GB2240074A

GB2240074A - Protecting vehicle wheels and tyres

Info

Publication number: GB2240074A
Application number: GB9001004A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Maurice Edmondson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1990-01-17
Filing date: 1990-01-17
Publication date: 1991-07-24
Anticipated expiration: 2010-01-17
Also published as: GB9001004D0; GB2240074B

Abstract

A vehicle wheel and tyre are protected during spray painting or the like by removably positioning a circular paper or plastics cover 10 over the tyre of the wheel. The cover comprises an elongate body 11, Fig 1, and has peripheral side walls 12, 13 with side edges 14 extending transversely therefrom, the side edges 14 and walls 12, 13 providing further protection to the side of the wheel and also, if necessary, to the vehicle body. The strip 11 can be attached to the tyre by way of an adhesives material. <IMAGE>

Description

A METHOD OF PROTECTING A WHEEL This invention relates to a method of protecting a wheel, particularly of a vehicle, by forming a protective cover therefor.

When undertaking tasks such as spray-painting the bodywork or wheels of a vehicle, it is usually necessary to protect sensitive areas of a vehicle, such as a tyre for example, which can be particularly susceptible to damage by the paints.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of protecting a wheel comprising forming a shaped strip of material, locating said strip around an outer peripheral surface of said wheel and removably securing said strip thereto thereby to protect the wheel.

With this method it is possible to provide protection for a wheel in a simple and convenient manner.

Preferably said shaped strip is formed by bending an elongate strip to adopt a circular shape for ease of fitting around the wheel. In this case the ends of the strip may have attachment means in order to secure the strip in a circular shape.

The attachment means may comprise an adhesives material or the like.

Alternatively the strip may be preformed in a onepiece circular form.

Said strip may be removably secured to the wheel by way of an adhesives material, which adhesives material may be provided in the form of an adhesives layer extending substantially along the entire length of one surface of the strip. The adhesives layer may cover the entire surface or alternatively only a minor part thereof. In a particularly preferred embodiment the adhesives material is provided in a thin strip extending along an axis of the strip.

The strip may be adapted to locate over substantially the whole wheel or alternatively over only a part thereof. The latter may be the case where the wheel further comprises a tyre attached to said outer peripheral surface, the strip then being adapted to locate solely over the tyre.

The strip may be formed from a paper or a plastics material or any other material that is inexpensive such that the strip is readily disposable subsequent to use.

The strip may be formed from an extensible material whereby it can be adapted to fit a range of different wheel sizes.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a protective cover for a wheel comprising a strip adapted to removably locate over an outer peripheral surface of a wheel thereby to extend over and afford protection to at least substantially the whole of said outer surface.

Preferably the strip has side walls at each side thereof, which side walls, in use, project down over the wheel to afford further protection thereto. The strip may further comprise side edges which project transversely from the side walls and which assist in providing further protection, not only to the wheel but also to the vehicle body.

The second aspect of the invention may have some or all the features of the first aspect.

It is envisaged that the strips formed in accordance with the invention will be supplied in packs of four, one for each wheel of a conventional vehicle.

The invention will now be described further by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: Fig. 1 shows a side view of one form of cover according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the cover; and Fig. 3 shows the cover of Fig. 1 in position fitted to a wheel.

Referring now to the Figures, there is shown in Fig.

1 a protective cover 10 for removable attachment to a wheel in order to protect vulnerable areas thereof during painting or other like work.

The cover 10 is formed from a paper material and is generally circular in shape.

The cover 10 comprises an elongate body part 11 having transversely projecting side walls 12, 13 along opposite sides thereof, as shown more clearly in Fig. 2.

Protective lips 14 extend around substantially the whole circumferential periphery of the cover 10 and project normally from each side wall 12, 13. The distance of projection of the lips 14 from the side walls 12, 13 can be varied, along with the configuration thereof, as appropriate or as desired. Thus the lips 14 can be curved upwardly or downwardly and can project by a greater or lesser distance than that shown in Fig. 2.

The radially innermost edge 16, 17 of each side wall 12, 13 may be adapted for engagement with a part of the wheel for example by the provision of an elastic material or similar material.

In use, as shown in Fig. 3, the cover 10 is positioned over the wheel 18 and the edges 16, 17 of the side walls 12, 13 engage the rim 19 of the tyre thereby removably retaining the cover in position. Thus it can be seen that the cover 10 can be readily and conveniently fixed onto and removed from the wheel 18 in a particularly simple manner. Furthermore the cover 10 can be used as an inexpensive disposable cover, or if desired the cover 10 can be constructed from a more durable material such as a plastics material and thus it is possible for the cover 10 to be re-used.

With this arrangement it can be seen that sensitive or vulnerable parts of the vehicle and/or wheel can be readily protected in a simple and convenient manner.

It is of course to be understood that the invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above embodiment which are described by way of example only.

Claims

1. A method of protecting a wheel comprising forming a shaped strip of material, locating said strip around an outer peripheral surface of said wheel and removably securing said strip thereto thereby to protect the wheel.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said shaped strip is formed by bending an elongate strip to adopt a circular shape for ease of fitting around the wheel.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein ends of said elongate strip have attachment means provided thereon in order to secure the strip in a circular shape.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein said attachment means comprise an adhesives material.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein said shaped strip is preformed in a one-piece circular form.

6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said strip is removably secured to the wheel by way of an adhesives material.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein said adhesives material is provided in the form of an adhesives layer extending substantially along the entire length of one surface of the strip.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein said adhesive layer covers a minor part of said surface.

9. A method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein said adhesives material is provided in a thin strip extending along an axis of the shaped strip.

10. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein said strip is adapted to locate over only a part of said wheel.

11. A method according to claim 10, wherein said wheel comprises a tyre attached to an outer peripheral surface thereof and said strip is adapted to locate solely over said tyre.

12. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein said strip is formed from paper.

13. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein said strip is formed from a plastics.

14. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein said strip is formed from an extensible material whereby it can be adapted to fit a range of different wheel sizes.

15. A protective cover for a wheel comprising a strip adapted to removably locate over an outer peripheral surface of a wheel thereby to extend over and afford protection to at least substantially the whole of said outer surface.

16. A cover according to claim 15, wherein said strip has side walls at each side thereof, which side walls, in use, project down over the wheel to afford further protection thereto.

17. A cover according to claim 16, wherein said strip further comprises side edges which project transversely from the side walls and which assist in providing further protection, not only to the wheel but also to the vehicle body.

18. A method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

19. A protective cover substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.