Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
3103~
VEHICLE WHEEL
Background of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle
wheel having a rigid rim on which can be mounted a
pneumatic vehicle -tire which is made of rubber Go
rubber-like material and has a carcass which is
anchored in the tire beads by being looped around
pull-resistant and compression-resistant bead
cores; the rim is provided with essentially
radially inwardly extending rim flanges, the beads
of the tire are secured on the radially inner
periphery of the rim, and, next to each tire bead,
there is disposed a respective mounting area having
a deep bed for receiving an annular member.
A vehicle wheel of this type, which is
distinguished by a good riding behavior and a high
functional reliability in the event of a blow-out
or flat tire, was proposed in US. Patent
4,563,042, and belonging to the Assignee of the
present application. The filler ring described in
this previous application is made of rubber or foam
material, and fills the space axially inwardly of
the tire bead in a wheel of the -type described in
German Offenlegungsschrift 30 00 428.5 or German
Offenlegungsschrift 31 45 252, both of which belong
to the Assignee of the present application. This
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filler ring primarily serves to prevent the punter-
lion of spray and dirt into the endangered space,
but can also serve in part as a securing element
to prevent shifting of the tire bead in certain
drive situations. This can also be of significance
during safety tests where, among other things, the
so-called blowout pressure is determined.
With vehicle wheels of the aforementioned
general type, in addition to a blowout of the
tire, a radially inward bending of the tire beads
could also be encountered.
It is therefore an object of the present
invention to further improve the bead and rim
flange regions of a vehicle wheel of the alone-
mentioned general type in such a way that the safety
threshold relative to the blow-out pressure is
even greater than that of conventional vehicle
wheels or tires.
Brief Description of the Drawings
This object, and other objects and advantages
of the present invention, will appear more clearly
from the following specification in conjunjunction
with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a radial partial section
through one inventive embodiment of a vehicle wheel
having a first securing ring;
Figure 2 is an enlarged partial section
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of the vehicle wheel of Figure l;
Figure 3 is a partial radial section
: through another inventive embodiment of a vehicle
wheel having a further securing ring which in the
circumferential direction is toothed with the rim
well and with the tire bead;
Figure 4 is a partial sectional view
which extends in the circumferential direction of
the wheel and is taken along line IV-IV in Fig. 3; and
Figure S is a partial radial section of a
vehicle wheel having a securing ring which conforms
to that of Figure 1, however with a rim which has a
drop-center on its radially outer side.
Summary of the Invention
By one aspect of this invention, there is pro-
voided a vehicle wheel having a rigid rim on which can
be mounted a pneumatic vehicle tire which is made of
rubber or rubber-like material and has a carcass
which is anchored in the tire beads by being looped
around pull-resistant and compression-resistant bead
cores; the rim is provided with essentially radially
inwardly extending rim flanges, the beads of said
tire are secured on the radially inner periphery of
said rim, and, next to each of said tire beads,
there is disposed a respective mounting area having
a deep bed for receiving an annular member; the
improvement wherein: each of said rim flanges, on
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its axially inner side, is provided with an undercut
which forms a space in which is accommodated a
portion of a tire bead and a portion of the bead
core of that bead; and each annular member is in the
o'er of a securing ring having such resistance to
collapse, and such inherent stability, that in con-
junction with the end of the associated rim flange,
said securing ring exerts a wedging action on its
tire bead.
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tire bead, and above all a portion of the pull-
resistant and compression-resistant bead core, pro-
jets into the space formed by the undercut, an
increased reliability is already achieved to the extent
that when stress of the lower tire side wall is en-
countered as a result of excessive air or water pros-
sure, the tire bead cannot shift radially inwardly.
Such a movement could simultaneously lead to an
axially inward shifting of the tire bead. This in
turn is prevented by the further measure of filling
the mounting area with an annular member which is
resistant to collapse and has inherent stability.
In this arrangement, the annular member, which will
subsequently be referred to as a securing ring,
is disposed so tightly between the rim well and the
wall of the tire bead that no significant axially
inward displacement of the tire bead is possible.
In the contact region, the side walls of the securing
ring and of the tire bead are constructed in such a
way, for example extending vertically, i.e. radially,
that when stress is encountered on the lower side
wall of the tire, the tire bead, as a result of the
undercut of the rim flange, is wedged continuously
more markedly between the rim flange and the securing
ring.
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Description of Preferred Embodiments
Preferring now to the drawings in detail,
Figure 1 illustrates a vehicle wheel and tire assembly
having an installed securing ring 1. The pneumatic
vehicle tire which is used is comprised essentially
of rubber or rubber-like materials, and has a radial
carcass 2; this carcass could also be a bias carcass.
The ends of the carcass 2 are anchored in the beads 4
by being looped around pull-resistant and compression-
resistant bead cores 3. Disposed below the tread 5 and
between this tread and the carcass 2 is a belt 6
which is pull-resistant in the circumferential direct
lion, comprises two or more cord fabric plies, and
effects lateral stabilization of the tire body. The
inner surface of the tire, approximately in the
region of the tread 5, is additionally provided with
a thin sliding-contact layer 7 which makes it possible
to support the tire on the rim ring 8 with limited
friction in the event of a blow-out or flat tire.
The one-piece rim has a rim ring 8 which is
preferably made of metal and is welded onto a
rim well 9. Zen viewed in cross-section, the sides
of the rim ring 8 end in rim flanges 10, which Essex-
tidally extend radially inwardly. Disposed next to
each of the rim flanges 10, on the radially inner
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periphery of the rim ring 8, is a respective seating
surface 11 for one of the tire beads 4. Disposed next
to, and axially inwardly of, each of the seating
surfaces 11 is a deep bed or recessed mounting port
lion 12 for the respective tire beads 4. The radially
outer portions of the rim ring 8 are constructed as
support surfaces for the tire to support the latter
in the event of a blow-out or loss of pressure. The
U-shaped interior of the rim well 9 is filled with
hard foam material 13, so that no dirt and spray can
accumulate there.
In its radially inner portion, each rim flange
10 is curved axially inwardly, so that an arcuate
undercut results between the tip or end 14 of the
rim flange, and the associated seating surface 11
for the tire bead 4. The space formed by the under-
cut is limited axially inwardly by a plane 15 which
is parallel to the central plane of the tire; this
space accommodates a portion of the tire bead 4 and
a portion of the bead core 3. With regard to
Sacramento, and from the standpoint of being able
to easily mount the tire, it has proven to be
expedient to place one-fourth to one-half of the
diameter "d" of the bead core 3 into the space formed
by the undercut (Figure 2).
Disposed between each tire bead 4 and the
rim well 9 is one of the securing rings 1, which
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has an essentially rectangular cross-section, and
can comprise one or more parts. In the illustrated
embodiment, the securing ring 1 is made in one piece.
Louvre, at one point the ring 1 is cut apart or
separated, so that the diameter of the ring can be
altered during mounting. After mounting is completed,
the ends of the ring can be placed fleshly against
one another and interconnected by means of a bracket
or strap. The securing ring 1 can also be mounted
on the rim well 9 with the aid of a circumferential
shoulder or boss (shown in dot-dash lines).
The securing ring 1 comprises an inner tubular
or hollow core member 16 of spring steel, and a
sheathing layer 17 of rubber. The hollow space 18
in the middle of the ring 1 reduces the weight there-
of. A circumferential lip 19 on the hollow core
member 16 serves for additionally wedging the bead 4,
but can also be dispensed with, The hardness of the
rubber of the sheathing layer 17 is such that on the
one hand no significant compression is possible when
a tire bead 4 is stressed, and that on the other hand
a possibly present projection 20 can be shoved past
the tire bead 4 during mounting. It would also be
possible to make the projection 20 and the adjacent
portion of a softer rubber. The securing ring 1
can, of course, also be made of a suitable synthetic
material.
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In the wheel and tire assembly illustrated
in Figure 3, the securing ring 1' comprises a
single material, namely a rubber having a hardness
of greater than 90 Shore A, or a synthetic material,
and it also has a hollow space 18 for reducing the
weight. Iota differentiates this embodiment from
that described in connection with Figures 1 and 2
is that the securing ring 1' is provided with means
which assure a reliable transfer of force between
the tire and the rim, even in the event of a blow-
: out or flat tire. For this purpose, the axially
inner side of the securing ring 1' is provided in
the circumferential direction with alternating pro-
sections 21 and grooves, which form a sort of tooth-
gear mechanism with corresponding grooves and teeth
22 provided on the rim well 9 (Figure 4). The
other side of the securing ring 1' is also frictional-
lye connected with the tire bead 4 by means of a fine
cogging 23. In all other respects, the construction
and operation of the securing ring 1' and of the no-
mining parts of the vehicle wheel of the embodiment
shown in Figures 3 and 4 correspond to those described
in connection with the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2.
The vehicle wheel shown in Figure 5 differs
from that of Figures 1 and 2 merely in that the
radially outer side of the rim ring 8 is provided with
a conventional drop-center 24. In place of the legs
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of the U-shaped rim well 9, the vertical, i.e. radial-
lye extending, walls of the drop-center 24 now serve
for the axial inner support of the securing ring 1.
It should be noted that the inventive vehicle
wheel and tire assemblies can be utilized not only
with passenger cars, but also with trucks and other
vehicles.
The present invention is, of course, in no
way restricted to the specific disclosure of the
specification and drawings, but also encompasses
any modifications within the scope of the appended
claim .
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