Abstract: A spoked wheel includes a wheel rim, a wheel hub, and a plurality of spokes that are formed integrally from fiber reinforced plastic and that interconnect the wheel rim and wheel hub. Each spoke has an intermediate portion with a symmetrical oval cross-section, a nub larger than spoke apertures in hub flanges of the wheel hub, and a bend interconnecting the nub and the intermediate portion. The bend changes gradually from the circular cross-section of the nub to the oval cross-section of the intermediate portion. The nub and the bend have abutment faces which contact tightly inclined faces of a corresponding spoke aperture so as to secure the nub and the bend on inner and outer sides of the hub flange. Each spoke further has a foot portion and a transitional portion extending from the intermediate portion and changing gradually from the oval cross-section to an elliptical cross-section of the foot portion. Each of a plurality of washers is disposed between the wheel rim and one of the spokes.

Abstract: A wheel for a motor vehicle has a wheel spider having hollow spokes communicating a first annular duct arranged concentrically with respect to the wheel axle with a second annular duct which is formed by the wheel spider and the rim. In the area of the first annular duct, a tire inflation valve is arranged. The hollow spokes are constructed with at least one air opening in the second annular duct, for conducting air into a tire interior.

Abstract: A hub assembly for a bicycle or other human powered vehicle. The hub assembly provides a unique design for use with straight pull spokes having enlarged retention ends with no bends that can be dropped into retention cavities and retention slots in a spoke ring of the hub assembly. The hub assembly is also universally adaptable to any wheel employing standard rim brakes or any wheel with a disc brake rotor attached, and/or with all existing sprocket drive lines (freewheels, cassette bodies), in any configuration, by simply replacing or slightly modifying one or a few components. The novel hub assembly provides a quick-release feature without the need for a quick-release skewer, but can still readily be adapted to use a conventional skewer.

Abstract: A wheel consists of a cast wheel spider which comprises several hollow spokes and which is connected with a rim ring by way of a weld, particularly a friction weld. In the area of the outer circumference, the hollow spokes have internal core openings for a sand core, and the openings are directed toward the rim ring. The wheel spider has bolt bores which are arranged concentrically with resect to a centric wheel opening and which are provided with bore sleeves which are cast approximately in the center inside the hollow spoke and have radially extending reinforcing ribs 11. In the area of the core openings, the wheel spider has at least one reinforcing element between opposite walls of each hollow spoke. The reinforcing element preferably consists of two cylindrically cast pins respectively which extend in parallel to the wheel axis and are arranged at a distance from one another and are situated on both sides of a transverse wheel plane defined by the reinforcing rib.

Abstract: An integrally formed plastic cycle wheel has an inner hollow core formed of a first plastics material, the core having a central portion and outwardly extending and spaced apart spoke portions; an outer layer of a second plastics material is moulded over said core and extends out into a circumferentially recessed rim of the wheel.

Abstract: A bicycle wheel with composite fiber resin spoke and rim structures having opposing spokes radiating from a central hub, the spokes being filament wound continuously one to the other across the central hub. The configuration provides for lower resistance to lateral wind, and for light weight resulting from the use of composite structures with fibers substantially oriented to resist wheel loads.

Abstract: A rim for a motor vehicle has several radial hollow spokes in a wheel disk which is manufactured in a die tool and is connected with a rim well. The cast wheel disk is connected with a deformed rim well by friction welding in the area of a rim flange. On an interior side, the wheel disk has at least one flat welding surface which extends around as an annulus and which is arranged so that it corresponds with another opposite flat welding surface of the rim well. In at least one of the hollow spokes, one reinforcing rib is arranged which extends radially from the wheel center axis toward the outside and connects two opposite walls of the spoke with one another.

Abstract: A strong, light weight and high performance hub is described for use in a spoked wheel in which the hub is connected to a rim by a plurality of spokes. The hub is provided with two bell-shaped end flanges which are integral. Two rings of bores are defined in each end of the flanges. The bores are paired between the rings, one bore in the outer ring being substantially adjacent to one bore in the adjacent inner ring. The angle of definition of each of the bores in the hub flange tends to orient a spoke disposed therethrough at an angle to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the hub of about 20 degrees. When the spoke is attached to the rim, it is gently pulled or bent outward so that the angle to the plane perpendicular to the axis of the hub is reduced or in the illustrated embodiment, reduced to 9 degrees or less. The gentle bend in the spoke prevents the spoke from loosening after the initial truing and tensioning even if the spoke wheel is repeatedly subjected to high impulsive stresses.

Abstract: The wheel includes an annular rim, a central hub and a plurality of spoke portions running between the rim and hub, with each spoke having a width to thickness ratio of at least 2:1, with the spoke portions having an inside portion in fixed relationship to the hub and an outside portion in fixed relationship to the rim with the spoke portions extending radially outwardly between the hub and rim. A circular member is provided affixed to at least one of the inside and outside spoke portions defining an enclosed, continuous hollow annulus and including fasteners within the hollow annulus for affixing said spoke portions to said circular member.

Abstract: There is disclosed a hollow-form bicycle wheel formed by injection molding of plastic. The wheel has an integral, central sleeve to receive a wheel hub assembly, at least three, hollow-form, integral spokes that are symmetrically located at equal angular spacings about the hub, and an integrally formed peripheral annulus which is jointed to an independently formed annular rim having a peripheral channel to receive a tire. Preferably the rim is assembled to the mandrel of the wheel and the subassembly of rim and mandrel is placed in the mold cavity used for injection molding of the wheel, thereby bonding the rim to the wheel during its formation.

Abstract: A spoke for wheels of bicycles, wheelchairs, and the like includes an injection molded discontinuous fiber reinforced plastic shaft formed to have an airfoil shape cross-section, to be oriented in the wheel so as to provide the least wind drag. The shaft is formed with an axially extending threaded first hollow at a first end and an axially extending second hollow at a second end. The spoke further includes an elongate hub element formed with a bend at one end and threads at the other end for screwing into the first hollow of the shaft, and an elongate bar for insertion and securing at one end into the second hollow of the shaft. Threads are formed at the other end of the bar for connecting to the rim of the wheel.

Abstract: A motor vehicle wheel frame 10 is in the form of an assembly including three main components 12, 14, 30 of fiber-reinforced synthetic plastics molded material and a pre-assembled hub 32. First and second members 12, 14 are mirror images. Each includes a circular band portion 16, 18; a plurality of spoke portions 20, 22, extending inwardly from the band portions; and hub mounting arrangements 24, 26 in the form of an inner peripheral flanges at inner ends of the spoke portions. The first and second members are closed on each other to form an outer, circular, outwardly concave band 28, a plurality of hollow spokes and the hub mounting formations in opposed arrangement. The third main component is a rim 30 seated in the concave band 28 and adapted to seat a tire. The hub 32 is received intermediate the hub mounting formations. The three main components and the hub are assembled together and bonded together by suitable resinous adhesives.

Abstract: The problem of a visible, rim-mounted valve stem for inflating a customized wheel-mounted tire is obviated by a wheel configuration that translates the tire inflation location from a valve stem mounted on the wheel rim to a hub location where a readily accessible tire inflation port can be effectively hidden beneath a locking center cap, making the access port tamperproof. A tire inflation passageway is integral with a spoke that connects the wheel hub to the wheel rim. In a preferred embodiment the wheel is a unitary cast structure, with the tire inflation passageway integrally cast as part of one of the spokes. The hub portion of the wheel has an inflation access port in fluid communication with the tire inflation fluid passageway, thereby providing for the application of pressurized air to the fluid passageway, so that inflation air flowing therethrough may be supplied to the interior of a tire mounted on the wheel rim and thereby control the tire pressure of the tire.

Abstract: A lightweight, high strength wheel having good aerodynamics both head-on and laterally is provided by this invention. The head-on aerodynamics of the wheel is as good or better than disk wheels of same size and weight while having adequate lateral, radial and torsional stiffness. There is also provided by this invention a method of producing a lightweight, high strength composite wheel. In one embodiment of this invention the composite structure comprises high strength fibers such as aromatic polyamide or carbon fibers or the like. In another embodiment the composite structure is hollow to reduce the weight of the wheel.

Abstract: There is provided a metallic wheel having multiple planes of wire-like spokes and a rim for mounting a tire, and a method for fabricating the spoked wheel members entirely from flat sheet metal. The wheel comprises a pair of inner wheel members, a pair of outer wheel members, an externally threaded shaft, and a spacer. The inner and outer wheel members each have a peripheral rim, a central hub, and a plurality of spokes extending generally inward from the peripheral rim to the central hub. The inner wheel members have a plurality of pins projecting from their peripheral rims which mate with correspondingly arranged holes in the peripheral rims of the outer wheel members. The externally threaded shaft threadably mates with internally threaded orifices in the hubs of the outer members.

Abstract: There is disclosed a hollow-form wheel formed entirely by injection molding of plastic. The wheel has an integral, central sleeve to receive a wheel hub assembly, at least three, hollow-form, integral spokes that are symmetrically located at equal angular spacings about the hub, and an integrally formed annular rim having a peripheral channel to receive a tire. The wall thickness of the sidewalls of the rims and spokes and the central hub area of the wheel are of uniform thickness to provide the strength and stiffness propeties at least equal to those of a metal spoked wheel.

Abstract: A wheel assembly is disclosed having a circular rim that lies in and defines a plane of rotation, a pair of opposed hubs spaced outwardly from the plane of rotation along an axis of rotation of the wheel, the axis of rotation bisecting the plane of rotation at the center of a circle defined by the rim within the plane, and a plurality of spring members arranged in laterally-opposed sets, each of which spring members radiates in an outwardly expanding, generally conical and helical manner from a point of attachment on the rim to a point of attachment on one of the hubs, thereby imparting to the wheel the ability to withstand improved vertical and/or horizontal displacements while providing advantageous self-centering and recentering abilities when the wheel rim is displaced from the rotative plane or from its normally centered relation to the axis of rotation.

Abstract: A high modulus multifilament non-rigid and rigid wheel spoke including a fiber mid-portion between a first and second end having attachment members affixed thereto. Also disclosed are methods of supporting a hub within a wheel rim by means of a plurality of spokes or by means of continuous lengths of spokes.

Abstract: An improved bicycle rim and wheel having good aerodynamic properties and good crosswind stability is provided. In one embodiment, a toroidal rim is utilized to reduce the drag component normally associated with a conventional spoked wheel. The toroidal rim has a streamlined inner rim surface and a tire mounting surface. In other embodiments, drag reducing spoke systems are used in conjunction with a toroidal rim to lower wheel drag. In the preferred embodiments, the toroidal rim and wheel attached thereto form a transverse cross section which is substantially elliptical and has a high aspect ratio. The maximum rim width can be wider than the tire to achieve good aerodynamic efficiency.

Abstract: A bicycle wheel includes a rim having three or four spokes. A hub with a bearing is disposed at the center of said wheel. An annular recess is formed on an outer peripheral surface of rim for receiving a tire. A compartment is formed within each spoke for containing foam material and an annular chamber is formed within the rim of the wheel.The steps of manufacturing the bicycle wheel comprising:preparing a mold having a compartment configured according to the bicycle wheel, the mold including an upper mold and a lower mold;laminating composite material prepreg;applying foam material and solvent material respectively within spoke part and rim part of the composite material prepreg;disposing the composite material prepreg into the compartment of the mold;covering and inserting said mold into a heating appliance and heating;removing and cooling the mold;releasing the wheel and drilling a hole to the rim of the wheel for releasing the gas within the rim.

Abstract: A composite wheel using preheaded spokes insertable in a rim, a hub notched to receive and position the spokes and two plastic resin hub inserts compressively mating with the hub so as to secure the spokes therebetween. A method of assembly is also described.

Abstract: A wheel of the bicycle type that is injection molded with a formulation of polyamide resin and fiber in which hub, spokes and rim are integral and where the precision injection molded wheel substantially elminates machining. The spokes are aerodynamic vanes in form. A new and improved bearing support structure convertable from front to back wheel usage is applied to the hub and axle.

Abstract: A bicycle wheel is disclosed having no more than five airfoil shaped spokes linking a central hub to a peripheral rim in a blown and hollow fiber reinforced construction with resulting improvements of wheel spoke windage, overall wheel weight and rim inertia. The bicycle wheel includes a central hub and preferably three or four radially extending spokes. The radially extending spokes all have airfoil shapes. Adjacent spokes extend from the central hub and with the central hub form a spoke arch with each spoke forming one end of the spoke arch and the hub forming a central portion of the spoke arch. The distal ends of this spoke arch form the base support points for segments of the rim extending between the spokes. The segments of the rim extending between the spokes form an opposed rim arch to the spoke arch between the spoke ends.

Abstract: A wheel formed of a rim joined to a hub by a multi-spoke foam structure that is coated with a fiber reinforced resin material is defined by particular relationships between the spokes and the radiused sections joining the spokes to the hub and the rim.

Abstract: A multiplex spoke having metal parts at both ends of its fiber reinforced rod and an external thread portion at the end of one part is fitted to a rim for coupling the metal part to a nipple.

Abstract: A wheel spoke adjuster guard for protecting wheel spokes, wheel spoke adjuster lugs, and the wheel rim openings through which the adjuster lugs are recieved, of motorcycles, bicycles and the like, from the intrusion of foreign materials. The spoke adjuster guard comprises a plurality of semi-tubular sections adapted for lockable engagement to wrap around and closely surround the spoke adjuster lug and a portion of the adjacent wheel spoke, including the threaded end receivable in the spoke adjuster lug. Upon lockable engagement, the sections also engage the spoke so as to remain fixedly in place to protectively cover the spoke adjuster lug, the threaded end of the spoke, and the wheel rim opening receiving the spoke adjuster lug.

Abstract: A wire wheel construction consisting of a rim, a hub having a pair of spaced flanges and pairs of spokes that are fixed at their opposite ends to the rim and at an intermediate portion to a respective flange of the hub. The arrangement is such that the end connections of the spokes to the rim may be on the same side of the center line of the rim as the respective connecting flange of the hub.

Abstract: This is a new structure relating the wheel hub and spoke assembly, in which some portion of the spoke is bent, and the two hook-shaped bent ends of the spoke are to be hooked into the two adjacent rectangular holes on the wheel rim. The parallel elbow portions of the spoke are to be mounted inside the corresponding open slots on the wheel hub. The spokes are to be tightly pulled between the wheel hub and the wheel rim by means of the cylinder.

Abstract: A simulated wire wheel cover is provided which utilizes an integral array of spokes to provide the structural support for the other members. The spoke array is composed of a plurality of interconnected spoke members. A central hub member is fastened to the central portion of the spoke array. A circular rim member engages and is held in position by the outer ends of the spokes in the spoke array. The rim member is provided with integral retainers for retaining the wheel cover on the vehicle wheel.

Abstract: An automotive vehicle wheel having a solid wheel body, provided with replaceable rows of inner and outer spokes. The spokes are purely ornamental and are readily replaceable in the event of damage. Such replaceability is made possible by providing each spoke with a spring-loaded longitudinally moveable mounting member which places such spokes in longitudinal compression so as to hold them in place upon the wheel body.

Abstract: An automotive vehicle wheel having a solid wheel body, provided with replaceable rows of inner and outer spokes. The spokes are purely ornamental and are readily replaceable in the event of damage. Such replaceability is made possible by providing each spoke with a longitudinally moveable mounting member. The mounting member is rotated relative to its respective spoke so as to place such spokes in longitudinal compression to hold them in place on the wheel.

Abstract: A two-piece automobile wheel including an annular outer rim with front and rear ends, a cast metal center with an annular radially outwardly opening outer channel portion engaged within and closed by the rim, an intermediate portion extending radially inwardly and axially rearwardly from the outer portion and a central disc-portion; said disc portion has an annular series of circumferentially spaced stud openings and an elongate forwardly projecting tubular cone radially inward of the openings; an annular channel ring is fixed to the disc portion radially outward of the openings; the forward end of the cone has an annular series of apertures accommodating the inner end portions of an annular series of radially outwardly, axially rearwardly and circumferentially inclined front spokes; the ring has an annular series of apertures accommodating the inner end portions of an annular series of radially outwardly, axially forwardly and circumferentially inclined rear spokes; said channel portion has an annular series

Abstract: A land vehicle such as a motorcycle has front and rear wheels which support the frame of the vehicle. The front and rear wheels are of substantially the same diameter and each include a hub, spokes, and a rim. The spokes of the rear wheel are substantially identical with the spokes of the front wheel and the spokes of each wheel are uniformly distributed about the axis thereof. However, the rear wheel has a number of spokes which is greater than the number of spokes of the front wheel.

Abstract: A spoked wheel and method of making same including a peripheral rim, a central hub and a plurality of spokes interconnecting the hub and rim in which the hub is provided with spaced flanges interconnected by a tubular spindle and the spokes are in the form of wire members extending between the rim and the respective flanges. The wire spokes are of fixed, non-adjustable length and are tensioned simultaneously and equally by expanding the distance between the hub flanges with the spindle being inserted therebetween in order to maintain the flanges spaced apart. Airfoil blades may be mounted on the outer portion of certain of the spokes to enable utility of the wheel as a wind turbine, fan, propeller on a hovercraft or the like.