Abstract:
A vehicle tire cart for safely storing and transporting stacked vehicle tires and wheels. The vehicle tire cart generally includes a platform having an opening with an anchor located therein and is configured to receive a plurality of stacked vehicle tires. A lower surface of the platform comprises a plurality of casters which may be a combination of stationary and swivel casters that allow the vehicle tire cart to rotate to accommodate steering and directional changes during transportation while also easily traveling in a straight path. The anchor may be integral to a removable retaining strap plug configured to be retained within the platform opening and allow a retaining strap to thread under the anchor to secure stacked vehicle tires resting on the upper platform surface.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    I hereby claim benefit under Title 35, United States Code, Section 119(e) of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/179,385 filed May 6, 2015 (Attorney Docket CHAR-006). The 62/179,385 application is currently pending. The 62/179,385 application is hereby incorporated by reference into this application. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable to this application. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    1. Field 
         [0004]    Example embodiments in general relate to a vehicle tire cart for storing and transporting vehicle tires. 
         [0005]    2. Related Art 
         [0006]    Any discussion of the related art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such related art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field. 
         [0007]    Conventionally, vehicle tires are transported and/or stored using hand trucks, movers&#39; dollies, drum rollers, or other rolling appliances that are not specially adapted for the purpose of moving and storing heavy and bulky vehicle tires. Not only are these devices often heavy and expensive, they are often unsafe as they leave stacks of vehicle tires unsecured and therefor prone to toppling during transport or storage, potentially causing injury in the process. Additionally, many of these conventional devices for moving vehicle tires require the assistance of a second person due to the heavy weight of stacked vehicle tires and lack of maneuverability resulting from the overall vehicle tire bulkiness. While these previously known devices for moving objects are suitable for transporting and storing certain items, they are not suitable for safely and easily transporting, storing and displaying vehicle tires. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    An example embodiment of the present invention is directed to a vehicle tire cart. The vehicle tire cart includes a platform having an opening with an anchor therein around which a retaining strap may be threaded to secure a stack of vehicle tires and a plurality of caster wheels on a lower surface of the platform. 
         [0009]    There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, some of the features of the vehicle tire cart in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the vehicle tire cart that will be described hereinafter and that will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the vehicle tire cart in detail, it is to be understood that the vehicle tire cart is not limited in its application to the details of construction or to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The vehicle tire cart is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
         [0010]    Embodiments of a vehicle tire cart may comprise a substantially round platform configured to store a plurality of vehicle tires on an upper surface of the platform. A lower surface of the platform includes a plurality of caster wheels which may comprise stationary and/or swivel caster wheels. The platform has an opening having an anchor which may be coupled to a removable retaining strap plug that fits within the platform opening. To secure a stack of tires to the platform, a retaining strap may be passed under the anchor to safely and securely fasten the stack of tires to the platform to prevent tipping and possible human injury during tire storage and transportation. The lower platform surface may comprise one or more integral structural ribs to increase the overall strength of the platform. Some embodiments may further comprise a removable pole and signage that is intended to allow the vehicle tire cart to serve as a retail display. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    Example embodiments will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings, wherein like elements are represented by like reference characters, which are given by way of illustration only and thus are not limitative of the example embodiments herein. 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of a vehicle tire cart in accordance with an exemplary embodiment. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a bottom perspective view of a vehicle tire cart in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a side view of a vehicle tire cart in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of  FIGS. 1-2 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a top view of a vehicle tire cart in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of  FIGS. 1-3 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a bottom view of a vehicle tire cart in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of  FIGS. 1-4 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the exemplary embodiment of a vehicle tire cart taken along the line as indicated in  FIG. 4 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is a bottom cutaway view of an exemplary embodiment of a vehicle tire cart having a hand grip opening. 
           [0019]      FIGS. 8-9  depict an exemplary embodiment of a vehicle tire cart when in use storing vehicle tires. 
           [0020]      FIG. 10A  depicts an exemplary embodiment of a vehicle tire cart in which vehicle tires are secured using a side strap. 
           [0021]      FIG. 10B  depicts an exemplary embodiment of a vehicle tire cart in which vehicle tires are secured by a retaining strap running through an opening in the vehicle tires. 
           [0022]      FIGS. 11-12  depict exemplary embodiments of caster wheels. 
           [0023]      FIG. 13A  depicts the exemplary embodiment of the vehicle tire cart of  FIG. 13B  in motion along a straight directional path in line with an orientation of the two stationary caster wheels. 
           [0024]      FIG. 13B  provides a bottom view of an exemplary embodiment of a vehicle tire cart having stationary and swivel caster wheels. 
           [0025]      FIGS. 14-15  depict exemplary embodiments of a vehicle tire cart comprising a pole and signage, respectively. 
           [0026]      FIG. 16  is an exemplary embodiment of a vehicle tire cart having a restraining strap plug. 
           [0027]      FIG. 17  is a cross-sectional view of the exemplary embodiment of a vehicle tire cart of  FIG. 16 . 
           [0028]      FIG. 18  depicts the exemplary embodiment of a vehicle tire cart in accordance with the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 16-17  while in use. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0029]    Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although methods and materials similar to or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the vehicle tire cart, suitable methods and materials are described above. All publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety to the extent allowed by applicable law and regulations. The vehicle tire cart may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Any headings utilized within the description are for convenience only and have no legal or limiting effect. 
         [0030]    Furthermore, any reference to singular includes plural embodiments, and any reference to more than one component or step may include a singular embodiment or step. Also, any reference to attached, fixed, connected or the like may include permanent, removable, temporary, partial, full and/or any other possible attachment option. Additionally, any reference to without contact (or similar phrases) may also include reduced contact or minimal contact. As used herein, phrases such as “make contact with,” “coupled to,” “touch,” “interface with” and “engage” may be used interchangeably. 
         [0031]    The features, structures, or characteristics of the invention described throughout this specification may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. For example, the usage of the phrases “exemplary embodiments”, “some embodiments” or other similar language refers to the fact that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “exemplary embodiments”, “in some embodiments”, “in other embodiments” or other similar language, throughout this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same group of embodiments, and the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. 
         [0032]      FIG. 1  provides an exemplary embodiment of a vehicle tire cart  10  which may be used to secure vehicle tires  28 , wheels, or other objects for safe and convenient storage and transportation. As shown, platform  11  may be substantially round, however, this shape is merely provided as a non-limiting example and it is contemplated that the platform may have any other appropriate shape such as elliptical, square, rectangular, or an irregular geometric shape. The platform  11  may be comprised of any material, however, in some embodiments, it may be preferable that the platform  11  be comprised of a flexible plastic or polymer material, such as by non-limiting example, high density polyethylene (HDPE). The upper surface  12  of platform  11  may comprise one or more textural elements  16 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 , to provide additional grip to prevent objects placed on the upper surface  12  from sliding during transport. Additionally, the upper surface  12  of the platform  11  may comprise one or more directional indicators, shown here by non-limiting example as a molded arrow  34 , to indicate to a user a direction in which the vehicle tire cart  10  may be easily moved in a straight direction, which will be described more fully below with regard to  FIGS. 13-13A . 
         [0033]    The platform  11  comprises an anchor  15  to which a retaining strap  25  may be attached to secure a load of vehicle tires  28  or other objects to the platform  11  for storage or transportation. In some embodiments, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the anchor  15  may be structured as a crossbar within an opening  14  of the platform  11 , however in other embodiments, the anchor  15  may be coupled to the upper  12  or lower platform surface  13  and may comprise a bracket, hook, or other suitably rigid structure configured to secure a retaining strap  25 . The anchor  15  may comprise one or more pieces of anchoring material and may be integral to or removable from the platform  11 . 
         [0034]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , which provides a bottom view of the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 1 , the lower platform surface  13  may comprise a plurality of caster wheels  20  which may be permanently or removably affixed to the lower platform surface  13 . While the caster wheels  20  may be arranged in any configuration that allows for ease in wheeling the vehicle tire cart  10  over a ground surface, it may be preferable to position the caster wheels  20  proximal to the platform circumference  17  to increase stability during transport as shown in  FIGS. 2-3 and 5 . Additionally, while any number of caster wheels  20  may be used, as depicted in  FIG. 5 , it may be preferable to position the caster wheels  20  at approximately equal distances around the platform circumference as doing so improves the stability of the vehicle tire cart and prevents tipping of the vehicle tire cart when in use. 
         [0035]    In some embodiments, the lower platform surface  13  may comprise one or more integral structural ribs  18  to increase the strength of the platform  11  such that the platform  11  is able to withstand a greater weight of a load when in use. The one or more integral structural ribs  18  may be located anywhere on the lower platform surface  13 , but in some embodiments may extend radially from the platform opening  14  or be concentric to the platform circumference  17 . Any appropriate number of integral structural ribs  18  may be used, however, as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 6 , it may be desirable to locate one or more structural ribs at the mounting point of the caster wheels  20  to facilitate the mounting of the caster wheels  20  as well as to increase the platform strength. 
         [0036]    Some embodiments of a vehicle tire cart  10  may comprise one or more hand grip openings  19  as shown in  FIG. 7 . A user may utilize the hand grip opening  19 , which may preferably be located proximal to the platform circumference  17  to easily grip and carry the vehicle tire cart  10  when not in use. 
         [0037]    While it is contemplated that the plurality of caster wheels  20  may comprise a uniform caster wheel type, in some embodiments, having a mix of both stationary caster wheels  22  and swivel caster wheels  21  may be advantageous for ease of steering the vehicle tire cart  10  while retaining the ability to move the vehicle tire cart  10  in a straight direction across a ground surface. For example, as depicted in  FIG. 13B , by positioning two stationary caster wheels  22  such that the wheel orientation is parallel to one another, the vehicle tire cart  10  may be easily moved along the direction of the stationary caster wheel  22  orientation as shown in  FIG. 13A . The molded arrow  34  or other directional indicator on the upper platform surface  12 , while not visible when vehicle tires are placed on the platform, may be used as a guide to aid a user in properly orienting the vehicle tire cart  10  in an intended straight line direction of movement prior to loading the cart  10 . Here, the stationary caster wheels  22  are positioned nonadjacent to each other along the platform circumference and the plurality of caster wheels  20  further comprises swivel caster wheels  21  which swivel to facilitate 360 degrees of rotation and steering of the vehicle tire cart  10  when transporting a load positioned on the platform  11  as shown in  FIGS. 8-10A . While any appropriate number of swivel  21  and stationary caster wheels  22  may be used, in the embodiment of  FIGS. 13-13A , two stationary caster wheels  22  are aligned parallel to one another with a single swivel caster wheel  21  positioned along the platform circumference  17  between them in the direction of straight-line forward motion and two additional swivel caster wheels  21  are located along the platform circumference  17  opposite the forward line of motion. This five caster wheel configuration provides the advantage of optimal stability of the vehicle tire cart  10  when carrying a heavy load such as a stack of vehicle tires  28  because the vehicle tire cart  10  may be moved in a straight direction while being steered and/or rotated thus providing maximal directional stability to prevent unwanted shifting of the vehicle tire stack due to an unintended change in the directional path of motion of the vehicle tire cart  10 . Placement of the stationary  22  and swivel caster wheels  21  proximal to the platform perimeter at a location at which the vehicle tire weight rests is preferable so the that the caster wheels  21 ,  22  directly support the weight of the vehicle tires  28  on the platform. While it is possible to utilize the vehicle tire cart  10  to safely transport other objects, placement of heavy loads that rest inside the circumference of the caster ring or that are unevenly distributed may cause distortion of the platform  11 . 
         [0038]    Any suitable type of caster wheel  20  may be used in any of the embodiments of a vehicle tire cart  10  described herein, such as for example, a non-braking caster wheel  20  as shown in  FIG. 11 . To prevent the vehicle tire cart  10  from moving when it is desired that the vehicle tire cart  10  remain in a particular position such as for example, when the vehicle tire cart  10  is used to display vehicle wheels or tires  28  in a retail or commercial setting, one or more caster wheels  20  having a brake lever  23  may be used. As shown in  FIG. 12 , the brake lever  23  remains in an unlocked position when the vehicle tire cart  10  is in motion and is then moved into a locked position when the vehicle tire cart  10  is located at a position at which the user desires the vehicle tire cart  10  to be located such as for example, in a location at which the user desires the vehicle tire cart  10  to serve as a retail or point-of-sale display or when the vehicle tire cart  10  is left unattended by the user. The caster wheels  20  may be comprised of any suitable material, however, it may be preferable that the wheel material  32  be comprised of a non-marking material that is of a texture that does not mar a flooring surface over which the vehicle tire cart  10  is transported. By non-limiting example, polyurethane or other plastics or polymers may be desirable materials from which the wheel material  32  may be comprised. The caster wheels  20  may further comprise a needle roller bearing  31  or any other suitably durable bearing. 
         [0039]    As shown in  FIG. 16 , some embodiments of a vehicle tire cart  10  may comprise a retaining strap plug  24  which is configured to removably couple to the platform  11  within the platform opening  14 . The anchor  15  may be integral to the retaining strap plug  24  and configured to allow a retaining strap  25  to be passed under the anchor  15  as shown in  FIG. 17  to secure a plurality of vehicle tires  28 . As depicted in  FIG. 10 , a plurality of vehicle tires, which may optionally be mounted on vehicle wheels, may be secured by passing the retaining strap  25  under the anchor  15  and through the vehicle tire opening  30  within the inner circumference  29  of the last vehicle tire  28  placed on top of the stack of vehicle tires  28  when the last vehicle tire  28  is positioned vertically relative to the horizontal orientation of the stacked vehicle tires  28  on the upper platform surface  12 . The retaining strap  25  may be passed through the vehicle tire opening  30  within the inner circumference  39  of the horizontally stacked tires  28  as shown in  FIG. 10B , or alternatively may vertically pass over the outer tire surface to secure the stacked vehicle tires  28  as shown in  FIG. 18 . The retaining strap  25  may apply pressure to the stack of vehicle tires  28  once the retaining strap  25  is secured, thereby compressing the vehicle tires, which results in increased column strength and stability due to the center of mass of the stacked vehicle tires  28  being as low as possible. Some embodiments of the vehicle tire cart  10  may comprise one or more side strap openings  33  which may preferably be located proximal to the platform circumference  17  as shown in  FIGS. 1-2 and 4-5  through which a side strap  35  may pass for additional support in securing objects such as vehicle tires  28 .  FIG. 10A  provides an example of a side strap  35  in use while securing a stack of vehicle tires  28 . The side strap  35  may be used by itself or in addition to a retaining strap  25  and may pass through side strap openings  33  and run underneath the platform  11  or alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 10A , a hook or other fastener may be secured within the side strap opening  33  to secure the side strap  35  when in use. 
         [0040]    Alternatively, as shown in  FIGS. 14-15 , the retaining strap plug  24  may be removed from the platform opening  14  and a removable pole  26  may be inserted into the platform opening  14  which may alternatively also comprise signage  27  which may in some applications be electrified, that may be used as a retail or point-of-sale display. 
         [0041]    A cable, chain, or other locking device may also be threaded under the anchor  15  and used to secure the vehicle tires  28  to prevent theft. It is also contemplated that the disclosed embodiments of a vehicle tire cart  10  may be used to transport objects other than vehicle tires  28  or wheels and in such instances, a retaining strap  25  may be threaded under the platform  11  such that solid objects that lack a vehicle tire opening  30  may be secured to the platform  11  for safe transportation and storage. In some embodiments, a handle may be removably attached to the platform  11  to allow for ease of pushing or pulling stacks of vehicle tires  28 . The handle may be rigid, telescoping, or collapsible and may be used to join multiple vehicle tire carts  10  together. 
         [0042]    It is to be understood that the embodiments and claims are not limited in application to the details of construction and arrangement of the components set forth in the description and/or illustrated in drawings. Rather, the description and/or the drawings provide examples of the embodiments envisioned, but the claims are not limited to any particular embodiment or a preferred embodiment disclosed and/or identified in the specification. Any drawing figures that may be provided are for illustrative purposes only, and merely provide practical examples of the invention disclosed herein. Therefore, any drawing figures provided should not be viewed as restricting the scope of the claims to what is depicted. 
         [0043]    The embodiments and claims disclosed herein are further capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways, including various combinations and sub-combinations of the features described above but that may not have been explicitly disclosed in specific combinations and sub-combinations