Metal founding – Means to shape metallic material – Including means to assemble mold parts
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-17
2001-02-13
Pyon, Harold (Department: 1722)
Metal founding
Means to shape metallic material
Including means to assemble mold parts
C164S340000, C164S341000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06186218
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates in general to multiple-piece molds for forming vehicle wheels and in particular to a multiple-piece mold having interchangeable components and a process for forming wheels which utilizes such a mold.
In the past, vehicle wheels typically have been formed entirely from steel. However, wheels formed from light weight metals, such as aluminum, magnesium and titanium, or alloys thereof, are becoming increasingly popular. In addition to weighing less than conventional all-steel wheels, such light weight wheels can be manufactured having a pleasing esthetic shape. Weight savings also can be achieved by attaching a wheel disc formed from a light weight metal alloy to a steel wheel rim.
Light weight wheels are typically formed by casting or forging operations. Conventional casting operations include numerous processes, such as die casting, low pressure injection casting and gravity casting. Conventional casting operations typically utilize a wheel mold formed from a number of pieces. A wheel mold for casting a one piece vehicle wheel defines a mold cavity which includes a rim cavity for casting a rim portion of the vehicle wheel and a disc cavity for casting a disc portion of the vehicle wheel. During a casting operation, molten metal is poured into the mold cavity and flows into the rim and disc cavities. After the metal cools sufficiently to solidify, the mold is opened and a rough wheel casting is removed. The wheel casting is then machined to a final shape. Machining can include turning the outside and inside surfaces of the wheel rim, facing the inboard and outboard wheel disc surfaces and drilling a center pilot hole and mounting holes through the wheel hub.
For high volume production of vehicle wheels, a highly automated gravity casting process is frequently used. Such automated gravity casting processes typically use a casting machine having a plurality of wheel molds mounted upon a moving structure, such as a rotatable carousel. Each wheel mold is indexed past a refractory furnace containing a pool of molten metal. A charge of molten metal is removed from the furnace pool and poured into a gate formed in the mold. The gate communicates with the mold cavity and gravity causes the metal to flow from the gate into the mold cavity, filling the rim and disc cavities. The mold and the molten metal cool as the casting machine indexes the other molds to the refractory furnace for charging with molten metal. Alter a sufficient cooling time has elapsed, the mold is opened and the wheel casting removed. The mold is then closed and again indexed to the refractory furnace to be refilled with molten metal.
Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in
FIGS. 1 and 2
a typical prior art multiple-piece wheel mold, which is shown generally at
10
. The mold
10
is formed from a high temperature resistant metal, such as steel. The mold
10
includes an annular shaped base
11
which supports the other mold members. The base
11
has a base member
12
which is typically formed as a single piece. The base member
12
has an upper surface
13
which is stylistically shaped to form the outboard face of the disc portion of the wheel casting. As shown in
FIG. 1
, the base
11
also can include a number of mold components which are attached to the base member
12
.
The mold
10
further includes a pair of movable side members
15
and
16
which are supported by the base
11
. While two side members
15
and
16
are shown in
FIG. 1
, it will be appreciated that the mold
10
can include more than two side members. The side members
15
and
16
are movable in a horizontal direction in FIG.
1
and can be extended to a closed position, which is illustrated in
FIG. 1
, or retracted to an open position by a conventional mechanism which, for clarity, is not shown in FIG.
1
. The side members
15
and
16
are shown partially retracted in FIG.
2
. The side member
16
, which is shown on the right in
FIG. 1
, has a gate
17
formed therein. A plurality of passageways extend from the gate
17
through the inner surface of the right side member
16
.
The mold
10
also includes a top core
20
which is disposed between the side members
15
and
16
. The top core
20
can be extended and retracted in a vertical direction, as illustrated in
FIG. 2
, where the top core
20
is partially retracted. Typically, the top core
20
has a central member
21
which is typically formed as a single piece. Similar to the base member
12
, the top core
20
has a lower surface
21
which is stylistically shaped to form the inboard face of the disc portion of the wheel casting. As shown in
FIG. 1
, the top core
20
also can include a number of mold components which are attached to the central member
21
.
When the mold
10
is closed, as shown in
FIG. 1
, the mold
10
defines a mold cavity
25
having a rim cavity
26
for forming the rim portion of the vehicle wheel and a disc cavity
27
for forming the disc portion of the vehicle wheel. The mold cavity
25
communicates with the gate
17
through the passageways formed through the inner surface of the right side member
16
. During casting, the gate
17
receives a charge of molten metal for casting the wheel and feeds the charge into the mold cavity
25
filling the rim and disc cavities
26
and
27
. Following solidification of the molten metal in the mold cavity
25
, the side members
15
and
16
and top core
20
are fully retracted to allow removal of the wheel casting from the mold base
12
.
As described above, the casting process allows the wheel disc to be stylized. Increasingly, stylists are designing distinctive wheels for specific vehicles and also for different trim lines of the same vehicle. As also described above, the wheel disc is formed by the cooperation of the stylized lower surface
22
of the top core
20
and the stylized upper surface
13
of the base member
12
. Accordingly, a complete mold is typically constructed for each wheel design. For mass production with the automated casting process, a set of complete wheel molds are typically fabricated for each wheel design. The molds arc then stored between production runs of the wheel.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a multiple-piece mold having interchangeable components and a process for forming wheels which utilizes such a mold.
As described above, there is a growing demand for custom designed wheels which are cast for a particular vehicle. However, the fabrication of complete wheel molds typically requires 20 to 30 weeks, delaying production of prototype wheels once the design is completed. Additionally, production runs are similarly delayed while additional molds are fabricated for the automated casting machines. Accordingly, it would be desirable to reduce the amount of time need to prepare the wheel molds.
The present invention contemplates a multiple piece form for forming a vehicle wheel component which includes a universal ring-shaped base support member with a removable disc-shaped base center member mounted thereupon to form a base member assembly. The form also includes a top core member. The base center member is one of a plurality of interchangeable base core members having a stylized shape. The base member assembly cooperates with the top core end member to form a stylized wheel disc.
The invention further contemplates that the top core includes a stylized top core end member mounted upon a universal annular top core member with the top core end member cooperating with the top universal top core member to form a top core assembly. The top core end member is one of a plurality of interchangeable top core end members.
In the preferred embodiment, the base center member is formed having a beveled edge and the base support member is formed having a beveled edge which is complementary to the beveled edge of said base center member. The base center member beveled edge cooperates with said base support member beveled edge to form a joint between the base center member and the base support memb
Hayes Lemmerz International Inc.
Lin Ing-Hour
MacMillan Sobanski & Todd LLC
Pyon Harold
LandOfFree
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