Resilient tires and wheels – Tires – resilient – Pneumatic tire or inner tube
Reexamination Certificate
1998-03-13
2001-05-29
Johnstone, Adrienne C. (Department: 1733)
Resilient tires and wheels
Tires, resilient
Pneumatic tire or inner tube
C152S513000, C152S544000, C152S564000, C152S379400, C152S381400, C152S381500, C152S382000, C152S383000, C152S427000, C301S058000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06237662
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a tire and rim for use on a bicycle, the tire and rim being configured such that they do not require the use of an inner tube therewith.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Description of Related Art
Tires used today on bicycles may generally be divided into two categories, solid rubber tires and inflatable tires. Solid rubber tires are advantageous in some applications because the bicyclist never experiences a flat tire, since solid tires do not rely on an inflated inner tube for support. However, solid rubber tires provide the bicyclist with a generally uncomfortable ride and poor response characteristics under adverse conditions, such as uneven surfaces. Further, the mass or weight of the solid rubber tire makes it unsuitable for racing, cross-country and mountain bicycling applications where weight reduction is an essential consideration.
Mountain bicyclists and racing bicyclists use inflatable tires in order to take advantage of the more desirable response characteristics inherent in inflatable tires, such as being light weight and the more comfortable ride provided by inflatable tires. Inflatable tires on bicycles require the use of an air tight inner tube which installed within a hollow portion of the tire and inflated to a desired air pressure. Such inner tubes often develop leaks. Therefore, a bicyclist often must repair the inner tube of the tire.
Further, if the bicycle goes over a sharp object or hits a rock with sufficient force, the inner tube may split due to the impact. Such splits are commonly known as pinch flats in the bicycle industry. Pinch flats are one of the most common mechanical failures serious bicyclist encounter when riding or racing. When a tire impacts on a rigid surface, the tire and inner tube are crushed between the rigid surface and the rigid rim of the bicycle wheel. Typically, the ply or multi-layer construction of the tire helps to prevent significant damage to the tire itself.
The inner tube, on the other hand, is often split resulting in a pinch flat.
Inner tubes are typically made of a generally soft, pliable, air tight rubber material. Impact between the rigid surface and the rim is often sufficient to cause the soft pliable rubber material inner tube to split. If a pinch flat is severe enough or large enough, it can be difficult to repair the inner tube and it must be completely replaced. As a consequence, mountain bicyclists and racing bicyclists typically carry one or two spare inner tubes with them in addition to an inner tube repair kit. Often, even though the split or pinch flat in the inner tube is large and may be impossible to repair, the tire itself may remain relatively undamaged.
The inventor is unaware of any bicycle tires, other than solid tires, which do not require an inner tube for inflation of a bicycle tire.
Tubeless tires are well known in the automotive industry, but such tires have vastly different dimensions, response characteristics, and construction than bicycle tires. Tubeless automotive tires are typically extremely heavy, having steel cords and other reinforcing materials therein. The technology of automotive tubeless tires requires much different considerations from those of bicycle tires. Bicycle tires, in particular bicycle tires used in racing and mountain bicycle applications, are light weight and have extremely thin side walls and treads compared to automotive tires. It is also desirable for such bicycle tires to be relatively flexible to provide good responses when riding over a rough surface. Further, bicyclist typically repair their tires themselves, in particular while racing and when bicycling in the mountains or cross-country. The configuration of automotive tubeless tires, in particular the tire beads, are such that they generally cannot be maintained, repaired or removed from the rim by a driver. Repair of automotive tubeless tires usually requires expensive mounting equipment and compressed air to seat the tire bead on the automotive wheel rim. Further, the geometry of an automotive tire, in particular the relationship between the diameter of the tire to the diameter of the rim, make automotive tubeless tire configurations unsuitable for bicycle applications.
Prior Art Rim
General terms used to describe a rim of a bicycle wheel are provided with reference to a prior art rim
15
, shown in FIG.
14
. In
FIG. 14
, the rim
15
is one of a variety of prior art rims typically used in mountain bicycle applications. The rim
15
is formed with side walls
18
. The side walls
18
define a surface
28
which friction shoes engage for braking. Extending between the side walls
18
is an annular support
19
. The annular support
19
is formed with a plurality of holes used to install spoke nipples. The annular support
19
in prior art rims such as the rim
15
, is not air tight.
On the radial outer portion of each side wall
18
a protrusion
20
is formed. The protrusions
20
extend toward each other and assist in keeping a tire (not shown in
FIG. 14
) in place with respect to the rim
15
during usage. A well
22
is defined on an outer radial surface of the annular support
19
. Typically the well
22
has rim strip (not shown) attached thereto to prevent an inner tube (not shown) from making contact with portions of spoke nipples which may extend through the annular support
19
.
The annular support
19
is also formed with bead seats
30
. The side walls
18
define bead contact surfaces
35
which are configured to engage the bead of a tire (not shown). Within the rim
15
a space
36
may be defined, for instance if the surface
28
is desired to have a large radial width. The protrusions
20
typically have a width Wp defined therebetween and a width Wr is defined between opposing bead contact surfaces
35
.
It should be understood that the rim
15
, and other similar rims, are intended to be used with a tire (not shown) and an inner tube (not shown) where the inner tube is inflated inside the tire. Further, the inflated inner tube urges a bead of the tire into engagement with the bead contact surfaces
35
. The beads of bicycle tires are typically not designed to engage the bead contact surfaces
35
in the absence of an inner tube, and require the force of an inflated inner tube to engage bead contact surfaces
35
. Further, contact between a bead of a prior art bicycle tire and the bead contact surfaces
35
is not an air tight seal and does not need to be an air tight seal because prior art tires and rims are designed to be used with an inner tube. Further, the rim
15
is typically formed with an aperture
25
through which a valve stem (not shown) of the inner tube may extend.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One object of the present invention is to configure a bicycle tire and rim used therewith, for inflation without the use of an inner tube.
Another object of the invention is to provide a quick means for removing a valve of a tubeless tire.
Another object of the invention is to reduce the mass and weight of a bicycle tire by eliminating the need for an inner tube.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a bicycle rim and tire with means to reduce the possibility of a pinch flat.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a bicycle tire includes a carcass formed with an air tight layer and at least one casing layer. There are two annular beads formed on the tire, each annular bead formed on an inner radial edge of the carcass, each of the beads being supported by the casing layer, each of the annular beads being at least partially surrounded by a seating portion. The seating portion is formed with a generally smooth surface for seating within a bicycle wheel rim, the seating portions for providing an air tight seal between the smooth surface and the bicycle wheel rim.
Preferably, each of the seating portions is formed with an annular protrusion which extends radially outward, the annular protrusion being configured for engagement within an annular indentation formed within the bicycle wheel rim.
Preferably, the carcas
Johnstone Adrienne C.
Klarquist Sparkman Campbell & Leigh & Whinston, LLP
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