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US 4,294,490 AGranted
Fiber-reinforced composite wheel construction
AssigneeMotor Wheel Corporation
InventorJames A. Woelfel
Life of this patent
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AssigneeMotor Wheel Corporation
InventorJames A. Woelfel
Estimating the term…
A fiber-reinforced composite vehicle wheel, and a method and apparatus for construction thereof. The wheel comprises a disc portion having reinforcing fibers in substantially random orientation disposed predominantly in planes perpendicular to the wheel axis, and a rim portion having directional first reinforcing fibers substantially parallel to each other and oriented circumferentially of or substantially parallel to the wheel axis, or both, and second reinforcing fibers which are substantially randomly oriented circumferentially of the wheel axis. The method includes formation of separate rim and disc charges from sheet molding plastic resin compound and compression molding of the charges to form an integral composite rim and disc structure of essentially homogeneous resin reinforced by the fibers. An apparatus for molding the wheel features radially movable rim mold sections and axially reciprocable disc mold sections all having mold surface contours for forming a molded composite wheel of desired configuration.
A composite wheel of fiber-reinforced resin comprising a disc wherein reinforcing fibers comprise fibers oriented randomly of the wheel axis and a rim wherein reinforcing fibers include first fibers oriented substantially randomly of the wheel axis and directional second fibers all extending in a direction essentially parallel to the wheel axis with the random and directional reinforcing fibers in said rim being disposed in essentially distinct layers radially of said wheel axis and with the fiber to resin weight ratio being in the range of 30% to 80%.
A composite wheel rim of fiber-reinforced resin wherein reinforcing fibers includes first fibers oriented substantially randomly of the rim axis and directional second fibers all extending in a direction essentially parallel to the rim axis with the random and directional reinforcing fibers in said rim being disposed in essentially distinct layers radially of said rim axis and with the fiber to resin weight ratio being in the range of 30% to 80%.
A composite wheel of fiber-reinforced resin comprising a disc portion having reinforcing fibers oriented randomly of the wheel axis and an integral rim portion having first reinforcing fibers oriented substantially randomly of the wheel axis and directional second reinforcing fibers disposed in symmetrical crossed patterns at an acute angle with respect to the wheel axis with the fiber to resin weight ratio being in the range of 30% to 80%.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.