Composite rim of vehicle wheel and method of manufacturing the same
AssigneesHyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation
InventorsJeong Min Cho, Chi Hoon Choi, Young Chan Kim
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed are a composite rim of a vehicle wheel and a method of manufacturing the same, which is reduced in weight through the use of a continuous fiber composite. The rim of a vehicle wheel may be formed by stacking composite sheets, each prepared by impregnating fibers with a resin to form a sheet. The composite sheets may be stacked in multiple layers such that end portions of the respective composite sheets may contact each other in a circumferential direction of the wheel, and discontinuous interfaces, formed at the contacting end portions of the respective composite sheets along an axial direction of the wheel, may not be aligned with each other.
Claims7
A method of manufacturing a rim of a vehicle wheel, the method comprising:
- preparing a mold corresponding to a shape of the rim;
- preparing a plurality of fabric sheets;
- stacking the respective fabric sheets in multiple layers on the prepared mold such that entire end portions of the respective fabric sheets contact each other in a circumferential direction of the mold, discontinuous interfaces of the respective fiber fabric sheets are formed at the contacting entire end portions of the respective fabric sheets and along an axial direction of the mold,
- wherein the discontinuous interfaces of the respective fiber fabric sheets are not aligned with each other;
- and
- injecting and curing a resin into the stacked fiber fabric sheets;
- wherein the stacking comprises:
- forming a pre-base layer by disposing one or more of the fabric sheets on the prepared mold such that the entire end portions of the respective fabric sheets contact each other in the circumferential direction of the mold and the discontinuous interfaces of the respective fiber sheets in the pre-base layer are formed at the contacting entire end portions of the respective fabric sheets in the pre-base layer in the axial direction of the mold;
- and
- forming a pre-reinforcement layer by stacking one or more of the fabric sheets on the pre-base layer such that the entire end portions of the respective fabric sheets in the pre-reinforcement layer contact each other in the circumferential direction of the mold and discontinuous interfaces of the respective fiber sheets in the pre-reinforcement layer are formed at the contacting end portions of the respective fabric sheets in the pre-reinforcement layer in the axial direction of the mold,
- wherein the discontinuous interfaces formed in the pre-base layer and the discontinuous interfaces formed in the pre-reinforcement layer are not aligned with each other;
- and
- wherein, in the forming of the pre-reinforcement layer, the fabric sheets are stacked in multiple layers, the one or more fabric sheets are stacked such that the entire end portions of the respective fabric sheets in the pre-reinforcement layer contact each other in the circumferential direction of the wheel and the discontinuous interfaces of the respective fabric sheets in the pre-reinforcement layer are formed at the contacting entire end portions of the respective fabric sheets in the pre-reinforcement layer in the axial direction of the wheel, and the discontinuous interfaces of the respective fabric sheets in the pre-reinforcement layer are not aligned with each other.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.