Patent ID: 6991300

Claim:
A wheel rim formed of fiber reinforced plastic comprising; the wheel has a structural portion and left and right braking surfaces; said structural portion is predominantly a plurality of high modulus first fibers in a plastic matrix; said braking surfaces are formed of second reinforcing fibers, said second fibers having hardness properties that make said second fibers more easily machinable fibers than said first fibers, said second reinforcing fibers being integrally molded with said first reinforcing fibers in a monolithic plastic matrix; said high modulus first fibers are aligned in laminations formed of a series of 0–45–90 degree alignments; the wheel is formed in a shape of complex curvature having substantially uniform strength and having a substantially uniform density; the ratio of said first and second fibers to said plastic matrix in said wheel is substantially above 60%; said wheel has first and second substantially identical semicircular halves; said first half is formed so as to be integrally molded with a first male plug at one end and a first female receptacle integrally molded at the opposite end separated by an arc portion; said first male plug has a first tapered neck portion; said second half is formed so as to be integrally molded with a second male plug at one end and a second female receptacle integrally molded at the opposite end separated by a second arc portion; said second male plug has a second tapered neck portion; the wheel is matingly interconnecting and adhesively bonded, so that said first male plug bonds with said second female receptacle, and said second male plug bonds with said first female receptacle such that said first tapered neck portion substantially centers said first male plug thereby preserving adequate adhesive coating, and said second tapered neck portion substantially centers said second male plug thereby preserving adequate adhesive coating.