Abstract:
A bead lock tire rim with a supplemental tread on the bead lock to protect the rim and the bolts. The tread extends past the edge of the rim to keep the tire from being split and the side area of the supplemental tread protects the bead lock while providing enhanced traction to the sidewall of the rim. A rim using a rounded projection to eliminate tire cutting and recessed nut locations with secure faceting is also provided for simple field repairs and long term durability.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application hereby claims priority to and is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/658,871, filed Feb. 16, 2010, now abandoned which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/891,047, filed Aug. 8, 2007, now abandoned which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/836,482, filed Aug. 8, 2006, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable. 
     REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable. 
     RESERVATION OF RIGHTS 
     A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to intellectual property rights such as but not limited to copyright, trademark, and/or trade dress protection. The owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records but otherwise reserves all rights whatsoever. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the field of bead lock rims for tires. In particular, the present invention relates specifically to a particular design for a bead lock rim using a supplemental tread for protecting the bead lock, bolts, tire, and rim. 
     2. Description of the Known Art 
     As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, wheel systems and other devices for tires have been the subject of many advances. Classes and subclasses for these types of devices may include: Class 152, Resilient tires and wheels, Subclass 173, 186, 387, 395, 397, 398, 516, 520; Class 301, Land vehicles: wheels and axles, Subclass 39.1, and 40.2. Patents disclosing information relevant to wheel systems include U.S. Pat. No. 1,965,058, issued to Seabra on Jul. 3, 1934; U.S. Pat. No. 2,017,891, issued to Briggs on Oct. 22, 1935; U.S. Pat. No. 2,410,209, issued to Godsey on Oct. 29, 1946; U.S. Pat. No. 3,065,995, issued to Beacher on Nov. 27, 1962; U.S. Pat. No. 3,381,737, issued to Johnson on May 7, 1968; U.S. Pat. No. 4,142,569, issued to Walther on Mar. 6, 1979; U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,797, issued to Holland on Jun. 10, 1980; U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,271, issued to Olsen on Nov. 25, 1980; U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,302, issued to Mellor on Oct. 28, 1986; U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,518, issued to Markow on Mar. 19, 1991; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,443, issued to Boni on Dec. 21, 1993. Each of these patents are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,065,995 issued to Beacher on Nov. 27, 1962 discloses a continuous, generally annular-shaped plate element extending around the wheel and lying closely adjacent to the side wall  30  of the tire engaged on the wheel rim  20 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . Secured on the outer peripheral edges of the segments  24 ,  24  are respective enlarged beads or strips  31  of resilient deformable material, such as rubber. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,142,569 issued to Walther on Mar. 6, 1979 discloses a two-piece rim for mounting tires, single or dual, on a wheel. The removable bead ring has an axial projection intended for engagement by restraining means mounted on the wheel in the event a tire on said rim is unintentionally deflated. Various forms of restraining means are provided. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,271 issued to Olsen on Nov. 25, 1980 discloses a removable resilient shield is maintained proximate the sidewall of a tire for off-the-road vehicles to protect this critical area of the tire from damage due to contact with external objects such as rocks. The shield is secured to the terminal portion of the rim flange. The radially inner portion of the shield is spaced axially of the rim and at least one radially extending passage is provided for removal of debris from between the shield and the sidewall of a tire mounted on the rim. 
     Thus, it may be seen that these prior art patents are very limited in their teaching and utilization, and an improved rim and bead lock assembly with supplemental tread is needed to overcome these limitations. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to an improved wheel rim and bead lock. In accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a revised rim configuration is provided using recessed nut apertures for easy field replacement along with a rounded wheel support end to eliminate sidewall cutting during extreme use of the wheel at low pressure. Of particular note is the use of supplemental tread on the outside and ends of the bead lock for protecting the bolt heads while providing additional traction to the vehicle and protection to the tire and rim. 
     In one embodiment, the invention is a supplemental tread device for use with a tire having a tire wall. The supplemental tread device includes a rim defining an inner tire support and a first connection body connected to a bead lock defining an outer tire support and a second connection body to lock the tire in position. The bead lock has a supplemental tread connected to the outer face. 
     Another embodiment of the present invention includes a bead lock clamp for connection to a tire rim for clamping a tire wall which has a body with an inside lock face for clamping the tire wall and an outside lock face supporting a supplemental tread that covers at least a portion of the outside lock face. 
     Yet a further embodiment of the present invention includes a bead lock tire rim having an axle distal rim end forming an inner tire support having a tire end with a rounded contact edge and a first connection body defining at least one nut recess. 
     These and other objects and advantages of the present invention, along with features of novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear or become apparent by reviewing the following detailed description of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the following drawings, which form a part of the specification and which are to be construed in conjunction therewith, and in which like reference numerals have been employed throughout wherever possible to indicate like parts in the various views: 
         FIG. 1  is a cut away view of the rim, tire, and beadlock assembly. 
         FIG. 2  is a cut away view of the rim, tire, and beadlock assembly showing the tire bend over the rim. 
         FIG. 3  is an isometric sectional view of the bead lock mounted to connect a tire to the rim with bolt head recesses in the supplemental tread and faceted nut apertures in the rim section. 
         FIG. 4  is a top view of the supplemental tread bead lock. 
         FIG. 5  is a right side view of the supplemental tread bead lock. 
         FIG. 6  is a front view of the supplemental tread bead lock. 
         FIG. 7  is a left side view of the supplemental tread bead lock. 
         FIG. 8  is a bottom view of the supplemental tread bead lock. 
         FIG. 9  is a back view of the supplemental tread bead lock. 
         FIG. 10  is a top view inside rim face that is used in forming a tire rim for connection of the supplemental bead lock. 
         FIG. 11  is a right side view of the rim face. 
         FIG. 12  is a front view of the rim face. 
         FIG. 13  is a left side view of the rim face. 
         FIG. 14  is a bottom view of the rim face. 
         FIG. 15  is a back view of the rim face. 
         FIG. 16  is an isometric view of the rim face mounted on the inside and outside of a rim. 
         FIG. 17  is a side view of a rim using an extended paddle bead lock. 
         FIG. 18  is an isometric view of the extended paddle bead lock. 
         FIG. 19  is a cutaway view of the tire of  FIG. 16  showing the paddle extensions pushing beyond the tire sidewall. 
         FIG. 20  is an exploded view of an extended paddle bead lock and the rim ring. 
         FIG. 21  is a front view of the extended paddle bead lock. 
         FIG. 22  is a sectional view of the extended paddle bead lock along line A-A of  FIG. 21 . 
         FIG. 23  is a cut away view of the rim, tire, and extended paddle bead lock assembly. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 , and  3  of the drawings, one exemplary embodiment of the supplemental tread apparatus  100  present invention is used to lock a tire  50  with a tire wall  52  for use in low pressure rough treatment situations. While the present invention discloses a double bead lock design, it is envisioned that a single side bead lock may be utilized. 
     The supplemental tread apparatus  100  includes the basic components of a rim  200 , a bead lock  300 , and a connection bolt  400 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 , and  10 - 16 , the rim  200  includes an inside rim face  202  connected to a spanning web  204  that connects across the rim to the other side of the rim  200 . The inside rim face  202  connects across an axle distal rim end  218  to the an outside rim face  206 . The axle distal rim end  218  forms an inner tire support  220  for capturing the tire wall  52  with a tire end  222  having a rounded edge  224  for support the tire wall  52  when it is bent over the rounded edge  224  of the inner tire support  220 . This rounded edge  224  become import in extreme four wheeling situations such as that shown in  FIG. 2  where the tire wall  52  is squeezed between the inner tire a support  220  and the exterior rock  60 . This rounded edge  224  keeps the tire from cut or compromised by the inner tire support  220 . Prior art designs tended to have square or even pointed edges which cut the tire wall during these situations. 
     Continuing in a clockwise manner, the outside rim face  206  leads down to the axle proximate rim end  208  having the first connection body  210 . The first connection body  210  differs from the prior art by utilizing a shank aperture  211  connecting to a nut recess  212  on the inner side of the first connection body  210 . Previous design used threaded tapped holes directly in the rim for this connection. This causes problems on the trail when the bolt head  402  sheers off from the shank  406  or the shank  406  pulls loose from the rim. This ruins the ability to provide a quick fix because either the remaining shank  406  must be unthreaded from the rim or the entire rim must be replaced. In contrast to this prior art, the configuration of the present invention allows for the bolt  400  to simply be punched out of the bolt aperture  211  and a replacement bolt  400  to be inserted. Additionally the nut recess  212  may use a rounded recess  214  so that different sized nuts and bolts can be utilized, or the preferred embodiment&#39;s faceted recess  216  may be used so that the nut is rotationally held to the rim so that only an exterior wrench is needed to tighten the bolt  400 . 
       FIGS. 1-9 , and  3  show the improved a bead lock  300  of the present invention. The bead lock  300  includes an inside lock face  302  and an outside lock face  304  connected by an axle proximate lock end  306  and an axle distal lock end  310 . A second connection body  308  is formed at the axle proximate lock end  306  and defines a bolt aperture  309  for passage of the bolt shank  406  through the bead lock  300 . The axle distal lock end  310  forms an outer tire support  312  having a supplemental tread  314  with an axle distal tread face  320  to reduced the pressure that is directly applied to the tire wall  52 . Similarly, an axle proximate tread end  316  is provided on the axle proximate lock end  306  to protect the axle proximate end of the rim  200 . 
     As best seen in  FIG. 3 , the outside lock face  304  is covered by an outer tread face  318  with a treaded pattern forming tread recesses  322  and tread extensions  324  for increased effectiveness in extreme conditions.  FIG. 3  shows a circular tread pattern for use where some slippage may be desirable and  FIG. 6  shows a lug type of pattern with tread lugs  326  and sharp edges  328  for use where an increased lug grip may be desirable. Thus, the tread pattern on the supplemental tread may be varied for different scenarios. Bolt head apertures  330  are provided for recessing the bolt head  402  into the tread pattern for additional protection so that the edges of the bolt head  402  don&#39;t get rounded off during extreme use situation. 
     As noted by  FIGS. 1 ,  2 , and  3 , the bead lock  300  is clamped to the rim  200  by multiple connection bolts  400  having a bolt head  402  with a head thickness  404  that is preferably less than the supplemental tread thickness. The bolt  400  has a bolt shank  406  having a shank length  408  and threads  410  appropriate to the application. The bolt  400  is adapted to connect into a connection nut  450  that has a faceted nut body  452  with an external rim  454  having facets  456  that mate to the faceted aperture  216  on the rim  200 . The nut  450  defines a central aperture  458  with threads  460  appropriate for mating to the threads  410  on the bolt shank  406 . 
       FIGS. 17 ,  18 , and  19  show a rim using an extending center extended paddle bead lock  300 . The bead lock  300  is similar to that previously described with the addition of shaped extensions  500  that are used as the supplemental tread  314 . In the preferred embodiment shown, the shaped extensions  500  are made from the same compound as the bead lock  300  and are welded to the outside lock face  304  and cross over the open center of the bead lock  300  in a star type of arrangement with mirror image shaped offset sides in relation to the axle line to provided for balancing the assembly. The open center allows access to the bolts for installing the rim on the vehicle. The shaped extension&#39;s  500  shape may vary according to the application of the assembly  100 . The shaped extensions  500  provide additional traction and protection to the vehicle and may be constructed from any suitable material such as metals, rubbers, synthetics, polymers, etc. The preferred embodiment is constructed from aluminum and has the triangular shape shown in the drawings. Other shapes may be utilized. A block type shape is useful for rock crawling applications. For deep water racing such as that associated with swamp buddy racing, these may be formed in a paddle wheel configuration or a curved pattern similar to a turbine or propeller to allow for additional motivating force for the vehicle. As shown in the preferred embodiment of  FIGS. 18 and 19 , the shaped extensions  500  extend past the sidewall of the tire to prevent side damage to the rim or tire while providing an increased traction surface for the tire to contact obstacles for additional traction. Note that the shaped extensions  500  should not be construed as being limited to the interior rim portion of the tire, but can extend distally over the sidewall of the tire such as is known in the prior art to provide sidewall protection and auxiliary weight carrying rims for emergency situations. 
       FIGS. 20-23  show another embodiment of as an extending edge version of an extended paddle bead lock  300 . The shaped extensions  500  are thicker for more strength and impact resistance and the extension has been reduced for less leverage on rim. Once again, the open center allows access to the bolts for installing the rim on the vehicle. The shaped extension&#39;s  500  shape may vary according to the application of the assembly  100 . The shaped extensions  500  provide additional traction and protection to the vehicle and may be constructed from any suitable material such as metals, rubbers, synthetics, polymers, etc. 
     Reference numerals used throughout the detailed description and the drawings correspond to the following elements:
         a tire  50     a tire wall  52     rock  60     A supplemental tread apparatus  100     a rim  200     an inside rim face  202     a spanning web  204     an outside rim face  206     an axle proximate rim end  208     a first connection body  210     shank aperture  211     nut recess  212     rounded recess  214     faceted recess  216     an axle distal rim end  218     an inner tire support  220     a tire end  222     a rounded edge  224     a bead lock  300     an inside lock face  302     an outside lock face  304     an axle proximate lock end  306     a second connection body  308     bolt aperture  309     an axle distal lock end  310     an outer tire support  312     a supplemental tread  314     an axle proximate tread end  316     an outer tread face  318     an axle distal tread face  320     tread recesses  322     tread extensions  324     tread lugs  326     sharp edges  328     bolt head apertures  330     a connection bolt  400     bolt head  402     head thickness  404     bolt shank  406     shank length  408     threads  410     a connection nut  450     nut body  452     external rim  454     facets  456     central aperture  458     threads  460     shaped extensions  500         

     From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention well adapted to obtain all the ends and objects herein set forth, together with other advantages which are inherent to the structure. It will also be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims. Many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 
     When interpreting the claims of this application, method claims may be recognized by the explicit use of the word ‘method’ in the preamble of the claims and the use of the ‘ing’ tense of the active word. Method claims should not be interpreted to have particular steps in a particular order unless the claim element specifically referring to a previous element, a previous action, or the result of a previous action. Apparatus claims may be recognized by the use of the word ‘apparatus’ in the preamble of the claim and should not be interpreted to have ‘means plus function language’ unless the word ‘means’ is specifically used in the claim element. The words ‘defining,’ ‘having,’ or ‘including’ should be interpreted as open ended claim language that allows additional elements or structures.