US1931163A - Method of making hub shells and like tubular metal articles - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 17, 1933. 5 H. w. KRANZ ET AL METHOD OF IAKING'HUB SHELLS AND LIKE TUBULAR METAL ARTICLES Filed June 16, 1930 FIG. 5

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1 UNITEDIS'TATES k 1,931,163 I II I METHOD OF MAKING SHELLS AND I I LIKE TUBULAR'METAL'ARTICLES I I lHarry W. Kran z and.Harry H. Bound Lakevvoo d,

and Jacob S. Fcnzel, Cleveland, hio,assignors, I I i I a I to The Cleveland Welding Company, Cleveland,

0 hio, a corporation of Ohio Ap lication June 16, 1930. serial No. 61,39 4 Claims. (31, 9'

. The present invention relates to the manufac-v the "description proceeds. r0 th eaccomplishture of hub shells forwire wheels and similar; ment of the foregoing and relatedfends, said intubular articles of varying diameter, and its privention, the r, consists of the means hereinafter I mary object is to provide a method whereby such fully described and particularly pointed out in I 6 huh shells which heretofore have been made of the claims. I CD" a numberoi separate pieces, can be formed by "The annexed drawing and the following deproperly shaping and forming a single piece. of I scription set forth in detail one approved method metal, thereby producing a hub shell structure of carrying out theinvention such disclosed I at a much lower cost than has heretofore been mode, however; constituting but one of the vari- I II If) possible withoutzin any way sacrificing strength ouswaysin which the principle of the invention and-rigidity. I a may be used. I I i More particularly our invention contemplates In said annexed drawing: I I

a process which involves the circularizing or Fig..1 is an isometric view of a substantially tubuiating of a flat or substantially fiat blank flat blank from which a hub shell is formed by I of a'suitable metal such as steel, and then workthe method. comprising our invention; Figs.2; 3, ing and forming the resulting tube in such 2. 4, and-fi'sh'ow the successive steps in'tubulating manner to obtain the proper form of hub'or circularizing the blank illustrated in' Fig. 1; shell desired. As above indicated, hub shells for Fig. 615 a fr men sectional View of the" wire wheels have heretofore been made by rollblankillustrated' in Fig. 5 showing in. an en- II 50 mg and forming a tubular blank of suitable 'larged scale the first-step in the forinin'goi suchmetalinto a form having terminal flanges, one tube into a hubfshell; Figs. 7, ,8; 9-. and 10 are flange extending inwardly and the other outfragmentary, sectional views of aportion of the wardly. Usually in this form of construction, the element shown inv Fig. fi'illustrating the succes- I outwardly directed flange was provided with an sive steps in the formation of the hub shell by I I 25 annular shoulder adapted to receive adisc-like themethod comprising ourinvention-which will so memberwhich, provided with a central aperture, be explained more in detail; Itwill be noted coacts with the inwardly directed flange on the that Figs. 6 to 10 inclusive are fragmentary opposite terminal of the hub in sustaining the views of the hub shell showing onlyone-half hub; assembly within such shell .and providing thereof for the-purpose 0f mplifyin e draw- 33 a means for securing to the hub the several .ing and bringing together the several views. into parts of the wheel hub assembly. This method proper position to more' clearly illustrate the of forming the'hub shell by uniting twosepaseveral steps comprising our invention. rate pieces is unsatisfactory from the standpoint In the" practice of .our invention a substan- I ofcost of manufacture as well as the strength al y fl and generally'lectangulal" b an of i 35 of the resultant hub. i I the'kind shown in Fig. lis circularized to'pro The above outlined method of making hub duce the open ended hub illustrated .in Fig. 2; shells has been employed heretofore due to the the ends 1 of this hub are'the-n heated to a suf- 4 fact that no successful method has ever been ficiently high temperature while being brought devised whereby the metalin a single tubular .togthei' as i lust a e i 3. and forc d into 43 blank can be so worked as to form the relativethe upset weld 2 as shown inFig. 4.] Fol1owing95 ly large radially extending flange on the.en-; this the flash orburr is removed :and the article larged terminal of the hub without breaking of then presents the appearanceshown in Fig. 5.

splitting such metal during the working thereof. Inthe next operation of Fig. fi the diameter 7 By f the methodcomprising'our invention; a of the tube is enlarged .from -one terminal 3 welded together along I the adjacent. edges reduces in diameter rapidly to the-tubular porthereof, which, when formed and worked accordtion 5 which is of substantially the same diameinggto the method comprising our invention, will ter as the original tubular article. The substan be formed into inwardly directed flanges on the tially conical portion 6 is then curled and rolled 5-0 terminals thereof for the purpose of securing inwardly as most clearly shown at}? in Fig.7

Within the hub the spindle sustaining assembly after which the portion '7 is flanged inwardly 5.." as well as proper shoulders or annular 'projecas at 8 in Fig. 8. Y 11 I 1 tions on such hub for the purpose of anchoring The next step in the method comprising our I the inner ends of the spokes of the wheel. invention consists in shrinking the annular por- -1 55' Other objects of our invention will appear as tion 9 of the tubularelement adjacent the en- -7 substantially fiat blank maybe tubulated. and graduallyto. an intermediate portions: whichxljoo larged portion 4 as most clearly shown in Fig.

9. The shrinking of the portion 9 may be aocomplished simultaneously with the. inwardly fianging of the terminal 10 of the tubular artiole. ished hub shell is to flange out the inner periphery of the inwardly directed flange 8 into an axially extending flange 11 as most clearly for the inner ends of the wirespokes, is well known to those familiar with'theart.

The above explained operations can .be ofected by any suitable apparatus, for example, the blank shown in Fig. 1 can be sheared to the desired size and shape in a punch press orby means of any other machine adapted to thisend. The hoops shown in Figs. 2 and 3 can be produced on'a rolling machine having three pyramidically arranged rolls, or it may be formed by' bumping orrounding on a press or bulldozer between dies. The ring illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 is preferably produced by electric welding, the burr or flash incident to the welding being removed by shearing or otherwise to produce a smooth finish. After the burr or flash has been removedby shearing it may be necessary to smooth out slight imperfections necessarily, incidental to such shearing by'longitudinally rolling the Welded seam under pressure rolls which will force such metal into a smooth seam, although slightly deforming the circular blank into a flat area asmost clearly 'hoWn in Fig.5. no way detrimental to the subsequent operation included in the method comprising our invention, such fiatportion being easily rounded out in the subsequent operations.

lhe enlargement of the diameter of the tubular article from one terminal to an intermediate portion thereof, as illustrated in Fig. 6, may be accomplished in a sizing machine and the curling or the substantially conical terminal into the form illustrated in Fig. 7 maybe most advantageously effected in a press. A press. of

suitable capacity and proper dies may also be 1 employed for ,the purpose of flattening .the

curled terminal of the structure illustrated in Fig. '7 to the form shown inFig. 8.- A rolling machinehaving suitably arranged rolls may be employed for the purpose of shrinking the annular portion -9 as illustrated in Fig. 9, such rolls, also having associated therewith, suitable- "olls which will inwardly' flange the terminal 10. After the article has. been formed as illustrated in Fig.9, the axial 'flanging orformation of the flange 11 may most advantageously be accomplished in a press which will force the metal into such flange without splitting or otherwise deteriorating the metal comprising such From the above description. of one form of our improved method, it will be apparent that the enlargement of the diameter of the tube gradually effects the proper distribution of the metal from one terminal to' an intermediate portion:

The next step in the formation of the fin-' This slight area is, however, in'

thereof, which enables such substantially conical terminal to be curled into a relatively large inwardly directed flange without breaking or rufiling the metal. The thin portion of the tube produced by the enlarging of the diameter thereof occurs at a point having the greatest radius, therefore in no way detracting from the strength of the finished product. The shrinking of the other terminal of the tube provides an increased thickness of the metal in the areas of short. diameters thereby producing the proper strength which serves as an anchorage for the inner ends of the spokes ,of the wheel. It will be seen that, by employing the above outlined method of forming tubular articles of varying diameter, a hub shell for wire wheels may be manufactured from a single element of stock with a minimum number of operations without any sacrifice of strength and rigidity of the finished shell. By employing this method,

step stated by any of the following claims or the steps be emequivalent of such stated step or ployed.

We therefore particularly point outand distinctly claim as our invention:

l. The method of making hubs and the like which comprises providing a tube, enlarging the diameter of such tube from/one terminal gradwhich comprises providing a tube, enlarging the diameter or" such tube from one terminal gradually to an intermediate portion thereof, contracting thev metal beyond theenlarged portion by inwardly fianging such terminal, annularly ually to an intermediate portion thereof, con

tracting the metal beyond the enlarged portion by inwardly such terminal, annularly shrinking a portion of such tube, inwardly hanging the. other terminal, and axially flanging said first named flange. i

,the use and assembly of separate items is enshrinking a portion of, such tube adjacent said fianging the l. A method of making hubs and the like,

larged intermediate portion, and shrinking andthickening the remaining free end. 7

HARRY w. KRANZ. HARRY H. BOUND.

JACOB S FENZEL;

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