TIRE CHAIN WRENCH

CLE A CHAINE POUR PNEU

English Abstract

An improved tire chain wrench to tighten
and loosen a cam in a traction chain on a tire of a
truck. The wrench comprises an elongated shank with
an offset right angle blade at each end. Either
blade can fit into an aperture in the cam, even in
hard to reach places under the truck. The traction
chain can be tightened and loosened in place on the
tire of the truck.

French Abstract

Clé améliorée pour chaîne de traction pour resserrer et desserrer une came dans une chaîne de traction sur le pneu d'un camion. La clé comprend une tige allongée avec une lame à angle droit en déport à chaque extrémité. Chaque lame peut s'insérer dans l'ouverture d'une came, même dans des endroits difficiles à atteindre sous le camion. La chaîne de traction peut être serrée et desserrée sur le pneu du camion.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. An improved tire chain wrench to
tighten and loosen a cam in a traction
chain on a tire of a truck, said
wrench comprising an elongated shank
with an offset right angle blade at
each end. Either said blade can fit
into an aperture in the cam, even in
hard to reach places under the truck,
so that the traction chain can be
tightened and loosened in place on the
tire of the truck.
2. An improved tire chain wrench as
recited in Claim 1, wherein said shank
and said blades are fabricated out of
a flat steel bar which is rectangular
in cross section.
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3. An improved tire chain wrench as
recited in Claim 1,, wherein said
shank and said blades are fabricated
out of a cylindrical steel rod in
which the ends of said blades are
flattened, so as to be rectangular in
cross section.
4. An improved tire chain wrench as
recited in Claim 2, wherein said first
blade is bent at a right angle on a
narrow surface of said shank, while
said second blade is bent at a right
angle on a wide surface of said shank,
so that said blades extend at right
angles to each other from said shank
and the ends of said blades are in a
contraposition to each other.
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5. An improved tire chain wrench as
recited in Claim 2, wherein said first
blade is bent at a right angle on a
wide surface of said shank and said
first blade has a one quarter turn
twist, while said second blade is bent
at a right angle on a wide surface of
said shank in an opposite direction to
said first blade, so that the ends of
said blades are in a contraposition to
each other.
6. An improved tire chain wrench as
recited in Claim 2, wherein said first
blade is bent at a right angle on a
narrow surface of said shank, said
second blade is bent at a right angle
on a wide surface of said shank, while
said shank has a one quarter turn
twist, so that said blades extend in
opposite directions to each other and
the ends of said blades are in a
contraposition to each other.
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7. An improved tire chain wrench as
recited in Claim 3, wherein said first
blade is bent at a right angle to said
shank with the end of said first blade
flattened transversely to said shank,
while said second blade is bent at a
right angle to said shank in an
opposite direction to said first blade
with the end of said second blade
flattened parallel to said shank, so
that the ends of said blades are in a
contraposition to each other.
8. An improved tire chain wrench as
recited in Claim 1, wherein the
overall length of said wrench is
typically seven and a half inches.
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9. An improved tire chain wrench as
recited in Claim 2, wherein the
overall length of each said blade is
typically one and seven eights inches.
10. An improved tire chain wrench as
recited in Claim 9, wherein the size
of the rectangular cross section of
said flat steel bar is typically one
quarter of an inch in width by one
half of an inch in depth.
11. An improved tire chain wrench as
recited in Claim 3, wherein the
diameter of said cylindrical steel rod
is typically between three eights of
an inch to seven sixteenths of an
inch.
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12. An improved tire chain wrench as
recited in Claim 11, wherein the
overall length of each said blade is
typically two and one eighth inches.
13. An improved tire chain wrench as
recited in Claim 12, wherein the size
of the rectangular cross section of
each said flattened end of each said
blade is typically one quarter of an
inch in width by one half of an inch
in depth.
14. An improved tire chain wrench as
recited in Claim 13, wherein the
length of each said flattened end of
each said blade is typically one half
an inch.
-22-

15. An improved tire chain wrench to tighten and loosen
a cam in a traction chain on a tire of a truck, said wrench
comprising an elongated shank with an offset right angle blade
at each end, either said blade fitting into an aperture in the
cam so that the traction chain can be tightened and loosened
in place on the tire of the truck, said shank and said blade
being fabricated out of a flat steel bar which is rectangular
in cross-section, said shank and said blades being fabricated
out of a cylindrical steel rod in which the ends of said blades
are flattened, so as to be rectangular in cross-section, said
first blade being bent at a right angle on a narrow surface of
said shank, while said second blade is bent at a right angle
on a wide surface of said shank, so that said blades extend at
right angles to each other from said shank and the ends of said
blades are in a contraposition to each other.

Description

21 75778
'-- IMPROVED TIRE CHAIN WRENCH
BACKGROUND OF THE lNv~N~l~loN
Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates generally to
automotive tools and more specifically it relates to
an improved tire chain wrench.

2 1 75778
Description of the Prior Art
Numerous automotive tools have been
provided in prior art that are used by people in
repairing and installing various parts of motor
vehicles. While these units may be suitable for the
particular purpose to which they address, they would
not be as suitable for the purposes of the present
invention as heretofore described.

21 75778
- SUMMARY OF THE lNV~N llON
A primary object of the present invention
is to provide an improved tire chain wrench that will
overcome the shortcomings of the prior art devices.
Another object is to provide an improved
tire chain wrench that will tighten and loosen a cam
in a traction chain on a tire of a truck.
An additional object is to provide an
improved tire chain wrench in which the wrench
consists of an elongated shank with an offset right
angle blade at each end, in which either blade can
fit into an aperture in the cam, even in hard to
reach places under the truck, so that the traction
chain can be tightened and loosened in place on the
tire of the truck.

21 7577~
A further object is to provide an improved
tire chain wrench that is simple and easy to use.
A still further object is to provide an
improved tire chain wrench that is economical in cost
to manufacture.
Further objects of the invention will
appear as the description proceeds.
To the accomplishment of the above and
related objects, this invention may be embodied in
the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings,
attention being called to the fact, however, that the
drawings are illustrative only, and that changes may
be made in the specific construction illustrated and
described within the scope of the appended claims.

21 75778
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a truck
showing traction chains with cams installed on the
tires.
FIGURE 2 is an enlarged front view showing
one of the cams in a loose position on a portion of
one of the traction chains.
FIGURE 3 is an enlarged front view similar
to Figure 2, showing one of the cams in a tight
position.
FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a first
embodiment of the instant invention.

21 75778
-
- FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a second
embodiment of the instant invention.
FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a third
embodiment of the instant invention.
FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of a fourth
embodiment of the instant invention.

- 2175778
-
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Turning now descriptively to the drawings,
in which similar reference characters denote similar
elements throughout the several views, Figures 4
through 7 illustrate an improved tire chain wrench 10
to tighten and loosen a cam 12 in a traction chain 14
on a tire 16 of a truck 18, as shown in Figure 1.
The wrench comprises an elongated shank 20 with an
offset right angle blade 22, 24 at each end. Either
blade 22, 24 can fit into an aperture 26 in the cam
12, even in hard to reach places under the truck 18.
The traction chain 14 can be tightened and loosened
in place on the tire 16 of the truck 18. (See
Figures 2 and 3).
In Figures 4 through 6, the shank 20 and
the blades 22, 24 are fabricated out of a flat steel

21 75778
bar 28 which is rectangular in cross section. In
Figure 7, the shank 20 and the blades 22, 24 are
fabricated out of a cylindrical steel rod 30 in which
the ends 32, 34 of the blades 22, 24 are flattened,
so as to be rectangular in cross section.
In Figure 4, the first blade 22 is bent at
a right angle on a narrow surface 36 of the shank 20.
The second blade 24 is bent at a right angle on a
wide surface 38 of the shank 20. The blades 22, 24
extend at right angles to each other from the shank
20. The ends 32, 34 of the blades 22, 24 are in a
contraposition to each other.
In Figure 5, the first blade 22 is bent at
a right angle on a wide surface 38 of the shank 20.
The first blade 22 has a one quarter turn twist at
40. The second blade 24 is bent at a right angle on
a wide surface 38 of the shank 20 in an opposite

21 75778
-
direction to the first blade 22. The ends 32, 34 of
the blades 22, 24 are in a contraposition to each
other.
In Figure 6, the first blade 22 is bent at
a right angle on a narrow surface 36 of the shank 20.
The second blade 24 is bent at a right angle on a
wide surface 38 of the shank 20. The shank 20 has a
one quarter turn twist at 42. The blades 22, 24
extend in opposite directions to each other and the
ends 32, 34 of the blades 22, 24 are in a
contraposition to each other.
- In Figure 7, the first blade 22 is bent at
a right angle to the shank 20 with the end 32 of the
first blade 22 flattened transversely to the shank
20. The second blade 24 is bent at a right angle to
the shank 20 in an opposite direction to the first
blade 22 with the end 34 of the second blade 24

2 1 7 5778
flattened parallel to the shank 20. The ends 32, 34
of the blades 22, 24 are in a contraposition to each
other.
The overall length "A" of the wrench 10 is
typically seven and a half inches. The overall
length "B" of each blade 22, 24 is typically one and
seven eights inches. The size of the rectangular
cross section of the flat steel bar 28 is typically
one quarter of an inch in width "C" by one half of an
inch in depth "D".
The diameter "E" of the cylindrical steel
rod 30 is typically between three eights of an inch
to seven sixteenths of an inch. The overall length
"F" of each blade 22, 24 in Figure 7 is typically two
and one eighth inches. The size of the rectangular
cross section of each flattened end 32, 34 of each
blade 22, 24 is typically one quarter of an inch in
--10--

21 75778
-
width "G" by one half of an inch in depth "H". The
length "I" of each flattened end 34, 34 of each blade
22, 24 is typically one half an inch.

21 75778
-
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS
improved tire chain wrench
12 cam
14 traction chain
16 tire
18 truck
elongated shank

21 75778
'
22 first blade
24 second blade
26 aperture in 12
28 flat steel bar
cylindrical steel rod
32 end of 22
34 end of 34
36 narrow surface of 20
-13-

21 75778
-
38 wide surface of 20
one quarter turn twist of 22
42 one quarter turn twist of 20
A overall length of 10
B overall length of 22, 24
C width of 28
D depth of 28
E diameter of 30
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21 75778
- F overall length of 22, 24
G width of 32, 34
H depth of 32, 34
I length of 32, 34

- 21 75778
- It will be understood that each of the
elements described above, or two or more together may
also find a useful application in other types of
methods differing from the type described above.
While certain novel features of this
invention have been shown and described and are
pointed out in the annexed claims, it is not intended
to be limited to the details above, since it will be
understood that various omissions, modifications,
substitutions and changes in the forms and details of
the device illustrated and in its operation can be
made by those skilled in the art without departing in
any way from the spirit of the present invention.
Without further analysis, the foregoing
will so fully reveal the gist of the present
invention that others can, by applying current
knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications
without omitting features that, from the standpoint
of prior art, fairly constitute essential
characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of
this invention.
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Representative Drawing