CN103359152B - Tho wheel support - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a kind of tho wheel support (10), it includes center hub (40,40a), wheel rim (12), and spoke component (20).Spoke component extends inward into center hub from the first position of wheel rim, and extends outwardly into the second place relative with first position of wheel rim.Spoke component is the structure that the two pieces with upper radial member and lower spokes component links, upper radial member together with lower spokes Member Welding to form hollow tubular structure, the spoke component rectangular shaped preferably as viewed from cross section.

Description

Tho wheel support

Technical field

Present invention relates generally to steering wheel and tho wheel support, and more particularly to a kind of with lightweight, low cost The steering wheel of improved tho wheel support.

Background technology

Steering wheel assembly be it is a kind of it is considerably complicated, require special stability and functional structure.The position of steering wheel Major mechanical structure in lower section is commonly referred to as skeletal core (skeleton core) or support.

The frame of handwheel or support have following primary clustering：Annular flange, multiple spokes and a center hub. Center hub has the opening being attached on vehicle steering shaft.

For many years, it has been proposed that the various methods for manufacturing support.Certain methods are included with the alloy of lightweight, such as magnesium Or aluminium alloy is come steering wheel of casting.These supports can be made durable and usual lighter weight.Main shortcoming is should Structural material is relatively costly.In most cases, support is encapsulated in plastic material composition, and can be coated with another kind above Material, such as leather.

In the prior art, by reduces cost, some steering wheels (usually handwheel) are made up of steel sheet metal prefabricated component.In US Isosorbide-5-Nitrae 11, in 239, two stamped sheet metals engage to form center spaced apart, with the jack for receiving spoke Domain；In assembling, whole or most of structure is encapsulated in celluloid, and it is a kind of plastic material conventional at that time.

Authorized in United States Patent (USP) 1,915,769 in 1993 later, wherein, the steering wheel of single type metallic plate is made, and Direction disk has the spoke of continuous wheel rim, wheel hub and connection wheel rim and wheel hub.Wheel rim and spoke are all tubuloses.The party It is light structures and it is said that its is firm, simple structure to disk, and low cost of manufacture.

Still later, US6,622,590 disclose a kind of core bar be made up of two relative housings, for steering wheel (core bar).Each housing has projection section and the first half-shell and the second half-shell that face each other but do not couple.These half Shell to be formd and limit spoke hollow space between the first half of wheel rim and spoke part and lower half, and half-shell.

Due to containing wheel rim, prior-art devices need to use larger sheet material when steering wheel is formed.This is inherently So that intimate 50% sheet material is dropped completely during pressing sheet material before required shape is suppressed.Secondly, these designs are attached Vicinal is put substantially has defect, and it effectively attenuates steering wheel from structure, so as to produce frequency issues, reverses and weakens and curved Stiffness is not enough.

Even so, using inexpensive steel theory as the higher costs alloy for using at present alternative still It is very attractive.

These and other target benefit that tho wheel support of the invention is realized hereinafter all is described.

The content of the invention

Tho wheel support includes center hub, wheel rim and spoke component (or according to need to extend from central area each Spoke).Spoke component extends inward into center hub from the first position of wheel rim, and extends outwardly into the usual with first of wheel rim The relative second place in position.Spoke component is two-piece type welding structure, and the structure is hollow to be formed with welding together The upper radial member and lower spokes component of tubular structure, its shape in the form of a substantially rectangular preferably when from terms of cross section.Another In individual embodiment, one of upper and lower radial member or lower spokes component partly extend between central hub and wheel rim.

In one embodiment, there is spoke component leading edge and trailing edge along upper radial member and lower spokes component to extend , the weld flange for facing.The weld flange of upper radial member is aligned with the weld flange of lower spokes component and is welded with it. The hollow tubular structure of spoke component has the height dimension and U-shaped extended between the front-end and back-end of the flange being welded Shape to control stiffness of support, between its flange measure depth-width ratio can change, with control spoke component or The torsional rigidity of specific radial member, while controlling the bending stiffness of spoke component or specific radial member.Spoke component With the distal end that wheel rim is rigidly secured in first position and second position on the other side.Spoke component can be in wheel rim Place and such as by welding or other manner rigidly link each far-end bend.Spoke component has positioned at spoke set Central wheel bore in part central area, the central wheel bore extends through radial member and lower spokes component.Center hub Extend through the wheel bore.Center hub has multiple weld flanges, so as to form petal-like structures at the top of it, each welding Flange is soldered on the part of spoke component.Center hub of the invention is with those for using at present in the prior art in function It is upper equivalent.In the present invention, wheel hub is made up of metallic plate, but center hub can be by blank system forge or mach Into.In a kind of pattern, hollow center hub has parallel cylindrical side wall, on its inner surface have spline in order to The end matching of steering column.In another embodiment, the lower part of center hub side wall is outwardly tapered, in order to it is another kind of The steering post design matching of type.In this second embodiment, it is often used without spline.

In a preferred embodiment, spoke component is formed as hollow tubular structure, and it has the rectangular cross-sectional of box like Face, wherein upper radial member is the stamped sheet metal for being configured to generally U-shaped cross section, the U-shaped cross-section has the shape that stretches out Into one group of side wall of relative flange.U-shaped cross-section has the top for extending between the sidewalls.Lower spokes component is pressed sheet Material, simplest form be with relatively thin, flat shape of cross section, but lower plate can include various grooves and spine, So that the rigidity of lower spokes component is greater or lesser.

Tho wheel support can further have one or more to extend to center hub or spoke component center from wheel rim Middle spoke.Middle spoke is typically arranged symmetrically between two distal ends of spoke component.Middle spoke can be by being configured to The flat stamped sheet metal of suitable shape is made.Middle spoke can have hollow cross section structure as other radial members Make.In the embodiment shown, single middle spoke has a pair of interior legs, leg be attached to spoke component relative to Every side of centre bore.

In one embodiment, wheel rim can be made up of solid bar.Alternatively, wheel rim can be by curving annular continuous loop Hollow tube is made, and wherein wheel rim is supported on spoke component.The tie point that spoke component is connected to wheel rim can change.In many In the embodiment for showing, tie point is located in about 3-4 o'clock positions and 8-9 o'clock position ranges.If wheel rim is configured to pipe, Steel pipe of the wheel rim preferably by pipe thickness in the range of about 0.5 to about 2mm is made.Preferred thickness is 0.75mm.Upper spoke structure Part and lower spokes component are preferably made up of the metallic plate of the thickness in the same range with about 0.5 to about 2mm respectively.Preferably Thickness is about 1mm, and the combination thickness at weld flange is preferably 2mm when soldered.Middle spoke is preferably by thickness in phase Single steel plate in co-extensive is made.Upper radial member is stamped to form, wherein side wall extend above flange certain altitude (h) and One fixed width (w).Highly (h) and width (w) co- controlling steering wheel is along the whole length of specific spoke and the adjacent region of spoke Torsional rigidity and bending stiffness between domain.Will be seen that, width (w) can change along the radial dimension of specific spoke, and this makes wheel The coefficient of torsion and bending coefficient of the adjacent part of spoke can change.The rigidity of wheel rim can by it comprising flattened section and Cutaway portion changes, and the stress of position and degree of flexibility that the flattened section and cutaway portion play control wheel rim flexure is carried Rise the effect of part.In other embodiments, radial member and/or the wheel more than one material of cause are made.

Brief description of the drawings

By example, with reference, present invention is described, wherein：

Fig. 1 is the exploded perspective view of the tho wheel support of the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, from the bottom up of tho wheel support towards tho wheel support component The stereogram that wheel rim is seen.

Fig. 3 is the top view of tho wheel support of the invention.

Fig. 4 takes along the hatching line A-A of Fig. 3 of the invention, is shown as being welded on wheel hub, steering wheel assembly and taking turns The sectional view of spoke.

Fig. 4 a are the sectional views of an alternative embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 5 is the sectional view that spoke component takes along the hatching line A-A of Fig. 3, it illustrates be welded to wheel hub upper spoke and It is welded to the lower spokes on wheel hub and upper spoke flange.

Fig. 5 a are the sectional views of an alternative embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 b show the relative size of spoke top and the welding region adjacent with the top.

Fig. 5 c show the upper spoke and lower spokes component being mechanically linked.

Fig. 5 d show an alternative embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 6 shows the radial cross-section for the part for cuing open the support.

Fig. 6 a and 6b show another modification of the invention.

Fig. 7,7a and 7b show the modification of steering wheel rim.

Fig. 8,8a, 8b and 8c show the various modifications of the construction of wheel rim of the invention and spoke.

Fig. 8 d show an alternative embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 9 is the sectional view along the hatching line A-A of Fig. 3, it illustrates the wheel hub of taper.

Figure 10 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention.

Specific embodiment

With reference to Fig. 1,2 and 3.Fig. 1 shows the exploded view of tho wheel support of the invention 10.Whole component 10 is (also such as Fig. 2 With shown in 3) include the following basic element of character：Wheel rim 12, spoke component 20, and wheel hub 40, spoke component 20 include upper radial member 21, lower spokes component 22, middle spoke 30.It is that spoke component selects stamped steel as material to reduce support cost.But, The combination of shaped steel or stamped steel, aluminium or magnesium or its alloy can be used alone or in combination.Fig. 1 shows that the present invention uses Two kinds of center hub 40 and 40a.First center hub 40 is in cone, and another wheel hub 40a has cylinder outer Wall.Wheel hub 40 and 40a represent wheel hub used during production, although they have difference.Each wheel hub 40 or 40a include what is extended Flange 41, it can be bent downwardly to form petal-like structures.Hub flange 41 can the pre-bending before spoke component assembling It is bent, but it is also possible to complete bending after radial member 21 in center hub 40,40a insertions.

With reference to Fig. 2 and 3, tho wheel support of the invention 10 is shown with final assembled state.Bottom-up towards wheel rim 12 solids seen illustrate the central area 20a that steel wheel hub 40a inserts spoke component 20 by centre bore 24,24a.Spoke set Part 20 is formed by the way that upper radial member 21 and lower spokes component 22 are welded together.When upper spoke and lower spokes component are assembled To together when, they formed the first spoke 121 and second spokes 122.When so configured, spoke component 20 is formed and had Hollow inside, i.e., form hollow structure by two radial members, to control torsion and the bending coefficient of spoke component 20.Institute The many sections for stating spoke component are designed with torsion high and bending coefficient, and other sections have low torsion and bending system Number.The structure forms highly effective and rigid component, and the used sheet metal of its order is effectively formed than in other cases The structure much firm in structure for being formed.

With reference to Fig. 3, its top view for showing support.Spoke component 20 in tho wheel support 10 about 3 points and 9 points when Pin position contacts via middle spoke 30 with wheel rim 12, and middle spoke 30 is displayed in positive 6 positions.The component forms quite unique Tho wheel support structure 10.

The metal plate component of radial member 21 and lower spokes component 22 is formed in just dress tho wheel support 10.By spoke The distal end of component 21 is appointed as 26, while the distal end of radial member 22 is appointed as into 28.These metallic sheet materials can be punching , then shaped and punching press using mould, to form the unique shape for upper radial member 21 and lower spokes component 22.It is logical Often, the central area 20a and wheel rim 12 of steering wheel are located in different planes.In order to realize this orientation, spoke or spoke structure Part needs to be bent.Each radial member is cut and is bent as needed, the radial member have correspond to be formed at The complementary bending section of the bending section in another radial member, therefore they can good fit into one when two components link Rise.Welding is provided by offer welding region or flange 27 on every side of upper radial member 21 and on lower spokes component is per side Region or flange 29, can strengthen assembling, thus, when linking, these weld flanges 27,29 can be welded together, from And form the hollow box structure for effectively strengthening whole spoke component 20.One or two weldering of the both sides of spoke component 20 Connecing region or flange can be replaced with weld seam.In Fig. 4 and 4a, upper radial member 21 and lower spokes component 22 are shown as by circle Cylindrical outer wall is attached to center hub 40a (see Fig. 1).A part of wheel hub 40a is shown in sectional view.Upper radial member 21 has There is centre bore 24 and be shown as U-shaped cross-section, the U-shaped cross-section has the flat top portion 21T for being bent downwardly to form round flange 23, Round flange 23 forms opening or hole 24.Wheel hub 40a slides down to the opening or hole of diameter of the diameter slightly larger than wheel hub 40a 24.As illustrated, upper radial member 21 is soldered (referring to mark 23a) to wheel hub 40a, the wheel hub of wheel hub 40a at flange 23 Flange 41 is soldered (referring to mark 23a) to flat top portion 21T in shown position.Wheel hub 40a has the flower being formed on inner surface It is bonded socket part 43.In fig .4, the downward flange 23 in center is cancelled, wheel hub 40a and upper radial member 31 is spot welded or wire bonding is arrived Together (see pad 23a).

With reference to Fig. 5, implement the second step of assembling, i.e., lower spokes component 22 is installed to around wheel hub 40a as shown in the figure, It is then soldered to wheel hub 40a and upper radial member.In Figure 5, the central part around its opening 24 ' of lower spokes component is formed There is the round flange 24a for extending downwardly and being welded to wheel hub 40a.Once completion, upper radial member and lower spokes component 21 and 22 The alignment of flange 27,29 and welded together, so as to forming close weld seam in every side of spoke component 20.As illustrated, This causes the structure of spoke component 20 and wheel hub 40 very firm and lightweight.It is convex in view of the condition limitation of many bonding machines The width w4 of the welding region of edge 27 and 29 is in the range of about 5mm.In practice, welding region 27,29 width w4 is narrower Better.As shown in figure 3, the width (w1, w2, w3 etc.) of the flat top portion 21T across upper radial member 21 can be changed, to control spoke The flexure of 121 or 122 each section and flexural property.The coefficient of torsion and bending coefficient of these sections can be with upper radial members Width (and height) change and change.In shown embodiments of the invention, the height (h) of upper radial member is generally protected Hold constant, but also can be change.The exemplified sectional views for cuing open B-B parts of Fig. 5 b.

Shorten compared with the embodiment with weld flange 27 and 29 the lower part 250 of the side of upper radial member 20.Under The corresponding side 252 of each of radial member is bent on each lower part 250, to realize being mechanically linked.In figure 5d, upper spoke The side of component and lower spokes component does not include weld flange, and generally mutually covering.Mark 23a characterizes interface weldering or line Weldering.

Fig. 6 shows the partial sectional view of the radial directed along hatching line A-A.Fig. 6 shows each several part of wheel hub 40a, wheel The central area of spoke component 20 and each several part of upper radial member 21 and lower spokes component 22.Fig. 6 a and Fig. 6 b show the present invention Another embodiment, wherein spoke 121 and 122 is made up of more than one material.In Fig. 6 a, upper radial member and lower spokes The part of the central area 20a close to spoke component (and wheel hub 40a) of component 21 and 22 and the above embodiment of the present invention phase It is than shortening and also for example made of stamped steel.Be attached to shorten part 321 and 322 and from part 321 and 322 extend Extension 324 is made up of another material, such as aluminium sheet or magnesium plate, and they together form its of spoke 121 and lower spokes 122 Remaining part point.Extension 324 forms the installation side of the cross section equivalent to box-shaped, upper radial member 326 and lower spokes component 328 Formula is identical with the upper radial member 326 of steel and the mounting means of lower spokes component 328.For the ease of will be made up of new material Radial member 326 and 328 is connected to the upper radial member and lower spokes component that stamped steel is made, the radial member that new material is made Including shrinking (neck-down) part 340, the upper radial member and lower spokes structure of its steel for sliding into shortening as shown in Figure 6 b In the openend that part 21 and 22 is formed.Fig. 6 b are the cross sections along hatching line 6b-6b.The elliptic region 226 of dotted line shows in Fig. 6 a The position that these metals should link together.Rivet, bolt, and other mechanical fastening devices, such as TOX fastenings can be used Part.

Referring briefly to Fig. 7,7a and 7b, these figures schematically illustrate the deformation of the construction of the wheel rim 12 of support 10.As Finished steering wheel, is coated with plastic coating covering material 200, usually polyurethane foam on wheel rim 12, flexible plastic, or Similar material.In the figure 7, wheel rim 12 includes multiple grooves 202, and it is used to control the position of most probable bending during wheel rim stress.This Outward, if removing groove 202, the wheel rim in Fig. 7 schematically illustrates the wheel rim in Fig. 1,2 and 3.Drawings described below shows to control wheel rim Other methods how bent during 12a stress.In figure 7 a, the section 204 of wheel rim 12a is driven plain to promote wheel rim 12a at this A little location bendings.Wheel rim 12a can be driven plain radially or along the direction perpendicular to radial direction.Each wheel rim 12 and 12a can be pipes It is shape or solid.In Fig. 7 b, wheel rim 12b is substantially compound；The a part of of such as the 206 of such as wheel rim 12b can be The openend 210 of steel bend pipe, solid hopkinson bar or the insertion tube 206 of pipe 208.The wall of the pipe 206 that openend 210 is formed is in wheel rim 12b It is clamped before being covered by material 200 or is otherwise deformed, with fix bar or pipe 208.Bar or pipe 208 can by with pipe The different steel of 206 hardness is made, or is made up of the different materials of such as aluminium or magnesium.It is understood that wheel rim 12b is easy to Bent at softer material.Another bar or pipe can be placed in the lower area of pipe 206.

Fig. 8,8a, 8b, 8c show the structural change of spoke of the invention.Fig. 8 is the sectional view of the C-C sections along Fig. 3, its The distal end 28 and 26 of the top and bottom for terminating at tubular rim 12 of radial member 21 and lower spokes component 22 is shown respectively. In Fig. 8 a, solid wheel rim 12d instead of tubular rim 12.As it was previously stated, the construction of radial member provides a kind of controlling party To the means of disk rigidity.In figure 8b, upper radial member 21 is shortened and not extends up to wheel rim 12.Taken turns by removal The part of spoke component 21, lower spokes component 22a would indicate that with upper radial member 21 corresponding component match when compared with more Big flexibility ratio, the mechanism it illustrates another for controlling the flexure of spoke component 20.Fig. 8 c show and are coated with plastics Covering material 200, the wheel rim 12 in a Fig. 8 and upper radial member and lower spokes component part.Steering wheel is generally included Such as 220 central lid, it represents the airbag cover above the wheel hub of steering wheel and a part for spoke component 20.Object The decorative cover of the 222 lower parts for representing coverage direction disc carrier.The invention provides the spoke of another control direction disk The method of 121 and 122 rigidity.It is to represent to be injection molded into radial member and lower spokes structure to refer again to Fig. 8 and mark 224,224 The material in space 226 between part 21 and 22.

With reference to Fig. 9, it illustrates another exemplary wheel hub 40, wherein, center hub 40 carries expand or taper Bottom 41a.In this case, the weld flange 41 of wheel hub 40 is initially axially disposed, therefore wheel hub can pass through spoke The opening 24 of component and 24' are installed.Lower spokes component 22 is slided on wheel hub 40 and is welded to wheel hub 40 (see pad 23a). Then, upper radial member 21 is slided and welded on wheel hub 40.The flange 41 of wheel hub 40 is bent to and is welded to spoke 21 Top 21T.Radial member construction shown in Fig. 5 can also be used together with the wheel hub 40.

As illustrated, the top view of the tho wheel support with reference to Fig. 3,6 o'clock position be connected to the breast wheel of wheel rim 12 Spoke 30 extends internally as single steel plate, and the steel plate has two legs " U "-shaped in convergence center hub 40 or 40A 31,32.Leg 31,32 is straddled in center hub 40, every side of 40A, and can be positioned on the flange of spoke component 20 And be welded on flange.

Upper radial member 21 and lower spokes component 22 are soldered to wheel rim 12 in the position of the supporting wheel rim 12 of spoke component 20 On.As it was previously stated, wheel rim 12 can be made up of the thin-wall steel tube of wall thickness 0.75mm.Referring briefly to Fig. 8 d；In this embodiment, The end or distal end of upper radial member are same to be extended below wheel rim, and positioned at wheel rim and the end or distal end of lower spokes component Between, so as to form multi-ply construction at the attachment point of spoke component and wheel rim.

With reference to Fig. 3 and other figures, shown middle spoke 30 has similar depressed part with 6 o'clock position branch at distal end 36 Hold wheel rim 12；Middle spoke 30 and wheel rim 12 are soldered together.For example, middle spoke 30 is the steel plate materialses of thick 2mm.Not In the case of changing supporting structure, the diameter of the wheel rim 12 of support 10 can change between 380mm to 400mm.It is true, Because spoke 121,122 and 30 can as follows deflect (deflect), i.e., slightly extended inwardly or outwardly in assembling；Due to The limitation of tubular rim diameter, the support 10 can be secured permanently once being soldered.Referring back to steel wheel hub 40 or 40A, it is important that steel wheel hub 40 or 40A shown in recognizing can have the wall of thickness about 2mm, and this causes whole support 10 Extremely lightweight, the wherein whole central area 20a of component 10 is generally made up of spoke component 20.

Fig. 4,5 and 9 is referred again to, lower spokes component 22 has flange 23, it extends downwardly toward center hub 40 or 40A, So as to provide extra surface for steel wheel hub 40 or 40A are welded into lower spokes 22.These at hole 24 with wheel hub 40 or 40A The flange annex extending side by side is that steel wheel hub is welded into spoke component 20 there is provided optimal welding position, therefore component 20 Than simply far more robust by the termination component that is made of welding.As described above, importantly notice the radial member of diagram Link is order.Alternatively, other weldments can be made, wherein the pre-assembled spoke component before attached wheel hub 40 20, or alternatively wheel hub 40 and spoke component 20 can be produced as subcomponent, wherein before tubular rim 12 is installed, They are formed together with middle spoke 30.Once assembled, whole support 10 can according to need use plastic material plated film, mould Modeling, or dipping, then use any necessary artificial leather or leather substance according to need.

As shown in the top view of Fig. 3, top-portion apertures 25 are arranged on two radial members 21, in 22.This some holes 25 is aligned, and Then provide the installation site that bolt enters to attach air bag module if the need arises.

As illustrated, tho wheel support of the invention 10 shows based on required by professional standard when various tests are carried out , attractive rigidity and frequency performance.For example, the desired value of static bending test is to be deflected less than 15mm；The present invention Support test result for deflection 13.7mm, surpass recommendation.The desired value of wheel rim test is 8500 circulations；It is of the invention Steel wheel rim has passed through this requirement when testing.The desired value for putting on the torsional bending of wheel rim 12 is under given load 200000 circulations；Direction disc carrier 10 has easily passed the requirement.The desired value of intrinsic frequency is more than 40Hz；It is shown The test result of the exemplary tho wheel support 10 of gained of the invention reached 50.8Hz, fall into claimed range well.

The advantage of tho wheel support of the invention 10 is, the spoke component 20 of upper radial member and lower spokes component 21,22 The box structure with great rigidity is formed when being formed and being welded along the flange edge 27,29 of matching.The rigidity is with wheel The shape and size of spoke component 21,22 highly change.It is desirable that needing only to that upper radial member 21 is manufactured and moulded Shape, to make it have paired side wall 21S, the shape of top 21T.Extra benefit can be provided using two flanges 27,29. Instantly radial member 22 is a flat structure and during with complementary bending section be directed at upper radial member 21, adjustment lower whorl Spoke component 22 makes it when being positioned relative to upper radial member 21 with the flange 27,29 being oriented so as to, i.e. they can be from wheel Edge is welded with extending to wheel rim accessory position across spoke component 20.This is beneficial, because box structure is in whole spoke set Effectively kept on part 20, and along this sliver without thick or solid construction.Can by the height for improving upper spoke side wall 21S To change size rigidity.

If it is determined that need excessive height for a certain rigidity, then going up radial member and lower spokes component 21 and 22 can be into Shape is that lower spokes component can relatively have depressed part with flat structure.In this case, two radial members 21 and 22 Combination cavity or hollow space will be formed between 29 in flange 27, its is sufficiently high can to form very big moment of inertia. The construction increases torsion and bending stiffness, and then causes that two spoke architectures are difficult to reverse when welded together as shown in the figure And/or bending.When distal end 26,28 is completely welded at the depressed part for supporting wheel rim 12, wheel rim 12 becomes structural portion Part, it contributes to radial member 21,22 to maintain in position and prevents it from further outwardly or inwardly moving.It is arranged at 6 points The middle spoke 30 of Zhong Weizhichu is similarly provided in the additional stiffness in the lower area of support 10.The spoke 30 can be not Need the single plate of material of depressed part.Alternatively, spoke can be have it is similar transversal with what is shown in the spoke component The upper radial member of face shape and the component of lower spokes component.The middle spoke can also be saved and removed.

Construction with reference to shown in Fig. 8 d, advantageously, the upper part of wheel rim 12 is not supported by substantially, and can be in thing Therefore in any impact load carry out certain deflection when occurring.This is beneficial, because it can be with portion when passenger clashes into wheel rim Ground is divided to absorb the energy of passenger.It is desirable that supporting structure 10 is suitable to be adjusted in terms of performance, rigidity, bending and frequency, because This support 10 for being formed can be adjusted to meet any customer demand, and be determined to be best suitable for spoke component 20 according to those demands Shape of cross section.Shown spoke component 20 has generally rectangular shaped shape of cross section.It can be more in central hub area It is wider, central hub area 20a and the parallel orientation of wheel rim 12.Then when spoke component stretches out, it bends from first Position bends upwardly to the second bending position.This results in the less central fovea for being ideally suited for receiving above-mentioned gas bag unit Cave.

Each radial member 21,22 is designed with the second additional bending section, second bending section have be outwardly directed to wheel rim 12 slight curvatures for extending.When radial member on these and lower spokes component outwardly and upwardly extend, they bend to greatly again Cause is opened in this place, and then spoke component 20 extends to the type face (profile) of pressing at distal end 26 and 28.The depressed part is Wheel rim 12 provides supporting.This combination provides above-mentioned support 10, and allow an engineer to the shape of enough adjustment direction disc carriers 10 With structure meeting client the need for steering wheel aspect of performance.As it is further described, wheel rim accessory position be shown as it is slightly inclined From three and nine o'clock position, in other words, they are slightly expanded to about 3 relative to hour hands:30 and 8:30 position Lower position.If however, using middle spoke 30, the middle spoke is accurately positioned in another two wheel rim accessory position The six-o ' clock position at center, to realize required stabilization.

Produce wheel rim and spoke component accessories as shown inwardly from center hub downwards to 3:30 and 8:30 displacement Component 10 can be made slightly firmer and slightly more flexible in upper part in the lower part of wheel rim 12.This makes being partially formed for wheel rim 12 thin Micro- but favourable flexural buckling；Secondly, unless two above do not have cavity between radial member and lower spokes component, otherwise it is Make the thickness of middle spoke 30 identical with the thickness of spoke component 20, because middle spoke 30 is single sheet material, so wheel rim 12 Lower part be to a certain extent flexible.Therefore, be thickness 2mm flat board wheel of the middle spoke 30 than same thick 2mm Spoke component 20 is relatively more flexible, however, can be adjusted by the depressed part or cavity that are formed between upper and lower two radial member The thickness.

As illustrated, be adjustable into its shape as the upper and lower radial member 21,22 that spoke component 20 is set can change Become, and it is substantially rectangular cross section that its shape can be provided with oval cross section or flatten, or upper and lower spoke component Combination 20, both size shapes cause to form interval between two spokes, thus lower spokes 22 can not be one it is flat Spoke, but it is alternatively provided with the depressed part similar with upper spoke 21 and is turned into and forms even thicker when they link Composite construction.

All these and other alternative forms within above-mentioned the scope of the present invention all can be consideration.It is shown Design is stamped to form by steel not expensive in principle.As illustrated, wheel rim 12 is in itself by tubular extruded or solid hopkinson bar system Into.These are all that the generally the least expensive of tho wheel support 10 and most cheap form are constituted using necessary element.Can understand Ground finds out that the upper radial member and lower spokes component 21,22 of punching press are designed as follows, and they can be stamped, from And many elements are formed without excessive waste material by single-piece sheet material.This is extremely important, because attempting most of comprising wheel rim The tho wheel support of punching press is all completed with the cost of obsolete material.Disclosure is particularly well suited to because by managing (or bar) structure Into wheel rim 12 be practically without waste material, while the part of punching press also only produces a small amount of waste material.Additionally, for gas bag unit Hole 25 similarly produces the waste material of certain area when in use；But, these can also be firm to provide structure with deflecting inward The flange hole of degree.Therefore, above design provides efficient mechanical structure, all of design that it can meet tho wheel support will Ask, and cost has been greatly reduced than existing magnesium and alloy structure.

Figure 10 shows an alternative embodiment of spoke component 320.Spoke component 320 includes upper radial member 321 With lower spokes component 322, they have flange 27 and 29 respectively.But flange 29 is invisible in Fig. 10 to be shown with dotted line 29. Upper radial member 321 includes multiple holes 340, and lower spokes component 322 includes the similar opening of the multiple being aligned with corresponding hole 340 342.Remove radial member material and form the weight that this some holes alleviates support.In view of the construction of above-mentioned spoke component 320, This some holes is introduced to be had little to no effect for the intensity of support.

According to description provided herein, various modifications can be carried out to the present invention.Although for description subject matter has shown that Some representational embodiments and details, but it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that without departing substantially from the scope of the invention In the case of can carry out various remodeling and modification to the present invention.It will therefore be appreciated that being limited in appended appended claims In fixed whole invention scopes, above-mentioned specific embodiment can be retrofited.

Claims (26)

1. a kind of tho wheel support (10), the tho wheel support includes：

Center hub (40,40a)；

Wheel rim (12)；With

Spoke component (20), the spoke component extends inward into the center hub from the first position of the wheel rim, and to The second place relative with first position of the wheel rim is extended to outward, and the spoke component is with upper radial member and lower whorl The structure that the two pieces of spoke component links, the upper radial member and lower spokes component link together to form hollow tubular knot Structure, the hollow tubular structure of the spoke component has and prolongs between the first position and the relative second place The height dimension and shape stretched, to control stiffness of support.

2. tho wheel support according to claim 1, it is characterised in that the spoke component is additionally included in wheel rim first Put the paired welding extended along each edge of the upper radial member and the lower spokes component and the second place between convex Edge (27,29).

3. tho wheel support according to claim 2, it is characterised in that the hollow tubular structure of the spoke component With the height dimension and shape that extend between the weld flange.

4. tho wheel support according to claim 3, it is characterised in that the spoke component has in first position and phase To second position be rigidly secured to the distal end (26) of the wheel rim.

5. tho wheel support according to claim 1, it is characterised in that the spoke component has song in each far-end Rate, the rims seat is in being attached on the distal end and rigidly the distal end.

6. tho wheel support according to claim 1, it is characterised in that the spoke component has to extend through and is configured to The described upper radial member and the central wheel bore (24,24 ') of the lower spokes component being assemblied in around the center hub.

7. tho wheel support according to claim 1, it is characterised in that the center hub has the spoke structure on described On part extend and with the weld flange for being welded to the upper radial member.

8. tho wheel support according to claim 1, it is characterised in that the spoke component is formed as the square with box like The hollow tubular structure of shape cross section.

9. tho wheel support according to claim 1, it is characterised in that the upper radial member be configured to it is flanged The stamped sheet metal of cross section, and with the side wall adjacent with the flange and the top for extending between the side walls, work as institute When stating radial member and being attached to the lower spokes component, it forms flanged rectangular cross section.

10. tho wheel support according to claim 9, it is characterised in that the lower spokes component is with flat horizontal stroke The stamped sheet metal of cross sectional shape.

11. tho wheel supports according to claim 1, it is characterised in that the upper radial member and the lower spokes structure Part has across the multipair complementary bending section of spoke element width, wherein the spoke set part has at the center hub Center (20a) and multipair bending section, so that the spoke extends up to the wheel rim, while keeping the upper spoke and institute State the hollow shape and distance between lower spokes.

12. tho wheel supports according to claim 4, it is characterised in that also including from the wheel rim to the centre wheel The middle spoke (30) that hub extends.

13. tho wheel supports according to claim 12, it is characterised in that the middle spoke is located at the spoke component Two distal ends in the middle of.

14. tho wheel supports according to claim 13, it is characterised in that the middle spoke is as viewed from cross section in flat Smooth shape.

15. tho wheel supports according to claim 13, it is characterised in that the middle spoke has paired inside branch Pin a, leg is attached to every side of the spoke component relative to the centre bore.

16. tho wheel supports according to claim 12, it is characterised in that the wheel cause curves the continuous loop of annular Hollow tube is made.

17. tho wheel supports according to claim 16, it is characterised in that the wheel rim is in three and nine o'clock position It is supported on the spoke component.

18. tho wheel supports according to claim 17, it is characterised in that the wheel rim is also supported in six-o ' clock position On the middle spoke.

19. tho wheel supports according to claim 16, it is characterised in that the steel pipe of the wheel cause thickness of pipe wall 0.75mm It is made.

20. tho wheel supports according to claim 2, it is characterised in that the upper radial member and the lower spokes structure Respectively by thickness by the steel plate of 1mm is made, when soldered, the combination thickness at the weld flange is 2mm to part.

21. tho wheel supports according to claim 12, it is characterised in that the middle spoke is by the single of thickness 2mm Steel plate is made.

22. tho wheel supports according to claim 9, it is characterised in that the upper radial member is stamped to form, institute State side wall and height (h) is extended to above the flange, the height (h) is got up to provide with the shape cooperation of the spoke component The rigidity of the tho wheel support.

23. tho wheel supports according to claim 1, it is characterised in that the more than one material of wheel cause is made.

24. tho wheel supports according to claim 1, it is characterised in that the spoke component is by more than one material system Into.

25. tho wheel supports according to claim 1, it is characterised in that the wheel rim and/or spoke component include control Bending and the device of flexure.

26. tho wheel supports according to claim 1, it is characterised in that the spoke component include across one or Two openings on surface.