Cloth tire chain installation and removal device

Abstract

To provide a device for easily attaching and detaching a cloth tire chain. [Solution] In a textile tire chain made of woven fiber fabric, the open end is spread and fitted like a sock around the outer periphery of an automobile tire. When a ring-shaped anti-slip band 11 is fitted to the tread surface 21 of the tire 20, the anti-slip band 11 has flange mounting portions 14 on both circumferential edges thereof, and the flange mounting portion 14 has a mounting tightening portion 15 made of an elastic ring member at its opening, which pulls the opening of the flange mounting portion 14 together, reducing its diameter and tightening the mounting. At least the mounting and fastening portion 15 on the inner wheel side has a detachable structure consisting of a hook member 16 that can release the connection and an opening 17 formed by tearing the flange mounting portion from the hook member 16 toward the anti-slip band portion 11, and with the hook member 16 released, it can be easily attached and detached by the operator's fingers.In particular, when removing it, the flange mounting portion 14 can be rolled up from the opening 17 and pulled outward, thereby peeling off and releasing the strong adhesion caused by friction between the anti-slip band portion 11 and the tire tread surface.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a device for attaching and detaching textile tire chains, which are made of woven fabric and fitted around the outer periphery of a vehicle tire like a sock with the open ends spread out. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, anti-skid devices have been widely used to reduce and prevent tires from slipping on icy roads during severe winters.

[0003] In recent years, because it is difficult to quickly install anti-slip devices such as chains, a so-called cloth tire chain has been proposed, in which an annular anti-slip band is made from woven fiber fabric, and the annular anti-slip band is placed over the tread surface of the tire and fastened at its flange (Patent Document 1).

[0004] Furthermore, an anti-slip device has been proposed in which an annular anti-slip band is made of a fiber fabric woven from warp and weft threads and is slightly oversized compared to the tire diameter, the annular anti-slip band is placed over the tire tread surface, and the anti-slip band is pulled in and reduced in diameter by an elastic member at least on the inner ring side of the tire, suppressing the anti-slip band from lifting up from the tire tread surface and preventing the anti-slip band from coming off the tire when traveling at high speeds (Patent Document 2).

[0005] However, in the tire anti-skid device described in Patent Document 2, the annular anti-skid band is oversized by 104% or less of the tire diameter, and at least the inner ring side of the tire is covered with a flange and fastened with an elastic member, so when trying to remove the anti-skid band, the worker needs to insert their hand into the inner tire side and hook the edge of the anti-skid band and pull, but there is a limit to how much the elastic member can stretch and the flange covers the side of the tire, making it difficult to remove smoothly. Therefore, a structure has been proposed (Patent Document 3) in which gripping tongues are formed on the edge of the flange on the inner and / or outer tire side, and the worker's fingers can grip the gripping tongues and pull the edge of the flange to remove it. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2002-541007 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-51588 [Patent Document 3] JP 2025-1883 A DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, because the opening of the flange is constricted by an elastic member, limiting the anti-skid band to 104% or less of the tire diameter, as shown in Figure 4(a), a cloth tire chain is first placed over the upper half of the tire, and the tire is then rotated halfway in this state. After that, the elastic member 15 at the opening of the cloth tire chain is pulled up to cover the entire circumference of the tire. However, because the elastic member 15 constricts the opening in the diametric direction, the process of pulling up the opening and placing the chain over the inner tire wheel is difficult. Furthermore, the tire tread surface and the anti-skid band can sometimes be tightly bonded due to friction while running. As shown in Figure 3, the rubber material on the tire tread surface can become wedged between the woven fibers of the anti-skid band. As a result, removal by simply pulling up the tongue, as shown in Patent Document 3, is difficult, and an auxiliary tool such as a crowbar is required. Therefore, the objective of this invention is to provide a cloth tire chain installation and removal device that makes it easy to install cloth tire chains, which are tightened by constricting the opening of the flange mounting portion with an elastic member, and that can be easily removed by inserting a finger without using an auxiliary tool. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The inventors have discovered that the difficulty in attaching and detaching cloth tire chains stems from the structure of the cloth tire chain, in which an elastic member tightens the opening of the flange mounting portion by reducing its diameter, as shown in Figure 4(a). However, when observing the frictional bond between the anti-slip band and the tire tread surface after driving, as shown in Figure 3, it was discovered that the friction between the anti-slip band 11 and the tire tread surface 21 softens the tire rubber during driving and causes it to bite into the fibers of the anti-slip band 11. As a result, it is difficult to release the bond between the two unless the anti-slip band 11 is peeled off by wrapping it around the tire tread surface 21, which is a problem unique to cloth tire chains. Therefore, the inventors have considered that the problems arising from the diameter-reducing structure of the cloth tire chain 10 and the unique problem of the cloth tire chain, in which the anti-slip band 11 and the tire tread surface 21 are firmly bonded due to frictional bonding during driving, cannot be solved simply by releasing the diameter-reducing structure, and after extensive research, have discovered that the removal structure provided on the mounting tightening portion 15 is not only provided with a hook member 16 that can connect or disconnect the elastic ring member of the mounting tightening portion 15, but also by forming an opening 17 by tearing the flange mounting portions 13, 14 that are continuous with the hook member 16 toward the anti-slip band portion 11, which opens the flange mounting portion, making it easy to pull up the flange mounting portion and cover the inner wheel side, and also making it possible to peel off the frictional adhesion between the anti-slip band portion 11 and the tire tread surface by rolling up the opening 17 along the tire surface and pulling it outward. The present invention was made based on this knowledge, and is a textile tire chain (10) made of woven fabric, which is attached to the outer circumference of an automobile tire by spreading the open end and covering it like a sock, The tire (20) includes an annular anti-skid band (11) covering the tread surface (21), flange mounting portions (13), (14) attached to both circumferential edges of the annular anti-skid band (11) and having a central opening, and a mounting fastening portion (15) made of an elastic ring member attached to the circumferential edge of at least the flange mounting portion (14) on the tire inner wheel side, and configured to be pulled by the elastic ring member to reduce its diameter, and at least one detachment structure provided on the mounting fastening portion (15) is a hook member (16) that can circumferentially connect or disconnect the mounting fastening portion (15). and an opening (17) formed by tearing the flange mounting portion (14) from the mounting position of the hook member (16) toward the anti-slip band portion (11). The hook member (16) is released to open the mounting tightening portion (15), and when removing the chain, the worker's fingers roll the flange mounting portion (13) up along the tire surface from the opening (17) and pull it outward, thereby separating the frictional adhesion between the anti-slip band portion 11 and the tire tread surface (21). [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] Since fabric tire chains are attached to tires by compressing the flanges with elastic members and tightening them, as shown in Figure 4(a), when attaching the chain, the fabric tire chain is placed over the upper half of the tire 20, and the tire 20 is rotated half a turn. After this, the elastic ring member of the attachment tightening portion 15 for tightening the flange attachment portion 13 extends in the radial direction, making it difficult to pull it up and place the inner flange attachment portion 14 over the tire 20. However, according to this device, when attaching the chain to a tire, as shown in Figure 4(b), the hook members 16, 16 of the attachment tightening portion 15 are released, and the release portion 17 opens the flange attachment portion 14, making it easy to pull it up and place it over the inner wheel. Furthermore, when removing the tire after driving, conventionally, the flange mounting portion 14 could not be opened, making it difficult to roll up the flange mounting portion and subsequently peel off the anti-slip band, necessitating the use of a removal jig. However, according to the present invention, as shown in Figure 2, releasing the hook member 16 releases the tightening of the flange mounting portion 13, making it possible to roll up the flange mounting portion. Furthermore, once the flange mounting portion can be rolled up, the annular anti-slip band 11, which runs continuously along the tire tread surface, can be pulled outward in a rolling motion. As a result, even if the anti-slip band 11 and the tire tread surface are intertwined and in a frictional bond, as shown in Figure 3, rolling it outward makes it possible to peel off the frictional bond.

[0010] The hook members 16 are provided not only on the flange mounting portion 14 on the inner wheel side, but also on the mounting and tightening portion 15 of the opposing flange mounting portion 13 on the outer wheel side, as shown in Figure 1(a), which has the effect of making the hook position on the inner wheel side (Figure 1(b)) visible and facilitating the operation of rolling up and removing the anti-slip band from the tire tread surface.

[0011] At least one hook member 16 may be provided on the flange mounting portion, but a plurality of hook members may also be provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1]1A and 1B are diagrams showing the outer wheel side (a) and inner wheel side (b) of a preferred embodiment of a cloth tire chain installation and removal device M according to the present invention. [Figure 2] 1A shows the function of the removal structure of the present invention, in which (a) shows the state in which the hook member 16 is released, and (b) shows the state in which the released flange mounting portion is rolled up along the opening portion 17. [Figure 3] 2(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2(a) showing the state of connection between the anti-skid band of the textile tire chain and the tire tread surface. [Figure 4] 1 is a comparative explanatory diagram showing the tire installation process of a conventional cloth tire chain (a) and the tire installation process of a cloth tire chain of the present invention (b). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment of an anti-skid device for vehicle tires according to the present invention. In the figure, the tire anti-skid device, i.e., a textile tire chain 10, has an anti-skid band 11 as its main component. The anti-skid band 11 has flange mounting portions 13, 14 on the inner and outer sides of an annular body 12. The annular body 12 is knitted using warp and weft yarns to a diameter that is a predetermined size larger than the outer diameter of the tire 20, e.g., 104% of the diameter. The flange mounting portions 13, 14 are made of a mesh material. The materials for the warp and weft yarns are not particularly limited, and known materials can be used. The annular body 12 and the flange mounting portions 13, 14 may also be knitted integrally.

[0014] In addition, mounting tightening portions 15 are provided at the central edge openings of the outer ring side flange mounting portion 13 and the inner ring side flange mounting portion 14 of the anti-slip band 11, and elastic rings (elastic members) are attached in a tensioned state, so as to urge the edges of the outer ring side flange mounting portion 13 and the inner ring side flange mounting portion 14 in the pulling direction.

[0015] In this device, in order to open the inner ring side flange mounting portion 14 of the anti-slip band 11 and make it easier to remove, a detachment device M is formed on the mounting tightening portion 15 made of an elastic ring, which is composed of a pair of male and female hook members 16, 16 and an opening portion 17 that opens the flange mounting portion 13 on both sides.

[0016] It is sufficient to provide at least one detachment device M on one mounting tightening portion 15, but two or three may be provided as necessary. It is sufficient to provide them on the inner ring side, but since the detachment device on the inner ring side is difficult to see from the outside, it is preferable to provide them in a symmetrical position relative to the outer ring side (Fig. 1(a)).

[0017] The pair of hook members 16 are preferably of a type that can be removed with one touch, but may also be formed of a member for binding rubber strings.

[0018] The opening 17, which releases the flange mounting portions 13, 14 from the pair of hook members 16, 16, can be formed by tearing the fabric constituting the flange mounting portion 15. Normally, the flange mounting portions 13, 14 are biased to reduce in diameter by the elastic ring of the mounting fastening portion 15, so when the pair of hook members 16, 16 are released, they are attached as shown in FIG. 4(b). In particular, when removing the tire, as shown in FIG. 2(a), releasing the pair of hook members 16, 16 releases the flange mounting portions 13, 14. Therefore, the mounting fastening portion 15 loosened at the opening 17 can be easily opened by rolling up the hook members 16, as shown in FIG. 2(b). Once the flange mounting portion can be rolled up, as shown in FIG. 3, even if the anti-slip band portion 11 is welded to the tread surface of the tire 20 by frictional bonding during running, the bonded portion can be peeled off by rolling up the weave parallel to the bonded surface. The anti-slip band 11 cannot be released by pulling it perpendicular to the traction surface, so the removal structure of this invention is simple, but its effectiveness is greater than expected.

[0019] The preferred detachment device M of the present invention can be formed by giving the elastic ring member constituting the attachment tightening portion 15 the function of lifting and removing the flange attachment portion by means of a pair of hook members 16, 16 and an opening portion 17. However, to make it easier to lift up the flange attachment portion, radially elongated gripping tongues may be attached by stitching at predetermined angular intervals, as described in Patent Document 3. [Explanation of symbols]

[0020] 10 Cloth tire chains 11 Anti-slip strip 12-ring body 13 Tire outer wheel flange mounting part 14 Tire inner flange mounting part 15 Mounting tightening part 20 tires 21 Tire tread surface

Claims

1. A textile tire chain (10) made of a woven fabric is attached to the outer periphery of an automobile tire by spreading the open end and covering it like a sock, The tire (20) includes an annular anti-slip band (11) covering the tread surface (21), flange mounting portions (13), (14) attached to both circumferential edges of the annular anti-slip band (11) and having an opening in the center, and a mounting fastening portion (15) made of an elastic ring member provided at least on the circumferential edge of the opening of the flange mounting portion (14) on the tire inner wheel side, and configured to be pulled by the elastic ring member to reduce its diameter, and at least one detachment structure provided on the mounting fastening portion (15) includes a hook member (16) that can circumferentially connect or disconnect the mounting fastening portion (15). and an opening (17) formed by tearing the flange mounting portion (14) from the mounting position of the hook member (16) toward the anti-slip band portion (11), and the hook member (16) is released to open the mounting tightening portion (15), and particularly when removing the tire chain, the worker's fingers roll up the flange mounting portion (13) from the opening (17) along the tire surface and pull it outward, thereby separating the frictional adhesion between the anti-slip band portion (11) and the tire tread surface (21).

2. 2. The device for attaching and detaching a textile tire chain according to claim 1, wherein the hook member (16) is provided not only on the inner wheel side but also on the attachment and fastening portion (15) on the opposing outer wheel side.

3. 2. The device for attaching and detaching a cloth tire chain according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of said hook members (16) are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.

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