Abstract:
This invention relates to an improved vehicle wheel idle station tooling apparatus. The vehicle wheel idle station tooling apparatus includes a center pilot and at least one rim block. The center pilot is adapted to be secured to a component of the vehicle wheel idle station tooling apparatus and defines an outer diameter which is slightly less than an inner diameter defined by a pilot hole of a vehicle wheel so as to pilot the vehicle wheel on the center pilot. The rim block is adapted to be secured to a component of the vehicle wheel idle station tooling apparatus and includes a surface which is operative to engage an outer surface of a flange of the vehicle wheel so as to support the vehicle wheel thereon. At least one of the center pilot and the rim block is releasably secured to the component by a quick release pin which enables said at least one of said center pilot and said rim block to be removed and replaced with a different sized component by a manual hand-operated manipulation of the quick release pin without resort to the utilization of a tool.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates in general to vehicle wheels and in particular to an improved apparatus for use in producing a vehicle wheel. 
     A conventional vehicle wheel is typically of a two-piece construction and includes an inner wheel disc and an outer “full” wheel rim. The wheel disc can be cast, forged, or fabricated from steel, aluminum, or other alloys, and includes an inner annular wheel mounting portion and an outer annular portion. The wheel mounting portion of the wheel disc defines an inboard mounting surface and includes a center pilot or hub hole, and a plurality of lug receiving holes formed therethrough for mounting the vehicle wheel to an axle of the vehicle. The wheel rim is fabricated from steel, aluminum, or other alloys, and includes an inboard tire bead seat retaining flange, an inboard tire bead seat, an axially extending well, an outboard tire bead seat, and an outboard tire bead seat retaining flange. In some instances, a three-piece wheel construction having a mounting cup secured to the wheel disc is used. In both types of constructions, the outer annular portion of the wheel disc is secured to the wheel rim by a weld. 
     A full face wheel is distinguished from other types of wheels by having a one-piece wheel disc construction. In particular, the full face wheel includes a “full face” disc and a “partial” rim. The full face disc can be formed cast, forged, or fabricated from steel, aluminum, or other alloys. The full face disc includes an inner annular wheel mounting portion and an outer annular portion which defines at least a portion of an outboard tire bead seat retaining flange of the wheel. The wheel mounting portion defines an inboard mounting surface and includes a center pilot or hub hole, and a plurality of lug receiving holes formed therethrough for mounting the wheel to an axle of the vehicle. The partial rim is fabricated from steel, aluminum, or other alloys, and includes an inboard tire bead seat retaining flange, an inboard tire bead seat, an axially extending well, and an outboard tire bead seat. In some instances, the outboard tire bead seat of the rim and the outer annular portion of the disc cooperate to form the outboard tire bead seat retaining flange of the full face wheel. In both types of constructions, the outboard tire bead seat of the rim is positioned adjacent the outer annular portion of the disc and a weld is applied to secure the rim and the disc together. 
     In the above wheel constructions, the wheel is produced on an assembly line. The assembly line includes a number of wheel assembly tooling stations where certain operations are performed in order to assemble and produce the finished vehicle wheel. The time required to perform a desired operation at one station may not be the same as that at another station. As a result of this, a typical wheel assembly line includes one or more “idle” tooling stations in the wheel assembly line between the “operational” stations to accommodate for these time differences or for other reasons not related to time. 
     The idle station tooling members in a wheel assembly line are designed for a particular vehicle wheel configuration, such as the size of the wheel or the shape of the wheel. If a “different” wheel is to be run on the wheel assembly line, the idle tooling stations need to be changed to accommodate for this different wheel. One way to change the idle station tooling for a new wheel is to remove and replace many of the individual idle station tooling members specifically designed for that particular wheel. This is a time consuming process resulting in down time on the wheel assembly line. It is also known to remove all of the idle station tooling members as a unit and replace them with another unit with tooling members for the particular wheel to be run. For this to be possible, each wheel configuration and each idle tooling station have to have a dedicated set of tooling for a particular wheel. In both of the above changeovers, several bolts have to be removed and then reinstalled using tools sized for the bolts. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to an improved vehicle wheel idle station tooling apparatus. The vehicle wheel idle station tooling apparatus includes a center pilot and at least one rim block. The center pilot is adapted to be secured to a component of the vehicle wheel idle station tooling apparatus and defines an outer diameter which is slightly less than an inner diameter defined by a pilot hole of a vehicle wheel so as to pilot the vehicle wheel on the center pilot. The rim block is adapted to be secured to a component of the vehicle wheel idle station tooling apparatus and includes a surface which is operative to engage an outer surface of a flange of the vehicle wheel so as to support the vehicle wheel thereon. At least one of the center pilot and the rim block is releasably secured to the component by a quick release pin which enables said at least one of said center pilot and said rim block to be removed and replaced with a different sized component by a manual hand-operated manipulation of the quick release pin without resort to the utilization of a tool. 
    
    
     Other advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, when read in light of the accompanying drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a partial sectional view of a prior art vehicle wheel idle station tooling apparatus. 
     FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of a first embodiment of a vehicle wheel idle station tooling apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of a second embodiment of a vehicle wheel idle station tooling apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of a third embodiment of a vehicle wheel idle station tooling apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a portion of the vehicle wheel assembly tooling apparatus shown in FIGS.  2  and  3 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a prior art vehicle wheel idle station tooling apparatus, indicated generally at  10 , which is used in the manufacture of a vehicle wheel, indicted generally at  48 . The vehicle wheel  48  is illustrated as being a “well attached” vehicle wheel, and includes a is wheel disc  50  and a wheel rim  60  which are joined together by a weld (not shown). The vehicle wheel  48  defines an wheel axis X. Although the present invention is illustrated and described in conjunction with the particular vehicle wheel construction disclosed herein, it will be appreciated that the invention can be used in conjunction with other types of vehicle wheel constructions. 
     The wheel disc  50  is forged, cast, fabricated, or otherwise formed from a suitable material, such as for example, steel, magnesium, titanium, aluminum or other alloys materials. The wheel disc  50  includes a generally centrally located inner wheel mounting portion  52 , and an outer annular portion  54  which terminates in a generally axially extending outer annular flange  56 . The wheel mounting portion  52  is provided with a centrally located pilot aperture  52 A, and a plurality of lug bolt receiving holes  52 B (only one lug bolt receiving holes  52 B is illustrated in FIG.  1 ), spaced equidistantly from the pilot aperture  52 A. The lug bolt receiving holes  52 B are adapted to receive lug bolts and nuts (not shown) for securing the vehicle wheel  10  on a stationary component (not shown) of a vehicle, such as an axle. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the outer annular portion  54  of the wheel disc  50  is provided with a plurality of decorative windows or openings  54 A provided therein (only one of such decorative windows  54 A is illustrated in FIG.  1 ). The outer annular flange  56  of the wheel disc  50  includes an inner axially extending cylindrical surface  56 A and an outer axially extending cylindrical surface  56 B which is substantially parallel to the outer cylindrical surface  56 A so as to define a generally constant thickness throughout the entire length of the outer annular flange  56  of the wheel disc  50 . The outer annular flange  56  of the wheel disc  50  terminates at a generally radially extending end surface  56 C which defines an axial endmost surface. 
     The wheel rim  60  is a fabricated rim constructed of steel, magnesium, titanium, aluminum, or other alloy materials. The wheel rim  60  includes an inboard tire bead seat retaining flange  62 , an inboard tire bead seat  64 , a generally axially extending well  66 , an outboard tire bead seat  68 , and an outboard tire bead seat retaining flange  70 . A section of the well  66  includes a generally axially extending inner surface  66 A, and the outboard tire bead seat retaining flange  70  includes an outboard surface  70 A. 
     During the assembly of the wheel disc  50  and the wheel rim  60  to produce the vehicle wheel  48 , one or more of the vehicle wheel idle station tooling apparatus  10  is utilized. As shown in FIG. 1, the prior art idle station  10  includes a mounting plate  12 , a carrier plate  14 , a center retainer  16 , a center pilot  18 , and a plurality of outer rim blocks  20 . The mounting plate  12  is a generally flat plate and is fixedly secured to a part (not shown) of the apparatus  10  by suitable means. The carrier plate  14  is a generally flat plate and is fixedly secured to the mounting plate  12  by a plurality of threaded fasteners  24  (two of such fasteners  24  being shown in FIG.  1 .). 
     The center retainer  16  is a generally annular member and is fixedly secured to the carrier plate  14  by a plurality of threaded fasteners  26  (only one of such fasteners  26  being shown in FIG. 1) which are received in threaded openings  14 B provided in the carrier plate  14 . The retainer  16  includes an opening  28  formed therein for receiving an end  30 A of a guide pin  30 . A set screw  32  is disposed in an opening  34  provided in the side of the retainer  16 . The set screw  32  is operative to contact or engage a chamfered side edge  30 B of the guide pin  30  so as to secure the guide pin  30  in place. The guide pin  30  includes an outer head portion  36  which is operative to extend through a selected lug bolt hole  52 B of the wheel disc  50  so as to locate and position the wheel  48  in a predetermined position in the idle station  10 . 
     The center pilot  18  is a generally annular tooling member and includes a main body which defines an outer diameter D 6 . The outer diameter D 6  is slightly less than the pilot aperture  52 A. The center pilot  18  includes an end  80  which is received in an opening or recess  82  provided in the retainer  16 . A threaded fastener  84  extends through an opening  86  provided in the center pilot  18  and is received in a threaded opening  88  provided in the retainer  16  to fixedly secure the center pilot  18  to the retainer  16 . 
     The prior art idle station  10  includes a plurality of individual rim blocks  20  which are operative to encircle the apparatus  10  so as to support the associated surface  70 A of the wheel rim  60  around a substantial portion thereof. A threaded fastener  90  extend through associated openings  92  provided in each of the rim blocks  20  and are received in threaded openings  94  provided in the carrier plate  14  to fixedly secure the associated rim block  20  to the carrier plate  14 . 
     Each of the rim blocks  20  includes a replaceable wear strip  96  removably attached thereto. The wear strip  96  is secured to the associated rim block  20  by a plurality of threaded fasteners  98 . The fasteners  98  extend through associated openings  100  provided in the wear strip  96  and are received in associated threaded openings  102  provided in the rim block  20 . 
     As discussed above, whenever a different sized vehicle wheel  48  is being assembled, the carrier plate  14 , retainer  16 , pilot  18 , guide pin  30  and rim blocks  20  must typically be removed and replaced with different components specifically selected to accommodate the different size of the vehicle wheel. Changing of the tooling members is time consuming, resulting in down time on the wheel assembly line. Also, it is rather expensive to inventory all the different sized components needed for the different sized vehicle wheels. The structure and operation of the prior art idle station tooling apparatus  10  thus far described is conventional in the art. 
     Turning now to FIG.  2  and using like reference numbers to indicate corresponding parts, there is illustrated a first embodiment of an idle station tooling apparatus, indicated generally at  150 , in accordance with the present invention. The illustrated idle station  150  is shown for use with a “drop center” or “well attached” vehicle wheel, indicated generally at  290 . Although the present invention is illustrated and described in conjunction with the particular vehicle wheel constructions disclosed herein, it will be appreciated that the invention can be used in conjunction with other types of vehicle wheel constructions. For example, as will be discussed below in connection with FIG. 3, the vehicle wheel can be a “bead seat attached” vehicle wheel such as shown herein or shown in FIG. 4 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,429 to Heck et al., the disclosure of the Heck et al. patent incorporated herein by reference). The idle station  150  includes a center pilot  152  and a plurality of outer rim blocks  154 . 
     As best shown in FIG. 5, the center pilot  152  includes a base  160 , a middle retainer  162 , a spacer  164 , a pilot and pin retainer  166  and a pilot  168  which are stacked or “nested” on top of each other. The base  160  includes a main body having a lower end  170 , an upper end  172  and an outwardly extending flange portion  174 . The body includes a first opening  176  and a second threaded opening  178  formed therein, and the flange portion  174  includes one or more openings  180  formed therein. The lower end  170  defines an outer diameter D which is slightly smaller than the size of an opening or recess  14 A provided in the carrier plate  14  so as to be received therein in a slight interference fit therewith. 
     The first opening  176  of the main body defines an inner diameter D 1 . The second opening  178  is adapted to receive a “quick release” pin  182  therein for a purpose to be discussed below. A suitable quick release pin  182  is a part number CL-6-HRP hand-retractable plunger manufactured by Carr Lane Manufacturing Company of St. Louis, Mo. A threaded fastener  184  extends through the opening  180  in the flange  174  and is received in a threaded opening  14 B provided it the carrier plate  14  so as to fixedly secure the base  160  to the carrier plate  14 . 
     The middle retainer  162  includes a main body having a lower end  192  an increased diameter upper end  194 . The lower end  192  defines an outer diameter D 2  which is less than the diameter D 1  of the base  160  so as to be received therein in a slightly loose fit. The middle retainer  162  further includes a first opening  196 , a second opening  198  and a third threaded opening  200  formed therein. The first opening  196  is adapted to receive an end of the release pin  182  so as to releasably attach the middle retainer  162  to the base  160 . The second opening  198  is a threaded opening and is adapted to receive an end of a threaded fastener  202  to secure one or more keys  204  to the upper end  194  of the middle retainer  162 . The upper end  194  of the middle retainer  162  is provided with an associated keyway (not shown) formed therein for receiving each of the keys  204 . The spacer  164  is interposed between the middle retainer  162  and the pilot and pin retainer  166 . The spacer  164  includes a central opening  206  formed therethrough for a purpose to be discussed below. 
     The pilot and pin retainer  166  includes a body having an recess  208  formed therein which defines an outer diameter D 3 , and an outwardly extending arm  210  having an opening  212  formed therein. A guide pin  214  is disposed in the opening  212  and a set screw  216  installed in a side opening of the arm  210  is operative to engage and secure the guide pin  214  in place. The pilot and pin retainer  166  further includes a central opening  216  and one or more offset threaded openings  218  which are adapted to receive an end of a threaded fastener  220  to secure an associated key  222  thereto. To accomplish this, a lower end surface of the pilot and pin retainer  166  includes one or more keyways (not shown) formed therein. 
     The pilot  168  includes a main body having a chamfered outer end  230  and a reduced diameter inner end  232 . The main body defines an outer diameter D 4  and the inner end  232  defines an outer diameter D 5 . The diameter D 5  is slightly less than the diameter D 3  so as to be received therein an interference fit. The diameter D 4  is less than the diameter of the pilot hole  52 A of the wheel disc  50 . The pilot  168  further includes a stepped center opening  234  formed therethrough. In addition, as shown in this embodiment, the idle station  152  includes a lower shim  240  and an upper shim  242 . The lower shim  240  includes a central opening  244  and the upper shim  242  includes a central opening  246 . Alternatively, the center pilot  152  can include more or less shims than illustrated including zero if so desired. 
     A threaded fastener  236  extends through the hole  234  of the pilot  168 , the hole  216  of the pilot and pin retainer  166 , the hole  246  of the upper shim  242 , the hole  206  of the spacer, the hole  244  of the lower shim  240 , and is received into the threaded hole  200  of the middle retainer  162 . Thus, the fastener  236  is operative to secure the middle retainer  162 , the spacer  164 , the pilot and pin retainer  166  and the pilot  168  together, and the quick release pin  182  is operative to releasably attach the middle retainer  162  (along with the other assembled components), to the base  160 . Alternatively, the structure of one or more of the base  160 , the middle retainer  162 , the spacer  164 , the pilot and pin retainer  166  and the pilot  168  of the center pilot  152  can be other than illustrated if so desired. 
     Each of the rim blocks  154  includes a base  250  and a block  252  releasably attached thereto. Preferably, the base  250  and the block  252  are formed and machined as a ring and then cut into a plurality of equal segments. The base  250  is fixedly secured to the carrier plate  14  by a threaded fastener  90  which extends through an opening  254  provided in the base  250  and which is threadably received in a threaded opening provided in the carrier plate  14 . 
     The block  252  includes a connecting pin  256  secured thereto by suitable means, such as for example, by a threaded bolt or fastener (not shown). The pin  256  includes a slotted opening  258  formed in a side thereof. The block  252  further includes a plurality of annular shaped grooves  260  and  262  formed therein. The grooves  260  and  262  are sized to accommodate different sized wheel rims. A quick release pin  264  is installed in a threaded opening  266  provided in the base  250  and an end thereof is received in the opening  258  of the pin  256 . Alternatively, the block  252  could have a non-grooved or flat top surface and wear strip such as shown in FIG. 1 can be attached to the base  250 . 
     Turning now to FIG.  3  and using like reference numbers to indicate corresponding parts, there is illustrated a second embodiment of an idle station tooling apparatus, indicated generally at  300 , in accordance with the present invention. As mentioned above, the idle station  300  is shown for use with a bead seat attached wheel, indicated generally at  292 . In this embodiment, the idle station  300  includes a plurality of outer rim blocks  302  each having a base  250 , a block  304 , and a wear strip  306 . The block  304  includes a connecting pin  256  secured thereto by suitable means. A quick release pin  264  is installed in a threaded opening provided in the base  250  and an end thereof is received in the opening  258  of the pin  256 . The wear strip  306  is attached to the block  304  by suitable means, such as for example, by a threaded fastener or bolt  308 . 
     Turning now to FIG.  4  and using like reference numbers to indicate corresponding parts, there is illustrated a third embodiment of a portion of an idle station tooling apparatus  400  in accordance with the present invention. In this embodiment, the idle station includes an “adjustable” center pilot  402 . As shown therein, the center pilot  402  includes a mulit-component middle retainer, indicated generally at  404 , instead of the one piece middle retainer  162  illustrated in FIGS. 2,  3  and  5 . The multi-component middle retainer  404  includes a first stationary component  406  and a second adjustable component  408 . The first component  406  includes a lower end  410  and an increased diameter upper end  412  which defines a shoulder  414  for supporting the first component  406  on the upper end  172  of the base  160 . The first component  406  includes a threaded opening  416  provided in a side thereof. A set screw  418  or other suitable fastener is installed in the opening  416 . 
     The second component  408  is adjustable relative to the base  160  by loosening of the set screw  418  and moving the component  408  upward in FIG. 4 in the direction of arrow  420 . Once moved to a desired position, additional shims or spacers (not shown) can be inserted between the existing spacer  164  and/or shims  240  and  242  and the set screw  418  retightened so as to bear against the outer surface of the second component  408 . 
     One advantage of the present invention wheel is that if desired changeover of the center pilots  152  and  404  of the associated idle station  150 ,  300  and  400  can be accomplished by manually pulling/removing the quick release pin  182 , removing all the “assembled” components of the center pilot except for the base  174 , and replacing them with a different “assembly” sized to accommodate a different sized wheel assembly. Also, the height of the center pilots of the associated idle stations can be varied by adding different thickness spacers  164  and/or shims  240  and  242 . In addition, the pilot and pin retainer  166  can be changed to accommodate different wheel bolt circle diameters by removing the fastener  236  which enables a different sized pilot and pin retainer to be installed without changing any of the other components of the idle station. Also, the pilot  168  can be changed to accommodate different wheel center diameters by removing the fastener  236  which enables a different sized pilot to be installed without changing any of the other components of the idle station. In addition, the pilot and pin retainer  166 , the spacer  164 , and the middle retainer  162  are all keyed to maintain proper orientation. Further, the rim blocks  154  of the idle station of the present invention are provided with multiple grooves  260  and  262  formed therein to accommodate different sized wheel rims. Also, the rim blocks  154  are provided with quick release pins  264  to allow a different rim block  252  and  304  with  306  to be used with the common base  250  to accommodate different types of wheels (i.e., bead seat attached wheels and drop center wheels). 
     In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the principle and mode of operation of this invention have been described and illustrated in its preferred embodiments. However, it must be understood that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically explained and illustrated without departing from the scope or spirit of the attached claims.