Ma i ntai n in g a Check on Tyre Pressure D ESPITE the regularity with
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which tyre-manufacturing companies remind users of the need for maintaining proper pressure in pneumatic tyres, the trouble involved in the use of a gauge seems to be more than certain operators care to take. This occurs although the small effort required is repaid many times in the diminution of the tyre bill. Mr. Arthur G. Foulds, of Arthur G. Foulds, Ltd., Dunedin Street, Edinburgh, has applied for British and foreign patents for a device, known as the Saivotyre, for indicating to the driver when the pressure in any tyre oil a vehicle falls below a predetermined normal. The indicator is on the facia board.
The signal on the dashboard—one for each wheel—is electrically operated, the current being supplied from the ordinary battery of the vehicle. The wiring system is connected with the ignition switch, therefore no current is used by the device when the machine is parked or garaged for the night. So soon as the switch is placed in the "on" position the ithlitators record any loss of pressure which may have occurred dur ing th6 period of idleness. Whether under way or standing still the Salvo tyre tells the driver if there be anything wrong with the pressure.
The device consists of a circular casing mounted on each hub cap of the vehicle from it runs a flexible tube to the tyre valve and it embodies a connection to which the pump can be coupled. When inflating a tyre the operator can check the pressure by lookat a gauge built into the casing.
Between the easing and the mudguard over the wheel is a vertical memhe'r which carries the electric wiring between the gauge and the dashboard indicator. Provision is made for spring action and turning of the wheel for steering purposes. We are told that the increase in time taken to change a wheel or rim, on the hub of which a Saivotyre is installed, is 15 secAds. The design allows for wheels fitted with twin tyres.
In the event of a burst or puncture causing rapid loss of air in the tyre the device gives an instantaneous reading, but a gradual deflation causes the indicator to work slowly so, that the driver can see whether any loss of air dethands immediate attention or can be rectified at an early stop, i.e., is not very serious.