GB2266281A

GB2266281A - Wheel changing trolley.

Info

Publication number: GB2266281A
Application number: GB9208902A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Eamonn John Hurson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1992-04-24
Filing date: 1992-04-24
Publication date: 1993-10-27
Also published as: GB9208902D0

Abstract

A vehicle wheel changing trolley comprises a tubular steel U-shaped frame 1 which is carried on a shaft or handle 3, has castors 2 on the ends of the frame and contains a steel roller 6 in a housing 7 at the mid-point of each limb of the frame. The castors 2 enable the trolley to be moved towards the tyre and the handle or shaft 3 enables the rollers 6 to be brought up into contact with the tyre. The wheel and tyre can be rotated on the steel rollers 6 so as to align the wheel holes with the hub studs of a vehicle. The steel rollers in their housings can rotate the plane of the wheel, in both directions, across the vertical so that the holes engage the tips of the studs before forward movement into the studs. <IMAGE>

Description

VEHICLE WHEEL CHANGING TROLLEY This invention relates to a stowaway trolley which can be used in wheel changing operations to both hold and remove the wheel with its punctured tyre and to reposition a new or spare wheel and tyre.

After a vehicle has been elevated by jacking at the position occupied by the punctured tyre it is relatively easy to pull off the wheel,after the retaining nuts have been removed,but it can be an awkward job to reposition or align the spare wheel so as to immediately accept the studs of the shaft drum. This can be a laborious task when the vehicle is a heavy lorry where the spare wheel is heavy and in the case of a car it is usually difficult for a female to handle. There is a need for a relatively lightweight device which can accept and withdraw a wheel from its studs on the shaft drum of a vehicle and at the same time to allow the new wheel to be pushed into position and then rotatably aligned to engage the studs.

It is also important that such a device should be capable of being stowed away with the tools of the vehicle. These requirements are satisfied with the invention to be described herein.

According to the present invention there is provided a vehicle wheel changing trolley comprising a tubular steel U-shaped frame which is carried on a shaft or handle and where the ends of the U-tube carry castors and the mid-points of the limbs of the U-tube carry steel rollers for the purpose of tyre engagement and wheel rotation.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing inwhich; Figure 1 shows a plan view of the trolley with its handle and castors resting on the ground.

Referring to the drawing the vehicle wheel changing trolley comprises a frame 1 which can be moved on castors 2 and guided into or out of position by means of a handle 3 which is detachable at the threaded or socket joint 4. Positioned near the mid-pints of each limb of the trolley frame is a set of brackets 5 which tarry steel rollers 6 on a axel frame 7. This trolley is used after the vehicle has been elevated by jacking at the corner where the tyre is punctured and the wheel requires changing. The hub cap and retaining nuts are removed and the trolley is then wheeled into position so that the handle is at right angles to the plane of the wheel and the rollers 6 lie below the wearing tread of the tyre.At this point the handle is lifted in a lever action and the trolley is tilted upwards so that the roller 6 come into contact with the tyre and compresses it slightly.

If now the trolley is withdrawn it will be found that the wheel will be removed so long as upward pressure is still maintained on the handle. When the new wheel or spare is to be fitted the trolley is pushed towards it,whilst it is in the upward position on the ground, and the lifting of the handle now elevates the wheel off the ground and allows it to be moved into position facing the studs in the hub. The brackets 5 have been designed so that they can rotate on the trolley limbs to an extent of about 100 in either direction and this movement is sufficient to allow the held wheel to tilt in either direction so that when rotated on the rollers 6 into alignment with the hub studs the wheel can now be directly and immediately pushed into a position of engagement on the castors 2. With the wheel fully home on the drum studs the nuts can be replaced and the trolley withdrawn by simply bringing its handle back to near the horizontal so that the steel rollers 6 are withdrawn from the tyre tread. The jack can then be removed and the nuts tightened in sequence.

In practice it has been found that the trolley stows easily away in the boot war trunk of the car and that it can be assembled and used without undue requirement of strength and as a consequence is ideal when the wheel has to be changed by a female. It has also been used successfully in wheel changing on heavy goods vehicles.

Claims

1. A vehicle wheel changing trolley comprising a tubular steel U-shaped frame which is carried on a shaft or handle and where the ends of the U-tube limbs carry castors and the mid-points of each limb carries steel rollers for the purpose of tyre engagement and wheel rotation.

2. A vehicle wheel changing trolley as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the steel rollers at the mid-point of each limb can rotate not only on their own axels but their axel units can also rotate within their bracket housings.

3. A vehicle wheel changing trolley as'cla=ned in any of the above Claims wherein the axel units in their bracket housings can rotate in either direction to the extent of at least 100.

4. A vehicle wheel changing trolley according to Claim 1 wherein the shaft or handle is removably attached to the U-shaped frame for easy disconnection and stowage.

5. A vehicle wheel changing trolley according to any of the above Claims with reference to the details of the drawing.