Thermoplastic wheel hub
AssigneeBASF SE
InventorsWilliam J. McMaster, Stephen P. Serna, Prasanna Kondapalli
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A thermoplastic wheel hub (10) includes a center hub (26) for attachment to a wheel bearing (20) of a vehicle. The center hub (26) has a central shaft aperture (28) extending axially therethough and a plurality of lug apertures (30) spaced radially from and circumferentially about the central shaft aperture (28). The thermoplastic wheel hub (10) also includes a plurality of ribs (40) extending radially outwardly from the center hub (26). The thermoplastic wheel hub (10) further includes a cylindrical tire mount (46) connected to the ribs and extending axially in substantially a plane for mounting a non-pneumatic tire (12) thereon.
Claims7
A thermoplastic wheel hub comprising:
- a center hub for attachment to a wheel bearing of a vehicle, said center hub having a central shaft aperture extending axially therethrough and a plurality of lug apertures spaced radially from and circumferentially about said central shaft aperture;
- a plurality of ribs extending radially outwardly from said center hub, in which pairs of the ribs form U-shaped apertures therebetween;
- and
- a cylindrical tire mount connected to said ribs and extending axially for mounting a non-pneumatic tire thereon,
- wherein said tire mount is an outermost layer of said wheel hub that is in direct contact with said plurality of ribs
- wherein said center hub is cantilevered by said ribs to said tire mount and wherein each of said ribs have a reduced uniform wall thickness in aesthetic areas.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.