Wheels
AssigneeGKN Sankey Limited
InventorsDonald Pankhurst, Terence Roy Crowe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wheel includes a rim, and a disc by which the wheel is attached to a hub. The disc is attached to the rim by generally axially extending fasteners each of which passes through a respective opening of the disc and is received in a respective generally axially extending passage of a connection member. Tolerances in the openings of the disc and/or the passages of the connection member or members and/or the fasteners permit variation in the position of the disc relative to the rim. At least two indicators are provided, the positions of which are fixed with respect to the rim. Each indicator may be aligned with a corresponding additional opening in the disc.
Claims15
A wheel rotatable about a wheel axis, comprising:
- a) a rim;
- b) a disc for attachment to a hub of a wheeled vehicle, said disc having a disc opening extending along the axis;
- c) connecting means for connecting the disc in a generally concentric position to the rim, including a passage extending along the axis and aligned with the disc opening in said concentric position, and a fastener passing through the passage and the aligned disc opening;
- d) said disc opening, said passage and said fastener having manufacturing tolerances that permit angular variation from said concentric position;
- and
- e) alignment means for adjustably aligning the disc to the rim to said concentric position prior to connecting the disc to the rim, including a plurality of alignment openings extending through the disc and angularly spaced from the disc opening, and a plurality of indicating means having fixed positions on the rim and respectively alignable with the alignment openings.
A method of mounting a wheel on a hub of a wheeled vehicle for generally concentric rotation about a wheel axis, comprising the steps of:
- a) providing a rim;
- b) providing a disc for attachment to the hub with a disc opening which extends along a wheel axis;
- c) connecting the disc in a generally concentric position to the rim by aligning the disc opening with a passage extending along the axis through the rim, and by passing a fastener through the passage and the aligned disc opening;
- and
- d) adjustably aligning the disc to the rim to said concentric position prior to performing the connecting step by forming a plurality of alignment openings that extend through the disc and that are angularly spaced from the disc opening, and by forming a plurality of indicators having fixed positions on the rim, and by respectively aligning the alignment openings with the indicators.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.