GB2285613A

GB2285613A - A wheel clamp

Info

Publication number: GB2285613A
Application number: GB9500933A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Philip Denman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1994-01-18
Filing date: 1995-01-18
Publication date: 1995-07-19
Anticipated expiration: 2015-01-18
Also published as: GB2285613B; GB9500933D0; GB9400860D0

Abstract

A wheel clamp for clamping a tyred vehicle wheel 8 comprising a mounting frame 1, first and second arms 2, 3 connected to the frame for movement between an operative condition in which said arms are arranged at an angle to one another and each engages abutment means of the frame and receives respective portions of the periphery of a tyre and an inoperative condition in which the arms do not receive said tyre portions; the clamp further comprising an adjustable arm 4 for receiving a different portion of the periphery of the tyre, the adjustable arm being releasably attachable to the frame; and locking means releasably attachable to the frame to prevent release of the adjustable arm attachment to the frame; the arms being dimensioned such that a least one arm engages the ground or body of the vehicle on rotation of the clamped wheel. <IMAGE>

Description

A WHEEL CLAMP The present invention relates to a wheel clamp. Wheel clamps which are attachable to the tyre of a wheel are relatively cumbersome and awkward to use.

An object of the present invention is to provide a wheel clamp that can easily be adjusted to fit a range of wheel/tyre sizes.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a wheel clamp for clamping a tyred vehicle wheel comprising a mounting frame, first and second arms connected to the frame for movement between an operative condition, in which said arms are arranged at an angle to one another and each engages abutment means of the frame and receives respective portions of the periphery of a tyre, and an inoperative condition in which the arms do not receive said tyre portions; the clamp further comprising an adjustable arm for receiving a different portion of the periphery of the tyre, the adjustable arm being releasably attachable to the frame; and locking means releasably attachable to the frame to prevent release of the adjustable arm attachment to the frame; the arms being dimensioned such that a least one arm engages the ground or body of the vehicle on rotation of the clamped wheel.

Preferably the means for achieving releasable attachment of the mounting frame and adjustable arm comprises a plurality of apertures arranged along a portion of the adjustable arm that in use can be fitted over boss means on the mounting frame.

The above arrangement provides a simple and rapid means of releasably attaching the adjustable arm to the frame. The distance between the mounting frame and the part of the adjustable arm that receives a portion of the periphery of the tyre can be varied to fit the clamp to wheels of different widths by selecting an appropriate aperture to be fitted over the boss means.

Preferably the locking means is in the form of a cover that is releasably attachable to the mounting frame. The cover is preferably releasably attached to the mounting frame by a threaded bolt.

Preferably the cover is releasably attachable to the adjustable arm.

Conveniently, such attachment is achieved by means of a locking pin or shaft on the cover which can be extended through substantially aligned apertures provided in the adjustable arm and mounting frame. This serves to prevent release of the adjustable arm attachment to the mounting frame.

Advantageously, the first and second arms are substantially parallel in the inoperative condition to make the wheel clamp more compact than in the operative condition. Such an arrangement makes this embodiment of a wheel clamp of the invention very compact and makes it convenient to store and transport. In a further aspect the invention provides a method claim 8.

A wheel clamp embodying the present invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front view of a portion of a wheel clamp in an operative condition; Figure 2 is a front view showing assembly of the wheel clamp of Figure 1 on a tyred wheel; Figure 3 is a side view of a wheel clamp of Figure 1 with the wheel omitted for greater clarity; Figure 4 is a side view showing the features of a locking cover to be attached to the wheel clamp of Figure 1; and Figure 5 shows movement of the arms of the wheel clamp into a compact inoperative condition.

As shown in the figures, a preferred wheel clamp of the invention comprises a metallic mounting frame 1 in the form of a plate; first and second arms 2,3 pivotally connected to the frame; an adjustable arm 4; and a locking cover 5.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the first and second arms each have generally U-shaped ends 6, 7 adapted to receive a portion of the periphery of a wheel tyre 8.

With reference to Figure 5, it can be seen that the first and second arms can be pivoted to engage an abutment 9 of the mounting frame in the form of a flange in the operative condition of the wheel clamp. In this condition the first and second arms are arranged at an angle to one another as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

The adjustable arm 4 includes a generally U-shaped part 11 that can receive a portion of the periphery of a tyre and a distal part 12 that includes a plurality of apertures 13. An aperture 13 can be fitted over a threaded boss 10 shaped to have an enlarged head and provided on the mounting frame to releasably attach the arm and frame together. By selecting an aperture a user can adjust the distance between the part 11 for receiving the periphery of the tyre and the mounting frame 1 and thereby fit the clamp to wheels of varying widths.

The wheel clamp further comprises an adjustable locking cover 5 that includes a threaded bolt 14 which can be screwed into the threaded boss.

The threaded bolt 14 preferably includes a lock (not shown) so that the bolt cannot be removed without first removing the lock.

The locking cover also includes a locking pin 16 that extends through aligned apertures 17, 18 in the adjustable arm 4 and mounting frame 1 respectively, and thereby prevents release of the attachment of the aperture 13 over the boss 10.

In use, the adjustable arm 4 is fitted over the periphery of a tyre and releasably attached to the mounting frame by fitting a selected aperture 13 over the boss 10 as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

This action adjusts the clamp to fit it to the particular width of the tyred wheel.

The first 2 and second 3 arms are moved into the operative condition in which they are at an angle to one another and engage the abutment 9 of the frame 1.

The adjustable locking cover 5 is then fitted to the rest of the clamp apparatus by screwing the threaded bolt 14 in the threaded boss 10 and a lock is applied to the bolt 14. This action extends the locking pin 16 through aligned apertures 17, 18 in the adjustable arm 4 and mounting frame 1 and prevents release of the adjustable arm from the boss 10.

The above action acts to pull the locking cover towards the wheel and pull the tyre receiving portions of the arms towards the rear of the wheel and thereby fit the clamp to the particular diameter of the wheel.

The arms of the clamp are dimensioned so that at least one engages the ground or the body of the vehicle on rotation of the clamped wheel.

It will be appreciated that the preferred wheel clamp of the invention is mountable entirely from the front of a wheel in a simple operation. The relatively simple construction of the clamp renders it inexpensive to manufacture, and yet it is reliable in operation and affords maximum security.

A further advantage of the preferred wheel clamp is that the first and second arms can be pivoted as shown in Figure 5 into an inoperative condition in which they lie substantially parallel to one another. In this condition the wheel clamp is compact and convenient for storage or transport.

Claims

1. A wheel clamp for clamping a tyred vehicle wheel comprising a mounting frame first and second arms connected to the frame, for movement between an operative condition in which said arms are arranged at an angle to one another and each engages abutment means of the frame and receives respective portions of the periphery of a tyre and an inoperative condition in which the arms do not receive said tyre portions; the clamp further comprising an adjustable arm for receiving a different portion of the periphery of the tyre, the adjustable arm being releasably attachable to the frame; and locking means releasably attachable to the frame to prevent release of the adjustable arm attachment to the frame; the arms being dimensioned such that a least one arm engages the ground or body of the vehicle on rotation of the clamped wheel.

2. A wheel clamp as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for achieving releasable attachment of the mounting frame and adjustable arm comprises a plurality of apertures arranged along a portion of the adjustable arm that in use can be fitted over boss means on the mounting frame.

3. A wheel clamp as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking means is in the form of a cover that is releasably attachable to the mounting frame.

4. A wheel clamp as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the locking means is releasably attachable to the adjustable arm.

5. A wheel clamp as claimed in claim 3, wherein the locking means is releasably attachable to the frame by bolt means.

6. A wheel clamp as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the locking means includes a locking pin extendable through substantially aligned apertures provided in the adjustable arm and frame to prevent release of the adjustable arm attachment to the frame.

7. A wheel clamp as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the first and second arms are substantially parallel in the inoperative condition to make the wheel clamp more compact than in its operative condition.

8. A method of clamping a tyred vehicle wheel comprising the steps of: i) arranging first and second arms connected to a mounting frame around the tyre; ii) fitting an adjustable arm over a portion of the periphery of the tyre and releasably attaching the adjustable arm to the mounting frame so that the arms each receive a different portion of the periphery of the tyre and the first and second arms are arranged at an angle to one another and each engages abutment means of the frame; and iii) releasably attaching locking means to the frame to prevent release of the adjustable arm attachment to the frame; whereby at least'one of the arms is dimensioned to engage the ground or the body of the vehicle on rotation of the clamped wheel.

9. A wheel clamp substantially as described herein with reference to one or more of the accompanying figures.

10. A method of clamping a tyred vehicle wheel substantially as described herein with reference to one or more of the accompanying figures.