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US 7,243,584 B1Granted
Mask for a wheel lathe chuck that prevents whip chip
AssigneeHayes Lemmerz International, Inc.
InventorGeoffrey L. Gatton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A protective cover that is shaped as a mirror image of a portion of a wheel surface is attached to a support plate of a wheel lathe chuck assembly to protect the portion of the vehicle wheel surface during machining.
Claims18
A wheel chuck assembly comprising:
- a support plate adapted to be attached to a wheel lathe spindle;
- a clamping mechanism carried by said support plate, said clamping mechanism operable to releasably clamp a vehicle wheel;
- and
- a substantially disc shaped protective cover removably attached to said support plate opposite the wheel lathe spindle, said cover having a shape formed as a mirror image of at least a portion of a wheel surface of a wheel to be machined upon the wheel chuck assembly such that said cover is adapted to contact said portion of said wheel surface to provide protection to said portion of said wheel surface during machining of the wheel.
1 more element
A method for machining a vehicle wheel, the method comprising:
- (a) providing a cover having a shape that mirrors at least a portion of a vehicle wheel surface during machining;
- (b) mounting the cover on a wheel lathe chuck;
- (c) mounting a wheel on the wheel lathe chuck adjacent to the cover with the cover extending over a portion of a wheel surface;
- and
- (d) machining the wheel with the cover providing protection to the portion of the wheel surface mirrored by the cover.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.