Wheel or Tire With Illuminable Feature

Abstract

Tire or wheel for use on a vehicle, machine, equipment, toy or the like. The tire or wheel has an illuminable feature including at least one optical fiber.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A tire having an illuminable feature and comprising:
 two sidewalls, each sidewall having a proximal end, a distal end, an inner surface and an outer surface;   a shoulder region adjacent the distal end of each sidewall;   a contact region disposed between the shoulder regions;   an illuminable feature, the illuminable feature including at least one optical fiber having a light source end and a terminal end;   a tread disposed in the contact region, the tread formed from a plurality of protuberances and adjacent valleys, wherein the terminal end of one or more of the at least one optical fibers extends into at least one protuberance a predetermined height above the adjacent valley such that the terminal end of the optical fiber is exposed prior to the protuberance being worn down to the full depth of the adjacent valley; and   
       at least one light source operatively associated with the light source end of at least one optical fiber such that the light source, when lit, can direct light through the operatively associated optical fiber from the light source end to the terminal end. 
     
     
         2 . The tire of  claim 1  wherein the illuminable feature is integrally formed into at least a portion of the tire. 
     
     
         3 . The tire of  claim 1  wherein the at least one optical fiber of the illuminable feature extends through at least a portion of at least one of the two sidewalls of the tire. 
     
     
         4 . The tire of  claim 1  wherein the illuminable feature includes two or more optical fibers. 
     
     
         5 . The tire of  claim 4  wherein the two or more optical fibers are operatively associated with a single light source. 
     
     
         6 . The tire of  claim 5  wherein the two or more optical fibers are operatively associated with two or more different light sources such that the different light source, when lit, can direct light through the respective operatively associated optical fibers. 
     
     
         7 . The tire of  claim 6  wherein the two or more different light sources are able to provide light of different intensity, color, and/or duration. 
     
     
         8 . The tire of  claim 1  wherein the illuminable feature includes a multiplicity of optical fibers and at least some of the optical fibers are arranged such that they create a pattern on the sidewall of the tire. 
     
     
         9 . The tire of  claim 8  wherein the pattern is selected from one or more of the following: a ring extending around at least a portion of the sidewall, a letter, a logo, a number, a graphical design, and combinations thereof. 
     
     
         10 . The tire of  claim 1  wherein the at least one optical fiber extends the predetermined height above the adjacent valley such that the optical fiber can provide information to a user about the extent of wear of the tread when the optical fiber is exposed due to the protuberance being worn down to the predetermined height above the adjacent valley. 
     
     
         11 . The tire of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one optical fiber operatively associated with the light source is used to indicate when the tire should be replaced when exposed. 
     
     
         12 . The tire of  claim 1  wherein a multiplicity of optical fibers are disposed in the tread at different predetermined heights above the adjacent valley. 
     
     
         13 . The tire of  claim 1  wherein the illuminable feature includes a receiver to receive a signal from a controller, and a controller that allows a user to control the illuminable feature. 
     
     
         14 . The tire of  claim 13  wherein the controller receives input from a computer associated with a vehicle. 
     
     
         15 . The tire of  claim 14  wherein the controller is a wireless controller and the controller is not joined to the tire. 
     
     
         16 . A wheel for use on a vehicle, the wheel having an illuminable feature and comprising:
 a central hub;   a support structure extending radially outwardly from the central hub to a circular rim, the rim having two outwardly extending walls, an inner wall and an outer wall separated by a rim central region; and   an illuminable feature, the illuminable feature including at least one optical fiber.   
     
     
         17 . The wheel of  claim 16  wherein the illuminable feature is integrally formed into at least a portion of the wheel. 
     
     
         18 . The wheel of  claim 16  wherein the at least one optical fiber of the illuminable feature extends through at least a portion of the wheel. 
     
     
         19 . The tire of  claim 16  wherein the illuminable feature includes two or more optical fibers. 
     
     
         20 . The tire of  claim 16  wherein the at least one of the at least one optical fibers is operatively associated with a light source such that the light source, when lit, can direct light through the operatively associated optical fiber.