CA3018479A1 - Tire caddy - Google Patents

Abstract

An attachment device to assist with the removal and installation of vehicle (car and light truck) tires in a safe and ergonomic manner. It is designed to couple to any lifting device allowing the technician to easily manipulate the tire without manually rotating or lifting to align with the hub. All the while the vehicle is elevated to the technician's required working height on a commercial automotive hoist.
Tire Caddy rollers support any size tire, safety bars prevent the tire from rolling out, and the adjustable sides allow fit with most tire widths. A safety restraint secures the tire during temporary storage, and is equipped with a convenient lug nut storage bin to contain lug nuts.

Description

DESCRIPTION: TIRE CADDY
This invention applies mainly to the automotive repair shop industry. It allows service technicians to safely and ergonomically remove, store and mount tires.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The wheel was invented several thousands of years ago but only in the 1800s was a wheel surrounded by at tire component. The tire has been a crucial component for transportation since this time. Although a critical element, the repetitive motion of removing, temporarily storing and installing each tire can be straining for service technicians in the automotive industry.
The removal of the tire is important in inspecting and replacing brakes or suspension parts.
On many occasions, there may be more than one service technician servicing a car or light truck (herein vehicle). The automotive commercial hoist in the repair shop is elevated to a certain height; however, this may not be a suitable height from one technician to the next. Hence, removing and installing a tire will not be at the optimal height of one or more of the service technicians. Additionally, the tires are removed and typically stored on the shop floor which can potentially be a trip hazard. Once the repair work is complete, the service technician would then pick up the tire from the floor, raise the tire by hand, and rotate the tire in midair to align with the hub. This can be strenuous, and due to the repetitive motion and nature of the work, this can decrease service technician effectiveness.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention, Tire Caddy, is to aid with quick, safe and easy, removal and installation of a tire on a vehicle during inspection or repair. It is used at a working height when the vehicle is on a hoist in a commercial repair shop. The Tire Caddy (Figure 1), when attached to a telescopic jack (lifting device), and adjusted to the required tire width, allows the technician to remove the tire and roll out of the way safely and with ease.
During tire removal, simply roll Tire Caddy attached to a lifting device (herein Unit) to vehicle with Back Side Plate (Figure 2) facing the vehicle. Then raise the Unit to meet the under side of the tire, and allow tire to rest on Rollers (Figure 3). This allows the service technician to use both hands to balance the tire while removing lug nuts. The Unit, with tire on board, can then be

2 wheeled out of the way and the lug nuts placed in the handy Storage Bin (Figure 2). The safety strap (Figure 2) secures tire when idle and during transport.
When reinstalling the tire, with the tire on the Unit, the technician wheels the Unit to the vehicle with the Back Side Plate facing the vehicle. The technician then raises or lowers the lift mechanism of the Unit and rotates the tire on the rollers until it meets the wheel hub.
The safety strap is removed, and the tire is manually set into place with ease, and lug nuts are initially hand tightened.
When the tire is secured on the vehicle, the Unit, can be lowered and moved away unrestricted.
The working height on a commercial hoist have many variables:
= changes from different job types (ex. Oil change vs. Brake change) = changes during the course of the job (ex. An oil change where a vehicle is lifted to drain oil and then lowered to fill oil) = dependent on the technician's comfortable work height and the number of technicians working on the same job The Tire Caddy is comprised of the following components as illustrated in Figure 2:
= (1) Back Side Plate: it contains a small lip to prevent the tire from slipping out, while allowing the technician to mount the tire to the wheel hub. The back side plate faces the vehicle during removal or installation of the tire. Also welded to the inside of the back side plate (1) are two L-brackets which attach to the Base Plate (8) of the Tire Caddy = (2) Rollers: this allows the tire to be rotated to the correct position within the Tire Caddy, to align with the hub cap without the need for the technician to raise the tire in midair for alignment.
= (3) Safety bars: Two adjustable safety bars are welded on either end of the Face Side Plate (6) to contain the tire and adjust to the appropriate width of the tire.
= (4) Safety strap: This ensures the tire is secure when idle and during transport = (5) Storage bin: This is a compact storage container to contain the removed lug nuts from the wheel hub = (6) Front Side Plate: This plate prevents the tire from falling forward.
This plate faces the technician during removal and installation of the tire. The storage bin (5) and safety strap (4) are positioned on the Front Side Plate. Also welded to the inside of the front side plate (6) are two L-brackets which attach to the Base Plate (8) of the Tire Caddy

3 = (7) Roller Rod: There are two adjustable rods welded to the bottom of the Face Side Plate (6) and holds the rollers = (8) Base Plate: The base plate conveniently attaches the Front Side Plate and Back Side Plate together with L brackets.
The Unit provides the following benefits when changing tires on a vehicle:
= eliminate trip hazards due to freely laying tires on the shop floor = eliminates the need to upright the tire on the floor before physically picking it up = eliminates the balancing of lug nuts, impact gun, and a loose tire in midair = reduces work related strains and fatigue which can lead to injuries = increases efficiency by reducing strains and fatigue BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a 3-dimensional model of the present invention, Tire Caddy;
Figure 2 is an exploded view of the component of the present invention;
Figure 3 is a front side view of a tire within the Tire Caddy secured by a safety strap; and Figure 4 is a top view of the present invention and illustrates the adjustability of the safety bars and roller rods to conform to the width of the tire.
The above described device is not limited to the exact details of construction and enumeration of parts provided herein. Furthermore, the size, shape and materials of construction of the various components can be varied.

Claims (7)

CLAIM
The following are claimed in the Tire Caddy invention and are defined as follows:

1. An ergonomic design that couples to a lifting device and eliminates the need for the technician to raise the tire during installation, or strain the back when bending to place it on the shop floor.

2. A device that adjusts to various tire width sizes by adjusting the safety bars, roller rods and L brackets on the base plate.

3. Accommodates different tire heights on the set of two rows of rollers spaced to rotate the tire into position to meet the wheel hub. This eliminates the need for a technician to align the tire to the wheel hub in midair while balancing the tire with both hands.

4. Safety bars contain the tire within the Unit and prevent the tire from rolling off.

5. An open surface with a small lip on the back side plate to prevent tire from slipping and allowing technician to mount tire to the wheel with ease. It reduces the height required by the technician to raise or lower the tire.

6. Safety strap retains the tire when idle and during transport

7. A compact storage bin which contains the removed lug nuts from the wheel hub. A
convenient location at the right reachable height of the technician. This allows the technician to mount the tire without having to balance tire and lug nuts with both hands.
It will be apparent to those that modifications may be made thereto which do not exceed the scope of the claims.