Safety wheel
First Claim
1. A safety wheel comprising a circumferentially divided rim having a pair of spaced opposite flanges, a tubeless tire mounted on said divided rim about the periphery thereof, and an annular bead lock fitted in said tire to grip the bead portions thereof in co-operation with said flanges of said divided rim thereby to hold the bead portions against axial displacement relative to said divided rim, said bead lock comprising an endless train of rigid lock elements and flexible joint means flexibly connecting the rigid lock elements for movement between a fully expanded circular configuration and a retracted configuration and wherein in the expanded fully configuration the lock elements fit over the periphery of the medial portion of said divided rim and in the retracted configuration the lock elements lie in the plane of said tire within the inner peripheral circle thereof.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A tubeless tire and rim assembly including an annular bead lock in the form of an endless train of lock elements interconnected by flexible joints. The bead lock can have not only a fully expanded circular configuration to fit over the rim base but also a partly folded configuration to lie within the inner peripheral circle of the tire. This particularly facilitates the mounting of such bead lock while effectively preventing any improper positioning thereof. An embodiment incorporating a flat-protector together with the bead lock is also contemplated to further improve the driving safety.
21 Citations
13 Claims
- 1. A safety wheel comprising a circumferentially divided rim having a pair of spaced opposite flanges, a tubeless tire mounted on said divided rim about the periphery thereof, and an annular bead lock fitted in said tire to grip the bead portions thereof in co-operation with said flanges of said divided rim thereby to hold the bead portions against axial displacement relative to said divided rim, said bead lock comprising an endless train of rigid lock elements and flexible joint means flexibly connecting the rigid lock elements for movement between a fully expanded circular configuration and a retracted configuration and wherein in the expanded fully configuration the lock elements fit over the periphery of the medial portion of said divided rim and in the retracted configuration the lock elements lie in the plane of said tire within the inner peripheral circle thereof.
Specification