JPH04146801A - Wheel cover mounting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve mounting strength, durability, reliability, and generalized property by providing spring bodies with angle sections to hold wheel nuts and forming the angle sections so that the cross sections are different from those of other sections. CONSTITUTION:Wheel nuts 4 for fixing a disk wheel 5 to a hub are also used for mounting a wheel cover 1, and spring bodies 3 fitted to the nuts 4 are detachably supported by detachably supporting plates 2. In this case, the spring bodies 3 which are mounting subjects are formed with the cross sections of the nut holding angle sections 33 being different from those of other sections to improve the characteristics of spring wires. The angle sections 33 of the spring bodies 3, holding the wheel nuts 4 at an angle of alpha thereat, of the number of the selection of the wheel nuts 4 are provided. In addition, the holding angle sections 33 are formed with tabs 32 and are connected to each other at connection sections 34 forming a closed loop by means of joints 31.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a wheel cover mounting device for an automobile, and more particularly to a wheel cover mounting device of a type that is mounted on a wheel nut.

[Prior Art] There have been various types of wheel cover mounting methods in which wheel nuts (or bolts) that fasten a disc wheel to a hub are selected as the mounting object, but all of these types have problems. The oldest type required a specially shaped wheel nut, and a bayonet type was proposed for the 0-order □, which was less versatile, but the rotary fit itself was the enemy.
As plastic wheel covers, which tend to fall off during sudden braking, became popular, some models appeared that took advantage of their moldability to cling to nuts, but they were unable to overcome the creep and heat resistance inherent to plastic, and instead of using metal springs as a backing. They have the disadvantage of being complicated and expensive, requiring simultaneous use, and are also difficult to type, resulting in poor productivity.

As a measure to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present applicant proposed Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-287601, and subsequently, Japanese Patent Application No. 1-1
No. 13295 was submitted. The basic format of both is to select an appropriate number from several standard cap nuts on the mounting pitch circle of the disc wheel, and discharge the nuts to - nuts using a spring with an included angle on two sides. The spring is integrally connected to a selected number of nuts in an annular shape, and is fitted over the nuts during the installation operation. Therefore, the problems of the conventional type have been solved, and since it has the double spring properties of the included angle and the connecting annular shape, it is easy to install and operate and will not fall off. Furthermore, in the latter application, simplification has been achieved to the utmost, resulting in excellent productivity and economy.

However, the structural shapes of both the wheel cover and the disc of the disc wheel vary widely. The wheel cover mounting device is applicable to these various structural shapes;
In other words, wide versatility is required.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The problems of Japanese Patent Application No. 1-113295 arise in the following cases. FIGS. 2 and 3 are explanatory diagrams of the gist and problems of the publication.

Referring to both figures, the wheel nut 4 that attaches the disc wheel 5 to the hub is also used to attach the wheel cover 1, and the spring body 3 that fits into the nut 4 is attached to the wheel cover board 1 by the support plate 2. This is a supported configuration. The wheel nuts 4 may be bolt heads depending on the vehicle model, or may be arranged in 4 to 10 pieces on a pitch circle, but the appropriate number (3 to 5 pieces) is selected from these numbers (4 pieces are selected in the illustration). The spring body 3 has this selected number of included angles α, is connected with an overhanging ear 32 on the outside and with a base circle 300 on the inside, and is closed at a joint 31. The spring body 3 is supported on the wheel cover board 1 by fitting the outer shell of the projecting ear 32 into a fitting hole 201 provided in the support plate 2. The spring body 3 is also guided by the head ball 41 of the wheel nut 4, passes over the hexagonal part 42, and is fitted into the outer contour line 40 which forms a tapered or spherical surface. At this time, when the hexagonal part 42 is moved over, there is an opening angle of the included angle α, an enlargement of the diameter of the base circle 300, and an opening angle and diameter expansion of the overhanging lugs 32 that assist in opening the included angle α. Afterwards, they work together to provide a strong fitting function.

However, in light of the above-mentioned versatility, several problems emerge.

The first one is related to the structure of the disc wheel.
There are two points. The disk 5 generally has a reason 51 for stress relaxation, but from this, the slope 52 that falls into the seat of the nut 4 is 52.
In some cases, the distance between the hub and the nut 4 is narrow (i.e., the diameter of the hub mounting surface is small), as shown in . This interval can be achieved within the limits since a socket wrench (JIS terminology) for tightening the nut 4 can be inserted in the basic function. Then, the length 320 of the overhanging lug 32 is shortened, and the opening/closing elasticity of the included angle α becomes stronger, which in turn makes it difficult for the spring body 3 to get over the nut 4. Next, if the stress of the vehicle weight is generated on the inner ring surface of the reason 51, the function of the reason 51 will be lost, so a reinforcing rod 53 is usually provided. It is most effective if the reinforcing rod 53 is connected to the hub hole edge 50 as indicated by a dotted line 53'.

However, with this structure, there may be cases where the spring body 3 struggles with the base circle 300 (the three occupy the same space) and it is not possible to secure a space.

The second problem concerns the fitting elasticity of the spring body 3 and the spring wire diameter 30. Fitting elasticity has three types, including angle opening/closing and expanding/contracting diameter, but depending on the vibration (frequency distribution) received by the vehicle,
Determined under the above dimensional restrictions. As a result, depending on the Young's modulus of the spring wire, the spring wire diameter 30 is small (for example, 1.5
mm), it will be difficult for the nut 4 to ride over the hexagonal portion 42 from the head ball 41, which will significantly impede the feeling of attachment.

The third problem is that the degree of freedom in designing the spring body 3 is small. This is inextricably linked to the simplicity of the shape and is difficult to label as a defect, but when combined with the above-mentioned problems, it can lead to serious functional deterioration.

The fourth problem relates to the strength with which the projecting ears 32 of the spring body 3 are fitted into the fitting holes 201 of the support plate 2. The elastic modulus of the plastic material of the support plate 2 is two orders of magnitude smaller than that of metal, and it also has creep properties, so the fitting force is not large.

If the above-mentioned difficulty in getting over is added to that area, there is a risk that the fitting will fall out due to insufficient fitting strength.

[Object of the Invention] An object of the present invention is to provide a highly versatile wheel cover mounting device by presenting means for solving the above-mentioned problems.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a spring body 3, which is the main body of the present invention. This is an attempt to improve the characteristics of the spring wire, which has a small diameter and is difficult to meet favorable conditions in terms of the wheel nut 4's passing and fitability.

In the figure, the spring body 3 has a selected number of included angle portions 33 that sandwich the wheel nut 4 at an included angle α, and the included angle portions 33 form included angles with projecting ears 32, and the sides are They are connected at a connecting portion 34 and the entire shape is closed using a joint 31 in a connected annular shape. The narrow angle portion 33 is provided with covers 6, 6, . . . , 6. The cover 6 is made of, for example, a plastic material by partial injection molding. A cross section of this part is shown in Figure 'tS4. The cover 6 that covers the spring wire 30 has a roughly triangular cross section, and when the wheel cover is attached, the cover 6 covers the head 41 of the wheel nut 4 to the hexagonal part 42.
As the wheel cover is pushed in, it easily climbs over the hexagonal part 42 and the wheel nut taper part 40 as shown in figures 30'' and 6''.
and the nut seat 54 and stops.

In the spring body 3 provided with the cover 6, since the outer shape of the cover 6 and the spring wire 30 can be determined independently, the opening/closing angle elasticity of the narrow angle portion 33 determined mainly by the overhanging ears 32,
The opening/closing ring elasticity (hereinafter referred to as tension force) of the connecting ring, which is determined mainly by the shape of the connecting portion 34, can be set independently of the shape of the cover 6. As a result, the fitting of the spring body 3 to the wheel nut is achieved by double elasticity of included angle elasticity and tension force, and therefore its resonance frequency is also double, so vibrations in a wide frequency range are achieved. It has a high installation performance with high resistance to falling off.

To summarize the above, by attaching the cover 6, it is possible to obtain characteristics that are easy to attach and difficult to detach.

Since the cover body 6 requires a complete mold in the configuration shown in FIG. 1, for small-scale production, individual grooved molded bodies 61 can be manufactured in a separate process and assembled by adhesive, as shown in FIG. 5. In addition, the plastic cover generally has good friction and wear characteristics against metal.
Instead of damaging the nut, if the part is exposed to heat during braking as shown in Figure 4 6'' and there is a problem with heat resistance with plastic material, wrap it with metal wire as shown in Figure 6. 6
1, and can be assembled by brazing the ends, and by welding or caulking using a pipe joint 71 as shown in FIG. 7, it can also serve as a joint joint 310 instead of the joint 31. . In FIG. 8, a ribbon material spring is used instead of a round wire spring, and a corrugation 61 is provided at the narrow corner to form an irregular cross section. Since the aspect ratio of the ribbon material can be freely adopted, the elasticity of the overhanging portion 32 can be set freely even under conditions where the shape and dimensions are restricted, and the tension force depends on the shape of the connecting portion. However, since the shape of the connection part is often not restricted, it can also be set freely.

Regardless of the configuration, the part that engages with the wheel nut is made of a special material and shape to idealize fitting and riding performance, while expanding the degree of freedom in setting the elasticity of the spring. By being able to set the spring elasticity to one's preference, the limitations imposed by the disk wheel structural shape such as the slope 52 can be largely relaxed, so the problems in the conventional example can be largely solved and versatility can be expanded.

The disadvantage of changing the cross-sectional shape of the narrow angle portion 33 by using a cover or the like is that it is an economical burden due to the increase in the number of steps. This compensation is obtained in terms of performance as described above, but it can also be compensated for by making it function as a support or a joint. A supplementary explanation will be given below with specific examples.

[First Embodiment] FIGS. 9 to 11 are a plan view, a sectional view, and a perspective view of essential parts of a first embodiment of the present invention.

A square hole 202 is bored in the support 2 which is erected on the wheel cover board 1 via a hinge 20.

The spring body 3 is formed into a connected ring shape by point welding a joint spring 72 made of a plate spring and a connection part 34 of a round wire spring as shown in FIG. The taper portion 40 and the nut seat 5 of the disc wheel 5
It is fitted between 4. The joint spring 72, which constitutes the narrow corner part and the overhanging part of the spring body 3, has its overhanging part 722 inserted through the square hole 202, and is bitten by the support body 2 by the cut ridge 723 and is prevented from coming out. Further, the narrow angle portion 721 is drawn into a dogleg shape in cross section and has a structure that fits into the wheel nut taper portion 40, and individually bent spring body connection portions 34, 34 are welded thereto.

When installing the wheel cover, make sure that the connection part 3 of the spring body 3
The wheel nut 4 is overcome against the tension force applied by 4 and the clamping force applied by the joint spring 72, but at this time, due to the guidance of the cross-sectional shape of the clamping part 721, the hexagonal part is removed from the head ball 41. 42, the wheel cover board 1 can be easily mounted by simply pushing the wheel cover board 1. Incidentally, the bearing angle γ acts to counteract the pushing force against the tension force, as shown in FIG. 12, and thus further improves the ease of installation.

As described above, the attached spring body 3 is firmly fitted by the tension force and the angle force. Here, the connection part 34
Since the joint spring 72 is manufactured from a different material, its material and
The cross-sectional shape and shape can be freely set. Therefore, the tension force and included angle elasticity can be determined freely, and each resonance frequency can be separated over a wide range, providing strong drop-off resistance characteristics in the frequency range of vibration and impact that differs depending on the vehicle type and suspension. be able to.

Since the joint spring 72 can have any cross-sectional aspect ratio and shape, the included angle elasticity can be appropriately determined without relying on its length ((320) in the conventional example). For example, the structure shown in FIG. 13 is also possible, and the machine screws 91 also provide a reliable attachment.

Therefore, the slope 52 from the reason 51 of the disc wheel 5 is not limited. Further, the restriction of the reinforcing rod 53 has an effect that is difficult to overcome.

In terms of the manufacturing process, since the connecting part 34 and the joint spring 72 are formed in separate processes, it is much easier to form them into an annular shape, and even though there is a burden of welding, there is no problem in terms of productivity and economy. This is not inferior, and this effect is particularly evident when producing a wide variety of products in small quantities.

[Second Embodiment] FIGS. 14 to 16 are a plan view, a sectional view, and a perspective view of essential parts of the second embodiment. This example follows the previous example and shows a method in which the joint plate 73 also serves as a support plate.

The gripping part of the wheel nut 4 in this example is made up of two straight lines with an included angle α, and is assembled by spot welding the connecting part 35 manufactured by bending and the end face 731 of the generally U-shaped joint plate 73. It constitutes a spring body 3. The joint plate 73 has a piece 7
32 is led out, a bent portion 733 is provided thereto, and the boss 22 is press-fitted into the slit 220 of the boss 22 set up on the wheel cover board 1 and suspended by being engaged. When all the nib plates 73 are engaged with the wheel cover plate and the spring body 3 is suspended, the narrow angle portion engages with the wheel nut at an inclination angle θ, as shown in FIG.

When installing the wheel cover, when the included angle part is aligned with the wheel nut and pushed in, the end face 731 of the joint plate 73 guides the rust from the head ball 41 of the wheel nut 4 to the hexagonal part 42, forming a three-dimensional structure with included angle α and inclination angle θ. Due to the composite angle, the spring body opens against the tension force of the spring body and the clamping force of the connecting plate 73, and rides over the wheel nut. At this time, the piece 732 of the joint plate 73 is bent and the effect shown in FIG. Spring body 3
When the nut passes over the wheel nut and is seated between the taper portion 40 and the nut seat 54 as shown in FIG. 15, the tension force and the angle force are restored and the nut is strongly fitted. Since the opening/closing ring elasticity and the included angle elasticity of the connecting ring that create tension have double resonance frequencies, the installation can be performed with strong drop-off resistance even against the wide range of vibration and shock frequencies applied to the disc wheel. maintained.

In this example, the connecting plate 7, which is a structure with an irregular cross section of the included angle part,
3 is made into a three-dimensional shape, eliminating the influence of the overhang size restriction due to the slope 52 from the reason 51 of the disc wheel, and
It also serves as a support. Further, since the connecting portion 35 and the end surface 731 of the connecting plate 73 form an inclination angle θ, it is convenient for the nut 4 to pass over the nut 4, and it floats on the inner diameter portion to ensure a distance from the reinforcing rod 53. As a result, the problems in the conventional example have been solved, and the invention has versatility that can be applied to various disk wheel structural shapes.

When molding the wheel cover board 1, the method of cutting out the support 2 is likely to be a problem, but since it is just a boss 22 in this example, it can be solved with the simplest type of plastic molding, a male and female mold. Generally, the row of wheel nuts to which this invention is attached is standardized, so the spring body 3 is intended to be shared, and the ease of molding of the main wheel cover plate 1 has a great effect on product series. It brings about

Since the connecting portion 35 and the joint plate 73, which are the constituent members of the spring body 3, are manufactured separately, the material, material size, shape, etc. of each can be selected completely freely. Therefore, the properties such as tension force and included angle elasticity of the assembled spring body 3 can be set freely. This has the effect of making it possible to freely respond to mounting performance requirements that vary depending on the vehicle type, suspension, wheel cover mass size, etc.

In addition, in the aspect of the joint plate, the hole 7 of the joint plate 74 shown in FIG.
There is also a method of attaching it to the wheel cover board using a rubber pusher using a rubber pusher. According to this,
In addition to all the above-mentioned effects, you get a reliable installation and the resonance damping effect of the rubber pushers.
It also has the effect of providing even stronger mounting performance.

[Effects of the Invention] The wheel cover mounting device of the present invention also serves as a mounting target for a wheel nut for fastening a disc wheel to a hub. For this reason, it has several advantages over the method of attaching it to the rim hang.

First, the hooking portion depth (undercut amount) is large and the dimensions are clear. The rim hang is on the back side of the bead seat that prevents the tire from falling into the rim well.
There are no set dimensions, and there are several shapes, some deep and some shallow, and there are large lot and individual differences. On the other hand, wheel nuts and nut seats are important safety parts, and their external shape and dimensions are accurate, the depth used for latching is clear, and the amount of undercut can be doubled compared to ordinary hangs. Therefore, the attachment of the wheel cover is strong, and there is almost no variation in resistance to falling off.

Second, the pitch circle of the wheel nut is smaller in diameter than the rim, and there is no deflection.In addition to the fact that the rim constantly deflects in the radial direction as the wheel rotates, it also experiences lateral deflection of 3 to 51 degrees during high-speed curves. It extends. With mounting devices that target wheel nuts, the setting conditions are always satisfied because there is no deflection, and any deflection to the side of the rim hits the outer edge of the wheel cover, so the wheel cover itself simply adjusts and returns. Therefore, the effect on the mounting portion, which is small in diameter, is minimal. For this reason, the installation of the wheel cover is robust, unaffected by vehicle operating conditions, and highly reliable.

Thirdly, the outer edge of the wheel cover can be set in close contact with the rim flange. This effect arises from the same reason as the second effect mentioned above. With the method of attaching to the rim hang, if the cover comes into contact with the wheel cover during a vibration shock applied to the wheel, the cover will be knocked out, so it is necessary to maintain a distance between the cover and the flange, but there is no specified distance for the rim flange. This spacing needs to be very large since we have to assume that there will be wheel balancer weights in that position. Although the main function of the wheel cover is decoration, the large spaces between the covers made it look unsightly, and there were also stains such as dirt that could get in and stick to the cover.

With this method, the above problems are avoided because they are placed in close contact without affecting the attachment action, and the decorative function is also perfect.

Fourthly, do not damage the inner surface of the rim. Instead, the wheel nuts will cause scratches, but wheel nuts are originally tightened with wrenches and leave scars, so this is not something to worry about.

Damage to the rim will occur even if the rim is mounted by pressing the plastic mounting claw, and it will also occur at the same location based on the air valve, and since it is located on the outer periphery of the wheel, if it soaks in shallow water and rust occurs, the wheel will be damaged. Attaching the cover not only makes it difficult to remove it, but also impairs its resistance to falling off. With the installation method targeting wheel nuts, these causes of failure have been greatly improved.

Roughly speaking, according to this invention, the spring body, which plays the main role of the mounting device, consists of a narrowed corner part that clamps the nut to be mounted, and a base part that connects the narrowed corner part in an annular manner, and the elastic properties of the two parts are different. Since it has dual elastic resonance frequencies, the resonance Q is low over a wide range of excitation frequencies, and strong vibration-proof mounting properties can be obtained.

The wheel cover is installed by inserting the narrow corner of the spring body over the nut and snap-fitting it, so it can be installed simply by pushing it in, making it easy to install. After installation, the nut surface is held by the included angle,
Rotation of the wheel cover is completely prevented, so it can withstand the moment of inertia caused by sudden braking, and the wedge effect of the included angle provides strong pressure against the nut, making it highly resistant to falling off.

Since the spring body is attached to the wheel cover board using the plastic hinge or the flexibility of the spring itself, the stress generated in the wheel cover board is zero or very small. Therefore, it is not affected by the creep phenomenon that is a characteristic of plastics, and a highly reliable wheel cover that does not deform over many years can be obtained.

The wheel nut to which the spring body is crimped becomes locally hot (a little less than 200°C) during braking, but this heat is only transferred to the spring body and is subsequently air cooled and does not reach the wheel cover board. Therefore, heat resistance is not required for the material of the wheel cover board itself, and together with the feature of not requiring creep resistance, general-purpose resin materials (for example, polypropylene, etc.) can be used, and the material has wide applicability and is highly economical.

Brake heat dissipation is dealt with by providing air holes in both the disc wheel and the wheel cover, but the mounting device of this invention does not prevent heat dissipation because it is located inside the air holes and has a small diameter.

In addition, the air holes of the wheel cover are the main feature of the cover, which is the main feature of the design (the main feature of the cover), but the mounting device of this invention does not limit the design shape because of its small diameter. Since surface treatments such as painting and plating are also free, the wheel cover design can be done completely freely.

Since the wheel cover machine can be molded using only two male and female molds, productivity is good and mold costs are low. Therefore, it is suitable for both mass production and high-mix low-volume production. Furthermore, this point has a synergistic effect with the effects described above.

The material for the spring body, which is the main part of the installation, is made of round wire. Since the round wire material has no directionality during bending, it can be easily formed into a three-dimensional shape, and the word shape of the above embodiment can be easily realized. In addition, since it is the most basic and standard spring material, there is a wide range of commercially available products to choose from in terms of material, wire diameter, surface treatment, etc., making it possible to economically obtain a highly functional and high-performance spring body. . A spring body with these characteristics is compatible with a variety of disc wheels. This makes it possible to achieve compatibility, replaceability, and common parts, which has a synergistic effect with the features of the wheel cover board mentioned above.

From the above, the present invention provides a mounting device that has wide versatility, has high performance, is highly productive, economical, and is an excellent product.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the spring body of the present invention, Figs. 2 and 3 are explanatory views of a conventional example, Fig. 4 is an explanatory view of the operation of the present invention, and Figs. 5 to 8 are various aspects of irregular cross sections. A perspective view of the main parts showing the 9th
11 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of its operation, and FIG. 13 shows another embodiment thereof. 1st
4 to 16 show a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 17 shows another embodiment thereof. 1... Wheel cover board 2... Supporting tool 3... Spring body 4... Wheel nut 5... Disc wheel 6... Cover body
7... Joint body 9... Fastener Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 7 Fig. 10 Fig. 11 Fig. 11 Fig. 13 Fig. 14 Fig. 15 Fig. 17 Procedural amendment January 26, 1990

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A wheel nut that tightens a disc wheel is selected as an attachment target, and a spring body suspended from the wheel cover via a support is fitted onto the wheel nut, thereby attaching the wheel cover to the disc. In the wheel cover mounting device that is attached to the wheel, the spring body has a narrow corner portion that individually clamps an appropriate number of wheel nuts selected from the group of wheel nuts, and the narrow corner portions are arranged adjacent to each other. 1. A wheel cover mounting device, characterized in that the entire shape is formed into a connected ring shape by connecting one side of the wheel cover, and the cross section of the narrow angle portion has an irregular cross section. 2. Claim 1, wherein the configuration of the irregular cross section is formed by partial injection molding of plastics onto the spring body wire.
Wheel cover mounting device as described. 3. The wheel cover mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the irregular cross-section is formed by adhering a plastic cover onto the spring element wire. 4. The wheel cover mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the irregular cross-section is formed by welding a metal cover onto the spring element wire. 5. The wheel cover mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the configuration of the irregular cross section is obtained by deforming the cross section of the spring element wire. 6. The wheel cover mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the irregular cross-sectional configuration is formed by welding a metal joint body onto the spring body wire.