JPH04339001A - Aluminum wire wheel for automobile and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase strength of a surface side flange part of a sealless wire wheel, dispense with plating of a rim, and eliminate a gap at a fitting part between the rim and a ring from a decorative face in the surface side so as to enhance rust prevention as well as appearance decoration. CONSTITUTION:An outside circumferential edge of a surface side flange part 9 of a ring 2 is extended to have a larger diameter than a surface side flange part 7 of a rim 1, and fitting faces 13, 14 are formed respectively in a back surface of the surface side flange part 9 of the ring 2 and in a front surface of the surface side flange part 7 of the rim 1 to fit both the fitting faces 13, 14 tightly to each other.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an aluminum wire wheel for automobiles and a method for manufacturing the same.

0002

[Prior Art] Aluminum wire wheels, which are a type of light alloy wheel for automobiles, have a nipple engagement hole passing through the tire side of the rim, so unless this hole is sealed, it cannot be used for tubeless tires. I can't. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, a sealless wire wheel has been proposed in which the nipple engagement hole 12 is covered with a rim 16, thereby eliminating the need for the sealing process.

As shown in FIG. 9, this sealless wire wheel manufacturing method involves assembling a ring 17 and a hub 3 integrally using spokes 4 and nipples 5, and then assembling the ring 17 of the thus assembled assembly. The outer circumferential fitting surface 21 of
Fits into the inner peripheral fitting surface 20 of the rim 16 shown in FIG. 8 (FIG. 7)
, the wheel was completed by welding the part indicated by the symbol F in Figure 7.

0004

The conventional sealless wire wheel shown in FIG. 7 has the following problems.

The front flange portion 18 of the rim 16 made of a thin sheet of wrought material (for example, A5454) has a thin plate structure and is weaker than the flange portion of a wheel that is generally made by casting or forging. Since there are many opportunities for abnormal external force to be applied to the front flange, it is easily deformed and there is a high risk of air leakage.

[0006] Also, since such a wire wheel is a high-design wheel, it is often plated with Ni-Cr, but the front flange 18 of the rim 16 has a design-exposing portion 19.
Moreover, the rim 16 and the ring 17 must be plated individually, and the cost increases significantly due to plating the rim 16, which has a large plating surface area.

Furthermore, it is difficult to fit the rim 16 and the ring 17 tightly together on the entire circumference, as indicated by the reference numeral 22 in FIG. Not only is the design significantly reduced, but the seam 22 is exposed on the design surface side (right side in the figure), resulting in a decline in the appearance and design. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an aluminum wire wheel for automobiles and a method for manufacturing the same that can solve these problems.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, an aluminum wire wheel for an automobile according to the present invention has a hub (3), a ring (2), a spoke (4) and a nipple (5).
In a sealless wire wheel in which the ring (2) of the assembly (100) is fitted and welded to the inner peripheral surface of the rim (1), the front flange of the ring (2) is assembled to form an assembly (100). The outer periphery of the ring (9) is extended in the radial direction to have a larger diameter than the front flange (7) of the rim (1), and the back surface of the front flange (9) of the ring (2) and the rim (1) It is characterized in that fitting surfaces (14) and (13) are formed on the surface of the front side flange portion (7), respectively, and both fitting surfaces are closely fitted together.

[0009] Furthermore, the method for manufacturing an aluminum wire wheel for automobiles according to the present invention includes
The diameter of the fitting surface (13) formed on the surface of the ring (2)
The fitting surface (14) formed on the back surface of the front flange portion (9) of
) Prepare a rim (1) and a ring (2) that are formed to be smaller than the diameter of the ring (1) by the tightening allowance, and heat the front flange part (7) of the rim (1) to the front flange part (9) of the ring (2). After fitting, the rim (1) and ring (2) are welded together.

0010

[Operation] The front flange of the ring is tightly fitted to the front side of the front flange of the rim, and the front flange of the ring hides the front flange of the rim so that it cannot be seen directly from the front side. Therefore, the front flange part has both the toughness of the rim and the strength of a thick cast or forged ring, and the front flange part of the rim is hidden by the front flange part of the ring, eliminating the need for plating in terms of design.

Furthermore, there is no seam 22 on the design surface on the front side.

0012

Embodiment Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 4.

FIG. 1 shows a sealless aluminum wire wheel of the present invention, in which 1 is a rim, 2 is a ring, 3 is a hub, and 4 is a rim.
5 is a spoke, 5 is a nipple, and F is a welded part between rim 1 and ring 2.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, a part 1 of a rim for a so-called two-piece wheel manufactured by the well-known roll forming process is shown.
The rim 1 is created by cutting and removing the fitting surface 13 at the same time. 7 is a front side flange portion, and 8 is a back side flange portion.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the ring 2 is produced by forming a material by well-known casting or forging, cutting the fitting surface 14, and drilling a nipple hole. Similarly, the hub 3 is formed by casting or forging, and is produced by cutting and drilling spoke holes. At this time, the morning glory-shaped fitting surface 13 of the rim 1 is smaller than the morning glory-shaped fitting surface 14 of the ring 2 by a certain interference (for example, 0.3 to 0.5 mm), and each is finished by cutting when it is used as a single unit. .

Next, the ring, hub, and spokes are assembled. As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the hub 3 is placed in the center of the ring 2.
are arranged and fixedly held by a well-known fixing jig (not shown), the spokes 4 are made to radially project from the hub 3, their tips are passed through the nipple engagement holes 12 of the ring 2, and the nipples 5 is engaged with the nipple engagement hole 12 and tightened to the spoke 4.

When tightening, the ring 2 is assembled so that the tightening torque is applied uniformly over the entire circumference of the ring 2, and the vibration of the ring 2 with respect to the hub 3 is minimized. After tightening all the nipples 5, the ring 2 and hub 3 are removed from the fixture, completing the assembly of the ring, hub, and spokes, and completing the assembly 100 shown in FIG. 4.

Next, the rim 1 of FIG. 3 is heated to about 150 to 180°C.
The fitting surface 13 is tightly fitted to the fitting surface 14 of the ring 2 of the assembly shown in FIG. 4 with no interference, and is shrink-fitted. When the rim cools after fitting, the rim 1 contracts and its fitting surface 13 tightens and presses the fitting surface 14 of the ring 2 by the tightening margin.

Next, the rim 1 and the ring 2 are fixed by welding the inner peripheral portions indicated by the symbol F in FIG. Finally, the portion on the non-designed surface side indicated by symbol G is painted, and a predetermined spacer 6 is press-fitted into the hub 3 to complete the sealless wire wheel. 10 is the design surface of the ring.

It should be noted that the ring 2 may be plated as a single unit if necessary. 5 and 6 show a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the shapes of the back flange of the rim 1 and the front flange of the ring 2 are different from those of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 6, the rim 1 is made by roll forming a thin plate and flash welding it to extend the edge of the rear flange of a two-piece wheel plate rim manufactured by conventional roll forming. A portion 8a indicated by a dashed dotted line is created, the front flange portion 15 indicated by a dashed two dotted line is cut out, and the morning glory-shaped fitting portion 13 is cut, and then the extension portion 8a is hemmed (by press forming or spinning forming). The folded portion 8b is formed and completed by performing a hem cutting process.

The rim 1 of FIG. 6 completed in this way is
As in the case of the first embodiment, after shrink-fitting into the assembly 100 shown in FIG. 4, the inner circumferential portion indicated by the symbol F is welded and joined to fix the rim 1 and the ring 2, as shown in FIG. . Finally, paint the part on the non-designed side indicated by symbol G, and attach the specified spacer 6.
is press-fitted into the hub 3 to complete the sealless wire wheel.

In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the substantial wall thickness t of the front flange portion and the substantial wall thickness t of the back flange portion can be made almost the same, so that when performing wheel balancing, This is advantageous because a clip-type balance weight of the same size can be used in common for the front flange portion and the back flange portion. In addition, the back side flange portion 8 is a folded portion 8b.
This eliminates the risk of deformation when riding on a curb.

In both of the above embodiments, the seams between the front flanges of the rim 1 and the ring 2, indicated by the reference numeral 11 in FIGS. By painting, practically sufficient corrosion resistance can be obtained at low cost.

[0025]

[Effects of the Invention] Since the automotive aluminum wire wheel of the present invention is constructed as described above, the front flange part, which has many chances of running over the curb, can have the toughness of a plate rim and the strength of a cast or forged ring. This prevents deformation and prevents air leakage.

Furthermore, since the front flange portion of the rim (1) is not exposed on the design surface (10), plating treatment of the rim (1) is not necessary, contributing to cost reduction.

Furthermore, since there is no seam 22 on the design surface (10), rust will not occur there, improving corrosion resistance and improving the appearance.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the first embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a rim used in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a ring, hub and spoke assembly used in the first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a rim used in a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the prior art.

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a rim used in the prior art.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of a ring, hub and spoke assembly used in the prior art.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 Rim 2 Ring 3 Hub 4 Spoke 5 Nipple 7,9　Front side flange part 13, 14 Fitting surface

Claims (2)

[Claims] [Claim 1] The hub (3) and the ring (2) are connected to the spokes (
4) and nipple (5) to complete the assembled product (10).
0) and in which the ring (2) of this assembly (100) is fitted and welded to the inner peripheral surface of the rim (1), the front flange portion (9
) is extended in the radial direction to have a larger diameter than the front flange part (7) of the rim (1), and the back surface of the front flange part (9) of the ring (2) and the front flange part of the rim (1). (7
1.) An aluminum wire wheel for an automobile, characterized in that fitting surfaces (14) and (13) are formed on the surfaces of (14) and (13), respectively, so that both fitting surfaces are tightly fitted together. 2. The diameter of the fitting surface (13) formed on the surface of the front flange portion (7) of the rim (1) is the same as the diameter of the fitting surface formed on the back surface of the front flange portion (9) of the ring (2). (14)
Prepare a rim (1) and a ring (2) that are formed smaller than the diameter of
7) into the front flange portion (9) of the ring (2), and then the rim (1) and the ring (2) are welded together. .