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US 2002/0101112 A1Published application
Tool and process for finishing a vehicle wheel surface
AssigneeHayes Lemmerz International, Inc.
InventorsGeoffrey L. Gatton, Richard T. Guernsey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle wheel has an outboard face which includes a smoothed portion to provide a cosmetic finish to the wheel face. The smoothed portion is formed by pressing a cutting tool having a non-symmetrical tip against the wheel surface as the wheel is rotated.
Claims17
A vehicle wheel comprising:
- an annular wheel rim portion;
- and
- a wheel disc formed across said wheel rim, said wheel disc having an outboard surface, said outboard surface including a smoothed portion which provides a pleasing cosmetic appearance.
A process for forming a decorative surface upon an outboard surface of a wheel disc, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a machined vehicle wheel including a wheel rim and having a wheel disc extending radially across the wheel rim;
- (b) mounting the wheel in a lathe;
- (c) rotating the wheel;
- and
- (d) urging a cutting tool against an outboard surface of the wheel disc and traversing the smear cutting tool in a radial direction across the outboard surface of the wheel disc such that the wheel disc outboard surface has a polished appearance.
2 more elements
A cutting tool for smoothing a wheel surface comprising:
- a rhombic shaped body portion having a mounting aperture formed therethrough;
- and
- a non-symmetrical working tip inserted into one end of said body portion, said tip having arcuate leading and trailing edges, said leading edge having a leading edge radius and said trailing edge having a trailing edge radius, said leading edge radius being twice the trailing edge radius.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.