JP2001010302A - Wire spoke type wheel cover for vehicle wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wire spoke type wheel cover for a vehicle wheel to reduce size by decreasing the thickness of the whole of the wheel cover as a depth feeling and a solid feeling like a wire spoke type wheel are improved. SOLUTION: A wire spoke type wheel cover is removably mounted on the outside surface of a vehicle wheel having a hub part supported by a wheel and a rim part on which a tire is mounted. A wheel cover 1 forms a two-piece structure comprising an outer cover 2 having a number of outer wire spoke parts 6 radially in the direction of a radius extending between a central part 4 to cover a hub part and a ring part 5 to cover a rim part; and an inner cover 3 having inner wire spoke parts 10 formed in a manner to respectively cross the outer wire spoke parts 6. The outer and inner wire spoke parts 6 and 10 are formed approximately in a semicircular shape in cross section and such that arcuate surfaces 6c and 10c point to the outside.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wire spoke type wheel cover mounted on an outer surface of a vehicle wheel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to improve the appearance of an automobile wheel, a resin wheel cover having various designs is sometimes mounted on the wheel. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a number of wire spokes extending in a radial direction between a circular central portion 31 covering a hub portion of a wheel disc and an annular ring portion 32 covering a rim portion, as shown in FIG. A wire spoke-type wheel cover that is integrally formed so as to intersect the portions 33 and has an appearance like a wire spoke wheel is gaining popularity.

However, when the wire spoke type wheel cover is formed into a one-piece structure by molding, there is a drawback in that the depth and the three-dimensional appearance are poor and the appearance is low as compared with an actual wire spoke wheel.

On the other hand, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 60-25501 discloses a method in which a plurality of cover pieces having a large number of wire spokes are laminated, and the wire spokes of each cover piece are crossed with a gap in the wheel axis direction. Structures have been proposed. According to this structure, a sense of depth and a sense of three-dimensionality of each wire spoke can be improved.

[0005]

However, in the wheel cover disclosed in the above-mentioned prior art, each wire spoke has a structure in which the wire spokes are crossed with a gap, so that a sense of depth and a three-dimensional effect can be obtained. However, there is a problem that the size in the axial direction of the wheel increases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional circumstances, and is intended for a vehicle in which the thickness of the entire wheel cover can be reduced and the dimension in the wheel axial direction can be reduced while improving the sense of depth and three-dimensional effect. It is an object of the present invention to provide a wire spoke type wheel cover for a wheel.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a wire spoke type wheel cover detachably mounted on an outer surface of a vehicle wheel having a hub portion supported by an axle and a rim portion to which a tire is mounted. An outer cover having a plurality of outer wire spokes extending radially in a radial direction between a center portion covering the hub portion and a ring portion covering the rim portion, and intersects the outer wire spoke portion. And a two-piece structure comprising an inner cover having an inner wire spoke formed as described above, wherein the outer and inner wire spokes are formed to have a substantially semicircular cross section and an arc surface facing outward. Features.

[0008]

According to the wire spoke type wheel cover of the present invention, the wheel cover has a two-piece structure of an outer cover and an inner cover, and the outer wire spoke portion and the inner wire spoke portion of each cover intersect. As a result, it is possible to enhance the sense of depth and three-dimensional feeling when viewed from the side of the vehicle while attached to the wheel,
An appearance like a wire spoke wheel can be produced.

Further, in the present invention, since the outer and inner wire spokes have a semicircular cross-section and the arc surface faces outward, the outer and inner wire spokes are not impaired in depth and three-dimensional appearance. Can be brought close to each other, and the thickness of the entire wheel cover can be reduced as compared with the case where a plurality of cover pieces of the conventional publication are laminated,
This has the effect of reducing the size of the wheel in the axial direction. In addition, since the inner wire spoke portion is formed in a semicircular shape, a gap between the inner wire spoke and the wheel can be secured, and the sense of depth and three-dimensional feeling can be further enhanced.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 4 are views for explaining a wire spoke type wheel cover of a vehicle wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wheel cover, and FIG. 2 is a view of an outer cover and an inner cover. Exploded perspective view for explaining an assembled state, FIG.
Is a perspective view showing an assembled state of the outer cover and the inner cover, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fitting portion between the outer cover and the inner cover.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a wire spoke type wheel cover for an automobile wheel, and the wheel cover 1 is detachably fitted to an outer surface of a wheel disk (not shown). The wheel disk has a structure in which a hub portion supported by an axle and a rim portion to which a tire is mounted are connected by a disk.

The wheel cover 1 is made of resin molded by a mold, and has a two-piece structure including an outer cover 2 and an inner cover 3. The outer cover 2 has a disk-shaped center portion 4 having a size enough to cover the hub portion of the wheel disc, a ring portion 5 coaxial with the center portion 4 and covering the rim portion of the wheel disc,
The ring portion 5 and the center portion 4 are integrally connected by a number of outer wire spoke portions 6 extending radially in the radial direction. Hexagonal nipples 6a, 6a for enhancing the design effect are integrally formed at both ends of the outer wire spokes 6.

The central portion 4 is a roughly basin-shaped member formed by bending a flange 4b inwardly on an outer peripheral edge of a disk 4a serving as a design surface. The outer wire spoke portions 6 are formed on the flange 4b. The nipple portion 6a on the center side is integrally connected. A notch 4c into which an inner nipple described later is inserted is formed between the nipples 6a of the flange 4.

The ring portion 5 is formed integrally with an inner peripheral edge of a ring plate 5a so as to bend a flange 5b inward. A nipple portion 6a on the outer end side of the outer wire spoke portion 6 is formed on the flange 5b. They are connected integrally. A notch (not shown) into which an inner nipple described later is inserted is formed between the nipples 6a of the flange 5b. The ring portion 5 is formed with a plurality of fitting pieces 7 fitted to the rim portion of the wheel disc at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction.

The inner cover 3 has an inner central portion 8 inserted into the central portion 4 of the outer cover 2 and an inner ring portion 9 coaxial with the inner central portion 8 and inserted into the ring portion 5. A plurality of inner wire spokes 10 extending radially in the radial direction between the inner ring portion 9 and the inner central portion 8 and integrally joined. Hexagonal nipple portions 10a, 1 are provided at both ends of the inner wire spoke portion 10.
The nipple portions 10a are connected to the inner central portion 8 and the inner ring portion 9, respectively.

The wheel cover 1 includes an outer cover 2
The inner central portion 8 and the inner ring portion 9 of the inner cover 3 are inserted into the central portion 4 and the ring portion 5, and both nipple portions 10a of the inner wire spoke portion 10 are notched 4c of the central portion 4, respectively. It is located in a notch (not shown) of the ring portion 5 and is formed by joining the central portions 4 and 8 and the ring portions 5 and 9 together with an adhesive or high-frequency welding. Thereby, the outer cover 2 and the inner cover 3 are integrally connected.

Each of the wire spokes 6 and 10 is formed to have a semicircular cross section and arcuate surfaces 6c and 10c facing outward.
The inner surface of the outer wire spoke portion 6 is in contact with the outer surface of the outer wire 0, or faces the outer surface of the outer wire spoke 6 with a slight gap. Thereby, the outer wire spoke portion 6 and the inner wire spoke portion 10
The dimension in the axial direction of the wheel is about one half of that when the spokes having a circular cross section are brought into contact with each other, and the inner wire spoke is provided between the inner wire spoke 10 and the wheel disc. A gap approximately equal to the radius of the portion 10 is provided.

Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described. According to the present embodiment, the wheel cover 1 has a two-piece structure of the outer cover 2 and the inner cover 3, and the outer covers 2, 3 intersect the outer wire spokes 6, the inner wire spokes 10 in the axial direction. In this way, the wheel cover 1 can be attached to a wheel disc to enhance the sense of depth and three-dimensional appearance when viewed from the side of the vehicle, thereby producing an appearance like a wire spoke type wheel. Can improve the appearance.

In the present embodiment, the outer and inner wire spokes 6 and 10 have a semicircular cross section and the arc surfaces 6c and 10c face outward, so that the depth and the three-dimensional effect are impaired. The distance between the outer and inner wire spokes 6, 10 can be reduced, the thickness of the entire wheel cover 1 can be reduced, the dimension in the wheel axial direction can be reduced, and a sense of quality can be exhibited. In addition, since the inner wire spoke portion 10 is formed in a semicircular shape, a gap can be provided between the inner wire spoke portion 10 and the wheel disc, and the sense of depth and three-dimensional effect can be further enhanced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a wire spoke type wheel cover of a vehicle wheel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a state before the wheel cover is assembled.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an assembled state of the wheel cover.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a fitted state of the outer cover and the inner cover.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a conventional wheel cover.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wheel cover 2 Outer cover 3 Inner cover 4 Center part 5 Ring part 6 Outer wire spoke part 6c Arc surface 10 Inner wire spoke part 10c Arc surface

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A wire spoke type wheel cover removably mounted on an outer surface of a vehicle wheel having a hub portion supported by an axle and a rim portion to which a tire is mounted. Outer cover having a number of outer wire spokes extending radially in a radial direction between a center portion covering the outer portion and a ring portion covering the rim portion, and an inner wire spoke formed so as to intersect the outer wire spoke portion. A wire for a vehicle wheel, wherein the outer and inner wire spokes are formed to have a substantially semicircular cross section and an arc surface facing outward. Spoke type wheel cover.