Combined valve stem and pressure gauge

Claim 1

A combined valve stem and pressure gauge device that extends through an opening in an automotive rim that has a tire mounted thereon to communicate with the interior of said tire, said device capable of permitting air under pressure to be discharged into or out of said tire, with said device visually indicating by color whether said tire is inflated to a recommended pressure or over or under inflated, said device including: a. an opaque, tubular jacket that has first and second ends and an interior body shoulder adjacent said first end; b. first means on said first end of said jacket for holding said jacket in communication with the interior of said tire on said rim; c. an end cap seated on said body shoulder in said tubular jacket, said end cap having an aperture extending therethrough; d. a transparent tube longitudinally disposed in said tubular jacket and secured thereto, said transparent tube having first and second ends, said first end in abutting contact with said end cap to hold the latter on said body shoulder, and said second end of said transparent tube outwardly disposed from said second end of said tubular jacket a substantial distance therefrom; e. an air inlet member that includes a first elongate tube that has a first end and a second end, said second end developing into a second axially aligned tube of substantially greater diameter than said first tube, said second tube on the end thereof most remote from said first tube developing into a flange from which an internally and externally threaded shell projects, said first and second tubes disposed within said transparent tube, said first tube extending through said aperture and cooperating to define an annulus space therewith, said flange in abutting contact with said second end of said transparent tube; f. a spring-loaded externally threaded air inlet valve disposed in said shell and in engagement with said internal threads therein; g. an opaque sleeve secured to said second end of said transparent tube and longitudinally spaced from said second end of said tubular jacket, said sleeve and tubular jacket cooperating with said transparent tube to define a cylindrical window; h. a pressure indicating member that includes a third tube slidably mounted on said first tube, said third tube having first and second ends, said first end of said third tube developing into a head, said second end of said third tube developing into a cylindrical body that has a band of yellow thereon that is the same width as the length of said window, and first and second bands of red on opposite sides of said yellow band, and said head having first and second elongate concentric sidewalls of a resilient material extending therefrom; i. second and third means for securing the free ends of said first and second sidewalls to said first tube and to said inlet cap to define a confined space between said first and second side walls that is in communication with said annulus, said confined space at all times in communication with pressurized air in said tire; and j. a compressed helical spring that has first and second ends, said helical spring enveloping said first side wall, said first spring having said first end secured to said end cap and said second end to said cap, said spring at all times tending to prevent said pressure indicating member moving away from said end cap, and said spring so calibrated as to longitudinally deform to the extent that said pressure indicating member moves longitudinally in said transparent tube to dispose said yellow band in transverse alignment with said window when said air in said confined space is at said recommended pressure, with at least a portion of said first red bend showing in said window when said tire is over inflated, and at least a portion of said second red band showing in said window when said tire is under inflated.