Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This inuention relat~s to a traction d~vic~ o~ tha typs
which is engaged under a traction whaal of a ushicls to prouide traction
to thc wh~el.
The traction devic~s of the aboua type which haue been
propossd so far are made of aither a sols rigid body or D~ rigid sections
articulatsd end to end. In any case, the rigidity of such traction
devices and othar construction features givs them so~e disadvantages~
In particular, such traction devicss which have been proposad so far
are prone to sink relatively deep into ths snow or ~ud upon passags
and action of the vehicls whsel thereon. This is due for instance to
its construction, to the inclined position of engagsment with ths tira,
and to the width thereof. Such traction devices of the rigid type are
alsD prons to be thrown by the wheel and thus puncturing the gas tank
if it does not sink as aforementioned~ to damage the tira, and to
laterally shift and thus lose most if not all its efficisncy. ~esides~
such prior art traction dsuices are not particularly adaptsd to grip
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the surface and provide drag against throwing thereof by tha wheel
in particular on ice.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide
20 an improved traction device of the abovs type. i ;
It is another ganeral objsct of tha present invention to -
provide an antiskid traction device which is relatively not subjact
to sinking into the snow or mud nor to being thrown by tha vehicle wh0el.
It is a further genaral objsct of the prssent invsntion to ~ ;~
prouide an antiskid traction devics which is easy to operatively engage ~ ~;
against tha tire of a wheel and which is adapted to slide like a
runner or ski under the wheel to facilitats gripping o~ the wheel with
the devics when the wheel Ytarts to rotate.
It i3 another gsneral object of the present invention to
provide a traction device which is made of sections articulated ons
to another end to end and including a resilient section to sngage ~ ~
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under the vehicle wheel and operatively curve circumferentially around
ths tire of the wheel and thus enhance sliding thereof like a runner
or ski under the wheel.
It is still another object o~ the present invention to
provide a traction device which is particu~arly adapted to produce drag
or to grip the supporting surface and thus reduce the possibility of
the traction device being dangerously thrown by the vèhicle wheel.
It is a further object of the present invention to provi~e
a traction device with outer lateral rows of upward projections to
10 laterally guide the device and oppose lateral shifting thereof from
under the vehicle wheel.
The above and other objects and advantages of the present
invention will be better understood with reference to the following
detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof which are illus-
trated, by way of examples, in the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a side view of a vehicle wheel and an antiskid
traction device according to the present invention in operative position
relative to the wheel;
Figure 2, shown on the second sheet of the drawings, is a plan
2û view of an antiskid traction device according to a first embodiment
of the present invention; `~
Figure 3, shown on the second sheet of the dràwings, is a side
elevation view as seen ~rom the bottom in Figure 2;
Figures 4, 5, and 6, shown on the first sheet of the drawings, ;;;
are cross-sectional views as seen along lines 4-4, 5-5, and 6-6 respect-
ively in Figure 2;
Figures 7 and 7a, shown on the first sheet of the drawings,
are longitudinal sections of two other embodiments of the tongue section
of the antiski traction device of of Figure 2; ;~
Fqgures 8 and 9, shown on the first sheet of the drawings
are a plan view and an elevation view respectively of a portion of an
antiskid traction device according to a second embodiment of the
invention; and
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Figures 10 and 11, shown on the second sheet o~ the drawings,
are an elevation view and a plan view respectively o~ a drag section which
may be added to any embodiment of the present invention.
The antiskid traction device of Figures 1 to 6 inclusive
comprises a tongue section 1, an intermediate antiskid traction section
2, and a wider antiski traction section 3.
The tongue section 1 is made of a strip of spring steel to
resilisntly flex circumferentially around the ordinary tire T of
a vehicle wheel W. The tongue section 1 has the longitudinal shape of
a runner or ski including an upwardly-bent outer end 4. The tongue section
is punched to form upward projections 5 which are inwardly directed
to provide grip for the tire T, such that the rotation of tha wheel will
make the tongue section 1 to slide under it drawing the remainder of ;~
the traction device with it. The tongue section 1 is substantially -
narro~er than the ordinary vehicle tire to slide easily under it when
manually pushed. Outer end 4, because it is upwardly bent, prevents
tongue section 1 from being stuck into the snow or ice when manually ~
pushed. The outer snd of section 1 can be made higher, as shown at 4~ in ~-
Figure 4~ in Figure 7, to also provide a tire grip as projections 5.
Said outer end can be simply bevelled, as shown at 4" in Figure 7a.
The intermediate antiskid traction section 2 comprises a
strip of expanded metal having a width slightly less than the width of -
an ordinary tire T to engage in the rut under the wheel. The inter- ~`
mediate antiskid traction section 2 is expanded longitudinally of the
sections 1, 2, and 3 and defines filaments 6 interconnected by three `~
longitudinal rows of nodal points 7 and 8. The nodal points 7,
of laterally-opposite outer rows of nodal points, are alternatively
raised upward and downward with respect to the plane containing central
nodal points 8, respectively forming upward projections to provide
traction to the wheel and downward projections to provide traction in
the snow or on ice. The inner end 9 of the tongue section 1 is looped
around one filament of section 2 to form an articulation between these
two sections. ~ ;
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The wider anti~kid traction s~ction 3 i9 also made of
expanded metal and has a width exc~di~g the width of the vehicle
whasl such that the opposite lataral sdgas will bsar Dn th~ oppositH
sidss of tha rut to minimize sinking oF the whole dsuice into the snow
under ths vehicle wh0el~ Th0 section 3 i9 eXpandBd lOn9itlJdinally
of the ssctions 1, 2 and 3 and definss filamsnts 6 interconnsctsd by
fivs longitudinal rows of nodal points 7, ~ and 10. The latsrally
opposits outer rows of nodal points 7 in section 3 are alt~rnatively
raissd upward and downward with respect to tha two rows of nodal
iO point~ 10 which are all at substantially the same laval~ Prsferably
som~ nodal points 7, as indicated at 7~, are bent down further to
provids better snow grip whan the vshicle wsight is smaller~ Most
nodal points 8 of the central row in saction 3 lie in the plane of ~;
nodal points 10 but soms of the~ are raised forming longitudinally ~ ;
spaced upward projections 8I to provide better traction to tha wheel~
as shown in Figurs 4~ A metal clip 11 is clamped around one filamsnt
6 at the other end Df ths section 2 and the last nodal point 8 at one
end of tha section 3 tD hings ths two sections 2 and 3 one to the
other. Thus, the antiskid traction dsvice may bs convsniently
transported in compact position with the sections 1, 2 and 3 folded
bac~ one over another such as for instancs to use lsss space in the ~
trunk of an automobile. Clip 11 is prefsrably formad of a non rssilient ~ ;
metal strip wound on itself at least one turn and a half and then -~
flatten~d as shown in Figure 3, thereby avoiding welding of the ends
of the strip. i;
In Figurss 8 and 9? there is shown an embodiment wnerein
the intermediate section 2 and tongue section 1 are replaced by a
resilient, preferably spring steel, tongue section 12 having a narrower
portion integrally formed with 8 wider portion. The narrowar portion
of the tongue section 12 is made exactly like the afored0scrioed
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tongue saction 1 including ths slements 4 and 5. Element 4 can
ba replaced by elemant 41 or 4". Tha widsr portion o~ the tongue
section 12 constitutes an enlargemHnt at tha innar end of the narrower
portion and includes downw~rdly punchsd out elemarlts 13 ~orming cleats
to grip in ths snow, ica, mud or the lika. The widor portion also
includes upwardly punchsd out projections 5 to provide grip ~or the
tire T of tha vehicla whael.
A mstal clip 11 clamps ths outer end of the wider portion
of section 12 to the last nodal point ~ at one end of the saction 3 to
provide articulation between the two sections.
A drag or anchor saction 14~ as shown in Figures 10 and 11
i8 pivotally attached by a bsnt portion 15 to the outer ~nd of the
saction 3, is punched out to form downward projactions 16, and is `
downwardly bent at its trailing end 17 to grip into tha snow, ice or
mud and thus produce a sufficient drag to prevant throwing of tha
antiskid traction d~vic~ by the rotating vehicle wheel W when the
lattar is about to move away from ths device.
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