The present invention relates to a device for use during gas/air filling and pressure checking of vehicle tyres or other devices containing a gas that have filling valves and valve covers. The device is intended to make it possible to permit the checking and/or adequate filling of such gas containers easily and without dirtying ones fingers, in cases where the filling valve is perhaps also difficult to access, as well as providing the information concerning the recommended tyre pressure close at hand.

A device for the intended purpose is as far as is known not previously in existence. On the other hand the car accessory market retails various'valve extensions'and connector tubes which are intended to stick out between the spokes or hub of the wheel rim or hub cap in order that the cap and filling point can be more easily accessible when checking or filling the air in the tyre.

However, such complements possess the disadvantage, amongst other things, that the balance of the wheel is disturbed.

The correct pressure in all the tyres on a car minimises the specific fuel consumption and thereby extends the driving range. Wear is also reduced not only on the tyre but also on the road, which is of economic significance both for the individual and society. Checking or filling of the tyres ought therefore to be carried out regularly and it would therefore be an advantage if this job could be made easier. These aspects form the main object of the device according to the invention.

To achieve the object, a device according to the invention comprises a cylinder with one end formed as a finger grip and the other end as in internal gripping cone formed to approximately fit or grip around commonly occurring valve caps on filling nipples, where the cylinder also comprises one or more permanent magnets fastened on or in the cylinder, or that the cylinder is fitted with other means of temporarily fastening it on a surface near the filling nipple.

One of the nuisances in this context hitherto is that fingers are dirtied if one does not have gloves on the hands. There is also a risk that the contamination on the valve cap is mixed with asbestos and lead contaminants which can be harmful to health if one does not wash the hands after the job. As the device according to the invention is designed to encompass the named cap in conjunction with checking and filling and is otherwise stored in the petrol cap space or in another place on the vehicle, this inconvenience is eliminated.

Another inconvenience is that certain hub caps and wheel rims have tight openings for the filling valves which make the valve caps difficult to access without undoing the hub cap or using narrow pliers or similar tools. As the device according to the invention also works as an extension of the cap in question this inconvenience is also eliminated.

A further inconvenience is that the valve cap is small and round and with cold fingers can easily be dropped and perhaps roll under the car. If the cap is placed on the ground during the filling work it is easy to kick the cap away accidentally. As the device according to the invention is at least partially magnetic or fitted with other fastening devices and additionally flat on some surfaces, the cap can, together with the device easily be temporarily fastened on a mudguard, the car body or other suitable place.

Another aspect is that information on recommended filling pressure ought to be found close at hand and not have to be hunted down in the car's instruction manual or a place on the car that is difficult to read. As the device can easily be fitted with fixed or adjustable ways of indicating the recommended air or gas pressure, this information is always accessible when checking or filling work is carried out.

The above points have been addressed individually in the present invention.

The invention will be further described with reference to the production example shown in the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 shows a device of the present invention in axial cross-section.

Fig. 2 shows the device partly in view partly in cross-section without indicating rings.

Fig 3 shows the device viewed from its grip end.

Fig 4 shows the device viewed from the grip end.

Fig 5 shows a modification of the invention in a side view.

Fig 6 shows the device in perspective.

Fig 7,8 and 9 show an indication ring in two sections and an extension of its casing circumference.

A preferred material for the production of the device according to the invention is an elastic rubber or polymer material that can be form cast. Another component in a preferred embodiment of the invention is one or more permanent magnets which can either be cast into the rubber or plastic in conjunction with cast injection or which can be pressed in afterwards. With modem magnetic powder materials it is even possible that the whole device can be made of a magnetised composite or similar material. Another possibility for fixing the device for storage would be that the cylinder is fitted with Velcro which is correspondingly fitted to a suitable place on the car.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is an approximately 55 mm long cylinder 1, with a wide end or grip end 2, a finger shaped grip 3, which is preferably substantially three or six sided or similar to prevent sliding or rolling away. The other end, grip end 4, has a outer diameter of ca 12-15 mm and is internally conical with an opening of ca 10 mm, which fits the outer diameters of occurring valve caps. The internal gripping cone 5, is suitably provided with longitudinal grooves or ridges 6 to permit a better grip around the valve cap. The cylinder 1 is in the extension of the gripping cone fitted with a hollow 7 at the grip end with a thin membrane 8 as a base. In this membrane a permanent magnet 9 is applied or pressed in place. If the magnet is of the strong Neodym type or similar and the cylinder's 1 wall thickness limited, the device according to the invention can be fixed both by the grip end's flat surface or the cylinder's long side against a metal car body part. It is thereby preferred that the cylinder is straight at least in connection with the magnet's long side.

For the indication of the recommended set points for occurring air pressures, two grooves 10 and 11 are arranged in the cylinder's casing with a depth and breadth which preferably just exceed the cross sectional diameters for the two adjustable indication rings 12 and 13 of wire, plastic, rubber or similar, one in each groove. These rings are fitted with suitable indicators in the form of a notch, point or colour marking 14 and/or numbering 15 and symbols. When carrying out one-off adjustments of air pressure or set point for the tyre in question, the respective ring with appropriate number 15 or mark 14 is twisted to a line or symbol 16 whose mark is cast or applied on the cylinder's casing surface or on the casing surface of the indication rings 12, 13 respectively. To indicate which ring refers to which tyre, i. e. front or rear tyres, the symbol 16 has a suitable appearance. As it is advantageous that the cylinder material is of a dirt tolerant colour and surface structure, the rings 12 and 13 can preferably have an eye catching, contrasting colour.

Thanks to the small external dimensions of the device and its simple fixing using magnetism or Velcro, the device according to the invention can easily be placed in the protective space around the fuel filling cap and thereby easily be seen and be close at hand at every refuelling.

The idea of the invention is naturally not limited to the to the embodiment described above. The principle of fixation can, instead of a magnetic fastening, be arranged as described above with the help of Velcro in suitable places. As has also been named, the manufacturing material can be of magnetised polymer, in which case a separate magnet is not required. It is also possible that the device includes an iron centre or iron composite instead of a permanent magnet, which would permit the fixing of the device in a storage space already fitted with a magnet.

Instead of rotating rings for the indication of the recommended pressure, the cylinder's casing surface can be made to be written on with a pencil or ball-point pen.