Motor Wheel Corporation

Anwar R Daudi

John H Golata

Doarde G Triponi

Richard C Ball

Elvin E Tuttle

William R Fowler

An improved wheel disc and disc and and rim wheel assembly, and method and press apparatus for manufacturing the same. The wheel disc is adapted for telescopic press fit precision mounting into a mating wheel rim to form the wheel assembly. A flat disc blank is progressively die formed into a disc preform having a cross-sectional contour proximating that of the finished disc. The disc preform is then placed in a segmental expand punch and die tooling of the press apparatus which operates to apply radial expansion pressure to substantially the entire inner circumference of the peripheral flange portion of the disc preform to thereby permanently deform the same into a finished flange portion on the disc having precision finished predetermined dimensions. A center pilot opening is finish formed in the disc preform in the progressive die forming operation, and then subsequently utilized to locate the disc relative to radial expansion die forming segments in press tooling to thereby ensure concentricity of the finished flange portion upon completion of the permanent radial expansion cold working operation thereon. The apparatus includes an expansion die set-up adjustment mechanism and set-up position sensors to facilitate both initial and running changes in the segmental expansion die set-up exteriorly of the tooling.

Method and apparatus for making disc wheels and wheels made thereby

Expanding apparatus and method for sizing a one-piece drop-center wheel rim having first and second ganged arrays of rim sizing die segments insertable into the rim from one side thereof, and a third array of rim sizing die segments insertable into the opposite side of the rim, all three arrays cooperating to form a complete array of die segments for expansion sizing of the rim. A single wedge mechanism moves the arrays radially outwardly to individually size the inboard bead seat, outboard bead seat and drop-center well zones of the rim in response to relative coaxial movement of the wedge and arrays in a rim expansion working stroke along a longitudinal axis of the wedge. The wedge includes an expansion cone mechanism comprising first, second and third cone cams respectively individually operably associated with the first, second and third die arrays for radially expanding the same in such working stroke. A set-up adjustment mechanism disposed interiorly of the wedge has three concentrically arranged lead screws individually threadably coupled to each of the cone cams for carrying and selectively positioning the same along the longitudinal axis of the wedge to thereby vary the set-up end limit of radially outward movement of the associated die segment array for a given relative working stroke of the wedge means and arrays. A gear drive coupled to the exterior end of each lead screw individually rotates, and is driven either manually or by the same servo motors operably coupled to each worm gear drive. Cone cam position sensors each develop a signal indicative of the axially adjusted set-up position of each associated cone cam. A signal processing control system utilizes the signals for controlling the servo motors to drive the cone cams and thereby control their adjusted set up positions.

Method and apparatus for producing vehicle wheel rims

An improved wheel disc and disc and rim wheel assembly, and method and press apparatus for manufacturing the same. The wheel disc is adapted for telescopic press fit precision mounting into a mating wheel rim to form the wheel assembly. A flat disc blank is progressively die formed into a disc preform having a cross-sectional contour proximating that of the finished disc. The disc preform is then placed in a segmental expand punch and die tooling of the press apparatus which operates to apply radial expansion pressure to substantially the entire inner circumference of the peripheral flange portion of the disc preform to thereby permanently deform the same into a finished flange portion on the disc having precision finished predetermined dimensions. A center pilot opening is finish formed in the disc preform in the progressive die forming operation, and then subsequently utilized to locate the disc relative to radial expansion die forming segments in press tooling to thereby ensure concentricity of the finished flange portion upon completion of the permanent radial expansion cold working operation thereon. The apparatus includes an expansion die set-up adjustment mechanism and set-up position sensors to facilitate both initial and running changes in the segmental expansion die set-up exteriorly of the tooling.

Method for making disc wheels

A method and apparatus for manufacture of a vehicle wheel rim and disc assembly with controlled lateral runout characteristics in which a preformed rim is fixtured and rotated while gauges measure lateral runout of the inboard and outboard rim bead seats. Phase angle and amplitude of the first harmonic of average lateral runout of the bead seats are determined, which effectively identify a rim plane of substantially zero first harmonic of bead seat lateral runout. The wheel disc is fixtured with its mounting surface, defined by the inboard face of the disc, at predetermined orientation with respect to the rim plane of substantially zero first harmonic of bead seat lateral runout, either parallel thereto for a true running wheel or at predetermined angular orientation with respect thereto for placing the high point or low point of the first harmonic of lateral runout of the rim and disc assembly adjacent to a predetermined location circumferentially of the rim. The rim is then assembled to the disc by interference press fit.

Method and apparatus for manufacture of a vehicle wheel having

A method and apparatus (50 or 110) for forming bolt and center-pilot mounting openings (36, 30) in vehicle wheels (16 or 112), particularly styled-disc vehicle wheels. A preformed rim and disc assembly is engaged and fixtured around the rim bead seat (20, 22) with the inboard disc face resting on a lower die assembly (82) and without plastic deformation to the rim or disc. An upper die assembly (52) having an array of bolt hole punches (56) is moved into piercing-and-coining engagement with the disc to form the bolt openings. Continued motion of the upper die assembly pushes the disc and lower die assembly into shearing engagement with a center punch (76 or 76a or 76b) which forms the center-pilot opening. The axes BH, CH, BS) of the bolt openings and/or center-pilot opening and/or bead seats may be aligned or offset from each other.

Method of wheel manufacture for correcting rotational non-uniformity of

A method and apparatus (50 or 110) for forming bolt and center-pilot mounting openings (36, 30) in vehicle wheels (16 or 112), particularly styled-disc vehicle wheels. A preformed rim and disc assembly is engaged and fixtured around the rim bead seat (20, 22) with the inboard disc face resting on a lower die assembly (82) and without plastic deformation to the rim or disc. An upper die assembly (52) having an array of bolt hole punches (56) is moved into piercing-and-coining engagement with the disc to form the bolt openings. Continued motion of the upper die assembly pushes the disc and lower die assembly into shearing engagement with a center punch (76or 76a or 76b) which forms the center-pilot opening. The axes (BH, CH, BS) of the bolt openings and/or center-pilot opening and/or bead seats may be aligned or offset from each other.

Apparatus and method for manufacturing a vehicle wheel rim and disc assembly with controlled lateral runout characteristics, as well as the resulting wheel and a pneumatic tire and wheel assembly having overall improved ride characteristics. The method and apparatus of the invention contemplate fixturing of a preformed rim so that the average plane of the rim bead seats is at preselected orientation with respect to axis of interference press-fit of a preformed disc therein, and thus at preselected orientation with respect to the wheel mounting plane defined by the inboard disc surface. In one implementation of the invention, the average bead seat plane is made nominally parallel to the wheel mounting plane by selective adjustment of the fixturing bead seat locators, so as to minimize lateral runout of the resulting wheel. In another implementation of the invention, the average bead seat plane is intentionally angulated with respect to the disc mounting plane so as to locate a peak of the first harmonic of lateral runout circumferentially adjacent to a selected location on the wheel rim, such as the rim valve hole. In the latter implementation, the wheel so formed may be assembled to a pneumatic tire which is pretested and marked to identify location of a complementary peak of the first harmonic of lateral force viaration, so that the respective harmonics are out of phase and tend to cancel each other, and thereby obtain overall improved ride in the tire and wheel assembly.

Wheel manufacture for correction of rotational non-uniformity of a

A method and apparatus for forming bolt and center-pilot mounting openings in vehicle wheels, particularly styled-disc vehicle wheels. A preformed rim and disc assembly is engaged and fixtured around the rim bead seat with the inboard disc face resting on a lower die assembly and without plastic deformation to the rim or disc. An upper die assembly having an array of bolt hole punches is moved into piercing-and-coining engagement with the disc to form the bolt openings continued motion of the upper die assembly against the wheel disc pushes the disc and lower die assembly into shearing engagement with a center punch which forms the center-pilot opening. The axes of the bolt openings and/or center pilot opening and/or bead seats may be aligned or offset from each other.

Apparatus for wheel manufacture for correcting rotational non-uniformity

Apparatus and method for manufacturing a vehicle wheel rim and disc assembly with controlled lateral runout characteristics, as well as the resulting wheel and a pneumatic tire and wheel assembly having overall improved ride characteristics. The method and apparatus of the invention contemplate fixturing of a preformed rim so that the average plane of the rim bead seats is at preselected orientation with respect to the axis of interference pressfit of a preformed disc therein, and thus at preselected orientation with respect to the wheel mounting plane defined by the inboard disc surface. In one implementation of the invention, the average bead seat plane is made nominally parallel to the wheel mounting plane by selective adjustment of the fixturing bead seat locators, so as to minimize lateral runout of the resulting wheel. In another implementation of the invention, the average bead seat plane is intentionally angulated with respect to the disc mounting plane so as to locate a peak of the first harmonic of lateral runout circumferentially adjacent to a selected location on the wheel rim, such as the rim valve hole. In the latter implementation, the wheel so formed may be assembled to a pneumatic tire which is pretested and marked to identify location of a complementary peak of the first harmonic of lateral force variation, so that the respective harmonics are out of phase and tend to cancel each other, and thereby obtain overall improved ride in the tire and wheel assembly.

Apparatus for manufacturing a vehicle wheel rim and disc assembly with controlled lateral runout characteristics. The apparatus of the invention contemplate fixturing of a preformed rim so that the average plane of the rim bead seats is at preselected orientation with respect to the axis of interference press-fit of a preformed disc therein, and thus at preselected orientation with respect to the wheel mounting plane defined by the inboard disc surface. In one implementation of the invention, the average bead seat plane is made nominally parallel to the wheel mounting plane by selective adjustment of the fixturing bead seat locators, so as to minimize lateral runout of the resulting wheel. In another implementation of the invention, the average bead seat plane is intentionally angulated with respect to the disc mounting plane so as to locate a peak of the first harmonic of lateral runout circumferentially adjacent to a selected location on the wheel rim, such as the rim valve hole. In the latter implementation, the wheel so formed may be assembled to a pneumatic tire which is pretested and marked to identify location of a complementary peak of the first harmonic of lateral force variation, so that the respective harmonics are out of phase and tend to cancel each other, and thereby obtain overall improved ride in the tire and wheel assembly.

Apparatus for wheel manufacture for correction of rotational

Method and apparatus for forming an annular article from a circular blank. The blank is held in a rotatable chuck such that a peripheral portion of the blank is spaced from the chuck while rotated about an axis of revolution thereof. A work roller edge conditions the peripheral blank portion by engagement therewith under sufficient force and for a sufficient cycle time to impart an upset condition thereto. The blank edge surface is smoothed and hardened by the work roller to a given rounded curvature in radial cross section and a controlled thickness increase is obtained in the blank peripheral portion, the maximum thickness occurring at the rounded curvature edge surface. The work roller has an external circumferential groove with an entrance wider axially of the roller than the starting axial dimension of said peripheral portion of said blank. The roller is moved in a direction perpendicular to its rotational axis with the roller groove centered on the blank edge. The roller groove has a rounded root surface with a radius of curvature slightly greater than the axial starting thickness of the engaged edge of said blank, the thickness contour increase being terminated when said upset peripheral portion bottoms in said roller groove. Thereafter the peripheral blank portion is draw spun with a first spinning roller while spaced from the mandrel surface so as to reduce the thickness contour of said peripheral portion to said preselected thickness contour. The edge work roller and first spin roller are both fixedly mounted on a common tool slide and juxtaposed relative to one another and the starting position of the blank when so chucked such that the rollers have mutually non-interferring travel paths relative to the blank throughout the respective work cycle motions of the rollers.

Method and apparatus for edge preparation of spinning blanks

A method of manufacturing a disc vehicle wheel having both bolt openings and a center pilot opening in the wheel disc wherein the average axis of the wheel bead seats is eccentrically offset from both the bolt hole circle and center hole axes by an amount and in a direction so as to locate a peak of the first harmonic of bead seat radial runout adjacent to a predetermined location on the wheel rim where the disc punch tooling is constructed such that the bolt hole circle and center hole axes are non-coincident. The location of the average bead seat axis is within a zone bounded by the angular range of the peak location with respect to the predetermined location on the wheel rim, and by radii from the bolt and center openings determined by the maximum allowable bead seat eccentricity.

A method of punching a wheel for a pneumatic tire and wheel assembly manufactured with mounting holes offset from the geometric center to locate the low point of the first harmonic of radial runout adjacent a given angular location, such as the valve hole, so that, when a tire is mounted thereon with the high point of the first harmonic of radial force variation aligned with the valve hole, the respective harmonics cancel each other to provide a tire and wheel assembly with enhanced rotational characteristics. In an apparatus for forming the wheel mounting holes by axially reciprocating a piercing tool against a wheel disc while the bead seats are clamped between wheel locating jaws, axially opposed jaw pairs are centered on an axis offset from the axis of reciprocation such that the centerline of the mounting holes is correspondingly eccentrically offset from the average bead seat axis.

A pneumatic tire and wheel assembly wherein the wheel is manufactured with mounting holes offset from the geometric center to locate the low point of the first harmonic of radial runout adjacent a given angular location, such as the valve hole, so that, when a tire is mounted thereon with the high point of the first harmonic of radial force variation aligned with the valve hole, the respective harmonics cancel each other to provide a tire and wheel assembly with enhanced rotational characteristics. In an apparatus for forming the wheel mounting holes by axially reciprocating a piercing tool against a wheel disc while the bead seats are clamped between wheel locating jaws, axially opposed jaw pairs are centered on an axis offset from the axis of reciprocation such that the centerline of the mounting holes is correspondingly eccentrically offset from the average bead seat axis.

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E. Lansing, MI, United States of America

Anwar R Daudi