Abstract:
Disclosed herein are various embodiments relating to devices, systems and methods relating to the mounting and inflating of tires for use in automotive applications. There is a need in the art for improved devices, systems and methods for tire mounting and inflation, so as to allow a user to prepare racing tires without mounting on a rim.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
       [0001]    This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application 62/203,768, filed Aug. 11, 2015, and entitled “Devices, Systems and Methods for Tire Inflation,” which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety under 35 U.S.C. §119(e). 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Disclosed herein are various embodiments relating to devices, systems and methods relating to the mounting and inflating of tires for use in automotive applications. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Known tire mounts used for fixing tires are typically configured to receive solely tires that are already mounted on a rim. There is a need in the art for improved devices, systems and methods for tire mounting and inflation, so as to allow a user to prepare tires—such as racing tires—without mounting them on a rim. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The various implementations disclosed herein relate to the mounting of tires on a tire mount without the need for a rim. This provides certain advantages in terms of the ability to quickly identify flaws in the tire, as would be understood by one of skill in the art. 
         [0005]    While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which shows and describes illustrative embodiments of the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modifications in various obvious aspects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1A  is a side perspective view of the tire mount, according to one implementation. 
           [0007]      FIG. 1B  is a front view of the outer plate, according to one implementation. 
           [0008]      FIG. 1C  is a perspective front view of the tire mount with a tire disposed between the plates, according to one implementation. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2A  is a side perspective view of the tire mount with the outer plate removed, according to one implementation. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2B  is another side perspective view of the tire mount, according to the embodiment of  FIG. 2A . 
           [0011]      FIG. 3A  is a side perspective view of the tire mount with the outer plate removed, such that a tire can be mounted, according to one implementation. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3B  is another side perspective view of the tire mount, according to the embodiment of  FIG. 2A , showing a mounted tire. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3C  is another side prospective view of the tire mount showing a mounted tire, according to on implementation. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4A  is a side view of the wheel mount removed from the prep stand, according to one implementation. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4B  is a rear view of the inner plate, according to one implementation. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4C  is a side view of the inner plate, according to one implementation. 
           [0017]      FIG. 5A  is a perspective interior view of the outer plate, according to one implementation. 
           [0018]      FIG. 5B  is a perspective view of the implementation of  FIG. 5A  with the inner face attached. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0019]    As described herein, the invention will be referred to as a split rim or tire mount  1 . Certain embodiments of the disclosed tire mount  1  relate to an apparatus and system for quickly mounting a tire for repair. According to certain embodiments, and as best shown in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B , the tire mount  1  has an outer plate  10  having an outer plate face  10 A, an inner plate  12  having an inner plate face  12 A, and a central axle  14 . As shown in the implementation of  FIG. 1C , the plates  10 ,  12  can be disposed along the central axle  14  to accommodate a variety of sizes of tire  15  between the outer plate face  10 A and outer plate face  12 A for testing and repair. In certain implementations, and as shown in  FIGS. 2A-3B , the inner plate  12  is fixedly attached to the central axle  14 . 
         [0020]    In various implementations as best shown in  FIGS. 1A-C , the inner plate  12  and central axle  14  are disposed on a mounting plate  16  that can be fitted to an existing prep stand  20  so as to dispose and suspend the central axle  14  out and away from the inner plate  12 . In certain implementations the mounting plate  16  has a mounting pattern  16 A, so as to accept “5 on 5” or “wide 5” prep stand  20  mounting configurations, as would be apparent to one of skill in the art. In these implementations, the tire mount  1  can thereby be mounted to a standard prep stand  20  used for rim mounting. 
         [0021]    Returning to the implementation of  FIG. 1A , the outer plate  10  and inner plate  12  can each have a lip or bead  22 A,  22 B which is configured to accept a tire, and a central opening  24 A,  24 B configured to receive the axle  14 . In these embodiments, the central opening  24 A,  24 B are configured to hold O-rings  25 A,  25 B to form an air-tight, or hermetic seal around the outer plate  10 , inner plate  12  and tire  15  when the tire is mounted on the tire mount  1 . Similarly, O-rings  26 A,  26 B can be disposed adjacent to the beads  22 A,  22 B so as to allow for the creation of an air-tight seal around a mounted tire  15 . 
         [0022]    As also shown in  FIG. 1A , various embodiments further comprise at least one pin  34 , which can be used to limit the outward movement of the outer plate  10  by being passed through one of several holes  30 ,  32  defined in the central axle  14 . In exemplary embodiments, these holes  30 ,  32  may be defined in the axle  14  at lengths of, for example, 8 inches and 14 inches from the inner plate  12 , so as to accommodate frequently-used tire sizes, as would be appreciated by those of skill in the art. 
         [0023]    As best shown in  FIG. 1B , in exemplary embodiments the outer plate  10  further comprises a filling port  40  which is in selective hermetic communication with the interior of a tire when the tire is mounted so as to allow the user to fill the tire using a standard air compressor (not shown). Further, in exemplary embodiments, a pop-off safety valve  42  and tire pressure gauge  44  are provided as additional safety measures and to assist the user in filling the mounted tire to the correct inflation. In various implementations, the pop-off safety valve  42  allows for the quick release of excess pressure, and the tire pressure gauge  44  allows the user to monitor the internal pressure generated by the tire. 
         [0024]    As is further shown in  FIG. 1B , in exemplary embodiments the outer plate  10  can further comprise at least one handle  50 ,  52 , so as to allow the easy movement of the outer plate relative to the central axle  14 , for mounting and dismounting of the tire  15 . 
         [0025]    As is shown in the implementation of  FIG. 1C , in certain implementations the pin  34  can be attached to one of the handles  50 ,  52  during use, for example by way of a retention chain  33 . In these implementations, a tire  15  may be mounted (and dismounted) on the tire mount  1  so as to be connected to the outer plate  10  and inner plate  12  without the use of additional tools. In use, mounting occurs by removing the outer plate  10  and positioning the tire to be mounted between the inner  12  and outer plates  10 , as shown in  FIG. 3A . 
         [0026]    Accordingly, in various implementations, and as shown in  FIG. 2A  and  FIG. 2B , the outer plate (not shown) is slidably connected to the central axle  14  and is capable of being moved relative to the inner plate  12  or removed completely. In use in various implementations, and as would be understood by one of skill in the art, the outer plate  10  can be positioned at various points on the central axle  14  between the first end  14 A, which is adjacent to the inner plate  12 , to the second end  14 B. 
         [0027]    In use, and as shown in the implementations of  FIGS. 3A-C , a user can place the tire  15  onto the axle  14  and slide it into place toward the inner plate  12  (as shown by reference arrow A) on the axle  14 , so as to couple with the inner plate  12 . Subsequently, once the tire  15  is in place against the inner plate  12 , the outer plate  10  can be mounted on the axle and slid into place toward the tire  15  (shown by reference arrow B). In various implementations, the axle  14  can be rotated by way of the prep stand  20  to facilitate the creation of a seal at the inner and outer plate beads, though this is not necessary for a user to create a seal on the tire  15 —urging the outer plate  10  into position can be sufficient to seal the tire to both plates  10 ,  12 . The pin (not shown) can subsequently be inserted into the desired opening  30 ,  32  to prevent the outer plate from sliding off the axle  14 . 
         [0028]    As shown in the implementation of  FIG. 4A , the tire mount  1  can also be removed from the prep stand (not shown). As best shown in the implementation of  FIG. 4B , in various implementations, a variety of mounting holes  16 A can be provided on the mounting plate  16  to facilitate mounting to the prep stand (as shown in  FIGS. 1A-C ), as would be understood by one of skill in the art. As shown in the implementations of  FIGS. 4B-4C , the mounting plate  16  is fixedly attached to the outer side of the inner plate  12  with a mounting spacer  17  or other fixed connection. In these implementations, the mounting plate  16  is attached to the spacer  17  (such as be welding or any other known mechanism or process for attachment) and disposed outside the outer side of the inner plate  12 . 
         [0029]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  depict implementations of the inner side of the outer plate  10  without the inner face  10 A. The implementation of  FIG. 5A  depicts the inner connections for the filling port  40 A, pop-off safety valve  42 A and tire pressure gauge  44 A. These are in selective hermetic communication with the interior of a mounted tire when the tire is properly placed on the inner  12  and outer  10  plates, so as to allow the selective, sealed introduction of air into the tire after it has been mounted. In  FIG. 5B , the inner face  10 A has been attached to the plate  10 . 
         [0030]    Although the disclosure has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, persons skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed apparatus, systems and methods.