Patents by Inventor Charles E. Kier

Charles E. Kier has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5639147
    Abstract: An automotive passenger vehicle full face wheel having a sheet metal disc-rim including a central bolt circle mounting portion, an intermediate portion extending generally radially outwardly therefrom and an outer peripheral portion surrounding the intermediate portion having an outboard tire bead retaining flange. The rim part includes a rim edge portion extending circumferentially continuously adjacent the rim outboard lead seat and permanently joined by a continuous weld to the disc-rim outer peripheral portion. In a first embodiment the disc-rim intermediate portion has an outboard-concave bowl shape with a radius of curvature ranging about 10.50 to about 11.00 inches. The bolt circle mounting portion has pad surfaces defining a wheel mounting plane and a frusto conical transition portion outboard divergent therefrom joined integrally to the bowl portion by an annular bend portion spaced axially from the mounting plane about 0.75 to 1.50 inches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 17, 1997
    Assignee: Motor Wheel Corporation
    Inventors: Ross S. Hill, Charles E. Kier
  • Patent number: 5533260
    Abstract: A multi-piece, non-take-apart vehicle wheel disc and rim assembly and method of making the same. The wheel rim has a disc mounting flange extending radially inwardly of the rim which radially overlaps the disc. The disc and rim are each finish formed prior to assembly and each have a set of assembly-mounting holes extending parallel to the wheel axis which are generally registered in initial assembly. One assembly hole set is preformed slightly larger in diameter than the other. The rim is fixtured on an assembly apparatus to orient the average axis of the rim bead seats on a predetermined first axis of the apparatus. Then the disc is placed loosely on the rim with the sets of disc and rim assembly holes generally registered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 9, 1996
    Assignee: Motor Wheel Corporation
    Inventor: Charles E. Kier, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5517759
    Abstract: A method and apparatus, and a modified wheel made thereby for varying the wheel offset dimension of an automotive vehicle full face wheel of the type disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,482 and having a predetermined first wheel offset dimension. The disc-rim part is formed in progressive die tooling of a transfer press operable for multiple stage successive forming, from a flat circular blank, the disc-rim part into the final die formed shape thereof having the given styling configuration. A wheel offset shift zone portion is first selected in the disc-rim part, consisting of the outer peripheral portion and/or the central bolt circle mounting portion of this part. The selected portion is shifted axially of the wheel a predetermined distance to thereby provide a second predetermined wheel offset dimension, different from the first such dimension, when the disc-rim part is joined to the rim.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 21, 1996
    Inventors: Ross S. Hill, Charles E. Kier
  • Patent number: 5380071
    Abstract: A multi-piece, non-take-apart vehicle wheel disc and rim assembly and method of making the same. The wheel rim has a disc mounting flange extending radially inwardly of the rim which radially overlaps the disc. The disc and rim are each finish formed prior to assembly and each have a set of assembly-mounting holes extending parallel to the wheel axis which are generally registered in initial assembly. One assembly hole set is preformed slightly larger in diameter that the other. The rim is fixture on an assembly apparatus to orient the average axis of the rim bead seats on a predetermined first axis of the apparatus. Then the disc is placed loosely on the rim with the sets of disc and rim assembly holes generally registered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 10, 1995
    Assignee: Motor Wheel Corporation
    Inventor: Charles E. Kier, Jr.