Patent Application
20050091813
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of valve stem cap removal devices in general, and in particular to a valve stem cap removal apparatus having a resiliently deformable cap engagement member.
2. Description of Related Art
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,614,669; 3,928,902; Des. 399,107; and 4,528,735, the prior art is replete with automotive accessory tools designed for engagement with different portions of an automobile tire inflation valve stem assembly.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical valve stem cap removal apparatus having a resiliently deformable cap engaging head member that facilitates the frictional engagement and removal of the valve stem cap.
Unfortunately when dealing with rigid cap engaging members, the valve stem must be almost perfectly aligned with the opening of the outside wheel of a dual wheel application in order to effectively utilize this type of tool; and, in many instances, the valve stem is somewhat laterally offset from the aforementioned desired alignment.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need for a new and improved valve stem cap removal apparatus that is designed to be both flexible and resiliently deformable to engage the cap on valve stems that are either not perfectly aligned with a wheel aperture or positioned on the inner wheel of a dual wheel arrangement; and the provision of such a construction is a stated objective of the present invention.
Briefly stated, the valve stem cap removal apparatus that forms the basis of the present invention comprises a resilient cap engaging unit the inboard end of which is secured to the outboard end of an elongated generally rigid shaft member having an inboard end provided with an enlarged handle member.
As will be explained in greater detail further on in the specification, the cap engaging unit includes a generally resiliently deformable tubular cap engaging member preferably fabricated from rubber or flexible plastic wherein, the inboard end of the tubular cap engaging member is dimensioned to frictionally engage the outboard end of the shaft member and wherein, the cap engaging member is adapted to frictionally engage the cap of a valve stem.
In addition, the tubular cap engaging member is further provided with a first securing band that captively engages the inboard end of the cap engaging member to the outboard end of the shaft member, and a second tensioning band that limits the amount of deformation of the outboard end of the cap engaging member to substantially retain the effective inside diameter of the outboard end of the cap engaging member after repeated usage.
These and other attributes of the invention will become more clear upon a thorough study of the following description of the best mode for carrying out the invention, particularly when reviewed in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:
As can be seen by reference to the drawings, and in particularly to
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Furthermore, the intermediate portion of the cap engaging member 20 may be resiliently deformed to gain access to a valve stem cap 101 on the inner wheel 200′ of a dual wheel arrangement 200 that would not be capable of being accessed by a rigid cap engaging element.
Although only an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims.
Having thereby described the subject matter of the present invention, it should be apparent that many substitutions, modifications, and variations of the invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that the invention as taught and described herein is only to be limited to the extent of the breadth and scope of the appended claims.
