This disclosure relates generally to automotive tools, and, more particularly, to tools used to separate a tire from a rim and/or to flip a tire.
Large vehicles, such as semi-trailer trucks and heavy load haulers usually have multiple sets of dual wheels to support the vehicle and load. Dual wheels are a pair of tire and wheel assemblies that are mounted immediately adjacent to one another on a single axle hub. These assemblies are able to bear greater loads than single wheels and also provide redundancy so that if one of the two tires fails, the second will continue to support the vehicle and load. This redundancy prevents loss of control of the vehicle and allows the vehicle to travel to a facility for repair. In dual wheel assemblies, the tires nearest to the body of the vehicle are referred to herein as the innermost wheels and the tires farthest from the body of the vehicle are referred to herein as the outermost wheels.
Each wheel 12 of each dual wheel assembly includes a rim 10 and a tire 14. As shown in
To ensure that beads 26 of the tire 14 fit tightly on the rims 10 of a wheel, beads 26 are typically made of high strength, low flexibility rubber and are typically reinforced with steel wire. This sturdy structure is intended to prevent the tire 14 from shifting or spinning on the rim 10 when the wheel rotates. If the beads 26 are not tight enough, friction between the traction of the tire 14 and the road will tend to prevent the tire 14 from rotating in unison with the rim 10.
When a wheel of this sort needs to be repaired or replaced, the entire wheel may be removed from the vehicle. These wheels are extremely heavy, with an individual wheel weighing as much as 200 to 250 lbs. or more. Accordingly, it can be difficult for technicians to perform various tasks, such as tipping wheels into an upright position, flipping a wheel during service, loading wheels for storage or transport, or even moving a wheel around a workspace. Injuries are common due at least in part to the wheel's high weight and the postures and movements customarily used to manipulate wheels.
Wheel tippers have been used in order to facilitate various tasks which require tipping or flipping a wheel. A wheel tipper is customarily a bar with a gripping end that engages with a wheel so that the wheel tipper can act as a lever when used by a technician. As an example,
In another task performed in a wheel servicing facility, once a wheel 12 is removed from the vehicle and has been positioned to be serviced, the bead 26 must be broken to separate the tire 14 from the rim 10. If the wheel servicing facility owns a tire machine, and if the tire to be serviced is the proper size to fit in the machine, then a tire machine may be used to break the bead of the tire. However, if that is not the case, the beads 26 are broken manually with hand tools. Various manual bead breaker tools exist for this purpose. However, these tools can be unwieldy, ineffective, and difficult to use. Additionally, a manual bead breaker tool is that it is one more tool that a wheel servicing facility must purchase for use, one more tool that a technician must locate for use, and one more tool that a technician must spend time transitioning between while servicing a tire.
Some manual bead breaker tools include slide hammers. A slide hammer includes a weight that is attached to a shaft and is slid up and down the shaft. The shaft usually includes at least one stop which stops the sliding motion of the weight, causing the weight to ram against the stop and thereby impart force through the shaft. The shaft of the slide hammer is placed against an object, the weight is slid up the shaft, gaining potential energy, the weight is then slid down the shaft until it contacts the stop, whereat the potential energy is converted into kinetic energy and is transmitted through the shaft and into the object.
One disadvantage of a slide hammer is that the amount of force generated is limited by the mass of the weight and how long the shaft is. The larger and heavier the tool, the more force it can impart, but the more cumbersome to store, transport, and operate. Conversely, slide hammers that are smaller and lighter, and therefore easier to store, transport, and operate, are not able to generate as much force. Slide hammers used as bead breakers suffer from this issue and must balance the high amount of force necessary to break the bead with the manageability of the tool in the wheel servicing facility.
It is desirable to have a single tool which can be used to both manipulate a wheel and to break the bead. Having a single tool which can be used for both functions reduces the number of tools that a wheel servicing facility must purchase, reduces the number of tools that a technician must locate for use, and reduces the amount of time that a technician spends transitioning between tools while servicing a tire. Additionally, having a single tool which can be used for both functions enables a technician to easily break the bead of the wheel from one side of the tire, flip the tire, and break the bead from the other side of the tire. Therefore, what is needed is a device that can be used for both manipulating a wheel and breaking the bead.
The following is a brief summary of subject matter that is described in greater detail herein. This summary is not intended to be limiting as to the scope of the claims.
In an embodiment, a single tool can be used to tip a wheel and to break the bead of the wheel. The tool includes a guide shaft, a weight slidably received within the guide shaft, and an impact head affixed to an end of the guide shaft. The guide shaft, weight, and impact head of the tool can be used as a slide hammer to impact the bead of a wheel. When the impact head is placed on the bead and the weight is slid within the guide shaft, the force imparted by the weight is transmitted through the impact head to break the bead.
To this end, the impact head is particularly configured to facilitate separating the rim and the tire of a wheel to break the bead. In particular, the impact head includes a foot loop formed on each of the opposing sides of the impact head as well as a wedge formed at an end of the impact head opposite the guide shaft. The wedge is tapered and curved from the guide shaft to a tip to easily fit between the rim and the tire of the wheel, and the foot loops are configured to enable a user to place his foot on the foot loops during use of the tool. The user's foot can then impart additional force onto the impact head and can also stabilize the tool and retain its position on the bead during impact from the weight.
The tool can also be used as a wheel tipper by attaching the tool to the wheel and using the tool as a lever with the wheel acting as a fulcrum. To this end, the impact head also includes a notch formed on each of the opposing sides of the impact head. The notches are sized to fit around the inside edge of the rim of the wheel. The impact head also has a partial length extending from the notches to the tip of the wedge. The partial length is greater than a diameter of a standard wheel hole of a rim of the wheel. To tip the wheel when the rim is facing upwardly, the user engages one of the notches around the inside edge of the rim and applies force to pivot the wheel about the notches into an upright position. To tip the wheel when the rim is facing downwardly, the user engages the partial length of the impact head within a wheel hole and levers the wheel about the impact head into an upright position.
The above summary presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the systems and/or methods discussed herein. This summary is not an extensive overview of the systems and/or methods discussed herein. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope of such systems and/or methods. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the embodiments described herein, reference is now made to the drawings and descriptions in the following written specification. No limitation to the scope of the subject matter is intended by the references. This disclosure also includes any alterations and modifications to the illustrated embodiments and includes further applications of the principles of the described embodiments as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which this document pertains.
As shown in
As shown in
Returning to
The handle 132 is configured to be gripped by the user. Accordingly, the handle 132 is sized and shaped to enable an easy and firm grip. The weight 108 is arranged within the guide shaft 104 such that the handle 132 always protrudes from the handle end 120 and is always spaced apart from the handle end 120 of the guide shaft 104. This arrangement protects the tool 100 from being damaged when the weight 108 is slid into the guide shaft 104 in the direction 128 and prevents the user from being pinched between the handle 132 and the handle end 120 when the weight 108 is fully received within the guide shaft 104.
The impact head 112 includes a body 136 which is affixed to or integrally formed with the guide shaft 104. Each of the opposing sides 148 of the body 136 includes a foot loop 140 and a slot 144, and a wedge 152 protrudes from an end of the body 136 opposite the guide shaft 104. As shown in
Turning now to
Turning now to
Returning now to
The curved outside edges 172 of the wedge portions 168 further facilitate inserting the impact head 112 between the rim 10 and the tire 14 of the wheel 12. The widths W4 of the wedge portions 168 provide adequate surface contact area between the tip 160 of the wedge 152 to enable forcing the impact head 112 between the rim 10 and the tire 14, while the width W3 of the notch 164 reduces friction between the impact head 112 and the wheel 12 as the impact head 112 is forced between the rim 10 and the tire 14. Additionally, the notch 164 is configured to help drive a lubricant between the rim 10 and the tire 14 to further reduce friction and facilitate insertion of the impact head 112 between the rim 10 and the tire 14 to break the bead 26.
The tool 100 can be used to break the bead 26 of a wheel 12 by forcing the tip 160 of the wedge 152 between the tire 14 and the rim 10 of the wheel 12 as shown in
Next, with the user's foot still on the foot loop 140 and the edges 172 in contact with the bead 26, the weight 108 (shown in
The resulting impact when the weight 108 is fully received within the guide shaft 104 results in a force transmitted through the impact head 112, and thus through the wedge 152, to drive the tip 160 between the tire 14 and the rim 10. If the bead is not broken, the user can pull the tool 100 from the wheel 12, reposition the tool 100 in another location along the bead 26, and repeat the process described above.
The tool 100 can also be used to flip the wheel 12. As shown in
The tool 100 can also be used, as shown in
The protuberance 158 (shown in
Because the tool 100 enables easily flipping the wheel 12 from either side, the user can use the tool 100 to break the bead 26, as described above, from one side of the wheel 12, then use the tool 100 to flip the wheel 12 so that the opposite side of the wheel 12 is facing upwardly, and lastly use the tool 100 to break the bead 26 from the opposite side of the wheel 12. The user can perform all of these functions easily and without having to change tools.
It will be appreciated that variants of the above-described and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems, applications, or methods. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art that are also intended to be encompassed by the disclosure.
This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/074,282, filed on Nov. 3, 2014, and U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/091,892, filed on Dec. 15, 2014, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62074282 | Nov 2014 | US | |
62091829 | Dec 2014 | US |