Abstract:
Traction enhancing apparatus for a vehicle wheel includes a strap securable to a wheel and a sleeve disposed on the strap. The sleeve includes friction enhancing elements extending the full length of the sleeve and the strap includes cooperating locking elements at opposite ends of the strap. A plurality of such strap and sleeve elements are easily secured to a vehicle wheel under emergency conditions, such as snow, ice, or the like, to enhance the traction of the vehicle wheel.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    This invention relates to traction apparatus for vehicles and, more particularly, to traction elements securable to a tire for obtaining traction in emergency situations, such as snow, and the like.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art  
           [0004]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,412 (Bowers) discloses a traction enhancement device which includes a serrated strap element, with the serrations on one side, and cooperating lock elements remote from the serrations at opposite ends of the strap. The apparatus is a one piece unit designed to be disposed about a tire, with several of the elements, spaced apart, on the tire to provide the desired traction.  
           [0005]    The apparatus of the present invention differs from the &#39;412 apparatus in that two elements are used, a base strap and a sleeve which is disposed on the strap. The sleeve includes friction engaging elements for providing traction for the full length of the sleeve element. This significantly increases the traction of the apparatus for the wheel.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The invention described and claimed herein comprises a flexible plastic strap having cooperating locking or securing elements at opposite ends of the strap for securing the strap to a wheel. A sleeve member is disposed on the strap and the strap is then secured to a wheel. In practice, several of the straps, probably at least about three, strap and sleeve elements are used on a wheel to enhance or increase the traction of the wheel under adverse conditions, such as snow, ice, or the like. The sleeve elements include serrations or slots that extend the full length of the sleeve to provide traction enhancement across the full width of the tire. The sleeve elements may be extruded and then cut to the desired lengths to fit on the straps.  
           [0007]    Among the objects of the present invention are the following:  
           [0008]    To provide new and useful traction apparatus for a vehicle wheel;  
           [0009]    To provide new and useful emergency traction apparatus securable to a wheel;  
           [0010]    To provide new and useful traction elements including a sleeve having traction enhancing elements thereon and a strap for receiving the sleeve and securable to a vehicle wheel;  
           [0011]    To provide new and useful traction enhancing apparatus including a strap having cooperating locking elements at opposite ends and a sleeve disposed on the strap and having traction enhancing elements extending the full length of the sleeve; and  
           [0012]    To provide new and useful traction and enhancing elements including a plastic strap and a plastic sleeve disposed on the plastic strap. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tire with the apparatus of the present invention secured thereto.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of apparatus of the present invention.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 3 is a view in partial section taken generally along line  3 - 3  of FIG. 2.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 4 is a view in partial section taken generally along line  4 - 4  of FIG. 2.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another alternate embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another alternate embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 8 is a view in partial section of the apparatus  120  taken generally along line  8 - 8  of FIG. 7.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of another alternate embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 10 is a view in partial section taken generally along line  10 - 10  of FIG. 9. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0023]    [0023]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wheel  10 , shown in dash dot line, with a plurality of emergency traction elements  20  secured thereto. The tire  10  is mounted on a rim  12 . The rim  12  includes a number of rim openings  14  extending there through. The traction elements  20  are secured to the tire  10  through the rim openings  14 .  
         [0024]    A traction element  20  is shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 comprises a perspective view of a traction element  20  with a fastening strap  40  shown extending there through. FIG. 3 is a view in partial section of the emergency traction element  20  taken generally line  3 - 3  of FIG. 2. For the following discussion, reference will primarily be made to FIGS. 2 and 3.  
         [0025]    The emergency traction apparatus  20  includes a relatively elongated and generally rectangularly configured sleeve  22 . Extending through the sleeve, longitudinally, is an inner bore  24 . The sleeve  22  includes a pair of sides  26  and  28 , a bottom  30 , and a top  34 . A plurality of longitudinally extending grooves  32  extend along the bottom  30 , and a plurality of generally longitudinally extending grooves  36  extend along the top  34 . The grooves  32  and  36  cooperate to provide traction. The sleeve  22  is thus, with respect to top and bottom, substantially identical, and there accordingly is not a preferred way of orienting the sleeve with respect to the tire  10 .  
         [0026]    The sleeve  22  also includes a pair of ends  38  and  39 . The ends  38  and  39  are generally parallel to each other.  
         [0027]    It will be noted that the sleeve  22  is preferably made of a flexible or resilient material, such as plastic, that will conform somewhat to the curvature of the tire, as best shown in FIG. 1. The “top” and “bottom” portions of the sleeve  20  may more nearly accurately be considered as “inner” and “outer” portions, however interchangeable they may be. That is, the “inner” portion may be disposed against the tire, and the “outer” portion will face outwardly, or away from the tire, and thus be in contact with the road as the tire  10  rotates.  
         [0028]    The sleeve  22  is secured to the tire by a strap  40 . The strap  40  is again preferably made of plastic material and may be a well known tie element with a buckle  42  at one end. The buckle  42  is shown in FIG. 4, which is a side view in partial section of the buckle  42 . The buckle  42  includes a bore  44  with inwardly extending gripper teeth  46 . The strap  40  includes an end  48  which extends through a buckle  42 . The gripper teeth allow the end  48  to extend inwardly in essentially a one way movement, and the gripper teeth  46  oppose the movement of the end  48  outwardly. The one way movement is illustrated by the relatively large arrow in FIG. 4. Thus, a strap is essentially a disposable unit, and must be cut off the tire when the need for the traction apparatus  20  is over. Obviously, a user may have as many straps as necessary for multiple use of a sleeve  22 , and as many bodies as deemed appropriate under the circumstances.  
         [0029]    An alternate design of the sleeve  22  is illustrated in FIG. 5, which shows the traction apparatus  60 , without a strap  40 . The traction apparatus  60  includes a sleeve  62 , which again has a generally rectangular configuration. The sleeve  62  includes an inner bore  64  which extends longitudinally through the sleeve  62 . The sleeve  62  also includes a pair of sides, of which the sides  66  is shown in FIG. 5. The sleeve  62  also includes a bottom  70  and a top  72 . The top  72  includes a plurality of transversely extending slots or grooves  74  which help to provide the traction required of the apparatus. The sleeve  66  also includes a pair of ends, including an end  76  and an end  78 . The ends  76  and  78  are generally parallel to each other as are the pair of sides, and also as are the top and bottom portions. A strap  40  extends through the bore  64  to secure the sleeve  62  to a wheel.  
         [0030]    Unlike the sleeve  22  of the apparatus  20 , the sleeve  62  includes transversely extending slot  74  only on the top  72 . Thus, the top  72  is the outer portion of the sleeve  62 , with the bottom  70  disposed against the tire and the top  72  extending outwardly.  
         [0031]    It will be noted that the slots  74  are generally parallel to each other and generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the sleeve  62 . A different configuration of slots is shown in FIG. 6.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another alternate embodiment of the traction apparatus of the present invention and comprising an alternate embodiment  90 . The alternate embodiment  90  includes a sleeve  92  which is substantially identical to the sleeve  62  in general configuration. It includes a generally rectangular cross sectional configuration with an inner bore  94  extending longitudinally of the sleeve  92 . The sleeve includes a pair of sides, of which side  96  is shown. The sleeve  92  also includes a bottom  100  and a top  102 . Extending downwardly in the top  102  are slots  104  and  106 . The slots  104  and  106  extend obliquely transverse with respect to the longitudinal axis of the sleeve  92 , as opposed to the parallel transverse orientation of the slots  74  of the sleeve  62 . The obliquely oriented slots  104  and  106  may provide better traction under some circumstances than do the slots  74  of the sleeve  62 .  
         [0033]    Alternate slots are parallel, thus providing offsetting traction enhancement. That is, there is double parallelism with slots  104  disposed in a parallel arrangement, to provide the offsetting traction enhancement. On the other hand, such oblique orientation may also be obliquely parallel, without the alternate oblique pattern shown.  
         [0034]    Once again, the apparatus  90  is preferably made of a plastic, as is the apparatus  60 , and the apparatus  20 , as discussed above. And, once again, like the sleeve  62 , the top  102  is the outer portion of the apparatus  92 , with the bottom  100  disposed against the tire and the top  102  facing outwardly.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another alternate embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, comprising an embodiment  120 . For the following discussion, reference will primarily be made to FIGS. 7 and 8.  
         [0036]    Alternate embodiment traction apparatus  120  includes a sleeve  122  which also has a generally rectangular cross sectional configuration. Extending longitudinally through the sleeve  122  is a bore  124 . Disposed about the bore  124 , and part of the sleeve  122 , is a side  126  and a side  128 . The two sides  126  and  128  are generally parallel to each other. The sleeve  122  also includes a bottom  130  and a plurality of longitudinally extending slots  132  are disposed on the bottom  130 .  
         [0037]    Generally parallel to the bottom  130  is a top  134 . Again, a plurality of longitudinally extending slots  136  extend along the top  134 . Extending upwardly from the slots  136  are studs  138 . The studs  138 , of course, are used to provide additional traction, when needed.  
         [0038]    The sleeve also includes a pair of ends  140  and  142 , which are generally parallel to each other.  
         [0039]    The apparatus  120  includes the longitudinally extending slots  132  and  136  to provide additional traction for the tire and the apparatus  12 . The bottom slots  132  are against the tire of the vehicle (see FIG. 1) and the slots  136  on the top or outer portion of the sleeve  122  extend outwardly, and accordingly provide the traction for the wheel or tire. Thus, the bottom slots  132  help to prevent the apparatus  120  from slipping or moving on the tire, and the slots  136 , together with the studs  138  together with the studs  138 , provide additional traction for, relatively difficult driving situations, such as icy conditions.  
         [0040]    The longitudinally extending slots help to also disperse any slush or other material which might otherwise tend to decrease the frictional enhancing abilities of the apparatus  120 .  
         [0041]    The studs  138 , as can be best understood from FIG. 8, are molded into the top  134 . The bottom portion of the studs  138  extend into the longitudinally extending bore  124 .  
         [0042]    Another alternate embodiment of the traction enhancing apparatus is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of traction apparatus  150 , and FIG. 10 is a view in partial section taken generally along line  10 - 1 O of FIG. 9. Reference may be made to both Figures for the following discussion. The construction of the traction enhancing apparatus  150  is somewhat different from that of the above discussed units in that it includes a plurality of apertures which communicate with a longitudinally extending bore.  
         [0043]    The apparatus  150  includes a sleeve  152  which, like the other embodiments discussed above, has a generally rectangular cross sectional configuration. A bore  154  extends longitudinally through the sleeve  152 . The sleeve includes a pair of sides  156  and  160 , and a plurality of rectangularly configured apertures extend through the sides and communicate directly with the bore  154 . Apertures  158  extend through the side  156 , and apertures  162  extend through the side  160 . For convenience, the configuration of the apertures is generally rectangular.  
         [0044]    The sleeve  152  also includes a bottom and a top  166  which is generally parallel to the bottom. Extending transversely along the top are parallel grooves  168 . The grooves  168  are somewhat larger than are the grooves  74  of the traction enhancing apparatus  60  and they have a curved configuration, as opposed to the generally rectangular configuration of the groove  74 . The larger grooves  168  may provide additional area for traction enhancement and for the disposal of snow, mud, etc. The open area of the apparatus  150  also enhances the flexibility of the sleeve with respect to longitudinal bending or flexing to conform to tire configuration.  
         [0045]    It will be noted that the cross sectional configuration of all of the embodiments is generally rectangular. This configuration lends itself readily to molding and also to maximizing the area of traction enhancement overall. The longitudinally extending bores are also generally rectangular in configuration for convenience. They, of course, receive the straps  40 , discussed above in conjunction with FIGS. 1 and 2. Moreover, all of the traction enhancement units are flexible so as to conform to the configuration of the tire, as illustrated in FIG. 1, and as mentioned above.  
         [0046]    While the principles of the invention have been made clear in illustrative embodiments, there will be immediately obvious to those skilled in the art many modifications of structure, arrangement, proportions, the elements, materials, and components used in the practice of the invention, and otherwise, which are particularly adapted to specific environments and operative requirements without departing from those principles. The appended claims are intended to cover and embrace any and all such modifications, within the limits only of the true spirit and scope of the invention.