JPH08332801A - Fitting structure for wheel cap - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a fitting structure for a wheel cap capable of fitting the wheel cap with no backlash, reducing the number of component items, reducing the cost, preventing the deterioration of the external appearance due to the occurrence of recesses, and improving the degree of freedom for designing the wheel cap. CONSTITUTION: A coupling projection 12 is integrally molded on the inner periphery near the opening 11 of a wheel cap main body 10 made of a bottomed cylinder, and elastic pawls 13 are integrally molded at several positions on the inner periphery of the wheel cap main body 10 at the deeper section than the coupling projection 12. When the coupling projection 12 is coupled with a coupling groove 17 formed on the outer periphery of the center section 6a of a wheel disk 6, the center tip portion 18 of the wheel disk 6 on the tip side than the coupling groove 17 is pinched between the coupling projection 12 and the elastic pawls 13, and a wheel cap 8 is fitted to the wheel disk 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an attachment structure for a wheel cap attached to a center portion (wheel center portion) of a wheel disc of a vehicle wheel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to cover a mounting portion of a vehicle wheel to a hub portion on a vehicle body side and improve appearance of the portion, a wheel cap is attached to an outer portion of a center portion of a wheel disc of the vehicle wheel. Is generally installed.

FIG. 5 shows a wheel cap 30 that has been conventionally used. This conventional wheel cap 30 uses a plurality of metal leaf springs 31 in combination and a center portion 32a of a wheel disc 32 (see FIG. (See 6). The reason for this configuration is that the dimensional tolerance (tolerance width) of the wheel disc 32 to which the wheel cap 30 is attached is relatively large, and therefore it is necessary to absorb the dimensional tolerance by the elasticity of the leaf spring 31. is there.

Specifically, the wheel cap 30 includes a bottomed cylindrical cap body 33 and the cap body 3.
3 is an integrally molded product made of synthetic resin, which is composed of, for example, four spring mounting portions 34 provided at equal intervals along the circumferential direction on the bottom surface 33 a of the plate spring 31.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, one end portion of each is integrally assembled in a state of being inserted. The leaf spring 3
The other end of 1 has an engaging portion 3 bent in a V shape in cross section.
5 is provided, and the portion of the engaging portion 35 is arranged as a free end at a position protruding from the spring mounting portion 34. On the other hand, an engaging groove 36 corresponding to the engaging portion 35 of the leaf spring 31 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the center portion 32a of the wheel disc 32, as shown in FIG.

The shortest distance α between the engaging portions 35 of the pair of leaf springs 31 opposed to each other in the diametrical direction of the cap body 33 and the engaging groove 36 of the wheel disk 32.
The dimensional relationship with the diameter β of the peripheral surface (see FIG. 6) is set so that α <β.

The wheel cap 30 formed by integrally assembling the leaf spring 31 as described above has the engaging portion 3 of the leaf spring 31.
5 is engaged with the engaging groove 36 of the wheel disc 32 by utilizing its elasticity, and is engaged with the center portion 32a of the wheel disc 32. When the wheel cap 30 is attached to the wheel disc 32 in this way, the fitting between the wheel cap 30 and the wheel disc 32 is in a tight state due to the elasticity of the leaf spring 31, and thus the wheel disc 30 is fitted. Rattling of the wheel cap 30 with respect to 32 is prevented.

[0007]

However, although the conventional fastening structure of the wheel cap 30 as described above can prevent the wheel cap 30 from rattling, it has the following drawbacks. That is, since the leaf spring 31 has to be incorporated in the spring mounting portion 34 of the wheel cap 30, a work for assembling the leaf spring 31 is required. Moreover, since it is necessary to use the leaf spring 31 as a constituent member, there is a problem that the cost increases as the number of parts increases. Further, it is necessary to provide a spring mounting portion 34 for mounting the leaf spring 31 on the cap body 33, and the outer peripheral surface portion 33b (see FIG. 6) of the cap body 33 corresponding to the spring mounting portion 34 is subjected to sink marks during resin molding. There is a problem that the appearance is deteriorated due to the occurrence of.

Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of engaging projections 40 are integrally formed on the inner peripheral surface of the cap body 33 at equal intervals, and these engaging projections 40 are formed. It is conceivable that the wheel is engaged with the engaging groove 36 of the wheel disc 32. However, the gap α ′ between the protrusions 41 of the engaging protrusions 40 facing each other and the engaging groove 3
The dimensional relationship of the diameter β ′ of the peripheral surface 42 of 6 is α ′ = β ′ (see FIG.
8), the projection 41 of the engagement projection 40 engages with the peripheral surface 42 of the engagement groove 36 as shown in FIG. 8, and the base of the engagement projection 40 has a pair of corner portions 43 of the engagement groove 36. , 44, there is no problem, but it is quite difficult to set such a dimensional relationship, and α ′> β ′ or α ′ <β ′, or the base of the engaging projection 40 is paired. Corners 43 and 4
In some cases, it may not be possible to set the dimensional relationship so as to engage with both of the four.

If α '>β', the wheel cap 30 rattles with respect to the wheel disc 32 in the radial direction of the wheel, and if α '<β', the wheel cap 30 is mounted when the wheel cap 30 is mounted. Cap 3
There is a problem that 0 is transformed. Further, if the engagement protrusion 40 does not engage with both of the pair of corner portions 43 and 44, there is a problem that the wheel cap 30 rattles in the wheel axial direction.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such an actual situation, and its purpose is to reduce the number of constituent parts and to reduce the cost while having a structure in which a wheel cap can be engaged without rattling. Another object of the present invention is to provide a wheel cap fastening structure having a structure capable of preventing deterioration of appearance due to occurrence of sink marks and improving flexibility of design of the wheel cap.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the present invention, an engaging projection is integrally formed on the inner peripheral surface near the opening of a wheel cap body composed of a bottomed cylindrical body, and the above-mentioned engagement is performed. An elastic claw is integrally formed on the inner peripheral surface portion of the wheel cap main body that is deeper than the fitting protrusion, and the engaging protrusion is engaged with the engaging groove formed on the outer peripheral surface of the center portion of the wheel disc. Accordingly, the wheel cap is attached to the wheel disc in a state where the central tip end portion of the wheel disc on the tip side of the engagement groove is sandwiched between the engagement protrusion and the elastic claw. I am configuring.

Further, in the present invention, the distance a between the projecting ends of the engaging projections facing each other in the diametrical direction of the wheel cap body, the diameter b of the circumferential surface of the engaging groove, and the outer circumference of the tip portion of the wheel disc. The dimensional relationship with the diameter c of the surface is set so that b <a <c.

Further, according to the present invention, a stopper piece corresponding to a central tip portion of the wheel disc is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the wheel cap main body and at a position deeper than the elastic claw, and the stopper piece is provided. The elastic deformation amount of the elastic pawl is regulated by the movement preventing action of the central tip portion of the wheel disk by the one portion.

[0014]

The wheel cap is attached to the wheel without rattling by the holding action of the engaging projection integrally formed on the wheel cap and the elastic claw. Further, since it is not necessary to incorporate a separate member such as a leaf spring into the wheel cap, the number of parts of the wheel cap and the number of manufacturing steps are reduced to reduce the cost, and a sink mark is generated when the wheel cap is resin-molded. Therefore, the degree of freedom in designing the wheel cap is improved.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
Will be described with reference to.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of a wheel mounting portion 1 of a four-wheeled vehicle. In FIG. 1, 2 is a wheel (front wheel or rear wheel), 3 is a wheel shaft disposed on the vehicle body side, Reference numeral 4 is a hub rotatably mounted around the wheel shaft 3, and 5 is a brake drum. The wheel disc 6 arranged on the side surface of the wheel 2 is
It is designed to be attached to the hub 4 together with the bolts 7 by tightening them together. Then, in order to improve the appearance by covering the mounting portion of the wheel disc 6 and the hub 4 at the central portion of the wheel disc 6, the wheel cap 8 made of synthetic resin is provided on the cylindrical center portion 6a of the wheel disc 6. Are configured to be fastened.

The above-mentioned wheel cap 8 is an integrally molded product made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a bottomed cylindrical cap body 10 and an inner peripheral surface of the cap body 10. 10a and cap body 1
A plurality of engaging projections 12 integrally formed in the vicinity of the opening 11 of 0, and the inner peripheral surface 10a at a position deeper than the engaging projections 12 (a portion near the bottom surface portion 10b of the cap body 10). A plurality of elastic claws 13 integrally formed, and a plurality of stoppers integrally formed at a corner that is deeper than the elastic claws 13 and between the inner peripheral surface 10a and the bottom surface 10b of the cap body 10. It is composed of a piece 14. The engagement protrusion 12, the elastic claw 13 and the stopper piece 14 are arranged at positions displaced from each other in the circumferential direction of the cap body 10, and the stopper piece 14 is more distal than the engagement groove 17. Wheel disc 6 on the side
Is arranged so as to correspond to the central tip portion (the tip portion of the center portion 6a of the wheel disc 6) 18 of.

On the other hand, in the center portion 6a of the wheel disc 6 fitted on the outer periphery of the hub 4, a plurality of engagement grooves 17 corresponding to the plurality of engagement protrusions 12 of the wheel cap 8 are provided on the outer peripheral side thereof. It is provided (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

Further, the engaging projection 12 of the wheel cap 8
The dimensional relationship of the center portion 6a of the wheel disc 6 is set as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the gap a between the projecting ends (tops) 19 of the engaging projections 12 that face each other in the diametrical direction of the wheel cap body 10, the diameter b of the peripheral surface 20 of the engaging groove 17, and the wheel disc. The relationship with the diameter c of the outer peripheral surface of the central tip portion 18 of 6 is
It is set so that b <a <c. Further, the dimension x between the engaging projection 12 of the wheel cap 8 and the base portion of the elastic claw 13 and the central tip portion 1 of the wheel disc 6
The relationship with the width y of 8 is set so that x <y.

When the wheel cap 8 is attached to the center portion 6a of the wheel disc 6, first, the opening 11 of the wheel cap 8 is directed toward the center portion 6a, and the wheel cap 8 is aligned with the center portion 6a. Then, by moving the wheel cap 8 under this state, the engaging projection 12 of the wheel cap 8 is brought into contact with the central tip portion 18 of the wheel disc 6, and the wheel cap 8 is moved to the wheel disc 6.
Push it to the side of. Along with this, the wheel cap body 1
Since the opening 11 portion of No. 0 expands due to its elasticity, the engaging projection 12 rides over the wheel disk central tip portion 18 and is click-engaged with the engaging groove 17.

The front end surface 1 of the central front end portion 18 of the wheel disk 6 is pushed by pushing the wheel cap 8.
8a hits the elastic claw 13 of the wheel cap 8, and the elastic claw 13 is appropriately elastically deformed toward the bottom surface 10a side of the wheel cap body 10. At this time, the movement of the wheel cap 8 in the pushing direction is performed by the wheel disc. The front end surface 18a of the central front end portion 18 comes into contact with the stopper piece 14 of the wheel cap 8 to be blocked.

In this way, the engaging projection 12 is engaged with the engaging groove 17
When the pushing operation is released after engaging with the
As shown in FIG. 4, the center tip portion 18 of the wheel disc 6 is moved back by the elastic restoring force of the wheel cap 8 so that the elasticity of the elastic claw 13 is between the engaging projection 12 and the elastic claw 13 of the wheel cap 8. The wheel cap 8 is held by the restoring force, so that the wheel cap 8 is centered on the wheel disk 6.
It is attached to a. In this engagement state, the projection end 19 of the engagement projection 12 is disposed at a position away from the peripheral surface 20 of the engagement groove 17 without contacting the peripheral surface 20 (may contact), and the center portion The tip surface 18a of the tip portion 18 is arranged at a position apart from the stopper piece 14 of the wheel cap 8.

According to the engagement structure of the wheel cap 8 having such a structure, the elasticity (spring force) of the elastic claw 13 of the wheel cap 8 causes the central tip end portion 18 of the wheel disk 6 to engage with the elastic claw 13. Since it is sandwiched between the wheel cap 6 and the wheel 12, the rattling of the wheel cap 8 in the axial direction of the wheel disc 6 (wheel axial direction) is prevented. Further, even if there is a gap between the projecting end 19 of the engaging projection 12 and the peripheral surface 20 of the engaging groove 17 as shown in FIG. The engaging action prevents rattling of the wheel cap 8 in the radial direction of the wheel disc 6 (wheel radial direction). Therefore, even if the dimensional tolerance of the wheel disc 6 is relatively large, the wheel cap 8 can be easily and loosely attached to the center portion 6a of the wheel disc 6 without using a leaf spring for absorbing the tolerance as in the conventional case. You can

Further, according to this embodiment, the pushing movement operation when pushing the wheel cap 8 to attach the wheel cap 8 to the center portion 6a of the wheel disc 6 is performed by the central tip portion 18 of the wheel disc 6. Since it is reliably regulated by the abutting action of the wheel cap 8 and the stopper piece portion 14 of the wheel cap 8, the elastic deformation amount of the elastic claw 13 of the wheel cap 8 can be suppressed within a predetermined range, and eventually the elastic claw 13 is broken. Can be prevented in advance.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above.
The present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and various modifications and changes can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention. For example, the shapes and the numbers of the above-mentioned engaging projections 12, elastic claws 13, stopper pieces 14, engaging grooves 17 and the like can be variously changed as necessary.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, the engaging projection and the elastic claw are integrally formed on the wheel cap body, and the engaging projection is engaged with the engaging groove formed in the center portion of the wheel disc. Accordingly, since the wheel cap is configured to be attached to the wheel disc in a state where the central tip portion of the wheel disc is sandwiched between the engaging projection and the elastic pawl, Due to the clamping action of the center tip of the wheel disc by the engaging projections (there is an axial tightening margin), the wheel cap is attached to the center of the wheel disc without using a rattling absorbing member such as a leaf spring as in the past. It can be attached in the radial direction and the radial direction without rattling. Therefore, there is an advantage that a separate part such as a leaf spring is not required, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced, and the work of assembling the leaf spring or the like into the wheel cap body can be omitted.

Further, since it is not necessary to integrally form the spring mounting portion for mounting the leaf spring on the wheel cap main body, when the spring mounting portion is integrally molded, a sink mark is generated on the surface of the wheel cap main body so that the appearance is improved. Not only can such a problem be prevented from becoming worse, but the degree of freedom in the design of the wheel cap can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, the stopper piece formed on the wheel cap body prevents the movement of the central tip portion of the wheel disc to restrict the elastic deformation amount of the elastic pawl. It is possible to avoid a problem that the elastic claw is largely bent and broken when the wheel cap is attached to the center portion.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a wheel mounting portion to which a wheel cap fastening structure according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a wheel cap used for a wheel mounting portion.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a wheel cap and a center portion of a wheel disc to which the wheel cap is attached, in comparison with each other.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing how the wheel cap is attached to the center of the wheel disc.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a conventionally used wheel cap.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the conventional wheel cap and the center portion of the wheel disc in comparison with each other.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing an example in which an engagement protrusion is integrally formed on a wheel cap body.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an engagement state between an engagement protrusion integrally formed on the wheel cap body and an engagement groove of the wheel disc.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 1 wheel mounting portion 2 wheel 6 wheel disc 6a center portion 8 wheel cap 10 wheel cap body 10a inner peripheral surface 10b bottom surface 11 opening 12 engaging protrusion 13 elastic claw 14 stopper piece portion 17 engaging groove 18 wheel disc Central tip of

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An engaging projection is integrally formed on an inner peripheral surface near an opening of a wheel cap main body formed of a bottomed cylindrical body, and the inner peripheral surface of the wheel cap main body is deeper than the engaging projection. The elastic claw is integrally molded, and as the engaging projection is engaged with the engaging groove formed on the outer peripheral surface of the center portion of the wheel disk, the center of the wheel disk on the tip side of the engaging groove The wheel cap attachment structure according to claim 1, wherein the wheel cap is attached to the wheel disc in a state in which a tip end portion is sandwiched between the engagement protrusion and the elastic claw. 2. The distance a between the protruding ends of the engaging protrusions facing each other in the diametrical direction of the wheel cap body,
2. The dimensional relationship between the diameter b of the peripheral surface of the engagement groove and the diameter c of the outer peripheral surface of the tip portion of the wheel disk is set so that b <a <c. Wheel cap attachment structure. 3. A stopper piece portion corresponding to a central tip end portion of the wheel disc is provided at an inner peripheral surface of the wheel cap main body and at a deeper portion than the elastic claw, and the stopper piece portion is provided with the stopper piece portion. The elastic deformation amount of the elastic claw is regulated by a movement preventing action of a central tip portion of the wheel disk.
Or, the engagement structure of the wheel cap according to item 2.