Patent Application
20080295253
The present invention relates to the field of automotive or vehicle tools; more specifically the invention comprises an integrated tool for changing (removing and installing) a vehicle wheel.
Vehicles comprise cars (or automobiles), trucks, pickups, SUVs, and trailers having wheels upon which are mounted rubber tires. Road debris and detritus, or excessive wear, heat etc., cause tires to deflate, sometimes quite rapidly and unexpectedly. The solution, of course, is to change the wheel and replace it with a spare wheel having a functional tire.
Most vehicle wheels are quite large and heavy, with truck or trailer tires exceeding eighty pounds in weight. And, with current emphasis on utilizing every cubic inch of vehicle space—especially on automobiles—there is a definite need for a compact tool for changing wheel—the tool stored somewhere in the vehicle.
Also, with at least half of the drivers being female, a tool facilitating the removal and replacement of heavy wheels is even more desirable.
Such a tool would clearly be welcome to millions of vehicle drivers.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wheel-changing tool that may be arranged in a compact way so the tool may be stored in a small space.
Another object is a tool that may be unfolded or assembled quickly for use in replacing a vehicle wheel.
And another object is a tool with components that may be used for multiple purposes.
And yet another object is a tool that is used to lift and hold a wheel in a required position while the wheel is being replaced.
And another object is a tool that may transport a wheel when it is removed.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the disclosure to follow. In the disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof and in which is shown by way of illustration by an exemplary embodiment in which the invention may be practiced. This exemplary embodiment will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made in details of the embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.
In accordance with the recited objects of the present invention, a compact and novel wheel changing system embodied as a tool comprising a lifting component for lifting, holding and positioning a vehicle wheel. The lifting component has a base plate that engages and supports a vehicle wheel during replacement. The lifting component further comprises a multi-purpose handle for operating the lifting component. The handle serves as a lever for operating the lifting component whereby the lifting component may lift and hold a very heavy wheel by application of minimal force applied to the handle.
A modified lug-wrench is included, wherein the lug-wrench may be attached to a portion of the handle to provide additional leverage when using the lug wrench.
The handle comprises two sub-components, which may be separated for additional wheel changing operations: (1) a handle that is grasped by an operator to apply force to the lifting component, and for supplying force to the lug-wrench, and; (2) a hubcap tool having means for prying a hub-cap from a wheel and also including a rubber mallet for replacing a hub-cap. The two sub-components of the handle may be joined together and attached to the lifting component.
The handle may be disconnected from the hubcap remover in order to use the handle to apply force to the lug-wrench. The handle is configured at one end with a male fitting that is received and held by a female fitting in the lug-wrench. The handle may be disconnected from the lug-wrench and re-attached to the hubcap remover, then the combined handle and hubcap remover is attached to the lifting component. The hubcap tool is made to pry a hubcap from a wheel in order to permit the operator of the tool to engage and remove lug nuts fastening the wheel to the vehicle. The hubcap tool also functions as a mallet or hammer for securing the hubcap to the wheel.
In the accompanying figures or drawings illustrating an exemplary embodiment, each feature of the embodiment will be assigned a numeric label of the form FCxx, where:
The following component assignments have been made to the exemplary embodiment:
The accompanying figures convey and exemplary embodiment of the invention. It will be understood that other variants and modifications are possible in view of the detailed description that follows.
The lifting component is shown in
The lifting component comprises a base plate and a handle. A first version of the base plate is shown in
The first sub-component shown in
The lug removal component is used to remove lug nuts and has two configurations. The first configuration is shown in
The tool will be used in ways that require the various parts to be made from durable materials having high strength, and preferably to be rust and corrosion resistant.
With reference to
At the proximal end 1120 of the base plate 1100, the base plate is shaped generally as shown, whereby the proximal end 1120 of the base plate 1100 serves as a fulcrum of the base plate 1100, which, in turn, operates to lift a wheel resting on the surface 1111.
The proximal end 1120 of the base plate in
With reference to
The lug wrench 4300 has four arms 4310, 4320, 4340. One arm 4340 of which has a ‘handgrip’ (shown as a ball in the drawing) at the end that rests in the user's hand and allows for free rotation of the lug wrench 4300 by applying pressure to either of the two arms 4310 positioned at right angles to the arm with the handgrip. (The reason for this action is to allow for rapid spinning of the tool while removing/replacing the lug nuts.)
The arm with the handgrip 4340 is opposite the arm with the male adapter 4320. The male adaptor 4320 can use a multiplicity of sockets 4330 of different sizes.
The arms 4310 at right angles to the straight line from the handgrip 4340 to the male socket attachment 4320 are used to loosen/tighten the lug nuts. There is a female adapter on the end of each of the arms 4310. The female adapters allow for the connection of the handle component 2210 that contains the male adapter. When used in combination, the lug wrench arm, with the additional handle component 2210 supplies significant additional leverage capability for loosening and tightening lug nuts.
The two arms of the lug wrench, with female adaptors 4310, permit the attachment of handle 5210 to provide additional leverage in the removal/replacement of lug nuts. With the handle identified in
When removing or replacing a lug nut the ball identified as 4340 rests in the operators hand and is used to stabilize the 4320/4330 combination on the lug nut.
Although the present invention has been disclosed as a single exemplary embodiment, it is to understood that various modifications, alterations and adaptations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention set forth in the following claims.
