WO2009004112A1

WO2009004112A1 - Wheel mounting mechanism

Info

Publication number: WO2009004112A1
Application number: PCT/FI2008/000082
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ensi Kyösti Juhani NIINIVAARA; Tarmo Eino Tapani Niinivaara
Original assignee: Indovinare Oy
Priority date: 2007-06-29
Filing date: 2008-06-27
Publication date: 2009-01-08
Also published as: FI20070512A0

Abstract

A mechanism for mounting a wheel or rim (9) or like onto an axle (2) of a car or other vehicle. A cylindrical and/or cone or truncated cone shaped pivot (3) is mounted onto the axle (2) end. The pivot (3) is equipped with a void (26) and a locking device (18). A cone or truncated cone shaped hub (4) sits in the middle of the wheel or rim (9). The hub (4) has a piston (19) which is mounted onto it with a rod (7) extendable through an opening (37) equipped with seals (8) in a cover (20) tightly mounted onto a cylinder (21 ). The cylinder is equipped with a groove (17) and one or several seal/s (16). The piston (19) and the rod (7) and/or the hub (4) include channels (23, 24) equipped with a valve/s for pumping the liquid, preferably oil, into the cylinder (21 ) and out of there.

Description

WHEEL MOUNTING MECHANISM

The object of this invention is a mechanism for mounting a wheel onto an axle and/or pivot or onto some other element for mounting a wheel onto an apparatus concerned. The invention is targeted to be specifically used in cars, military vehicles, trailers, tractor/loader wheels, and racecars. Applications of the invention can also be used in factory and power plant applications, in electric motors as well as in chargers, in condensing apparatuses, in power transfer of vessels and boats and in propellers as well as in train technology applications. However, the invention's scope of protection shall not be limited only to those; to the contrary, the invention is also applicable to mounting a wheel onto other apparatuses and transport equipment .

There is actually only one known method in this field of technology: Mounting a wheel with one or gen- erally several nut/s and/or bolt/s onto the transport vehicle's axle or onto to a pivot attached to it. The mounting with a nut/s or a bolt/s is normally a workable solution, but, anyhow, problems are caused because of the following reasons: the nuts or bolts are easily tightened so hard, that, for instance, after a tire goes flat, due to insufficient strength, not necessarily everybody is able to remove, i.e., open, them; a nut or bolt tightened too hard can break while driving, which causes a risk of the wheel becoming detached from the vehicle; when mounting a wheel, nuts or bolts can also be left too loose or they can become loose, which reasons as such also cause a risk of the wheel becoming detached; in any case, the opening, and also fastening, of nuts or bolts fastened too tight is a hard and time- consuming process. Women often leave wheel dismounting and mounting for men to do, which in part is due to the lack of the physical strength required for the task.

The purpose of the invention is to perform wheel mounting and dismounting completely without any winding of a nut or bolt. Hence, no excess physical strength is required to open too tightly screwed bolts. There is no need to use tightening torques and, when mounting it, there is no danger of the wheel being left too loose to perhaps come loose while driving. With the help of the invention, the time required for dismounting and mounting a wheel is a fraction of the time re- quired for the said process employing the technology presently in use.

Instead of using a rim mounted with one or several nut/s or bolt/s, this purpose may be met in accordance with the invention by employing an application, where there is a special, preferably cone-like, hub mounted in the middle of the wheel or rim, onto which hub a piston included in a cylinder equipped with a groove is mounted with a rod. The outer surface of this cylinder may also be partially or entirely of a trun- cated cone shape, etc. Correspondingly, a pivot, etc., mounted onto the vehicle axle is also of a cone and/or cylinder shape so that it forms a counterpart for the aforementioned cone-like hub and cylinder of a wheel or rim, and, for locking the hub onto the pivot, includes a locking device. The pivot and the hub may be of a cylinder shape or polygon cross-sections or, for instance, of a pyramid shape. To be more precise, let's say, that the outer surfaces of the pivot, hub, and cylinder can also be in the shape of a paraboloid, hy- perboloid, or their parts or combinations of their shapes or other surfaces which are compatible and con- nectable to each other. The pivot and the hub may also be equipped with bores or some other type of a cross- section restricting the pivot and axle from twisting in respect of each other. The locking device is preferably a spring-loaded pin, with its casing mounted on the pivot and, whose other end sinks into the cylinder groove as the hub ' s cone-like surface pushes the pin from the opposite end, in other words, as enough pressure is exerted on the hub against the pivot and the axle. There is a minimum of one locking device per wheel mounting mechanism, but, in practice, there are several of them, preferably from four to six per wheel mounting mechanism. For the wheel mounting mechanism according to the invention to work, in addition to the locking device, there is a requirement for the afore- mentioned piston-cylinder system in which, after the cylinder has come against the pivot, the piston starts to sink into the cylinder. There are several forms of application of this piston-cylinder system, of which the first one is presented next. In this application, all the inner space in the cylinder not filled with the piston or parts connected to or included therein, is filled with liquid, preferably oil, and the piston the rod, mounted onto the hub, includes channels, the first of which running to one side of the piston and the second one to the other side of the piston. These channels are also included in the hub in a situation, where the piston rod does not ex- tend through the hub. There is a valve at least on the other, preferably hub, end of the channels. At the onset, the piston is all the way at the other end of the cylinder, i.e., when starting to mount the wheel onto the axle or onto the pivot, etc., at the axle end. As the cylinder reaches against the pivot, etc., the piston starts to move inside the cylinder and the rim or wheel hub mounted onto the piston approaches the pivot, etc., finally getting so close to the pivot, etc., that it presses one or several spring-loaded locking pin/s so that the other end of the locking pin sinks into the cylinder groove, whereupon the locking of the cylinder tightly onto the pivot, etc. takes place. Because of the essentially minute compressibility of the liquid, the prerequisite for the piston to move inside the cylinder is for the liquid to flow out of that end of the cylinder toward which the piston moves. Concurrently, the space at the other end of the cylinder can be filled with liquid or gas, or it can be left in a state of partial vacuum. The moving of the piston in the cylinder can be arranged by pumping liquid through a channel, in which case, with the help of partial vacuum, liquid can be pumped or sucked into the other end of the cylinder through another channel. In one application, the flow of the liquid in the cylinder from one side of the piston to the other side of the piston can be arranged through a valve system, preferable with a valve allowing one-directional flow, extending through the piston. When the change in the free capacity at the piston' s rod end in the cylinder caused by the moving of the piston is less compared to the change in the capacity at the other end of the cylinder caused by similar moving of the piston, the part of the volume of the liquid not able to fit into the free capacity at the cylinder' s piston rod end can be directed out of the cylinder through a channel to be included in the piston rod. The free capacity here means the capacity inside the cylinder not filled by the piston, piston rod, or other piston parts, in other words, the capacity which can be filled, for instance, with oil. The securing of the pivot and/or axle onto the wheel or rim can also be arranged by extending a pin, etc., from the pivot and/or axle and/or brake disc into a cavity for this purpose in the wheel, rim, or hub. Through this system, especially the powers caused from the acceleration or the braking of a vehicle, etc. are received. This system can also be reverse, in which case the cavity is located in the pivot and/or axle and/or brake disc, and the pin, on the other hand, in the wheel, rim, or hub. Through this pin system, the attachment of a wheel onto the axle is secured in a situation where some piston and/or cylinder part breaks to the extent that there is a risk of the wheel becoming loose.

According to one application, on the one hand, the pivot and the parts included in, and/or belonging to, it can belong to the wheel or rim, and the hub and the parts included and/or belonging to it may belong to the axle end or to another element for mounting a wheel onto a vehicle or equipment. To put it more precisely, characteristic to the apparatus according to the invention is what is presented in the characteristics of claims 1-4. The following is a more detailed description of the invention, with references to the appended drawings, in which

Figure 1 shows a system according to the inven- tion for mounting a rim onto a pivot and

Figures 2 and 3 show a wheel mounting mechanism according to the invention and a robot hand application for a military vehicle.

The rim or wheel 9 is pushed toward the trans- port vehicle's axle 2 and/or pivot 3 so that the cylinder 21 fastened onto the hub 4 included in the wheel or rim 9 with a rod 7 and a piston 19 is directed into a pivot 3 void 26 of a cylinder 21 shape and with a diameter larger, preferably only a little larger, than the cylinder 21. As the cylinder 21 reaches the bottom of the void 26, the rod 7, extending through an opening 37 for this purpose in the cover 20 equipped with one or several seal/s 8, preferably with o-ring/s and tightly mounted onto the cylinder 21, and the piston 19, fastened onto or belonging to the rod 7 or equipped with one or several seal/s 16, preferably with a piston spring/s, start to move toward the other end of the cylinder 21, whereupon the hub's 4 preferably cone-like surface further approaches the pivot's similarly shaped cone-like surface, finally pressing the pin 14 loaded by the spring 13 of the locking device 18 protruding from the pivot 3 so that the other end of the pin 14 extends into the groove 17 intended for this purpose in the cylinder 21. The casing 15 of this locking device 18 is fastened onto the cavity 12 in the pivot 3 and the pin 14 end or ends in it can be of a round shape. There can be one or several locking device/s 18 per pivot 3. According to one application, the moving of the piston 19 and rod 7 in the cylinder 21 takes place by pumping the liquid, preferably oil, included in the space 10 on the other side of the piston 19 out of the cylinder 21 through a channel 24 preferably equipped with a valve 27. Concurrently, the background 11 of the piston 19 can be filled with liquid, preferably oil, by pumping it through a channel 23 equipped with a valve 28. Those channel 23 and 24 ends and/or the valve/s 27 and 28 can preferably be placed in a recess made for that purpose in the hub 4 or rod 7, thereby being protected from external dents. Furthermore, the vehicle or transport equipment can be equipped with a fixed or detachable liquid tank, a pumping mechanism, and movable cables, in which case the dismounting or mounting of a wheel takes place effortlessly.

One variant of the previous application is a system, where, instead of liquid, there is gas, preferably air, in the space 10, which air, upon the mount- ing of a wheel, is pumped or let out of the cylinder 21 by pumping the liquid, preferably oil, into the background 11.

Another variant is that, when mounting a wheel, instead of liquid, the background 11 is filled with gas, preferably air, at that time pumping the liquid at the time in the space 10 out of the cylinder 21.

According to one application, the moving of the piston 19 and rod 7 in the cylinder 21 takes place by pumping the gas, preferably air, included in the space 10 on the other side of the piston 19, out of the cylinder 21 through a channel 24, preferably equipped with a valve 27. Concurrently, the background 11 of the pis- ton 19 in the cylinder 21 can be filled with gas, preferably with air, by pumping it through a channel 23 equipped with a valve 28. Furthermore, to generate enough gas pressure, the vehicle or transport equipment can be equipped with a fixed or detachable compressor and movable cables, in which case the dismounting or mounting of a wheel takes place effortlessly. If other gas than air is used, a tank is also included in this equipment . According to one application, the liquid included in the space 10 is partially directed to the background 11 of the piston 19 with a valve system 22 running through the piston 19, employing a valve only allowing one-directional flow. In this application, part of the liquid can further be directed out of the cylinder 21 through a channel 23. Part of the liquid can also be directed into a space for this purpose in the rod 7, in which case there is no need for a channel 23 or valve 28 directing the liquid out. According to one application, an axle 2 and/or pivot 3 support/s the hub 4 in the rim 9 with a system where a pin 5 is extended from the axle 2 or pivot 3 into a hole or cavity 6 for this purpose in the hub 4 or rim 9. According to the variant, the pin 5 can be fastened onto the brake plate 1 fastened onto an axle 2 and/or pivot 3.

According to one application, the hub 4 and the pin include the openings 38 and 39, and a pin (40) extending through them secures that the rim 9, etc. stays in place, especially in a situation where something breaks down. This pin's 40 staying in place can be secured with a covering (41) fastened on top of the hub 4 and onto the hub 4 or rim 9 preferably, for instance, with a screw.

Some of the invention variants are the changing of a wheel performed with a robot hand 29 to be espe- cially used in space technology or military equipment applications. Hence, this robot, preferably consisting of hydraulically operating arms 30, a cylinder 31, a piston 33, a plate stop 32, and dismounting/mounting equipment 35 and of a center controlling them, lifts the wheel 34 into air by pushing to the ground the plate stop 32 attached to the other end of the piston 33 ejectable from the cylinder 31 at the end of the arm 30 and removes the defective wheel 34 and, concurrently, mounts a working replacement without any per- sonnel around the said apparatus, which method of operation as such generates security and expedites the procedure. The dismounting/mounting equipment 35 includes the tools for pumping the liquid or gas into, and/or out of, the cylinder 21, a magnet plate for gripping onto the wheel and a camcorder, etc., for facilitating manual control. The robot hand 29 can also be programmed to operate automatically so that, on order, it replaces the damaged wheel 34 by preprogramma- bly directing the mounting/dismounting mechanism 35 to the location of the damaged wheel 34, removes it, takes it to the warehouse, takes a replacement wheel 36, and mounts it in place.

According to one application, the axle of a vehicle or equipment or its end is of a telescope type. In such a case, the mounting of a wheel takes place by placing the wheel next to the axle alongside the vehicle or equipment and by supporting it, at which point the axle end is extended to fasten onto the wheel. A hydraulic or pneumatic application can be used to move the axle end. One variation of this is train-technology applications, in which case, without changing the equipment, new track widths can be accessed.

Claims

1. A mechanism for mounting a wheel or rim (9), or a suchlike onto the axle (2) of a car, military vehicle, race car, or other vehicle or transport equipment or onto some other element for mounting a wheel or rim (9) c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that a pivot (3) equipped with a void (26) and a locking device (18) of a cylinder like and/or of a cone shape or of a truncated cone shape belongs to the axle (2) end, and a hub (4) of a cone shape or of a truncated cone shape belongs to the middle of the wheel or rim (9), which hub (4) has a piston (19, which is mounted onto it with a rod (7) extendable through an opening (37) equipped with seals (8) in the cover (20) tightly mounted onto the cylinder (21), included in the cylinder equipped with a groove (17), and equipped with one or several seal/s (16), preferably a piston spring/s, which piston (19) and rod (7) and/or hub (4) include the channels (23) and (24) equipped with a valve/s (27) and/or (28) for pumping the liquid, preferably oil, into the cylinder (21) and out of there.

2. A mechanism according to claim 1 c h a r - a c t e r i z e d in that the cross-section of the pivot (3) and of the hub (4) may also be of a polygon shape, equipped with bores, or restricted with some other cross section types from twisting in respect of each other.

3. A mechanism according to claim 1 c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the locking device (18) includes a casing (15) fastened onto the cavity (12) for this purpose in the pivot (3) and a pin (14) extending through the casing (15) , and there is a spring (13) loading the pin (14) out of the groove (17) between the pin's (14) other end, arranged to be wider, and the casing (15), and which pin (14) is extendable into the groove (17) by pressing it on the other, preferably rounded, end of the hub (4), moving it toward pivot (3) .

4. A mechanism according to claim 1 c h a r - a c t e r i z e d in that, in addition to the cone shape, the outer surface shapes of the pivot (3), hub (4, and cylinder (21) can also be in the shape of a paraboloid, hyperboloid, or their parts or combinations of their shapes or other surfaces which are compatible and connectable to each other.

5. A mechanism according to claim 1 c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the moving of the piston (19) and rod (7) in the cylinder (21) takes place by pumping the gas, preferably air, included in the space (10) on the other side of the piston (19), out of the cylinder (21) through a channel (24), preferably equipped with a valve (27), concurrently filling the background (11) of the piston (19) in the cylinder (21) with gas, preferably air, directed through a channel (23) and preferably a valve (28) .

6. A mechanism according to claim 1 c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the liquid included in the space (10) is partially directed into the background (11) of the piston (19) with a valve system (22) run- ning through the piston (19), employing a valve only allowing one-directional flow and partially into a channel (23) and out through a valve (28) or into the space for this purpose in the rod (7) .

7. A mechanism according to claim 1 c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that an axle (2) or pivot (3) fastened onto it has one or more pin/s (5) , essentially equipped with transversal opening/s (39) , which pin (5), when mounting a wheel or rim (9), extends into an opening or cavity (6), etc. for this purpose in the hub (4) or elsewhere in the rim (9), and the hub (4) has an opening (38) for extending the pin (40) through the opening/s (39) and (38) as well as a covering (41) to be installed on top of the hub (4) and fastened onto the rim (9) or hub (4) for holding the pin (40) in place.

8. A mechanism according to claims 1 and 4 c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the vehicles and other equipment, in which the mechanism according to the invention is used, can be equipped with a liquid and gas pumping equipment and cables, which cables are easily connectable to channels (23) and/or (24) and/or the valve/s (27) and/or (28).

9. A mechanism according to claim 1 c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that, at least in some vehicles, for changing a wheel, a robot hand (29) can be employed, consisting of preferably hydraulically operating arms (30), a cylinder (31), a piston (33), a plate stop (32) and dismounting/mounting equipment (35) as well as of a center controlling them.

10. A mechanism according to claim 1 c h a r - a c t e r i z e d in that according to one application, on the one hand, a pivot (3) and the elements included in it and/or part thereof can belong to a wheel or rim (9) and, on the other hand, the hub (4) and the elements included in it and/or part thereof can belong to the axle (2) end or to some other element for mounting a wheel or rim (9) onto a vehicle or equipment.

11. A mechanism according to claim 1 c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that according to one application, the axle (2) or axle (2) end of the vehicle or equipment is of a telescope type.