Patent Application
20100236676
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The present invention generally relates to custom graphics for tire sidewalls and the like. More specifically, this invention relates to custom designs, messages or statements, and alphanumeric text that can be affixed to the sidewall of a vehicle tire using a method and apparatus that ensures they are applied symmetrically and in an otherwise aesthetically pleasing manner.
It has often been said that we are a culture that loves its cars. Songs have been written about them. Books extol their virtues, and more recently, they have even become the subjects of entire movies. Men, in particular, have been known to spend more than the value of the car itself to customize their vehicle, either to make it more uniquely theirs, increase its performance, or some combination therebetween. Popular television shows like the MTV network's “Pimp My Ride” document the transformation of everyday vehicles into showpieces and the yearly Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) convention in Las Vegas, Nevada showcases the latest available technology for what has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry. Nearly everything imaginable (and often unimaginable) can be purchased in this so-called aftermarket and can usually be installed by a reasonably skilled owner. For example, items to dress up the vehicles running gear are well known. Custom wheels (i.e., rims) are available in multitudes of designs that facilitate the installation of high performance tires or make the vehicle more attractive, and devices that spin on the wheel hubs have recently become fashionable to simulate motion of the vehicle even when at a standstill. Nothing, however, has heretofore been available to customize the tire itself.
Labeling has likely been a part of tire manufacture since their inception. Automobile, motorcycle, truck, and even bicycle tires usually carry information on their sidewalls that indicate the name of the manufacturer, the size of the tire, and multitudes of additional information, for example the date of manufacture, their intended use, and an indication of their expected longevity, traction, and load-carrying capacities. Generally, this information is molded or stamped into the tire sidewall during manufacture and in many cases this lettering is overpainted in a contrasting color (usually white) to both make the text easier to read and to increase the aesthetic appeal of the tire.
To date, however, nothing is available to customize the appearance of tire sidewalls. Stickers used to display, for example, a user's sentiment or opinion, market a product, or advertise a destination are well known, particularly with regard to vehicles. Bumper stickers have become a common form of expression and children all over the Western world collect stickers. While any of these items may ostensibly be applied to a tire sidewall, the results are generally unsatisfactory. The extreme heat and flexing that tires are subject to while in use inevitably result in any such sticker falling off soon after its application. More importantly, application of the graphics, particularly long statements or phrases rendered in large type, is difficult to perform in an aesthetically pleasing manner because of the curvature of the tire itself. For example, everyone has witnessed examples of commonly available individual self-adhesive alphanumeric characters inexpertly applied to a store window or the rear glass of a vehicle. The characters are crooked or the spacing between the letters is uneven. Many of these instances are preventable with the simple use of a straightedge and a ruler to ensure constant spacing between the characters. However, no such assistance is available for surfaces having a curvature such as the sidewall of a vehicle tire. And whereas characters applied in a straight line will have constant spacing between each character, characters following the curvature of a tire sidewall must necessarily have progressively greater space between the uppermost regions of the characters compared to the spacing in the lower regions in order to follow the curve. In these instances, the user must simply “eyeball” his efforts and hope that the results are acceptable.
The present invention is a system for the application of graphics for the personalization or customization of tire sidewalls, and accommodates any diameter tire. Adhesable graphics, phrases, statements, individual alphanumeric characters, and the like are rendered in a flexible material appropriate for attachment to a tire sidewall and are removably affixed to a flexible frame. In use, the frame is temporarily attached adjacent the wheel rim and is used to facilitate affixing the graphics or figures to the sidewall in an aesthetically pleasing manner. The frame ensures that any lettering or characters are appropriately spaced regardless of the diameter of the tire to which the graphics will be attached.
The flexible frame can be manufactured from any rod-like flexible material so long as it can be bent as desired by the hand pressure of the user and tends to hold its shape. In a preferred embodiment, the frame is essentially a plastic or rubber rod with a solid wire core. The frame includes a low-tack adhesive applied to its exterior surface that is used to temporarily attach the frame adjacent the tire sidewalls. Methods for temporarily attaching the frame are well known and, in addition, may include a clip arrangement for temporary attachment to the rim of the vehicle.
The graphics may be any arbitrary or fanciful design, or may consist of words, phrases, or inspirational statements. The graphics may also consist of a plurality of alphanumeric characters that may be removably attached to the frame in a sequence selected by the user. In this manner, the user is able to create his or her own customized statements for display on the tire. The graphics can be manufactured from any flexible material, including but not limited to rubber, synthetic rubber, latex, vinyl, polyethylene, biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate film, organic and inorganic polymers, aluminum, metallic alloys, and metallic foils; and are from about 0.5 mm to 3.0 mm, preferably about 2.0 mm in thickness. The graphics may be attached to the tire sidewall via a self-adhesive whereby the user simply peels backing paper away from the graphics to reveal a pre-applied adhesive, or the user may simply use adhesive provided with the kit or secured from a third party to permanently attach the graphics. In a preferred embodiment, the graphics are attached to the sidewall via a cold vulcanization process.
The graphics are removably attached to the frame in any conventional manner whereby the graphics, figures, characters, etc. are generally orthogonal to the frame. In a preferred embodiment, the graphics are attached via a plurality of sprues that are simply severed once the graphics are permanently attached to the tire sidewall, thereby allowing the frame to be removed and discarded. With regard to graphics consisting of user selectable alphanumeric characters, other means of removable attachment are necessary. Such means are well known and may include adhesives; interlocking male/female, post and socket type arrangements; hook and loop means; or other well known mechanisms for removably attaching the graphics in any arbitrary sequence selected by the user. While positioned generally orthogonally when removably attached to the frame prior to use, it is noted that one feature of this invention is that the graphics will tend to change their conformation relative to one another as the frame is flexed. In other words, as the frame is flexed to accommodate the curvature of the tire sidewall, the position of the graphical elements will change relative to one another such that the spacing in the vicinity of the top (or bottom, depending on whether the frame is attached to the bottom or top portion of the graphics) of each graphical element will narrow (or expand) to conform to the curvature of the tire sidewall. The graphics can thereby be applied to essentially any tire, regardless of diameter and the graphics will be aesthetically positioned evenly about the circumference of the tire such that an imaginary midline drawn through the center of each character will intersect at the same center (i.e., the wheel hub).
It is contemplated that the frame may be removably attached below the graphics whereby the device is utilized by temporarily attaching the frame adjacent the outermost diameter of the wheel when using the device. Additionally, the frame may be removably attached above the graphics whereby instead of guiding application of the graphics using the vehicle's wheel, the frame is instead temporarily attached adjacent the tire tread of the vehicle. In yet another version, the frame may be removably attached to the right or left side of graphics consisting of alphanumeric characters where it is desired that the text be legible in an essentially vertical orientation.
It is an object of the invention to provide graphics, including fanciful designs, words, phrases, inspirational statements, and alphanumeric characters, for application to a tire sidewall;
It is another object of this invention to provide a graphics application system including a frame to facilitate application of graphics to a tire sidewall in an aesthetically pleasing manner;
It is yet another object of this invention to facilitate the application of alphanumeric characters to a tire sidewall in a user selectable sequence; and,
It is still another object of this invention to provide user customizable graphics for attachment to a tire sidewall.
The preferred embodiments and best modes of the invention are shown in
Turning now to
The principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the present invention have been described in the foregoing specification. However, the invention should not be construed as limited to the particular embodiments which have been described above. Instead, the embodiments described here should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Variations and changes may be made by others without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims:
