Vehicle wheel with disc forming outer tire retaining flange

Abstract

An automotive passenger vehicle, full-face styled wheel construction having a sheet metal disc with an outer peripheral portion formed to provide an outboard tire bead retaining flange. The rim includes an inboard tire bead retaining flange, an inboard tire bead seat portion, a drop-center well portion and an outboard bead seat portion. The outboard edge of the rim has a radially in-turned flange portion extending circumferentially continuously around the rim edge with a radially extending abutment surface at the outboard extremity thereof. The disc outboard flange also has a radially extending rim mating surface disposed in abutment with the rim edge abutment surface. The rim edge flange has a radially inwardly sloping surface extending between the rim outboard bead seat and rim edge abutment surface which defines with the disc outboard flange a trench disposed radially inwardly of the rim outboard bead seat. The rim and disc parts are permanently joined by a circumferentially continuous weld formed in the trench. The disc has an annular array of vent holes with axially inboard offset marginal portions, the radially outermost portions thereof providing a series of circumferentially spaced surfaces collectively defining a disc ledge concentric with the wheel axis. The outboard rim edge flange has a radially inwardly facing cylindrical surface contacting said disc ledge in axially telescoped relationship therewith to thereby locate the rim on the disc and to help support the rim against radially inwardly directed service loading imposed on the rim.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.