Land vehicles: wheels and axles – Wheel – With wheel cover
Patent
1994-07-28
1997-02-18
Stormer, Russell D.
Land vehicles: wheels and axles
Wheel
With wheel cover
301 3736, B60B 700
Patent
active
056035535
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The present invention relates to a bicycle wheel with a plurality of spokes extending between a hub and a rim to which at least one disk cover is removably attached in order to provide the wheel with a lateral fairing.
All types of bicycles (touring, racing, mountain bikes, etc.) have in common that the energy produced by the rider is largely used to overcome the air resistance, the driver's frontal area making the biggest contribution to drag, followed by the wheels.
In order to reduce the effect of the wheels on air resistance, various embodiments of fully integrated disk wheels have been introduced. Fully integrated disk wheels are completely covered on both sides, the disk cover serving as a load carrying element for both tension loads and other kinds of loads during the ride.
Compared to spoked bicycle wheels, the disadvantage of the fully integrated disk wheels is their distinctly poor ability to absorb road shocks. In addition, their rolling performance is noticeably rougher than that of spoked wheels. Furthermore, due to the disk's stiffness, fully integrated disk wheels produce considerably more noise during the ride.
In order to transfer the aerodynamic advantages of a fully integrated disk wheel to a conventional spoked wheel, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,838 for instance recommends to provide the spokes adjacent to the rim with a number of clips by which a disk cover is held in place serving as a lateral fairing of the bicycle wheel.
Another method already in use employs a plastic film which is supported at the hub, stretched and glued at the outer edge to the rim of the wheel, in particular to the rim side walls.
Both the clip disk cover as well as the adhesively joined plastic film are usually fitted to both sides of the wheel, the spokes remaining inside the fairing.
The disk cover as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,838 has the drawback of an air gap formed between the disk edge and the rim, thereby increasing the air resistance over that of the fully integrated disk wheel. In addition, changing of the disk cover requires undoing numerous fastening elements. Since these are simply clipped to the spokes, they can get lost. In this case, the disk cover is no longer uniformly supported along its circumference by the wheel.
Regarding the adhesively joined plastic film cover, damage of the plastic film requires its removal costing time and money. To inflate the tire, access to the valve is rather difficult in both cases.
Therefore, it is the intent of the present invention to improve the removable fastening of the lateral wheel cover by simultaneously providing the cover with a snug fit on all rim shapes omitting edges, bolts, air gaps or the like.
For a bicycle of the kind disclosed in claim 1 of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,838, the present invention offers a satisfactory answer to the above intent by providing the rim laterally with at least one circumferential catch groove into which the disk cover is engaged.
On the rim the catch groove is formed between the spoke hole side and the side wall of the rim. A catch groove of this kind can be formed on all types of rims, as for instance aluminum rims, stainless steel rims, hollow cross-section rims or concave flange rims. Catch groove fitted rims can therefore be used with both wire reinforced tires and folding tires. The disk cover disclosed by the present invention is simply clipped to the hub and then inserted in the catch groove along its outer edge. Since the catch groove is formed as an integral part of the rim, no additional fastening elements are needed. Neither air gaps nor edges are produced between the disk cover and the rim and/or rim side wall. The disclosure by the present invention offers a complete lateral wheel cover of optimum aerodynamic design as is usually provided only by the fully integrated disk wheel. At the same time, the bicycle wheel disclosed by this invention offers all advantages of the spoked wheel. All hub and spoke types in use for bicycles are suitable. Instead of conventional wire spokes, tensio
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Klieber Jochen
Wuttke Reinhold
F. W. Brokelmann Aluminiumwerk GmbH & Co.
Stormer Russell D.
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