Spare tire with sound exciter
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsStuart C. Salter, Paul Kenneth Dellock, David Brian Glickman, Annette Lynn Huebner, John Robert Van Wiemeersch, Jeffrey Robert Seaman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus includes, among other things, a spare tire cover comprising an attaching ring configured to surround an outer circumference of a tire and a center panel that is attached to the attaching ring. At least one exciter is mounted to the center panel. A method includes, among other things, molding at least one temperature sensor to a center panel, mounting the center panel to enclose one open side of an attaching ring to form a spare tire cover, and mounting at least one exciter to the center panel to selectively generate a desired sound.
Claims28
An apparatus, comprising:
- a spare tire cover removable from a vehicle and comprising an attaching ring configured to surround an outer circumference of a tire and a center panel that is attached to the attaching ring;
- and
- at least one exciter mounted to the center panel such that the center panel produces a desired sound, wherein the at least one exciter comprises a sound generating speaker, a power source to supply power to the at least one exciter, and a controller that controls power supplied to the at least one exciter.
An apparatus, comprising:
- a spare tire cover removable from a vehicle and comprising an attaching ring configured to surround an outer circumference of a tire and a center panel that is attached to the attaching ring;
- at least one exciter mounted to the center panel such that the center panel produces a desired sound;
- and
- at least one temperature sensor that measures a temperature of the center panel.
An apparatus, comprising:
- a spare tire cover removable from a vehicle and comprising an attaching ring configured to surround an outer circumference of a tire and a center panel that is attached to the attaching ring, wherein the attaching ring comprises a strip extending from a first end to a second end, and wherein the first and second ends are selectively coupled together to form a ring shape that surrounds the outer circumference of the tire and has first and second open sides;
- at least one exciter mounted to the center panel such that the center panel produces a desired sound;
- and
- wherein the tire is insertable through the first open side and wherein the attaching ring includes an inwardly extending flange formed about the second open side, and wherein the center panel is seated on the inwardly extending flange to enclose the tire within the spare tire cover.
An apparatus comprising:
- a spare tire supported by a vehicle;
- a cover removable from the vehicle and comprising an attaching ring that surrounds an outer circumference of the spare tire and a center panel that is attached to the attaching ring;
- at least one exciter mounted to the center panel and including a sound generator configured to vibrate the center panel to emit a desired sound;
- at least one temperature sensor that measures a temperature of the center panel;
- a power source to supply power to the at least one exciter;
- and
- a control that controls power supplied to the at least one exciter based on the temperature of the center panel.
A method comprising:
- molding at least one temperature sensor to a center panel;
- mounting the center panel to enclose one open side of an attaching ring to form a spare tire cover that is removable from a vehicle;
- and
- mounting at least one exciter to the center panel such that the center panel to selectively generate a desired sound;
- and
- controlling the at least one exciter based on a temperature of the center panel.
An apparatus, comprising:
- a spare tire cover removable from a vehicle and comprising an attaching ring configured to surround an outer circumference of a tire and a center panel that is attached to the attaching ring, wherein the center panel has an inner surface facing an external surface of a spare tire and an outer surface facing an outside environment;
- and
- at least one exciter mounted to the center panel such that the center panel produces a desired sound, and wherein the at least one exciter is mounted to the inner surface of the center panel such that the at least one exciter is outward of, and separate from, the spare tire and protected by the center panel when the spare tire cover covers the spare tire.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.