Safety tire and wheel assemblies
AssigneeDunlop Limited
InventorFrank Farnsworth
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A safety tire and wheel rim assembly incorporating a safety tire support member which is capable of slippage relative to the rim. The wheel rim is of substantially uniform diameter between its bead seats and a pair of spacer members are provided, one on each side of the safety support to give axial location and a bead restraint. Each spacer member has a low friction interface with the support member and a high friction interface with the tire bead.
Claims14
A safety tire and wheel rim assembly comprising a pneumatic tire, a wheel rim having a pair of bead retaining flanges bead seats, and between the bead seats a substantially uniform diameter, a safety insert for carrying load between the wheel rim and the tire when the tire becomes deflated, the insert being mounted for circumferential slippage relative to the wheel rim when the assembly is used with the tire in a deflated condition and having a pair of spacers extending circumferentially around the rim on either side of said insert, with one surface of each spacer engaging the axially inner surface of the respective beads of the tire and the other surface of each spacer engaging the sides of said safety insert to provide axial location of said insert, the surface of each spacer engaging a bead having a high coefficient of friction with rubber and the surface of the spacer engaging the insert having a low coefficient of friction with the material of the insert with which it is in contact, to permit circumferential slippage of the insert on the rim relative to the tire beads.
An annular spacer for use in locating a circumferentially extending safety insert in a safety tire and wheel rim assembly, said spacer including two substantially radially extending surfaces, one surface being of low friction material to permit movement of the safety insert relative to that surface, the other surface being of a material having a high coefficient of friction with rubber to enable said other surface to engage and move with an interior surface of a tire bead.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.