JP4970138B2 - Vehicle rim for mounting tire and bearing support, and mounting method of tire / wheel assembly provided with such rim - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tire and a vehicle rim adapted to be mounted with a support that can support the tire when the inflation pressure of the tire is low and even zero. The invention also relates to a tire / wheel assembly having such a rim and a method of attaching such a tire / wheel assembly.

  Such rims are described, for example, in the patent documents US Pat. Nos. 5,787,950, 6,415,839 and WO 01/08905.

  In the present specification, an assembly having a wheel, a tire attached to the wheel, and a tread support is denoted by “tire / wheel assembly”. The wheel has a rim and a disc.

  In the tire / wheel assembly of the field of the invention, the tire bead abuts the seat of the rim and the average diameter of the two seats is different from each other to facilitate attachment and detachment of the bearing support relative to the rim.

  The bearing support is supported in the circumferential direction by a bearing support surface of a rim provided between the two seats. The bearing support is made, for example, of an elastically deformable elastomeric material that prevents the tread from sagging when the tire / wheel assembly is operating in extended mileage mode. The expression "rolling in extended mode" refers to tire rolling where the inflation pressure is abnormally low compared to the nominal working pressure of the tire, and in some cases zero. I want to be understood.

  The bearing support is attached by sliding in the axial direction as described in detail in the patent document US 2004/0074610. Various attachment steps of the prior art are shown in FIG. 8 below.

  When a tire bead is under great stress, the tire bead may try to leave its bearing seat. Either the bead leaves the sheet towards the inside of the rim (ie, enters the space between the two sheets) or leaves the sheet towards the outside (ie loses contact with the rim) The terms “unseating” or “rolling off” will be used accordingly.

  In order to evaluate the resistance of the rim to unsheeting, the tire / wheel assembly with this rim should be subjected to various tests, especially at zero pressure, when traveling in extended mileage mode. . Automakers generally require that anti-seating resistance should be demonstrated in the front row when the emergency brake is continuously applied while cornering continues.

  According to the results of the tests performed on the rim described in WO 01/08905, this rim completely fulfilled the current manufacturer's requirements for anti-sheeting resistance. Therefore, the safety hump plays its role properly.

  The inventor according to the present invention performs a more demanding rolling test at zero pressure and the bead is subjected to a very large force in exceptional types of situations when traveling on a circuit. Focused on the fact that it may still be in an unseat state. When using a rim having a “shelf-shaped protrusion” (reference numeral 53 in FIG. 3) and a lightening groove (reference numeral 55 in FIG. 3), the bead falls into the lightening groove over the entire shelf-shaped protrusion. There is a case.

US Pat. No. 5,787,950 US Pat. No. 6,415,839 International Publication No. 01/08905 Pamphlet US Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0074610

  The present invention aims to solve this problem and to increase the resistance that can be shown against unseats when the rim on which the tire and bearing support are mounted is subjected to very high stresses.

The object is a rotating rim for a vehicle adapted to be fitted with an annular bearing support that can support the tire and the tread of the tire when inflation pressure is lost from the tire,
-A first rim seat and a second rim seat, each rim seat is adapted to receive a bead of a tire, each rim seat has a busbar, the inner axial end of the busbar being axially out Located on a circle with a diameter D _I larger than the diameter D _{E of} the circle where the end is located,
- Two of the bearing support and the dense least one substantially step bearing surface formed by the plane of rotation of the cylindrical mean diameter D _P began to exhibit a contact extends axially between the sheets each other Have
A rim having a circumferential groove provided axially between the support bearing surface and the first rim seat;
The first rim seat is axially inward is defined by the projecting portion, the outer diameter D _S of the projecting portion is larger than the average diameter D _P of the support bearing surface, in the axial direction between the projecting portion and the support bearing surface The axial width of the circumferential groove provided is achieved by using a rim characterized in that the bearing support is defined so that it can get over the protrusion.

  According to a preferred embodiment, the average diameter of the first rim seat is smaller than the average diameter of the second rim seat.

  According to a preferred embodiment, the axial width of the circumferential groove provided axially between the support bearing surface and the protrusion defining the axially inner side of the small diameter seat is the axial width of the support bearing surface. That's it.

Preferably, the difference between the average diameter D _P of the outer diameter of the support bearing surface of the projecting portion is larger than 5 mm.

  The present invention also relates to a tire / wheel assembly having a wheel and tire having the rim of the present invention, an annular bearing support, and a wheel having the rim of the present invention.

Finally, the present invention is a method of attaching a tire / wheel assembly, the tire / wheel assembly comprising:
A wheel having a disc and a rim according to the invention;
A bearing support;
-A tire having a first bead and a second bead adapted to be respectively attached to a first rim seat and a second rim seat, the method comprising:
(A) introducing a bearing support into the tire;
(B) providing a second bead and bearing support on the rim from the side of the first rim seat;
(C) guiding the second bead onto the support bearing surface and fitting the support support into a circumferential groove provided in the axial direction between the support bearing surface and the first rim seat;
(D) sliding the support support on the support support surface;
(E) attaching the first bead to the first rim sheet and attaching the second bead on the second rim sheet;
The mounting of the bearing support is performed by tilting the axis of symmetry of the bearing support relative to the axis of symmetry of the rim so that the bearing support can pass over the protrusions defining the first rim seat. On how to do.

  The invention will be better understood from the description of the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic partial cross-sectional perspective view of a “PAX system” type tire / wheel assembly 10 having a wheel 20 with a rim 21, a tire 30 with sidewalls 31 and crowns 32, and a bearing support 40. FIG. When the tire shrinks following, for example, puncture, the weight of the vehicle causes the sidewall 31 to flex and the crown 32 contacts the bearing ring 40 near the contact zone between the tire 30 and the road.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the bearing support 40 is not solid, but has a complex geometry as a result of steps taken to reduce the weight of the bearing ring 40 and, consequently, the weight of the rolling assembly 10. It has a specific shape.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic meridional section of a “PAX system” type tire / wheel assembly having a wheel (formed by the rim 21 and the disk 22), a tire 30 and a bearing support 41. The axis of rotation 1 of the tire / wheel assembly is also shown.

FIG. 3 is a schematic molecular plane view of a rim 22 and bearing support 42 for a “PAX system” type tire / wheel assembly. Tire 30 is not shown for clarity. The rim 22 has two rim sheets 51 and 52 having different average diameters. Each of the rim seats 51 and 52 is adapted to receive a tire bead. The bus of the rim seat 51 has an axial inner end 512 located on a circle having a diameter D _I ¹ , and D _I ¹ is larger than the diameter D _E ^{1 of the} circle where the axial outer end 511 is located. Similarly, the bus of the rim seat 52 has an axial inner end 522 located on a circle having a diameter D _I ² , and D _I ² is greater than the diameter D _E ^{2 of the} circle in which the axial outer end 521 is located. Is also big.

The rim 22 has a support bearing surface formed by a substantially cylindrical rotating surface with an average diameter D _P , which extends in the axial direction between the two seats 51, 52 and supports the bearing. In close contact with the body 42.

Sheet 52 is axially inward is defined by the projecting portion 57, the outer diameter D _S of the projecting portion 57 is much larger than the average diameter D _P of the support bearing surface.

Rim 22 further has a mounting groove 54, the mounting groove has a smaller average diameter D _M than the average diameter D _P of the support bearing surface. The mounting groove 54 is provided in the axial direction between the seat 52 and the support bearing surface, and this mounting groove enables the tire to be mounted.

  Finally, the rim 22 has a lighter groove 55 adapted to reduce the weight of the rim.

The sheet 51 is separated from the weight reduction groove 55 by what is commonly referred to as a “shelf-shaped protrusion” 53 formed of a substantially cylindrical rotating surface having an average diameter D _L. In order to allow the mounting of the bearing support by sliding the bearing support 42, the diameter of the shelf-like projection 53 is equal to or smaller than the diameter D _P of the support bearing surface.

  As described above, according to the results of the rolling test at zero pressure, unseatting may occur, for example, when the tire / wheel assembly 10 shown in FIG. The bead of the tire 30 may fall into the lightening groove 55 beyond the entire shelf-like protrusion 53. The present invention relates to a rim that makes this movement impossible.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the molecular surface of the rim 23 according to the present invention. The shelf-like protrusion 53 is replaced by a protrusion 58, and the diameter D _S ¹ of this protrusion is considerably larger than the diameter D _P of the support bearing surface 56. In this case, the difference between the diameters D _S ¹ and D _P is 6 mm.

The rim 23 of the present invention has a circumferential groove 55 provided in the axial direction between the support bearing surface and the protrusion 58 so that the protrusion can be overcome during mounting of the support. . Axial width L _G of the circumferential groove 55, the support is such that it can ride over the protrusion during installation. In this case, the axial width L _G, greater than the axial L _P of the support bearing surface.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic molecular cross-sectional view of another rim 24 of the present invention. The rim 24 has approximately the same geometric shape as that of the rim 23, and in both of these cases the average diameter of the seat 51 near the wheel disc 22 (FIG. 2) is that of the seat 52. Smaller than average diameter. Thus, the bearing support is attached via the seat 51 with respect to the prior art rim 22.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the molecular plane of the third rim 25 of the present invention. Unlike the rims 23 and 24, the average diameter of the seat 51 located near the wheel disk 22 (FIG. 2) is larger than the average diameter of the seat 52. Thus, the bearing support is attached via the seat 52. The rim 25 further includes a mounting groove 54 that allows the large-diameter bead of the tire to get over the seat 51 from the inside toward the outside.

  FIG. 6 further shows the positioning state of the expansion valve 60 with respect to the rim 25.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic molecular plane view of the fourth rim 27 of the present invention. This rim differs from the rim of the present invention of FIGS. 4-6 in that the average diameter of the two sheets 51, 52 is the same. Thus, the bearing support is attached via a seat adjacent to a groove 55 that is sufficiently wide to accommodate the bearing support when installed.

  FIG. 8 schematically shows the steps of the prior art mounting method for a rim that is substantially the same as the rim of FIG. 3 with mounting grooves 54 for mounting the tire 30. The partial view of FIG. 8 shows the respective positions of the rim 26, the support 46 and the beads 61 and 62 of the tire 30, and the rim is attached to a horizontal rotating shaft. For simplicity, the tire 30 is only partially shown in FIGS. These partial views correspond to respective positions above this axis in a vertical plane passing through the rotation axis of the rim.

  The first step (not shown) is to introduce the support 46 into the tire 30. This introduction is described in US Pat. No. 5,836,366 and in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C of this US patent. This introduction takes place after the support and / or tire has been ovalised or after the support has been packed.

  The wheel is then attached to the appropriate mounting machine rotating shaft, in this case a horizontal rotating shaft, and the operator then guides the second bead 62 of the tire 30 and the bearing support 46 onto the rim 26. Then, the tire 30 and the support body 46 are in the positions shown in FIG. 8A, the second bead 62 is disposed in the mounting groove 54 (at least in the illustrated zone), and the support body 46 is placed in a shelf-like projection. Sliding around 53, the first bead 61 remains completely outside the rim 26.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8B, the tool 70 is moved below the first bead 61, and the first bead 61 is gripped by the hook 72 of the tool 70.

  Next, the tool 70 is displaced vertically so that the lower portion of the roller 73 in the radial direction is positioned above the support bearing surface 56. This position is shown in FIG.

  As indicated by the arrow in FIG. 8C, the tool 70 is displaced in the axial direction. The purpose is to press the pressure roller 73 directly against the face of the support 46 with the rim and tire and support rotating with the rim. Thereby, the support body 46 can be gradually slid on the support surface 56. It can be noted that the bead 61 can freely retract over the hook 72 during this positioning, thereby substantially reducing the bending stress on the crown of the tire 30.

  FIG. 8 (d) shows the end of the sliding of the support 46 on the bearing surface 56. The support is in contact with the protrusion 262, and the protrusion 461 of the support is fitted in the groove 261 of the bearing surface 56. In this position, the stop 74 of the tool 70 is in contact with the rim 26.

  Once the support has finished sliding on the bearing surface 56, the tool 70 is retracted axially until a traction force is applied to the bead 62, thereby lifting the bead 62 slightly from the bottom of the mounting groove 54, A free space 541 is formed between the wall of the mounting groove adjacent to the protruding portion 57 of the sheet 52 (see FIG. 8E). Then, the attachment lever 80 can be inserted into this space. The purpose is to take out the bead from the mounting groove 54 and arrange it outside the seat 52 (see FIG. 8F).

  Once the lever 80 is inserted and the bead 62 is removed from the mounting groove 54, the bead 61 is released from the hook 72, and the roller 73 is pressed against the bead 61 during rotation of the rim (see FIG. 8 (f)). 1 is placed at a fixed position on the sheet 51.

  Once bead 61 has been installed, tool 70 is moved over so that it can be attached to its sheet 52 by pushing from roller 73 while rotating the rim (FIG. 8). (See (g)).

  Next, the tire 30 and the support body 46 are disposed at fixed positions on the rim 26 (see FIG. 8H).

  FIG. 9 shows a preferred embodiment of the mounting method of the present invention. 9A to 9H correspond to the positions of the rim 28, the support 48, and the beads 61 and 62 of the tire 30 above the axis in a vertical plane passing through the rotation axis of the rim.

  As with the prior art method, the first step (not shown) is to introduce the support 46 into the tire 30. This introduction is described in US Pat. No. 5,836,366 and in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C of this US patent. This introduction takes place after the support and / or tire has been ovalised or after the support has been packed.

  Next, the wheel is mounted on the rotating shaft of a suitable mounting machine, in this case a horizontal rotating shaft, and then the second bead 62 of the tire 30 is attached, in this case the second bead adjacent to the second rim seat 52. It is guided on the support bearing surface 56 by advancing it into the mounting groove 54 located at the position.

  Unlike prior art methods, due to the protrusion 58, the bearing support 48 does not simply slide. Thus, it is necessary to modify the mounting method by providing the protrusion 58. In order to get over the protrusion 58, the axis of symmetry of the bearing support 48 is inclined with respect to the axis of symmetry of the rim 26. Due to this inclination, the bearing support 48 gets over the protrusion 58 in a fairly restricted zone and enters into a circumferential groove 55 provided axially between the support bearing surface 56 and the first rim seat 51. It can be locally embedded. In order to be able to receive the bearing support 48, the axial width of the groove 55 must be at least equal to the axial width of the bearing support 48.

  FIG. 10 illustrates this stage of the method of the present invention. The support body 47 is fitted onto the rim 27, and the support body 47 is provided between the support surface 56 and the first rim seat 51 in the axial direction in a zone around the cross-sectional plane 100. It is introduced into the circumferential groove. (The cross section of the rim 27 and the bearing support 47 in the cross-sectional plane 100 is indicated by broken lines.) Outside this zone (and particularly at the bottom of FIG. 10), the bearing support 47 is still completely Does not get over the protrusion 58. FIG. 11 (a) shows in front view this same stage of the method of the present invention with respect to another rim 29 and bearing support 49 of the present invention (tire is not shown for clarity).

  It is possible to cause the support 47 to ride over the protrusions all around the rim 27 by applying pressure locally to the rim side portion 471 while the rim 27 is rotating. FIG. 11B shows the form of the rim 29 and the support 49 obtained after this work. Since the inner diameter of the support 49 is larger than the average diameter of the groove in which the support 49 is received, the symmetry axis of the support 49 does not coincide with the symmetry axis of the rim 29 at this stage.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9B, the tool 70 is moved below the first bead 61, and the first bead 61 is gripped by the hook 72 of the tool 70.

  Next, the tool 70 is displaced vertically so that the lower portion in the radial direction of the roller 73 is positioned above the protrusion 58. This position is shown in FIG. 9 (c).

  As indicated by the arrow in FIG. 9C, the tool 70 is displaced in the axial direction. The purpose is to press the pressure roller 73 directly against the face of the support 48 with the tire and support rotating together with the rim and rim. Since the groove 55 is constrained on the side of the second seat by a gradient, the bearing ring 48 is gradually displaced upward until the symmetry axis of the support 48 coincides with the symmetry axis of the rim 28. Then, it is possible to slide the support body 48 on the support surface 56 gradually.

  FIG. 9 (d) shows the end of the sliding of the support 48 on the bearing surface 56. The support abuts against the protrusion 282, and the support protrusion 481 is locked in the groove 281 of the bearing surface 56. In this position, the stop 74 of the tool 70 is in contact with the rim 26. FIG. 11C shows the form of the rim 29 and the support 49 obtained after this work.

  The remaining steps of the method of the present invention (FIGS. 9 (e)-(h)) are identical to the prior art methods.

1 is a partial perspective view of a prior art tire / wheel assembly. FIG. 1 is a schematic meridional cross-sectional view of a prior art tire / wheel assembly. FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic molecular cross-sectional view of a prior art rim and bearing support. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a molecular part of the rim of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a molecular part of the rim of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a molecular part of the rim of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a molecular part of the rim of the present invention. (A)-(h) is a figure which shows the attachment method of a prior art. (A)-(h) is a figure which shows the attachment method of this invention. It is a figure which shows roughly the relative positional relationship of a rim | limb and a support body in the case of an attachment step. (A)-(c) is a figure which shows roughly the relative positional relationship of a rim | limb and a support body in the case of various attachment steps.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Tire / wheel assembly 20 Wheel 21,23-29 Rim 30 Tire 31 Side wall 40,41,42,46-49 Bearing support body 51,52 Rim seat 54,55 Groove 58 Protruding part 61,62 Bead 511,521 Axis Directional outer end 512, 522 Axial inner end

Claims (5)

A rotating rim (23-29) for attaching a tire (30) and an annular bearing support (40; 42; 46-49) capable of supporting the tread of the tire when inflation pressure is lost from the tire (30) ) And
A first rim seat (51) and a second rim seat (52), each of the rim seats being adapted to receive a bead (61, 62) of the tire, each of the rim seats having a bus bar; The inner end (512, 522) of the bus bar is located on a circle having a diameter D _I larger than the diameter D _{E of} the circle where the outer end (511, 521) is located,
A support bearing surface formed of at least one substantially cylindrical rotating surface with an average diameter D _P extending axially between the two sheets and in close contact with the bearing support. (56)
In a rim having a circumferential groove (55) provided axially between the support bearing surface and the first rim seat (51),
Said first rim seat (51), the axial inner side is defined by the protrusion (58), the outer diameter D _S of the projecting portion is larger than the average diameter D _P of the support bearing surface, the support bearing axial width L _G surface and the circumferential groove provided in the axial direction between the projecting portion (55), the bearing support has been determined to be able to get over the protrusion ,
The average diameter of the first rim sheet (51) is smaller than the average diameter of the second rim sheet (52),
Wherein the axial width L _G of the circumferential grooves provided in the axial direction between the projecting portion defining an axial inner side of the sheet of support bearing surface and a small diameter (55), the support bearing surface A rim having an axial width L _P or more. The difference between the average diameter D _P is greater than 5 mm, the rim according to claim 1 of the outer diameter and the support bearing surface of the projecting portion (58) (56).   A wheel having the rim according to claim 1 or 2.   A tire / wheel assembly comprising a tire (30), an annular bearing support (40; 42; 46-49) and a wheel according to claim 3. A method of attaching a tire / wheel assembly, the tire / wheel assembly comprising a disc (22) and a wheel having a rim (23-29) according to claim 1 or claim 2,
A bearing support (40; 42; 46-49);
A tire (50) having a first bead (61) and a second bead (62) adapted to be attached to the first rim sheet (51) and the second rim sheet (52), respectively, The method is
(A) introducing the bearing support into the tire;
(B) providing the second bead and the support on the rim from the first rim seat side;
(C) The second bead is guided onto the support bearing surface, and a circumferential groove (55) is provided between the support bearing surface (56) and the first rim seat in the axial direction. Step)
(D) sliding the support support on the support support surface;
(E) attaching the first bead to the first rim sheet and attaching the second bead on the second rim sheet;
The mounting of the bearing support is such that the axis of symmetry of the bearing support relative to the axis of symmetry of the rim can be tilted so that the bearing support can exceed the protrusion (58) defining the first rim seat. A method that is performed by

Images