Land vehicles: wheels and axles – Wheel – Detachable wheel section
Patent
1998-04-06
1999-11-16
Dayoan, D. Glenn
Land vehicles: wheels and axles
Wheel
Detachable wheel section
152409, 152410, 152DIG10, 152401, 301 353, 301 3551, 301 95, 301 96, 301 97, 301 98, 403313, 403309, B60B 500
Patent
active
059844213
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a vehicle wheel rim, primarily for heavy off-highway vehicles such as earth movers and of the general kind having a rim base carrying a pair of bead retaining flanges, one of which is on or incorporated in a separate bead seat ring releasably retained, in use, on the rim base by a locking ring engaging a formation provided on the rim base.
Relative movement between the bead seat ring and rim base can lead to the tire and/or wheel, and possibly the associated power transmission assembly also, being damaged. It is therefore common practice for a wheel of this kind to incorporate a locking arrangement to prevent such relative movement. Some known locking arrangements include cooperating parts welded respectively to the rim base and bead seat ring and interlocked, in use, by a keying device. Other arrangements employ a key clamped or welded to the locking ring and engaging both the bead seat ring and rim base via suitable formations to prevent the aforesaid relative rotation. All of these prior arrangements can fail under high stress, usually by weld fracture and/or loosening of clamps, and with the increasing use of modern high power vehicle transmissions this problem is becoming more pronounced.
An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle wheel rim which is more resistant to high stress failure than some conventional devices.
According to the invention, the locking ring is shaped so as to cooperate with formations respectively in the bead seat ring and rim base to provide a positive lock limiting relative rotation between the bead seat ring and rim base.
Preferably, the locking ring is shaped to engage a recess formed in the rim base and is itself engaged in locking relationship by a protrusion formed on the bead seat ring. The locking conveniently takes place within the outer diameter of the locking ring.
Typically, a single shaped portion of the locking ring cooperates with formations respectively on the rim base and bead seat.
The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a part-sectional perspective view of part of one form of a vehicle wheel of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a partly cut-away fragmentary view of a part of the wheel of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view of FIG. 2 in the direction of arrow A of FIG. 2, and
FIG. 4 is a cross-section along the line B--B of FIG. 2.
Referring first to FIG. 1, the wheel rim illustrated therein includes an annular rim base 1 having a lateral support flange 1A around one peripheral extremity thereof for a separate tire bead retaining flange 2, the opposite peripheral extremity being provided with a thickened gutter section 3. A further lateral support flange 1B is formed on a separate component, in the form of a bead seat ring 5, and is engaged by a separate tire bead retaining flange 4. The bead seat ring is retained on the rim base by a locking ring 6 engaged in a groove in a gutter 7 formed in the gutter section 3 of the rim base. A sealing ring 8 is trapped between the bead seat ring and rim base to prevent leakage of air past the ring when a tubular tire (not shown) is mounted on the wheel rim, in use.
As can be seen more clearly from FIG. 2, the locking ring 6 is split transversely, as is conventional, but, in accordance with the invention, one end portion 6A is shaped to extend radially inwardly into engagement with a pocket or recess 9 formed in the gutter 7 or rim base 1. Shaping of the end portion 6A may be effected by deformation, typically by hot or cold working, or by machining or by a combination of deformation and machining. The pocket or recess 9 may also be produced by deformation, again typically by cold or hot forming or possibly by machining or both. The locking ring is thereby keyed to the rim base in such a manner as to limit rotational relative movement between itself and the rim base. In order to key the bead seat ring 5 itself to the locking ring, the bead seat ring is provided with a radially inwardly directed pr
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patent: 4209052 (1980-06-01), French
patent: 4721142 (1988-01-01), Foster
patent: 5107914 (1992-04-01), Yamoto et al.
Dayoan D. Glenn
Steel Wheels Limited
LandOfFree
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