The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 28, 2001
Filed:
Jun. 14, 1999
Ted E. Eikhoff, Grosse Pointe, MI (US);
David H. Johnson, Berkley, MI (US);
Dannie J. MacNish, South Lyon, MI (US);
McKechnie Vehicle Components (USA), Inc., Troy, MI (US);
Abstract
A wheel cover is formed to include a wrap around the circumference of the wheel cover. The wrap is an aesthetic portion of the wheel cover and not a part of a mechanical lock. It is formed in the wheel cover by spinning the wheel cover about its central axis. When the wheel cover is spinning at an appropriate speed, at least one pair of rollers is moved toward the spinning wheel cover. Lock generating rollers provide a force which is directed radially outwardly while wrap generating rollers provide a force which is directed radially inwardly. This force is of such a magnitude that it forces the outer edge of the wheel cover to follow the contour of the rollers. When the wrap is completely formed, the rollers are removed from engagement with the wheel cover and the wheel cover is stopped from spinning. Once the wheel cover is removed from the fixture of the spinning machine, it proceeds with further manufacturing steps to complete the manufacturing thereof before it is mounted to a wheel.