JPS5932504A - Frp wheel rim - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the captioned rim of light weight and high rigidity for cars by forming a reinforcing layer after winding long continuous fibers around a laminated body which is formed by arranging reinforcing-fiber-made sheets or tapes in the peripheral direction along the direction of the axle. CONSTITUTION:Sheets or tapes 5 which are impregnated with resin are densely arranged lengthwise in the peripheral direction, and are laminated until the prescribed thickness is achieved to form a cylindrical laminated body 6. Long fibers are wound around this laminated body 6 to form reinforcing layers 7 and 7'. With this constitution, the rigidity can be heightened as a whole and the work of forming the R-shape can be eased.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a wheel rim for heavy-duty automobiles or two-wheeled vehicles made of fiber-reinforced plastic (hereinafter referred to as FRP).

Reinforcing fibers such as carbon fibers, glass fibers, or Kevlar fibers (product name of Desenhon Co., Ltd., USA), thermosetting resins such as Epoquin resin, polyester resin, or thermoplastic resins such as polyethersulfone resins and polysulfone resins. FRP impregnated with hardened and molded has: ■High strength and elastic modulus; ■Corrosion resistance against acids and alkalis; ■High fatigue strength; ■Good vibration damping properties; ■Light weight. Due to its characteristics such as , etc., it has been extensively researched and put into practical use as a lightweight structural material.

On the other hand, since automatic weight reduction is required from the perspective of reducing fuel costs, there is a proposal for a rim made of the above-mentioned FRP instead of the conventional metal rim made of steel, aluminum, aluminum alloy, etc. This has been done for a long time.

The rim has a flange part 1, a bead seat part 2, and a drop center part 3, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
and spoke attachment part 4 or wheel disc attachment part 4, and has a relatively complicated shape, so it is called FR.
When manufacturing by P, it is difficult to mold the long fibers along the shape because the shape has a large curvature between the 7 lunge part 1 and the bead seat part 2. Since it is not possible to orient the FRP rim, it has not been possible to manufacture an FRP rim with sufficient rigidity and strength.

Therefore, as a manufacturing method that does not have the above problems, SMC (5heet
FRP rims made from FRP (Molding Compound, a mixture for sheet molding) are known, but this rim has significantly lower strength and elastic modulus than FRP made from long fibers, so it is difficult to provide the same properties as metal rims. In order to achieve this, the thickness must be increased beyond a certain level, which has the disadvantage that the light weight characteristic of FRP is impaired.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an FRP rim that uses long fibers and has excellent fiber content, rigidity, and formability.

The structure of this invention is that reinforcing fibers such as glass fibers are impregnated with resin, and this is cured and molded by heating and pressing.
In the RP rim, sheets or tapes of a predetermined width woven from the above-mentioned reinforcing fibers are arranged along the axial direction of the rim and in close contact with each other in the circumferential direction, and the required number of sheets or tapes are laminated to have a uniform thickness to form a cylindrical lamination. The laminate is characterized by a structure in which continuous long fibers are wound in the circumferential direction of the laminate.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the FRP rim according to the present invention is a cylindrical laminate 6 made of a sheet or tape 5 of a predetermined width formed by weaving reinforcing fibers such as glass fibers.
is constructed, and long fibers are wound around the laminate 6 to form a reinforcing layer 7.
7 was formed.

The sheets or tapes 5 forming the laminate 6 are impregnated with resin and are arranged along the length of the rim and in close contact with each other in the circumferential direction, and are formed by laminating a required number of sheets so as to have a uniform thickness. , are formed in the lengthwise direction of the rim in a shape corresponding to the diameter of each part of the rim, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The above-mentioned laminate 6 consists of an inner layer 8 and an outer layer 8. Long fibers in the circumferential direction are impregnated with resin and wound around the outer periphery of the inner layer 8 in a bead sheet portion 9 to form an internal reinforcing layer 7. Similar long fibers are also wound around the outer periphery of the portion 10 to form an external reinforcing layer 7'.

As shown in FIG. 5, if there is a spoke attachment part 11, use a male mold divided into left and right parts around that part, form the spoke attachment part 11 when laminating the sheet 5 on each male mold, and then The outer layer 8 is formed by the sheet 5 which is continuous in the length direction.

Note that the reinforcing fibers forming the laminate 6 and the reinforcing layers 7, 7 include carbon fiber, glass fiber, Kevlar fiber, Borodi fiber, alumina fiber, etc., and the resin to be impregnated with this includes epoxy, polyester, Thermosetting resins such as phenol, or thermoplastic resins with excellent heat resistance such as polysulfone and polyethersulfone can be used.

The above-mentioned laminate 6 and reinforcing layers 7, 7 are formed on a male mold, and a female mold is fitted onto this and hardened by heating and pressurizing. However, if the axial rigidity is insufficient, the laminate Long fibers of reinforcing fibers may be placed along the sheet or tape 5 of 6. Furthermore, when carbon fiber is used as the reinforcing fiber, it has the advantage of being easy to impregnate with a resin, to be laminated, and to be easily molded due to the flexibility and ease of bending of the fiber. Furthermore, it may be effective to use a combination of two or more types of reinforcing fibers.

(Example) The sheet constituting the laminate was made of carbon fiber (Torayca Cross+6341, manufactured by Toshisha Co., Ltd.), and the continuous long fibers constituting the reinforcing layer were made of other carbon fibers (manufactured by Toshisha Co., Ltd., Torayca T-300).
When we fabricated a carbon fiber reinforced plastic rim with a wall thickness of 3 to 4 wn by impregnating them with epoxy resin, this rim had a strength of about 60% compared to an aluminum alloy rim having the same strength and rigidity. % lighter.

As described above, the FRP rim according to the present invention is a laminate made of sheets or tapes woven with reinforcing fibers, and continuous long fibers are wound around the outer periphery of the laminate to form a reinforcing layer. In particular, by providing a reinforcing layer, the overall rigidity increases and the K-shape can be easily created.
The effect of increasing the fiber content can also be achieved by tightening in the radial direction.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 and 2 are partially omitted sectional views of the rim, Figure 3 is an end view of the laminate, and Figure 4 is a front view with the outer layer omitted.
5 and 6 are partially omitted sectional views of the FRP rim according to the present invention. 5... Sheet or tape, 6... Laminate, 7...
Reinforcement layer. Patent applicant Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Sumitomo Electric Industries Co., Ltd. Agent Kama 1) Text 2 Figure 3 ■ 1 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 11) In a wheel rim made of fiber-reinforced plastic made by impregnating reinforcing fibers with a resin and then curing and molding the same, a sheet or tape of a predetermined width woven from the reinforcing fibers is woven in the axial direction. It is characterized by forming a laminate by arranging it so that it has a constant wall thickness in the circumferential direction along the circumference, and wrapping continuous long fibers made of reinforcing fibers around the outer periphery of the laminate to form a sleeve reinforcement layer. Fiber-reinforced glass wheel rim. (21) A wheel rim made of fiber-reinforced plastic according to claim 1, characterized in that long fibers of the sheet or tape forming the laminate are combined in the length direction thereof.