Land vehicles: wheels and axles – Wheel – With wheel cover
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-03
2001-01-30
Stormer, Russell D. (Department: 3617)
Land vehicles: wheels and axles
Wheel
With wheel cover
C301S037373, C118S504000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06179387
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND—FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to devices used in vehicle detailing. More particularly to devices used to mask or shield vehicle wheels and wheel covers while tire dressings, cleaners or other protectants are applied to the vehicle tire.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION—DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART
This invention relates generally to wheel protection and more particularly, to a device for protecting a vehicle wheel while it's tire is being chemically treated.
Trucks and cars represent a substantial investment by their respective owners. Often to enhance the appearance or otherwise personalize these vehicles, the owner may choose to order special factory wheels or purchase specialty after-market wheels from one of many wheel distributors. These specialty wheels can represent a financial outlay reaching into the thousands of dollars. Like purchasing a new suit, it is not complete without a set of matching polished shoes, or tires in this case. The selection of the tires are often as equally as important as the wheels. The tires and wheels together are viewed by the owner as a “matched set”, in his eyes.
These vehicle owners then go about the ritual, often many times in the span of a week, of keeping the vehicles looking their best. Many products are available to aid in the washing and polishing of the vehicle. Yet this job is not complete without much attention and labor being directed at the cleaning, polishing and otherwise enhancing the appearance of those tires and wheels. The vehicle owner can easily spend as much time on the wheels and tires as he does on the rest of the vehicle, largely due to the deep black luster and that he desires from those wheels and wheel covers.
Generally after the vehicle owner has spent a considerable amount of time and intense intricate labor caring for the wheel by cleaning and polishing, he then directs his attention towards the tires. Vehicle owners like to keep the their tires looking like new . . . even better than new! Many vehicles have whitewall tires, while others mount all-black tires. The white portions of the tires can become quite dirty with vehicle use, because of brake dust, dirt and road tar. The black portion of the new tires have a deep black luster which is difficult to maintain. There are many products out on the market to guard against oxidation and ultraviolet rays which tend to fade, harden and crack the side-walls of the tire and restore or improve that rich black luster of the tires. A high gloss deep black finish on the tire side-wall complements those custom wheels or even OEM wheels completes the ensemble.
Whether the owner is trying to protect the tire or trying to achieve that shine, or both, the chemicals needed are generally liquid and are purchased or applied in spray bottles. It is desirable to be able to apply these products to the tire with a spray dispenser, which helps ensure even coverage as well as offering a substantial time savings when compared to applying these products by hand using a towel and wiping the product onto the side-wall of the tire.
The problem with spraying the chemical protectants or the appearance enhancing solution is that extreme care must be taken not to allow any of the solution onto the finish of the wheel. This solution, upon drying or while still wet will leave smudges, that will dull the finish, attract more dirt and brake dust, and even do permanent damage by pitting the wheel's finish.
Devices have been developed to protect vehicle wheels during chemical tire treatment. Some of these are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,792,191; 4,784,440; 4,811,991; 4,874,206; 4,955,670; 5,524,972 and 5,785,389.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,191 requires an assembly method in order to use that requires placing tabs in slots to change the device from one size to another, which will be complicated for an end user and not desirable.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,440 relies on a potentially costly snap feature to detachably attach this device to the vehicle wheel. This feature is overly complex and is subject to failing easily if made from plastic, could damage the wheel or tire if made from metal and overall, it requires extra effort and time to install on and remove from each wheel by the operator.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,991 relies on a complex interface feature and clearance with the outside diameter of the wheel and tire sidewall making this a difficult device to use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,206 relies upon a snap feature to releasably secure the device to the vehicle wheel. This device also relies on many concentric rings to allow for other size wheels, thus increasing the complexity, fragility, cost, in addition, there is high probability that it may not be usable on larger wheel sizes due to the snap features it retains for smaller size wheels. This product will be difficult to install and use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,670 relies upon straps and hooks to releasably secure the device to the vehicle wheel. These hooks and straps will be time consuming, cumbersome and difficult to install. This device also relies on a plurality of concentric rings to allow for other size wheels, which the operator will have to cut off to achieve his specific wheel size, subjecting him to risk of injury. This device with it's plurality of sizes incorporated into one unit will be costly and difficult to manufacture, with no real benefit to the end user with multiple sizes of wheels . . . he would still need to purchase another.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,972 relies on a plurality of concentric rings to allow for other size wheels, which the operator will have to cut off to achieve his specific wheel size, subjecting the user to risk of injury. This device with it's plurality of sizes incorporated into one unit will be costly and difficult to manufacture, with no real benefit to the end user with multiple sizes of wheels . . . he would still need to purchase another.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,389 only covers a small portion of the vehicle wheel, leaving a great portion of the wheel unprotected.
While all of these devices are directed toward wheel protection while detailing tires, none have found commercial success. This may be due to the fact that they do not adequately mask and protect the wheel wheel cover or are unduly complex, are not engineered for a full range of wheel sizes, are bulky and cumbersome to be used easily, require assembly and some even pose risk to the user by instructing the user that a knife must be used to cut the part in order to achieve a desired size. In all, none of these prior devices have combined function, simplicity, ease of operation and low cost to truly address the needs of the market and the end user.
A simple, low cost and effective product is needed on the market that will protect the wheel or wheel cover while the owner is applying these chemical protectants or appearance enhancing solutions to the tire side-wall. With the protection of the wheel or wheel cover while the owner is spraying or otherwise applying chemicals to the tire, the owner can quickly and easily complete this task in a just a few minutes, making the owner more likely to perform this task on a more regular basis.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This hand-held vehicle wheel spray mask for tire detailing would be held against the vehicle wheel while a tire dressing or protectant is applied to the tire. This device is comprised of a generally concave shaped or generally cylindrical shaped enclosure device that approximately matches or is slightly greater than the vehicle wheel diameter. This device will sufficiently cover the vehicle wheel while providing adequate axial clearance with protrusions from the vehicle wheel such as knock-offs, hubs or the unique shape of the wheel itself. This vehicle wheel clearance feature of the enclosure would be defined as a generally flat or domed concave surface that is on the opposite end of the mask with respect to the interface with the vehicle wheel. Since such a mask by definition approximately matches the diameter of a given vehicle wheel, a series of predetermined unique and separat
McClain Brian K.
Nasset, Sr. Brent T.
LandOfFree
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