Wheel and Motor Vehicle Comprising a Wheel

Abstract

A wheel for a two-track motor vehicle has a rim, a hub, and multiple spokes arranged distributed in the circumferential direction and each having a radially inner end and a radially outer end. The hub is arranged asymmetrically relative to a vertical wheel central plane extending perpendicular to a rotational axis direction of the wheel. Each spoke is connected to the rim by its respective radially outer end and connected to the hub by its radially inner end, such that the rim is connected to the hub via the spokes. In terms of a functional installation state of the wheel in a vehicle, at least two of the spokes are secured to the rim with their radially outer ends in different positions in the vehicle transverse direction and/or at least two of the spokes are secured to the hub with their radially inner ends in different positions in the vehicle transverse direction.

Claims

1-14. (canceled)

15. A wheel for a vehicle, comprising: a rim; a hub; and a plurality of spokes arranged in a distributed manner in a circumferential direction and each having a radially inner end and a radially outer end, wherein the hub is arranged asymmetrically to a vertical wheel center plane extending perpendicularly to a rotation axis direction of the wheel, each spoke is connected to the rim by its radially outer end and to the hub by its radially inner end, such that the rim is connected to the hub by the spokes, and with respect to a functional installation state of the wheel in the vehicle, at least two of the spokes are fastened to the rim by their radially outer end at different positions in a vehicle transverse direction and/or at least two of the spokes are fastened to the hub by their radially inner end at different positions in the vehicle transverse direction.

16. The wheel according to claim 15, wherein with respect to the functional installation state of the wheel in the vehicle, two spokes arranged adjacently in the circumferential direction are fastened to the rim by their radially outer end at different positions in the vehicle transverse direction and/or to the hub by their radially inner end at different positions in the vehicle transverse direction.

17. The wheel according to claim 15, wherein the wheel comprises at least two groups of spokes: a first group of spokes whose radially outer end is in each case fastened to the rim at a first position in the vehicle transverse direction along a first rim circumferential circle, and at least one second group of spokes whose radially outer end is in each case fastened to the rim at a second position in the vehicle transverse direction along a second rim circumferential circle.

18. The wheel according to claim 17, wherein the wheel comprises at least two groups of spokes: a first group of spokes whose radially inner end is in each case fastened to the hub at a first position in the vehicle transverse direction along a first hub circumferential circle, and at least one second group of spokes whose radially inner end is in each case fastened to the hub at a second position in the vehicle transverse direction along a second hub circumferential circle.

19. The wheel according to claim 18, wherein at least one first spoke of the first group is fastened to the rim by its radially outer end along the first rim circumferential circle and to the hub by its radially inner end along the first hub circumferential circle, and at least one second spoke of the second group arranged adjacently to a first spoke in the circumferential direction is fastened to the rim by its radially outer end along the second rim circumferential circle and to the hub by its radially inner end along the second hub circumferential circle.

20. The wheel according to claim 17, wherein at least one first spoke of the first group is fastened to the rim by its radially outer end along the first rim circumferential circle and to the hub by its radially inner end along the first hub circumferential circle, and at least one second spoke of the second group arranged adjacently to a first spoke in the circumferential direction, is fastened to the rim by its radially outer end along the second rim circumferential circle and to the hub by its radially inner end along the second hub circumferential circle.

21. The wheel according to claim 17, wherein the spokes of the first group and the spokes of the second group are arranged in a regularly alternating manner.

22. The wheel according to claim 18, wherein the spokes of the first group and the spokes of the second group are arranged in a regularly alternating manner.

23. The wheel according to claim 18, wherein at least one first spoke extends from the hub up to the rim with its longitudinal axis at a first defined angle to the rotation axis, and at least one second spoke arranged adjacently to a first spoke in the circumferential direction extends from the hub up to the rim with its longitudinal axis at a second defined angle to the rotation axis, wherein the at least one first spoke and/or the at least one second spoke extend or extends in a plane which is common with the rotation axis.

24. The wheel according to claim 23, wherein the at least one first spoke extends from the hub obliquely radially outward and toward the vehicle interior up to the rim; and the at least one second spoke extends from the hub obliquely radially outward and toward the vehicle exterior up to the rim.

25. The wheel according to claim 23, wherein the first angle and the second angle have a same angular magnitude.

26. The wheel according to claim 23, wherein the first angle and the second angle have different angular magnitudes.

27. The wheel according to claim 18, wherein with respect to the functional installation state of the wheel in the vehicle, a distance in the vehicle transverse direction between the first rim circumferential circle and the second rim circumferential circle and also a distance between the first hub circumferential circle and the second hub circumferential circle and also the first angle and the second angle are each chosen such that: when considering a radial section through the wheel along a section plane containing the rotation axis of the wheel, and with a projection in the circumferential direction of two adjacently arranged spokes into the section plane, these spokes form an X, a V, an inverted V or, together with a portion of the rim and a portion of the hub, a quadrangle.

28. The wheel according to claim 15, wherein a width of at least one spoke in the circumferential direction increases outwardly in the radial direction with increasing distance from the rotation axis of the wheel.

29. The wheel according to claim 28, wherein the increase is symmetrically to a spoke longitudinal axis

30. The wheel according to claim 15, wherein a width of at least one spoke in the circumferential direction decreases outwardly in the radial direction with increasing distance from the rotation axis of the wheel.

31. The wheel according to claim 30, wherein the decrease is symmetrically to a spoke longitudinal axis.

32. The wheel according to claim 15, wherein at least one spoke of the wheel has an additional further aerodynamic feature.

33. A motor vehicle comprising a wheel according to claim 15.

34. The vehicle according to claim 33, wherein the vehicle is a two-track motor vehicle.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] FIG. 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment of a wheel according to the invention in a perspective illustration;

[0048] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a projection of two spokes adjacent in the circumferential direction into a radial section plane extending along the rotation axis; and

[0049] FIG. 3 depicts a schematic illustration of such a projection of a second exemplary embodiment of a wheel according to the invention.

[0050] Here, all the features described in more detail and also all the discernible features may be essential to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] FIG. 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment of a wheel 10 for a two-track motor vehicle, in particular for a passenger car, having a rim 11, a hub 12 and a plurality of spokes 14 to 23 arranged in a uniformly distributed manner in the circumferential direction.

[0052] Here, the hub 12 is arranged or designed to be asymmetrical to a wheel center plane (not shown here) extending perpendicularly to a rotation axis direction D or a rotation axis D of the wheel 10 or is arranged to be offset from this wheel center plane in a direction toward the vehicle exterior, that is to say not centrally to the rim or not symmetrically, as is generally customary in the case of motorcycle rims, for example.

[0053] Here, the spokes 14 to 23 are each fastened to the hub 12 by their radially inner end (not designated in more detail) and are each fastened to an inner side of the rim 11 by their radially outer end (likewise not designated in more detail). The rim 11 is fixedly connected to the hub 12 by the spokes 14 to 23.

[0054] This exemplary embodiment of a wheel 10 has two groups of spokes, namely a first group having the spokes 14 to 18, which are part of a first wheel spider 13A, and a second group of spokes having the spokes 19 to 23, which are part of a second wheel spider 13B.

[0055] The spokes 14 to 18 of the first group are here fastened to the hub 12 by their radially inner end in the vehicle transverse direction Y further in the direction toward the vehicle exterior than the spokes 19 to 23 of the second group, that is to say further outward in the +Y direction. By contrast, the spokes 14 to 18 are each fastened to an inner wall of the rim 11 by their radially outer end further in the direction toward the vehicle interior than the spokes 19 to 23 of the second group, that is to say further inward in the −Y direction.

[0056] The spokes 14 to 18 of the first group or of the first wheel spider 13A here each extend from the hub 12 obliquely radially outward and toward the vehicle interior up to the rim 11, whereas, by contrast, the spokes 19 to 23 of the second group or of the second wheel spider 13B extend obliquely radially outward and toward the vehicle exterior.

[0057] For particularly advantageous aerodynamics of the wheel 10, in particular for further reduction of the aerodynamic rotation (resistance) moment occurring during travel, the spokes 14 to 23 in this wheel 10 are here in each case all fastened within a rim edge 24, that is to say within the rim bowl. Here, the rim wall 24 acts like an aerodynamic annular disk. With appropriate configuration of the rim wall 24, the flow on or around the wheel 10 can be positively influenced in such a way that the aerodynamic rotation (resistance) moment which occurs is reduced.

[0058] As can be clearly seen from FIG. 1, the spokes 14 to 18 of the first group or of the first wheel spider 13A and the spokes 19 to 23 of the second group or of the second wheel spider 13B are here arranged in a regularly alternating manner, in particular alternating by turns.

[0059] In this exemplary embodiment, the spokes 14 to 23 here each completely extend outwardly away from the rotation axis D in the radial direction, that is to say without a tangential or circumferential component, although this is alternatively also possible in principle in another embodiment of a wheel according to the invention. Thus, for each of the spokes 14 to 23 for the depicted wheel 10 there can be found a plane which intersects both the respective spoke over its entire length and the axis of rotation over the entire width of the wheel 10 in the vehicle transverse direction Y. That is to say that, for each spoke of the spokes 14 to 23, there is a common plane in which both the rotation axis D and the spoke extend.

[0060] According to the invention, the spokes 14 to 18 of the first group or of the first wheel spider 13A and also the spokes 19 to 23 of the second group or of the second wheel spider 13B are here each fastened to the rim 11 by their radially outer ends at different positions Y1 and Y2 (cf. FIG. 2) in the vehicle transverse direction Y, that is to say in the Y direction, and, in this embodiment of a wheel 10 according to the invention, are additionally fastened to the hub 12 by their radially inner ends in each case at different positions Y3 and Y4 (cf. also FIG. 2) in the vehicle transverse direction Y.

[0061] This can clearly be seen on the basis of FIG. 2 which is a schematic illustration showing a projection of the spokes 14 and 19 arranged adjacently in the circumferential direction into a radial section plane extending along the rotation axis D.

[0062] In the exemplary embodiment described here of a wheel 10 according to the invention, the radially inner ends of the spokes 14 to 18 of the first group or of the first wheel spider 13A are here each fastened to the hub 12 at the same position Y3 in the vehicle transverse direction Y. That is to say that their attachment positions on the hub 12 all lie on a common hub circumferential circle NU, in particular on a first hub circumferential circle NU1. In principle, however, an arrangement on different hub circumferential circles is also conceivable.

[0063] Likewise, the radially outer ends of the spokes 14 to 18 of the first group or of the first wheel spider 13A are all fastened to the rim 11 at the same position in the vehicle transverse direction Y and thus lie on a common rim circumferential circle FU, in particular on a first rim circumferential circle FU1. In principle, an arrangement on different rim circumferential circles is also possible here.

[0064] Correspondingly, the spokes 19 to 23 of the second group are likewise attached to the hub 12 by their radially inner ends along a common hub circumferential circle NU, in particular along a second hub circumferential circle NU2, and by their radially outer ends along a common rim circumferential circle FU, in particular along a second rim circumferential circle FU2. Correspondingly, the spokes 19 to 23 can also each be fastened to the rim 11 or the hub 12 at different positions in the Y direction.

[0065] In particular, it is also possible for only some of the spokes of a group to be fastened to the rim 11 or the hub 12 along a common circumferential circle.

[0066] However, it should be noted that a rotationally symmetrical arrangement or an arrangement which is uniform in the circumferential direction, that is to say a configuration and arrangement which is regular in the circumferential direction, is advantageous in order to avoid the occurrence of nonuniform rotational forces, in particular unbalances.

[0067] To ensure that the spokes 14 to 23 each extend obliquely as described above, the position Y1 or Y2 of the radially outer attachment point of a spoke 14 to 23 in the Y direction differs in each case from the position Y3 or Y4 of the radially inner attachment point of this spoke 14 to 23.

[0068] For this purpose, in this exemplary embodiment of a wheel 10 according to the invention, the attachment points Y1 of the radially outer ends of the spokes 14 to 18 on the rim 11 or the first rim circumferential circle HA in the Y direction are situated further toward the vehicle interior than the associated attachment points Y3 of the radially inner ends of the spokes 14 to 18 on the hub 12 or the first hub circumferential circle NU1.

[0069] Correspondingly, for this purpose, the attachment points Y2 of the radially outer ends of the spokes 19 to 23 on the rim 11 or the second rim circumferential circle FU2 in the Y direction are situated further to the vehicle exterior than the associated attachment points Y4 of the radially inner ends of the spokes 19 to 23 on the hub 12 or the second hub circumferential circle NU2.

[0070] The spokes 14 to 18 here extend from the hub 12 to the rim along their longitudinal direction L in each case at a first angle α1 to the rotation axis, and the spokes 19 to 23 extend at a second angle α2, wherein, in the depicted exemplary embodiments, the angular magnitudes of the angles α1 and α2 are in each case the same. However, they can also be chosen to be different.

[0071] In this wheel 10, the spokes 14 to 18 of the first group and the spokes 19 to 23 of the second group are here arranged in particular in an alternating manner in the circumferential direction and their attachment points on the hub 12 or the rim 11 each chosen in such a way that, when considering a radial section through the wheel 10 along a section plane containing the rotation axis D of the wheel, and with a projection of two adjacently arranged spokes in the circumferential direction into this section plane, for example the spokes 14 and 19 or the spokes 15 and 20 or the spokes 16 and 21 or 17 and 22 or 18 and 23, these spokes form an X, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 2, wherein, in this case, a distance ΔFU between the first rim circumferential circle HA and the second rim circumferential circle FU2 in the Y direction is chosen to be less than a distance ΔNU between the first hub circumferential circle NU1 and the second hub circumferential circle NU2, which results in a crossing of the respective spokes closer to the rim 11 than to the hub 12. Also conceivable in principle are equal distances ΔFU and ΔNU, which lead to a crossing of the spokes 14 to 23 centrally between the rim 11 and the hub 12, and distances for which the following applies: ΔFU>ΔNU, which lead to a crossing closer to the hub.

[0072] For particularly good brake ventilation and for a visually particularly appealing configuration, in particular in order to achieve a particularly light and sporty impression of the wheel 10, in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, for each of all of the spokes 14 to 23, a width B of the individual spokes in the circumferential direction in each case decreases outwardly in the radial direction, that is to say with increasing distance from the rotation axis D. That is to say that the individual spokes 14 to 23 become narrower outwardly with increasing distance from the rotation axis D, wherein, in this exemplary embodiment, the spokes 14 to 23 preferably become narrower symmetrically to a spoke longitudinal axis. However, this is not absolutely necessary. That is to say that, in principle, asymmetrical configurations of one or more spokes are also conceivable.

[0073] By virtue of the two groups of spokes having spokes 14 to 18 or 19 to 23 with the spokes 14 to 23 arranged and designed according to the invention, wherein each of the groups in this exemplary embodiment comprises five spokes or in each case a wheel spider 13A, 13B with in each case five spokes, the forces and moments occurring or arising during travel can be distributed over a total of ten spokes 14 to 23. Here, the arrangement of the individual spokes 14 to 23 allows particularly advantageous utilization of the installation space available within the rim 11. In particular, the embodiment according to the invention of the wheel allows smaller dimensioning of the individual spokes 14 to 23, in particular with a radially outwardly decreasing width B, that is to say with a width B which decreases with an increasing distance from the rotation axis D. This makes it possible in particular to provide a wheel 10 which allows smaller dimensioning of the individual spokes 14 to 23 by comparison with an actual five-spoke wheel and consequently good brake ventilation, but which, in spite of the ten spokes 14 to 23, visually rather gives the impression of a five-spoke wheel.

[0074] By contrast, for a particularly effective reduction of the aerodynamic rotation (resistance) moment, it is more advantageous if the spokes 14 to 23 become wider outwardly in the radial direction with increasing distance from the rotation axis D, that is to say if their width B in the circumferential direction increases outwardly. However, the wheel 10 then possibly no longer appears so light. Furthermore, this can have an effect on the cooling air flow to the brake. That is to say that this can lead to varied brake ventilation.

[0075] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration showing a corresponding projection of two adjacent spokes 14 and 19 of a second exemplary embodiment of an alternative wheel 10 according to the invention, with the same reference signs being used for the same components for the benefit of better and simpler understanding.

[0076] In this case, the spokes 14 and 19 are for example not designed as in the preceding exemplary embodiment and arranged between the rim 11 and hub 12 in such a way that, when considering a radial section through the wheel 10 along a section plane containing the rotation axis D of the wheel, and with a projection in the circumferential direction of these spokes into the section plane, they form an X, but rather in such a way that, together with a portion of the rim 11 and a portion of the hub 12, form a quadrangle, in particular a trapezoid, in this case with the corner points Y1, Y2, Y3 and Y4. If Y1 and Y2 were to coincide in the Y direction, that is to say ΔFU=0, the two adjacent spokes 14 and 19 would form an inverted V.

[0077] Here, the spoke 14 likewise extends obliquely radially outward and toward the interior of the vehicle as in the above-described exemplary embodiment, and the spoke 19 extends obliquely radially outward and toward the vehicle exterior.

[0078] Unlike the previous exemplary embodiment, as can be clearly seen on the basis of FIG. 3, in this wheel 10 the attachment point Y1 of the radially outer end of the spoke 14 or of all of the spokes 14 to 18 of the first group is in this case situated further toward the vehicle exterior than the attachment point Y2 of the radially outer end of the adjacent spoke 19 or of the spokes 19 to 23 of the second group, with the result that the spokes do not cross one another. However, this arrangement also allows the above-described advantages to be achieved in principle if sufficient supporting or transmission of the occurring forces and moments between the rim 11 and hub 12 is ensured with this arrangement.

[0079] Alternatively, an arrangement of the spokes 14 to 23 in which the spokes 14 to 23 do not cross one another is also conceivable, but in which the following applies: ΔFU>ΔNU (inverted trapezoid) or ΔFU=0 and ΔNU>0 (inverted V) or alternatively ΔFU>0 and ΔNU=0 (V-shaped arrangement).

[0080] Apart from these described exemplary embodiments, a large number of variants and modified embodiments are conceivable, in particular embodiments with a different number of spokes and with a different configuration of the individual spokes that is optimized in particular in details. In particular, both more and fewer spokes per group or wheel spider are possible and also a different number of spokes of the groups or else more than two groups of spokes. However, the total number of all the spokes is preferably less than 16, in particular less than 14 or 12. The number of spokes per group is in particular equal to or less than eight, in particular equal to or less than six, particularly preferably, as in the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, in each case five spokes.

[0081] Likewise, the wheel or one or more spokes can have additional aerodynamic measures, in particular for further reduction of a rotation (resistance) moment occurring during travel. For example, one or more of the spokes can additionally be designed as a double spoke in the rotation axis direction D, for example as in DE 10 2016 216 536 A1 stated at the outset, or can have correspondingly suitable flow contours, such as, for example, one or more separation edges or dimples (depressions like a golf ball) or the like. There can also be provided one or more annular disks which are at least partially or completely closed in the circumferential direction.

[0082] Moreover, various further modifications and embodiments in addition to the explained modifications and embodiments are possible, in particular design modifications, without departing from the content of the patent claims.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0083] 10 Wheel according to the invention [0084] 11 Rim [0085] 12 Hub [0086] 13A, 13B Wheel spider [0087] 14 to 23 Spokes [0088] 14 to 18 Spokes of the first group [0089] 19 to 23 Spokes of the second group [0090] 24 Rim edge [0091] α1 First angle (internal angle with respect to the rotation axis) [0092] α2 Second angle (internal angle with respect to the rotation axis) [0093] B Spoke width [0094] D Rotation axis [0095] ΔFU Distance between rim circumferential circles [0096] ΔNU Distance between hub circumferential circles [0097] FU1, FU2 Rim circumferential circle [0098] L Spoke longitudinal axis [0099] NU1, NU2 Hub circumferential circle [0100] U Circumferential direction [0101] Y Vehicle transverse direction [0102] Y1-Y4 Position in vehicle transverse direction