ANGLED BATTERY ORIENTATION FOR A TIRE BUFFER

Abstract

A tire repair tool for buffing an interior surface of a tire, the tire repair tool including an elongated housing that extends along a longitudinal axis, an electric motor disposed within the housing, a gearbox coupled to the electric motor, a chuck coupled to the gearbox and configured rotate about the longitudinal axis and to receive a workpiece tool such as a buffing wheel, a switch that operatively controls the electric motor, a biased trigger operatively coupled to the switch, and a battery for supplying power to the electric motor. The battery has an elongated housing that defines a battery axis, wherein the battery axis forms an oblique angle with the longitudinal axis.

Claims

1. A tire repair tool, comprising: an elongated housing having a first end and a second end, the second end opposite to the first end, the elongated housing extending along a longitudinal axis and including a battery dock located at the second end; an electric motor disposed within the housing, the electric motor including a motor output configured to rotate about the longitudinal axis; a gearbox disposed within the housing and coupled to the motor output, the gearbox including an output drive; a chuck coupled to the output drive, the chuck configured to receive a workpiece tool, the chuck located proximate to the first end of the elongated housing; a switch operatively coupled to the electric motor for selectively controlling electrical power to the electric motor, the switch in electrical communication with the battery dock; a biased trigger operatively coupled to the switch, the trigger configured to pivot with respect to the housing when the trigger is pressed; and a battery removably coupled to the battery dock for supplying power to the battery dock when the battery is coupled to the battery dock, the battery having an elongated housing defining a battery axis, wherein the battery dock is oriented so that the battery axis forms an oblique angle with the longitudinal axis when the battery is coupled to the battery dock.

2. The tire repair tool of claim 1, wherein the workpiece tool comprises a buffer wheel configured to buff an interior surface of a tire, the interior surface of the tire being generally cylindrical, the longitudinal axis and the tire defining a chord; and wherein the oblique angle is selected to reduce contact between the battery and the interior surface of the tire when the tire repair tool is held so that the longitudinal axis of the housing is generally parallel with the chord to engage the buffer with the interior surface of the tire.

3. The tire repair tool of claim 2, wherein the oblique angle is about sixty degrees (60).

4. The tire repair tool of claim 1, wherein the battery axis is defined by a distal surface of the battery, and wherein the distal surface is opposite from the first end of the elongated housing when the battery is coupled to the battery dock.

5. The tire repair tool of claim 1, wherein the trigger comprises a pin for pivotally coupling the trigger to the elongated housing, the pin of the trigger being proximate to the first end of the elongated housing.

6. The tire buffer tool of claim 1, wherein the trigger comprises a pin for pivotally coupling the trigger to the elongated housing, the pin of the trigger being proximate to the second end of the elongated housing.

7. The tire buffer tool of claim 1, further comprising a protrusion disposed on the elongated housing, the protrusion including a planar surface configured to support the housing when the tire repair tool is placed on a flat surface, wherein the planar surface is configured to resist tipping over tire repair tool while the tire repair tool is resting on the flat surface.

8. The tire buffer tool of claim 7, wherein the protrusion is configured to prevent contact between a trigger and the flat surface while the tire buffer tool is resting on the flat surface.

9. The tire buffer tool of claim 1, wherein the elongated battery further comprises a proximate trigger surface and a distal trigger surface such that the proximate trigger surface is proximate to the trigger and the distal trigger surface is distal from the trigger and opposite from the proximate trigger surface, wherein the proximate trigger surface is flush or tangent to a surface of the elongated housing.

10. A tire repair tool, comprising: an elongated housing having a first end and a second end, the second end opposite to the first end, the elongated housing extending along a longitudinal axis and including a battery dock located at the second end; an electric motor disposed within the housing, the electric motor including a motor output configured to rotate about the longitudinal axis; a gearbox disposed within the housing and coupled to the motor output, the gearbox including an output drive; a chuck coupled to the output drive, the chuck configured to receive a workpiece tool, the chuck located proximate to the first end of the elongated housing; a switch operatively coupled to the electric motor for selectively controlling electrical power to the electric motor, the switch in electrical communication with the battery dock; and a battery removably coupled to the battery dock for supplying power to the battery dock when the battery is coupled to the battery dock, the battery having an elongated housing defining a battery axis, wherein the battery dock is oriented so that the battery axis forms an oblique angle with the longitudinal axis when the battery is coupled to the battery dock.

11. The tire repair tool of claim 10, wherein the workpiece tool comprises a buffer wheel configured to buff an interior surface of a tire, the interior surface of the tire being generally cylindrical, the longitudinal axis and the tire defining a chord; and wherein the oblique angle is selected to reduce contact between the battery and the interior surface of the tire when the tire repair tool is held so that the longitudinal axis of the housing is generally parallel with the chord to engage the buffer with the interior surface of the tire.

12. The tire repair tool of claim 11, wherein the oblique angle is about sixty degrees (60).

13. The tire repair tool of claim 10, wherein the battery axis is defined by a distal surface of the battery, and wherein the distal surface is opposite from the first end of the elongated housing when the battery is coupled to the battery dock.

14. The tire repair tool of claim 10, further comprising a biased trigger operatively coupled to the electric motor for selectively controlling electrical power to the electric motor, the trigger in electrical communication with the battery dock, the trigger configured to pivot with respect to the housing when the trigger is pressed, wherein the trigger comprises a pin for pivotally coupling the trigger to the elongated housing, the pin of the trigger being proximate to the first end of the elongated housing.

15. The tire buffer tool of claim 10, further comprising a biased trigger operatively coupled to the electric motor for selectively controlling electrical power to the electric motor, the trigger in electrical communication with the battery dock, the trigger configured to pivot with respect to the housing when the trigger is pressed, wherein the trigger comprises a pin for pivotally coupling the trigger to the elongated housing, the pin of the trigger being proximate to the second end of the elongated housing.

16. The tire buffer tool of claim 10, further comprising a protrusion disposed on the elongated housing, the protrusion including a planar surface configured to support the housing when the tire repair tool is placed on a flat surface, wherein the planar surface is configured to resist tipping over tire repair tool while the tire repair tool is resting on the flat surface.

17. The tire buffer tool of claim 16, wherein the protrusion is configured to prevent contact between a trigger and the flat surface while the tire buffer tool is resting on the flat surface.

18. The tire buffer tool of claim 10, wherein the elongated battery further comprises a proximate trigger surface and a distal trigger surface such that the proximate trigger surface is proximate to the trigger and the distal trigger surface is distal from a trigger and opposite from the proximate trigger surface, wherein the proximate trigger surface is flush or tangent to a surface of the elongated housing.

19. A tire repair tool, comprising: an elongated housing having a first end and a second end, the second end opposite to the first end, the elongated housing extending along a longitudinal axis; an electric motor disposed within the housing, the electric motor including a motor output configured to rotate about the longitudinal axis; a gearbox disposed within the housing, the gearbox including an output drive coupled to the motor output; a chuck coupled to the output drive, the chuck configured to receive a workpiece tool, the chuck located proximate to the first end of the elongated housing; a switch operatively coupled to the electric motor for selectively controlling electrical power to the electric motor, the switch in electrical communication with the battery dock; and a battery disposed at the second end of the housing, the battery for supplying power to the electric motor, the battery having an elongated housing defining a battery axis, wherein the battery is oriented so that the battery axis forms an oblique angle with the longitudinal axis.

20. The tire repair tool of claim 11, wherein the oblique angle is about sixty degrees (60).

Description

DRAWINGS

[0002] The Detailed Description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. The use of the same reference numbers in different instances in the description and the figures may indicate similar or identical items.

[0003] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tire buffer tool in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0004] FIG. 2 is a side elevation cross-section view of the tire buffer tool of FIG. 1.

[0005] FIG. 3 is a side elevation cross-section view of a tire with a tire buffer tool, such as the tire buffer tool of FIG. 1, positioned inside the tire for smoothing an internal surface of the tire for repair.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0006] Aspects of the disclosure are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which show, by way of illustration, example features. The features can, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the combinations set forth herein; rather, these combinations are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope.

[0007] All documents mentioned herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. References to items in the singular should be understood to include items in the plural, and vice versa, unless explicitly stated otherwise or clear from the text. Grammatical conjunctions are intended to express any and all disjunctive and conjunctive combinations of conjoined clauses, sentences, words, and the like, unless otherwise stated or clear from the context. Thus, the term or should generally be understood to mean and/or and so forth.

[0008] Recitation of ranges of values herein are not intended to be limiting, referring instead individually to any and all values falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value within such a range is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. The words about, approximately, or the like, when accompanying a numerical value, are to be construed as indicating a deviation as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art to operate satisfactorily for an intended purpose. Ranges of values and/or numeric values are provided herein as examples only and do not constitute a limitation on the scope of the described embodiments. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., such as, or the like) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the embodiments and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the embodiments. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any unclaimed element as essential to the practice of the embodiments.

[0009] In the following description, it is understood that terms such as first, second, top, bottom, up, down, and the like, are words of convenience and are not to be construed as limiting terms.

[0010] Tire buffer tools have traditionally been pneumatically powered, however, in some situations, it can be impractical to have compressed air available for powering the tire buffer on a job site, thus leading to the development of electrically powered tire buffers. Although electrical tire buffers offer the advantage of cordless mobility, this advantage comes at the cost of increased tool size since the power supplied to the tire buffer is localized into a battery that is either housed within the tire buffer housing or attached to the tire buffer through a battery dock.

[0011] One solution is to position the battery within a handle of the tool, and in this fashion, the handle is elongated along the rotational axis of the tool to accommodate the battery, however, this solution creates two limiting factors in the ability and effectiveness of the tool. Since the primary use of tire buffers is to buff an inner surface of a tire, when the tool is positioned as flat as possible against the inner surface of the tire (as this often occurs during the buffing process to maximize the effectiveness of the abrasive wheel, in other words, it is ideal for a rotational axis of the tool to be as tangential as possible to the tire surface) the length of the tool forms a geometrical chord against the substantially cylindrical tire. Thus, by elongating the tool along its rotational axis, the minimum length of the chord formed by the tool against the tire increases, and, consequently, the effective angle of the tool decreases. While buffer tool housings that are extended along the rotational axis are typically not a concern for radially larger tires where the diameter of the tire is much larger than the minimum chord length formed by the tool against the tire, such tools encounter significant difficulty when working with radially smaller tires as the effective angle is reduced or entirely ineffective if the tool cannot fit within the cavity of the tire, such as when the length of the tool exceeds the diameter of the tire. Bearing in mind the length limitations along the rotational axis of the tire buffer, attempts to shorten this length while maintaining a battery positioned along the rotational axis of the tool places significant dimensional constraints on the battery, often at the expense of battery voltage outputs (i.e., reduced power) or amp-hour storage capacity (i.e., reduced lifetime). Therefore, it is desired to have a battery-powered tire buffer tool that allows for a wide range of workable tool angles within a tire without sacrificing battery size, power, or capacity.

[0012] As disclosed herein, embodiments of a tire repair tool are illustrated and depicted as having an elongated battery that forms an oblique angle relative to an longitudinal axis of the tire repair tool such that the oblique angle allows for the battery to not structurally interfere with a tire during a tire buffing process, thus allowing the tire repair tool to buff tires that have smaller radii than if the elongated battery had no oblique angle, and further to allow the tire repair tool to have improved workable angles for an attached buffer wheel.

[0013] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a tire buffer tool 100 is described. In general, tire buffer tool 100 includes an elongated housing 102 having a first end 104 and a second end 106 such that the second end 106 is opposite to the first end 104. As described, the elongated housing 102 extends along a longitudinal axis 108.

[0014] As described, the tire buffer tool 100 includes an electric motor 110 that is disposed within the housing 102 and includes a motor output 112 configured to rotate about the longitudinal axis 108. Moreover, a gearbox 114 is disposed within the housing 102 and is coupled to the motor output 112, and further includes an output drive 116. In general, the gearbox 114 is configured to receive rotational motion from the motor output 112 and outputs a converted rotational motion at the output drive 116 via a gearing system coupled between the motor output 112 and the output drive 116 within the gearbox 114. In embodiments, the gearing system has a gear ratio that provides a mechanical advantage to the output drive 116 relative to the motor output 112. In embodiments, the gearbox 114 includes a planetary gear set (i.e., epicyclic gear train) that converts rotations from the motor output 112 to the output drive 116.

[0015] As described, the tire buffer tool 100 includes a chuck 118 coupled to the output drive 116 external to the housing 102, and is located proximate to the first end 104 of the housing 102. The chuck 118 is configured to receive a rotatable workpiece tool, which include, but is not limited to, buffer wheels, grinder bits, drill bits, carving bits, engraving bits, router bits, etc. In general, the chuck 118 rotates about the longitudinal axis 108.

[0016] The tire buffer tool 100 further includes a switch 120 operatively coupled to the electric motor 110 for selectively controlling electrical power to the electric motor 110.

[0017] In further embodiments, the tire buffer tool 100 includes a biased trigger 122 that is operatively coupled to the switch 120. In this embodiment, the switch 120 is disposed within the housing 102 while the biased trigger 122 is substantially external to the housing 102 that a user contacts and operates. In embodiments, the biased trigger 122 is configured to pivot with respect to the housing 102 when the trigger 122 is pressed. In embodiments, the trigger 122 is biased by a spring that is coupled between the housing 102 and the trigger 122. As described, the biased trigger 122 is configured such that the trigger 122 resists pressing actions by a user such that, when the user presses the biased trigger 122, the switch 120 coupled to the biased trigger 122 is activated and subsequently supplies electrical power to the electric motor 110; and when the user releases the biased trigger 122, the switch 120 is deactivated and subsequently ceases the supplied electrical power to the electric motor 110.

[0018] In embodiments, the trigger 122 includes a pin 124 for pivotally coupling the trigger 122 to the elongated housing 102. In embodiments, the pin 124 of the trigger 122 is proximate to the first end 104 of the elongated housing 102. In other embodiments, pin 124 of the trigger 122 is proximate to the second end 106 of the elongated housing 102.

[0019] As described, the tire buffer tool 100 includes a battery 132 located at the second end 106 that supplies power to the electric motor 110. In some embodiments, the tire buffer tool 100 includes a battery dock 134 configured to receive the battery 132 such that the battery 132 is removably coupled to the battery dock 134, and while coupled together, the battery 132 supplies power to the battery dock 134, which in turn supplies the electrical power to the electric motor 110. As described, the battery 132 has an elongated housing that defines a battery axis 136. In embodiments, the battery axis 136 is defined by a distal surface 138 of the battery 132 such that the distal surface 138 is opposite from the first end 104 of the elongated housing 102.

[0020] In embodiments, the battery dock 134 or the battery 132 is oriented such that the battery axis 136 forms an oblique angle with the longitudinal axis 108. In general, the oblique angle can be any angle such that the battery axis 136 is not parallel to the longitudinal axis 108. Thus, in embodiments, the oblique angle can be equal to or less than 90 degrees and greater than zero degrees. For example, the oblique angle can be, but is not limited to, 75 degrees, 60 degrees, 45 degrees, 30 degrees, etc.

[0021] In embodiments, the battery 132 further includes a proximate battery surface 140 and a distal battery surface 142 such that the proximate battery surface 140 is proximate to the trigger 122 and the distal battery surface 142 is distal from the trigger 122 and opposite from the proximate battery surface 140. In embodiments, the proximate battery surface 140 is flush or tangent to a surface 144 of the elongated housing 102.

[0022] In embodiments, the tire buffer tool 100 includes a protrusion 126 disposed on the elongated housing 102. In these embodiments, the protrusion includes a planar surface configured to support the housing 102 when the tire repair tool 100 is placed on a flat surface 128. In this manner, the planar surface of the protrusion causes the tire repair tool 100 to resist tipping over while the tool is resting on the flat surface 128. In embodiments, the protrusion 126 is located proximate to the trigger. In further embodiments, the protrusion 126 is proximate to the pin 124 of the trigger 122. In embodiments, the protrusion 126 (proximate to the pin 124 of the 122), the housing 102, and the battery 132 together form a concave surface 130, and the trigger 122 is located on the concave surface 130. In this manner, the trigger 122 is located within a cavity defined by the concave surface 130. Thus, when the protrusion 126 and the battery 132 are in contact with the flat surface 128 when the tire buffer tool 100 is placed on the flat surface, the trigger 122 is not depressed nor in contact with the surface 128, and therefore reduces accidental activation of the tire buffer tool 100.

[0023] Now referring to FIG. 3, the tire buffer tool 100 is positioned inside a tire 180 (cross-sectioned for clarity) to depict a buffing process. In this figure, the tire 180 is generally cylindrical with an inner radius R and includes an interior surface 182 that tire buffer tool 100 buffs using a buffer wheel 146 that is coupled to the chuck 118. In general, the buffer wheel 146 an abrasive rotatable workpiece tool that, when spun by the tire buffer tool 100, allows a user to effectively buff and polish the interior surface 182 in preparation for repairs. In this figure, the buffer wheel 146 has a hemispherical surface 148 configured to abrade the interior surface 182. However, it should be appreciated that the buffer wheel 146 can have other geometrical configurations (e.g., cylindrical, conical, etc.) that, when spun about the longitudinal axis 108, abrade the interior surface 182.

[0024] In this figure, the longitudinal axis 108 and the tire 180 define a chord, that is, a line segment that joins two points on a curve. As depicted, the oblique angle is selected to reduce contact between the battery 132 such that the distal battery surface 142 does not interfere with the interior surface 182, thus allowing for the battery 132 to have greater lengths along the battery axis 136, and likewise greater volumes for storing additional power structure for voltage outputs and/or amp-hour storage capacity as compared to a conventional tire buffer tool having a battery that extends exclusively along its longitudinal axis, which would require sacrifices to battery volume (voltage outputs and/or amp-hour storage capacity) in order to maintain the same chord length of the same tire 180. Moreover, the oblique angle of the battery 132 allows for better workable angles for the buffer wheel 146, for if there were no oblique angle (i.e., the battery axis 136 parallel to the longitudinal axis 108), then an angle of attack of the longitudinal axis 108 against the interior surface 182 would be increased and therefore less effective at buffing the interior surface 182. Since greater battery volumes are desired, another advantage of the oblique angle of the battery axis 136 is that the angle allows for additional battery length without sacrificing user ergonomics. For instance, if the battery axis 136 were oriented such that the battery extends perpendicularly from the longitudinal axis 108, then the elongated battery reduces the range of comfort in handling the tire buffer tool since the distal battery surface 142 would interfere with a wrist of the user.

[0025] Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or process operations, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.