VEHICLE WHEEL BALANCE WEIGHTS
A vehicle wheel weight for attachment to a wheel rim. The wheel weight comprises a mass portion having, relative to an axis of rotation of the wheel rim when the wheel weight is mounted thereon, an inner axial side for juxtaposition to the wheel rim, an outer axial side, an upper radial side and a lower radial side. The mass portion defines a clip groove having a radial groove portion located in one of the inner axial side and the outer axial side and an axial groove portion located in the bottom radial side. A clip is provided having an extended portion for engaging the wheel rim and an attachment portion fixed to the mass portion. The attachment portion of the clip has a radial portion seated in the radial groove portion of the clip groove and an axial portion seated in the axial groove portion of the clip groove.
This application is a continuation of copending application Ser. No. 12/817,957, filed Jun. 17, 2010, which is a continuation of copending application Ser. No. 12/508,292, filed Jul. 23, 2009, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/324,784 (“the '784 application”), filed Jan. 3, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,566,101, which claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/641,110, filed Jan. 3, 2005. The '784 application is also a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 11/304,126, filed Dec. 15, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,093,907, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/724,000, filed Nov. 26, 2003, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10/620,309, filed Jul. 15, 2003, which claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/396,075, filed Jul. 15, 2002, and provisional application Ser. No. 60/411,961, filed Sep. 19, 2002. Each of the above-referenced applications, to which priority is claimed, is relied upon and incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to wheel balance weights.
In order to reduce excessive vibration, vehicle wheels are often balanced by placing weights at selected locations. The weights include a mass portion which is attached to the wheel's rim using a spring clip or a suitable adhesive. Due to high mass and low cost, such weights have been made of lead. Because of various factors, however, it is becoming desirable to manufacture such weights of materials other than lead.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides a variety of configurations for a vehicle wheel weight. Preferred embodiments utilize iron or low carbon steel for mass instead of lead as has generally been used in the past. Many embodiments are attached to the wheel using a spring clip preferably made of spring steel. In such embodiments, a groove may be formed in the center section of the mass with a width that matches the spring clip as required to achieve the desired fit during assembly. Depth of the groove may match the spring clip thickness or be slightly greater.
According to one aspect, the present invention provides a vehicle wheel weight for attachment to a wheel rim. The wheel weight comprises a mass portion having, relative to an axis of rotation of the wheel rim when the wheel weight is mounted thereon, an inner axial side for juxtaposition to the wheel rim, an outer axial side, an upper radial side and a lower radial side. The mass portion defines a clip groove having a radial groove portion located in one of the inner axial side and the outer axial side and an axial groove portion located in the bottom radial side. A clip is provided having an extended portion for engaging the wheel rim and an attachment portion fixed to the mass portion. The attachment portion of the clip has a radial portion seated in the radial groove portion of the clip groove and an axial portion seated in the axial groove portion of the clip groove.
A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth more particularly in the remainder of the specification, including reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent same or analogous features or elements of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTSIt is to be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the present discussion is a description of exemplary embodiments only, and is not intended as limiting the broader aspects of the present invention, which broader aspects are embodied in the exemplary constructions.
As shown, clip 14 is preferably configured as a C-shaped member such that it “wraps around” mass portion 12 on the side opposite to rim 18. Clip 14 is retained in this case by one or more spot welds (such as spot weld 20) at suitable locations. For example, the spot weld may be made at the point on the clip most distant from the wheel rim flange. This is to prevent tempering of the spring steel of clip 14 near the location where the wheel rim is to be engaged.
Mass portion 12 is preferably made from a nonlead material having suitable mass, such as iron, low carbon steel or an impregnated polymeric. (See U.S. Pat. No. 6,364,422 to Sakaki et al., incorporated herein by reference.) In
A further embodiment of a wheel weight 50 constructed in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in
Referring now to
Referring now to
In this case, the mass forming machinery comprises three subsystems working together. These may be described as follows:
1. Material handling and supply 94—Either an “uncoiler” or rod feeding equipment is provided to deliver the raw material (e.g., iron).
2. Forming rolls 96 and 98 (or other suitable rolling machine) are provided to form the long (wheel size) radius and pre-form the shape that will fit into the rim flange. The amount of pre-forming would be inversely proportional to the size of press being used.
3. A metal forming press 100 is used to finish the rim flange shape, form a groove for the wheel balance weight clip, stamp product information into the surface, and cut to the required length. The press working surfaces would be a die that may be progressive or not depending on press size and part details. A large press forming a large part may be able to form all surfaces and cut to length in one stroke. Alternatively, small parts may need to be made in a progressive fashion to get all forming surfaces to bear on a small area. A small press could form a large part by using a progressive die and distributing the work over more than one press cycle.
As an alternative to the details shown in
Finally, suitable corrosion protection materials may be applied after assembling the mass and clip. Other finishing may or may not be required depending on customer finishing requirements.
As can be seen, tape-on weight 120 includes a mass portion formed as a strip 122 of suitable nonlead material. Strip 122 is divided into a plurality of segments 124 defined by respective grooves 126. Groove 126 is formed as deep as possible, while leaving a small uncut zone 128 at the bottom. Zone 128 permits the string to be flexed so as to conform to the arc of the rim to which it is to be attached. Each of the segments 124 will preferably have a predetermined weight, such as 5 grams.
In this embodiment, the adhesive is provided in the form of a two-sided tape 130 attached to the bottom surface of string 122. Preferably, tape 130 will include a conformable carrier of foam or the like having adhesive on each side. A release liner 132 is located on the back side of tape 130 so as to cover the adhesive until use. As illustrated in
A small tab 149 connected to (or integral with) release liner 148 extends from the longitudinal end of strip 142 so as to facilitate removal of release liner 148. In this case, tab 149 is formed as a separate piece of tape which overlaps the end of release liner 148 (as indicated at 150) and overlaps itself (as indicated at 151). Silicone tapes are believed to be particularly suitable for tab 149.
Generally, weight 140 will be sold in a variety of different numbers of segments depending upon the total weight to be achieved. For example, a typical construction may have two to six segments of 5 grams each. As a result, total weight will fall in a range of 10-60 grams. Larger weight sizes may also be desirable in certain applications.
Preferably, zone 146 will be as thin as possible in order to provide for greatest flexibility. For example, embodiments are contemplated in which the thickness of zone 146 is about three thousandths of an inch. Generally, the thickness would not exceed twenty thousandths in presently preferred embodiments.
It is also desirable that the width of groove 145 be substantial so as to prevent surface treatment bridging which adds stiffness to the overall weight. Specifically, the weight may be subjected to a variety of surface treatments in order to reduce corrosion and the like. For example, zinc plating (or zinc phosphate wash) followed by epoxy powder and painting may be employed. Making groove 145 of sufficient width will prevent these surface treatments from adding significant stiffness to the overall weight. In presently preferred embodiments, the width of groove 145 will typically be at least fifty thousandths of an inch at its widest point (the mouth). Often, widths of around 130 thousandths will be preferred.
Referring now to
An adhesive (here in the form of a double-sided tape 164) is located on the outer diameter of mass portion 162. Although mass portion 162 will generally be rigid, the presence of the adhesive will provide a degree of elasticity (conformability) to accommodate varying wheel diameters. The adhesive is protected prior to use using a release liner 166, which is in this example similar to release liner 132 (
Clip 174 is inserted into slot 176 of mass portion 172. To fix the position of clip 174 in slot 176, mass portion 172 is crimped together to cause an interference fit, thereby embedding clip 174 into mass portion 172. Preferably, clip 174 has surface irregularities 178, such as a hole, groove or indentation, to which mass portion 172 can grip to aid in fixing the position of clip 174. As shown in
While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, modifications and variations may be made thereto by those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. In addition, it should be understood that aspects of the various embodiments may be interchanged both in whole or in part. Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the foregoing description is by way of example only, and is not intended to be limitative of the invention as further described in the appended claims.
Claims
1. A vehicle wheel weight for attachment to a wheel rim, said wheel weight comprising:
- (a) a mass portion having, relative to an axis of rotation of said wheel rim when said wheel weight is mounted thereon, an inner axial side for juxtaposition to said wheel rim, an outer axial side, an upper radial side and a lower radial side;
- (b) said mass portion defining a clip groove having a radial groove portion located in one of said inner axial side and said outer axial side and an axial groove portion located in said bottom radial side; and
- (c) a clip having an extended portion for engaging said wheel rim and an attachment portion fixed to said mass portion, said attachment portion of said clip having a radial portion seated in said radial groove portion of said clip groove and an axial portion seated in said axial groove portion of said clip groove.
2. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 1, wherein said radial groove portion of said clip groove is defined in said outer axial side of said mass portion.
3. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 2, wherein said clip has a generally C-shaped configuration.
4. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 1, wherein said clip is secured to said mass portion by swaging material over an exterior surface of said attachment portion thereof.
5. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 4, wherein said mass portion defines swage lines outside of said groove characteristic of swaging by a wedge.
6. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 1, wherein said clip is secured to said mass portion by welding.
7. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 1, wherein said clip is secured to said mass portion by adhesive.
8. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 1, wherein said nonlead material comprises iron.
9. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 1, wherein said nonlead material comprises low carbon steel.
10. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 1, wherein said nonlead material comprises 1008 steel.
11. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 1, wherein a depth of said clip groove is greater than a thickness of said attachment portion of said clip.
12. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 1, wherein said mass portion is cold formed.
13. A vehicle wheel weight as set forth in claim 12, wherein said mass portion has an arcuate shape.
14. A method of manufacturing a vehicle wheel weight for engaging a rim of a wheel for use in balancing the wheel, said method comprising:
- (a) providing a mass portion formed of nonlead material, said mass portion configured: a. having an inner axial side, an outer axial side, an upper radial side and a lower radial side; and b. defining a clip groove having a radial groove portion located in one of said inner axial side and said outer axial side and an axial groove portion located in said bottom radial side;
- (b) providing a clip having an extended portion for engaging said wheel rim and an attachment portion fixed to said mass portion, said attachment portion of said clip having a radial portion and an axial portion;
- (c) seating said attachment portion of said clip in said clip groove of said mass portion such that radial portion of said attachment portion is seated in said radial groove portion and said axial portion of said attachment portion is seated in axial groove portion; and
- (d) fixedly securing said attachment portion of said clip to said mass portion.
15. A method as set forth in claim 14, wherein said clip is fixedly secured to said mass portion by swaging material of said mass portion over an exterior surface of said attachment portion.
16. A method as set forth in claim 15, wherein said mass portion is swaged by pressing a forming tool against said mass portion at respective locations adjacent said groove.
17. A method as set forth in claim 14, wherein said clip is fixedly secured to said mass portion by welding.
18. A method as set forth in claim 14, wherein said clip is fixedly secured to said mass portion utilizing adhesive.
19. A method as set forth in claim 14, wherein said radial groove portion of said clip groove is defined in said outer axial side of said mass portion.
20. A method as set forth in claim 19, wherein said clip has a generally C-shaped configuration.
21. A method as set forth in claim 14, wherein said nonlead material comprises iron.
22. A method as set forth in claim 14, wherein said nonlead material comprises low carbon steel.
23. A method as set forth in claim 14, wherein said nonlead material comprises 1008 steel.
24. A method as set forth in claim 14, wherein a depth of said clip groove is greater than a thickness of said attachment portion of said clip.
25. A method as set forth in claim 14, wherein said mass portion is cold formed.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 16, 2011
Publication Date: Mar 15, 2012
Inventors: Ralph L. JENKINS (Scottsville, KY), Ross Everhard (Bowling Green, KY)
Application Number: 13/297,815
International Classification: F16F 15/32 (20060101); B23P 11/00 (20060101); F16F 15/34 (20060101);