Motor vehicles – With means for promoting safety of vehicle – its occupant or...
Reexamination Certificate
1998-01-23
2001-07-24
Culbreth, Eric (Department: 3611)
Motor vehicles
With means for promoting safety of vehicle, its occupant or...
C280S781000, C280S789000, C280S762000, C280S768000, C280S770000, C293S126000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06263996
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a wheel retainer for the safety of all motor vehicles, and more particularly to a wheel retainer for use on trucks of all types, to prevent wheels or wheel assemblies from flying off a moving vehicle in the event of axle breakage or other mechanical failure which would cause a wheel or wheel assembly to fly off of the vehicle.
The present invention further relates to a loose wheel indicator system for use on vehicles, particularly trucks, to indicate when the wheel or wheel assembly has come loose and is danger of flying off of the vehicle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Of great concern to motor vehicle safety on highways is the loss of wheels and wheel assemblies from all types of trucks, tractors, trailers and even cars, since these wheels and wheel assemblies can cause serious injury to property and personal injury and death. Despite efforts to address this problem by increased maintenance and enforcement of safety regulations, the problem still exists. There is a need for a device which would prevent wheels and wheel assemblies from flying off vehicles even in the event of axle breakage or other mechanical failure which would otherwise cause a wheel or wheel assembly to fly off of the vehicle.
A device for preventing wheels or wheel assemblies from accidentally flying off of moving vehicles is needed to remedy this serious problem. Prior art patents have addressed the prevention of theft of wheels (U.S. Pat. No. 2,647,763 issued Aug. 4, 1953) and the prevention of damage to cars in parking lots due to opening doors of adjacent cars (U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,923, issued Aug. 2, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,765, issued Feb. 19, 1991). However, these patents do not disclose a device for preventing wheels or wheel assemblies from flying off of moving vehicles in the event of mechanical failure.
The present invention provides a wheel retainer device which may be used for any type of vehicle and in particular any type of truck to prevent wheels or wheel assemblies from flying off of moving vehicles in the event of axle breakage or other failure which causes wheels or wheel assemblies to fly off of the axle. The wheel retainer of the present invention is adaptable for most types of vehicles and in the preferred embodiments a movable or removable retaining bar allows easy access to wheels or wheel assemblies when wheel maintenance, removal and/or installation is desired.
The wheel retainer of the present invention has been further adapted for the front wheels of a vehicle, particularly the tractor of a tractor-trailer unit, to act as an indicator device which warns the driver of the vehicle that the wheel or wheel assembly is loose and at risk of falling or flying off of the vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention a wheel retainer is provided for preventing wheel or wheel assemblies on vehicles from flying off moving vehicles. According to another aspect of the present invention the wheel retainer of the present invention can be modified or adapted to act as a loose wheel indicator device rather than an actual wheel retainer.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a loose wheel indicator is provided for at least one turnable (i.e. steerable) wheel or wheel assembly of a vehicle, typically a front wheel or wheel assembly.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the loose wheel indicator device of the present invention comprises in one embodiment a substantially J-shaped bracket having a long transverse portion (extending transversely to the axle of the wheel or wheel assembly) extending along the inside of the wheel assembly and a short transverse portion (extending transversely to the axle of the wheel or wheel assembly) extending on the outside of the wheel assembly substantially parallel to the long portion, the long portion adapted for mounting to a brake flange or steering knuckle of a front wheel of a vehicle at a first end such that the long portion extends transversely to the axis of the wheel or wheel assembly on the inside of the wheel or wheel assembly and the short transverse portion extends transversely to the axis of the wheel or wheel assembly on the outside of the wheel or wheel assembly. The short portion has a free distal end having an inner surface facing towards the rim of a tire on the wheel or wheel assembly, the inner face comprising a metal portion (or other suitable material) wherein the metal portion is positioned close to the rim of the tire so if the tire, wheel, or wheel assembly comes loose the metal portion on the inner face of the free end of the short arm will come into contact with the tire rim and make a noise which is audible to the driver of the vehicle thereby alerting the driver to the loose wheel hazard.
In another embodiment of the invention the loose wheel indicator is bolted to a brake flange of a wheel assembly. In yet another embodiment, the loose wheel indicator may be either a continuous piece or constructed of several pieces joined together. In yet another embodiment, the loose wheel indicator is mountable either on a steering wheel or a non-steering wheel of the vehicle.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a wheel retainer which, in one embodiment, comprises:
a pair of mounting brackets; and
a retaining bar;
wherein the mounting brackets have a first portion with a first end and a second portion with a second end, the mounting brackets are mounted on an underframe of a vehicle on either side of an axle holding one or more wheels, such that the first end of the first portion of the mounting bracket attaches to the underframe and extends below the underframe to the second portion, the second portion of the mounting bracket extending outwardly parallel to and at a height above the axle, to the second end in front of the outermost of the one or more wheels, the retaining bar running substantially perpendicular to the axle from the second end of one mounting bracket to the second end of the other mounting bracket.
The mounting brackets may, in an alternate embodiment, be mounted on the suspension assembly of a vehicle. In theory the wheel retainer could be mounted directly on the wheel assembly if the wheel assembly were strong enough to hold it in place in the event that the wheel or wheel assembly flies off of the vehicle. This latter embodiment would be applicable to steerable front wheel assemblies for which it is not possible to mount the retainer on the vehicle underframe or suspension assembly.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a wheel retainer for retaining a wheel assembly on a vehicle, the wheel retainer comprising:
a pair of mounting brackets, said mounting brackets having a first portion with a first end and a second portion with a second end, the mounting brackets adapted to be mountable on an underframe of a vehicle, a suspension assembly of a vehicle or directly on the wheel assembly of a vehicle, to bracket an axle of the vehicle on which at least one wheel is held, such that the first end of the first portion of the mounting bracket attaches to the underframe, suspension or assembly and extends below the underframe to the second portion, the second portion of the mounting bracket extending outwardly parallel to the axle, to the second end in front of the outermost of the one or more wheels; and
at least one retaining bar, said at least one retaining bar extending perpendicular to said axle from the second end of one mounting bracket to the second end of the other mounting bracket.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the wheel retainer is mounted to the underframe or suspension of a vehicle.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a wheel retainer wherein the second portion of the mounting bracket is a hollow tube and the second end is open, and the retaining bar additionally comprises substantially perpendicular tube portions at its ends, which perpendicular tub
Burr & Brown
Culbreth Eric
Pebblestone Multi-Services Inc.
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