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Ohio inventions and firsts · Invention · 1946-1947

Tubeless tire

B.F. Goodrich is credited with introducing the commercial tubeless tire; engineer Frank Herzegh applied for a patent in 1946 (US 2,587,470, granted 1952). Tubeless tires were standard on new cars by 1955.

At a glance

Year
1946-1947
By
Frank Herzegh
Company
B.F. Goodrich
Place
Akron, Summit County ZIP 44308 · Akron · Summit County
Patent
US 2,587,470 US 2,587,470 (Frank Herzegh, B.F. Goodrich; applied 1946, granted 1952)

The story

Inner tubes were a weakness of every car. A puncture let air out fast, and tubes could pinch or burst. A tire that held air without a tube promised fewer blowouts, but the early designs leaked.

Several people had tried. Killen Tire applied for a patent in 1928, and a Goodyear subsidiary, the Wingfoot Corporation, received a patent in South Africa in 1944. Those designs faced technical problems that kept them from selling widely.

At B.F. Goodrich in Akron, engineer Frank Herzegh applied for a patent in 1946. The key difference, according to Wikipedia, was butyl rubber, which holds air better than natural rubber. His US patent 2,587,470 was granted in 1952.

Goodrich is credited with bringing out America's first tubeless tire in 1947. By 1955 tubeless tires were standard equipment on new cars. Goodrich was acquired by the French maker Michelin in 1990.

Timeline

  • 1928: Killen Tire applies for a tubeless patent. source
  • 1944: Wingfoot Corporation, a Goodyear subsidiary, gets a South African patent. (South Africa) source
  • 1946: Frank Herzegh of Goodrich applies for the patent. (Akron, OH) source
  • 1947: Goodrich introduces the first tubeless tire in America. (Akron, OH) source
  • 1952: US patent 2,587,470 is granted. (Washington, D.C.) source
  • 1955: Tubeless tires become standard on new cars. (United States) source

What it changed

  • Tubeless tires were standard equipment on new cars by 1955, eight years after the first Goodrich model.
  • Butyl rubber's low air leakage made the design practical.

Why it matters

Standard for later cars.

Worth knowing

Goodrich's 1947 introduction is the commonly cited date. A Goodyear subsidiary held a South African patent in 1944.

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.