Abstract:
A wheel for a toy vehicle including a rim comprising at least one spoke radiating from a hub comprising a channel, and an insert configured to be disposed in the channel, wherein the insert is held within the channel such that the insert appears to be integral with the at least one spoke.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This Application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/535,157, filed Sep. 15, 2011, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wheel assemblies, and more specifically to multi-piece wheel assemblies for toy vehicles. 
         [0004]    2. Background 
         [0005]    In certain configurations, wheels for toy vehicles may be configured to have different colors. For example, a wheel of a particular vehicle may have a plurality of spokes, and it may be desirable to have each of those spokes be of a certain color or finish. However, these colors or finishes typically have to be painted or printed on the wheel itself. Regardless of which process is used, both the painting and printing process need to be precise, otherwise color or finish alignment will be off 
         [0006]    Consequently, it would be desirable to address the issues discussed above. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    Various aspects of a multi-piece wheel assembly may be disclosed herein, where in one aspect of a disclosed approach, the multi-piece wheel assembly includes at least two pieces. A first piece may be a body of the wheel itself, while the second piece may be a decorative piece that may be assembled to the body to create a wheel with certain decorative features or finishes. 
         [0008]    Other aspects of the multi-piece wheel assembly may be disclosed herein. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a multi-piece wheel assembly illustrating various parts of the rim; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the multi-piece wheel assembly of  FIG. 1 , after the various parts of the wheel have been assembled; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the multi-piece wheel assembly of  FIG. 1 , after the various parts of the wheel have been assembled; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a cross-section view of the multi-piece wheel assembly of  FIG. 1  taken along line VI-VI in  FIG. 3 , after the various parts of the wheel have been assembled and secured in accordance with one approach of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is an exploded cross-section view of the multi-piece wheel assembly of  FIG. 4 , before the various parts of the wheel have been assembled and secured; 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is an exploded cross-section view of the multi-piece wheel assembly of  FIG. 4 , after the various parts of the wheel have been assembled, but before they have been secured to each other as in  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a cross-section view of the multi-piece wheel assembly of  FIG. 1  taken along line VI-VI of  FIG. 3 , after the various parts of the wheel have been assembled and secured in accordance with another approach of the present invention; and 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  is an exploded cross-section view of the multi-piece wheel assembly of  FIG. 7 , before the various parts of the wheel have been assembled and secured in accordance with the other approach of the present invention in  FIG. 7 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]    The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described therein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts. 
         [0018]      FIG. 1  illustrates various parts of a multi-piece wheel assembly  100  configured in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The exemplary multi-piece rim assembly  100  includes a rim  150  and a rim insert  110 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the rim  150  includes a hub  156  and a plurality of spokes  152  that radiates from the hub  156 . The shape and form of the rim  150  may vary with the various embodiments of the invention. For example, the number of spokes may be of any number that is sufficient to support the rim  150 . The shape of the spokes may also vary so as to be curved or have different geometric shapes. 
         [0019]    Each spoke in the plurality of spokes  152  of the rim  150  includes a recessed portion  152   a  for receiving a respective arm  112  from an insert  110 . In one aspect of the invention, the plurality of spokes  152  each includes borders  154 . Each respective arm portion radiates from a center  116 . The insert  110  may be secured in the rim  150  in a variety of manners, as further described herein. Also, the insert  110  may have a different color than the rim  150 . In one aspect of the invention, the insert  110  may be molded from a material that is of a different color from the rim  150 . In another aspect, the insert  110  may be pre-painted before being mounted to the rim  150 . Thus, instead of having to apply paint to the spokes of a wheel, the spokes may be pre-painted or otherwise pre-configured in a different color. Once mounted to the rim  150 , the insert  110  may appear to be integrated in the rim  150  and not appear to be a separate part. Further, in addition to having a different color, the insert  110  may also have a different shape or texture, such as different finishes. 
         [0020]    Referring now to  FIG. 2 , which is a perspective view of an assembled multi-piece wheel assembly  200 , it may be seen that the insert  100  has been placed onto the rim  150 . Also referring to  FIG. 3 , which is a top plan view of the assembled multi-piece wheel assembly  200 , it may be seen that the insert  110  is aligned with the rim  150  such that each of the plurality of arms  112  is disposed in each recessed portion  152   a  of the plurality of spokes  152 . In one aspect of the invention, and as further detailed below, the insert  110  may be coupled to the rim  150  by having an extruded portion of each of the plurality of arms  112  being inserted into a respective through-hole  162 . The extruded portion may then be able to be secured by melting part of the extruded portion, gluing the extruded portion, or fastening the extruded portion using a fastener such as a screw. As disclosed above, once assembled, the insert  110  and the rim  150  appear to be integrated and formed from one piece of material, such as appearing being molded from one piece of plastic. 
         [0021]      FIG. 4  illustrates one embodiment of a cross-section  400  of the assembled multi-piece wheel assembly  200  taken across line VI-VI of  FIG. 3 , where an arm  412  such as one of the arms  112  from the insert  110  has been secured into a spoke  452  such as one of the plurality of spokes  152 . In one aspect of the embodiment, the arm  412  is secured into the spoke  452  via an extrusion  422  that is inserted through a through-hole  462  in the spoke  452  similar to the through-holes  162  in the plurality of spokes  152 . The extrusion  422  includes a stopper portion  424  that is larger than the diameter of the through-hole  462 . In this aspect of the invention, referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the stopper portion  424  is formed from the extrusion  422  of the arm  412  being inserted into the through-hole  462  of the spoke  452  (see  FIG. 5 ), where the arm  412  seats in a recess  452   a  of the spoke  452  after the extrusion  422  has been inserted. The stopper portion  424  is formed by melting an exposed version  422   a  of the extrusion  422  just enough to create the stopper portion  424  (see  FIG. 6 ). 
         [0022]      FIG. 7  illustrates another embodiment of a cross-section  700  of the assembled multi-piece wheel assembly  200  taken across line VI-VI of  FIG. 3 , where an arm  712  such as one of the arms  112  from the insert  110  has been secured into a spoke  752  such as one of the plurality of spokes  152 .  FIG. 8  illustrates the arm  712  before assembly into the spoke  752 . In one aspect of the embodiment, the arm  712  is secured into the spoke  752  via retaining portions  754   a  on borders  754  such as borders  154 . The spoke  752  includes a recessed portion  752   a.  The arm  712  is snapped into the recess portion  752   a  of the spoke  752  and is retained by the retaining portions  754   a.  The retaining portions  754   a  thus protrude sufficiently from the borders  754  to retain the arm  712 , but do not protrude to an extent that significantly interferes with the arm  712  with being snapped into the spoke  752 . The retaining portions  754   a  is also slanted on the top portion to guide the arm  712  to be pushed down. Those skilled in the art will be able to determine at least one appropriate size and shape of the retaining portions  754   a.    
         [0023]    In various aspects of the current invention, multiple inserts may be used to achieve the desired result. Thus, for example, a different insert may be used with each of the plurality of spokes  152 . Further, each of the multiple inserts may be configured to be of a different shape, color, or finish. 
         [0024]    The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. A phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, b and c. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in the case of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase “step for.”