Patent Publication Number: US-2017349008-A1

Title: Spare Tire Assembly

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
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     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIE THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM 
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     STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR 
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     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     The disclosure and prior art relates to spare tire assemblies and more particularly pertains to a new spare tire assembly for pre-installation in tires to protect tires when flattened. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising an insert that is resilient. The insert is toroidally shaped and defines a central opening. The central opening is complementary to a rim of a wheel, such that the insert is positionable between the rim and a tire that is to be coupled to the rim. A cover is positioned over an outer surface of the insert. The cover is configured to shield the insert from potential damage as the wheel rotates with the tire in a deflated condition. A user is able to operate a vehicle having a flattened tire that is configured with the insert for a period of time without damaging the flattened tire. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric perspective view of a spare tire assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is an in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS. 1 through 4  thereof, a new spare tire assembly embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 4 , the spare tire assembly  10  generally comprises an insert  12  that is resilient. The insert  12  is toroidally shaped defining a central opening  14 . The central opening  14  is complementary to a rim  16  of a wheel. The insert  12  is positionable between the rim  16  and a tire  18  that is to be coupled to the rim  16 . The insert  12  has a cross-section  20 . The cross-section  20  has a long axis  22  and a short axis  24 , such that the cross-section  20  is ovally shaped. The long axis  22  of the cross-section  20  is substantially equivalent to a width of the rim  16 . In one embodiment, the insert  12  comprises rubber. In another embodiment, the insert  12  comprises vinyl. In yet another embodiment, the insert  12  comprises rubber and vinyl. 
     A cover  26  is positioned over an outer surface  28  of the insert  12 . The cover  26  is positioned over the outer surface  28  such that the cover  26  is configured to shield the insert  12  from potential damage as the wheel rotates with the tire  18  in a deflated condition. The cover  26  comprises metal. In one embodiment, the cover  26  comprises steel. In another embodiment, the cover  26  comprises a wire  30  that is coiled around the insert  12 . In yet another embodiment, the wire  30  comprises braided steel cable. 
     The assembly  10  also may comprise a pair of fasteners  32 . Each fastener  32  is coupled to a respective opposing side  34  of the cover  26 . The fasteners  32  are positioned on the cover  26  such that the fasteners  32  are configured to couple to the tire  18 . The fasteners  32  comprise adhesive. 
     In use, the insert  12  is positionable between the rim  16  and a tire  18  that is to be coupled to the rim  16 . The cover  26  is positioned over the outer surface  28  of the insert  12  such that the cover  26  is configured to shield the insert  12  from potential damage as the wheel rotates with the tire  18  in a deflated condition. The user is able to operate a vehicle has a flattened tire that is configured with the insert  12  to a period of time without damaging the flattened tire. 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.