The present invention relates to a segmentalized spare tyre assembly that can be used mainly in motorcycles, light vehicles, industrial applications and other application which requires such a tyre.

Background Art

Numerous attempts have been made heretofore to devise a wheel attachment for motor vehicles which can be applied to the wheel in the event of a blow-out or puncture of the pneumatic tyre or if the tyre becomes underinflated for any reason. In some cases these attachments have been so designed as to provide a tyre formed of a plurality of similar solid segments or sections so connected and secured for use as a bolt on assembly to the rims of wheels in the event of the pneumatic tyres being punctured or otherwise injured or as a safety tyre which is already contained inside the pneumatic tyre to prevent loss of control.

US 856,526 Patent document disclosed a wheel tyre comprising a plurality of tyre segments being formed at one end with a tongue having a hole therein and at the opposite end with a recess, said recess on one of said tyre segments being adapted to received said tongue on an adjacent, a bolt secured to each of said segments, the shrank of said bolt projecting from said recess, said shank in one of said tyre segments being adapted to pass through said hole in the tongue of an adjacent tyre segment , said shank being also adapted to pass through the felly of a wheel, and a nut adapted to be threaded onto said shank, so as to secure said tyre segment to said felly.

US 975,325 Patent document disclosed a sectional emergency tyre comprising tire sections, tread surfaces, wires extending longitudinally through latter, apertured plates at the ends of the tyrers in which the ends of said wires are fastened, the plates at corresponding ends of said sections being slotted, a headed lug upon the other end of each section adapted to engage said slot to hold the sections together, and means for drawing together the ends of the sections thus connected to hold the same against the circumstance of the rim of a wheel. The plates also passing within said tread surface and provided with threaded apertures and bearing against the outer edges of said wires, bolts passing through apertures in the tyre sections and having their threaded ends engage the holes in said plates, interlocking means for holding the sections together, and means for drawing the free ends of the sections thus connected against the rim of a wheel. US 2,257,543 Patent document disclosed an invention that related to an auxiliary wheel attachment for emergency use on pneumatic tyre vehicles. More particularly, it related to improvements in auxiliary wheels of the type which are designed for application in a manner to serve both as a jack and a temporary tyre. The auxiliary tyre and jack for application to the pneumatically-tyred wheel of a motor vehicle comprising two separable sections which together form an annulus substantially co-extensive with one side of the pneumatic tyre, one of said sections having an annular flange for engaging the rim of the wheel around its entire periphery and having an arcuate edge extending in opposite directions from a point near said annular flange to points at the outer part of the annulus. The attachment for vehicle wheels which comprises two separable sections which together form an auxiliary tyre, one of said sections having an annular flange arranged for engagement with the inside of the rim of a wheel and attaching screws arranged for engagement with the outside of the rim.

US 2,448,313 Patent document disclosed a resilient tyre, comprising a plurality of similarly formed segments placed end to end to form a circular tyre structure, each segment having an inner U-shaped section seated on a wheel rim, the base of said section being slightly concave, and the flanges thereof extended outwardly of said base, and an outer section having a body part and a curved tread portion, springs supporting the outer section on the inner section, two of said springs being substantially S-shaped leaf springs, and the other spring being a coil spring and located between the leaf springs, each of said springs attached to the inner section and the outer section, side plates having arcuate shaped outer faces attached to the flanges of the inner section and engaging the body part of the outer section and forming an enclosure for the space between the sections, arcuate flanges on said outer sections overhanging the outer edges of said plates, an annular seat in the tread portion of said outer section, a resilient tread member secured to said portion in said heat, the outer sectionhaving a body with flat parallel side walls which are adapted to slidably engage the flat inner walls of said plates, ears on said side plates and bolts extending through said ears for attaching the side plates of the sections together to form a tyre assembly, and means for attaching the inner sections to the rim.

US 3,679,267 Patent document disclosed a spare wheel for automobiles which removably attaches to the wheel of a flat tyre and permits movement of the vehicle without fixing or removing the tyre. The spare wheel comprises a pair of rigid wheel segments of unequal size which are pivotally connected and together form a wheel having a diameter at least as great as the tyre. The smaller segment pivots outwardly to permit attachment of the unit to the wheel of the flat tyre, after which the vehicle is advanced until the segments can be returned to the wheel forming position. The edge of the first segment which is common with the second segment is arcuately shaped to permit it to roll in either direction notwithstanding composition of the road surface.

However, despite all of the development in the field, there is always a need for further improvement in sectional emergency tyres adapted for use for quick application to the rims of wheels in the event of the pneumatic tyres being punctured. There is specially a need for a device which accommodates a tyre that is light as there are no nuts and bolts involved and is well suited to be carried and stored to wheel vehicles.

Summary of the Present Invention

The invention is a tyre produced in separate segments and interconnected to effectively produce a complete round tyre. The tyre can be used as a normal tyre or as a spare tyre. The tyre can be used in any industry which requires such a tyre for its application. The tyre can be used mainly in motorcycles, light vehicles, industrial applications and other application which requires such a tyre. When used as a spare tyre on a vehicle, the punctured tyre will remain on the wheel and this tyre will be placed over the punctured tyre. The punctured tyre will fit into the hollow interiors of this tyre and if required the punctured tyre can be clamped by a plurality of 'U' clips for ease of insertion. When stored on a vehicle, the tyre will have a casing on the vehicle to enable portability and storage. The separate segments are the key to this invention's portability and ease of use on motorcycles and light vehicles, meaning there is no connection between the segments before assembly and they can be stored in separate pieces. The tyre is also very light as there are no big steel pieces or nuts and bolts and is well suited to be carried and stored on motorcycles and light vehicles. The segments will overlap each other on the flap area flush with the interior perimeter of the receiving segment creating a proper load bearing area and mating at the joints. The segments also have a hollow interior to contain the punctured pneumatic tyre in the event of a puncture.

It would be advantageous to provide a segmentalized spare tyre assembly wherein the separate segments are the key to this invention's portability and ease of use on motorcycles and light vehicles, meaning there is no connection between the segments before assembly and they can be stored in separate pieces It would also be advantageous to provide a segmentalized spare tyre assembly wherein the tyre is very light as there are no big steel pieces or nuts and bolts and is well suited to be carried and stored on motorcycles and light vehicles.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

Brief Description of Drawings

A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, when considered in conjunction with the subsequent, detailed description, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of the segmentalized spare tyre assembly in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a front view of one segment in accordance with the invention; Figure 3 is a cross section view of a rim of a vehicle wheel with the segmentalized spare tyre contaning a punctured pneumatic tyre in accordance with the invention; and Figure 4 is a prospective view of the segmentalized spare tyre without the rim of the vehicle wheel in accordance with the invention.

Figure 5 is a cross section view of one segment in accordance with the invention.

Figure 6 is a cross section view of the inner part of one segment in accordance with the invention.

For purpose of clarity and brevity, like elements and components will bear the same designations and numbering throughout the Figures.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment

In Figure 1 , a segmentalized spare tyre embodying the inventive principle and represented generally by the numeral (10) is shown attached to a rim (15) of a vehicle wheel. The segmentalized spare tyre (10) comprises a plurality of tyre segments (11) which can be made to assemble to any effective overall diameter "d" which is a result of assembling all the segments (11) together and can be in any width 'w' as required by the size of the application, placed end to end to form a circular tyre structure for attachment to a rim (15) of a vehicle wheel, a plurality of rods (12) extending through cavities in each of the tyre segments (11), for joining and aligning the tyre segments (11) in an arcuate configuration to permit the vehicle to roll thereon, means for connecting the tyre segments (11) to form a circular tyre structure, and means for releasably fastening the tyre segments (11) to the rim (15) of the vehicle wheel.

In Figure 2, each of the tyre segments (11) comprise an inner part (16) having a surface for engaging a rim (15) of the vehicle wheel and an outer part (17) having a road engaging surface and coupled with the inner part (16). The inner part (16) is formed by glass filled plastic or other material which can be made to the required shape and strength for structural rigidity. The outer part (17) is formed by a soft rubber like compound such as injection moldable thermoplastic polymers, rubber and other materials which can be made to the required shape and strength and it can have threads and grooves to channel out water. The objective of the soft compound is to create road traction and improve ride and safety. The outer part (17) will be mechanically entwined to the inner part (16) of the tyre segments (11) during the process of overmolding. This is to ensure that the outer part (17) does not detach from the inner part (16) under road usage conditions. Each segment (11) will be connected to each other by a plurality of rods (12) extending through cavities in each of the tyre segments (11), for joining and aligning the tyre segments (11) in an arcuate configuration to permit the vehicle to roll thereon. Thus, the present of rods (12) are to make sure that the vertical movement between the segments (11) are controlled and minimized ensuring the vertical strength between the segments (11) and provide the overall strength of the segments (11).

The means for connecting the tyre segments (11) to form a circular tyre structure, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, comprises a plurality of interconnectors (13) on a first end and a plurality of slots (18) on a second end of each of the tyre segments (11), wherein the interconnectors (13) of each of the tyre segments (11) engage and interlock with the slots (18) of adjacent tyre segments (11). The interconnectors (13) are flexible to bend but it must have high pull strength in order to hold the segments (11) together and which are built into each segment (11). These interconnectors (13) ensure that each segment (11) is connected to its next assembly segment (11) and that the segments (11) do not come apart.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the segmentalized spare tyre (10) carries the means for releasably fastening the tyre segments individually to the rim (15) of the vehicle wheel which comprises a plurality of elongated fastening members (14), each fastening member (14) being attached to each of the tyre segments (11) for the firm engagement of the tyre segments (11) with the rim (15) of the vehicle wheel. Each fastening members (14) can be in the form of nylon/polypropylene straps or other means for fastening which fit the application of the tyre and strength requirement.

In the event of a flat or punctured pneumatic tyre (19), a plurality of 'IT clips (20) will be inserted along the perimeter of the punctured pneumatic tyre (19). This is to compress the punctured pneumatic tyre (19) in order to fit into the hollow interiors (21) of the tyre segments (11). The number of 'U' clips (20) depends on the size of the punctured pneumatic tyre (19). The punctured pneumatic tyre (19) will remain on the wheel and the segmentalized spare tyre (10) will be placed in segments (11) over the punctured pneumatic tyre (19) and the punctured pneumatic tyre (19) will fit into the hollow interiors (21) of the tyre segments (11), thus there is no need to remove the punctured pneumatic tyre (19).

Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the scope of this invention including the possibility to combine the rods (12) and interconnectors (13) in to one connector for ease of and purpose of assembly depending on the applications of the tyre.