Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
  • B60B7/00—Wheel cover discs, rings, or the like, for ornamenting, protecting, venting, or obscuring, wholly or in part, the wheel body, rim, hub, or tyre sidewall, e.g. wheel cover discs, wheel cover discs with cooling fins
  • B60B7/0006—Wheel cover discs, rings, or the like, for ornamenting, protecting, venting, or obscuring, wholly or in part, the wheel body, rim, hub, or tyre sidewall, e.g. wheel cover discs, wheel cover discs with cooling fins for cycle wheels or similar
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
  • B60B7/00—Wheel cover discs, rings, or the like, for ornamenting, protecting, venting, or obscuring, wholly or in part, the wheel body, rim, hub, or tyre sidewall, e.g. wheel cover discs, wheel cover discs with cooling fins
  • B60B7/02—Wheel cover discs, rings, or the like, for ornamenting, protecting, venting, or obscuring, wholly or in part, the wheel body, rim, hub, or tyre sidewall, e.g. wheel cover discs, wheel cover discs with cooling fins made essentially in one part

Definitions

• This invention relates to spoked wheel covers , and more particularly to light weight, porous detachable wheel covers fabricated of stretchable material such as knit nylon fabric or the like, for use on the spoked wheels of racing bicycles and the like.
• Wheel covers for the spoked wheels of bicycles and the like are the subject of quite a number of prior art patents.
• In Schaffer U.S. Patent No. 4,418,962 for example, bicycle spoked wheel covers which are formed of molded plastic and which are of solid, apparently rigid construction.
• the Schaffer covers are arranged in clamped engagement with the outer surfaces of the wheel rim, and are interconnected by bolt means or snaps. Being solid, rigid and impervi ⁇ ous from rim edge to rim edge, such wheel covers are unduly heavy and extend out beyond the inner diameter of the rim and would thus interfere with the action of caliper brake pads. Being solid, they would have as much "sail" effect in a side wind as conventional solid face disc wheels.
• FIG. 1 Another example of bicycle spoked wheel disc covers which comprise essentially solid faces extending substantially across the entire inner diameter of a bicycle spoked wheel are shown in Selt an U.S. Patent No. 4,202,582, the covers in this instance in ⁇ cluding several quadrantly arranged openings to accomo- date fastener means of the bendable prong type intercon- necting the discs, the disc members themselves being disclosed as being fabricated from plastic, metal of other materials and of a reflective nature for safety purposes.
• the Seltman disc covers are diametrically split with overlapping hemicircular sections for ease of installation and removal.
• McLean U.S. Patent No. 863,083 is an old showing of a spoked wheel cover which not only extends from the axle to the rim of the wheel but also surrounds the wheel tire.
• a conventional disc wheel comprises a rigid circular disc extending between an axle nd a rim of the wheel.
• the disc comprises a lightweight honeycomb bonded between two thin rigid graphite facing sheets.
• the disc In tension disc wheels, the disc comprises two thin rigid pre-tensioned facing sheets separated by a hollow central cavity. Test results show that a disc wheel creates only 50-60% of the aerodynamic drag of a conven- tional spoked wheel. Simply adding a full wheel cover to a conventional spoked wheel provides approximately 90% of the benefit in aerodynamic drag reduction provid ⁇ ed by a disc wheel. Thus if aerodynamic drag is the only consideration, and disregarding the weight disad- vantage inherent in a disc wheel, disc wheels are mar ⁇ ginally superior to spoked wheels with solid wheel covers in terms of drag reduction.
• disc wheels significantly increase the effective side area of a bicycle. This poses no serious problem when the disc wheels are used indoors, but can produce dramatic and potentially dangerous consequences outdoors in side winds. Side winds blowing transversely across the bicycle produce what is known as a "sail" effect, i.e. an overturning force which must be physi- cally resisted by the cyclist's muscles, such as by the cyclist turning the bicycle toward and inclining the bicycle slightly into the side wind. If the effective side area is increased by the use of disc wheels, the bicycle responds more rapidly and more violently to side winds, and the cyclist must expend more energy to main ⁇ tain stability.
• the high cost of present- day composite disc wheels is primarily due to the ad ⁇ vanced materials and manufacturing techniques required for their construction.
• the graphite facing sheets of solid core disc wheels are tightly bonded to the honey ⁇ comb core using high-strength adhesives.
• the facing sheets of tension disc wheels consisting of woven fabric sheets interlaced with graphite fibers and im ⁇ pregnated with resin, are bonded together using expen ⁇ sive vacuum-bagging apparatus.
• a single tension wheel can require as much as 40 hours of labor and cost $1,000 US or more.
• the wheel covers of the present invention add very little extra weight to the wheel and reduce the aerody- namic drag of a wheel without the stability and steering problems and prohibitive construction costs associated with solid disc wheels.
• each cover covers one side of the wheel, so that two opposed covers are required for each wheel.
• the wheel cover of the present inven ⁇ tion comprises a continuous ring, a light weight porous facing, and attachment means for retaining the cover on the wheel.
• the cover ring has an outside diameter of a size to lie proximately within a rim of the wheel, and is preferably formed from a protruded graphite/fiber composite material.
• the porous cover facing is stretched across and spans the area within the ring except for an axle opening in the center of the facing, and comprises a light weight stretchable material, preferably nylon, nylon-elastodiene blend, or like knit fabric.
• the cover ring has a substantially U-shaped cross-section, opening inwardly toward the spokes of the wheel.
• the peripheral edge of the fabric facing is adhesively attached to a peripheral wall of the ring and stretched over the outer side wall of the ring and across the area within the ring.
• the ring is removably mounted on the wheel by attachment to the spokes of the wheel by means of a plurality of inwardly projecting, radially split pins, each fixedly attached to the ring and frictionally attaching to a spoke of the wheel.
• the ring in a second, prefered embodiment of the wheel cover, includes a peripheral bead upon which the fabric facing is retained at least in part by a flexible retainer strip having a concave channel fitting over the bead.
• the cover is retained on the wheel by connecting the ring to the ring of an opposed wheel cover by means of a plurality of connecting members having enlarged ends and what may be termed a dog bone or dumb bell shape, each of which ends frictionally and snugly fits within a respective axially facing channel in the cover ring it engages.
• the connecting members do not fasten to the wheel -spokes but pass between them.
• each connecting member is preferably slightly larger than the other to ensure that the connecting member is retained in the ring retaining their larger- ends w * hen the covers are -disconnnected from each other and removed from the wheel.
• the wheel covers of the present invention are easy to fabricate in that their rim components are all of uniform cross-section throughout and may be manufactured by extrusion or protrusion techniques. Their ease of fabrication includes, when the cover material is a stretched nylon knit or the like, the provision of the central axle hole simply by the burning thereof into the fabric in that the knit does not ravel or fray during use.
• the covers are configured to be easily adaptable to various size wheels both as to wheel diameter and as to rim width, and are attachable to the wheels without any inteference with the wheel spokes.
• wheel covers of the present invention are very light, are porous and thus have substantially less "sail” effect in side winds than do solid disc wheels, and in view of the knitted fabric nature of the stretch- * able material spanning the cover ring, provide a strobo- scopic effect when rotating which is an advantageous safety feature.
• Wheel covers of the present invention are especial ⁇ ly adapted for use on racing bicycles, being of very light weight with low aerodynamic drag, and are also sufficiently inexpensive so as to be usable on a more general basis by cyclists in general because of the 10 pleasing esthetic appearance thereof.
• FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view of a spoked bicycle wheel and two opposed wheel covers according to a first embodiment of the present invention, showing the
• FIG. 2 is a further isometric view showing the full outer face of one of the wheel covers shown in FIG. 1, with the wheel cover installed in place on the bicycle 25 wheel.
• FIG. 3 is a detail partial cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale of the wheel and covers of FIG. 1 , showing particularly the U-shaped rings and the split pins connecting the covers to the wheel spokes.
• FIG. 4 is a detail partial cross-sectional view taken substantially along line 4-4 of FIG. 5, of a spoked bicycle wheel and two opposed wheel covers ac-
• 35 fehe fabric facing is retained, the axially facing chan- nels in the rings, and the plural connectors frictional ⁇ ly engaged therein.
• FIG. 5 is a further detail partial cross-sectional view of the spoked bicycle wheel and wheel covers shown in FIG. 4, taken substantially along line 5-5 thereof.
• FIG. 6 is a detail view of representative cover connectors of the type used in the wheel and cover assembly illustrated in FIG.s 4 and 5.
• the wheel covers of the present invention provide conventional spoked wheels with the aerodynamic advan ⁇ tages of disc wheels without the dangerous stability and steering problems associated therewith, and without adding any substantial " amount of weight to the wheel, and at a fraction of the cost of present day solid core or tension disc wheels.
• a spoked wheel.2 is covered by two opposed wheel covers 10, 10a fitted proximately within a rim 4 of the wheel.
• Each cover 10 covers those spokes 6 and that portion of a hub 8 on one side of the wheel 2.
• the cover 10 comprises a ring 12 (FIG. 3) having an outside diameter sized to proximately fit within the rim 4, a porous fabric facing 14 extend- ing across the area within the ring, and attachment means for retaining the cover upon the wheel 2.
• the- cover should be substantially coplanar with the side wall 5 of the rim 4, and should provide the smoothest possible transition between the rim and the cover.
• the cover 10 not extend over the wheel rim side wall 5 so that it will not interfere with the brake pads of con ⁇ ventional caliper brakes.
• the ring 12 is formed from a light weight, protruded graphite/ fiber composite in this example, in order to have adequate strength and be consistent with minimal overall weight and minimal rotational moment of inertia of the cover 10.
• the cover facing 14 has substantial porosity to permit ready passage of air through the facing.
• the facing 14 is suitably fabricated of a stretched knit material having a substantially open, porous texture. Knit nylon, alone or in a blend with elastodiene, has been found to have good stretchability to provide suf ⁇ ficient porosity without sacrificing strength in the facing 14.
• the facing 14 is radially stretched across the ring 12 to the extent of at least about 40% of its unstretched dimen ⁇ sion and adhesively attached to the ring, as by use of contact cement.
• the wheel 2 is covered by two opposed wheel covers 10, 10a.
• the ring 12 has a U-shaped cross-section oriented with an open side facing inwardly toward the wheel 2.
• a peripheral wall 16 of the ring 12 is posi ⁇ tioned in close proximity to the inner surface of the rim 4.
• a side wall 18 depends substantially perpendic ⁇ ularly from an outer circumferential edge of the peri ⁇ pheral wall 16, and is substantially coplanar with the rim side wall 5.
• An inner wall 20 depends substantially perpendicularly inwardly from an inner circumferential edge of the side wall 18.
• the peripheral wall 16 and inner wall 20 both extend inwardly from the side wall 18 for a distance equal to approximately one-half the width of the side wall as measured between the peripheral and inner walls.
• the corner joints between the side wall 18 and the peri ⁇ pheral wall 16 and inner wall 20 are slightly rounded.
• the peripheral edge of the facing 14 is stretched over the side wall 18, and is adhesively attached to the peripheral wall 16 of the ring 12.
• the facing 14 extends continuously across the area within the ring, except for a small axle opening 22 at the center of the facing to accommodate the axle of the wheel 2. If a central portion of the fabric facing 14 consists of a nylon or nylon-elastodiene blend, the axle opening 22 can be cut into the facing by means of a heated cutting device, simultaneously forming the axle opening and fusing the fabric to prevent fraying.
• each pin 24 is a relative ⁇ ly small diameter, cylindrical element having a proximal end adhesively bonded to the inner surface of the side wall 18, and extending inwardly therefrom to a distal end.
• the distal end of each pin 24 is radially split to receive one of the spokes 6 and to be frictionally retained thereon, thereby removably connecting the ring 12 to the spoke.
• Several, suitably four, radially split pins 24 spaced equally around the circumference of the ring 12 securely retain the cover 10 upon the wheel 2.
• the opposed cover 10a used with the cover 10 to complete the wheel cover assembly on wheel 2 is similarly of identical construction to that of wheel cover 10, and the elements thereof, as shown in FIG. 3, have been indicated with like numerals, each with a subscript "a".
• cover 28, ' as shown in the partial cross- sectional views of FIGS. 4 and 5, comprises a cover ring 30 which is a solid member having a generally rectangu ⁇ lar cross-section.
• the base of the rectangle forms an inside surface 32 of the ring 30 closest to the center of the wheel 2.
• the sides of the rectangle form an inner side surface 34 and an outer side surface 36.
• the inner and outer side surfaces 34, 36 extend from the inside surface 32 peripherally toward a peripheral bead 38.
• the bead 38 extends along the perimeter of the ring 30 in contact with or in close proximity to the inner surface of the wheel rim 4.
• the edge of the facing 40 is wrapped around the bead 38 and securely retained thereon by a flexible retainer strip 42 having a concave channel 44 of a size to fit tightly over the bead.
• the channel 44 subtends an angle of more than 180° around the circular cross-section of the bead 38 to securely retain the strip.42 and facing 40 upon the bead.
• Lip portion 46 of the ' strip 42 extends peripherally substantially to the inner surface of the rim 4 and aids to position the cover 28 substantially against the rim 4, reducing the aerodynamic drag of the covered wheel 2.
• the distal edge of the lip 46 contacts the inner surface of the rim 4 and is angled inwardly to keep the lip 46 from slipping onto the rim side wall 5 and inter- fering with the operation of the brake pads.
• the wheel cover 28 and its opposite counterpart cover 28a are retained on the wheel 2 by direct inter ⁇ connection.
• the opposed covers 28, 28a are suitably removably connected by a plurality of connectors 48 of generally dog bone or dumb bell shaped cross-section, having enlarged ends 50, 52.
• the enlarged connector ends 50, 52 are frictionally retained within continuous axially facing concave channels or slots 54, 54a in the respective inner side surfaces 34, 34a of the rings 30, 30a of the opposed covers 28, 28a.
• One. end 50 of each connector 48 is preferably slightly larger than the other end 52 to ensure that the connector will be retained in the ring 30a containing the larger connector end 50 when the covers 28, 28a are disconnected from each other and removed from the wheel 2.
• wheel cover 28a oppo ⁇ sitely mounted of the wheel cover 28 is suitably identi ⁇ cal to wheel cover 30, and the elements thereof shown in FIG. 4 are indicated with like numerals, each with a subcript "a".
• Cover interconnections of various lengths are contemplated, and two such connectors are shown in FIG. 6, simply by way of example, and there designated 48 and 48A.
• the wheel covers 28, 28a may be mounted on -wheels of various widths between the rim side walls 5, the connector length selected in a given instance being such that the covers when mounted are substantially flush or coplanar with the wheel rim side walls.
• facing retainer strips 42, 42a and the lips 46, 46a thereof being formed of relatively soft plastic or the like so as to be self adapting to wheel rims of various diameters within a limited range.
• the facing 40 may be adhesively bonded between the bead 38 and the strip 42 and even to the outer face of the ring 30 if desired, and a known non-destructive or "peelable" adhesive between these parts, used in conjunction with the retainer strip 42, is also consid ⁇ ered feasible.
• rings 30, 30a are of identical cross-section including their respec- tive beads 38, 38a and channels 54, 54a throughout, and the retainer strips 42, 42a are likewise of identical cross-section throughout.
• the connectors 48, 48A are each of identical cross-section throughout in any given instance, i.e. any given connector 48 or 48A is fabricated simply by cutting a segment from a strip of the cross-section shown and of indeterminate length. Thus, two such segments are shown in cross-section in FIG.
• a wheel cover on a wheel with a 27 inch (68.6 cm) x 1-1/4 inch (3.2 cm) tire suitably has an outside diameter of about 23.9 (60.7 cm) inches, weighs about 80 grams, and the nylon knit facing thereon is stretched radially about 40% of its nominal, unstretched dimension, which approx- imately doubles the area thereof.
• the extent of poro- sity of the knit fabric making up the facing is general ⁇ ly proportional to the extent of the stretching thereof, and it has been found that wheel covers of the present invention should have a porosity factor (considered as a ratio of the effective total area of the openings of the stretched fabric to the total facing area) of at least about 50%. It is also an important characteristic of the fabric when thus stretched to form the wheel cover facing that the porosity thereof is substantially uni- formly distributed throughout the face area.
• wheel covers of the prsent invention While the primary application of wheel covers of the prsent invention is considered to be for wheel covers on racing bicycles, other applications where spoked wheels are involved and where minimal weight and aerodynamic drag are advantageous, such as on the wheels of racing sulkies and racing wheelchairs are contem ⁇ plated. Further, in ⁇ view of the relative simplicity and inexpensive construction of wheel covers of the present invention, it will be evident that such may be used advantageously on spoked wheels in general and in other than racing environments, in view of the pleasing, "clean" esthetic appearance of the covers and for rea ⁇ sons of safety, it being notable in the latter regard that the use of knit fabric as the facing material of the wheel covers renders them particularly adaptable to the use of striking colors of a fluorescent nature or otherwise.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Tires In General (AREA)

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• 1986
  • 1986-02-06 WO PCT/US1986/000248 patent/WO1987000802A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1986-02-06 EP EP19860901583 patent/EP0230426A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1986-02-06 AU AU55185/86A patent/AU5518586A/en not_active Abandoned

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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