Motor Wheel Corporation

Other

Charles E Kier, Jr

Ross S Hill

A multi-piece, non-take-apart vehicle wheel disc and rim assembly and method of making the same. The wheel rim has a disc mounting flange extending radially inwardly of the rim which radially overlaps the disc. The disc and rim are each finish formed prior to assembly and each have a set of assembly-mounting holes extending parallel to the wheel axis which are generally registered in initial assembly. One assembly hole set is preformed slightly larger in diameter than the other. The rim is fixtured on an assembly apparatus to orient the average axis of the rim bead seats on a predetermined first axis of the apparatus. Then the disc is placed loosely on the rim with the sets of disc and rim assembly holes generally registered. Then the disc is precision located relative to the rim by a locating means to align the axes of the disc bolt holes and/or center pilot opening on a predetermined second axis of the apparatus by lateral bodily shifting of the disc radially relative to the rim to accomplish such alignment as necessary. Assembly fasteners are inserted in the registering assembly holes, and then, while so fixtured and located, the disc and rim are permanently fixed together by permanently fixing the fasteners in a non-take-apart mode.

Method of manufacturing a vehicle wheel

A method and apparatus, and a modified wheel made thereby for varying the wheel offset dimension of an automotive vehicle full face wheel of the type disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,482 and having a predetermined first wheel offset dimension. The disc-rim part is formed in progressive die tooling of a transfer press operable for multiple stage successive forming, from a flat circular blank, the disc-rim part into the final die formed shape thereof having the given styling configuration. A wheel offset shift zone portion is first selected in the disc-rim part, consisting of the outer peripheral portion and/or the central bolt circle mounting portion of this part. The selected portion is shifted axially of the wheel a predetermined distance to thereby provide a second predetermined wheel offset dimension, different from the first such dimension, when the disc-rim part is joined to the rim. Then a corresponding predetermined wheel forming offset dimensional change modification is made in the first draw stage of the press tooling. A spacer is provided having a predetermined selected thickness dimension sized and installed to shift only a selected portion of the tooling and utilized in the draw stage to form shift the selected offset zone of the disc-rim by a distance corresponding to the difference between the first and second wheel offset dimensions. Corollary spacers are likewise installed in the remaining successive stages of the transfer press tooling in those areas engaging the selected offset shift zone to thereby accommodate the first draw stage offset change.

Method of making a variable off-set full face wheel

A multi-piece, non-take-apart vehicle wheel disc and rim assembly and method of making the same. The wheel rim has a disc mounting flange extending radially inwardly of the rim which radially overlaps the disc. The disc and rim are each finish formed prior to assembly and each have a set of assembly-mounting holes extending parallel to the wheel axis which are generally registered in initial assembly. One assembly hole set is preformed slightly larger in diameter that the other. The rim is fixture on an assembly apparatus to orient the average axis of the rim bead seats on a predetermined first axis of the apparatus. Then the disc is placed loosely on the rim with the sets of disc and rim assembly holes generally registered. Then the disc is precision located relative to the rim by a locating mechanism to align the axes of the disc bolt holes and/or center pilot opening on a predetermined second axis of the apparatus by lateral bodily shifting of the disc radially relative to the rim to accomplish such alignment as necessary. Assembly fasteners are inserted in the registering assembly holes, and then, while so fixtured and located, the disc and rim are permanently fixed together by permanently fixing the fasteners in a non-take-apart mode.

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Lansing, MI, United States of America

Charles E Kier, Jr