1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to all tires for bicycles, motorcycles, beach buggies and so on, and more particularly to a tire having a screw-type nozzle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Taiwan Patent No. M252573 disclosed a tire having no inner tube, which includes an open tire body, a sealing rubber film glued at the periphery wall of the open groove of the tire body, and a nozzle inserted through the sealing film. Compared with the traditional tire having an inner tube and an outer tire body, the aforesaid tire having no inner tube is not only lower in manufacturing cost, but also more convenient and safer in usage. However, the aforesaid tire is unacceptable in the market because of having the following drawbacks.
First, the nozzle is fastened to the sealing film by glue. However, the sealing film and the nozzle are made of different materials, so they are difficult to be firmly fastened to each other by glue. Therefore, the nozzle is liable to come off to make the tire leak air quickly, causing danger and inconvenience in usage. Besides, the sealing film is heavier than the traditional inner tube. Therefore, the aforesaid tire is heavier than the traditional tire having the inner tube and the outer tire body, and the performance of the aforesaid tire is thereby affected. Furthermore, the sealing film has high ductility and low structural strength. After the tire is used under low pressure for a long time, the sealing film is liable to have rips located adjacent to the periphery of the nozzle, causing danger in usage.
The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above-noted circumstances. It is an objective of the present invention to provide a tire which not only has the aforesaid advantages of the tire having no inner tube, but also has a screw-type nozzle less possibly coming off, thereby safer and more convenient in usage.
To attain the above objective, the present invention provides a tire which includes a tire body, a sealing film and a nozzle. The tire body has an open groove and two side edge portions adjacent to the open groove. The sealing film is fastened to the two side edge portions of the tire body by heat curing, and defines a gas chamber with the tire body. The sealing film has an inner surface facing the gas chamber, an outer surface opposite to the inner surface, and an opening passing through the inner surface and the outer surface and communicating with the gas chamber. The nozzle includes an inserting member and an exterior screw member. The inserting member has an inner stopping portion disposed on the inner surface of the sealing film, a screw rod extended from the inner stopping portion and inserted through the opening of the sealing film, and a gas-charging channel passing through the inner stopping portion and the screw rod and communicating with the gas chamber. The exterior screw member is screwed onto the screw rod and directly or indirectly urged against the outer surface of the sealing film.
As a result, the nozzle is fixed to the sealing film by a screwing manner, so the nozzle is less possible to come off, ensuring convenience and safety in usage. Besides, the nozzle can be further glued to the sealing film. In other words, the nozzle can be fixed to the sealing film more firmly by both a gluing manner and a screwing manner.
In an embodiment of the present invention, the screw rod is inserted through the exterior screw member for being connected with a gas-charging device. The exterior screw member may be a screw nut. Alternately, the exterior screw member may include a plurality of screw nuts to avoid being loosed by vibration.
The nozzle may further include a washer sleeved onto the screw rod and located on the outer surface of the sealing film. The exterior screw member is abutted on the washer so as to be indirectly urged against the outer surface of the sealing film In this way, the nozzle can be fixed to the sealing film more firmly. Especially in the case that the washer is a spring washer, a better effect can be achieved.
The screw rod is inserted through an inside and an outside of a wheel rim. The nozzle may further include a cushion. The washer and the exterior screw member are located between the sealing film and the cushion. The cushion is disposed on the inside of the wheel rim for separating the washer and the exterior screw member from the inside of the wheel rim. In this way, the cushion can prevent the friction contact between the wheel rim and the washer or the exterior screw member so as to prevent the wheel rim from being damaged by the friction contact.
The nozzle may further include a threaded fastener which is screwed onto the screw rod and abutted on the outside of the wheel rim. In this way, the nozzle can be fixed to the wheel rim firmly.
In another embodiment of the present invention, an end of the screw rod is located in the exterior screw member, and the exterior screw member has a gas-inletting channel communicating with the gas-charging channel of the inserting member. The exterior screw member is adapted for being connected with a gas-charging device. Similarly, a washer may be disposed between the exterior screw member and the sealing film as described above, so that the nozzle can be fixed to the sealing film more firmly. The exterior screw member is inserted through an inside and an outside of a wheel rim. The nozzle may further include the aforesaid cushion for preventing the wheel rim from damage. The nozzle may further include a threaded fastener which is screwed onto the exterior screw member and abutted on the outside of the wheel rim so that the nozzle can be fixed to the wheel rim firmly.
The sealing film in the present invention may include only a single layer having high gas-tightness, such as a rubber layer. Alternately, the sealing film may include two outer layers made of rubber or plastic and a fabric layer located between the two outer layers. The inner surface and the outer surface of the sealing film are located at the two outer layers respectively. Alternately, the sealing film may include a fabric layer and an outer layer piled on the fabric layer. The inner surface of the sealing film is located at the fabric layer, and the outer surface of the sealing film is located at the outer layer. Alternately, the sealing film may include a fabric layer and an outer layer piled on the fabric layer. The inner surface of the sealing film is located at the outer layer, and the outer surface of the sealing film is located at the fabric layer. As a result, on the condition that the sealing film having the fabric layer is equal in thickness to or thinner than the sealing film made of only rubber or plastic, the sealing film having the fabric layer is lighter and harder to be ripped than the sealing film made of only rubber or plastic, capable of improving the usability and the safety of the tire.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
First of all, it is to be mentioned that same reference numerals used in the following preferred embodiments and the appendix drawings designate same or similar elements throughout the specification for the purpose of concise illustration of the present invention.
The material and the structure of the tire body 20 are similar to that commonly used by the conventional tire body, thereby not specified herein. The tire body 20 is approximately shaped as an incomplete ring in the sectional view as shown in
The sealing film 30 in this embodiment is a flexible thin film made of material having high gas-tightness, such as rubber. That means the sealing film 30 may include only a single layer, such as a rubber. The sealing film 30 is fixedly glued to the two side edge portions 24 of the tire body 20 while being vulcanized together with the tire body 20. That means only two side edge portions 31 of the sealing film 30 are fixedly glued to the side edge portions 24 of the tire body 20 respectively, the rest of the sealing film 30 is not fastened to the tire body 20. Therefore, in the usage status as shown in
The nozzle 40 includes an inserting member 42, an exterior screw member 44, and a washer 46. The inserting member 42 is shaped as a screw bolt, which has an inner stopping portion 422 and a screw rod 424 extended from the inner stopping portion 422 integrally. However, the inserting member 42 further includes a gas-charging channel 426 passing through the inner stopping portion 422 and the screw rod 424. By means of the flexibility of the sealing film 30, the inner stopping portion 422 of the inserting member 42 is squeezed through the opening 34 to be disposed on the inner surface 32 of the sealing film 30. The screw rod 424 is therefore extended through the opening 34 and protruded from the outer surface 33 of the sealing film 30. The exterior screw member 44 and the washer 46 are sleeved onto the screw rod 424, and the washer 46 is located between the outer surface 33 of the sealing film 30 and the exterior screw member 44. The exterior screw member 44 in this embodiment includes two screw nuts 442 fixedly screwed onto the screw rod 424 and abutted on the washer 46 so as to be indirectly urged against the outer surface 33 of the sealing film 30.
In other words, in the present invention the exterior screw member 44 is screwed onto the screw rod 424 tightly to clamp the sealing film 30 tightly between the inner stopping portion 422 and the washer 46, so that the nozzle 40 is fixed to the sealing film 30 and the gas-charging channel 426 communicates with the gas chamber 12. The nozzle 40 can be fixed to the sealing film 30 firmly by such manner, so as to be less possible to come off, ensuring the convenience and safety in usage. Besides, the nozzle 40 can be further glued to the sealing film 30. That means the nozzle 40 can be fixed to the sealing film 30 more firmly by both a gluing manner and a screwing manner.
It is to be appreciated that the nozzle 40 may include no such washer 46, so that the exterior screw member 44 is directly urged against, i.e. directly abutted on the outer surface 33 of the sealing film 30. However, the nozzle 40 including the washer 46 disposed between the exterior screw member 44 and the sealing film 30 can be fixed to the sealing film 30 more firmly. Especially in the case that the washer 46 is a spring washer, such as that provided in this embodiment, a better fastening effect can be achieved. However, the washer 46 is not limited to be the spring washer, but may be a normal flat washer 46 as shown in
However, the sealing film 30 having the aforesaid advantage is not limited to have two outer layers 35, 36, but may have only one outer layer piled on the fabric layer 37. For example, the sealing film 30 may have no such outer layer 35; the inner surface of the sealing film is formed by the fabric layer 37, and the outer surface of the sealing film is formed by the outer layer 36. Alternately, the sealing film 30 may have no such outer layer 36; the inner surface of the sealing film is formed by the outer layer 35, and the outer surface of the sealing film is formed by the fabric layer 37.
In the aforesaid two embodiments, the screw rod 424 of the inserting member 42 is inserted through the exterior screw member 44 for being connected with a gas-charging device (not shown), so that the gas chamber 12 can be gas-charged by the gas-charging device through the gas-charging channel 426. However, the nozzle 40 in the present invention is not limited to such design, but may be that provided in a following third preferred embodiment of the present invention for example.
Referring to
Referring to
The cushion 47 is made of rubber or the like, approximately cone-shaped and sleeved onto the screw rod 424. The washer 46 and the exterior screw member 44 are located between the sealing film 30 and the cushion 47. The cushion 47 is capped on the washer 46 and the exterior screw member 44, disposed on the inside 54 of the wheel rim 50 and partially located in the through hole 52 for separating the washer 46 and the exterior screw member 44 from the inside 54 of the wheel rim 50. Since the washer 46 and the exterior screw member 44 are usually made of metal, the wheel rim 50, if it is made of nonmetal such as carbon fibers, is liable to be damaged by the friction contact between the wheel rim 50 and the washer 46 or the exterior screw member 44, especially at the periphery of the through hole 52. Such damage of the wheel rim 50, which may cause the nozzle 40 to sway, can be avoided by the cushion 47 disposed on the inside 54 of the wheel rim 50.
The threaded fastener 48 is a screw nut, which is screwed onto the screw rod 424 for fastening the nozzle 40 to the wheel rim 50. When the threaded fastener 48 is tightened, it is abutted on the outside 56 of the wheel rim 50, and the nozzle 40 is fixed to the wheel rim 50 firmly. For simplifying the figure, the cushion 47 in
The aforesaid cushion 47 is also applicable in the case as shown in
The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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105200741 | Jan 2016 | TW | national |