WHEEL RIM WITH COMPOSITE RIM FLANGES

Abstract

Disclosed is a wheel rim with composite rim flanges, and under the premise of meeting a GB/T 3487 dimension standard, the wheel rim (10) with the composite rim flanges divides rim flanges into at least two parts, wherein one part is a flexible rim flange (20) located at an outermost circumference of the rim flanges, and the other part is a half-height rim flange (14) located at an inner side of a circumference of the flexible rim flange; maximum diameters of inner and outer rim flanges of the wheel rim (10) with the composite rim flanges are the same or in a tolerance range; and the flexible rim flange (20) is mainly composed of an elastomer material and a reinforced framework. A hardness of the elastomer material is less than 30% of a hardness of the half-height rim flange, but the elastomer material is very tough.

Claims

1. A wheel rim with composite rim flanges, wherein rim flanges of the wheel rim with the composite rim flanges are composed of at least two parts: one part is a flexible rim flange located at an outermost circumference of the rim flanges, and the other part is a half-height rim flange located at an inner side of the flexible rim flange; the flexible rim flange is composed of at least one material, and a hardness of the flexible rim flange is less than a hardness of the half-high rim flange; the half-height rim flange and a rim base are integrally formed, and in a radial direction, a minimum distance from a circle with a maximum diameter of the half-height rim flange to a circle with a calibration diameter D of the rim base is less than or equal to (rim flange height G-2.5) mm, and the calibration diameter D of the rim base and the rim flange height G refer to definitions and numerical standards in GB/T 3487; and a pneumatic tire is mounted on a bead seat of a rim base with a half-height rim flange, wherein the rim base integrally formed with the half-height rim flange is called the rim base with the half-height rim flange.

2. The wheel rim with the composite rim flanges according to claim 1, wherein maximum diameters of inner and outer rim flanges of the wheel rim with the composite rim flanges are the same or in a tolerance range, and a rim base dimension of the wheel rim with the composite rim flanges meets the GB/T 3487 dimension standard.

3. The wheel rim with the composite rim flanges according to claim 1, wherein a hardness of the at least one material of the flexible rim flange is less than 30% of a hardness of a material of the half-high rim flange.

4. The wheel rim with the composite rim flanges according to claim 1, wherein the half-high rim flange is provided with a groove structure, the flexible rim flange is provided with a convex structure, and the convex structure is mounted in the groove structure; or, the half-high rim flange is provided with the convex structure, the flexible rim flange is provided with the groove structure, and the convex structure is mounted in the groove structure.

5. The wheel rim with the composite rim flanges according to claim 1, wherein the flexible rim flange is provided with a vertical edge structure, and the vertical edge structure of the flexible rim flange is located between the tire and the corresponding half-height rim flange.

6. The wheel rim with the composite rim flanges according to claim 1, wherein the tire is mounted on the wheel rim and inflated at an air pressure of 2.3 bar, in the case that a wheel has no load, an outer diameter of the half-height rim flange is not less than an outer diameter of a bead steel wire, and in terms of a stress on the rim flange, a contact surface between the half-height rim flange and the tire mainly bears a tire pressure.

7. The wheel rim with the composite rim flanges according to claim 1, wherein the flexible rim flange at least contains an elastic material.

8. The wheel rim with the composite rim flanges according to claim 5, wherein a friction coefficient between the flexible rim flange or the vertical edge structure of the flexible rim flange and tire rubber in contact with the flexible rim flange or the vertical edge structure of the flexible rim flange is more than twice of a friction coefficient between the half-high rim flange and tire rubber in contact with the half-high rim flange.

9. The wheel rim with the composite rim flanges according to claim 7, wherein the elastic material is an elastomer, and the elastomer is a thermoplastic elastomer or a thermosetting elastomer.

10. The wheel rim with the composite rim flanges according to claim 7, wherein the flexible rim flange is composed of an elastomer and an annular framework for preventing stretching, and a stretching resistance performance of the annular framework is more than twice of a stretching resistance performance of the elastomer.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a rim base of a conventional integrated wheel rim;

[0035] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a rim base with a half-height rim flange of a wheel rim with composite rim flanges;

[0036] FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the flexible rim flange;

[0037] FIG. 4 is another schematic cross-sectional view of the flexible rim flange;

[0038] FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a rim base of the wheel rim with the composite rim flanges;

[0039] FIG. 6 is another schematic cross-sectional view of the rim base of the wheel rim with the composite rim flanges;

[0040] FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a half-height rim flange;

[0041] FIG. 8 is another schematic cross-sectional view of the flexible rim flange;

[0042] FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a rim flange position of the rim base of the wheel rim with the composite rim flanges;

[0043] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of tires of a running vehicle impacting a 45 beam;

[0044] FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the rim base of the conventional wheel rim and the tire which are assembled; and

[0045] FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the rim base of the wheel rim with the rim flanges and the tire which are assembled.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0046] 1 refers to conventional wheel rim, 2 refers to inner rim flange, 3 refers to bead seat; 4 refers to rim groove; and 5 refers to outer rim flange; [0047] 10 refers to wheel rim with composite rim flanges, 11 refers to bead seat, 12 refers to rim base with half-height rim flange, 13 refers to rim groove, 14 refers to outer half-height rim flange, 15 refers to groove structure of outer half-height rim flange, 16 refers to inner half-height rim flange, 17 refers to half-height rim flange, and 18 refers to convex structure of half-height rim flange; [0048] 20 refers to flexible rim flange at outer side; 21 refers to convex structure of flexible rim flange at outer side, 22 refers to annular framework, 23 refers to flexible rim flange at inner side, 24 refers to flexible rim flange, 25 refers to groove structure of flexible rim flange, and 26 refers to vertical edge structure of flexible rim flange; [0049] 30 refers to vehicle; and 31 refers to wheel; [0050] 40 refers to 100 mm high bump; and [0051] 50 refers to pneumatic tire.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0052] After wheels are mounted on a vehicle: an outer rim flange refers to a rim flange that is easy to be seen with eyes around the vehicle and located at an outer side the vehicle, and an inner rim flange refers to a rim flange that cannot or is not easy to be seen with eyes around the vehicle and located at an inner side the vehicle; and tires used in the examples all have the same manufacturer, specification, parameters and batch.

[0053] A rim base of a wheel rim in the examples conforms to a GB/T 3487 dimension standard, maximum diameters of inner and outer rim flanges are the same (diameters of the inner and outer rim flanges are in an allowable tolerance range of the GB/T 3487), and a wheel rim is: 17X7.5J; and a tire is 225/45 R17, with a tire pressure of 2.3 bar. A test vehicle has a weight of 1.85 tons.

[0054] The technical solution of the present invention is further described hereinafter with reference to the embodiments and the drawings.

Embodiment

[0055] According to a wheel in Solution 1, with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 11, a conventional wheel rim 1 is integrally made of an aluminum alloy material; a bead of a pneumatic tire 50 is mount on a bead seat 3 of the conventional wheel rim 1; a rim groove 4 is far from an inner rim flange 2 and close to an outer rim flange 5; and a tire is arranged over the outer rim flange 5 to disassemble and assemble the tire.

[0056] According to a wheel in Solution 2, with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 5 and FIG. 12, an inner rim flange is provided with a flexible rim flange structure; a rim base 12 with a half-height rim flange and a wheel rim 10 with composite rim flanges are integrally made of an aluminum alloy material, a bead of a pneumatic tire 50 is mounted on a bead seat 11 of the wheel rim 10 with the composite rim flanges and, and a rim groove 13 is closer to an outer half-height rim flange 14; a flexible rim flange 20 at an outer side is made of a rubber material, a hardness of the rubber material of the flexible rim flange 20 at the outer side is less than 20% of a hardness of the aluminum alloy material of the rim base 12 with the half-height rim flange, and the hardness is 75 (Shore A hardness), so that the material is soft and easy to be deformed; an annular framework 22 for preventing stretching deformation is arranged in the flexible rim flange 20 at the outer side, the annular framework 22 is a circular ring made of a steel wire, and a stretching resistance performance (that is, a tensile strength) of the annular framework 22 is more than 5 times of a stretching resistance performance of the rubber material of the flexible rim flange 20 at the outer side, so that elastic rubber of the flexible rim flange 20 at the outer side is extruded onto the outer half-height rim flange. A convex structure of the flexible rim flange at the outer side is mounted in a groove structure 15 of the outer half-height rim flange, which can prevent the flexible rim flange 20 at the outer side from falling off under a stress when the tire is arranged over the flexible rim flange 20 at the outer side to disassemble and assemble the tire; and at the same time, it is ensured that the flexible rim flange 20 at the outer side will not fall off during rotation of the wheel. Excluding a height of the convex structure of the flexible rim flange at the outer side and a vertical edge structure of the flexible rim flange, a height of the flexible rim flange 20 at the outer side in a diameter direction is 7 mm, and the flexible rim flange at the outer side is located at a circular arc part of a rim flange radius R2 (the R2 is 9.5 mm in the examples) in the GB/T 3487. After the tire is mounted on a wheel rim, when the wheel bears no load, in terms of a stress on the rim flange, a contact surface between the half-height rim flange and the tire mainly bears more than 75% of a tire pressure, and the remaining pressure is transferred to the half-height rim flange through the flexible rim flange. According to the wheel in Solution 2, maximum diameters of the inner and outer rim flanges of the wheel rim with the composite rim flanges are the same or in a tolerance range, which is obviously different from a rim flange decorative strip mounted on the outer rim flange of the wheel rim in the market, this rim flange decorative strip is mounted on the outer rim flange, and a maximum diameter of the rim flange decorative strip is greater than a maximum diameter of the inner rim flange of the wheel rim.

[0057] A wheel in Solution 3 is different from the wheel in Solution 2 in that a flexible rim flange 23 at an inner side is added, and the flexible rim flange 23 at the inner side has the same outline dimension and material as the flexible rim flange 20 at the outer side, and is also firmly fixed on an inner half-height rim flange 16, as shown in FIG. 6.

[0058] In Solution 2 and Solution 3, the half-height rim flange of the wheel rim is formed by machining the same wheel rim in Solution 1.

[0059] The convex structure of the flexible rim flange in Solution 1, Solution 2 and Solution 3 may be changed into the groove structure 25 of the flexible rim flange, referring to the groove structure 25 of the flexible rim flange on the flexible rim flange 24 in FIG. 8; and the groove structure of the half-height rim flange in Solution 1, Solution 2 and Solution 3 may be changed into the convex structure, referring to the convex structure 18 of the half-height rim flange on the half-height rim flange 17 in FIG. 7.

[0060] Alternatively, all or a part of the flexible rim flange in Solution 1, Solution 2 and Solution 3 may be provided with the vertical edge structure 26 of the flexible rim flange, referring to FIG. 9, in a diameter direction; the height of the flexible rim flange 20 is 7 mm (excluding a dimension of the vertical edge structure), and the height of the vertical edge structure 26 of the flexible rim flange is 4 mm; and when the tire is mounted on the wheel rim and inflated at 2.3 bar, the vertical edge structure 26 of the rim flange is firmly fixed on the wheel by extrusion of the tire.

[0061] The flexible material in Solution 1, Solution 2 and Solution 3 may be a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, wherein the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer may be molded by injection, with high efficiency; and may also be a thermosetting polyurethane elastomer.

Embodiment 1

[0062] As shown in FIG. 10, a wheel 31 of a vehicle 30 impacts a 100 mm high bump 40 at a certain speed (a fillet radius set for each tire collision is 4 mm, and the larger the fillet radius, the less likely the tire will be bulged), the 100 mm high bump 40 forms an angle of 45 with the driving vehicle, and an outer rim flange is impacted first, so that the outer rim flange mainly bears the impact force.

[0063] Test process (under the same test environment):

Wheel in Solution 1

[0064] When a 1.sup.st tire is tested, the vehicle impacts the 100 mm high bump 50 at 25 km/hour for 4 times in total, and there is no damage or air leakage in a tire sidewall; and the vehicle continues to impact the 100 mm high bump 50 at 30 km/hour, a tire apex is cracked to leak air after a 1.sup.st impact, with a crack opening oriented to a rim flange of a wheel rim, and the test is terminated.

[0065] When a 2.sup.nd tire is tested, the vehicle impacts the 100 mm high bump 50 at 25 km/hour for 4 times in total, and there is no damage or air leakage in a tire sidewall; and the vehicle continues to impact the 100 mm high bump 50 at 30 km/hour, the tire sidewall is bulged after a 1.sup.st impact, and the test is terminated.

[0066] When a 3.sup.rd tire is tested, the vehicle impacts the 100 mm high bump 50 at 25 km/hour for 4 times in total, and there is no damage or air leakage in a tire sidewall; and the vehicle continues to impact the 100 mm high bump 50 at 30 km/hour, the test is passed in a 1.sup.st impact, the tire is blown out in a 2.sup.nd impact, and the test is terminated.

[0067] When a 4.sup.th tire is tested, the vehicle impacts the 100 mm high bump 50 at 45 km/hour, the tire is blown out in a 1.sup.st impact, and aluminum alloy of an outer rim flange 5 is damaged and deformed.

Wheel in Solution 2

[0068] When a 1.sup.st tire is tested, the vehicle impacts the 100 mm high bump 50 at 25, 30 and 35 km/hour for 4 times respectively, there is no damage or air leakage in a tire sidewall, and a flexible rim flange 20 at an outer side and an outer half-height rim flange 14 are not damaged.

[0069] When a 2.sup.nd tire is tested, the vehicle impacts the 100 mm high bump 50 at 45 km/hour for 4 times in total, and aluminum alloy of the outer half-height rim flange 14 is not deformed.

[0070] Test results of a wheel in Solution 3 are the same as the test results of the wheel in Solution 2.

[0071] Similarly, in a square pit impact test (an impact resistance test in which there is a pit in a road surface and a wheel falls into the square pit, with the same or similar impact force on inner and outer rim flanges), Solution 3 can better prevent an inner side of the tire from being bulged, cracked and blown out compared with Solution 1 and Solution 2, and can protect an inner half-height rim flange 16 of a wheel rim from being damaged at the same time.

Embodiment 2

[0072] In a fatigue impact test on an inner rim flange, the inner rim flange is cracked first in Solution 1 and Solution 2; and at this time, a flexible rim flange 23 arranged in Solution 3 plays a buffering role, so that there is no crack.

[0073] The order of the above embodiments is only for convenience of description and does not represent the superior and inferior levels of the embodiments.

[0074] Finally, it shall be noted that: the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Although the present invention is described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those of ordinary skills in the art shall understand that: the technical solutions recorded in the above embodiments can still be modified, or some of the technical features are equivalently substituted. However, these modifications or substitutions do not make the essences of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the spirits and scopes of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.