Vehicle wheel with rock guard

Abstract

A wheel assembly for a vehicle includes a wheel having a first rim half and a second rim half with a reinforcement plate sandwiched between the rim halves. The rim halves and reinforcement plates are secured together to form an annular outer rim for receiving a tire. The rim halves have aligned central openings and aligned apertures for receiving fasteners for mounting a wheel hub on the wheel. A rock guard built into the reinforcement plate includes a plurality of rock guard formations each forming a shield which fills at least a major portion of any space between a respective recess and the wheel hub to block at least some debris from passing through the wheel while allowing airflow through the wheel.

1 . A wheel assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
 a wheel having a front rim half and a rear rim half secured together to form an annular outer rim for receiving a tire, each rim half having an end wall facing the end wall in the other rim half;   the end walls of the front and rear rim halves having aligned central openings for receiving a hub and aligned apertures for receiving fasteners for mounting a wheel hub on a hub face of the rear rim half;   the central opening in the end wall of at least one of the rim halves having a plurality of spaced recesses around its periphery;   a reinforcement plate secured between the end walls of the front and rear rim halves and having a central opening aligned with the central openings in the rim halves; and   the reinforcement plate having a plurality of rock guard portions each forming a shield which substantially fills any space between a respective recess and an attached wheel hub to block at least some debris from passing through the wheel, the rock guard portions helping to define an outer periphery of the central opening in the reinforcement plate.   
     
     
         2 . The wheel assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the reinforcement plate has a plurality of fastener openings aligned with the fastener apertures in the end walls of the front and rear rim halves. 
     
     
         3 . The wheel assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the rock guard portions each have a peripheral edge forming part of the outer periphery of the central opening which substantially matches an edge shape of a recess in a wheel hub secured to the wheel. 
     
     
         4 . The wheel assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the rock guard portions each have an arcuate inner edge which forms part of the central opening in the reinforcement plate. 
     
     
         5 . The wheel assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the rock guard portions each have a V-shaped edge which forms part of the central opening in the reinforcement plate. 
     
     
         6 . The wheel assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the rock guard portions each have a plurality of small openings in a mesh-like configuration. 
     
     
         7 . A wheel for a vehicle, comprising:
 a first rim half having an inner end wall and an outwardly projecting annular rim portion;   a second rim half having an inner end wall and an outwardly projecting annular rim portion, the second rim half secured to the first rim half with the inner end walls facing towards one another to form an annular outer rim for receiving a tire;   a reinforcement plate sandwiched between the inner end walls of the first and second rim halves;   the first and second rim halves and the reinforcement plate have aligned central openings for receiving a wheel hub and aligned apertures for receiving fasteners for attaching the wheel to a wheel hub, each central opening having a peripheral edge; and   the central opening of the reinforcement plate having a plurality of rock guard portions which project radially inwardly relative to the central opening in at least one of the rim halves, each rock guard portion having an inner edge forming part of the peripheral edge of the central opening of the reinforcement plate, the inner edge of each rock guard portion being at least an approximate match with the shape of a recess in a hub secured over the central opening in the second rim half and the rock guard portion filling at least a major portion of a gap which would otherwise be formed between a respective recess in the hub and the peripheral edges of the central openings in the wheel rim halves.   
     
     
         8 . The wheel of  claim 7 , wherein the reinforcement plate is permanently secured between the first and second rim halves. 
     
     
         9 . The wheel of  claim 7 , wherein the reinforcement plate has a circular outer periphery and a diameter which substantially matches the diameter of the end walls of the rim halves. 
     
     
         10 . The wheel of  claim 7 , wherein the inner edges of the rock guard portions are arcuate. 
     
     
         11 . The wheel of  claim 7 , wherein the inner edges of the rock guard portions are V-shaped. 
     
     
         12 . The wheel of  claim 7 , wherein the rock guard portions each have a plurality of small openings in a mesh-like configuration. 
     
     
         13 . The wheel of  claim 7 , wherein each rock guard portion is of predetermined shape and dimensions to fill at least a major portion of a gap which would otherwise be formed between the peripheral edges of the central openings in the wheel rim halves and the hub recesses of a plurality of different hubs when secured to the wheel. 
     
     
         14 . A wheel assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
 a wheel having a front rim portion and a rear rim potion forming an annular outer rim for receiving a tire;   the wheel having a central opening for receiving a wheel axle and apertures for receiving fasteners for mounting a wheel hub on a front face of the front rim portion;   a wheel hub mounted on the wheel, the hub having outwardly projecting portions extending over part of the opening, and outwardly facing recesses between the outwardly projecting portions, and   a rock guard in the wheel having a plurality of rock guard portions spaced behind the wheel hub recesses and each forming a shield which blocks at least some debris from passing through the recesses in the hub and central opening in the wheel.   
     
     
         15 . The wheel assembly of  claim 14 , wherein the front rim portion comprises a first rim half having an inner end wall and an outwardly projecting annular rim portion, and the second rim portion comprises a second rim half having an inner end wall and an outwardly projecting annular rim portion, and the wheel further comprises a reinforcement plate sandwiched between the inner end walls of the first and second rim halves, the reinforcement plate comprising said rock guard. 
     
     
         16 . The wheel assembly of  claim 15 , wherein the second rim half is secured to the first rim half with the inner end walls facing towards one another and the reinforcement plate is sandwiched between the inner end walls, the rim halves and reinforcement plate together forming an annular outer rim for receiving a tire, and the reinforcement plate having an opening incorporating the rock guard portions and forming part of the central opening through the wheel, each rock guard portion forming a shield which fills at least a major portion of any space between a respective hub recess and the periphery of the central opening of each rim half to block at least some debris from passing through the wheel. 
     
     
         17 . The wheel assembly of  claim 16 , wherein the inner edges of the rock guard portions are arcuate. 
     
     
         18 . The wheel assembly of  claim 16 , wherein the inner edges of the rock guard portions are V-shaped. 
     
     
         19 . The wheel assembly of  claim 16 , wherein the inner edges of the rock guard portions of the reinforcement plate and the outwardly facing recesses of the wheel hub are of matching shape. 
     
     
         20 . The wheel assembly of  claim 16 , wherein the inner edges of the rock guard portions in the reinforcement plate and the outwardly facing recesses of the wheel hub are of different shapes.