Mud and snow tire cleats

An assembly securely mounted to a wheel of an automotive vehicle to provide continual availability of cleats to be fitted around the treads of a tire for use in driving an automotive vehicle through mud or snow. The assembly consists of a cylindrical plate with a series of round through holes for affixing to a range of automotive wheel configurations with elongated lug nuts and bolts, a series of L-shaped brackets securely affixed around the outside perimeter of the mounting plate, a spring-loaded telescoping shaft extending from each L-shaped bracket parallel to the outside of a vehicle tire, a cleat affixed on the outside end of each telescoping shaft, so that each cleat can be locked in position around the tire treads with the telescoping shaft in the telescoping position and with each cleat further being placed in a locked position near the side of the tire when the telescoping shaft is in a retracted position so as to be out of the way when not in use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to mud and snow tire cleats securely affixed to the 
wheels of an automotive vehicle so that they are readily available for 
driving through mud or snow and which are stored around the outside of a 
wheel when not in use. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
It has always been a problem for drivers of automotive vehicles to readily 
provide an easy and efficient method for driving through mud or snow. 
Available techniques include the use of tire chains which are usually 
cumbersome to mount on automotive tires and which must usually be stored 
when not in use within a vehicle trunk or passenger compartment so that 
they take up valuable space therein and they are easy to misplace. Other 
techniques include tires with specially designed treads, including studded 
tires, but such tires are generally mounted for the duration of a season, 
so that they must be used when mud or snow conditions do not exist. There 
is, then, an obvious need in the marketplace for mud and snow tire cleats 
which are securely mounted to an automotive vehicle so that they are 
readily available when required for driving through mud or snow and can be 
stored out of the way when not in use. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides mud and snow tire cleats which are securely 
affixed to an automotive wheel so as to be readily available when desired 
and can be stored out of the way when not used. 
It is a feature of the present invention to provide mud and snow tire 
cleats. 
A further feature of the present invention provides mud and snow tire 
cleats which are easy to use and reliable and efficient in operation. 
Yet still a further feature of the present invention provides mud and snow 
tire cleats which are of a rugged and durable construction and which, 
therefore, may be guaranteed by the manufacturer to withstand rough and 
continual usage. 
An additional feature of the present invention provides mud and snow tire 
cleats which are simple in construction and which, therefore, may be 
produced by a manufacturer at an economical cost so as to encourage 
widespread usage thereof. 
Other features of this invention will be apparent during the course of the 
following description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawings in detail, there is illustrated a preferred 
form of the mud and snow tire cleats constructed in accordance with the 
principles of the present invention and which is designated generally in 
its entirety by the reference numeral 10 and which is comprised of a 
mounting plate 11, a series of L-shaped brackets 12, a series of 
spring-loaded telescoping members 13, a series of tire cleats 14, and 
associated hardware and interconnecting components as will be later 
described. 
A mounting plate 11 is constructed of durable material, such as steel 
plate, and is cylindrical in configuration having a front surface 15, and 
opposed rear surface 16, a round end surface 17, and a round inside 
surface 18 to form the large round opening 19 for positioning of the 
mounting plate 11 over the hub of an automotive vehicle wheel. A series of 
round through holes 20 are provided at predetermined locations within the 
mounting plate 11 so as to be disposed between the inside surface 18 and 
the end surface 17 with the arrangement of the holes 20 predetermined to 
match the threaded holes provided on a variety of automotive vehicle 
wheels, such as are provided on various makes of automobiles. The mounting 
plate 11 is secured to the vehicle wheel hub 21, as shown in FIG. 7, by 
threadibly attaching an elongated hub nut 22 on one end to a threaded bolt 
23 conventionally provided with a hub 21 on an automotive vehicle, and 
with the mounting plate 11 being secured to a series of nuts 22 by 
assembling a series of bolts 24 through the proper round through holes 20 
for threadable attachment into the opposite end of the hub nuts 22, so 
that the mounting plate 11 is securely affixed to the hub 21 so as to be 
parallel thereto and located a short distance outwardly therefrom. The hub 
nut 22 is a conventional type hub nut, except that it is provided longer 
in length and with a threaded through hole 25 along its length so as to 
provide for the assembly just described. 
The L-shaped brackets 12 are constructed of durable material, such as steel 
plate, and consist of opposed side surfaces 26 and 27, a flat end surface 
28, and surface 29 which is angularly disposed to the end surface 28, and, 
as shown in FIG. 3, an intermediate surface 30 which is disposed 
perpendicularly to the end surface 28, the front and rear surfaces 31 and 
32 respectively which project into an L-shaped configuration upwardly from 
and perpendicularly to the intermediate surface 30 so as to be parallel 
with each other, and a top surface 33. The top surface 33 is provided with 
a round hole 34 extending into the L-shaped bracket 12 from the top 
surface 33 to near the intermediate surface 30. 
A series of L-shaped brackets 12 are securely affixed so as to be spaced 
equidistantly around the front surface 15 of the mounting plate 11 with 
the end surfaces 28 of the L-shaped brackets 12 being affixed thereto, 
such as by welding, and so as to be spaced between the round through holes 
20. 
The telescoping members 13 consist of a cylindrical hollow member 35 having 
an outside surface 36 and an opposed inside surface 37, and an enclosed 
bottom surface 38, and an open top surface 39 to form the interior 
compartment 40 along the length of the cylindrical hollow member 35. The 
cylindrical hollow member 35 is further provided with an elongated through 
slot 41 disposed in a vertical direction a short distance below the top 
surface 39 and facing in the direction of the side surface 27 of the 
L-shaped bracket 12, and is further provided with a round through hole 42 
located nearly centrally along the length of the hollow member 35 so as to 
face in the direction of the front surface 31 of the L-shaped bracket 12. 
The cylindrical hollow member 35 is further assembled, as shown in FIGS. 5 
and 6, into the round hole 34 in the L-shaped bracket 12 and is securely 
affixed therein in a conventional way, such as by welding. The telescoping 
members 13 further consist of an extendable member 43 which is cylindrical 
in configuration and is constructed of durable material, such as steel 
rod, with an outside diameter to provide a snug fit within the interior 
compartment 40 of the cylindrical hollow member 35 wherein the bottom 
surface 44 of the member 43 is compressed against the spring 45. A 
spring-loaded pin 46 is provided in the extendable member 43 a short 
distance upwardly from the bottom surface 44 and is provided to protrude 
outwardly from the member 43 when in a relaxed position and receeds 
internally member 43 when fully depressed, with the member 43 thereby 
being locked in position within the interior compartment 40 when the pin 
46 is relaxed and positioned within the elongated slot 41 or the round 
through hole 42, and with the member 43 thereby also being free to be 
turned or moved in an up or down direction when the pin 46 is fully 
depressed. 
The cleats 14 are constructed of durable material, such as steel, and 
consist of a serrated or spike-like top surface 47, an opposed bottom 
surface 48 which is slightly rounded to match the configuration of tire 
treads, and two opposed flanges 49 and 50 integrally conjoining the top 
surface 47 and the bottom surface 48 so as to protrude downwardly 
therefrom and with the spacing between the flanges 49 and 50 determined by 
the width of a tire 60. The flange 49, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, is 
securely affixed to the top of the extendable member 43 in a conventional 
way, such as by welding, so that when the spring-loaded pin 46 is 
positioned within the elongated slot 41, the cleats 14 are positioned over 
the tire treads, and, when the pin 46 is positioned within the hole 42, 
the cleats 14 are turned 90.degree. from the position over the tire treads 
and so as to be positioned downwardly from the tire treads and parallel to 
the sides of the tire 60. Each of the telescoping members 13 are tied 
together by a series of truss rods 51 which consist of lengths of solid 
cylindrical rods, such as steel rods, and are secured on each of their 
ends, such as by welding, to the outside of the respective cylindrical 
hollow members 35 so as to provide a rigid assembly between each of the 
telescoping members 13. 
In operation, a number of lug nuts are removed from the wheel of an 
automotive vehicle and are replaced by a number of hub nuts 22 which are 
threadably attached to the already provided bolts 23, with the mounting 
plate 11 then being properly aligned by aligning the holes 20 to the 
threaded through holes 25 on the hub nuts 22 and then being secured 
thereto by means of the bolts 24. When it is then desired to drive through 
mud or snow, a spring-loaded pin 46 is fully depressed to enable the user 
to position the extendable member 43 within the interior compartment 40 of 
the member 35 so that the pin 46 is released within the elongated slot 41 
and the tire cleats 14 are positioned over the treads of the tire 60. When 
in the process of driving, the cleats 14 will give along the length of the 
elongated slot 41 when the cleats 14 are turned between the bottom of the 
tire 60 and a road surface by being forced against the spring 45 which 
will in turn return the cleats 14 to a normal position as the tire 60 
further revolves. When driving on the dry or otherwise normal road surface 
the spring-loaded pin 46 is fully depressed within the member 43, the 
cleats 14 are lifted off the treads of the tire 60, are then rotated 
90.degree. so that the member 43 might be pushed within the interior 
compartment 40 of the member 35 to allow the pin 46 to be positioned 
within the hole 42, as shown in FIG. 4, so that the cleats 14 are securely 
positioned out of the way along the side of the tire 60. When it is 
desired to repair or replace the cleats 14 due to damage or wear, the 
spring-loaded pin 46 is fully depressed within the member 43, so that the 
extendable member 43 can be removed from member 45, with a new or repaired 
cleat 14 being replaced by reversing the above described procedure. 
It is to be understood that the form of this invention as shown and 
described is to be taken as a preferred example thereof, and that this 
invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts described 
in the description or illustrated in the drawings as changes thereto in 
the details thereof pertaining to size, shape and arrangement of parts 
thereof are envisioned within the scope of the invention without departing 
from the novel concepts of the invention.