JP2005199785A - Vehicular wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular wheel capable of selectively using functions as a conventional type wheel and a center valve type wheels easily. <P>SOLUTION: The vehicular wheel 1 comprises a wheel disc 2 attached to a vehicular hub, and a rim 4 provided on an outer peripheral side of the wheel disc 2, to which a tire 3 is installed, and equipped with an annular wall 41 forming an air chamber 32 with the tire 3. The vehicular wheel 1 has a communicating passage 22 communicating from a valve holer installing hole 21 bored on a center portion of the wheel disc 2 to the air chamber 32, and a communicating hole penetrating the rim 4. The valve holder installing hole 21 and the communicating hole 42 can be installed with at least either one of a tire valve 10 or a pneumatic sensor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle wheel attached to a hub of a vehicle.

The vehicle wheel is composed of a wheel disc attached to a hub and a rim to which a tire is attached. A rim of a conventional vehicle wheel (hereinafter referred to as “conventional wheel”) has an annular wall that forms an air chamber together with a tubeless tire, and a valve mounting hole that penetrates the annular wall and is used for mounting a tire valve. And have. The tire valve has a tip mounted obliquely inward.
In recent years, automobiles have been equipped with an air pressure sensor that detects a decrease in tire air pressure during driving. However, in the case of attaching an air pressure sensor to a wheel, the air pressure sensor integrated with the tire valve is attached to the valve. Generally, there are ones that are mounted in holes (for example, see Patent Document 1) and those that mount a pneumatic sensor separate from a tire valve on an annular wall of a rim (for example, see Patent Document 2).

However, the wheel described above has the following problems due to the tire valve and the air pressure sensor being mounted on the rim.
For example, in the case of a tire valve, when performing the air filling operation, the tire valve is positioned on the upper side or the side depending on the rotational position of the wheel. It will be difficult to press against.
On the other hand, in the case of the air pressure sensor, since it is mounted inside the tire, it is difficult to attach and detach the air sensor and replace the battery of the air pressure sensor, which takes time. In addition, since the shape of the sensor body of the air pressure sensor is formed in a curved shape so as to follow the annular wall of the rim, if the wheel diameter is different, the shape of the air pressure sensor must be changed, which increases manufacturing costs.

Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the present applicant has filed an application for a vehicle wheel having a structure in which a tire valve is attached to an axis of a wheel disc in Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-317640 (unpublished). In the above application, a wheel (hereinafter referred to as “center”) in which a tire valve mounting hole for mounting a tire valve is provided in the center of the wheel disk, and a communication path communicating from the tire valve mounting hole to the annular wall of the rim is formed inside the wheel disk. "Valve type wheel").
JP 2002-283801 A (paragraphs 0024 to 0025, FIGS. 1 and 2) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-200723 (paragraph 0013, FIG. 1)

By the way, in the future, a vehicle wheel having both functions and structures of the conventional wheel and the center valve wheel is desired.
In other words, on the manufacturing side, if the conventional wheel and the center valve wheel are manufactured on separate lines having their own molds to manufacture according to each demand, the manufacturing cost increases and it is also suitable for mass production system. Absent.
In this regard, it is conceivable to shift only to the center valve type wheel, but there are cases where the center side is only inconvenient on the user side. In other words, when a user purchases a conventional air pressure sensor (or tire valve) when he / she purchases the wheel, if the wheel itself only supports the center valve type, the center valve type It is necessary to purchase a new air pressure sensor (or tire valve). Therefore, there is a point that a user's expense increases.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle wheel that solves the above-described problems and can easily use the functions of a conventional wheel and a center valve wheel.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, an invention according to claim 1 is provided with a wheel disc attached to a hub of a vehicle and an outer peripheral side of the wheel disc, and a tire is mounted and an air chamber is formed together with the tire. A vehicle wheel including a rim having an annular wall, the vehicle wheel having a communication path communicating from an opening in a central portion of the wheel disk to the air chamber, and a communication hole penetrating the rim, The opening portion and the communication hole are formed so that at least one of a tire valve and an air pressure sensor can be mounted.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, at least one of the tire valve and the air pressure sensor can be attached to the opening of the central portion of the wheel disc and the communication hole of the rim. Therefore, on the manufacturing side, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost by distinguishing between the mold that can be attached to the center part of the wheel disc and the mold that can be attached to the communication hole, and the production cost can be reduced by unifying the line. Can be achieved. In addition, on the user side, since it can be mounted regardless of whether it is a tire valve or the like that is attached to the communication hole, or a tire valve or the like that is attached to the center portion, a tire valve or the like that has been conventionally provided Can be used, and the expense of the user can also be suppressed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle wheel according to the first aspect, the wheel disk has a hollow portion that constitutes the communication path.

  According to the invention which concerns on Claim 2, since a communicating path is comprised by a hollow part, the necessity of the drilling with respect to a wheel disc, the attachment of a metal pipe, etc. becomes unnecessary, and manufacturing cost can be held down. In addition, the weight of the wheel itself can be reduced.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the vehicle wheel according to claim 1, wherein a pressure cap is attached to the air chamber side of the communication path.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the tire valve or the air pressure sensor attached to the center portion of the wheel disc is not used or malfunctions, the air flow in the communication passage is blocked by the pressure cap. be able to.

  According to the vehicle wheel of the present invention, the conventional wheel and the center valve wheel can be easily used properly. Therefore, on the manufacturing side, the cost can be reduced by unifying the lines. Further, on the user side, it is possible to use a conventional wheel pressure sensor and a tire valve without purchasing a new center valve pressure sensor or tire valve when replacing the wheel.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle wheel equipped with a tire valve holder according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle wheel shown in FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion B of the vehicle wheel shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion C of the vehicle wheel shown in FIG.

  A vehicle wheel 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a die-cast molded article made of an aluminum alloy. A wheel disc 2 attached to a vehicle hub (not shown) and a tire 3 mounted on an outer peripheral side of the wheel disc 2 are attached. And the rim 4 to be used (see FIGS. 2 and 3). As shown in FIG. 2, a bead portion 31 of the tire 3 is fitted to the rim 4, and an annular wall 41 that forms an air chamber 32 together with the tire 3 is formed on the outer peripheral side of the rim 4. A communication hole 42 (lower side in the figure) is formed in the annular wall 41 so that a tire valve 15 to be described later can be mounted.

  A valve holder mounting hole (opening at the center) 21 is formed in the shaft center on the outer surface side (opening side) of the wheel disk 2. In addition, a communication path 22 is formed in the wheel disc 2 to communicate air from the valve holder mounting hole 21 to the air chamber 32 and reduce the weight (see FIG. 3).

As shown in FIG. 3, the valve holder mounting hole 21 is formed in a stepped shape such that the large diameter portion 211 is located on the outer surface side from the large diameter portion 211 and the small diameter portion 212. The large diameter portion 211 is formed with an annular claw locking portion 211a along the circumferential direction.
By forming the valve holder mounting hole 21 in the axial center of the wheel disk 2, air filling work, air pressure measurement, and the like can be easily performed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the tire valve holder 5 in which the tire valve 10 is provided is fitted into the valve holder mounting hole 21.
The tire valve holder 5 is an injection molded product made of ABS resin, modified PPE resin, or the like. As shown in FIG. 3, the tire valve holder 5 has a cylindrical large-diameter portion 51 and a small-diameter portion 52 and is formed in a stepped shape corresponding to the shape of the valve holder mounting hole 21. Specifically, the large-diameter portion 51 and the small-diameter portion 52 correspond to the large-diameter portion 211 and the small-diameter portion 212 of the valve holder mounting hole 21, respectively, and the stepped portion 51a formed in the large-diameter portion 51 is the valve holder mounting hole. This corresponds to 21 step portions 213. Since the stepped portion 51a and the stepped portion 213 abut against each other, the tire valve holder 5 can be easily positioned in the axial direction with respect to the valve holder mounting hole 21.

  The large-diameter portion 51 is formed with a plurality of claw portions 51b that engage with the claw locking portions 211a along the circumferential direction, and the tire valve holder 5 can be attached to the valve holder mounting hole 21 by engaging them. It is like that. In addition, a tire valve 10 is provided in the shaft center of the large-diameter portion 51, and is directed from the outer peripheral surface 52 a side of the small-diameter portion 52 toward the tire valve 10 at the shaft center so as to communicate with the tire valve 10. A communication hole 52b is provided.

  An annular groove 52c that extends in the circumferential direction through the communication hole 52b and seal grooves 52d and 52d that similarly extend in the circumferential direction are formed on both sides of the annular groove 52c on the outer peripheral surface 52a of the small diameter portion 52. When the tire valve holder 5 is fitted into the valve holder mounting hole 21, the communication hole 52b communicates with the communication path 22 through the annular groove 52c. In the present embodiment, by adopting such a configuration, communication between the communication path 22 and the communication hole 52b is ensured without performing angle adjustment when the tire valve holder 5 is fitted into the valve holder mounting hole 21. The A plurality of communication holes 52b may be provided. However, since the annular groove 52c is provided, communication with the communication path 22 is ensured if at least one communication hole 52b is provided. In the present embodiment, the annular groove 52 c is formed in the small diameter portion 52 of the tire valve holder 5, but the same effect can be obtained by forming the annular groove in the small diameter portion 212 of the valve holder mounting hole 21.

  Further, a seal material S is disposed in each of the seal grooves 52d and 52d, and when the tire valve holder 5 is mounted in the valve holder mounting hole 21, the space between the two is sealed. As the sealing material S, for example, a metal seal, a resin seal such as silicone rubber or silicone grease, an oil seal, a gasket made of paper, or the like can be applied.

As shown in FIG. 3, the tire valve 10 includes a cylinder-shaped valve body 11 and a piston-shaped valve core 12 inserted in the axial direction of the valve body 11. A valve cover 13 made of synthetic resin is attached to the valve body 11, and the tire valve 10 is covered by the valve cover 13.
The valve core 12 in the valve body 11 is urged toward the air filling port 11a by an elastic member such as a spring and normally shuts off the air passage in the valve body 11, but the valve core resists the urging force of the spring. By pressing 12, air can be filled into the air chamber 32 (see FIG. 2).

On the other hand, a tire valve 15 similar to the tire valve 10 is mounted in the communication hole 42 in order to supply compressed air to the air chamber 32. As shown in FIG. 4, a grommet 16 made of a synthetic rubber material is inserted into the communication hole 42, and a tire valve 15 is inserted into the grommet 16 using the elasticity of rubber to provide a washer and a nut (not shown). ) Etc., so that airtightness can be secured. Of course, instead of attaching the grommet 16, a tire valve (so-called snap-in valve) having a rubber attachment portion formed integrally with the housing may be attached.
In order to obtain an appropriate rotational balance of the vehicle wheel 1, a balance weight is attached to the peripheral portion of the wheel disc 2 located on the extended line connecting the center position of the wheel disc 2 from the communication hole 42. It can be adjusted. Of course, instead of the balance weight, the balance may be adjusted by thinning the communicating hole 42 side of the wheel disk 2 or the like.

According to the above, the following effects can be obtained in the vehicle wheel 1 according to the present embodiment.
Since the tire valve holder 5 or the tire valve 15 can be mounted in the valve holder mounting hole 21 of the wheel disc 2 and the communication hole 42 of the rim 4, the functions of the conventional wheel and the center valve wheel can be simplified. Can be used properly. On the manufacturing side, the trouble of manufacturing the tire valve by distinguishing between the mold in which the tire valve is mounted in the valve holder mounting hole 21 of the wheel disc 2 and the mold in which the communication hole 42 is mounted is saved. Manufacturing costs can be reduced and mass production can be achieved.

  Further, since the communication path 22 is formed of a hollow portion, it is not necessary to drill the wheel disk 2 with a drill or attach a metal pipe, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In addition, the weight of the vehicle wheel 1 itself can be reduced.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can also implement as follows.

  In the present embodiment, the tire valve holder 5 is provided with the tire valve 10, but it may be provided with a pneumatic sensor integrated type or a separate type tire valve. By installing an air pressure sensor-integrated tire valve or attaching the air pressure sensor to the tire valve 10 according to the present embodiment, the bead portion 31 collides with the air pressure sensor when the tire 3 is attached / detached as in the past. There is no need to pay unnecessary attention to the replacement work of the tire 3 or the like. Further, since the air pressure sensor is located at the center of rotation, the rotation balance can be improved as compared with the case where the air pressure sensor is mounted on the rim 4, and the centrifugal force and impact force acting on the air pressure sensor can be suppressed. Damage can also be suppressed.

In the present embodiment, the tire valve 15 is attached to the communication hole 42, but an air pressure sensor integrated type, a separate type tire valve or an air pressure sensor may be attached. As a result, on the user side, it can be mounted regardless of whether it is a conventional type that is attached to the communication hole 42 or a type that is attached to the valve holder mounting hole 21, so that a conventional air pressure sensor can be used. It becomes possible, and the expense of a user can also be held down.
In addition, when a tire valve or a pneumatic sensor of the type attached to the valve holder mounting hole 21 is applied, it is not necessary to mount the tire valve 15 in the communication hole 42, and a cap that simply ensures airtightness may be mounted. Good.

  In the present embodiment, the tire valves 10 and 15 are mounted on the valve holder mounting hole 21 and the communication hole 42 of the vehicle wheel 1. At this time, when the tire valve 15 is mounted in the communication hole 42, when the tire valve 10 (or the air pressure sensor attached thereto) of the tire valve holder 5 is not used, and when the tire valve 10 (or the air pressure attached thereto) is used. If the sensor) is out of order, as shown in FIG. 5, a communication path blocking pressure cap 20 may be attached to the annular wall 41 side of the communication path 22. The center of gravity balance of the vehicle wheel 1 may be adjusted by attaching the pressure cap 20 to the communication path 22 located on the opposite side of the communication hole 42 with reference to the center position of the wheel disk 2.

  In the present embodiment, the claw portion 51b of the tire valve holder 5 is engaged and fixed to the claw locking portion 211a of the valve holder mounting hole 21, but for example, as shown in FIG. The large diameter portion 51 and the large diameter portion 211 of the valve holder mounting hole 21 may be formed with screw portions C that are screwed together, and may be screwed and fixed, or may be fitted by press fitting. Even if it exists, you may fix with a volt | bolt.

It is a perspective view of the wheel for vehicles concerning this embodiment. It is AA sectional view taken on the line of the vehicle wheel shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion B of the vehicle wheel shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion C of the vehicle wheel shown in FIG. 2. It is a principal part expanded sectional view which shows the state which inserted the pressure cap in the communicating path. It is an expanded sectional view of the wheel for vehicles concerning other embodiments.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle wheel 2 Wheel disk 3 Tire 4 Rim 5 Tire valve holder 10 Tire valve 15 Tire valve 16 Grommet 20 Pressure cap 21 Valve holder mounting hole 22 Communication path 31 Bead part 32 Air chamber 41 Annular wall 42 Communication hole C Thread part S Sealing material

Claims (3)

A wheel disc attached to the hub of the vehicle;
A vehicle wheel provided on an outer peripheral side of the wheel disc, and equipped with a tire, and a rim having an annular wall that forms an air chamber together with the tire,
The wheel disk has a communication path that communicates from the central opening to the air chamber, and a communication hole that passes through the rim. The central opening and the communication hole are provided for a tire valve and a pneumatic sensor. A vehicle wheel characterized in that at least one of them can be mounted.   The vehicle wheel according to claim 1, wherein the wheel disc has a hollow portion that constitutes the communication path.   The vehicle wheel according to claim 1, wherein a pressure cap is mounted on the air chamber side of the communication path.

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