The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 07, 2001
Filed:
Feb. 29, 2000
Loi V. Tran, Easton, PA (US);
Other;
Abstract
A tool is provided for assistance in removing and installing tires on wheel rims. The tool has a body with a lateral opening for engaging the flange of a wheel rim, preferably opening into a cavity that is wider than the opening such that the tools pivots between stable positions on a fulcrum at which lips of the lateral opening bear against the flange. A roller is mounted on one end of the tool body to exert a downward pressure on the tire sidewall, and a handle protrudes on an end opposite the cavity and fulcrum from the roller. The roller displaces the tire bead from its seat against the rim when removing or installing the bead of a tire that is already at least partly on the rim, or supports the second bead of a tire whose first bead is axially outside of the rim relative to the wheel rotation axis. Displacing the bead from its seat opens a radial clearance between the bead and the rim, so that the tire can be displaced eccentrically to relieve tension on the bead due to prying on a diametrically opposite side of the tire. The roller has a rotation axis tangential to the rim, and thus is positioned to facilitate eccentric displacement of the tire on the rim, namely by radial displacement in the area of the roller. The tool can have one cavity or a number of cavities among which the user chooses as appropriate to the dimensions of the tire and the amount of leverage to be applied to the roller via the handle.