Land vehicles: wheels and axles – Wheel – Detachable wheel section
Patent
1999-03-04
2000-08-22
Stormer, Russel D.
Land vehicles: wheels and axles
Wheel
Detachable wheel section
301 3563, B60B 2700
Patent
active
061060763
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a single-nut light-alloy wheel assembly for an automotive vehicle.
In so-called single-nut light-alloy wheels the hub, rim and nut are arranged coaxially with an axle of the wheel. For this purpose the hub comprises an axial pin provided with an external threading and a contact surface for the rim arranged in an annular manner around the pin. The rim comprises in turn a contact surface for the hub and a contact surface for the nut. The latter comprises lastly an axial internal threading for engagement with the threaded pin of the hub, a driving head for rotating operation and a contact surface for the rim.
The use of single-nut wheels is no longer limited to competition vehicles but is spreading also to touring automotive vehicles whose sporting features it is sought to accentuate. This spreading is increased in particular thanks to the provision of adaptation kits permitting installation of single-nut wheels even on vehicles equipped with multi-nut hubs by making use of interface false hubs suited on the one hand to assembling on multi-nut hubs and on the other hand to receiving single-nut rims. On this matter see WO95/05291.
Assembly and disassembly of a single-nut wheel are the critical aspects which have conditioned spreading. Indeed, while in competition use the speed with which it is possible to complete wheel changing is appreciated, in touring use the great torque which it is necessary to apply to the nut either to tighten or loosen it is unwelcome. This shortcoming is only partly attenuated by special wrenches with extensible arm (70 cm or more) supplied as standard equipment to the purchasers of single-nut wheels.
Disassembly is particularly critical and especially if performed after very long use of the wheel. There have been cases in which, with only the torque applicable through the wrench supplied, loosening proved virtually impossible because of seizure between the nut and the rim caused probably by imperceptible positioning errors during assembly, errors which cause very small play between the mating surfaces, or by the formation of oxide between the parts (the surfaces of the nut and the rim in mutual contact cannot be protected with paint).
The problem underlying the present invention is to provide a single-nut wheel assembly in which tightening and loosening of the nut would be made easier.
Consequently, the present invention relates to a single-nut light-alloy wheel assembly for an automotive vehicle comprising a hub born by the automotive vehicle, a rim and a nut for fixing the rim on the hub, wherein the hub, the rim and the nut are arranged coaxially along an axis of the wheel assembly and wherein: hub, of the rim for the nut and the contact surface of the nut for the rim to not rotate against each other during rotation of the nut.
Indeed, it has been observed that the rim is held in correct position by the axial thrust exerted on it by the tightened nut and by the resulting sliding friction with the hub between the respective contact surfaces in mutual contact. In addition it has also been observed that accidental loosening of the nut once tightened is prevented by the sliding friction between the mutually engaged threading of the nut and the hub and this friction which is also caused by the axial thrust between the nut and the hub. The axial thrust between the nut and the hub is thus the real purpose of tightening the nut.
Viceversa, it has been observed that the sliding friction between the nut and the rim does not provide any effective contribution to holding the rim in position nor does it prevent accidental loosening of the nut while it is the cause of an often predominant part of the torque necessary for tightening or loosening the nut. The positive effect in this sense that can be noted upon a superficial examination of the situation is indeed only apparent. Indeed, all the torque absorbed by the friction between the nut and the rim during tightening is torque subtracted from overcoming the sliding friction on the threading and from generation
REFERENCES:
patent: 1299400 (1919-04-01), Budd
patent: 1368473 (1921-02-01), Beatty
patent: 2046779 (1936-07-01), Hack
patent: 4591211 (1986-05-01), Browning et al.
patent: 5211448 (1993-05-01), Hyashi
Stormer Russel D.
Toora S.R.L.
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