Wheel balancing weights with body and mounting clip
AssigneePerfect Equipment Inc.
InventorsMichael Todd Pursley, Christopher Charles Zank
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wheel balancing weight has a body for providing mass and a clip attached to the body to securely grip a flange of a wheel. The clip defines a compartment within which is received the flange, and includes a hump projecting toward and into the defined compartment to contact a generally radially inward surface of the received flange such that the received flange contacts the clip at relatively smooth medial contact points on the hump. The weight may be formed as a unitary member from a sheet of steel and have a unitary sheet steel body and sheet steel clip.
Claims20
A wheel balancing weight for mounting to a wheel with a flange, the weight formed as a unitary member from a sheet of steel and having a unitary sheet steel body and sheet steel clip such that the sheet steel clip as formed is attached to and coupled with the sheet steel body as formed, the sheet steel body for providing a predetermined mass to the weight and the sheet steel clip for securely grasping the flange to secure the weight thereto, the sheet steel body including a central sheet steel portion laterally flanked by and interposed between a pair of opposing lateral sheet steel wing portions,
- the sheet steel body including the central sheet steel portion and the lateral sheet steel wing portions being formed from an elongate portion of sheet steel folded at least two times in a generally radial direction with respect to the mounted-to wheel such that each of the central sheet steel portion and the lateral sheet steel wing portions of the sheet steel body includes at least three folded sheet steel layers, each of the at least three folded sheet steel layers being generally planar and residing in a respective plane, all of the planes of the folded sheet steel layers being substantially parallel to one another.
A wheel balancing weight for mounting to a wheel with a flange, the weight formed as a unitary member from a sheet of steel and having a unitary sheet steel body and sheet steel clip such that the sheet steel clip as formed is attached to and coupled with the sheet steel body as formed, the sheet steel body for providing a predetermined mass to the weight and the sheet steel clip for securely grasping the flange to secure the weight thereto, the sheet steel body including a central sheet steel portion laterally flanked by and interposed between a pair of opposing lateral sheet steel wing portions, the sheet steel clip having a springed shape defining a compartment within which is received the flange of the wheel, the clip including a hump projecting toward and into the defined compartment to contact a generally radially inward surface of the received flange such that the received flange contacts the clip at one or more relatively smooth medial contact points on the hump, the medial contact points being away from adjacent relatively sharp lateral edges of the clip, whereby the flange is not damaged by the relatively sharp lateral edges when received in and removed from the compartment defined by the clip,
- the hump including a generally laterally extending central plateau interposed between opposing lateral ramps, the central plateau being generally tangential with respect to the flange when the clip is mounted thereto, and being elevated more radially outwardly than the adjacent lateral edges of the clip, the ramps being at an angle to the central plateau such that each ramp transitions from the elevated plateau toward a respective adjacent lateral edge, each medial contact point being at about a juncture between the central plateau and a respective lateral ramp.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.