Wheels

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wheel rim extender device (1) removably mountable on a wheel (3) having a tire retaining rim (27) for engaging an outer surface of a tire (5). The device (1) has an annular member (11) for location adjacent a sidewall (7) of a tire (5) mounted on the wheel (3). The annular member (11) comprises an edge portion (33a, 33b) which defines an outer circumference of the annular member (11) and a support portion (35a, 35b), disposed radially inward of the edge portion (33a, 33b), for mounting on the wheel (3), wherein the edge portion (33a, 33b) has a greater flexibility than the support portion (35a, 35b). The invention also relates to the combination of a wheel rim extender device (1) and a wheel (3).

Claims

1. A wheel rim extender device removably mountable on a wheel having a tyre retaining rim for engaging an outer surface of a tyre, the device comprising: an annular member configured to be mounted to the wheel for location adjacent a sidewall of the tyre mounted on the wheel, wherein the annular member comprises an edge portion which defines an outer circumference of the annular member, a support portion disposed radially inward of the edge portion, and a central aperture, wherein, when the annular member is mounted to the wheel, the edge portion extends radially outwardly beyond an outer edge of the wheel so as to cover a portion of the tyre sidewall, and the central aperture provides access to wheel mounting bolts to allow the wheel to be removed with the rim extender mounted to the wheel, and wherein the edge portion has a greater flexibility than the support portion and is formed by partially or completely over-moulding the support portion.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the annular member is of substantially planar form.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein said annular member is a unitary member.

4. A device according to claim 1, wherein the edge portion is formed from a first material, and the support portion is formed from a second material.

5. A device according to claim 4, wherein the second material is harder than the first material.

6. A device according to claim 4, wherein the edge portion and the support portion are moulded from respective first and second plastics materials.

7. A device according to claim 1, wherein the support portion is formed from a metal or a plastics material.

8. A device according to claim 1, wherein the support portion comprises one or more holes formed therethrough for receiving fastening means for mounting the device to the wheel.

9. A device according to claim 8, wherein the support portion comprises one or more radially inwardly projecting flanges, wherein each of said one or more holes is formed in a respective one of said one or more flanges.

10. A device according to claim 1, wherein, in use, a cavity is formed between the device and the wheel and/or tyre to accommodate one or more wheel balancing weights.

11. A device according to claim 1, wherein the annular member has a first surface for facing the tyre and a second surface for facing outwardly, the second surface being harder than the first surface.

12. A device according to claim 11, wherein a resilient layer or coating is applied to the annular member to form said first surface.

13. A device according to claim 1, wherein the device comprises at least one protuberance locatable in a cooperating recess formed in the wheel to locate the device.

14. A device as claimed in claim 1 in combination with a wheel having a tyre retaining rim, wherein the device has a diameter which is larger than a diameter of the tyre retaining rim.

15. A wheel adapted to receive a wheel rim extender device, wherein the wheel rim extender device comprises an annular member having an edge portion which defines an outer circumference of the annular member, a support portion disposed radially inward of the edge portion, and a central aperture, wherein, when the annular member is mounted to the wheel, the edge portion extends radially outwardly beyond an outer edge of the wheel so as to cover a portion of a sidewall of a tyre mounted on the wheel, and the central aperture provides access to wheel mounting bolts to allow the wheel to be removed with the rim extender mounted to the wheel, and wherein the edge portion has a greater flexibility than the support portion and is formed by partially or completely over-moulding the support portion.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a rim extender device according to an embodiment of the present invention mounted on a wheel;

(3) FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C are, respectively, plan, side and perspective views of the rim extender device shown in FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a wheel for mounting the rim extender device shown in FIG. 1; and

(5) FIG. 4A and 4B are respective cross-sectional views of alternative constructions of the device shown in FIG. 1 as viewed along the line A-A in FIG. 2A .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) A rim extender 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1. The rim extender 1 is illustrated mounted on a wheel 3. A tyre 5 having a sidewall 7 and a locating bead (not shown) is fitted to the wheel 3 in conventional manner. The wheel 3 is mounted on a hub of a motor vehicle (not shown) by a wheel fastener 9.

(7) In use, a first surface S1 of the rim extender 1 faces the sidewall 7 of the tyre 5 and a second surface S2 faces away from the sidewall 7. The rim extender 1 extends radially outwardly beyond an outer edge of the wheel 3 so as to cover a portion of the sidewall 7 of the tyre 5. The rim extender 1 thereby creates the visual impression of increasing the diameter of the wheel 3 and reducing the aspect ratio of the tyre 5.

(8) As best illustrated in the plan elevation shown in FIG. 2A, the rim extender 1 comprises an annular member 11 and six support members 13. The support members 13 are disposed around an inner edge 15 of the annular member 11 and extend radially inwardly. An outer edge 17 of the annular member 11 is circular to replicate the profile of a standard wheel rim. The support members 13 are generally triangular in shape and each have a circular aperture 19 for receiving fastening means, such as a threaded bolt 21 (shown in FIG. 1), to mount the rim extender 1 removably on the wheel 3.

(9) As illustrated in the side elevation shown in FIG. 2B, the rim extender 1 is generally planar. However, a protuberance 23 is provided on the first surface S1 of each support member 13 to locate in a detent 25 (shown in FIG. 3) formed in the wheel 3. The protuberances 23 align the rim extender 1 when it is first positioned on the wheel 3 ready for introduction of the fasteners 21. A recess 25 is formed in the second surface S2 corresponding to the protuberance 23, as shown in the perspective view of FIG. 2C.

(10) A perspective view of the wheel 3 is shown in FIG. 3. The wheel 3 is of conventional construction and has a pair of opposing tyre retaining rims 27 for engaging the tyre bead. The tyre retaining rims 27 are formed integrally with the wheel 3. In use, the outer surfaces of the tyre beads are pressed against the inside of the tyre retaining rims 27 by internal tyre pressure to secure the tyre 5 in position. The wheel 3 in the present embodiment comprises six radial spokes 29. A threaded aperture 31 is provided in each spoke 29 proximal the tyre retaining rims 27 to receive the bolts 21. Reinforcing threaded inserts may be provided to receive the bolts 21.

(11) The rim extender 1 has a diameter which is approximately 1 (25 mm) larger than the diameter of the tyre retaining rim 27. The first surface S1 of the rim extender 1 sits against the sidewall 7 of the tyre 5. However, the rim extender 1 does not secure the tyre 5 in position. Rather, the rim extender 1 provides a non-structural, trim component.

(12) The rim extender 1 may be deformed by the tyre 5, for example due to deflection of the tyre 5 under operating loads. To accommodate this movement, the rim extender 1 is made of a resilient material, such as metal or a resilient plastics material.

(13) To prevent damage to the tyre 5, at least the first surface S1 of the annular member 11 can be provided with a flexible or resilient coating. The coating can be soft polyurethane or silicone rubber applied using an over-moulding technique.

(14) Rather than over-mould the coating onto the rim extender 1, a dual-shot plastics moulding process could be used to form the rim extender 1. Two plastics materials having different hardness properties could be used to provide the desired characteristics of the rim extender 1.

(15) A reinforcing insert may optionally be provided in each support member 13 to prevent damage when the fasteners 21 are tightened. The insert could be made of metal or a hard plastics material.

(16) The rim extender 1 is fitted by placing it against the wheel 3 and locating the protuberances 23 within the detents 25. The bolts 21 can then be inserted through the apertures 19 in the rim extender 1 and screwed into the threaded apertures 29 in the wheel 3. The rim extender 1 projects radially outwardly beyond the tyre retaining rim 27 and can be fitted with the tyre 5 positioned on the wheel 3. The first surface S1 of the rim extender 1 abuts the side wall 7 of the tyre 5. As the rim extender 1 does not obstruct the wheel fastener 9, the wheel 3 can be fitted to, or removed from the vehicle with the rim extender 1 in place.

(17) In more detail, referring to FIG. 4A, in the case that the rim extender 1 is constructed using a dual-shot moulding process, the annular member 11 comprises an edge portion 33a and a support portion 35a. The edge portion 33a comprises an outer annular region of the annular member 11 which terminates at and defines the outer circumferential edge 17 of the annular member 11. The support portion 35a is of substantially annular form and comprises an annular part 37a which has a plurality of radially inward projecting flanges 39a, each of which corresponds to one of the six support members 13.

(18) As shown in FIG. 4A, when mounted on the wheel 3, the annular part 37a of the support portion 35a is disposed adjacent to the tyre retaining rim 27 of the wheel 3, and each flange 39a is received within a detent 25 formed in each spoke 29 of the wheel 3. The apertures 19 for receiving the threaded bolts 21 are provided in the respective flanges 39a of the support portion 35a, co-axial with each threaded aperture 31 in the wheel 3.

(19) The edge portion 33a and the support portion 35a are formed from first and second plastics materials by means of a dual-shot moulding process. The first plastics material, which forms the edge portion 33a and, in the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A, defines the overall shape of the annular member 11, is formed from a plastics material which is selected such that the edge portion 33a is flexible relative to the support portion 35a. For example, in the presently described embodiment this can be achieved by the second plastics material which forms the support portion 35a being harder than the first plastics material.

(20) With the above construction, the support portion 35a forms a rigid core of the annular member 11 which can be securely attached to the wheel 3 by means of inserting a threaded bolt 21 through each aperture 19 of each flange 39a and screwing it into the corresponding threaded apertures 31 in the spokes 29 of the wheel 3. Furthermore, because the flanges 39a of the support portion 35a are all joined together by means of the annular part 37a of the support portion 35a, this ensures that the annular member 11 does not become distorted during use. At the same time, the edge portion 33a is sufficiently flexible such that any deflection of the adjacent side wall of the tyre 5 during use can be accommodated without causing damage to the tyre 5.

(21) Referring to FIG. 4B, the annular member 11 may also be formed using an over-moulding process, and comprises an edge portion 33b and a support portion 35b. In this case, the second material which forms the support portion 35b may be, for example, a metal or a plastics material. As shown in FIG. 4B, the support portion 35b comprises an annular part 37b at its outer periphery and has a plurality of inwardly projecting flanges 39b. In this embodiment, each flange 39b defines the overall shape of each respective support member 13. The edge portion 33b is formed by over-moulding a first material, such as a soft polyurethane or silicone rubber, on the outer surface of the support portion 35b. As before, the flexibility of the first material is selected such that the edge portion 33b can flex in response to deflection of the side wall of the tyre 7 during use.

(22) With the constructions of FIGS. 4A and 4B, only the first material, which forms the edge portion 33a, 33b, is visible to a user when the annular member 11 is mounted on the wheel 3, which helps to provide a pleasing aesthetic appearance.

(23) The rim extender 1 can be fitted over clip-on wheel balance weights thereby hiding them from view and helping to ensure that they do not become dislodged from the wheel 3. Moreover, the rim extender 1 can help to protect the wheel 3 from damage, for example from rocks and kerbstones. If damaged, the rim extender 1 could be replaced without the need to replace the wheel 3. Also, the rim extender 1 can be replaced without removing either the tyre 5 or the wheel 3.

(24) As the rim extender 1 is not structural, it can have a lightweight construction to reduce the impact on vehicle performance. The rim extender 1 is resilient so as not to affect the function of the tyre 5, for example the stiffness or compliance of the side-wall 7 of the tyre 5. The flexing of the rim extender 1 in use can also accommodate tyre deflections in use. Thus, in use, the ride quality and steering feel of the vehicle is not adversely affected when the rim extender 1 according to the present invention is fitted.

(25) It will be appreciated that various changes can be made to the rim extender described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the rim extender 1 and wheel 3 are configured to look like a bead lock wheel. However, the surface finish, profile and design of the rim extender 1 and the wheel 3 can readily be changed.