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AssigneeUretech International, Inc.
InventorsScott L. Murray, Paul N. Skotynsky, Richard J. Ashman
Estimating the term…
A composite styled wheel has a rigid wheel backbone with a plastic overlay on an outboard face thereof. The wheel backbone is positioned in a lower mold to define a mold cavity therebetween, and an upper mold seals through apertures in the wheel backbone. The lower mold has a ring-shaped forming surface that selectively abuts the outboard flange edge of the wheel backbone, and a riser which selectively engages the wheel backbone, and selectively positions the outboard flange edge a spaced apart distance from the forming surface to define a venting space therebetween. A reactive urethane mixture is injected into the mold cavity to fill at least a portion of the same, and flow the mixture through the venting space to evacuate air from the mold cavity. Before the mixture is fully cured, the riser is actuated, the wheel backbone and lower mold are converged, so that the outboard flange edge abuts the forming surface to seal off the venting space, and form over at least a portion of the outboard flange edge, a smooth, skinned, mold-formed outer portion of the plastic overlay.
In a composite styled wheel of the type comprising a metal wheel backbone including a disc and a rim interconnected to form an assembly operable as a metal street wheel when a pneumatic tire is mounted on said rim, wherein said assembly includes an outboard flange with a terminal, outer edge, and an ornamental overlay disposed adjacent and covering at least part of an outboard face of said metal wheel backbone, said overlay comprising a body of resilient plastic urethane material permanently affixed to said metal wheel backbone, the outboard face of said overlay being exposed to view from the outboard side of said wheel and having a contour differing from the contour of the covered part of the outboard face of said metal wheel backbone and providing a decorative contour over at least said wheel disc, said disc having a central aperture and wheel mounting fastener holes therein, said overlay having apertures including an internal surface registering coaxially with said disc central aperture and holes and defining a central cavity in said body adapted to receive a wheel hub and mounting parts therein, the improvement wherein, said outer edge on the outboard flange of said metal wheel backbone has a contour which diverges from a radially outward portion thereof in an axially inward direction to a radially inward portion thereof, such that said outer edge is oriented generally at an acute angle with respect to the axial centerline of said wheel, and said overlay has a smooth, skinned, mold-formed exterior surface at said outboard face, and a radially outwardlymost portion overlying at least a portion of said outboard flange edge, which portion is formed integrally with said overlay, and has a smooth, skinned, mold-formed exterior surface that is continuous with and blends into said exterior surface at said outboard face of said overlay, thereby avoiding trim cuts and rough edges on said smooth, skinned mold formed exterior surface of said overlay which result in exposing an interior cellular construction of said resilient plastic urethane material.
A composite styled wheel comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.