires and bands must produce in a tire which is 

 capable of rocking in a channel. This tire is molded in a cir- 

 cle like a pneumatic tire, and fitted to each wheel. This 

 means that the enormous and constant compression action 

 which tends with the old type of automobile tires to raise the 

 rubber out of the channel, even when the wheel is at rest (an 

 action which obviously has greatly assisted in the destruction 

 of many an otherwise good tire), is entirely obviated. The 

 rubber is thus left in its natural state of rest, and in a condi- 

 tion to perform its normal functions. 



The rims which clinch this tire to the wheel are cold rolled 

 steel, fastened on both sides of the felloe, by being bolted to- 

 gether through the felloe. Their stiffening effect is enormous, 

 and does a great deal to ease the strains on the wheels them- 

 selves. They are so simple and easy of application that any 

 carpenter or blacksmith can apply them without previous ex- 

 perience. These tires are made from 1% inches up to 6 

 inches, with rims to fit diameters from 30 to 50 inches. Sev- 

 eral patents have already been issued and others are pending, 

 covering this tire and several modifications. Tires are being 

 made of this pattern for loads in excess of ten tons. [Calumet 

 Tire Rubber Co., Chicago.] 



THE KOKOMO VEHICLE TIRE. 



The Kokomo Rubber Co. (Kokomo, Indiana) are manufac- 

 turing a solid rubber vehicle tire, a section of which is illus- 

 trated on this page. It is a two wired 

 tire, made of a compound original in 

 the Kokomo factory and which has 

 stood the test of service very satisfac- 

 torily. The company have, during the 

 past year, equipped their factory with 

 new machinery, specially fitted, for the 

 manufacture of these solid tires on a 

 large scale. They advise The India 

 Rubber World that they are having 

 also a large business in bicycle tires, and that, together with 

 their output of solid tires, they are obliged to run the factory 

 night and day, at full capacity. A local newspaper prints the 

 names of the 172 factory hands employed by this company on 

 a recent date, making bicycle and vehicle tires — at the rate of 

 2000 of the former and i6ao of the latter per day. This was in 

 addition to the office force. 



A SECTIONAL PNEUMATIC TIRE. 



The Binghamton Sectional Pneumatic Tire Co. has been or- 

 ganized at Binghamton, New York, with $50,000 capital, to 

 manufacture a new tire patented [No. 644,622 — March 6, 1901] 

 by Charles Miller of Auburn, N. Y. It is claimed that a sec- 

 tional pneumatic tire will run easier than a continuous one, be- 

 cause, the air section being in short lengths, not so much air 

 will be pressed ahead in the tube ; also, that a sectional tube can 

 be much softer and will stand up better than a continuous tube. 

 Each section of this tire is held upon the rim by clips, which 

 hold the outer rubber bulbs or rubber sections to the rim. The 

 inner tube sections are pushed on a series of nipples located at 

 intervals on a continuous metal tube that passes around the 

 wheel and is connected with the air valve. When air is pumped 

 into the valves the bulbs fill simultaneously, and as the air fills 

 the inner bulb it presses tightly upon the nipple; the more air 

 pressure the tighter it grips the nipple. There is no cement 

 used ; on trotting sulkies this is expected to be of great advan- 



