Vehicle wheel assembly and related method therefor

A method of assembling a wheel cover to a wheel to form a wheel assembly, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing a wheel having an outboard surface thereon;
• providing a wheel cover having an inboard surface thereon to face said outboard surface of said wheel;
• forming a homogeneous gas/adhesive mixture by mixing an adhesive and a gas;
• dispensing said homogeneous gas/adhesive mixture to produce a bead of closed-cell foamed adhesive on at least one of said inboard and outboard surfaces of said wheel cover and said wheel;
• assembling said wheel cover together with said wheel such that said inboard surface of said wheel cover faces said outboard surface of said wheel, wherein a gap is defined between said inboard and outboard surfaces, said bead of closed-cell foamed adhesive being compressed between said wheel cover and said wheel to spread said bead of closed-cell foamed adhesive therebetween, whereby said bead of closed-cell foamed adhesive occupies a predetermined volume of said gap;
• and
• allowing said bead of closed-cell foamed adhesive to cure, thereby permanently bonding said wheel cover to said wheel to form said wheel assembly.

A method of assembling a wheel cover to a wheel to form a wheel assembly, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing a wheel having an outboard surface thereon;
• providing a wheel cover having an inboard surface thereon to face said outboard surface of said wheel;
• providing a dispensing device that is used for:
• supplying an adhesive;
• supplying a pressurized inert gas;
• and
• mixing said pressurized inert gas with said adhesive to produce a homogeneous gas/adhesive mixture, said pressurized inert gas remaining intermixed in solution within said adhesive;
• dispensing said homogeneous gas/adhesive mixture from said dispensing device to apply a bead of foamed-in-place adhesive to at least one of said inboard and outboard surfaces of said wheel cover and said wheel, said gas expanding within said adhesive to foam said homogeneous gas/adhesive mixture upon introduction of said homogeneous gas/adhesive mixture to atmospheric pressure during said dispensing step;
• assembling said wheel cover and said wheel together such that said inboard surface of said wheel cover faces said outboard surface of said wheel, wherein a gap is defined between said inboard and outboard surfaces of said wheel cover and said wheel, said bead of foamed-in-place adhesive being compressed between said wheel cover and said wheel to spread said bead of foamed-in-place adhesive therebetween to form a spread adhesive, whereby said spread adhesive occupies a predetermined volume of said gap;
• and
• allowing said spread adhesive to cure, thereby permanently bonding said wheel cover to said wheel to form said wheel assembly;
• such that said spread adhesive covers a greater surface area per weight unit than unfoamed adhesives of the prior art and cures more rapidly than unfoamed adhesives of the prior art to reduce manufacturing process time.

A wheel assembly comprising:

• a wheel having an outboard surface thereon;
• a wheel cover having an inboard surface thereon corresponding to said outboard surface of said wheel;
• a gap between said wheel and said wheel cover;
• and
• a bead of closed-cell foamed adhesive at least partially spread between said wheel cover and said wheel and occupying a predetermined volumetric portion of said gap, said bead of closed-cell foamed adhesive comprising a high density liquid phase adhesive and a gas phase in the form of a plurality of gas bubbles entrapped within said liquid phase adhesive, wherein said plurality of gas bubbles have been at least partially released to atmosphere as a result of said bead of closed-cell foamed adhesive being at least partially spread.

A wheel assembly comprising:

• a wheel having an outboard surface thereon;
• a wheel cover having an inboard surface thereon corresponding to said outboard surface of said wheel;
• a gap between said wheel and said wheel cover;
• and
• a foamed-in-placed bead of closed-cell foamed adhesive at least partially spread between said wheel cover and said wheel and occupying a predetermined volumetric portion of said gap, said bead of closed-cell foamed adhesive comprising a high density liquid phase RTV adhesive and a gas phase in the form of a plurality of gas bubbles entrapped within said liquid phase adhesive, wherein said plurality of gas bubbles have been at least partially released to atmosphere as a result of said bead of closed-cell foamed adhesive being at least partially spread;
• such that said foamed adhesive covers a greater surface area per weight unit than unfoamed adhesives of the prior art and cures more rapidly than unfoamed adhesives of the prior art to reduce manufacturing process time.