Abstract:
A vehicle wheel cover retention system wherein the outboard tire bead seat retaining flange of the associated wheel includes a unique construction for securing a wheel cover to the wheel. In particular, the vehicle wheel includes a disc which defines an outboard facing wheel surface and includes an outboard tire bead seat retaining flange. The outboard tire bead seat retaining flange includes an outer surface having a circumferential, radially inwardly facing groove formed therein. A relatively thin wheel cover (which may or may not conform to the exact contour of the disc) covers at least a portion of the outboard facing wheel disc surface. In particular, the wheel cover includes an outer annular lip which extends into the groove.

Description:
This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/886,264 filed Jul. 1, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,158; which is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/389,867 filed Feb. 23, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,845; which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 08/203,058 filed Feb. 28, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,631. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to vehicle wheels and, in particular, to an improved vehicle wheel cover retention system. 
     Full or partial vehicle wheel covers of the removable type are well known, and have been used for many years to enhance the styling of conventional, stamped wheel discs. Also, it is known to permanently secure a full or partial wheel cover to a vehicle wheel using an adhesive material. 
     One example of a vehicle wheel construction wherein an ornamental plastic wheel cover having a chrome-plated outer surface is permanently secured to an outboard facing surface of a wheel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,669,501 to Derleth. In the Derleth patent, the wheel cover includes an outer peripheral flange which overhangs the outboard tire bead seat retaining flange of the wheel, an inner peripheral flange which seats against an outboard surface of a hub sleeve, and an intermediate portion which is spaced outwardly from the face of the wheel. An expanding adhesive material is applied to the outboard surfaces of the wheel. When the adhesive material is expanded, it is operative to fill the void between the wheel and the wheel cover to permanently secure the wheel cover to the outboard face of the wheel. 
     Another example of a vehicle wheel construction having an ornamental wheel cover permanently secured to an outboard facing surface of the wheel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,966 to Oakey. In the Oakey patent, a cast aluminum wheel cover is secured to a disc of a steel wheel using a-high density structural adhesive. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a vehicle wheel cover retention system wherein the outboard tire bead seat retaining flange of the associated wheel includes a unique construction for securing a wheel cover to the wheel. 
     In particular, the vehicle wheel includes a disc which defines an outboard facing wheel surface and includes an outboard tire bead seat retaining flange. The outboard tire bead seat retaining flange includes an outer surface having a circumferential, radially inwardly facing groove formed therein. A relatively thin wheel cover (which may or may not conform to the exact contour of the disc) covers at least a portion of the outboard facing wheel disc surface. In particular, the wheel cover includes an outer annular lip which extends into the groove. The groove functions, in part, to hide a peripheral edge of the cover. Preferably, an adhesive material is applied to the outboard facing wheel surface of the disc, and the cover is then pressed against the adhesive covered to permanently secure the wheel cover to the disc. Such a construction is especially advantageous when it is desired to produce a “chrome plated” wheel. It has been found that the cost of forming the cover, chrome plating the cover, and then securing it to the disc is substantially less that plating a wheel disc by a conventional process. 
     Other advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, when read in light of the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an improved vehicle wheel constructed in accordance with the present invention 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the adhesive pattern for the vehicle wheel illustrated in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a selected portion of the vehicle wheel illustrated in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a selected portion of the vehicle wheel illustrated in FIG. 3 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3, and showing an alternate embodiment of a vehicle wheel construction. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 an exploded perspective view of an improved vehicle wheel, indicated generally at  10 , and constructed in accordance with the present invention. The vehicle wheel  10  shown in this embodiment is a full face fabricated type of wheel, and includes a rim  12 , a full face wheel disc  14 , a wheel cover  16 , and a cap  18 . However, it will be appreciated that the invention is applicable for used with other wheel constructions. For example, the wheel can be a “bead seat attached wheel” (such as shown in FIG. 4 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,429 to Heck et al.), a “well attached wheel” (such as shown in FIG. 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,429 to Heck et al.), a one-piece cast or forged alloy wheel (such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,453 to Siwek), or a wheel construction including a partial rim and a full face wheel disc (such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,508 to Cissell II), all of these patents incorporated herein by reference. 
     The rim  12  is preferably painted black, and is a fabricated rim constructed of steel, aluminum, or other alloy materials. The rim  12  includes an inboard tire bead seat retaining flange  20 , an inboard tire bead seat  22 , a generally axially extending well  24 , and an outboard tire bead seat  26 . 
     The disc  14  is a forged, cast or fabricated disc constructed of steel, aluminum, or other alloy materials, and includes a generally centrally located wheel mounting surface  30 , and an outer annular flange  32 . The wheel mounting surface  30  is provided with a centrally located pilot aperture  34 , and a plurality of lug bolt receiving holes  36 . The lug bolt receiving holes  36  receive lug bolts and nuts (not shown) for securing the wheel  10  on an axle (not shown) of a vehicle. The outer annular flange  32  of the disc  14  defines an outboard tire bead seat retaining flange of the wheel  10 , and includes an outer surface  40  and an inner surface  42 . The disc  14  further includes a plurality of decorative openings or windows  38 . Preferably, the annular flange  32  is painted silver and the rest of the disc  14  is painted black. 
     As shown in this embodiment, the cap  18  is secured to the disc  14  by a plurality of fasteners  19  (only one fastener  19  being illustrated). The fasteners  19  extend through openings  21  formed in the cap, and are received in threaded openings  23  provided in the wheel mounting surface  30  of the disc  14 . 
     As best shown in FIG. 4, the annular flange  32  of the disc  14  defines a radially extending outer end surface  50 , an axially extending inner side surface  52 , and an axially extending outer side surface  54 . To assemble the wheel  10 , an outboard end  28  of the rim  12  is positioned against the inner surface  42  of the disc  14  and a weld  44  is provided to join the disc  14  and rim  12  together as shown in FIG.  3 . 
     In accordance with the present invention, the outer surface  40  of the disc  14  is provided with a circumferential, radially inwardly facing groove or recess  46 . Preferably, the groove  46  is formed by a machining operation to predetermined specifications. However, the groove  46  can be formed by other methods. For example, the groove  46  can be formed by a stamping operation or a spinning operation. 
     As best shown in FIG. 4, the groove  46  is defined by a first surface  58  which extends in a generally axial direction, and a second surface  56  which extends in a generally radial direction a predetermined distance X. In particular, the surfaces,  58 , and  56  are oriented at predetermined angles A and B, respectively, relative to a reference line C which is generally parallel to the wheel axis. The angle A is in the range of 0° to 30°, and the angle B is in the range of 60° to 120°. Preferably, the angle A is approximately 20°, and the angle B is approximately 90°. As will be discussed below, the distance X is selected so that an outer annular lip of the wheel cover  16  is completely recessed within the groove  46 . 
     The wheel cover  16  shown in this embodiment is preferably formed from stainless steel having a thickness of approximately 0.020 inch, and is painted or chrome plated. The wheel cover  16  is prefabricated to generally match the particular configuration of the outboard facing surface of the disc  14 . In particular, the wheel cover  16  includes a plurality of openings  60  which correspond to the windows  38  formed in the disc  14 , and an enlarged central opening  62 . 
     The openings  60  in the cover  16  are preferably formed by a stamping operation. As best shown in FIG. 3, edges  63  of the openings  60  extend slightly past edges  39  of the windows  38 . As a result of this, when the cover  16  is secured to the disc  14 , the completely assembled wheel  10  of the present invention has the appearance of a “chrome plated” wheel. 
     The cover  16  further defines an outer surface  64 , an inner surface  65 , and an outer annular lip  65 . The annular lip  66  of the cover  16  defines an outer peripheral edge  68  which is preferably slightly spaced from the adjacent second surface  56  of the groove  46  to form a gap  72  therebetween to accommodate small dimensional changes in the outer edge  68  of the wheel cover  16 ; however, in some instances, there may be some contact between the outer edge  68  of the cover  16  and the second surface  56  of the groove  46 . Also, the outer annular lip  66  of the cover  16  is prefabricated in such a manner (as shown in phantom in FIG. 4) that, when the cover  16  is positioned on the disc  14 , inner surface  66 A of the lip  66  is biased outwardly against surface  58  of the groove  46 . The outer peripheral edge  68  of the cover  16  defines an inner circle  68 A. 
     In order to permanently secure the cover  16  to the disc  14 , an adhesive  70 , such as a two-part epoxy, is utilized. A suitable epoxy is FUSOR 380/382 manufactured by Lord Corporation. As shown in FIG. 2, the adhesive  70  is preferably applied on the outboard face of the disc  14  in a predetermined pattern as represented by the heavy lines consisting of an inner circle  70 B, an outer circle  70 A, and angled radial lines  70 C. 
     The pattern of the adhesive  70  is selected so that when the wheel cover  16  is positioned on the disc  14  and pressure applied thereto, a smearing of the adhesive  70  over substantially the entire outboard face of the disc  14  occurs. The adhesive  70  functions to permanently secure the cover  16  to the disc  14 . Also, since the adhesive  70  covers substantially the entire interface between the cover  16  and the disc  14 , it is effective to provide a seal and prevent water, mud, and other debris from entering between the cover  16  and the outboard facing surface of the disc  14 . 
     The distance X of the second surface  56  of the groove  46  is at least equal to the combined thicknesses of the wheel cover  16  and the adhesive material so that the inner circle  68 A of the wheel cover  16  is recessed relative to the inner side surface  52  of the annular flange  32  of the disc  14 . This effectively hides the outer peripheral edge  68  of the cover  16 . This is also important to ensure that the wheel cover  16  does not interfere with the attachment of a wheel balance weight 90 (as shown in FIG. 5) 
     FIG. 5 illustrates an alternate embodiment of a wheel cover  80  which is similar to the wheel cover  16  shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, except that the wheel cover  80  has a styled configuration different from the associated wheel disc. This enhances the styling of the associated vehicle wheel as compared to the disc. It also enables different styled covers to be used with a common disc. 
     In particular, the wheel cover  80  includes a predetermined profile which positions an inner surface  82  thereof a substantial distance from the outboard facing surface of the disc  14 . In this embodiment, an expandable foam adhesive material  84  is used to permanently secure the cover  80  to the disc  14 . Preferably, the adhesive material  84  is applied to the outer surface of the disc  14  in a predetermined pattern so that when the adhesive material  84  expands, it covers substantially the entire interface between the cover  80  and the disc  14 . The adhesive material  84  functions to permanently secure the cover  80  to the disc  14 , and prevents water, mud, and other debris from entering therebetween. 
     Also, the cover  80  includes an outer annular lip  86  which is prefabricated and secured in a manner similar to that discussed above with respect to the cover  14  of FIGS. 1-4. 
     It will be appreciated that while the invention has been illustrated and described as having the wheel cover cover only a portion of the outboard facing surface of the disc, other wheel cover configurations are possible. For example, a wheel cover (not shown) can be provided to cover substantially the entire outboard facing surface of the disc. 
     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 embodiment. However, it must be understood that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically explained and illustrated without departing from the spirit or scope of the attached claims.