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WO2015069111A1 - A wheel and method of manufacturing - Google Patents

A wheel and method of manufacturing Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2015069111A1
WO2015069111A1 PCT/NL2014/050773 NL2014050773W WO2015069111A1 WO 2015069111 A1 WO2015069111 A1 WO 2015069111A1 NL 2014050773 W NL2014050773 W NL 2014050773W WO 2015069111 A1 WO2015069111 A1 WO 2015069111A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
tape
mould
rim bed
rim
hub
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/NL2014/050773
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Peter Verschut
Marten Luinstra
Original Assignee
Luinstra Beheer B.V.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Luinstra Beheer B.V. filed Critical Luinstra Beheer B.V.
Publication of WO2015069111A1 publication Critical patent/WO2015069111A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
    • B29C70/00—Shaping composites, i.e. plastics material comprising reinforcements, fillers or preformed parts, e.g. inserts
    • B29C70/04—Shaping composites, i.e. plastics material comprising reinforcements, fillers or preformed parts, e.g. inserts comprising reinforcements only, e.g. self-reinforcing plastics
    • B29C70/28—Shaping operations therefor
    • B29C70/30—Shaping by lay-up, i.e. applying fibres, tape or broadsheet on a mould, former or core; Shaping by spray-up, i.e. spraying of fibres on a mould, former or core
    • B29C70/32—Shaping by lay-up, i.e. applying fibres, tape or broadsheet on a mould, former or core; Shaping by spray-up, i.e. spraying of fibres on a mould, former or core on a rotating mould, former or core
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
    • B29C43/00—Compression moulding, i.e. applying external pressure to flow the moulding material; Apparatus therefor
    • B29C43/02—Compression moulding, i.e. applying external pressure to flow the moulding material; Apparatus therefor of articles of definite length, i.e. discrete articles
    • B29C43/18—Compression moulding, i.e. applying external pressure to flow the moulding material; Apparatus therefor of articles of definite length, i.e. discrete articles incorporating preformed parts or layers, e.g. compression moulding around inserts or for coating articles
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
    • B29C70/00—Shaping composites, i.e. plastics material comprising reinforcements, fillers or preformed parts, e.g. inserts
    • B29C70/04—Shaping composites, i.e. plastics material comprising reinforcements, fillers or preformed parts, e.g. inserts comprising reinforcements only, e.g. self-reinforcing plastics
    • B29C70/28—Shaping operations therefor
    • B29C70/40—Shaping or impregnating by compression not applied
    • B29C70/42—Shaping or impregnating by compression not applied for producing articles of definite length, i.e. discrete articles
    • B29C70/46—Shaping or impregnating by compression not applied for producing articles of definite length, i.e. discrete articles using matched moulds, e.g. for deforming sheet moulding compounds [SMC] or prepregs
    • B29C70/462—Moulding structures having an axis of symmetry or at least one channel, e.g. tubular structures, frames
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
    • B29C70/00—Shaping composites, i.e. plastics material comprising reinforcements, fillers or preformed parts, e.g. inserts
    • B29C70/68—Shaping composites, i.e. plastics material comprising reinforcements, fillers or preformed parts, e.g. inserts by incorporating or moulding on preformed parts, e.g. inserts or layers, e.g. foam blocks
    • B29C70/74—Moulding material on a relatively small portion of the preformed part, e.g. outsert moulding
    • B29C70/76—Moulding on edges or extremities of the preformed part
    • B29C70/766—Moulding on edges or extremities of the preformed part on the end part of a tubular article
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B21/00—Rims
    • B60B21/02—Rims characterised by transverse section
    • B60B21/026—Rims characterised by transverse section the shape of rim well
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B21/00—Rims
    • B60B21/10—Rims characterised by the form of tyre-seat or flange, e.g. corrugated
    • B60B21/108—Rims characterised by the form of tyre-seat or flange, e.g. corrugated the surface of bead seats
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B25/00—Rims built-up of several main parts ; Locking means for the rim parts
    • B60B25/002—Rims split in circumferential direction
    • B60B25/004—Rims split in circumferential direction one rim part comprising the wheel disc
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B5/00—Wheels, spokes, disc bodies, rims, hubs, wholly or predominantly made of non-metallic material
    • B60B5/02—Wheels, spokes, disc bodies, rims, hubs, wholly or predominantly made of non-metallic material made of synthetic material
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
    • B29L—INDEXING SCHEME ASSOCIATED WITH SUBCLASS B29C, RELATING TO PARTICULAR ARTICLES
    • B29L2031/00—Other particular articles
    • B29L2031/32—Wheels, pinions, pulleys, castors or rollers, Rims
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B2310/00—Manufacturing methods
    • B60B2310/20—Shaping
    • B60B2310/204—Shaping by moulding, e.g. injection moulding, i.e. casting of plastics material
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B2310/00—Manufacturing methods
    • B60B2310/30—Manufacturing methods joining
    • B60B2310/321—Manufacturing methods joining by overmolding
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B2310/00—Manufacturing methods
    • B60B2310/50—Thermal treatment
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B2310/00—Manufacturing methods
    • B60B2310/80—Filament winding
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B2360/00—Materials; Physical forms thereof
    • B60B2360/30—Synthetic materials
    • B60B2360/34—Reinforced plastics
    • B60B2360/341—Reinforced plastics with fibres
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B2360/00—Materials; Physical forms thereof
    • B60B2360/30—Synthetic materials
    • B60B2360/34—Reinforced plastics
    • B60B2360/342—With strands
    • B60B2360/3422—With strands consisting of fibres oriented substantially parallel
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B2360/00—Materials; Physical forms thereof
    • B60B2360/30—Synthetic materials
    • B60B2360/34—Reinforced plastics
    • B60B2360/344—With woven material
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B2360/00—Materials; Physical forms thereof
    • B60B2360/30—Synthetic materials
    • B60B2360/36—Composite materials
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B2900/00—Purpose of invention
    • B60B2900/10—Reduction of
    • B60B2900/111—Weight
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B2900/00—Purpose of invention
    • B60B2900/10—Reduction of
    • B60B2900/112—Costs
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B2900/00—Purpose of invention
    • B60B2900/30—Increase in
    • B60B2900/311—Rigidity or stiffness
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B2900/00—Purpose of invention
    • B60B2900/30—Increase in
    • B60B2900/313—Resiliency
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60B—VEHICLE WHEELS; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION
    • B60B2900/00—Purpose of invention
    • B60B2900/30—Increase in
    • B60B2900/325—Reliability
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
    • Y02T10/00—Road transport of goods or passengers
    • Y02T10/80—Technologies aiming to reduce greenhouse gasses emissions common to all road transportation technologies
    • Y02T10/86—Optimisation of rolling resistance, e.g. weight reduction 

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a wheel and its method of manufacturing. More specifically, the invention relates to a wheel for vehicles, made of a thermoplastic material.
  • wheels are made from various materials of construction, most used is steel and aluminium. These materials are relatively easy to forge or to mould, have however the disadvantage of being relative heavy.
  • the weight of the wheel contributes to the momentum of inertia. The lower this momentum is, the more agile and less energy consuming the wheel becomes. For these reason, various solutions have been suggested.
  • the German utility model DE 297 06 229 Ul discloses a wheel, being manufactured by injection moulding of a fibre reinforced thermoplastic material. This material is however prone to creep, when a low amount of fibres is embedded in the thermoplastic material, and may become too brittle when too high amount of fibres is embedded. These antagonising effects do not allow a proper selection of thermoplastic material and amount of fibres.
  • a wheel suitable for a vehicle comprising a rim, wherein the rim comprises a rim bed, characterised in that the rim bed comprises a wound tape comprising a fibre reinforced thermoplastic or thermoset polymer matrix.
  • the wound tape can be an endless tape. This is advantageous for feeding a tape applicator with a continuous stream of tape, such that a continuous, high quality gradual build-up of the rim bed can be provided.
  • the tape can be wound in various orientations, e.g. within an angle of -90 to +90 degrees with respect to the axis of rotation symmetry of the wheel.
  • the strength of the rim in the various directions can be designed and tuned.
  • a very durable three dimensional fibre netting can be obtained within the rim bed.
  • Other patterns may be designed and obtained as required.
  • the fibre material in the fibre reinforced tape can comprise elongated thermoplastic or thermoset material such as unidirectional tape, thread, comingled fibre, cable, woven or non-woven ribbon. Also bi-axial or tri-axial tape may be used. By varying the type and directions of the fibres within the tape, further modifications and adjustments for increased strength can be designed.
  • the fibre material may be any other elongated organic or inorganic material such as glass fibre, Dyneema fibres, Twaron fibres or carbon fibres and/or any other suitable fibre.
  • the fibre comprising elongated thermoplastic or thermoset material can be welded, fused, bound or molten during or after winding on the preform or mould.
  • a durable, strong and light rim can be obtained, which can be manufactured in a constant high quality while production costs can be kept relative modest.
  • the fibre reinforced thermoplastic or thermoset material can be resistant to temperatures preferably up to 175[deg.]C and more preferably up to 200[deg.]C. By providing high temperature resistant polymers, the melting is less likely to occur when e.g. the breaks are heating up.
  • the rim bed can be shaped as a truncated cone.
  • the advantage of this form is that it can be relatively easily removed from the preform or mould it has been built-up around.
  • the hub can be connected to the rim bed by moulding and/or welding a thermoplastic or thermoset material in a hub shaped cavity of a mould onto the rim bed.
  • the rim flanges can be connected to the rim bed by moulding and/or welding a thermoplastic or thermoset material in flange shaped cavities within a mould cavity, on the rim bed.
  • the flanges can comprise reinforcement rings in radial direction seen, in the outer edges. These outer edges need to withstand the outward force of the tire being under pressure and are the parts of the wheel, most prone to damage. Thus the reinforcement ring can provide additional strength and resilience against damage.
  • the reinforcement rings can comprise a wound tape comprising a fibre reinforced thermoplastic or thermoset polymer.
  • the reinforcement rings can be made from the same or similar tape as from which the rim bed is made off. By winding several tape layers one on top of the other and welding or fusing the tape, a strong ring can be manufactured.
  • the material of the matrix of the tape, the flanges, the hub and the rim bed can be substantially the same polymer composition. Thus the various parts can be attached to each other by welding or fusing.
  • the material of the matrix of the tape, the flanges, the hub and the rim bed can alternatively comprises one or more substantially different polymer compositions. Thus a myriad of combinations of material properties can be selected in order to design the best wheel for any dedicated application.
  • the polymer material of the hub and/or the polymer material of the flanges can be affixed to the rim bed by means of compression moulding, wherein the material is injected as a viscous melt or is inserted in the mould as a solid like heated polymer mass. Compression moulding allows for more viscous, less fluid compositions to be moulded. Thus a high fibre content polymer or a polymer with long fibres e.g. with fibre lengths ranging from 5 mm up to 50 mm or even more, which is difficult or even impossible to inject, can still be used. The advantage thereof is that high fibre loaded polymers can have enhanced strength.
  • the invention further comprises a method of manufacturing a wheel as indicated herein above, comprising the following steps, to be performed in any suitable order; providing at least one conical mould; rotating the conical mould; providing an endless tape comprising a fibre reinforced thermoplastic or thermoset matrix material; winding the tape in various directions at angles between -90 and + 90 degrees in relation to the axis of rotation around the rotating conically shaped mould; and melting and consecutive solidifying or consolidating or curing the polymer matrix material of the tape, or bonding or welding the tape together, such that a truncated cone shaped rim bed is manufactured.
  • Advantageous of such method is, that the exact placement of the tape can provide a very reproducible, strong, light rim.
  • Such method can further comprise the step of removing the rim bed from the conical mould and inserting the rim bed in a rim bed portion of a compression mould cavity for moulding the wheel, wherein the cavity comprises a rim bed portion, two flange portions and a hub portion. Reinforcement rings can be inserted in the compression mould cavity in the flange portions of the cavity. This can provides additional sturdiness and strength to the flanges.
  • Metal sleeves can be inserted in the hub portion of the cavity to define the bolt bores positions. These sleeves can be inserted as loose ring inserts or they can be connected to each other by means of a plate, a star like structure or any other suitable structure.
  • the metal rings can provide material on which the, in most cases, conical portion of the tightening bolts can exert full force, without the polymer material starting to creep. Thus a better connection between the axle and the hub can be provided.
  • the flange and hub can be moulded in separate moulds, and can be affixed to the rim bed by welding or fusing, wherein a conducting wire mesh tape can be placed around the edges of the truncated cone shaped rim bed, wherein the mesh is positioned at the interfaces between the rim bed and the flange and between the rim bed and the hub.
  • the conducting wire mesh can be locally heated by means of an alternating current operated coils that induce induction or resistance heating in and around the wire mesh, exactly at the interface between the individual parts to be welded together. Thus an elegant local heating can be generated, wherein the structural integrity of the individual parts can be maintained.
  • the welding or fusing can be performed in a second mould, wherein the second mould is provided with conducting coils, for inducing heat locally to the conducting wire mesh tape, such that local melting of the interfaces between the rim bed edges and the flange and hub occurs.
  • the hub and the flange can alternatively be affixed to the rim bed by means of compression moulding, wherein a compression mould is partially filled with a molten polymer material matrix comprising fibres, and is closed under pressure to have the polymer material reach all pockets and cavities within the mould, thus unifying the individual parts.
  • the invention further relates to an apparatus for manufacturing fibre reinforced rims, suitable for vehicle wheels as described herein above, wherein the apparatus comprises a rotating cone shaped mould or preform and a tape applicator, for applying a tape onto the mould or preform.
  • the wheels according to the invention can be manufactured.
  • Figure 1 depicts a first schematic perspective view of a wheel according to an embodiment of the invention
  • Figure 2 depicts a schematic cross sectional view of the wheel according to figure 1 and Figure 3 depicts a schematic top view of a manufacturing installation according to another embodiment of the invention.
  • vehicle used herein is to be understood as, though not to be considered limited to any transport means having wheels with tires, such as bicycles, motorcycles, cars, busses, lorries, trucks etc.
  • wheel used herein is to be understood as, though not to be considered limited to a complete set of a tire, a rim and a hub.
  • rim used herein is to be understood as, though not to be considered limited to the part of the wheel on which the tire is placed, comprising a rim bed and two flanges for holding the beads of the tire in place. In this specification, the rim is not referring to comprising a hub and/or tire as well.
  • rim bed used herein is to be understood as, though not to be considered limited to the cylindrical or conical part of the rim to which the flanges and the hub is connected.
  • FIG 1 a schematic perspective view of a vehicle wheel 1 is depicted.
  • the wheel 1 comprises a rim 2, comprising a rim bed 3 and flanges 4 and 5.
  • the wheel in figure 1 is further comprising a hub 6, for connecting the wheel to a axle, by means of bolts that fit into the bores 18 and 19, which can be provided with metal sleeves 20 and 21 respectively.
  • Figure 2 represents a sectional view of the embodiment shown in figure 1.
  • the rim bed 3 is shown to be a truncated cone shaped element being built up from an endless strand of fibre reinforced polymer tape 38.
  • metal wire mesh rings 16 and 17 can be positioned, in between the material of the rim bed 3 and the material of the inner flange 4 and the hub 6 respectively.
  • reinforcement rings 7 and 8 are placed respectively. These reinforcement rings can provide sufficient additional strength to the rim. Close to the flanges 4 and 5 are respective shoulders 9 and 10 positioned. These shoulders 9 and 10 can keep the beads 12 and 13 of the tire 11 in place.
  • a central hole 22 can be positioned for allowing the wheel to centre around the axle.
  • Further bores 18 and 19 are provided in the flange 6 for mounting the hub onto a wheel mounting plate of an axle.
  • the bores are provided with metal inserts 20 and 21. These can be individually positioned in the polymer material of the hub or can be connected to each other by means of a plate or any other suitable connector.
  • FIG 3 a schematic view of a manufacturing apparatus is depicted.
  • a winding and applicator 39 can position a tape 38 at any position on the outer circumference of the mould/preform 24 at any angle between +90 deg. and -90 deg.
  • Bracket 43 can be positioned on a mounting plate 41, which is connected to rotating joint 26 of a robot arm, comprising arm sections 28, which are connected by rotating joints 27.
  • the Bracket 43 can be rotated in the directions indicated by the arrows 45, such that the tape indeed can be positioned in any direction with respect to the axis of rotation of the mould/preform 24.
  • the bracket can be moved along the surface of the mould/preform in a direction indicated by arrow 40 substantially in a direction along the axis of rotation of the mould/preform.
  • angle and location of the tape 38 on the circumference of the mould/preform 24 can be exactly set during the entire build-up of the rim bed 3.
  • the tape 38 can be an endless tape originating from storage reel 33.
  • This storage reel 33 can be a drum 34 with flanges 35, which can rotate around an axis 36. Between flanges 35 around the drum 34, the reel 33 can hold a storage coil 37 of tape 38.
  • the tape can be consumed by rotating the mould/preform 24 by means of shaft 29.
  • the mould/preform 24 can be affixed to the shaft 29 by means of a abutting ring 30, a tightening ring 31 and a thread 32. Tightening ring can be tightened by means of the thread 32, such that the mould/preform 24 is mounted at the shaft 29. Any other suitable fixation can be used correspondingly.
  • the applicator 39 can additionally be equipped with a cutting device, such that short portions of tape can be positioned at any set location and at any set angle during the build-up of the rim bed 3.
  • the applicator can additionally be equipped with a feeding device, which can provide well defines pieces of certain lengths, when the cutting device is in place.
  • a feeding device which can provide well defines pieces of certain lengths, when the cutting device is in place.
  • relative short pieces of tape 38 can be placed in a direction virtually parallel to the axis of rotation of the mould/preform 24.
  • the length of these pieces can in that case be e.g. exactly equal to the width of the circumferential surface of the mould/preform 24.
  • the tape 38 can run through a heating channel 44, before it reaches the outer circumference of the mould/preform 24.
  • the tape 38 can be partly molten so that it can fuse around the mould/preform 24 and form a truncated cone shape surface.
  • Alternative heating by means of heated air, induction heating or resistivity heating techniques may also be applied correspondingly.
  • heating techniques e.g. techniques based on induction or resistance of the tape may require the addition of a conducting or semiconducting material within the tape.
  • the mould/preform may similarly be a set of staged moulds 24.
  • the tape 38 is described to be wound as a single tape, though the applicator 39 may correspondingly guide a set of predominantly parallel tapes in order to speed up the manufacturing.
  • the very same or similar apparatus used for the manufacture of the rim bed 3, may be used in a very similar or corresponding way to manufacture the reinforcement rings 7 and 8.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Composite Materials (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Moulding By Coating Moulds (AREA)

Abstract

The invention relates to a wheel suitable for a vehicle, comprising a rim, wherein the rim comprises a rim bed, characterised in that the rim bed comprises a wound tape comprising a fibre reinforced thermoplastic or thermoset polymer matrix. The invention further relates to a method of manufacturing such wheel, comprising the following steps; providing at least one conical mould; rotating the conical mould; providing an endless tape comprising a fibre reinforced thermoplastic or thermoset matrix material; winding the tape in various directions at angles between -90 and + 90 degrees in relation to the axis of rotation around the rotating conically shaped mould and melting and consecutive solidifying or consolidating or curing the polymer matrix material of the tape, or bonding or welding the tape together, such that a truncated cone shaped rim bed is manufactured.

Description

A wheel and method of manufacturing
The invention relates to a wheel and its method of manufacturing. More specifically, the invention relates to a wheel for vehicles, made of a thermoplastic material.
In the art, wheels are made from various materials of construction, most used is steel and aluminium. These materials are relatively easy to forge or to mould, have however the disadvantage of being relative heavy. The weight of the wheel contributes to the momentum of inertia. The lower this momentum is, the more agile and less energy consuming the wheel becomes. For these reason, various solutions have been suggested. The German utility model DE 297 06 229 Ul discloses a wheel, being manufactured by injection moulding of a fibre reinforced thermoplastic material. This material is however prone to creep, when a low amount of fibres is embedded in the thermoplastic material, and may become too brittle when too high amount of fibres is embedded. These antagonising effects do not allow a proper selection of thermoplastic material and amount of fibres.
In order to overcome this problem, it has been suggested in the German patent application DE 42 23 290 to use for the manufacturing of a portion of the wheel fibre reinforced thermoplastic resin and for another portion a homogeneous or heterogeneous thermoset resin instead. The reinforced portions are the rim and/or the rim flanges, are manufactured of various materials. This however induces interfaces between different materials, that are prone to rupture of damage due to the forces exerted on the wheel. In various more recent patent applications, such as the international applications WO2013/030106 and WO2012/110560 a fibre reinforced thermoplastic material is injection moulded in a mould cavity eventually having inlays of further reinforcement fibrous structures. However by these injection moulding techniques, still the strength and resistance to creep is not sufficiently high to perform well under operating conditions of the wheels in question.
It is believed that due to the flowing properties of the polymer mass to be injected, a relative low amount of fibre mass can be used, and due to the injection moulding the fibres are not sufficiently aligned along the lines of the force fields, occurring during use. Therefor these wheels are yet unsuitable for normal transport.
Accordingly it is an object of the invention to mitigate or solve the above described and/or other problems of such wheels in the art, while maintaining and/or improving the advantages thereof. More specifically the object of the invention can be seen in providing a wheel that is light, durable, strong, and resilient against high impacts, while its manufacture is relative cost effective and practical.
These and/or other objects are reached by a wheel suitable for a vehicle, comprising a rim, wherein the rim comprises a rim bed, characterised in that the rim bed comprises a wound tape comprising a fibre reinforced thermoplastic or thermoset polymer matrix. By winding a tape around a mould or preform, the direction of the fibres can be designed optimally, and the fibre contents can be higher that can be achieved with injection moulding. Consequently, a far stronger, lighter rim can be obtained, with a very high defined quality and reproducibility.
The wound tape can be an endless tape. This is advantageous for feeding a tape applicator with a continuous stream of tape, such that a continuous, high quality gradual build-up of the rim bed can be provided.
The tape can be wound in various orientations, e.g. within an angle of -90 to +90 degrees with respect to the axis of rotation symmetry of the wheel. Thus the strength of the rim in the various directions can be designed and tuned. By for instance providing a layered pattern of tape directions each at a 60 degree angle to the previous, a very durable three dimensional fibre netting can be obtained within the rim bed. Other patterns may be designed and obtained as required.
The fibre material in the fibre reinforced tape can comprise elongated thermoplastic or thermoset material such as unidirectional tape, thread, comingled fibre, cable, woven or non-woven ribbon. Also bi-axial or tri-axial tape may be used. By varying the type and directions of the fibres within the tape, further modifications and adjustments for increased strength can be designed. The fibre material may be any other elongated organic or inorganic material such as glass fibre, Dyneema fibres, Twaron fibres or carbon fibres and/or any other suitable fibre.
The fibre comprising elongated thermoplastic or thermoset material can be welded, fused, bound or molten during or after winding on the preform or mould. By such welding or bonding, a durable, strong and light rim can be obtained, which can be manufactured in a constant high quality while production costs can be kept relative modest.
The fibre reinforced thermoplastic or thermoset material can be resistant to temperatures preferably up to 175[deg.]C and more preferably up to 200[deg.]C. By providing high temperature resistant polymers, the melting is less likely to occur when e.g. the breaks are heating up.
The rim bed can be shaped as a truncated cone. The advantage of this form is that it can be relatively easily removed from the preform or mould it has been built-up around. The hub can be connected to the rim bed by moulding and/or welding a thermoplastic or thermoset material in a hub shaped cavity of a mould onto the rim bed.
The rim flanges can be connected to the rim bed by moulding and/or welding a thermoplastic or thermoset material in flange shaped cavities within a mould cavity, on the rim bed.
The flanges can comprise reinforcement rings in radial direction seen, in the outer edges. These outer edges need to withstand the outward force of the tire being under pressure and are the parts of the wheel, most prone to damage. Thus the reinforcement ring can provide additional strength and resilience against damage.
The reinforcement rings can comprise a wound tape comprising a fibre reinforced thermoplastic or thermoset polymer. Thus the reinforcement rings can be made from the same or similar tape as from which the rim bed is made off. By winding several tape layers one on top of the other and welding or fusing the tape, a strong ring can be manufactured.
The material of the matrix of the tape, the flanges, the hub and the rim bed can be substantially the same polymer composition. Thus the various parts can be attached to each other by welding or fusing. The material of the matrix of the tape, the flanges, the hub and the rim bed can alternatively comprises one or more substantially different polymer compositions. Thus a myriad of combinations of material properties can be selected in order to design the best wheel for any dedicated application.
The polymer material of the hub and/or the polymer material of the flanges can be affixed to the rim bed by means of compression moulding, wherein the material is injected as a viscous melt or is inserted in the mould as a solid like heated polymer mass. Compression moulding allows for more viscous, less fluid compositions to be moulded. Thus a high fibre content polymer or a polymer with long fibres e.g. with fibre lengths ranging from 5 mm up to 50 mm or even more, which is difficult or even impossible to inject, can still be used. The advantage thereof is that high fibre loaded polymers can have enhanced strength.
The invention further comprises a method of manufacturing a wheel as indicated herein above, comprising the following steps, to be performed in any suitable order; providing at least one conical mould; rotating the conical mould; providing an endless tape comprising a fibre reinforced thermoplastic or thermoset matrix material; winding the tape in various directions at angles between -90 and + 90 degrees in relation to the axis of rotation around the rotating conically shaped mould; and melting and consecutive solidifying or consolidating or curing the polymer matrix material of the tape, or bonding or welding the tape together, such that a truncated cone shaped rim bed is manufactured. Advantageous of such method is, that the exact placement of the tape can provide a very reproducible, strong, light rim.
Such method can further comprise the step of removing the rim bed from the conical mould and inserting the rim bed in a rim bed portion of a compression mould cavity for moulding the wheel, wherein the cavity comprises a rim bed portion, two flange portions and a hub portion. Reinforcement rings can be inserted in the compression mould cavity in the flange portions of the cavity. This can provides additional sturdiness and strength to the flanges.
Metal sleeves can be inserted in the hub portion of the cavity to define the bolt bores positions. These sleeves can be inserted as loose ring inserts or they can be connected to each other by means of a plate, a star like structure or any other suitable structure. The metal rings can provide material on which the, in most cases, conical portion of the tightening bolts can exert full force, without the polymer material starting to creep. Thus a better connection between the axle and the hub can be provided.
The flange and hub can be moulded in separate moulds, and can be affixed to the rim bed by welding or fusing, wherein a conducting wire mesh tape can be placed around the edges of the truncated cone shaped rim bed, wherein the mesh is positioned at the interfaces between the rim bed and the flange and between the rim bed and the hub. The conducting wire mesh can be locally heated by means of an alternating current operated coils that induce induction or resistance heating in and around the wire mesh, exactly at the interface between the individual parts to be welded together. Thus an elegant local heating can be generated, wherein the structural integrity of the individual parts can be maintained.
The welding or fusing can be performed in a second mould, wherein the second mould is provided with conducting coils, for inducing heat locally to the conducting wire mesh tape, such that local melting of the interfaces between the rim bed edges and the flange and hub occurs. The hub and the flange can alternatively be affixed to the rim bed by means of compression moulding, wherein a compression mould is partially filled with a molten polymer material matrix comprising fibres, and is closed under pressure to have the polymer material reach all pockets and cavities within the mould, thus unifying the individual parts.
The invention further relates to an apparatus for manufacturing fibre reinforced rims, suitable for vehicle wheels as described herein above, wherein the apparatus comprises a rotating cone shaped mould or preform and a tape applicator, for applying a tape onto the mould or preform. With this apparatus the wheels according to the invention can be manufactured.
In order to further elucidate the invention, exemplary embodiments will be described with reference to the figures. In the figures:
Figure 1 depicts a first schematic perspective view of a wheel according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 2 depicts a schematic cross sectional view of the wheel according to figure 1 and Figure 3 depicts a schematic top view of a manufacturing installation according to another embodiment of the invention.
The figures represent specific exemplary embodiments of the inventions and should not be considered limiting the invention in any way or form. Throughout the description and the figures the same or corresponding reference numerals are used for the same or corresponding elements.
The expression "vehicle" used herein is to be understood as, though not to be considered limited to any transport means having wheels with tires, such as bicycles, motorcycles, cars, busses, lorries, trucks etc.
The expression "wheel" used herein is to be understood as, though not to be considered limited to a complete set of a tire, a rim and a hub.
The expression "rim" used herein is to be understood as, though not to be considered limited to the part of the wheel on which the tire is placed, comprising a rim bed and two flanges for holding the beads of the tire in place. In this specification, the rim is not referring to comprising a hub and/or tire as well.
The expression "rim bed" used herein is to be understood as, though not to be considered limited to the cylindrical or conical part of the rim to which the flanges and the hub is connected.
In figure 1, a schematic perspective view of a vehicle wheel 1 is depicted. The wheel 1 comprises a rim 2, comprising a rim bed 3 and flanges 4 and 5. On the rim bed 3, close to the flanges 4 and 5 is a shoulder 9 positioned for holding the beads 12 and 13 of the tire 11 in place, as is depicted in phantom in figure 2. The wheel in figure 1 is further comprising a hub 6, for connecting the wheel to a axle, by means of bolts that fit into the bores 18 and 19, which can be provided with metal sleeves 20 and 21 respectively. Figure 2 represents a sectional view of the embodiment shown in figure 1. In the figure the rim bed 3 is shown to be a truncated cone shaped element being built up from an endless strand of fibre reinforced polymer tape 38. Around the edges of the rim bed 3, metal wire mesh rings 16 and 17 can be positioned, in between the material of the rim bed 3 and the material of the inner flange 4 and the hub 6 respectively.
Within the, in radial direction seen, outer edge of the inner flange 4 and the outer edge of the outer flange 5, reinforcement rings 7 and 8 are placed respectively. These reinforcement rings can provide sufficient additional strength to the rim. Close to the flanges 4 and 5 are respective shoulders 9 and 10 positioned. These shoulders 9 and 10 can keep the beads 12 and 13 of the tire 11 in place.
In the hub 6 a central hole 22 can be positioned for allowing the wheel to centre around the axle. Further bores 18 and 19 are provided in the flange 6 for mounting the hub onto a wheel mounting plate of an axle. The bores are provided with metal inserts 20 and 21. These can be individually positioned in the polymer material of the hub or can be connected to each other by means of a plate or any other suitable connector.
In figure 3 a schematic view of a manufacturing apparatus is depicted. In this figure a winding and applicator 39 can position a tape 38 at any position on the outer circumference of the mould/preform 24 at any angle between +90 deg. and -90 deg. Bracket 43 can be positioned on a mounting plate 41, which is connected to rotating joint 26 of a robot arm, comprising arm sections 28, which are connected by rotating joints 27. The Bracket 43 can be rotated in the directions indicated by the arrows 45, such that the tape indeed can be positioned in any direction with respect to the axis of rotation of the mould/preform 24. Further the bracket can be moved along the surface of the mould/preform in a direction indicated by arrow 40 substantially in a direction along the axis of rotation of the mould/preform. Thus angle and location of the tape 38 on the circumference of the mould/preform 24 can be exactly set during the entire build-up of the rim bed 3. The tape 38 can be an endless tape originating from storage reel 33. This storage reel 33 can be a drum 34 with flanges 35, which can rotate around an axis 36. Between flanges 35 around the drum 34, the reel 33 can hold a storage coil 37 of tape 38.
The tape can be consumed by rotating the mould/preform 24 by means of shaft 29. The mould/preform 24 can be affixed to the shaft 29 by means of a abutting ring 30, a tightening ring 31 and a thread 32. Tightening ring can be tightened by means of the thread 32, such that the mould/preform 24 is mounted at the shaft 29. Any other suitable fixation can be used correspondingly.
The applicator 39 can additionally be equipped with a cutting device, such that short portions of tape can be positioned at any set location and at any set angle during the build-up of the rim bed 3. The applicator can additionally be equipped with a feeding device, which can provide well defines pieces of certain lengths, when the cutting device is in place. Thus relative short pieces of tape 38 can be placed in a direction virtually parallel to the axis of rotation of the mould/preform 24. The length of these pieces can in that case be e.g. exactly equal to the width of the circumferential surface of the mould/preform 24.
The tape 38 can run through a heating channel 44, before it reaches the outer circumference of the mould/preform 24. By means of the heating channel 44, the tape 38 can be partly molten so that it can fuse around the mould/preform 24 and form a truncated cone shape surface. Alternative heating, by means of heated air, induction heating or resistivity heating techniques may also be applied correspondingly. For some heating techniques, e.g. techniques based on induction or resistance of the tape may require the addition of a conducting or semiconducting material within the tape.
The invention is to be understood not to be limited to the exemplary embodiments shown in the figures and described in the specification. For instance the mould/preform may similarly be a set of staged moulds 24. The tape 38 is described to be wound as a single tape, though the applicator 39 may correspondingly guide a set of predominantly parallel tapes in order to speed up the manufacturing. The very same or similar apparatus used for the manufacture of the rim bed 3, may be used in a very similar or corresponding way to manufacture the reinforcement rings 7 and 8.
These and other modifications are considered to be variations that are part of the framework, the spirit and the scope of the invention outlined in the claims. List of reference signs
1. Wheel
2. Rim
3. Rim bed
4. Flange
5. Flange
6. Hub
7. Reinforcement rin
8. Reinforcement rin, 9. Shoulder
10. Shoulder
11. Tire
12. Bead
13. Bead
14. Bead wire
15. Bead wire
16. Wire mesh tape
17. Wire mesh tape
18. Bolt bore
19. Bolt bore
20. Sleeve
21. Sleeve
22. Axle bore
23. Mould/ preform
24. Conical mould
25. Bracket
26. Rotating joint
27. Rotating joint
28. Arm
29. Shaft
30. Abutting ring
31. fixation ring
32. Thread 33. Storage reel
34. Drum
35. Circular plate
36. Shaft
37. Tape coil
38. Tape/Ribbon
39. Applicator
40. Arrow
41. Connector
42. Turning guide
43. Bracket
44. Heating tunnel
45. Arrow

Claims

Claims
1. A wheel suitable for a vehicle, comprising a rim, wherein the rim comprises a rim bed, characterised in that the rim bed comprises a wound tape comprising a fibre reinforced thermoplastic or thermoset polymer matrix.
2. A wheel according to claim 1, wherein the wound tape is an endless tape.
3. A wheel according to claim 2, wherein the tape is being wound in various orientations, within an angle of -90 to +90 degrees with respect to the axis of rotation symmetry of the wheel.
4. A wheel according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the fibre of the fibre reinforced tape is comprising elongated thermoplastic or thermoset material or any other elongated organic or inorganic material, such as unidirectional tape, bi-axial tape, tri- axial tape, thread, comingled fibre, cable, woven or nonwoven ribbon.
5. A wheel according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the fibre comprising elongated thermoplastic or thermoset polymer material is welded, fused, bound or molten during or after winding on a preform or a mould.
6. A wheel according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the fibre reinforced thermoplastic or thermoset material is resistant to temperatures preferably up to 175[deg.]C and more preferably up to 200[deg.]C.
7. A wheel according to any of the preceding claims wherein the rim bed is shaped as a truncated cone.
8. A wheel according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the hub is connected to the rim bed by moulding and/or welding a thermoplastic or thermoset material in a hub shaped cavity of a mould onto the rim bed.
9. A wheel according to any preceding claims, wherein the flanges are connected to the rim bed by moulding and/or welding a thermoplastic or thermoset material in flange shaped cavities within the mould cavity, on the rim bed.
10. A wheel according to claim 9, wherein the flanges comprise reinforcement rings in radial direction seen in the outer edges.
11. A wheel according to claim 10, wherein the reinforcement rings comprise a wound tape comprising a fibre reinforced thermoplastic or thermoset polymer.
12. A wheel according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the material of the matrix of the tape, the flanges, the hub and the rim bed is substantially the same polymer composition or comprises one or more substantially different polymer compositions.
13. A wheel according to any preceding claim, wherein the polymer material of the hub and/or the polymer material of the flanges are affixed to the rim bed by means of compression moulding, wherein the material is injected as a viscous melt or is inserted in the mould as a solid like heated polymer mass.
14. A method of manufacturing a wheel according to any of the claims 1 to 13, comprising the following steps, to be performed in any suitable order;
a) providing at least one conical mould;
b) rotating the conical mould;
c) providing an endless tape comprising a fibre reinforced thermoplastic or thermoset matrix material;
d) winding the tape, in various directions at angles between -90 and + 90 degrees in relation to the axis of rotation, around the conically shaped mould; and
e) melting and consecutive solidifying or consolidating or curing the polymer matrix material of the tape, or bonding or welding the tape together, such that a truncated cone shaped rim bed is manufactured.
15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the method further comprises the step of removing the rim bed from the conical mould and inserting the rim bed in a rim bed portion of a compression mould cavity for moulding the wheel, wherein the mould cavity comprises a rim bed portion, two flange portions and a hub portion.
16. The method according to claim 15, wherein reinforcement rings are inserted in the compression mould cavity in the flange portions of the cavity.
17. The method according to claim 16, wherein metal sleeves are inserted in the hub portion of the cavity to define the bolt bores positions.
18. The method according to claims 14, wherein a flange and a hub are moulded in separate moulds, and affixed to the rim bed by welding or fusing, wherein a conducting wire mesh tape is placed around the edges of the truncated cone shaped rim bed, positioned at the interfaces between the rim bed and the flange and at the interfaces between the rim bed and the hub.
19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the welding or fusing is performed in a second mould, wherein the second mould is provided with conducting coils, for inducing heat locally to the conducting wire mesh tape, such that local melting on the interfaces between the rim bed edges and the flange and hub occurs.
20. The method according to claim 15, wherein the hub and the flange are affixed to the rim bed by means of compression moulding, wherein a compression mould is partially filled with a molten polymer material matrix comprising fibres, and is closed under pressure to have the polymer material reach all pockets and cavities within the mould.
21. Apparatus for manufacturing fibre reinforced rims, suitable for vehicle wheels, the apparatus comprising a rotating cone shaped mould or preform and a tape applicator, for applying a tape onto the mould or preform.
PCT/NL2014/050773 2013-11-11 2014-11-07 A wheel and method of manufacturing WO2015069111A1 (en)

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