JP4039903B2 - TIRE / WHEEL ASSEMBLY, RUNFLAT SUPPORT AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING THE SAME - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a tire / wheel assembly, a run-flat support, and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly, a tire / wheel assembly and a run that can manufacture various types of tire / wheel assemblies at low cost. The present invention relates to a flat support and a method for manufacturing the same.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Many technologies have been proposed in response to market demands that enable emergency traveling of several hundred km even when a pneumatic tire is punctured while the vehicle is traveling. Among these many proposals, the technique proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-297226 and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-519279 has a core mounted on a rim inside a hollow portion of a pneumatic tire assembled with a rim, By supporting the tire punctured by the core, run flat running is possible.
[0003]
The run-flat core has an annular shell with an open leg structure having an outer peripheral side as a support surface and an inner peripheral side open, and an elastic ring attached to both leg portions. And is supported on the rim. The run-flat core has the advantage that it can be used without causing confusion in the market because it can be used as it is without any special modifications to the existing wheel / rim.
[0004]
However, in order to use this run-flat core in the market, it must be manufactured for each rim size or tire size, so many types of equipment such as production molds must be prepared, and the cost burden Will be very big. Further, when the structure of the annular shell is complicated in order to improve the run-flat performance, the mold becomes complicated and the production cost is unavoidable.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
An object of the present invention is to provide a tire / wheel assembly, a run-flat support body, and a method for manufacturing the same, which can be manufactured in various sizes and complicated structures at low cost.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The tire / wheel assembly of the present invention that achieves the above object includes an annular shell having a support portion on the outer peripheral side and a bifurcated opening on the inner peripheral side in the hollow portion of the pneumatic tire, and the bifurcated open leg. In a tire / wheel assembly in which a run-flat support body composed of an elastic ring supporting an end portion on a rim is inserted, the annular shell is joined to an individually manufactured outer diameter side shell and inner diameter side shell. It is formed.
[0007]
Further, the run-flat support of the present invention includes an annular shell having an outer peripheral side as a support surface and an inner peripheral side opened in a bifurcated shape, and an elastic ring for supporting the bifurcated open leg end portion on a rim. The annular shell is formed by joining an outer diameter side shell and an inner diameter side shell which are individually manufactured.
[0008]
Furthermore, a method for manufacturing a run-flat support according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing a run-flat support comprising an annular shell having an outer peripheral side as a support surface and an inner peripheral side being bifurcated. And the inner diameter side shell are manufactured separately, and the inner end of the outer diameter side shell and the outer end of the inner diameter side shell are joined together to form the annular shell.
[0009]
According to the present invention, since the annular shell constituting the main part of the run-flat support body as described above is formed by combining the separately manufactured outer diameter side shell and inner diameter side shell, these outer diameter side shells are formed. By preparing a plurality of sizes of the inner shell and the inner diameter side shell, and selecting a combination thereof appropriately, it is possible to manufacture a variety of sizes of run-flat supports. In addition, even if the annular shell has a complicated structure to improve the run-flat performance, even if it is difficult to make a complicated structure from a single material at a time, the outer shell and the inner shell are separated. If they are manufactured separately and then joined together, they can be manufactured easily, and overall, low-cost manufacturing is possible.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the present invention, the run-flat support is formed as an annular body that is inserted into the cavity of the pneumatic tire. The run-flat support body is formed smaller than the inner diameter of the hollow portion so that the outer diameter maintains a constant distance from the inner surface of the hollow portion of the pneumatic tire, and the inner diameter is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the bead portion of the pneumatic tire. Dimension is formed. The run-flat support body is assembled to a wheel together with the pneumatic tire while being inserted inside the pneumatic tire, thereby forming a tire / wheel assembly. If the pneumatic tire is punctured while the tire / wheel assembly is mounted on a vehicle, the punctured and crushed tire is supported on the outer peripheral surface of the run-flat support body. Enable.
[0011]
The run-flat support body includes an annular shell and an elastic ring as main parts.
[0012]
The annular shell forms a continuous support surface to support a tire that is punctured on the outer peripheral side (outer diameter side), and the inner peripheral side (inner diameter side) has a bifurcated shape with the left and right side walls as legs. Yes. The support surface on the outer peripheral side is formed so that the shape in a cross section orthogonal to the circumferential direction becomes a convex curved surface on the outer diameter side. The number of the convex curved surfaces arranged in the tire axial direction may be only one, but preferably two or more are arranged. In this way, by forming the support surface so that two or more convex curved surfaces are arranged, the contact portions of the support surface with respect to the tire inner wall surface are dispersed to two or more, so that local wear applied to the tire inner wall surface is reduced. It is possible to extend the continuous distance that enables traveling.
[0013]
The elastic rings are respectively attached to the ends of both leg portions that are bifurcated on the inner diameter side of the annular shell, and support the annular shell by abutting on the left and right rim seats. This elastic ring is made of rubber or elastic resin, and reduces the impact and vibration received by the annular shell from the punctured tire, and also prevents the rim seat from slipping to stably support the annular shell.
[0014]
Since the run-flat support must support the vehicle weight via the punctured tire, the annular shell is made of a rigid material. A metal, resin, or the like is used as the constituent material. Among these, steel, aluminum, etc. can be illustrated as a metal. Further, the resin may be either a thermoplastic resin or a thermosetting resin. Examples of the thermoplastic resin include nylon, polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyphenylene sulfide, and ABS. Examples of the thermosetting resin include an epoxy resin and an unsaturated polyester resin. The resin may be used alone, or may be used as a fiber reinforced resin by blending reinforcing fibers.
[0015]
The run-flat support of the present invention is based on the above-described configuration, and the annular shell is composed of separate parts of the outer diameter side shell and the inner diameter side shell, and the inner end of each outer diameter side shell manufactured individually. And the outer end of the inner diameter side shell. When the end portions of the outer diameter side shell and the inner diameter side shell are joined together in this way, the rigidity of the joined portion is increased, so that the rigidity of the annular shell is improved and the durability of the run-flat support body is improved. it can. Although there are butt joining and overlap joining as methods for joining the end portions, overlap joining is particularly preferable, and the above-described rigidity improvement effect can be further increased.
[0016]
As described above, the outer shell and the inner shell are combined to form the annular shell. Therefore, if a plurality of sizes of the outer shell and the inner shell are prepared in advance, it is possible to change the combination of the outer shell and the inner shell. Run-flat supports of various sizes can be manufactured. Further, the constituent materials of the outer diameter side shell and the inner diameter side shell to be combined do not necessarily need to be the same material, may be combined with shells made of different materials, and by combining one of the resin materials, It is possible to reduce the weight of the run-flat support and improve the vibration characteristics.
[0017]
As described above, according to the present invention, since the annular shell is manufactured from the material divided into the outer diameter side shell and the inner diameter side shell, the structure of the annular shell is very complicated and it is very difficult to process directly. However, manufacturing can be facilitated by dividing the complicated portion into an outer diameter side shell and an inner diameter side shell in advance.
[0018]
For example, if projecting portions that project in the lateral direction are formed on both side surfaces on the inner diameter side of the annular shell, the projecting portions abut against the inner wall of the bead portion during run-flat travel, so that steering stability can be improved. . It is very difficult to process an annular shell with such protrusions from a single material at the same time, but this is divided into an outer diameter side shell and an inner diameter side shell. If it processes, the protrusion part of a complicated structure can also be processed easily.
[0019]
In the present invention, the joining means between the outer diameter side shell and the inner diameter side shell is not particularly limited. For example, when the shell material is a metal, welding, soldering, adhesion with an adhesive, or the like can be used. Moreover, the caulking method used for fixing the edge of a can can be used. That is, it may be a joint in which one edge is sandwiched while the other edge is refracted and pressed from above. Further, when the shell material is a resin, it is possible to use fusion or bonding with an adhesive.
[0020]
Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.
[0021]
FIG. 1 is a meridian cross-sectional view showing a main part of a tire / wheel assembly (wheel) according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0022]
Reference numeral 1 denotes a wheel rim, 2 is a pneumatic tire, and 3 is a run-flat support. The rim 1, the pneumatic tire 2, and the run-flat support 3 are formed in an annular shape coaxially with a rotation axis of a wheel (not shown) as a center.
[0023]
The run-flat support 3 includes an annular shell 4 formed from a rigid material such as metal or resin, and an elastic ring 5 formed from an elastic material such as hard rubber or elastic resin. The annular shell 4 forms a support surface having two convex curved surfaces on the outer peripheral side, and the support surface is separated from the inner peripheral surface when the pneumatic tire 2 is normal, but supports a collapsed tire when punctured. It is supposed to be. Further, the inner circumferential side of the annular shell 4 has bifurcated legs on both side walls as leg portions 6 and 6, respectively, and elastic rings 5 and 5 are attached to the ends thereof.
[0024]
The annular shell 4 is composed of an outer diameter side shell 4a and an inner diameter side shell 4b separated inward and outward in the radial direction, and the inner end of the outer diameter side shell 4a and the outer end of the inner diameter side shell 4b overlap each other. It is joined in a state. As the joining means, welding is preferable if the shell material is a metal, and fusion or an adhesive is preferable if the shell material is a resin. The run-flat support body 3 thus formed with the annular shell 4 is inserted into the inside of the pneumatic tire 2, and the elastic rings 5 and 5 are simultaneously attached to the rim seats 1s and 1s of the rim 1 together with the tire bead portions 2b and 2b. It is installed.
[0025]
In the run-flat support body 3 of the present invention, since the annular shell 4 is formed from the combination of the outer diameter side shell 4a and the inner diameter side shell 4b as described above, the outer diameter side shell 4a and the inner diameter side shell 4b are formed. If a plurality of sizes are prepared, a plurality of types of run-flat supports having different sizes and performances can be configured by appropriately selecting and combining them. That is, when a plurality of types of run-flat supports are manufactured, it can be manufactured by combining a smaller number of outer-diameter side shells 4a and inner-diameter side shells 4b than the number of types. Reduces the number of molds and enables low-cost production. Further, in the run-flat support body 3, the inner end of the outer diameter side shell 4 a and the outer end of the inner diameter side shell 4 b are overlap-bonded, so that the rigidity of the joint portion is increased and the durability of the annular shell 4 is increased. Can be improved.
[0026]
FIG. 2 is a meridian cross-sectional view showing a main part of a tire / wheel assembly according to another embodiment of the present invention.
[0027]
The tire / wheel assembly shown in FIG. 2 is the same as the embodiment of FIG. 1 in that the annular shell 4 is configured by joining the outer diameter side shell 4a and the inner diameter side shell 4b. The difference is that protrusions 7 and 7 projecting laterally are formed on both side walls. The protrusion 7 abuts against the inner wall of the bead portion 2b when the tire is punctured and run flat, and puts the run flat support 3 into a restrained state. Therefore, it is possible to improve steering stability when the tire / wheel assembly travels in a run-flat manner.
[0028]
If the protrusion 7 is formed on the side wall of the annular shell 4 as described above, the structure becomes complicated, and it is very difficult to manufacture the annular shell 4 at a time using a single material. However, in the tire / wheel assembly shown in FIG. 2, the annular shell 4 is composed of a combination of the outer diameter side shell 4a and the inner diameter side shell 4b, so that the inner diameter side shell 4b having no outer peripheral support surface is manufactured. If the protrusions 7 are processed together, the protrusions 7 can be easily processed, and low-cost production is possible.
[0029]
FIG. 3 is a meridian cross-sectional view showing a main part of a tire / wheel assembly according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
[0030]
This embodiment has the same configuration as that of the embodiment of FIG. 2 in that the protruding portion 7 is formed on the inner diameter side shell 4b of the annular shell 4, and the side wall of the inner diameter side shell 4b is once bent inward and then increased outward. The protrusions 7 are formed so as to protrude, and the protrusions 7 are different in that they are brought into contact with the inner wall of the bead portion 2b of the tire when not punctured.
[0031]
However, since the annular shell 4 has a configuration in which the outer diameter side shell 4a and the inner diameter side shell 4b are joined, the same effects as those of the embodiment of FIG. 2 can be obtained.
[0032]
4 and 5 show only an annular shell of a run-flat support body according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
[0033]
The run-flat support body 3 of this embodiment is the same as the case of FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 in that the annular shell 4 is composed of a combination of an outer diameter side shell 4a and an inner diameter side shell 4b. is there. However, the joint surface 8 between the inner end of the outer diameter side shell 4a and the outer end of the inner diameter side shell 4b is formed perpendicular to the axle direction, and the inner diameter side shell 4b is divided into a plurality of parts in the circumferential direction. It is different in point.
[0034]
With this configuration, when the annular shell 4 is manufactured by joining the outer diameter side shell 4a and the inner diameter side shell 4b, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B and FIG. While using the outer diameter side shell 4a and the inner diameter side shell 4b, by changing the position e of the inner diameter side shell 4b and adjusting the radial distance e, the run-flat support body 3 having a plurality of inner diameter sizes can be obtained. Can be produced.
[0035]
Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to easily manufacture a plurality of types of run-flat supports at low cost without producing a large number of molds.
[0036]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, by forming the annular shell by a combination of the outer diameter side shell and the inner diameter side shell, by preparing a plurality of types of outer diameter side shells and inner diameter side shells, By appropriately changing the combination, it is possible to manufacture a wide variety of run-flat supports, which enables low-cost manufacturing.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a meridian cross-sectional view showing a main part of a tire / wheel assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a meridian cross-sectional view showing a main part of a tire / wheel assembly according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a meridian cross-sectional view showing a main part of a tire / wheel assembly according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
4A and 4B are meridian cross-sectional views showing only an annular shell of a run-flat support used in a tire / wheel assembly according to still another embodiment of the present invention. .
5 is a side view showing the run-flat support shown in FIG. 4 without an elastic ring. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 (Wheel) rim 2 Pneumatic tire 3 Run-flat support body 4 Annular shell 4a Outer diameter side shell 4b Inner diameter side shell 5 Elastic ring 7 Projection

Claims (11)

A run-flat comprising a hollow portion of a pneumatic tire, an annular shell having an outer peripheral side as a supporting surface and an inner peripheral side opened in a bifurcated manner, and an elastic ring for supporting the bifurcated open leg end on a rim. In the tire / wheel assembly in which the supporting member is inserted, the annular shell is formed by joining the individually manufactured outer diameter side shell and inner diameter side shell. The tire / wheel assembly according to claim 1, wherein an inner end of the outer diameter side shell and an outer end of the inner diameter side shell are joined to each other so as to overlap each other. 3. The tire / wheel assembly according to claim 1, wherein a protruding portion in which a part of the side wall protrudes laterally is provided on a side wall of the inner diameter side shell. 4. The joint surface of the inner end of the outer diameter side shell and the outer end of the inner diameter side shell is made perpendicular to the axle direction, and the inner diameter side shell is divided into a plurality of parts in the circumferential direction. The tire / wheel assembly according to any one of the above. The tire / wheel assembly according to claim 1, wherein the outer diameter side shell and the inner diameter side shell are formed of different materials and / or plate materials having different thicknesses. The annular shell is made up of an annular shell having an outer peripheral side as a supporting surface and an inner circumferential side that is bifurcated and an elastic ring that supports an end of the bifurcated leg on a rim. A run-flat support body formed by joining an outer diameter side shell and an inner diameter side shell. The run-flat support body according to claim 6, wherein an inner end of the outer diameter side shell and an outer end of the inner diameter side shell are joined to each other so as to overlap each other. The run-flat support body according to claim 7, wherein a protruding portion in which a part of the side wall protrudes laterally is provided on the side wall of the inner diameter side shell. The joint surface between the inner end of the outer diameter side shell and the outer end of the inner diameter side shell is made perpendicular to the axle direction, and the inner diameter side shell is divided into a plurality in the circumferential direction. The run-flat support according to claim 1. The run-flat support according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the outer diameter side shell and the inner diameter side shell are formed of different materials and / or plate materials having different thicknesses. In a method for manufacturing a run-flat support body comprising an annular shell having an outer peripheral side as a supporting surface and an inner peripheral side being bifurcated, an outer diameter side shell and an inner diameter side shell are separately manufactured, and the outer diameter A method for producing a run-flat support body, wherein the inner end of the side shell and the outer end of the inner diameter side shell are joined together to form the annular shell.

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