Patent Application
20190126695
The present disclosure relates to a device for increasing traction. Particularly, the present disclosure relates to a device to be fitted on a tire or wheel for increasing the traction, or friction, between the tire or wheel and a surface that the tire or wheel is on.
Chains, such as tire chains, are commonly used for vehicle tires or wheels to create or increase traction, or friction, between the tires/wheels and a surface, such as a road surface or a rail surface, that the tires/wheels is on or is moving on. Such chains need to be fitted, or mounted, onto tires/wheels, especially when roads or rails are covered with snow or ice. In many places of the world, it is mandatory by law for people to use traction devices such as tire chains when driving their vehicles in inclement weather involving snow or ice.
Tire chains are usually not intended for dry road/rail surfaces, because the tire chain components, or at least part of them, will rapidly wear when driven on dry road/rail surfaces. Thus, people usually need to mount and dismount tire chains onto/from their vehicles, depending on the weather and/or road conditions. As experienced by many, mounting and dismounting a tire chain is not an easy task, at least due to the weight of the tire chain and the complexity associated with the actual mounting and dismounting maneuver. In fact, many prior art tire chains are made of metal; hence they are heavy and feel cold in snowy or icy weather, difficult for people to handle.
A light-weight tire chain is disclosed in US patent application publication No. 2006/0090825 A1. This document relates to a device to be fitted on a vehicle wheel of a predetermined size in order to increase the friction between the wheel and a road surface in winter conditions. The device comprises a belt, made substantially of textile, intended to encircle the tread of a vehicle wheel. The belt is held and placed by means of flexible inner and outer side portions which, at least on the inner side of the wheel, it is tightened by means of an elastic member. Using textile instead of metal, this prior art device is light-weight and relatively easy to use.
Nevertheless, this prior art device fails to bring sufficient traction force between the wheel and the road surface. As can be imagined, such a deficiency can cause danger to the vehicle and its driver and/or passengers.
In view of the above, there is a need for a new tire chain, or a device of similar function, which is light-weight, easy for end-users to handle, and meet various standards and requirements including sufficient traction force.
To meet the above objective, the Inventors of the present invention conceive a device for increasing, enhancing, or improving, traction between a tire and a surface that the tire is in contact with.
In the present disclosure, “tire” shall be used to indicate any tire, any wheel, as well as any object that has a function similar to vehicle tires or wheels.
“Surface” means any kind of surface, including a road surface, a rail surface, a track surface, a trail surface, or similar. Snow- and ice-covered road/rail/trail/track surfaces are also considered as surfaces meant by the present disclosure.
“Traction”, in associated with an action of moving a tire over a surface, usually means the grip of the tire on that surface, and is usually the adhesive friction of the tire on the surface on which the tire is in contact with especially when moving thereon. Traction can also be termed as grip, friction, adhesion, and the like.
The device according to the present invention comprises two or more line structures. “Line” here means that the structure is substantially thin—thus light-weight—with respect to its length, such that it can be dealt with by normal people with ease. At least two of the line structures are configured for encircling along the two sidewalls of the tire respectively. This is to say that the line structures embody such dimension and/or material property or properties that enable them to be (conveniently) mounted onto a tire such that at least two of the line structures form circles along the two sidewalls of the tire, respectively.
The device further comprises at least one cross member that connects or can connect the two or more line structures together. The cross member comprises certain connecting mechanism for connecting, bridging, or linking, the two or more line structures together. The cross member is configured for contacting a tread portion of the tire; this means that, when the device is properly fitted onto the tire to perform its intended use in a normal way, the cross member is substantially in contact with the tread portion of the tire—without having to be pressed on the tread portion by any external force. “Tread portion” of the tire indicates the specific part of the outer surface(s) of the tire that is in contact with a surface on which the tire is on or moving along.
For at least a better effect of increasing tire traction, the device can be designed to comprise a plurality of such cross members.
Furthermore, at least one cross member of the device comprises a strap. A “strap” can also be termed as “strapping”, “webbing”, “band”, and “belt”, which are common terms used in the tire chain industry. According to the present invention, the strap of the present invention is made of a material that comprises textile.
A strap has a substantially flat form and thus two sides; where the cross member contacts the tread portion of the tire when the device is fitted on the tire for its intended purpose, the side of the strap that touches the tread portion of the tire is defined to be the “tread side” of the strap. Analogously, the other side of the strap is termed as the “surface side” of the strap, since during normal use of the device when fitted on the tire this side of the strap gets in contact with the surface on which the tire is on or moving along.
One or more traction components may be attached to at least the surface side of the strap so as to further increase the traction between the tire and the surface.
Preferably, among said one or more traction components at least one of them is also attached to the tread side of the strap. That is, at least this particular one traction component is attached to both the tread side and the surface side of the strap.
The strap is made of a material which comprises, or mainly comprises, textile. Any textile will work. Through tests, the Inventors have found that at least the following types of textile achieve satisfactory results in terms of light-weight and sufficient traction force without requiring a high manufacturing cost: Nylon, polyester, polypropylene, leather, and cotton; the material of the strap can also be a combination of any one or more of these particular materials.
As mentioned above, the cross member(s) connect(s) the line structures together whereas the cross member(s) comprise(s) the strap(s). The dimension of the strap along the direction in which the cross member connects, or bridges, or links the line structures can be defined as the “length” of the strap, while the dimension in the other direction, substantially perpendicular to the length, can be defined as the “width” of the strap. Preferably, the width of the strap is between approximately ¾ of an inch and approximately 6 inch.
When a device comprises a plurality of cross members wherein each of which comprises a strap, each strap may be spaced from its neighboring straps by a distance. The distance can be set to range between 0 and approximately 30 inch, in order to achieve satisfactory performance of the device.
The plurality of cross members can be arranged to form a certain pattern, or an arrangement of one or more sequences of repetitive form or forms. Through tests, the Inventors have determined that the following patterns, when adopted for the plurality of cross members, can bring out a satisfactory performance of the device while still keeping the manufacturing complexity and cost at a reasonable level.
The plurality of cross members can be arranged form a pattern comprising or characterized by a sequence of lines that are parallel, or substantially parallel to each other. That is, the cross members, while connecting the line structures of the device together, are arranged substantially parallel to one other among themselves when the device is fitted on a tire in order to perform its intended use in a normal way. Such a pattern resembles a “ladder” and can take any of the following forms: “||”, “//”, and “\\”, all of which are considered as variants of a “ladder” form.
In contrast to the “ladder” pattern(s), many other patterns formed by the plurality of cross members can comprise or characterized by a sequence of lines NOT parallel to each other.
For example, a pair of cross members adjacent to each other, when each connecting the line structures of the device together, can themselves cross each other at a certain location between the two line structures. In effect, the pair of cross members forms an “X”, whereas the cross point may or may not be exactly in the middle. Several pairs of cross members can form a sequence of “X” forms.
Alternatively, a pair of cross members adjacent to each other, when each connecting the line structures of the device together, can meet, or join, each other at a common end. The common end is an end of both cross members. The common end may be in contact with a particular line structure or the connecting mechanism connecting that line structure.
In effect, the pair of cross members forms a form similar to “V”, “|/”, “/|”, “|\”, or “\|”, all of which are considered as variants of a “V form”. Several pairs of cross members can form a sequence of “V”, “|I”, “/|”, “|\”, or “\|” forms.
Through tests, the Inventors have found that a pattern comprising a sequence of “V” forms gives the device a particularly satisfactory performance in terms of light-weight and sufficient tire traction, whereas the manufacturing complexity and the cost of the device can still be controlled at a reasonable level.
Between a pair of cross members that forms the “V” form, an angle exists at the common end thereof. For satisfactory result of tire traction, the inter-relationship of the cross members of the device can be adjusted so that this angle is set between approximately 45 degrees and approximately 90 degrees; for better result of tire traction, the angle is set between approximately 50 degrees and approximately 60 degrees or between approximately 60 degrees and approximately 75 degrees; and for even better result of tire traction the angle is between approximately 45 degrees and approximately 50 degrees.
Another alternative may have a pair of cross members adjacent to each other, when each connecting the line structures of the device together, be arranged to resemble two unparallel sides of a trapezoidal (wherein the two line structures resemble the two parallel sides of the trapezoidal). In other words, the two cross members are not parallel to each other, and neither do they cross or meet each other. In effect, the pair of cross members forms a form resembling a “|/”, “/|”, “|\”, “\|”, “\/” or “/\”, all of which are considered as variants of a “trapezoidal form”. Several pairs of cross members can form a sequence of “|/”, “/|”, “|\”, “\|”, “\/” or “/\” forms.
Further alternatives may arrange a plurality of cross members of the device to exhibit a pattern comprising a combination of more than one kind of the above mentioned (basic) forms: “||”, “//”, “\\”, “X”, “V form”, and “trapezoidal form”. In other words, a mixture of sequences of different basic forms presented above is possible for the device.
Still further alternative(s) can be provided by adding, between a pair of cross members that are adjacent to each other, a connecting member that connects the two crossing members, so that the entire plurality of cross members form a pattern comprising a sequence of such pair of cross member plus the connecting member. Examples of the forms forming the sequence include and are not limited to the following: “H”, “”, “
”, “N”, “
”, “A”, “|−/”, “/−|”, “|−\”, “\−|”, “\−/” or “
”.
Moreover, more than one connecting members may be added between a pair of cross members that are adjacent to each other, to thus form, for example, a “#”, “M” “W”, forms; thus several pairs of cross members can form a sequence of such forms.
Even forms resembling “Y”, “K”, diamond, different shapes of star, different shapes of web form(s), different shapes of net form(s), can be applied to the present invention to form a pattern for the plurality of cross members of the device.
All the patterns mentioned above achieve a satisfactory result of traction force for the device. Certain patterns outperform the other patterns, depending on various factors such as road conditions, tire features, vehicle features, etc.
Preferably, the one or more traction components mentioned above may further comprise one or more raised structures on a surface side thereof.
Like the strap, the traction component has a substantially flat form too and thus two sides. Where the cross member contacts the tread portion of the tire when the device is fitted on the tire for its intended purpose, the side of the strap that touches the tread portion of the tire is defined to be the “tread side” of the strap, and the other side of the strap, the “surface side”, since that is the side that would be in contact with the surface on which the tire is on or moving along. Similarly, when the device is mounted on a tire to perform its intended use in a normal way, the side of a traction component that gets in contact with the surface on which the tire is on or moving along is the “surface side” of the traction component, while the other side, the “tread side” of the traction component.
As its name indicates, the “raised structures”, while comprised in the traction components, are formed and arranged to project away from the surface side of the traction component(s) when the device is fitted onto the tire to perform its intended use in a normal way. In effect, the raised structures “raise” up to a certain height above the surface of the traction component(s). With such one or more raised structures, the device, when in use, can achieve stronger traction between the tire and the surface the tire is in contact with.
The one or more raised structures are preferably made of a material that comprises one or more of the following: rubber, metal, alloy, plastic, sand, polymer (such as polystyrene), and any type of textile.
At least one of the line structures mentioned above can be a cable (such as a rim cable used in many tire chains), a chain, or a rope. At least one of the line structures is made of metal, alloy, plastic, rubber, or any kind of textile.
One or more cross members of the device mentioned above can be secured, or attached to the line structures via various connecting means. For example, at least one of the cross members can be attached to at least one line structure through an eyelet structure. For another example, at least one cross member can be sewn onto at least one line structure, or the cross member can be folded over the line structure and then sewn there-onto.
The present disclosure further provides a strap that is suitable for use in the device mentioned above. The strap may be used as a replacement to an existing strap (for example, a worn-out or a defect strap) on the device or can be added onto the device in order to further increase the traction between the tire and the surface the tire is in contact with when the device is fitted on the tire to perform its intended use.
Specifically, the strap is made of a material comprising textile. The strap comprises connecting mechanism to allow the strap to be fitted onto the device by connecting the two or more line structures of the device together. Examples of the connecting mechanism include eyelet(s), button(s), buckle(s), gluing, and sewing, to name a few. More than one particular mechanism can be combined to achieve a more secure connection of the strap to the line structures of the device.
The strap further comprises one or more traction components discussed above, the traction component(s) attached to at least one side of the strap; this side shall be the “surface side” of the strap when the strap is fitted onto the device. Preferably, the at least one traction components is also attached to another side of the strap.
Preferably, the material of the strap may comprise one or more of nylon, polyester, polypropylene, leather, and cotton.
One dimension of the strap is between approximately ¾ inch and approximately 6 inch.
The present disclosure will be better understood when consideration is given to the following detailed description of the exemplifying embodiments schematically shown in the annexed drawings, wherein:
Specifically, in
The device 10 comprises two or more line structures 14 and 14′, although only one of them, 14, is shown in
The line structures 14 and 14′ are configured for encircling along the two sidewalls of the tire 12, respectively. To be suitable for such purpose, the line structures 14 and 14′ embody such dimension and material property/properties that enable them to be (conveniently) mounted onto the tire and to form a circle along the sidewalls of the tire 12. For example, the line structures 14 and 14′ are of suitable length so that, when the device 10 is properly mounted on the tire 12 in order to perform its function in a normal way, the lines structures 14 and 14′abut the sidewalls wherein the contact is neither too tight nor too loose. From another perspective, the line structures 14 and 14′ are made of a certain material exhibiting suitable strength, light-weight, and/or flexibility so that it is relatively easy for end-users to mount the device 10 onto the tire 12 as well as to dismount it.
As further shown in
The at least one cross member 17 is configured for contacting the tread portion 16 of the tire 12. This is to say, when the device 10 is properly fitted/mounted on the tire 12 in order to perform its intended use in a normal way, the cross member 17 is substantially in contact with the tread portion 16 of the tire 12—without having to be pressed on the tread portion 16 by any external force.
Further, as can be seen in
As can be seen from
As shown in
The embodiment of
The one or more raised structures 25, while comprised in the traction components 21, are formed and arranged to project away from the surface side of the strap 29 when the device 20 is fitted onto the tire 22 to perform its intended use in a normal way. As shown clearly in
With respect to both embodiments shown in
With respect to both embodiments shown in
Where the device 10 or 20 comprises a plurality of cross members 17, 27, and each of which 17, 27 comprises a strap 19, 29, each strap 19, 29 may be spaced from its neighboring straps by a distance. The distance can be set to range between 0 and approximately 30 inch, in order to achieve satisfactory performance of the device 10, 20. With respect to both embodiments of the device shown in
With respect to both embodiments shown in
The present disclosure further provides a strap that is suitable for use in the device for increasing traction between a tire and a surface the tire is in contact with. The strap may be used as a replacement to an existing strap (for example, a worn-out or a defect strap) on the device or can be added onto the device in order to further increase the traction between the tire and the surface the tire is in contact with when the device is fitted on the tire to perform its intended use.
Embodiments of such a strap is illustrate in
With reference to
Assuming that the strap 32, 52 is fitted onto a device provided by the present invention and the device is fitted onto a tire to perform its intended use, one can call this particular side of the strap 32, 52 the “surface side” since this side will be in contact with the surface on which a tire is on or moving along. The other side of the strap could be named as the “tread side” of the strap.
Preferably, the material of the strap 32, 42, 52 may comprise one or more of nylon, polyester, polypropylene, leather, and cotton.
The strap 32, 42, 52 has a width, indicated as “W” in the
As shown in
Preferably, the raised structures 38, 58 are made of a material that comprises one or more of the following: rubber, metal, alloy, plastic, sand, polymer (such as polystyrene), and any type of textile.
Referring to
Different patterns formed by the plurality of cross members can impact the performance as well as user convenience of the device. For example, more complex patterns may lead to a better result of tire traction; whereas simpler patterns may contribute to the light-weight of the device. Other factors of the device may also be influenced by the patterns of the plurality of cross members.
Through tests, the Inventors have found that the pattern comprising a sequence of “V” forms, such as figuratively shown in
Through tests, the Inventors have found that a pattern comprising a sequence of “V” forms gives the device a particularly satisfactory performance in terms of light-weight and sufficient tire traction, whereas the manufacturing complexity and the cost of the device can still be controlled at a reasonable level.
Between a pair of cross members that forms the “V” form, an angle A, which is shown in
It will also be understood that the present invention is not limited to the exemplifying embodiments described above, but that it may be modified and varied by the skilled person within the scope of the appended claims.
