Patents by Inventor Danny E. Lowe

Danny E. Lowe 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: 5531024
    Abstract: A full face fabricated sheet metal wheel having a rim with dual bead seats and inboard flange and a disc welded to the outboard edge of the rim and providing an outboard tire bead retaining flange with a curl rolled to finish profile without machining. Method and apparatus for making such wheel includes a roll forming machine with modified roll forming tooling and workpiece clamping mechanism so as to rotatably spring clamp and rotationally drivingly support a wheel workpiece in the machine roll forming station on axially opposed outboard and inboard power driven lower rolls during roll forming the flange curl profile. An upper outboard roll operates to first clamp a flange pre-cursor portion of the workpiece to securely stabilize and prevent tilting of the workpiece on the lower clamping support rolls and then by further successive roll forming engagement cause cold flow of the flange metal to thin and iron the flange curl to finished profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 2, 1996
    Inventors: Danny E. Lowe, Kevin D. Jurus
  • Patent number: 5515709
    Abstract: A full face fabricated sheet metal wheel having a rim with dual bead seats and inboard flange and a disc welded to the outboard edge of the rim and providing an outboard tire bead retaining flange with a curl rolled to finish profile without machining. Method and apparatus for making such wheel includes a roll forming machine with modified roll forming tooling and workpiece clamping mechanism so as to rotatably spring clamp and rotationally drivingly support a wheel workpiece in the machine roll forming station on axially opposed outboard and inboard power driven lower rolls during roll forming the flange curl profile. An upper outboard roll operates to first clamp a flange pre-cursor portion of the workpiece to securely stabilize and prevent tilting of the workpiece on the lower clamping support rolls and then by further successive roll forming engagement cause cold flow of the flange metal to thin and iron the flange curl to finished profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 14, 1996
    Inventors: Danny E. Lowe, Kevin D. Jurus