Patent Application
20190248196
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The disclosure and prior art relates to integrated vehicle tire heating devices and more particularly pertains to a new integrated vehicle tire heating device for melting snow off of a tire.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a vehicle tire that includes an outer wall, an inner wall and a tread wall that extends between the inner and outer walls. The tread wall has an outer surface that has tread thereon. The inner and outer walls each have an inner perimeter edge that is configured to engage a rim. A heating system is mounted on the vehicle tire and heats the tire to melt snow off of the vehicle tire. The heating system includes an inner liner that is positioned on an interior surface of the outer wall, the inner wall and the tread wall. A plurality of heating elements is positioned in the inner liner such that the heating elements are in thermal communication with the outer, inner and tread walls wherein the outer, inner and tread walls are heated when the heating element is turned on.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A heating system is mounted on the vehicle tire 12 and heats the tire to melt snow 28 off of the vehicle tire 12. The heating system includes an inner liner 30 that is positioned on an interior surface 32 of the outer wall 14, the inner wall 16 and the tread wall 18. A plurality of heating elements 32 is positioned in the inner liner 30 such that the heating elements 32 are in thermal communication with the outer 14, inner 16 and tread walls 18 wherein the outer 14, inner 16 and tread walls 18 are heated when the heating element 34 is turned on.
A thermostat 34 is electrically coupled to each of the heating elements 32. The thermostat 34 regulates the heating element 34 such that the thermostat 34 turns off each of the heating elements 32 when the thermostat 34 detects a temperature that is beyond a threshold limit. The thermostat 34 turns on each of the heating elements 32 when the temperature is below the threshold limit. The threshold limit is typically less than 100° F., though may be less than 60° F. A power supply 36 is electrically coupled to the heating elements 32. The power supply 36 comprises a car battery. A control circuit 38 is electrically coupled to each of the heating elements 32. A power switch 40 is electrically coupled to the control circuit 38. The power switch 40 turns each of the heating elements 32 on or off. The power switch 40 has a series of heat level inputs 42 to selectively adjust a temperature of the heating elements. The power switch 40 may be positioned in the interior of a car 44. The power switch 40 may, for example, comprise a dial that be rotated to selectively adjust the temperature of the heating elements 32.
In use, the vehicle tire 12 is used in a conventional manner as tires are utilized. When the road 46 is covered with snow 28 the power switch 40 can be turned on to heat the vehicle tire 12. The heated vehicle tire 12 melts snow 28 off of the tire to prevent accumulation of snow 28 thereon and allow the tire treads 22 to retain friction. If the heating elements 32 reach the threshold temperature the thermostat 34 will shut off the heating elements 32 allowing the vehicle tire 12 to cool and prevent the vehicle tire 12 from overheating.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
