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US 5,509,726 AGranted
Variable off-set full face wheel and method for making the same
AssigneeMotor Wheel Corporation
InventorJoseph C. Overbeck
Life of this patent
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AssigneeMotor Wheel Corporation
InventorJoseph C. Overbeck
Estimating the term…
A multi-piece, non-take-apart full-face vehicle wheel assembly having a multiple-part disc in which a wheel mounting disc center part and a disc outer part are each made separately from one another. Each disc part has an annular connector flange formed respectively at the inner and outer peripheries thereof engaging one another in assembly and permanently secured to join the disc parts. Various types of flange joints and fastening systems are employed to join the flanges, including welding systems and mechanical fastening systems. In one joint embodiment the connector flanges of the disc outer part and center part have either conical or cylindrical shape and extend respectively inboard and outboard of said wheel assembly and slidably telescopically overlap with a press fit in assembly. In another joint embodiment the overlapping flanges of the disc center and outer parts extend generally radially of the wheel assembly. In most of the disclosed embodiments the rim has an annular flange extending radially inwardly therefrom in the vicinity of the rim outboard bead seat, and the disc outer part radially overlaps the rim flange. A second joint permanently secures the rim flange and disc outer part together circumferential around the same. The rim may be made from rolled ferrous or non-ferrous sheet metal, or as a machined casting, forging or extrusion of a light metal alloy. The disc outer part and center part are separately manufactured as sheet metal stampings from materials such as stainless, HSLA, or mild carbon steels or non-ferrous light metal alloys.
A multi-piece, non-take-part full-face vehicle wheel assembly comprising a single piece drop-center-well rim having an inboard bead seat and an outboard bead seat for mounting of a pneumatic tire thereon, said rim having annular disc mounting means affixed thereto and extending radially inwardly of the rim, a wheel mounting disc center part with a center pilot opening and a circular row of wheel mounting bolt holes encircling said center pilot opting for receiving wheel mounting fasteners for fixing said wheel to the wheel mounting structure of a vehicle, and a disc outer part having an annular outer peripheral portion radially overlapping and permanently secured to said disc mounting means of said rim in assembly therewith, said disc outer part also having an intermediate window vent opening portion disposed radially between said disc center part and said outer peripheral portion, said disc outer part and said wheel center part each being made separately from one another and each having an annular connector flange formed respectively at the inner and outer peripheries thereof, said connection flanges engaging one another in assembly, and connector means permanently squaring said center part and said disc outer part together at said connector flanges, and wherein said connector flanges have complimentarily shaped end edges disposed in interfitted abutment, and said connector means comprises circumferentially continuous weld means formed at an overlap joint defined by said end edges and securing the same permanently together.
The wheel assembly as set forth in claim 2 wherein said end edges have complimentary stepped faces forming a dove-tail butt joint therebetween, and said weld means comprises inboard and outboard weld beads respectively aligned with said joint faces at the inboard and outboard sides of said flanges.
A multi-piece, non-take-part full-face vehicle wheel assembly comprising a single piece drop-center-well rim having an inboard bead seat and an outboard bead seat for mounting of a pneumatic tire thereon, said rim having annular disc mounting means affixed thereto and extending generally radially of the rim, a wheel mounting disc center part with a center pilot opening and a circular row of wheel mounting bolt holes encircling said center pilot opening for receiving wheel mounting fasteners for fixing said wheel to the wheel mounting structure of a vehicle, and a disc outer part having an annular outer peripheral portion overlapping radially said rim disc mounting means and permanently secured thereto in assembly therewith, said disc outer part also having an intermediate window vent opening portion disposed radially between said disc center part and said outer peripheral portion, said disc outer part and said wheel center part each being made separately from one another and each having an annular connector flange formed respectively at the inner and outer peripheries thereof, said connection flanges engaging one another in assembly, and connector means permanently securing said center part and said disc outer part together at said connector flanges, and wherein said connector flanges of said disc outer part and said center part overlap in assembly and extend respectively inboard and outboard of said wheel assembly at their overlap in assembly, and said connector means comprises fastener means formed at the overlap interengagement of said center part and disc outer part flanges and permanently securing said disc part and center part together, and wherein said disc center part and said disc outer part together form the sole vehicle-load-bearing structural supports between said rim and said center part bolt holes whereby said disc center part is unobstructed on its wheel outboard side by any wheel rim support structure in the Space defined axially outboard of said bolt holes and radially inwardly of the annular overlap engagement of said annular connector flanges.
In an automotive passenger vehicle full face wheel construction having a disc fabricated as a stamping from one-piece sheet metal blanks and including a central bolt circle portion, an intermediate portion extending generally radially outwardly from said bolt circle mounting portion and an outer peripheral portion surrounding said intermediate portion, said disc outer peripheral portion being formed to provide an outboard tire bead retaining flange for said wheel, and a rim including an inboard tire bead retaining flange, an inboard tire bead seat portion, a drop-center well portion, an outboard bead seat portion, and a rim edge portion extending circumferentially continuously around said rim adjacent said rim outboard bead seat, said rim and disc being permanently joined by a circumferentially continuous weld formed at a junction of said rim edge portion and said disc outer peripheral portion, the improvement wherein the vehicle-load-bearing rim support structure of said wheel disc consists solely of a two- part stamped sheet metal construction by stamping two separate one-piece blanks such that said central bolt circle mounting portion is made as a wheel mounting center part stamping separately from said intermediate and outer peripheral portions of said disc Star, said center part stamping comprising a bolt hole and mounting pad portion and an annular flange portion having an outer periphery extending in a wheel outboard direction, said disc intermediate portion consisting of the disc outer part of said two stamped parts and having an annular reversely curved outboard protruding hat section portion bounded radially inwardly thereof by an annular mounting flange portion having a radially innermost periphery extending in a wheel inboard direction, said flange portion peripheries overlapping one another in assembly, and said wheel further includes connection means permanently joining said disc center part and disc outer part flange portions to one another at a joint defined by the overlapped peripheries of said flanges, and wherein said disc center part and said disc outer part together form the sole vehicle-load-bearing structural supports between said rim and said center part bolt holes whereby said disc center part is unobstructed on its wheel outboard side by any wheel rim support structure in the space defined axially outboard of said bolt holes and radially inwardly of the annular overlap engagement of said annular connector flanges.
A multi-piece, non-take-part full-face vehicle wheel assembly comprising a single piece drop-center-well rim having an inboard bead seat and an outboard bead seat for mounting of a pneumatic tire thereon, said rim having annular disc mounting means affixed thereto and extending radially inwardly of the rim, a wheel mounting disc center part with a center pilot opening and a circular row of wheel mounting bolt holes encircling said center pilot opening for receiving wheel mounting fasteners for fixing said wheel to the wheel mounting structure of a vehicle, and a disc outer part having an annular outer peripheral portion radially overlapping and permanently secured to said disc mounting means of said rim in assembly therewith, said disc outer part also having an intermediate window vent opening portion disposed radially between said disc center part and said outer peripheral portion, said disc outer part and said wheel center part each being made separately from one another and each having an annular connector flange formed respectively at the inner and outer peripheries thereof, said connection flanges engaging one another in assembly, and connector means permanently securing said center part and said disc outer part together at said connector flanges, wherein said connector flanges of said disc outer part and said center part extend respectively inboard and outboard of said wheel assembly and overlap in assembly, and said connector means comprises weld means formed at the interengagement of said center part and disc outer part flanges and permanently securing said disc part and center part together, wherein said weld means comprises an inboard circumferentially continuous weld bead formed at a junction of said center part flange and the inboard side of said disc part intermediate portion, wherein said center part connector flange has an end edge formed with an undercut shoulder and said shoulder radially outwardly overlaps an inboard edge of said disc part connector flange.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.