JP2019104317A - Vehicular wheel and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicular wheel having unprecedented and new design.SOLUTION: A part of a design surface 31 composed of a vehicle outer surface of a rim part 11 and a vehicle outer surface of a disk part 12 has a plurality of flat polished surfaces 34. The polished surfaces 34 have the same kind of geometric pattern with numerous polishing lines 35 crossing a rotation direction of a wheel 10. The polished surfaces 34 are separated from each other in a circumferential direction. By the formation of the polishing lines 35 crossing the rotation direction on the design surface 31 of the wheel 10 that is a body of rotation, regions reflecting light move during rotation and give a peculiar visual effect that changes appearance during rotation. In addition, because the polished surfaces 34 are separated from each other in a circumferential direction, sense of discomfort is reduced if there is misalignment of the geometric patterns of the polished surfaces 34. Further, there is no need to consider the misalignment of the geometric patterns while polishing, which makes manufacture easy.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a light alloy vehicle wheel and a method of manufacturing the same.

  Conventionally, in a light alloy vehicle wheel, there is known a technique for improving the designability by performing processing after molding. On the design surface of the vehicle wheel disclosed in Patent Document 1, a reflective diffraction grating is formed by a large number of grooves extending in the rotational direction. The design surface appears iridescent because light is reflected as diffracted waves on the smooth surface between the grooves.

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 4-353001

  As described above, in the vehicle wheel, not only the functionality such as strength and heat dissipation but also the design is emphasized. Therefore, new designs are always required for vehicle wheels.

  The present invention has been made in accordance with the above-mentioned aspects, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle wheel having an unprecedented new design, and a method of manufacturing the same.

  The vehicle wheel of the present invention is a light alloy vehicle wheel including a cylindrical rim portion and a disk portion provided inside the rim portion. A part of the design surface configured by the surface of the rim portion on the vehicle outer side and the surface of the disk portion on the vehicle outer side has a plurality of flat polishing surfaces. On each abrading surface, the same geometrical pattern is drawn by a large number of abrading streaks intersecting the rotational direction of the vehicle wheel. The polishing surfaces are circumferentially spaced from one another.

  A conventional vehicle wheel having a groove in the rotational direction does not move even when it is rotated, so the part that reflects light does not move. On the other hand, in a vehicle wheel having abrasive streaks intersecting the rotation direction, when it is rotated, the part that reflects light moves, and the appearance of the vehicle wheel becomes rich. By forming the abrading streaks intersecting the rotation direction in this manner on the design surface of the vehicle wheel which is the rotating body, a unique visual effect that the appearance changes at the time of rotation is produced. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a vehicle wheel having an unprecedented new design.

  In addition, by providing a large number of polishing streaks in this manner, an appearance different from that of a bright surface which is simply processed simply can be obtained. The first reason is that the abrasive streaks suppress the gloss. For example, a straight or curved abrasive streaks are continuously or constantly formed in a fixed or random manner, resulting in a matte state and a calm atmosphere. In addition, it is also conceivable to draw a specific figure, character, or geometric pattern by grinding streaks. Second, depending on the viewing direction and angle, it is possible to reflect the light and change the part that appears to be illuminated. A conventional bright surface only looks totally illuminated by the light source when viewed from certain directions and angles. On the other hand, in the abraded surface on which a large number of abrasive streaks are formed, a portion of the groove wall surface of the abrasive streak which is a fine groove looks like a part directed in the direction of the line of sight. Then, by changing the viewing direction and the angle, the part facing in the direction of the line of sight changes, and the part that looks bright changes. Therefore, for example, when the observer moves with respect to the stopped vehicle, or when the vehicle moves slowly with respect to the observer, the shiny part of the polishing surface moves in a situation where the relative position between the viewer and the polishing surface changes. It looks like

Here, in the case where a pattern is drawn on a plurality of surfaces by a large number of polishing streaks, there is a problem that the misalignment of the patterns between the surfaces causes discomfort. That is, when the pattern of a certain surface is virtually extended, the continuity of the pattern is interrupted between adjacent surfaces by the fact that the pattern does not overlap with the adjacent surface, and as a result, the impression that the pattern is shifted is obtained. It is given. With respect to this problem, it is conceivable to carry out polishing so as to maintain the continuity of the pattern between each surface. However, such a polishing process requires man-hours and labor.
On the other hand, in the present invention, since the polished surfaces are circumferentially separated from each other, there is less discomfort when the patterns of the polished surfaces are shifted. In addition, it is not necessary to consider the deviation of the pattern at the time of polishing, which facilitates the manufacture.

The method of manufacturing a vehicle wheel according to the present invention includes a cutting process and a polishing process. In the cutting process, a plurality of flat surfaces which are circumferentially separated from each other are formed by cutting on a part of a design surface formed of the outer surface of the rim portion and the outer surface of the disk portion. . In the grinding process, a large number of grinding lines intersecting the rotational direction of the vehicle wheel are formed on the flat surface by grinding, and the same geometrical pattern is drawn on each flat surface.
Thus, the effect of light reflection by a large number of polishing streaks can be enhanced by polishing the flat surface to which smoothness and gloss have been imparted by cutting.

  As used herein, "flat" of the polishing surface includes not only being completely flat but also being very gently curved. That is, the polishing surface may be flat enough to be polished.

It is a front view of the wheel for vehicles by a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is the II-II sectional view taken on the line of FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion III of FIG. 1; It is a figure explaining the manufacturing process of a wheel. It is a front view of the wheel for vehicles by a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which expands and shows a grinding surface among wheels for vehicles by a 3rd embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which expands and shows a grinding surface among the wheels for vehicles of 1st by another embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which expands and shows a grinding surface among the 2nd wheel for vehicles by other embodiments of the present invention. It is a figure which expands and shows a grinding surface among the wheels for vehicles of 3rd by another embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which expands and shows a grinding surface among the 4th wheels for vehicles by other embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a front view of a fifth vehicle wheel according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a plurality of embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. The same reference numerals are given to the substantially same configuration in each embodiment and the description will be omitted.
First Embodiment
A vehicle wheel (hereinafter referred to as a wheel) according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The symbol AX in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 indicates the rotation axis of the wheel 10. The right direction of the paper surface of FIG. 2 is a direction (outward direction of the vehicle) from the inside toward the outside in the vehicle width direction when the wheel 10 is mounted on the vehicle. In the following description, the vehicle outer side is referred to as "vehicle outer side".

  The wheel 10 is a light alloy wheel. In the first embodiment, the wheel 10 is made of an aluminum alloy and is manufactured, for example, by casting. The wheel 10 includes a cylindrical rim portion 11 and a disk portion 12 provided inside the rim portion 11.

  The rim portion 11 has a flange portion 21, a bead seat portion 22, a well portion 23, a bead seat portion 24, and a rim flange portion 25 which are sequentially formed from the vehicle inner side toward the vehicle outer side. The bead portion of the tire not shown is placed on the bead seat portion 22 and the bead seat portion 24 and held by the flange portion 21 and the rim flange portion 25. The well portion 23 is a recess portion in which the bead portion is temporarily inserted in the process of mounting the tire on the wheel 10.

  The disk portion 12 has a hub mounting portion 26 located at the center, and a plurality of spoke portions 27 extending from the hub mounting portion 26 to the rim portion 11. The hub mounting portion 26 has a hub hole 28 and a plurality of bolt insertion holes 29 surrounding it. The wheel 10 is mounted to the vehicle by mounting the hub mounting portion 26 to the hub of the axle.

(Design side)
The outer surface of the wheel 10 is a design surface 31. The design surface 31 is a portion seen from the outside of the vehicle and is a design portion that determines the appearance of the wheel 10 and is located on the rim portion 11 and the disk portion 12. That is, the design surface 31 is configured of the surface of the rim portion 11 on the vehicle outer side and the surface of the disk portion 12 on the vehicle outer side.

  The design surface 31 has a painted surface 32, a cutting surface 33 and an abrasive surface 34. A colorless clear paint is applied to the entire wheel 10. Therefore, although the coated surface 32, the cutting surface 33 and the polishing surface 34 do not appear on the surface of the wheel 10, they are visible through the clear coating. In all of the drawings, the illustration of the clear coating film is omitted.

The painted surface 32 is a surface obtained by painting on a casting surface after molding. In FIG. 1, the painted surface 32 is represented by a dot pattern. In the first embodiment, the portion other than the bolt insertion hole 29, the cutting surface 33 and the polishing surface 34 is the coated surface 32.
The cutting surface 33 is a surface obtained by cutting a part of the design surface 31 together with the coating film after painting. The cut surface 33 is a metallic bright surface, and the brightness is emphasized by contrast with the painted surface 32. In the first embodiment, the cutting surface 33 is provided on the vehicle outer side of the hub mounting portion 26.

  The polishing surface 34 is a flat surface, and a large number of polishing streaks 35 are formed. In FIG. 1, only a part of a large number of polishing streaks 35 is shown in a thinned manner. The polishing streaks 35 are obtained by subjecting a metal surface to a special polishing process. The state before polishing is a metallic bright surface similar to the cutting surface 33, and is simultaneously processed when the cutting surface 33 is cut with a lathe, for example. In the first embodiment, the polishing surface 34 is provided on the spokes 27 and a portion (that is, a part in the circumferential direction) of the rim 11 connected to the spokes 27. Each of the spokes 27 is provided with one polishing surface 34. The polishing surfaces 34 are provided on the same plane perpendicular to the rotation axis AX, and are spaced apart from each other in the circumferential direction. There is a space between each polishing surface 34. This space is a hole between the spokes 27.

Here, examples of processing applied after molding include cutting with a lathe. Cutting is a processing method in which a workpiece is scraped off with a blade to change the shape. The cutting surface 33 is a surface formed by this cutting. Basically, the cutting surface is a smooth surface, but if the feed speed of the cutter is relatively high, a large number of cutting streaks may remain on the cutting surface. These cutting lines are concentric lines centered on the rotation axis AX, and are grooves extending in the rotational direction.
On the other hand, polishing is a processing method that does not change the shape, and is processing for the purpose of decoration. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the polishing streaks 35 are straight streaks intersecting the rotation direction. This is different from the cutting direction in the direction of rotation described above.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a certain number of grinding streaks 35 form grinding marks 36 by being continuously arranged in a fixed direction. In FIG. 3, a relatively thick linear polishing mark 36 is configured by arranging a certain number of grinding streaks 35 in parallel. The polishing surface 34 has a plurality of polishing marks 36. Each polishing mark 36 draws a geometric pattern by being regularly arranged. In the first embodiment, the polishing marks 36 are arranged in a grid on the entire polishing surface 34.

  The pattern drawn on the polishing surface 34 is a pattern in which the same pattern is repeated at a constant pitch. The portion surrounded by the two-dot chain line in FIG. The pattern P is repeated at a constant pitch in the first direction X and the second direction Y. The first direction X is the radial direction of the wheel 10. The second direction Y is a tangential direction of a circle centered on the rotation axis AX. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the polishing surfaces 34 are circumferentially separated from each other by one pitch or more in the second direction Y of the pattern P.

  The pattern of each polishing surface 34 is a rotationally symmetric pattern with the rotational axis AX as the center of symmetry. That is, the pattern of one polishing surface 34 matches the pattern of the other polishing surface 34 when it is rotated about the rotation axis AX. And the angle which the 1st direction X which is the repeat direction of pattern P and the diameter direction of wheel 10 make is almost the same in each grinding surface 34. In the first embodiment, the angle is 0 degrees.

(Production method)
The wheel 10 is manufactured through the steps shown in FIG.
In the casting process S1, a rough shape of the wheel 10 is formed by casting.
In the processing step S2, for example, the rim portion 11 and the bolt insertion hole 29 are formed by cutting or the like.
In the painting step S3, painting is applied to the whole.
In the cutting process S4, a cutting surface 33 and a plurality of flat surfaces are formed on a part of the design surface 31 by cutting. This flat surface is the same metal surface as the cutting surface 33 and is a surface to be the polishing surface 34 later. The flat surfaces are circumferentially spaced from one another.
In the polishing step S5, a large number of polishing streaks 35 intersecting the rotation direction are formed on the flat surface by polishing, and the same geometrical pattern is drawn on each polishing surface 34.
In the final coating step S6, a clear coating is applied.

(effect)
As described above, the wheel 10 is made of a light alloy, and includes the cylindrical rim portion 11 and the disk portion 12 provided inside the rim portion 11. A part of the design surface 31 formed of the outer surface of the rim 11 and the outer surface of the disk 12 has a plurality of flat polishing surfaces 34. On each abrading surface 34, the same geometrical pattern is drawn by a number of abrading streaks 35 intersecting the direction of rotation of the wheel 10. The polishing surfaces 34 are circumferentially spaced from one another.

  A conventional vehicle wheel having grooves in the direction of rotation is monotonous with no change in appearance upon rotation. On the other hand, in the wheel 10 having the polishing streaks 35 intersecting the rotation direction, when it is rotated, the light-reflecting part moves and the change in appearance becomes rich. By forming the polishing streaks 35 intersecting the rotation direction in this manner on the design surface 31 of the wheel 10, which is a rotating body, a unique visual effect that the appearance changes when rotating is produced. Therefore, the wheel 10 has an unprecedented new design.

  In addition, by providing a large number of abrasive streaks 35 in this manner, it is possible to obtain an appearance different from a bright surface that is simply processed to be smooth. The first reason is that the polishing streaks 35 suppress the gloss. By forming the arc-shaped polishing streaks 35 to be continuously arranged in a predetermined direction, a matte state can be obtained, and a calm atmosphere can be provided. Further, a geometric pattern is drawn by the polishing marks 36 consisting of a certain number of polishing streaks 35. Second, depending on the viewing direction and angle, it is possible to reflect the light and change the part that appears to be illuminated. A conventional bright surface only looks totally illuminated by the light source when viewed from certain directions and angles. On the other hand, in the polishing surface 34 on which a large number of polishing streaks 35 are formed, a portion of the groove wall surface of the polishing streak 35 which is a fine groove looks in the light in the direction of the sight line. Then, by changing the viewing direction and the angle, the part facing in the direction of the line of sight changes, and the part that looks bright changes. Therefore, for example, when the observer moves with respect to the stopped vehicle, or when the vehicle moves slowly with respect to the observer, the glowing portion of the polishing surface 34 is in a situation where the relative position between the viewer and the polishing surface 34 changes. I see it move.

Here, in the case where a pattern is drawn on a plurality of surfaces by a large number of polishing streaks, there is a problem that the misalignment of the patterns between the surfaces causes discomfort. That is, when the pattern of a certain surface is virtually extended, the continuity of the pattern is interrupted between adjacent surfaces by the fact that the pattern does not overlap with the adjacent surface, and as a result, the impression that the pattern is shifted is obtained. It is given. With respect to this problem, it is conceivable to carry out polishing so as to maintain the continuity of the pattern between each surface. However, such a polishing process requires man-hours and labor.
On the other hand, in the first embodiment, since the polishing surfaces 34 are circumferentially separated from each other, there is little discomfort when the patterns of the polishing surfaces 34 are shifted. In addition, it is not necessary to consider the deviation of the pattern at the time of polishing, which facilitates the manufacture.

  In the first embodiment, the pattern drawn on the polishing surface 34 is a pattern in which the same pattern P is repeated at a constant pitch. When such a pattern is drawn on a plurality of faces, the deviation of the patterns between the faces is likely to cause discomfort. However, according to the first embodiment in which the polishing surfaces 34 are spaced apart in the circumferential direction, the discomfort due to the misalignment of the patterns of the polishing surfaces 34 is reduced.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the polishing surfaces 34 are circumferentially separated from each other by one or more pitches in the second direction Y of the pattern P. When the polishing surface 34 is disposed as described above, the discomfort due to the deviation of the patterns of the polishing surfaces 34 is further reduced.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the angle formed by the first direction X, which is the repetition direction of the pattern P, and the radial direction of the wheel 10 is substantially the same at each polishing surface 34. Since a rotating body such as the wheel 10 generally has a rotationally symmetrical shape, it is general to align the pattern in the radial direction. In such a case, the patterns of the polished surfaces 34 will inevitably deviate from each other. However, in the first embodiment, since the polished surfaces 34 are separated from each other in the circumferential direction, the sense of discomfort is reduced.

In the first embodiment, the method of manufacturing the wheel 10 includes the cutting step S4 and the polishing step S5. In the cutting step S4, a flat surface is formed on a part of the design surface 31 by cutting. In the polishing step S5, a large number of polishing streaks 35 intersecting the rotational direction of the wheel 10 are formed on the flat surface by polishing.
Thus, the effect of the light reflection by many grinding streaks 35 can be heightened by performing grinding processing with respect to the flat surface to which smoothness and glossiness were given by cutting processing.

Second Embodiment
In the second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 5, the pattern drawn on the polishing surface 41 is a pattern in which the same pattern is repeated at a constant pitch, and is the same pattern as the first embodiment. . The angle between the first direction X, which is the repetition direction of the pattern, and the radial direction of the wheel 10 is substantially the same at each of the polishing surfaces 41. In the second embodiment, the angle is 0 degrees. However, the pattern of each polishing surface 41 is not a rotationally symmetric pattern with the rotational axis AX as the center of symmetry. That is, the pattern of one polishing surface 41 is deviated from the pattern of the other polishing surface 41 even when rotated about the rotation axis AX. Even so, since the polishing surfaces 41 are separated from each other in the circumferential direction, there is less discomfort.

Third Embodiment
In the third embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 6, the pattern drawn on the polishing surface 45 is a pattern in which the same pattern is repeated at a constant pitch, and is the same pattern as the first embodiment. . A groove 46 is provided between the two polishing surfaces 45 closest in the circumferential direction. The two polishing surfaces 45 are spaced apart from each other by one pitch in the pattern in the circumferential direction. The pattern of one polishing surface 45 does not overlap the pattern of the other polishing surface 45 when it is virtually extended. That is, the continuity of the pattern is interrupted between the two polishing surfaces 45. Even so, the respective polishing surfaces 45 are separated from each other in the circumferential direction, so there is less discomfort.

[Other embodiments]
In other embodiments, the abraded streaks are not limited to straight and may have other shapes. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the polishing streaks 52 of the polishing surface 51 may be arc-shaped. In FIG. 7, a certain number of grinding streaks 52 form grinding marks 53 by being continuously arranged in a fixed direction. The grinding mark 53 is a grinding locus when the grinding wheel is fed in a fixed direction while the tip surface of the rotating cylindrical grinding wheel is in contact. The respective polishing marks 53 are arranged in parallel on the entire polishing surface 51 without gaps, thereby drawing a geometric pattern.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the polishing streaks 56 of the polishing surface 55 may be wavy. In FIG. 8, the geometric pattern is drawn by the abrasive streaks 56 being regularly arranged. Alternatively, the geometric pattern may be drawn by a grinding mark consisting of a certain number of grinding streaks 56.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the polishing streaks may be circular. In FIG. 9, the plurality of polishing streaks 62 of the polishing surface 61 are concentrically arranged to form polishing traces 63. The plurality of polishing marks 63 depict a scaly geometric pattern. In FIG. 10, the plurality of polishing streaks 66 of the polishing surface 65 form polishing traces 67 by being concentrically arranged. The plurality of polishing marks 67 are arranged in a grid to draw a geometric pattern.

In another embodiment, the abrading surface may be formed in combination of a straight abraded streak and a curved abraded streak having an arc shape, a wave shape or a circular shape.
In another embodiment, figures and characters may be drawn by the abraded streaks, or a plurality of types of patterns may be drawn.
In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the continuity may be maintained so that the patterns of the respective polishing surfaces 75 do not shift.
In other embodiments, the polishing surface may be inclined in the radial or circumferential direction. Further, the polishing surface may be a mixture of one located on a first plane perpendicular to the axis of the wheel and one located on a second plane parallel to the first plane. In addition, the polishing surface may be a mixture of those located on the first plane and those inclined with respect to the first plane.

In other embodiments, the abrasive surface may be located on one of the spokes and the rim.
In another embodiment, the grinding surface may be located inside the vehicle relative to the rim flange portion of the rim portion. The projection located on the vehicle outer side with respect to the polishing surface may be, for example, a rim flange portion or the like.
In another embodiment, the polished surface is not limited to a metal surface, and may be a surface subjected to surface treatment such as plating or alumite treatment.
In another embodiment, the space between the polishing surfaces is not limited to the one provided by the holes between the spokes, but may be provided by a recess such as a groove.

In other embodiments, the design surface may not have one or both of a painted surface and a cutting surface.
In other embodiments, not only the coating on the cast surface but also the cutting surface may be coated.
In another embodiment, the coating on the painted surface may be partially performed after the cutting process as well as before the cutting process.
In other embodiments, the clear coating is not limited to colorless but may be colored.

In another embodiment, the wheel is not limited to aluminum alloy, and may be other light alloy such as magnesium alloy.
In other embodiments, the disk portion is not limited to the spoke type, but may be another type such as a mesh type.
In other embodiments, the wheel is not limited to casting but may be manufactured by forging.
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the scope of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Vehicle wheel 11 ... Rim part 12 ... Disc part 31 ... Design surface 34, 41, 51, 55, 61, 65, 71 ... Polishing surface 35, 52, 56, 62 , 66 ... Abrasive streaks

Claims (5)

A light alloy vehicle wheel comprising: a tubular rim portion; and a disc portion provided inside the rim portion,
A part of the design surface configured by the surface on the vehicle outer side of the rim portion and the surface on the vehicle outer side of the disk portion has a plurality of flat polishing surfaces,
On each of the abrading surfaces, the same geometrical pattern is drawn by a large number of abrading streaks intersecting the rotational direction of the vehicle wheel,
A vehicle wheel, wherein the polishing surfaces are circumferentially spaced from each other.   The wheel according to claim 1, wherein the pattern drawn on the polished surface is a pattern in which the same pattern is repeated at a constant pitch.   The vehicle wheel according to claim 2, wherein each of the polishing surfaces is circumferentially separated from each other by one or more pitches of the pattern.   The vehicle wheel according to claim 2 or 3, wherein an angle formed by the repeating direction of the pattern and the radial direction of the vehicle wheel is the same at each of the polished surfaces. A method of manufacturing a light alloy vehicle wheel comprising: a cylindrical rim portion; and a disc portion provided inside the rim portion, wherein
A cutting process in which a plurality of flat surfaces which are circumferentially separated from each other are formed by cutting on a part of a design surface which is composed of a surface on the vehicle outer side of the rim portion and a surface on the vehicle outer side of the disc portion When,
Forming a large number of grinding lines intersecting the rotation direction of the vehicle wheel on the flat surface by grinding, and drawing the same geometrical pattern on each of the flat surfaces;
Of manufacturing a vehicle wheel including:

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