TIRE REPAIR DEVICE FOR ATTACHMENT TO A VEHICLE WHEEL

Description

[0001] The invention relates to the field of tire repair devices for motor vehicle wheels. It used to be common practice to equip motor vehicles with a spare wheel. Such a spare wheel allows continued driving in the event of a flat tire by replacing the defective vehicle wheel with the spare wheel carried on board. However, replacing a vehicle wheel damaged by a flat tire requires raising the vehicle using a jack, removing the defective vehicle wheel from the vehicle, then installing the spare wheel, and finally stowing the defective vehicle wheel in the vehicle.

[0002] To reduce this effort and also for weight savings, motor vehicles have recently been increasingly equipped with a tire repair device instead of a spare tire. Such a tire repair device, also known in professional circles as a "Tirefit," is usually located beneath the trunk floor of a vehicle and includes a sealant container containing a liquid tire sealant and an electrically driven air compressor. In the event of a flat tire, such a usually box-shaped tire repair device is removed from the vehicle trunk and placed next to the defective vehicle wheel. A connecting hose from the tire repair device is then connected to the tire valve of the defective vehicle wheel.Finally, a plug of the tire repair device's power cable is plugged into a vehicle-mounted power outlet, which could be, for example, the vehicle's cigarette lighter socket. The tire repair device is then switched on, causing the air compressor to pump the tire sealant into the defective tire and repressurize the tire so that the journey can continue. However, before doing so, the tire repair device must be disconnected from the repaired vehicle wheel and stowed in the vehicle.

[0003] From DE 10 2021 101463 A1 a tire repair device with the features specified in the preamble of patent claim 1 is known.

[0004] The object of the invention is to provide a tire repair device which is improved over the "Tirefit" type tire repair devices and which is even simpler and more foolproof to use in the event of a tire puncture.

[0005] This object is achieved according to the invention by a tire repair device having the features specified in claim 1. In contrast to the known "Tirefit"-type tire repair devices, the tire repair device according to the invention is intended for attachment to a vehicle wheel that is secured to a vehicle with wheel nuts or wheel bolts. The latter applies to the vast majority of all motor vehicles. Typically, four or five wheel nuts or wheel bolts are used to secure a vehicle wheel to the vehicle. Such wheel nuts or wheel bolts are made of steel and are accessible from the outside of a vehicle wheel to enable the vehicle wheel to be mounted on and removed from the vehicle. The tire repair device according to the invention has a support element that can be at least approximately plate-shaped and to which a central axis and a circumferential direction are assigned.When a tire repair device is attached to a vehicle wheel, the center axis of the support element preferably represents an extension of the center axis of the vehicle wheel. When a tire repair device is attached to a vehicle wheel, the circumferential direction of the support element corresponds to the circumferential direction of the vehicle wheel. The support element has a side facing the wheel and a side facing away from the wheel, each relative to a state of the tire repair device when attached to a vehicle wheel. The support element can, for example, be a sheet steel component produced by a punching and / or pressing and / or deep-drawing process. The outer shape of the support element is preferably at least approximately circular and substantially flat so that the support element can fit easily into the space available in the center of a vehicle wheel.

[0006] The support element, which can also be referred to as a structural component, serves as the load-bearing component of the tire repair device. A compressor is attached to the support element, which serves to draw in air in a known manner and pressurize it in order to use the pressurized air to convey a tire sealant into a defective vehicle tire and to build up pressure in the vehicle tire. The compressor can be of any type suitable for the stated purpose. In embodiments of the tire repair device according to the invention, the compressor is a piston compressor, preferably a piston compressor with a double-acting piston.

[0007] A drive device for the compressor is operatively connected to the compressor. The compressor drive device can also be of any type suitable for the stated purpose. For example, the compressor drive device can be a hydraulically or pneumatically driven motor. In preferred embodiments of the tire repair device according to the invention, the compressor drive device is an electric motor.

[0008] The tire repair device according to the invention further comprises a sealant container for holding a tire sealant, which is fluidly connected to the compressor. Furthermore, the tire repair device comprises a connecting line designed to be fluidly connected to the sealant container and a tire to be repaired. This connecting line can be a separate part or can already be connected to the tire repair device at one end and then, in the event of a flat tire, only needs to be connected to the tire to be repaired, usually by connecting the connecting line to the tire valve of the defective vehicle wheel. The connecting line can contain a check valve to prevent air from flowing from the tire into the tire repair device.Such a check valve also prevents air and sealant from escaping from a tire repaired using the tire repair device if the connecting line should become detached from the tire repair device, for example while driving after a tire repair.

[0009] For easy attachment to a vehicle wheel, the tire repair device according to the invention comprises a plurality of sleeve-shaped retaining elements, each having a fastening end and a free end. The sleeve-shaped retaining elements are connected to the carrier element at their fastening end and each extend from the wheel-facing side of the carrier element along a longitudinal axis parallel to the central axis to their free end. The sleeve-shaped retaining elements are spaced apart from one another in the circumferential direction of the carrier element, wherein the positions of the sleeve-shaped retaining elements correspond at least approximately to the positions of wheel nuts or wheel bolts with which a vehicle wheel to be repaired is fastened to a vehicle.The number of sleeve-shaped retaining elements preferably corresponds to the number of wheel nuts or wheel bolts with which the vehicle wheel is secured to the vehicle. However, particularly if a vehicle wheel is secured with many wheel nuts or wheel bolts, fewer retaining elements than wheel nuts or wheel bolts may be provided. For example, three sleeve-shaped retaining elements may be sufficient to securely attach a tire repair device according to the invention to a vehicle wheel.

[0010] An end section of each sleeve-shaped retaining element adjacent to the free end is designed to engage in a retaining manner with a head of a wheel nut or wheel bolt. "Retaining engagement" here means that the sleeve-shaped retaining elements of a tire repair device according to the invention are placed onto the corresponding heads of the wheel nuts or wheel bolts of the vehicle wheel to be repaired and then automatically hold the tire repair device firmly to the vehicle wheel. "Corresponding at least approximately to the positions of wheel nuts or wheel bolts" means that the sleeve-shaped retaining elements are provided with a play in the lateral direction, i.e.radially with respect to their longitudinal axis, on the support element, wherein this lateral play enables a sleeve-shaped retaining element to automatically center itself on the associated wheel nut or wheel bolt when it is fitted onto this wheel nut or wheel bolt. Embodiments of the tire repair device according to the invention in which some or all sleeve-shaped retaining elements are mounted with lateral play can be mounted on various types of vehicle wheels because the sleeve-shaped retaining elements can adjust to different bolt circles and screw positions within the scope of their lateral play.If a tire repair device is only intended for a specific vehicle where the positions of the wheel nuts or wheel bolts are precisely known, the sleeve-shaped mounting elements can also be mounted exactly in the positions that correspond to the positions of the wheel nuts or wheel bolts without any lateral play.

[0011] A tire repair device according to the invention can be quickly and easily attached to a vehicle wheel to be repaired without first having to remove any parts, such as a wheel hub cover. Attaching a tire repair device according to the invention to the vehicle wheel is done simply by sliding its sleeve-shaped mounting elements onto the associated heads of wheel nuts or wheel bolts with which the vehicle wheel is attached to the vehicle. All that then remains is to connect the connecting line to the vehicle wheel to be repaired, for example by screwing a free end of the connecting line onto the tire valve of the vehicle wheel. If necessary, the other end of the connecting line must also be connected to the tire repair device (if this other end is not already firmly connected to the tire repair device).After using the tire repair device according to the invention, it can remain on the vehicle wheel while driving on, since it is securely held on the vehicle wheel by the sleeve-shaped holding elements.

[0012] To facilitate fitting the tire repair device according to the invention onto a vehicle wheel, in preferred embodiments the free end of each sleeve-shaped holding element is provided with a funnel-shaped extension. Preferably, each sleeve-shaped holding element is rotatably mounted about its longitudinal axis. This makes it even easier for the sleeve-shaped holding element to center itself on the associated wheel nut or wheel bolt. According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the funnel-shaped extension of each sleeve-shaped holding element has helical segment-shaped guide surfaces on its inner side which, upon contact with a head of the associated wheel nut or wheel bolt, center the sleeve-shaped holding element on this head through a corresponding rotation triggered by the contact between the helical segment-shaped guide surfaces and the head.The end section adjacent to the free end of each sleeve-shaped retaining element can have an inner cross-sectional shape that corresponds to the outer cross-sectional shape of the head of the wheel nut or wheel bolt. Wheel nut or wheel bolt heads typically have a hexagonal outer cross-section, so the inner cross-section of the end section of each sleeve-shaped retaining element can then also be hexagonal. Such a corresponding cross-sectional design of the end section of each sleeve-shaped retaining element improves the mechanical engagement of the end section with the associated head of a wheel nut or wheel bolt.

[0013] The end portion of each sleeve-shaped retaining element can engage the head of a wheel nut or wheel bolt in a variety of ways. For example, the end portion can be provided on its inner side with a series of longitudinally successive locking projections which, when the sleeve-shaped retaining element is pushed onto the head of a wheel nut or wheel bolt, engage with said head in a locking or clamping manner. According to one embodiment, a spring washer, often also referred to as a snap ring, is attached and held in the end portion of the sleeve-shaped retaining element. The inner diameter of this spring or snap ring is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the head of a wheel nut or wheel bolt with which the end portion of the sleeve-shaped retaining element is intended to engage.When the end section is pushed onto the head of the wheel nut or wheel bolt, the spring washer expands and can then engage in locking recesses on the peripheral surfaces of the wheel nut or wheel bolt head. This securely holds the tire repair tool to the vehicle wheel.

[0014] In other embodiments of a tire repair device according to the invention, which can also be combined with the aforementioned embodiment, a magnet is attached to the end portion of each sleeve-shaped support element, which magnet can adhere to the head of a wheel nut or wheel bolt through magnetic interaction. Preferably, the magnet is spring-mounted in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the sleeve-shaped support element and spring-loaded toward the free end of the sleeve-shaped support element. Particularly preferably, the magnet is displaceable in the end portion of the sleeve-shaped support element, counter to the spring-loaded preload, into a plurality of successive locking positions along the longitudinal axis.When sliding the sleeve-shaped retaining elements of a tire repair device according to the invention onto the corresponding heads of wheel nuts or wheel bolts, a user thus receives haptic feedback of the insertion process, which can be used to signal correct insertion. For example, a user can be instructed to slide the tire repair device onto the heads of the wheel nuts or wheel bolts until they hear three consecutive clicks. The locking positions also prevent the magnet in the end section of the sleeve-shaped retaining element from accidentally shifting into the sleeve-shaped retaining element against the spring preload.

[0015] The magnet mounted in the end section of each sleeve-shaped mounting element is preferably disc- or cylindrical-shaped. Its outer shape can be circular or can correspond to the outer shape of the head of the wheel nut or wheel bolt. The outer shape of the magnet can therefore be hexagonal, for example.

[0016] To enhance the magnetic effect, each magnet can be housed in a field line focusing component, which ensures that the magnetic field lines of the magnet are concentrated on the associated head of a wheel nut or wheel bolt, thus increasing the magnetic interaction and thus the holding force.

[0017] In conventional "Tirefit"-type tire repair devices, the tire sealant is a single liquid. However, such a tire sealant has a limited lifespan and thus a correspondingly limited period of use. To overcome this disadvantage, in preferred embodiments of the tire repair device according to the invention, the sealant container has two separate chambers for two components of a tire sealant and a mixing chamber for mixing these two components. Due to the separate storage of two components of a tire sealant thus enabled, aging of the tire sealant no longer occurs or occurs only extremely slowly, which is why a tire repair device equipped in this way can be used for a much longer period of time.Only when the tire repair device is used are the two components pumped from the two separate chambers into the mixing chamber by means of the compressor, mixed there, and then fed into the tire to be repaired. This mixing chamber is preferably located immediately upstream of a connection for the connecting line. The mixed tire sealant is then fed through the connecting line into the tire to be repaired. If the tire sealant used requires it, more than two chambers for components of a tire sealant can be present in the sealant container. It is also possible to provide only a single chamber for the tire sealant in the sealant container if the tire sealant used only contains one component. A mixing chamber for mixing multiple components of the tire sealant can then be omitted.

[0018] In advantageously designed embodiments of the tire repair device according to the invention, the sealant container forms a housing of the tire repair device that covers the support element and the compressor. Since the tire repair device according to the invention is attached to the wheel nuts or wheel bolts of the vehicle wheel to be repaired, it is advisable to design the support element with an at least approximately round outer circumference. A sealant container designed as a housing then preferably also has a round outer shape and is also flattened in order to protrude as little as possible from the vehicle wheel in the axial direction.

[0019] To ensure that a tire repair device according to the invention can be put into operation as quickly and easily as possible, the tire repair device preferably comprises an energy storage device for operating the compressor drive device, which energy storage device is operatively connected to the compressor drive device. Such an energy storage device can be, for example, a compressed air tank if the drive device is a pneumatically operated motor. However, the energy storage device is preferably designed as a battery or a plurality of batteries, wherein the electrical energy stored in the battery or batteries serves to drive an electric motor that forms the drive device for the compressor. The battery or the plurality of batteries can be rechargeable or non-rechargeable batteries.Alternatively or additionally, the tire repair device according to the invention can have a connection that allows it to be supplied with energy (in particular electricity) from outside. For example, the tire repair device can have a socket that can be connected via a power cable to, for example, a cigarette lighter in the vehicle or to a power bank, thus enabling the tire repair device to be operated with external energy.

[0020] To prevent a tire repair device according to the invention from being activated unintentionally or at an inopportune time, in preferred embodiments of the tire repair device, the connecting line has a monitoring switch at an end to be connected to the tire to be repaired, which only enables operation of the drive device when the end of the connecting line to be connected to the tire to be repaired is actually connected to the tire. For example, this monitoring switch can be a microswitch that is actuated when the free end of the connecting line is screwed onto the tire valve of the vehicle wheel to be repaired, thereby signaling to a control device of the tire repair device that the connecting line is correctly connected to the vehicle wheel to be repaired. The tire repair device can then be activated or activates automatically.

[0021] It has already been mentioned that the drive device of a tire repair device according to the invention is preferably an electric motor. For space-saving and protected installation, such an electric motor is arranged in preferred embodiments in a plate-shaped recess on the wheel-facing side of the support element. This recess is preferably located in a center of the support element and thus also in the center of the vehicle wheel to be repaired.

[0022] Embodiments of a tire repair device according to the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the attached schematic figures. They show: Figure 1 shows a spatial view of a vehicle wheel rim with a tire repair device according to the invention mounted thereon, Figure 2 shows an enlarged view of area II from Figure 1 , Figure 3 a cross section through the Figure 1illustrated tire repair device and adjacent areas of the vehicle wheel rim, Figure 4 a spatial cross-sectional view of a slightly modified embodiment of the in Figure 3 shown tire repair device, Figure 5 a further spatial view of the in Figure 4 shown tire repair device from above, cut in a plane perpendicular to the Figure 4 shown central axis A, Figure 6 a sectional, spatial representation of the left part of the Figure 4 shown tire repair device from below, Figure 7, one of the Figure 1 similar spatial representation of a tire repair device attached to the vehicle wheel rim with the housing removed, Figure 8a a sectional, spatial representation of a further embodiment of a tire repair device according to the invention, and Figure 8b a spatial representation of the head of a wheel bolt which is designed for use with the tire repair device shown in Figure 8ashown embodiment is modified.

[0023] In Figure 1 A vehicle wheel is shown in a three-dimensional representation, whereby for the sake of simplicity one tire of the vehicle wheel has been omitted, so that in Figure 1 Only one vehicle wheel rim 2 is visible. The vehicle wheel is attached to a vehicle by means of wheel nuts or wheel bolts, although this vehicle is not shown for the sake of simplicity. Attached to an outer side of the vehicle wheel rim 2 is a tire repair device, generally designated 10, whose construction and attachment to the vehicle wheel are explained in more detail below.

[0024] The tire repair device 10 contains, similar to the known tire repair devices of the "Tirefit" type, a tire sealant that can be fed through a connecting line 12 into a tire to be repaired. Figure 2It is shown how a tire-side, free end of the connecting line 12 can be connected to a tire to be repaired (not shown). In the illustrated embodiment, the tire-side end of the connecting line 12 is connected to the tire by screwing it onto a tire valve 14, wherein the tire valve 14 is fastened in the vehicle wheel rim 2 near an outer peripheral edge, as is usual with tubeless tires.

[0025] The structural design of the tire repair device 10 will now be described with reference to the Figures 3 to 5 explained in more detail. The tire repair device 10 has as a supporting component a substantially plate-shaped carrier element 16, which has a side 18 facing the wheel and a side 20 facing away from the wheel (see in particular Figure 4). The support element 16 is made of sheet steel here, but can also be made of a plastic, in particular a fiber-reinforced plastic or another suitable material. On the side 20 of the support element 16 facing away from the wheel, a compressor 22 for generating compressed air is attached in a central region thereof. In the exemplary embodiments shown, an electric motor 24 serves to drive the compressor 22. This electric motor is received on the side 18 of the support element 16 facing the wheel in a plate-shaped recess 26 formed in a central region of the support element 16. The electric motor 24 has an output shaft 32 which is rotatably mounted in two bearings 28, 30, which passes through the support element 16 and is connected to an eccentric cam 34 at its end facing the compressor 22.The eccentric cam 34 interacts with a piston 36 of the compressor 22 by engaging in a suitably designed recess 38 of the piston 36 and, as the output shaft 32 rotates, moving the piston 36 back and forth within the compressor 22. In the embodiments shown here, the piston 36 is a so-called double-acting piston, meaning each stroke of the piston 36 is a working stroke, with which compressed air is generated. This can be implemented particularly well in... Figure 5 in which the compressor 22 is shown in longitudinal section.

[0026] With reference to in particular Figure 5The basic function of a tire repair device 10 will now be described in more detail. Two pressure chambers 40, 42 are formed in the compressor 22, in which compressed air can be generated by the reciprocating movement of the piston 36. Each pressure chamber 40, 42 is provided with a valve 44, 46, through which air is sucked into the respective pressure chamber 40 or 42 during the suction stroke of the piston 36, and through which compressed air generated during the pressure stroke of the piston 36 is discharged from the pressure chamber 40 or 42 into a pressure line 48 or 50, respectively, which connect the compressor 22, more precisely its pressure chambers 40 and 42, to pressure supply valves 52 and 54, which are assigned to a first chamber 56 and a second chamber 58 of a sealant container 60. Both the valves 44 and 46 and the pressure supply valves 52 and 54 can be designed as simple check valves.

[0027] The sealant container 60 serves to hold a tire sealant (not shown) which, in the event of a tire puncture (tire losing air or being flat), is pumped from the sealant container 60 through the connecting line 12 into the tire to be repaired by the compressed air generated by the compressor 22. To prevent premature aging of the tire sealant, this tire sealant consists of two components in the embodiments of the tire repair device 10 shown here, one of which is stored in the first chamber 56 and the other component in the second chamber 58 of the sealant container 60.When the tire repair device 10 is in use, the two components of the tire sealant are forced through outlets 62 and 64 into a mixing chamber 66 by the compressed air generated by the compressor 22 and supplied to the chambers 56, 58 via the pressure supply valves 52 and 54. This mixing chamber 66 is also part of the sealant container 60 and is located directly upstream of a housing-side connection 68 of the connecting line 12. The outlets 62 and 64 can be arranged as shown in FIG. Figure 3 and Figure 4As can be seen, it can be provided with a swirl-forming inner wall 70 to create a swirl flow between the two tire sealant components flowing through the outlets 62, 64, which enables their intimate mixing in the mixing chamber 66 better and faster. From the mixing chamber 66, the intimately mixed tire sealant is then forced through the housing-side connection 68 into the connecting line 12 and through the tire valve 14 into the tire to be repaired. After the tire sealant has been completely forced into the tire to be repaired, the compressor 22 generates further compressed air to inflate the tire and thereby bring it into a drivable condition.

[0028] In the illustrated embodiments, the electric motor 24 is supplied with power by a plurality of batteries 72 arranged on a circular circuit board 74, which is mounted on the side 20 of the support element 60 facing away from the wheel, around the plate-shaped recess 26. The batteries 72 can be rechargeable or non-rechargeable batteries, and of course, fewer or more batteries can be used instead of the number of batteries 72 shown here. An electronic control unit 76, which controls the function of the tire repair device 10, is also arranged on the circuit board 74.To prevent tire sealant from accidentally or prematurely escaping from the connecting line 12, the embodiments shown here are provided with a monitoring switch 78 at the tire-side end of the connecting line 12. This monitoring switch is activated when the tire-side end of the connecting line 12 is screwed onto the tire valve 14, thereby indicating that the tire repair device 10 is correctly connected to a tire to be repaired. The signal from the monitoring switch 78 is transmitted via electrical lines 80, 82 to the control unit 76. Only when the signal from the monitoring switch 78 indicates a correct connection to the tire valve 14 can the compressor 22, and thus the tire repair device 10, be put into operation.This activation can be done manually, for example by a switch to be operated by a user (not shown), or automatically, for example triggered by the signal sent by the monitoring switch 78.

[0029] In the illustrated embodiments, the sealant container 60 forms a housing of the tire repair device 10, in particular covering the support element 16 and the compressor 22. The sealant container 60 here has an at least approximately toroidal shape with a flattened outer surface and is fastened to the compressor 22 by a screw 84. In the illustrated embodiments, the support element 16 has a circular basic shape with a plurality of tab-shaped extensions 86 attached to the outer circumference, the purpose of which will become clear from the following description.

[0030] The attachment of the tire repair device 10 to a vehicle wheel will now be explained. For attachment to a vehicle wheel, the tire repair device 10 is provided with a plurality of sleeve-shaped mounting elements 88 spaced apart from one another in the circumferential direction U, each having a fastening end 90 and a free end 92. Each sleeve-shaped mounting element 88 is connected by its fastening end 90 to the carrier element 16, here by a fastening screw 94 that extends through the associated tab-shaped extension 86 of the carrier element 16. Each sleeve-shaped mounting element 88 extends from the wheel-facing side 18 of the carrier element 16 along a longitudinal axis L parallel to the central axis A to its free end 92.In the illustrated embodiments, each sleeve-shaped holding element 88 is rotatably mounted about its longitudinal axis L in that the fastening screw 94 extending through the associated tab-shaped extension 86 does not clamp the sleeve-shaped holding element 88 against the carrier element 16, but rather, upon tightening, merely comes into contact with and is clamped to an annular collar 96 formed on the fastening end 90 of the holding element 88. Furthermore, in the illustrated embodiments, the diameter of an opening 98 in the tab-shaped extension 86, through which the fastening screw 94 extends, is larger than the outer diameter of the annular collar 96, so that each sleeve-shaped holding element 88 can be displaced radially to the longitudinal axis L. In other words, each sleeve-shaped holding element 88 is received with lateral play in the carrier element 16, more precisely in the associated tab-shaped extension 86 of the carrier element 16.

[0031] As can be seen from the attached figures, the positions of the sleeve-shaped holding elements 88 on the support element 16 thus correspond at least approximately to the positions of wheel nuts or wheel bolts 100 with which the vehicle wheel rim 2 is fastened to the vehicle. To attach the tire repair device 10, the sleeve-shaped holding elements 88 are aligned with the wheel bolts 100 and then placed onto the wheel bolts 100. To simplify this process, in the exemplary embodiments shown, the sleeve-shaped holding elements 88 each have a funnel-shaped extension 102 at their free end 92, which guides a head 104 of each wheel nut or wheel bolt 100 into the sleeve-shaped holding element 88. In order for the tire repair device 10 to be securely fastened to the vehicle wheel orthe vehicle wheel rim 2 remains attached, an end portion 106 of each sleeve-shaped holding element 88 adjacent to the free end 92 is designed to engage in a retaining manner with the associated head 104 of a wheel nut or wheel bolt 100.

[0032] In the embodiments shown here, a disc-shaped magnet 108 is attached to the end section 106, which is attracted to the head 104 of the wheel nut or wheel bolt 100 by its magnetic interaction with the head 104 and thereby generates a holding force. Figure 3 In the embodiment shown, the magnet 108 is accommodated in a cup-shaped magnetic field line focusing component 110 to improve the magnetic interaction with the head 104, which concentrates the magnetic field lines of the magnet 108 onto the head 104.

[0033] In the exemplary embodiments shown here, each magnet 108 is further resiliently mounted in the direction of the longitudinal axis L, with a spring 112 preloading the associated magnet 108 toward the free end 92 of the sleeve-shaped mounting element 88. In order to give the placement of the tire repair device 10 onto the heads 104 of the wheel nuts or wheel bolts 100 a more defined character, in the exemplary embodiments shown, each sleeve-shaped mounting element 88 contains a locking device 114, shown only schematically here, between the fastening end 90 and the magnet 108, which allows each magnet 108 to be moved in a defined manner into a plurality of successive locking positions in the longitudinal axis direction L against the resilient preload generated by the spring 112 when placed on a head 104.For example, an instruction manual for the tire repair device 10 may state that the tire repair device 10 is correctly attached to the vehicle wheel when several consecutive "clicks" are detected, for example, three or four "clicks." The locking device 114 also prevents the magnet 108 from being accidentally pushed into the sleeve-shaped retaining element 88.

[0034] The Figures 4, 5 and 6 The embodiment shown differs from the one in Figure 3 illustrated embodiment in that the funnel-shaped extension 102 at the free end 92 of each sleeve-shaped holding element 88 is provided on its inside with spiral segment-shaped guide surfaces 116 and that the end section 106 is not as in Figure 3is not circularly cylindrical, but has a hexagonal cross-section that corresponds to the cross-section of the head 104 of the wheel nut or wheel bolt 100. The helical segment-shaped guide surfaces 116, upon contact with a head 104, cause, if necessary, a rotation of the sleeve-shaped holding element 88 about its longitudinal axis L until the position of the corners of the hexagonal cross-sections of head 104 and end section 106 coincide, whereupon the end section 106 slides onto the head 104 and the hexagonal magnet 108' comes into contact with the top of the head 104. The magnetic interaction between the magnet 108' and the head 104, and thus the holding force, is optimized in this way.

[0035] In the illustrated embodiments of the tire repair device 10, the number of sleeve-shaped holding elements 88 corresponds to the number of wheel nuts or wheel bolts 100. In embodiments not shown here, the number of sleeve-shaped holding elements 88 is less than the number of wheel nuts or wheel bolts 100. According to an embodiment not shown here, the tire repair device 10 has only three sleeve-shaped holding elements 88, which are spaced apart from one another in the circumferential direction and whose positions correspond to only three of the wheel nuts or wheel bolts 100 of the vehicle wheel.

[0036] Figure 8ashows a further embodiment of a sleeve-shaped holding element 88 of the tire repair device 10, in which the end portion 106 of each sleeve-shaped holding element 88 can engage with a head 104 of a wheel nut or wheel bolt 100 without holding a magnet 108. For this purpose, in the Figure 8aIn the embodiment shown, a snap ring 120 is arranged and held in an annular groove 118 on the inside of the end section 106. Such a snap ring 120, which can also be referred to as a spring ring, is interrupted at one point and springs in the radial direction. The snap ring 120 is placed in the annular groove with preload and is thus firmly held in the annular groove 118. When the sleeve-shaped retaining element 88 is pushed onto the head 104 of a wheel nut or wheel bolt 100, the snap ring 120 is pushed apart slightly and can then slide along a circumferential surface 122 of the head 104. Because the head 104 has a hexagonal cross-section in the embodiment shown, the circumferential surface 122 has six corners 124.

[0037] Figure 8bshows the head 104 of a wheel bolt 100, in which slot-shaped locking recesses 126 are formed in the region of the corners 124 of the circumferential surface 122 of the head 104, said recesses extending in the circumferential direction of the head 104. In the illustrated embodiment, each corner 124 is provided with a single locking recess 126, but several locking recesses 126 spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction L can also be provided per corner 124, resulting in several locking positions (not shown). When the end section 106 of the sleeve-shaped holding element 88 is pushed on, the snap ring 120 engages the locking recesses 126 spaced apart from one another in the circumferential direction, whereby each sleeve-shaped holding element 88 and thus the entire tire repair device 10 is securely held on the vehicle wheel rim 2.

Claims

1. A tire repair device (10) for attachment to a vehicle wheel, which is attached to a vehicle by wheel nuts or wheel bolts (100), comprising: - a carrier element (16), associated with which is a center line (A) and a circumferential direction (U) and which has a side (18) facing the wheel and a side (20) facing away from the wheel; - a compressor (22) attached to the carrier element (16); - a drive mechanism for the compressor (22) which is operationally connected to the compressor (22); - a sealant container (60) for taking up a tire sealant, wherein the compressor (22) is connected in a fluid-conducting manner to the sealant container (60); - a connection line (12), which is configured to be connected in a fluid-conducting manner to the sealant container (60) and to a tire to be repaired; and - a number of mounting elements (88), characterized in that the mounting elements (88) are sleeve-shaped and each have an attachment end (90) and a free end (92), wherein the mounting elements (88) are connected at their attachment end (90) to the carrier element (16) and respectively extend from the side (18) of the carrier element (16) facing the wheel along a longitudinal axis (L) parallel to the center line (A) and are spaced at a distance from one another in the circumferential direction (U), wherein the positions of the sleeve-shaped mounting elements (88) correspond at least approximately to positions of wheel nuts or wheel bolts (100) by means of which the vehicle wheel is attached to the vehicle, and wherein an end section (106) of each sleeve-shaped mounting element (88) adjacent to the free end (92) is configured to retentively engage with a head (104) of a wheel nut or wheel bolt (100).

2. The tire repair device according to Claim 1, wherein the free end (92) of each sleeve-shaped mounting element (88) has a funnel-shaped widening (102).

3. The tire repair device according to Claim 2, wherein each sleeve-shaped mounting element (88) is supported rotatably about its longitudinal axis (L).

4. The tire repair device according to Claim 3, wherein the funnel-shaped widening (102) on its inside has guide surfaces (116) in the form of helical segments, which are adapted to center the sleeve-shaped mounting element (88) on an associated head (104) of a wheel nut or wheel bolt (100).

5. The tire repair device according to any one of the preceding Claims, wherein some or all sleeve-shaped mounting elements (88) are supported displaceably radially to their longitudinal axis (L).

6. The tire repair device according to any one of the preceding Claims, wherein mounted in the end section (106) of each sleeve-shaped mounting element (88) is a magnet (108), which is able to adhere to a head (104) of a wheel nut or wheel bolt (100).

7. The tire repair device according to Claim 6, wherein the magnet (108) is spring-mounted in the direction of the longitudinal axis (L) and is spring-preloaded towards the free end (92) of the sleeve-shaped mounting element (88).

8. The tire repair device according to Claim 7, wherein the magnet (108) in the end section (106) of the sleeve-shaped mounting element (88) is displaceable against the spring preloading into a number of successive locking positions.

9. The tire repair device according to any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the sealant container (60) comprises two separate chambers (56, 58) for two components of a tire sealant and a mixing chamber (66) for mixing the two components.

10. The tire repair device according to Claim 9, wherein the mixing chamber (66) is located directly upstream of a connection (68) for the connection line (12).

11. The tire repair device according to any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the sealant container (60) forms a housing of the tire repair device covering the carrier element (16) and the compressor (22).

12. The tire repair device according to any one of the preceding Claims, wherein an energy storage for operating the drive mechanism is operationally connected to the drive mechanism.

13. The tire repair device according to Claim 12, wherein the energy storage is a battery (72) or a plurality of batteries (72).

14. The tire repair device according to any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the connection line (12) comprises, at an end to be connected to the tire to be repaired, a monitoring switch (78), which enables operation of the drive mechanism only when the end to be connected to the tire to be repaired is connected to the tire.

15. The tire repair device according to any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the drive mechanism is an electric motor (24), which is arranged in a plate-shaped recess (26) on the side (18) of the carrier element (16) facing the wheel.

16. The tire repair device according to any one of the preceding Claims, wherein mounted in the end section (106) of each sleeve-shaped mounting element (88) is a lock washer (120) adapted to engage in a locking manner with a head (104) of a wheel nut or wheel bolt (100).