JPH0748401Y2 - Vehicle wheel - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to a vehicle wheel, and more particularly to a center cap that covers a hub hole provided in the center of the disk portion of the wheel.

(Prior Art) In recent years, as automobile wheels have become higher in performance and tires in performance, light alloy wheels that are lightweight and have high strength and rigidity and high dimensional accuracy are often used. Such a light alloy wheel is formed by casting or casting, and the disc portion thereof is formed into various shapes in order to obtain sufficient strength and to improve the appearance design. Further, in order to improve the work of attaching the wheel to the hub of the vehicle and reduce the microvibration during traveling, such a wheel has a center hole formed in the disk portion. In this processing, the center hole is processed to perform high-precision centering of the disk portion, thereby ensuring high-precision roundness of the wheel and giving an effect of reducing slight vibration during traveling. That is, a hub hole called a center bore is formed in the center of the disc portion, which also means that the hub center is prevented from interfering with each other when the wheel is attached to the hub of the vehicle.

Therefore, in order to improve the appearance design, the center bore of such a disc portion is usually covered with a synthetic resin or metal center cap. In particular, a method of fixing the metal center cap to the disc portion is used. There are several methods as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.

The first method is, as shown in FIG. 3, a disc portion 20 having a metal center cap 21 and a center bore 24 formed therein.
The boss 23 fitted to the central boss 37 is fixed with the rivet 22. The boss 23 is a cylindrical member made of synthetic resin with one end surface closed, and a flange 25 protruding inward in the radial direction is formed on the inner peripheral wall of the other end surface. Therefore, the flange 25 is inserted into the fitting groove formed on the outer periphery of the center boss 37.
After fixing the boss 23 to the central boss 37 of the disc portion 20 by fitting the center cap 21 to the boss 23, both members are rivet 22 tacked.

However, in this case, although the function is excellent, the assembling process is complicated and the attachment / detachment is difficult, and the number of parts is large and the manufacturing cost is high.

Next, in the second method shown in FIG. 4, the center cap 28 is fitted to the boss 29 fitted in the center bore 24 formed in the center of the disk portion 36. The boss 29 is a cylindrical member made of synthetic resin, and a fitting projection 26 is formed on the outer circumferential surface near the one end surface, and a flange 30 is formed on the outer circumferential surface near the other end surface. Has been done. Therefore, after the flange 30 is fitted into the fitting groove formed in the inner peripheral wall of the center bore 24 to fix the boss 29 to the center bore 24 of the disk portion 36, the center cap 28 is attached to the boss 29.
Cover. Then, since the fitting recess 27 is formed on the inner wall of the center cap 28 at a position corresponding to the fitting projection 26, both members are fitted by the fitting portion.

However, in this case, since the metal center cap 28 and the synthetic resin boss 29 have different thermal contraction / expansion rates, the wheel is repeatedly heated and cooled by the heat generated by the wheel due to the rotational movement and the heat generated by the brake braking unit. If so, the fitting portion is likely to come off.

The method shown in FIG. 5 is the most widely used method at present, and the screw 31 provided on the center boss 35 of the disk portion 34 having the center bore 33 is attached to the center cap 32.
Is screwed on. The central boss 35 is a disc portion.
A screw is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical protruding portion extending outwardly of 34.
31 is formed. Therefore, on the inner wall surface, the screw 31
The center cap 32, which is formed with a screw to be screwed with, is screwed to the center boss 35.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) However, the screw provided on the central boss 35 of the disk portion 34
In the case of the above method of screwing the center cap 32 to the 31, the metals directly contact with each other at the screwed portion, so that seizure or electrolytic corrosion of the screwed portion is likely to occur, and thus the center cap 32 cannot be removed. There was a problem. Further, the center cap 32 requires a dedicated one corresponding to each time the screw diameter and pitch of the screws 31 provided on the boss 35 are different, which increases the cost in wheel production, which is a small lot production of a large number of products. Will be a factor of.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and to provide a center cap which has a simple structure, is easily attached to and detached from a wheel, and is inexpensive to manufacture.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The above object of the present invention is to provide a center cap that covers a hub hole formed in the center of a disk portion, and a screw that projects from the disk portion and is screwed to the center cap. In a vehicle wheel having a central boss threaded on the outer peripheral surface thereof, the center cap has a metal cap body covering the hub hole, and a screw portion screwable to the central boss, and A non-metallic screw member divided into at least two that is fitted into an inwardly-extending circular crown groove formed in the recess of the cap body, and a fixing member that fixes these screw members in the recess are provided. This is achieved by a vehicle wheel characterized by the above.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the center cap of the vehicle wheel according to the present invention is a disc-shaped cap body 1.
And a semicircular crown-shaped screw member 2a, 2b and a stopper 3 which are divided into two parts, the center cap of the center boss 35 of the disk portion 34 having a center bore 33 as shown in FIG. It is screwed onto a screw 31 provided on the outer peripheral surface.

The cap body 1 has a cylindrical concave portion into which the central boss 35 is inserted, and the bottom surface of the concave portion extends in the radial direction and is continuous with the inwardly-extending circular crown groove 4 which constitutes the engaging projection 5. . That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the inner diameter of the circular crown groove 4
d ₂ is larger than the inner diameter d ₁ of the engaging protrusion 5. Further, a plurality of substantially triangular notches 6 reaching the circular crown groove 4 are arranged on the engaging protrusion 5 so as to face each other. Further, the cap surface on the side opposite to the cylindrical recess is formed in a hexagonal nut shape.

The screw members 2a, 2b are composed of a pair of semi-circular crown members made of synthetic resin, and an engaging groove 8 with which the engaging protrusion 5 is engaged is formed on the outer peripheral surface of each screw member 2a, 2b. ing. Also,
The inner wall surface of each screw member 2a, 2b has a threaded portion 13 continuous with each other.
Is formed, and the inner wall surfaces of the pair of screw members 2a, 2b constitute a screwing portion that is screwed into the screw 31 provided on the central boss 35. However, the central angle in the length of each arc of the screw members 2a and 2b is configured to be smaller than 180 °.

The stopper 3 made of synthetic resin is a fixing member for fixing the respective screw members 2a, 2b in the recess, and has a rectangular cross section with a fitting portion 9 having a triangular cross section fitted in the notch 6. The engaging portion 10 and the protrusions 11 are formed on the lower portions of both ends of the engaging portion 10.
Is provided.

Therefore, a method of assembling the center cap will be described next.

First, the engagement protrusion 5 is engaged with the engagement groove 8 while the lower flange 7 of the screw member 2a is fitted into the circular crown groove 4 of the cap body 1. At this time, both end faces in the arc direction of the screw member 2a are adjusted so as to correspond to the notches 6. The screw member 2b is also fitted into the cap body 1 so that both end faces of the screw member 2a face each other in the arc direction of the screw member 2b. Here, since the outer diameter of the lower flange 7 in a substantially circular crown state in which both end faces in the arc direction of the screw members 2a, 2b are butted against each other is shorter than the inner diameter of the engaging projection 5, the circular crown groove 4 is formed. Can be easily inserted into.

As shown in FIG. 2, the engaging grooves 8 of the screw members 2a and 2b are securely engaged with the engaging protrusions 5 between the opposite end faces of the screw members 2a and 2b in the arc direction. Since the gap is formed by combining them, the locking portion 10 of the stopper 3 is fitted into the gap. At this time, the protrusions 11 provided on the lower portions of both ends of the locking portion 10 correspond to the protrusions 11.
The a and 2b are fitted in the recesses 12 formed on both end surfaces in the arc direction. At the same time, the fitting portion 9 of the stopper 3 is fitted into the notch 6 of the cap body 1.

Therefore, the screw members 2a, 2b are axially regulated in the concave portion of the cap body 1 by the engagement of the lower flange 7 and the engaging projection portion 5 of the cap body 1, and are also circumferentially surrounded by the stopper 3. The position is regulated in the direction, and the screw members 2a, 2b made of synthetic resin are securely fixed in the concave portion of the metal cap body 1. The center cap assembled in this way has the disc portion 34 as in the conventional case.
It is screwed to the screw 31 provided on the central boss 35.

That is, the center cap according to the present invention is such that the synthetic resin screw members 2a, 2 are provided in the recess of the metal cap body 1.
By installing b, the screw 3 provided on the center boss 35
It is configured to be screwed onto 1.

Therefore, since the screw portion 13 of the center cap screwed to the screw 31 provided on the metal center boss 35 is formed of a non-metal material such as synthetic resin, seizure or electrolytic corrosion or the like occurs in the screwed portion. No worries, easy to put on and take off.

Further, since the center cap is assembled after the cap body and the screw member are formed separately, only the screw member needs to be changed when changing the screw diameter or pitch of the screw portion. Therefore, the center caps corresponding to a plurality of types of screws formed on the center boss of the disk portion can be provided by the same cap body, and thus the manufacturing cost can be significantly reduced.

The outer shape of the cap body in the present invention is not limited to the shape of the above embodiment, and the shape of the screw member fitted to the cap body and the shape of the fitting portion can be surely fixed to the cap body. Of course, various shapes can be adopted.

(Effect of the Invention) In the vehicle wheel of the present invention, the center cap that covers the hub hole formed in the center of the disk portion can be screwed into the metal cap body that covers the hub hole and the center boss. A non-metallic screw member having at least two parts that has a threaded portion and is fitted into an inwardly-expanding circular crown groove formed in the recessed portion of the cap body, and these screw members are fixed in the recessed portion. And a fixing member.

Therefore, since the threaded portion of the center cap screwed to the center boss is formed of a non-metallic material different from the material of the center boss, there is no risk of seizure or electrolytic corrosion in the threaded portion. In addition, since the center cap is assembled after the cap body and the screw member are separately formed, it is possible to provide the center cap corresponding to a plurality of types of screws formed on the center boss of the disc portion by the same cap body. Therefore, the manufacturing cost can be significantly reduced.

Therefore, it is possible to provide a metal center cap which has a simple structure, is easily attached to and detached from the wheel, and is inexpensive to manufacture.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a partial cross section of a center cap in an embodiment of a vehicle wheel according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the center cap shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. FIG. 6 is a partial partial cross-sectional view showing a state where the center cap of the vehicle wheel of FIG. Reference numeral 1 ... Cap body, 2a, 2b ... Screw member, 3 ... Stopper 4 ... Crown groove, 5 ... Engagement protrusion, 6 ... Notch 7 ... Lower flange, 8 ... Engagement groove, 9 ... Fitting part 10 ... Locking portion, 11 ... Protrusion, 12 ... Recessed portion 13 ... Screw portion, 20 ... Disk portion, 21 ... Center cap 22 ... Rivet, 23 ... Boss, 24 ... Center bore 25 ... Flange, 26 ... Fitting protrusion, 27 … Mating recess 28… Center cap, 29… Boss, 30… Flange 31… Screw, 32… Center cap, 33… Center bore 34… Disk part, 35… Center boss, 36… Disk part 37… Center boss.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A center cap that covers a hub hole formed in the center of a disc portion, and a center boss that is projectingly provided on the disc portion and has a screw for screwing the center cap. In a vehicle wheel having, the center cap has a metal cap body that covers the hub hole, and a screw portion that can be screwed into the center boss, and is formed inwardly formed in a recess of the cap body. A non-metallic screw member that is fitted into the circular crown groove and is divided into at least two, and a fixing member that fixes these screw members in the recess.