Vehicle wheel construction process

Abstract

An improved process for permanently attaching an overlay to a wheel disc, wherein the overlay is aligned and spaced apart from the wheel disc. A mold is created by a combination of the overlay, wheel disc and localized nests that engage at predetermined times during foam filling to close the mold. The mold is adequately sealed so that there is no foam leakage as the foam expands to fill the mold and, therefore, no final trimming of excess foam is required. The improved process is capable of accommodating a wheel having turbine openings therein.

1 . An apparatus for permanently attaching an overlay having an outboard surface, an inboard surface, an outer diameter, an inner diameter, a valve stem opening, at least one turbine opening, and a flange area about the outer diameter, to a wheel having an outboard surface on a wheel disc, an outer wheel flange, a rim flange, a valve stem opening, a fill port, at least one turbine opening, a hub bore, and a bolt pattern, said apparatus comprising:
 a fixture for locating a wheel;   a first clamping assembly adapted to clamp a wheel to said overlay, said first clamping assembly being attached to said fixture and adapted to locate an overlay to a wheel, an outboard surface of a wheel and an inboard surface of an overlay defining a cavity therebetween;   a first set of nests adapted to align with and contact an overlay and a wheel, said first set of nests having a bottom nest, a valve stem nest adjacent said bottom nest and at least one turbine opening nest adapted to align with at least one turbine opening of an overlay, said bottom nest adapted to generally conform to an outboard surface of an overlay, a valve stem nest and at least one turbine opening nest of an overlay and adapted to close off a valve stem opening and at least one turbine opening of an overlay;   a second set of nests comprising a center bottom nest adapted to generally conform to an inner diameter of said overlay and a bolt pattern of a wheel wherein said second set of nests are adapted to create a seal by means of expanding radially when compressed in an axial direction against a wheel;   a movable pallet positioned under said fixture for locating an overlay to a wheel;   a second clamping assembly adapted to clamp an overlay and a wheel to a movable pallet;   a third clamping assembly disposed around a wheel and said movable pallet, said third clamping assembly comprising: an upper stationary platen having a fill port, said upper stationary platen adapted to contact a surface of a wheel disc;   a lower moving platen adapted to contact said movable pallet wherein a wheel, an overlay and said movable pallet are adapted to be clamped between said upper stationary and said lower moving platens of third clamping assembly; and   a foam filling station for filling a cavity between an overlay and a wheel with a foam material, said foam filling station having a nozzle mounted to said upper stationary platen of said third clamping assembly, said nozzle adapted to communicate with a fill port of a wheel.   
     
     
         2 . A process for permanently attaching an overlay having an outboard surface and an inboard surface to a wheel having an outboard surface and at least one predefined opening therein, said process comprising the steps of:
 locating said overlay in a fixture;   placing said wheel in said fixture and on said inboard surface of said overlay thereby defining a cavity between said outboard surface of said wheel and said inboard surface of said overlay;   clamping said overlay and wheel to a pallet;   heating said overlay and said wheel to a predetermined temperature;   engaging at least one nest with said wheel and said overlay, wherein the at least one nest at least partially seals the cavity;   injecting a foamable liquid into said cavity; and,   disengaging said at least one nest.   
     
     
         3 . A process for permanently attaching an overlay having an outboard surface and an inboard surface to a wheel having an outboard surface and at least one predefined opening therein, said process comprising the steps of:
 locating a select one of said wheel and said overlay in a fixture;   placing a select one of said wheel and said overlay not already located in said fixture in said fixture such that said inboard surface of said overly and said outboard surface of said wheel face one another thereby defining a cavity between said outboard surface of said wheel and said inboard surface of said overlay;   heating at least one of said overlay and said wheel to a predetermined temperature;   engaging at least one nest with said wheel and said overlay, wherein the at least one nest at least partially seals the cavity;   injecting a foamable liquid into said cavity; and,   disengaging said nest.   
     
     
         4 . The process as claimed in  claim 3  further comprising clamping said overlay and wheel to a pallet prior to injecting said foamable liquid into said cavity. 
     
     
         5 . The process as claimed in  claim 3  wherein the locating step includes locating said overly in said fixture. 
     
     
         6 . The process as claimed in  claim 3  wherein said step heating step further comprises heating said overlay and said wheel to a predetermined temperature within the range of 90° F. to 190° F. before said step of injecting said foamable liquid into said cavity. 
     
     
         7 . The process as claimed in  claim 3  further comprising:
 applying an adhesive sealant to at least a select one of said inboard surface of said overlay and said outboard surface of said wheel before said positioning step.   
     
     
         8 . The process as claimed in  claim 3  further comprising:
 applying a vacuum to said overlay to remove any warpage of said overlay; and,   applying an adhesive sealant to at least a select one of said inboard surface of said overlay and said outboard surface of said wheel before said placing step.